Planet Telex

Tiaris didn't mind the cold. Wrapped in her jacket and with thick pants on, it was quite comfortable for her. Claws of Purple wasn't as lucky, shivering slightly in nothing but her Assistant dress, knees shaking a little as she stood.
"You could have got me a coat, you know." hissed Purple to the sitting Avian as quietly as she could.
Tiaris smiled and looked up from her book for a moment. "All you need to do is present your ID card at Administration to order them..."
Purple grumbled as Tiaris's attention turned back to the book. "You know I can't." she snapped back, even though she knew Tiaris had stopped listening.
The feeling of the metal ID card in her pocket was hard to ignore. This was her 'Assistant' one -- Feathers of Silver had told the pair to keep their secondary identities, saying she would need their services again soon. Even if that was the case, she knew that Silver wanted them to be able to attend the party already dressed.
"Our stop." Tiaris said, closing the book and holding it out. "Put this in the bag, Hylia."
Purple blinked in surprise and looked at the book, face turning a little red as she did as she was told. Right. She was the Assistant, at least for the moment. It always took a moment to context switch, especially after a day of field work.
Nobody paid attention to the Assistant's blush as she clipped the messenger bag shut. At least Purple had the tendency for Assistants to fade into the background to save a little bit of her dignity.

Purple crossed her arms for warmth as she walked beside Tiaris, messenger bag bouncing lightly against her back with each step.
"It's winter, Hylia. Why won't you go get yourself a coat?"
"I can't show myself around the office.. like this!" Purple responded in protest, gesturing to the grey uniform she was wearing. "It's..."
"It's what, Hylia?" replied Tiaris, smiling.
Purple shivered a little, and not from the cold. "It's humiliating, walking around like I've got... like I should have a chip in my head!"
"But you do, and you should. You admitted it yourself, a while ago, didn't you, Hylia?"
"Goddess, please, stop using that while people can see me..." mumbled Purple, fighting off the little programmed feeling of pleasure as she heard her identifier.
"If you really wanted, you could go to another Sector. Surely nobody would recognise you there." Tiaris chuckled to herself a little. "Anyway, here's the building." she announced, halting and spinning on her heels towards the apartment block.
Purple couldn't help but notice the little things that gave Tiaris away as a still-functioning Assistant. The chip made her seem almost prescient, with information and directions fed right into her thoughts. "You should probably do that a bit more naturally if you want to pass yourself off as an Agent..."
"What, do it with feigned fault and organic confusion?" Tiaris replied, with a smirk.
Purple shook her head and followed Tiaris into the lobby. "The outright chip-superiority stuff will get you caught out too..."
The building lobby was little more than mailboxes and a series of lifts. A plant sat in the corner, which Purple eyed with suspicion as Tiaris jabbed at the lift controls.
"This is just a regular apartment building. How's she safe here? I've never asked." mused Tiaris as they went up in the lift.
Purple glanced up at the camera on the lift's ceiling with the same suspicion as the plant. "It helps she's the only person that lives in the building."
"Ah." Tiaris replied as the lift came to a stop a few floors up. "That almost seems a bit wasteful."
"I can assure you the space doesn't just sit empty, Ti-... er, Mistress."
Tiaris smiled a little, looking forward as the doors opened. "Good catch, Assistant."

"Ah, Grey. Good to see you." said Feathers of Silver as she opened the door with a smile.
Tiaris gave a smile back. "Likewise, Director."
"And Hylia, hello. How's your head?"
Purple mumbled something positive-sounding, holding herself back from rubbing at the scar. Goddess, why is she using that name now...
"Good, good. Come in. You know your way around." Feathers of Silver stepped aside to allow the pair to enter.
"I've been looking forward to this for weeks, ever since Hylia was feeling better..."
"Nngh, Mistress, please, don't..." Purple said, wishing she could hide herself in the messenger bag.
"Oh, Hylia, it's not like this is the first time you've attended like this..." Feathers of Silver said, looking over the Assistant with a smile. "Just... maybe not with the chip in your head."
"And whatever Tiaris has done to it..." Purple grumbled, glaring at her.
"Tsk. And you were doing so well." Tiaris said, returning the glare, and causing Purple's to wither. "If you'll excuse us, Director, my Assistant and I need to have a word..."
"Yes, it sounds it." Silver replied, trying to hide her grin. "Just don't break anything..."
"Can't promise it." Tiaris replied, eyes locked on Purple.

