Feb 23, 2008 11:49
The cafeteria was all but empty when Zelnick got there. He was a little disappointed; he had gotten the impression that patients usually ate dinner in their rooms, so he hadn't arranged to meet anyone, and there really wasn't anyone to sit by and engage in conversation yet
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star dragon sword,
rika,
diva,
anya,
edward elric,
lucivar,
anise,
tyler,
mousse,
ken amada,
sam winchester,
naoya,
scar,
mason,
allen,
naminé,
tk-622,
miku,
luke fon fabre,
jack skellington,
simon (gl),
clark kent,
zex,
angel,
ginji,
zelnick,
shana,
peter parker,
luxord,
kurogane,
artemis,
knives millions,
harry,
mello,
matsumoto,
ion,
xellos,
usopp,
nakago,
heiji,
quatre,
lord recluse,
peter petrelli,
yohji,
phibrizzo,
archer,
ritsuka,
fox,
farfarello,
zoro,
ryoko,
okita,
mozenrath,
sanosuke,
haku,
yukari,
wolverine,
l,
willow,
bridget,
rubedo,
sanji,
jack horner,
rhode,
kenshin,
nami,
bella,
tenchi,
fayt,
momo (xenosaga),
sora,
reinforce,
ashton,
leon (so2),
birkin,
reno,
claude,
keman,
ami,
amelia,
kikyo,
rukia,
edgeworth,
itachi,
sousuke,
faust,
max,
harley,
zabuza,
peony,
hk-47,
argilla,
kenren,
robin hood,
hanyuu,
yuber,
guy,
armand,
kairi,
reid,
zelgadis,
vlad,
soubi,
roy,
frey,
valyn,
cid,
cloud,
leon magnus,
relena,
sai,
sasuke,
daemon,
aidou,
sierra,
akabane,
edward cullen,
brooklyn,
eddie brock,
scar (tlk),
omi,
hisoka,
rangiku,
subaru,
captain jack
He could understand that, whatever was going through ZEX's head, it was upsetting him badly-- and not just bitter-about-how-much-his-species-sucks upset. Seeing someone who had, in Zelnick's brief experiences with him, been so self-assured, so very grounded in confidence, wrought with doubt ( ... )
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While he agreed with the sentiment, the lovers part at the end made him flinch and blush and notice how very close he was still sitting to ZEX. But still... "I agree with the sentiment," he said, trying his best not to sound like an idiot or like he agreed with everything ZEX said. "It's far better to be allies than enemies, and even better to be friends. I don't see it happening, though, not when the majority of VUX still consider anything outside their narrow world as... monsters ( ... )
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Ah, the human changed color! ZEX watched him with interest. What did that mean...? Was it an attempt at camouflage? Perhaps a vestigial remnant from early human development? It did make the Captain look very fetching though... something in his human body recognized it, although he wasn't sure what it was. "Yes, definitely! There should be no limits to the rapport that two individuals can develop, regardless of species. It can be as close as one can imagine..." ZEX sighed happily at the thought, then shook himself out of it slightly. "But yes, my countrymen are less than receptive to such talk. Xenophobia can be so hard to overcome... I'd hoped that perhaps I could convince the High Council to at least scale back their inflammatory rhetoric, but I fear it may be a hopeless cause." He had no reason to lie and exaggerate his ( ... )
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The scrutiny and implication of sex (again!) just made Zelnick go redder. Smiling uneasily, Zelnick managed, "Well, you can't change society if you don't at least try." Argh, ZEX's flirting (or whatever he was doing) was so... uncomfortable, even if the admiral seemed to enjoy it.
Zelnick hadn't thought them dangerous, exactly, though he understood what ZEX meant. "Blindness of any sort is rarely a good trait, no matter what the situation... especially blindness to one's own flaws." Irritation managed to rise past his awkward embarrassment. "Like pride in one's logic making it so it's hard to see the prejudice underneath." Or pride in one's queen making it hard to realize she had ruined your honor, or dependency on an artifact blinding you to the fact you were dependent upon it... "Not that it's a flaw your species holds a monopoly on."
