"Sorry, I figured - you got in the hot tub with me, so you had to really be okay with - but if you're not even here I guess that makes sense."

"Oh no! I am definitely okay with it!"

"Well, I guess at least you aren't offended." She folds her hands in her lap.

"Mm. Offended by what?"

Moira is really confused about how caring about what Peka thinks of her is supposed to work, it's not something she has much practice with at all.

"That I tried to hold your hand? Like, I was pretty sure we were flirting but sometimes people'll flirt and they don't wanna actually touch us."

"Oh. I am definitely not offended and I really would like to hold hands with you. I just ... can't. Not here."

She is doing very badly at this, she can tell.

"It's not because you're red or anything like that. It's me."

"Okay."

The lights blink to indicate that intermission is coming to an end.

"Uh, I can explain afterwards unless you want to miss part of the show and have a conversation now."

"After is fine."

CONCERT

Con... cert. Yes. She can pay attention to that.

Nope, turns out most of what she cared about was watching Peka enjoy the show and while Peka is still enjoying it Moira is now really nervous about having to have a conversation with her afterwards. She wasn't nervous at all back when she was trying to negotiate with Picard for her life, why is this so much more stressful.

Peka whoops and claps with everyone else when the last act is over.

Moira will do that too then, she can pretend at being fine at least.

Peka squirms with glee in her seat. "Thank you so much, this was amazing."

"I'm happy you enjoyed it!"

"You were gonna explain about your telepresence thing?"

"Yeah."

She tries to figure out how to say things.

"Are you in quarantine? Are you allergic to Amenta? Is it just cheaper to shuttle up and down if you don't have to haul as much mass?"

"No no. I'm ... always a projection like this outside of my ... home."

"Are you a bilocating energy being?"

"Heh, no. It's stranger than any of those."

"Ooh. Are you... insubstantial because you are a time traveler and this prevents you from breathing on any bees. Are you a psychic parasite creature who only exists in the minds of those around you."

The bees guess gets a laugh from Moira.

"I honestly still don't think your guesses are as weird as the truth and I'm tempted to see what happens if you keep trying."

Someone trying to solve a mystery around her is very familiar and reassuring territory.

"I think I'm running out of ideas, sorry."

"Alas."

Oh now she has to say things.

"I'm a hologram. Outside of specially designed rooms that means I can't have physical form."

"The specially designed rooms are called 'holodecks', and can simulate almost arbitrary fantasies. They are often used for combat training, living out adventures, and elaborate sexual roleplay."

"A core property of these rooms are that any people it generates are non-sentient, simply elaborate procedurally generated characters."

"About one Amentan decade ago, an attempt to create a sufficiently clever adversary for an adventure simulation resulted in a so far unreplicated anomaly - me."

"...whoa. It just made you a person by mistake?"