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On the Apex [ Nymphetamine and DudeGuy ]

Nodding to his wave, she smiled. Inside she was cheering. She could go for some drinks tonight! It was exciting and she needed some alcohol to help ease the adrenaline away. Emily passed him as he talked to the Coronal, before heading back to her room. Her barrack box was sitting there, and she removed her jacket again, folding it neatly onto the bed. Tonight... she was going to party. Yes, the officers and crew aboard the ship had extra pairs of clothes, they had civilian attire for these such occasions. Emily nearly squealed in happiness, able to go out drinking. She could already almost feel the smooth liquid trickling down her throat..

And so, the woman allowed her tiny feminine side to come out. She slipped out of her sweaty tank-top, removing her combat boots and placing them before her bed. She slipped her tool belt off, removed her pants and sighed, looking down at her frame. She pouted a bit, she never had that supermodel-like look, always too short. Never the less, she unhinged her barrack box and sorted through the clothes, picking out a nice pair of black pants, a nice blouse and a belt, to tie at her waist. A noise startled her.

It was his voice booming through her door and she knew it was him, so Emily opened it for him, "Yes, Captain? Something you need?" While asking him, she removed her dog-tags, placing them on top of her folded jacket. Slightly antsy, she was kind of rocking on her bare heels, not quite finished dressing. Her hat was still on her head at that! "Me and the others are going down to the docks for drinks, care to join us?"
 
    • Ezra was startled when Emily opened the door. Not because she opened the door, not because she was there, but because of the clothing she was wearing. Civilian attire. This was the first time he had ever seen her in such clothing, at least, the first time he remembered seeing her in such clothing. Normally, she was spotted in her uniform. It went without saying that Emily looked. . .irresistible at this point. That was when he decided that he would go after her no matter what. He didn't know what her type was, he didn't know what she wanted in life, but he knew that he wanted her. Right now, that was all that mattered in the mind of the Captain.

      "I was just dropping by to say hello. We haven't really. . .you know, talked since. . .earlier," Ezra said, fumbling over his words. When he hit on women, he was usually very good at maintaining his composure. He was articulate, suave, and very good at stringing sentences together. Rolet made him feel nervous though. She knew him well, and she knew every move that he had. If it were too obvious that he were coming onto her, she would be able to pick up on it. Though it shouldn't have, it made him feel a little on the uneasy side. He cleared his throat and looked away from her momentarily, before his eyes shifted back toward her. He was trying not to stare at her too much, but he just couldn't help it.

      "Actually, I was just wondering if you wanted to come out with me - you know, just the two of us going out and getting a drink," he said. It wasn't quite a date he was asking her about, but a friendly bottle or two. They had gone out like this before, talking, laughing, that sort of thing. If anything more came of this outing with the Major, Ezra would not at all be opposed to it though. Forcing something would be a very bad idea though. He knew that after witnessing first hand what she was like when she was not happy. His head throbbed at the thought, an internal reminder of the pain he felt from being whacked in the head by her wrench.[/list:u][/list:u]
 
Emily looked back at him, he seemed startled there, she was about to ask if he was alright, when he spoke. She tried to contain her snicker, "Haven't spoken since an hour ago? Mhmm, yes, quite a dire situation indeed." She said, a soft giggle passing her full lips as she waved him inside of her room. She began to rummage through her box, looking for.. aha! Triumphantly, Emily pulled the thin ankle socks from the bin, slipping them onto her pale, rather elegant looking little feet. Before slipping on some comfortable little flats, they went well with her pants. She spun her hips, looking down at the back of her legs, yes, checking herself out. "Hm, decent enough." She muttered under her breath about and to herself.

In the midst of removing her hat, he spoke again. A smile lit her tiny face as she plucked the pins from her strawberry locks. "You and I drinking? Like old times, right? Sure! I'm game." Pulling the last few bobby pins from her hair she laughed. Shaking out her hair in front of her. "You're usually more entertaining than the mechanic boys, all they want is a beer and an ass, if you know what I mean. You I can at least talk to." She noted, running her fingers through her hair. The long strands hung over her face, as she was bent over combing her hair out with her spider-like hands. Spinning to face him she flipped her hair back over her head, letting the mane of lace-ie hair settle.