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His color kept changing! ZEX found himself smiling in response and feeling inordinately pleased with himself. For whatever reason, his human body seemed to like the Captain's new color. "I've always ascribed to that philosophy, you know." ZEX was grinning quite widely, his voice smooth and flowing again. "You never quite know what's possible until you try. It opens up many doors, if you're willing to take that risk. It's a shame that more don't... rise to the challenge. My people are all the poorer for it, I believe ( ... )
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Under the not-very-subtle guise of getting more comfortable, Zelnick slid his chair a few inches away from ZEX and started abusing his food again-- not eating it, just shoving it around his plate nervously. Wasn't this sort of thing supposed to be less awkward, the older you got? Granted, it wasn't every day that a guy got hit on by a xenophilic VUX stuck in a human body, but still...!
He managed to pull his wits together long enough to nod a wooden agreement to whatever ZEX had said. "It's only when you stop thinking of other species as 'people' that you run into problems," he said, a bit faintly-- his thoughts were scattered wildly by the flirting, something that was so much easier to ignore when it was over a viewscreen.
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The human moved away from him again, a pity, and ZEX tried to think of why, since they were getting along so well... perhaps his Captain was shy? How utterly charming! He found the idea only heightened the thrill of the chase, and he found laughter bubbling up without thought. "Hee! Hee! Hee! My Captain, you seem to have changed color... is something wrong ( ... )
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While ZEX was giggling to himself, the knot of nerves in the pit of Zelnick's stomach just keep winding itself tighter, and the way he was speaking... it was obvious that he wasn't talking about politics. Where, Zelnick wondered, does the line between flirting and seduction lie? The instant the thought registered on the rest of his mind, he felt that spontaneous combustion starting, and sunk even more deeply into his chair, edging away again.
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"Really?" ZEX said slowly, and he brushed some of his hair out of his open eye. "I didn't know humans could just change color whenever they pleased..." His voice lowered a little, smooth and deliberate. "I'm sure there are all sorts of things that you can do that I don't know about just yet. You did say that humans were... multi-talented."
ZEX paused, eating another piece of food slowly before continuing. "And I'm always eager to learn new skills. I would be a most... attentive student, if you should so decide to teach me." You can teach me all night long, luscious human.
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... he probably should have asked ZEX to stop a while ago. Sometime before his face started to burn, like when ZEX first mentioned interspecies lovers (which Zelnick couldn't protest too loudly, there had been Talana, but the Syreen were so close to humans anyway), or the first time ZEX had called him "love" or "my".
"... I don't think I'm interested in teaching what you want to learn," Zelnick choked out after a pause, feeling like a supernova had gone off under his skin; he didn't trust his voice further than that, right now.
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As ZEX had said before, pride and vanity were two traits that VUX were known to possess, and despite what he may have thought, he was no exception. The fact that he was sure his irresistable magnetism had been the cause of the human's discomfort and nothing else was proof enough of that.
ZEX was sure he'd made progress, and he knew when to retreat. He would have to continue his attempt later, when the Captain was more receptive. A few limpets at a time. His smile didn't falter, and his voice was still as smooth and pleasant as before. "Of course, I suppose it's a bit much all at once, isn't it? Diplomatic relations can be so complicated. We can talk about something else, if you like."
He still felt deeply pleased with himself, and it showed.
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"I did want to talk to you about something," Zelnick said, voice still not-quite-normal, but stronger than it had been. "Later on, I'll be working with a couple of other people-- I think the plan was to try to make gunpowder, or at least put some use to the supplies Yuber and I found last night. But I don't know how much you know about chemistry, or if any of it would even apply here...?" He left it as a vague question.
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The Captain's question did slightly dampen ZEX's mood, though. "I'm afraid such things are before my time. Combustive weapons of that kind are not used much in interstellar warfare. Although I can operate all manner of weapons, building one is a different matter." Particularly a VUX weapon, which ZEX knew was out of the question, and he wasn't taking his clumsy human body into account. "Although, what supplies did you find, exactly?"
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"That's a lot of material. Where did you come across it?" ZEX asked, honestly curious. "I would think the staff here may search rooms on occasion... I assume you hid them in a safe place." Of course he would have. His human Captain may have been tactless and blunt and charmingly oblivious, but he wasn't stupid. "Once you create your gunpowder... how do you plan on utilizing it?"
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What he would do with his gunpowder? "It's probably of most use as an explosive, or as a smoke bomb, or to vaporize more toxic things. Hopefully, it'll be a more... intense deterrent for some of the creatures that run around at night than just a flashlight or knife." He hoped so, anyway-- he didn't really want to face something that a minor explosion couldn't shake.
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