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to remove or disable it on the cyborg.
     
    ' I see they left you your fur, ' she said sub-vocally.
     
    'That's more than they left you, it seems. There is something unsettling about seeing one's commanding officer in the buff as it were.'
     
    Before she could respond the lights dimmed and the temperature dropped precipitously. Cat's nanite augmented eyes compensated automatically. It seemed the room was still illuminated, but the frequency of the light had shifted into the ultraviolet. Based on the reaction of everyone, with the exception of the cybernetically enhanced Ben, no one else could see in this light.
     
    Cat pretended to grope out blindly. In addition, she swatted and folded one arm about herself to conserve heat. Her nanites automatically adjusted her heat signature to match that expected of a normal nude human exposed to the cold conditions present in the room. Her body began to shiver. It was all an act. In reality, she could easily survive direct exposure to the vacuum of space, but it was vital that she maintained the facade of being a normal human.
     
    Since Ben was quite obviously a hybrid being, he had no such restriction. He immediately walked over to Cat and folded his first four arms around her and held her body close to his; ostensibly to share warmth.
     
    "Thanks," Cat said out loud while adding through their covert entangled commlink, ' I think this is some type of test. '
     
    ' I agree .' Then, verbally, he added "There are clothes on the floor on the opposite side of those Hoppers."
     
    "I can't see.  Can you get them for me?"
     
    "Certainly, Commodore."
     
    Cat smiled despite herself. "Ben, it's just Private now."
     
    Playing his predetermined role to the hilt, Ben responded forcefully, "Hogwash. That trial was a sham, and you know it. You were the finest officer in the fleet, and if the Admirals weren't afraid of you and your raw skill, you still would be!"
     
    ' I think you may be overacting a tad... '
     
    ' Perhaps but aside from th e — afrai d — part, most of what I just said is true. Besides, how often do I get to see you blush in your birthday suit? '
     
    ' My nanites are programmed to a very specific heat profile based on the environment, and that does not include blushing, you lecherous old dog!' Cat said via her internal commlink. Out loud she said, "Thanks, Ben."
     
    The clothing confirmed her suspicions. It was a lightly silvered jumpsuit that fit her form snugly. Embedded within the fibers of the fabric were numerous sensors and, surprisingly, a low power microwave system that Cat suspected, based on an analysis of the frequencies involved, was a pain inducer.
     
    There were no other articles of clothing designed for humans so Cat's hair hung free and she went shoeless. The jumpsuit did provide some warmth, but it was still uncomfortably cold. The others in the room continued to grope around randomly. Cat let Ben pull her out of the way of one of the heaviest Hoppers either of them had ever seen.
     
    The frequency of light shifted once again, and Cat heard the D'lralu in the room mutter the Canine race's equivalent of a gasp. Clearly the spectrum was approaching visible frequencies for them. As the frequencies were still beyond the range of an unenhanced human, Cat continued to feign blindness.
     
    Ben commented that it was getting lighter.
     
    "Your eyes must be naturally better than mine," Cat said, between nanite-induced shivers, for the benefit of any Modos listeners.  In point of fact, her enhanced vision could see in almost total darkness. They could easily function with little more than the reflected radiant heat of her body.
     
    She kept a hand on Ben's mid-shoulder. It was important that they establish a visual bond in sight of their captors. If the analysis Cat had shared with the Admiralty board was correct, Ben's very survival might depend on the establishment of that bond. As a cyborg, the normal physical deterrents that applied to fully organic