"It's been ages since I've had a beer, in civi'es at that!" She was so excited. Major Rolet straightened herself out to her full five foot stature and looked over at the captain, giving him a slight nod. Make-up-less and without products in her hair, her natural look was so appealing. Her skin looked soft and real not caked in ash, her eyes popped without the need of dark shadows. "Shall we go?"
 
    • Had an hour really gone by since they last spoke? It felt like it had been so much longer than that. This situation had taken a quick turn towards embarrassing for Ezra, but Emily sure seemed to be getting a kick out of the situation. The Captain nervously began to scratch the back of his head as his long time friend rushed about her quarters like a bee, buzzing about and searching for something. When she finally found what she was looking for, she seemed to jump for joy. For someone that he thought was a male all this time, Ezra could not help but notice how feminine his friend was. Not just appearance wise, but personality wise as well. She was surprisingly cute, something he could not help but think as she slipped her socks onto her feet.

      If not for her voice keeping him connected to reality, Ezra just might have gone over to her and done something he would have regretted. Rushing into the physical aspects of relationships was something that he was all to guilty of doing. Though it was true that he and Emily had been friends for years now, they had never really moved into the romantic aspects of a relationship. That was something that Ezra hoped to change. When she mentioned how most of the men in the maintenance department only cared about beer and ass, he felt a little guilty because that was usually all he cared about when he went out drinking. Except when he was with her. She was the one person he met in his lifetime that he could go and get a beer with, only to end up having a meaningful conversation. Certainly, that meant something. Didn't it?

      A smile settled on Ezra's face as Emily practically burst with excitement. Again, when she turned back to look at him, he could not help but notice how good she looked. "Yeah, lets," he replied. The Captain left the ship alongside the Major, the two of them chatting about this and that, making small talk for the most part. The took one of the buses on the base into town, and hopped off to head into the first bar that they saw. Once they were inside, Ezra bought a couple of beers for the two of them, then turned his attention to Emily who seemed to be rather excited about such a simple outing.

      "You know, I told the Colonel what you did. He was very impressed," Ezra said softly.[/list:u][/list:u]
 
She finished dressing and prepping herself. Running her fingers though her long light hair, she smiled over her shoulder at him. She admired him, not only as a co-worker, an amazing pilot and an amazing leader, but as a friend. He was too kind for his own good, too smart to not be sociably awkward at times and... much too good looking. Sometimes it drove her crazy. Like all men, women had needs, sexual needs. Working along-side this rugged figure sometimes made Emily squirm when it came to having to fulfill those needs. Her attraction to him was merely physical, their emotional level was only friends.. Emily couldn't even fathom being.. more with him.

The major looked up at the man walking at her side, her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed, "There was no need for that, Cap-- I mean Ezra. I did what I had to, you all would've done the same in my situation. I don't want to seem like a glory hog." She said, twiddling her thumbs as she headed into the bar. Emily was never one for theatrics, or showing off. She didn't boast (unless we were talking about her baby, that's a bit different), nor did she find bragging much use either. The showed up at the bar, and Emily took the seat beside the Captain. Beer in hand, she looked over the sea of heads. Peering around. A frown touched her face, "Never very many attractive young men around." She said, with a bit of a whine to her tone.

The woman took a small swig of her beer, she tried to hide the fact that the aftertaste was not quite to her liking, as she wasn't much of a beer drinker. She was a bit of a light weight at that. Ask any of the other mechanics, and they'd have a story about the Major. Her fiasco's trying to get back home.. she usually ended up getting carried home from the mess hall to her living space. Major Rolet lived on the base in the Mother Ship, with no family and her relatives on a strange status with her.. she liked the solitude.
 