"Don't don't don't don't... nnghhh..." Purple stifled a moan as she was pressed against the bathroom wall, Tiaris's thigh pressing up against the crotch of her dress.
"What should you call me, Assistant?" Tiaris hissed in Purple's ear, grinding her thigh against Purple, hands holding their wrists against the wall.
"M-Mistress! I should call you Mistress!" Purple replied, trying to keep her voice down. "Please, oh goddess this is so embarrassing, someone might hear..."
"The door's closed." Tiaris said, beak right up against Purple's head. "Now, say it again, Hylia, what should you call me?"
"Mis- nnggghh... Mistress..."
"And what will you call me?" Tiaris pressed her thigh up a little with her grinding, forcing a moan from Purple.
"Mistress! Please, oh goddess..."
"Good." Tiaris pulled back and released her grip, leaving the Assistant panting against the wall.
"F-fuck, Mistress, now I'm all... nnghh..."
Tiaris straightened up her jacket as if nothing had happened. "Maybe you'll let that feeling remind you of where you belong, hmm?"

Purple kept her head down as she was pulled out of the bathroom behind Tiaris, hoping she would be able to regain her composure before anyone tried to speak to her.
"Let's go see who else is here, Assistant." Tiaris said, letting go of Purple's dress once they were in the hall. "Hopefully some familiar faces..."
With a groan, Purple moved closer to Tiaris, hoping nobody would notice her. She alternated between coming dressed as an Assistant and as her regular Agent self, as did a few attendees to Silver's parties, but this would be the first where Tiaris actually had any level of actual control over her. Before, she'd just frown and shake her head if Tiaris asked her to do anything too embarrassing, but now... all that needed to be said was that damned identifier, and she'd do whatever she was asked.
"A few might even be high ranked enough to have Silver's report on our little mission..." sung Tiaris quietly. "I guess we'll see which ones read it..."
Purple froze in place as she realised what this mean. "Oh, Mistress, no..."
"What's the matter? Concerned they'll know the truth?" Tiaris said, turning around with a grin. "Better for them to get the questions out of the way before a Ministry meeting, surely?"
"Oh, goddess, the departmental meeting next week..." Purple mumbled, backing up a little. "Mistress, they can't... see me like this!"
"They have before." Tiaris said with a smile. "Mind telling me the difference, Hylia?"
Purple shivered slightly before pulling herself back together. "The difference is that you can make me do... do that!"
"Do what, Assistant? Use the title you've called me for years? Now, come along."
Purple took a deep breath, and stepped forward again. "I... okay, Mistress. Just... just please don't embarrass me in front of them..."
"Oh, I'd never do such a thing." Tiaris said, grinning. "I promise."

Avians had been solitary since early industrialisation. The majority of the accommodation stock in the Accord was single-occupant, with most living there having a daily schedule that was sleep, work, and eat. Even though casual relationships were common between Avians, the concept of "moving in together" was almost unthinkable with Avians commonly being reassigned across the planet every few months. Such a relationship -- a truly long-term or life-long one -- only really existed in those who had Personal Assistants, who were assigned directly to an Avian, and went where they went.
This led to an interesting phenomenon in the Accord, where the desire for such long-term relationships were almost always expressed in terms of becoming an Assistant, either as a form of roleplay or rarely one half volunteering as such, paperwork and all.
Despite it being originally frowned upon, the Accord knows that a happy Avian is a productive Avian, and such relationships were even quietly recommended as a method of blowing off steam in those under high stress. This recommendation became official under Feathers of Silver, and was why she hosted the parties -- she wanted their minds focused when it came to their official roles, without unfulfilled fantasies gnawing away at them.
Claws of Purple thought it was a little bit more than that, though. Silver seemed to enjoy the goings on of the party a little more than just being a neutral facilitator...

"Talons of Grey, nice to see you again." Tiaris said with a little bow, purposefully betraying her regular Assistant status to the uniformed Agent. "And this is my Assistant, Hylia."
"Wings of Indigo, nice to see you again as well." The Agent smiled and gave a little nod to Purple, who wilted a little under the look. "Ah! I was wondering, since things change around here sometimes..."
"You needn't worry, since Hylia here is staying as such from now on." replied a grinning Tiaris. "Aren't you, Assistant?"
Purple shuddered a little as she found herself compelled to step forward to reply. "Y-yes, yes, I am, Mistress."
"Well, that's good." Indigo clicked two talons together, summoning her own Assistant. "This is Ashen, as I am sure you'll remember."
Purple nodded a little, looking them over. They were a little bit bouncier than you would expect an actual Assistant, whose moves were always calm and calculated no matter the personality, so she could only guess that this one was in costume.
"Ashen, this is the one I was talking about the other day." Indigo said, gesturing to Purple with a smile.
"Ooooh." Ashen said, tilting her head a little to look over Purple, like the Avian was some sort of laboratory specimen. "You know, I work on those chips! Is... is it still... in there?"
Purple glanced between the other Assistant and Tiaris, opening her beak to reply, but only stuttering. "I... I..."
"Yes, it is." Tiaris replied, cutting Purple off. "She was a proper Assistant there for about an hour, too..."
"M-Mistress!" Purple exclaimed in protest, pulling on Tiaris's jacket. "You said you wouldn't talk about it!"
"I said no such thing." Tiaris pulled her jacket free, and straightened it back up before returning to face Ashen. "It's mostly inactive. Might have to send her down to Science Division to get some of the visual artifacts she's been having straightened out, though."
"Yes, please do! I would love to take a look at her." Ashen replied, far too excited for Purple's comfort. "We'll get you all fixed up, don't worry!"
"Uhm... thanks..." mumbled Purple. At least this meant there'd be a costumer working on her, and not someone a bit more judgemental.
"Well, we will see you around tonight again, don't worry." Wings of Indigo said, pulling her Assistant a little closer to calm her down. "And if not, well, I'll see you at the meeting next week... Hylia, wasn't it?"
Purple nearly glowed pink with embarrassment at one of her fellow Agents calling her... that... but muted her complaints. "Yes, Miss Indigo."

