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 Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:40 pm
By the time Zed spoke, Koko had already run out of the door & deeper into the ship. She was looking for her trench coat &, as soon as she found it she threw it on then sat down on the ground.
Oh god.... this is stupid.... now I have to find some clothes....
She stood up slowly, walking back through the ship to the cargo bay to see if there was anything she could wear. She held up some trousers & checked them against herself, finding them to be about the right size.
"Right.... now for a shirt..."
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:45 pm
Zed, who was already dressed in his pilot gear, hurled a shirt at Koko.
"That should fit... we'll go to the city and find some more clothes for ya... Oh yeah, you might wanna make sure all the foam stuff is off before putting your stuff back on. I'd suggest a quick shower."
He walked back to the cockpit and waited.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:53 pm
Koko looked at the shirt for a moment, then headed off towards the shower room. Her gait was slightly choppy, as though she were angry.
It was a while before Koko came into the cockpit & she sat down in her seat, silent. She was wearing the shirt & trousers, but with her trench coat over the top - it didn't seem damaged. She looked down at the controls, drumming her fingers. Her hair fell down in front of her face so that it was hidden from view. The mercenary seemed lost in thought, solemn even.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:59 pm
Zed, having been engaged back in his version of reality, was familiar with the signs of an upset or angry woman, but this was unfamiliar to him. He was unsure weather or not to speak, lest he enrage her. He eventually sighed then spun his chair to face Koko.
"Whats up?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 2:11 pm
Visibly, Koko stiffened, but she didn't say anything for quite a long time. When she eventually did speak, her voice had a strange note to it.
"I do not know really.... is it you? Is it me? I don't know!"
She spun her chair suddenly, her voice rising.
"I wasn't even supposed to be here! Yet, here I am, with someone I don't even know...."
She stood up in the middle of her sentence, throwing one arm out.
"....messing with his ship, installing new weapons on it. Why am I doing this?! I didn't know you, still don't really, yet I'm still here. Why is that?! When I see you I don't know what I'm feeling, is it fire or something entirely different? It's like all my emotions & feelings are building up inside me & theyre about to come pouring out - in what way I don't know. I've never felt like this in my life & I don't know why you of all people have caused it!"
She stood right in front of Zed now, her fingers balled into fists & her breathing rate increased.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 2:24 pm
Zed sat further back in his seat and sighed, secretly slipping his hand over the side of the armrest and attempting to find the eject button.
After a while of trying to press it he looked over the armrest and remembered that there never was an eject button.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 2:32 pm
Koko looked as though she was about to punch the pilot, but then sighed & put her face in one hand.
"Just, forget I ever said anything. I shouldn't let myself get caught up like that."
For a moment she looked down at Zed, then blinked hard & walked out of the cockpit. It wasn't until she was further down the corridor that she began running, a faint trace of tears on her cheeks. She reached the cargo bay in a couple of seconds, having grabbed a jetpack as she went past. Hitting the button on the side of the door she waited till it was open - slipping the jetpack onto her back as she waited - then hit it again to get the door to close. Ducking under the closing bay door, she jumped off the ship & activated the jetpack, flying a short distance away from the ship. Letting herself glide to the desert floor, she then began sprinting - though she had no idea where she was or where she was going. But she had to get away, she had to think.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 2:45 pm
Zed understood that Koko needed alone time, so he put his helmet back on and watched her through the window.
The Aiolos' front end raised into the air and the engines powered up, within a minute sending the ship up into orbit beside a sattelite.
The ship was still clearly visible from the ground due to Ares' slightly thinner atmosphere than Earth's.
Zed also needed time to think, so he put on his spacesuit and got to work repairing the sattelite's GPS tracking system.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:02 pm
After a while of running, Koko sat down behind a sand dune to cry. She had no idea why she was weeping, nor where she had run to. She ran things over in her mind, trying to make sense of it all. When she realised that her feelings were directed at Zed she then had to figure out what to do with them. Being attracted to him - or rather even thinking about pursuing that - felt wrong to her, like she would be intruding on the man's fiance. Despite the fact that he was possibly from another reality, the woman could still exist somewhere in that reality....
Whether it was a few minutes, or a few hours, Koko wasn't really sure. But she'd come to a decision nonetheless. If she could find her way back to the Aiolos, she would continue to be gunner on Zed's ship - afterall she needed somewhere to say & enjoyed upgrading his ship. But she would not pursue her feelings for him; instead she would remain, well, 'friends' with him. She'd been through many things in her life, so she could deal with this too. So she stood up, wiped her face & began walking through the desert.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:21 pm
Zed was still working on the sattelite when he noticed something, a large chunk of metal was hurtling towards him and there was not much he could do. He pushed himself away from the sattelite which was then hit by the huge metal bar, knocking it out of orbit and sending it hurtling down to Ares.
Zed's visor was cracked by a piece of debris, but it had not been breached, a secondary visor replaced it and ejected the cracked one.
Then he saw it, the Hydra, one of the missing sleeper ships, floating through the star system on it's way to a destination unknown.
Zed got back into the Aiolos and watched the massive ship, which was also visible from the ground but much further away.
He powered up the ship and headed back down to the planet below, he wanted to go and explore the sleeper ship, but he'd need a crew.
He headed the ship for the beacon that was in the jetpack Koko took.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:31 pm
Koko was wandering through the desert, she'd thought about flying via the jetpack, but then decided against it. She had managed to regain her composure & now realised that she'd left all her weaponry - except her combat knife - on Zed's ship. She sighed & shook her head slightly.
"Great Koko. First you develop feelings for a crazy, unobtainable man, then you leave all you weaponry on his ship not knowing if you'll be able to find it again. Smooth."
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:39 pm
Zed flew the ship barely meters above the sand, using another uplink to fly the ship whilst he stood on a magnet on the end of a cable used for lifting cargo into the ship's cargohold that hung from the ship's underside.
He flew behind Koko and grabbed her with his free arm, holding her close to his chest as he retracted the magnet back into the ship.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:52 pm
Koko had just turned around as she heard the ship behind her when Zed grabbed her. She yelled out slightly & scrabbled for a moment.
"Why couldn't you have just landed it like any other person?!"
As her body realised she was safe & relaxed, Koko found herself pressed against the pilot's chest - able to hear his heartbeat. She reddened unintentionally & looked up at him,
No, no, no! s**t! Why'd you have to do this now? I'd just figured out what I was going to do! ....his chest is warm.... NO! Stop it!
Even with all this stuff going on in her head, Koko didn't shift her gaze from Zed's face.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:58 pm
The magnet lifted into the ship's cargohold and the floor closed up, Zed stepped off the magnet, still holding Koko close to him. He smiled and spoke softly.
"So, are you gunna do it or am I?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 4:04 pm
Koko stared up at Zed, her mouth open slightly & her eyes wide. Her heart was racing & her voice was rather small.
"I-I....don't know... what.... I mean, you...."
She trailed off. She hoped that he meant what she was thinking, but she didn't want to do anything in case she was wrong. So she waited; if he did mean what she thought, then he'd make the move, right?
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