Purple's discomfort only rose as more attendees arrived, especially as Tiaris made sure to introduce herself and Purple to each pair that walked in. They all knew who Tiaris and Purple were, of course, but Tiaris did feel like trotting out her new 'official' name and reminding people of Purple's newly permanent role at these parties.
"See you next week, Hylia." Another Agent said, with a polite nod. "Talons of Grey, do make sure that she prepares all her files for it this time."
"Yes, uhm. Will see you there." Purple glanced at Tiaris, who was nodding in return. "I'll have everything this time, I promise..."
"Yes, yes you will." Tiaris responded, as the pair that they went to meet wandered off to say hello to others. "That chip in your head will make sure, at least..."
Purple frowned at the thought as she took her place at the foot of Tiaris's armchair, one of the many arranged in a semicircle around the simulated fireplace and the wall of windows behind it. The chip would remind her, true, but it wouldn't make her do it. She could not do it, if she wanted. Probably.
"Can you take care of these boots for me, Assistant?"
Purple glanced at the walking boots with disdain. Agent-issue, far more comfortable than the rubber sleeves that she had for shoes. "I'm taking them off, and that's all I'm doing, Mistress."
"It was all I was going to ask, Assistant, don't you worry..." Tiaris replied with a sly smile as her Assistant began to pick at the laces. "Just want my feet in front of the fire, is all..."
The simulated fireplace was as warm as fireplaces were supposed to be, but Purple wasn't convinced by the virtual flames on its display screen. "If you say so, Mistress..."
Tiaris placed one foot on top of the other and stretched out comfortably, opening up the book she had earlier retrieved from Purple's bag. Purple, devoid of any such literature to distract herself, just remained on her knees watching the party. Most of the armchairs were now occupied, some with an Assistant either sitting on an arm talking with their owner or kneeling on the ground beside. There was laughter from the kitchen over the background noise of discussion, with one of the voices belonging to Feathers of Silver.
"Mistress, uhm..." mumbled Purple, raising her head up, "Maybe I should go see if I can help... uh, Miss Silver?"
Tiaris lowered the book, an eyeridge raised. "She'd have asked for help if she needed it."
"Yes, but, uhm... maybe it'd be good practice...?" Purple replied, head lowering back down a little. Maybe it was too obvious she wanted to be out of range of Tiaris's orders...
"Very well. But you'd better bring me one of those fish skewers she makes, after."

"Ah, Hylia." Feathers of Silver said, arms outstretched, as Purple walked into the kitchen. "Come here."
Purple stepped forward, only to be grabbed into a hug by the other Avian.
"I didn't want to say this in front of Grey, but I was rather worried about you the other week." Silver said, releasing the very awkward-feeling Purple from her grasp. "Some don't come out of there the same, even if we turn off the chip."
"Yes, well, it's been..." Purple tried to find a word to describe it, but came up blank. "...different."
"Mmm, I can only imagine." Silver replied, with a nod. "Ashen, could you take this out, and give us some privacy for a few minutes?"
"Yes, Miss Silver!" replied the Assistant, taking the tray of freshly prepared nibbles from the kitchen bench, and disappearing out the door a little quicker than Purple thought could be done with all the food left intact.
Silver turned back to the kitchen bench, picking up her knife, and returning to cutting up various vegetables. "How is it different, Hylia?"
Purple tilted her head a little bit at the question, unsure of how to answer. "I... I don't really know how to start, Director..."
Feathers of Silver chuckled a little bit as she pushed a pile of chopped roots to the edge of the chopping board. "You know that it's Miss Silver to the uniformed ones like you. Grey was right, you are forgetful..."
Purple mumbled an apology. "Sorry, Miss Silver. It just sounded... uhm... work related."
"Well, in regards to work, you've only been back a few days, and I have to say that I am impressed with your performance so far." Silver said, taking a fresh root onto the chopping board. "Can you get me more of these? Just two, they'll be bottom shelf."
"Over here? Uhm..." Purple leant down to grab two of the roots from a basket in the bottom of the open pantry, looking them over. "Isn't this what we grind up for tea?"
"Yes, but it tastes good fried." replied Silver, taking them from the Assistant. "Anyway. My concern is mostly personal, although..."
"...although?"
"I think, if you can manage it, there's potential in that chip you could use. Nobody else will go near the things, but since you have one..."
Purple took a step back. "No, no, I... I am not sure I want it turned on, at work. I already know what T-... Mistress can do with it."
"It wouldn't be able to be accessed like that." Silver turned the roots over in her hands to look for blemishes, and placed one down on the chopping board. "Besides, if anyone tried to mess with your head except for her, well..."
Purple's eyes went a little wide as Feathers of Silver suddenly brought the knife down hard on the root and cleanly cut it in two.
"You know what will happen to them."
Purple nodded a little, getting the implication. "I mean, I need some time to get used to... you know, thinking differently. Seeing differently. It's like my entire head has been rewired."
"It has." Silver said, using gentler cuts to slice up the rest of the root into cubes. "Quite literally, there's a few thousand metres of fibre optic in your tissue, now."
Purple winced at the thought. "Yes, Miss Silver, I get that. It's just..."
"I understand. Right now, it's existence is a fun little thing between Talons of Grey and FC4 Hylia. If you want, and only if you want, its existence could also be something for Claws of Purple."

"You cooked this? Where is your Personal Assistant?" Tiaris asked Silver as she nibbled on a skewer, the fish mixed with sauteed mushrooms and fried root.
"Mmm, she's... busy." Silver leant back in her own chair, feet similarly up to warm on the fire. "Besides, I like cooking. It's relaxing."
"And tasty!" Ashen piped up, before her owner hushed her down with another fish skewer from the tray.
"Yes, and that. Siren usually makes most of the meals, but when duty calls..."
Purple tilted her head in confusion. "But... wouldn't you be her duty?"
Silver gave a little knowing smile and Purple's head straightened back up in understanding.
"Oh. She's costumed, isn't she?"
Feathers of Silver chuckled, rotating her feet in front of the fire. "Yes, yes she is. I'm surprised you didn't realise the last time you met her..."
"But, she had... like, the whole... outfit, and the serial was real!"
"Real, yet from the classified block. Reminds me of one Assistant I know..." Silver's eyes darted to Purple's chest and it's printed serial, before locking eyes again. "You forget who I am, Hylia."
Purple shook her head a little. Of course, as Director, Silver could do virtually anything... "No, Miss Silver. I just expected you to, you know, have... a real one, since, you know..."
"Anything I need, the Ministry Assistants take care of, as they do for the guards here as well. There's no point me having one, except, well..."
"I guess it would get lonely up here." Tiaris said, finishing off her skewer. "Hence Siren."
Silver gave a little smile. "Yes, hence Siren."

"So," asked Tiaris as the Director went to mingle with some other of the guests, "What did you and Feathers of Silver talk about in there? Sounded a little serious."
Purple leaned her head on the armrest, nudging her head upwards as if to tell Tiaris she'll trade the information for attention. With a sigh, Tiaris relented, and gently ran her talons through Purple's headfeathers. "Just stuff about the past week or so. She said she's happy with my work since coming back, but... she wants to take it a little further."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you know how I sometimes lament that the only ones who know what the hell they're doing are the Assistants, right?" sighed Purple, deciding to speak plainly.
"It's easy to know what you're doing when you're disallowed to think anything else. I think you'd be good at it..." Tiaris replied, talons gently raking through feathers.
Purple grumbled and gently headbutted Tiaris's hand. "Not helping."
"Fine, fine. What does she want you to do?"
"Well, turn the chip on a little more. Let it help me." Purple sighed a little. "And not just, like, at home, as much as I think the arrangement you and I have brings Silver glee, but... in the office."
Tiaris paused her scritching for a moment. "I think you should."
"Of course you would." Purple mumbled, butting her head up again until Tiaris continued her gentle talon scratching. "You'd have nothing to do with it, you know."
"Yes, I know. But, you did say you were aiming for that Senior Agent position, and, well, if it helps you be the best in the Ministry..."
"Maybe then I'd be able to requisition a Personal Assistant who doesn't humiliate me." huffed Purple, settling her head back down on the armrest.
"This all started because you ordered me to do it, don't forget..." chuckled Tiaris in response.
"Yeah, yeah." Purple mumbled, gazing around the room. "I should be careful what I wish for."