    • "I can't say that everyone would have run directly into oncoming fire against a bunch of pirates shooting to kill to do what you did," Ezra replied. He was complimenting her. She had done a very brave thing, and was obviously much brighter than she gave herself credit for. She had been able to hack into the enemy ship and shut it down, and did so rather quickly for someone who didn't know what they were doing. The thing that impressed him the most was the way that she took the pirate that tried to hold her up out and got back onto the ship all in one piece. Whether it was skill or luck that brought her back to them, Ezra was both happy and impressed. Emily would end up getting the recognition and credit that she deserved from the higher ups.

      Hearing the way that she whined about there not being any attractive young men around actually hurt a little bit. Did she not find him attractive at all? "How could you say something like that with me sitting right here beside you," Ezra said, making his thoughts known. His tone of voice conveyed how hurt he actually was by her statement. After all of the time that they had known each other, did she really have no feelings for him at all? Not even a mild attraction? Ezra chugged half of his mug of beer before setting it done on the counter in front of him. He took a moment and made sure that his mouth was empty before he finished the rest of the mug. Beating around the bush with Rolet was useless. A direct approach would most likely get things rolling. In an awkward sense, but rolling no less.

      "You know, when I saw you without your jacket on and finally noticed that you were a woman, I was really happy. The truth is, I've liked you for a long time. I just didn't say anything because I thought you were a man. And. . .well, it should go without saying that I'm glad you aren't. That would have just been weird," Ezra said as he motioned for the bar tender to fill the mug up again. "So yeah. . .what I'm saying is I like you. Not just as a person or a friend but. . .you know." Now that he said that much, all Ezra could do was sit beside Emily and wait for her response, however good or bad it may have been.[/list:u][/list:u]
 
"Eeeh.." She shrugged it off, "I was dropped on my head, only reason I was dumb enough to do that.." Emily smiled up at him, "But thank you never the less." She said, nodding her head in thanks, taking another small swig of her beer. Something, hidden, and deep inside her was glad he complimented her, glad he appreciated what she did for them. How she risked her like working with things that could and had in the past hurt her badly. Nothing was fatal unless it went really really bad, but as she picked her own crew, she made sure that crap wouldn't happen!

The Major looked over at him, blinking at his appall to what she said. "Oh! No no no, Captain, you're.. well.. my captain. I'd be breaking an oath trying to take you home with me. Don't worry, you're a good looking one yourself." She covered up, laughing and rubbing the back of her head nervously. She sighed and brought the beer to her lips once more, drinking it deeply. She realized that was a dumb thing to say, mostly around him, but her statement stood true. Being part of his fleet on his crew, she couldn't be 'with' him, hell, she could go to prison for even sleeping with him! It helped keep things less 'tense' on the ships. Though sometimes, the sexual frustration was worse. Try working with five men, all who haven't seen their girlfriends/ wives/ lovers in months..

His words brought her back, and she looked up at him. She blinked, completely shaken by him. For a few minutes, the woman just stared at his face, before stubbornly shaking her head, again and again, slipping from her bar-stool onto her feet. "I apologize Captain Ezra, you know fraternization is illegal on these ships. I'm going back to my quarters. I will... see you in the morning.." She couldn't have anything to do with that! She placed her mug of beer down, slipped some money onto the table, and walked out.
 
    • "Well. . .that ended well," Ezra said as he stared down into his mug. He was well aware of those rules and regulations about fraternization among crew members on the same ship. He knew that as long as he and Emily were on the same ship that the two of them would never be able to be anything but friends. While a part of him was happy that he was on the same vessel as her, the other part of him hated it. It seemed like he would never know what she thought of him. Beyond her considering him to be attractive himself. He sighed heavily, hating being bound by duty to doing something.

      After finishing the second mug, Ezra ordered some hard liquor. His drink of choice? Vodka. About an hour later, he stumbled out of the bar and into the street. Somehow, someway, he made it back to the ship. How exactly? he didn't know. Maybe one of the other crew men got him there, or maybe he made it back himself. Whatever the case was, he was home.

      The following morning, when he woke, the first thing that Ezra did was head into the bathroom to empty the contents of his stomach. Two or three times. His head ached, and the echo of the blood shooting through his temples didn't help anything. Ezra took a shower, spending most of the time holding his head tightly, trying to keep his head from exploding. When he was finished, he changed into his uniform and stumbled out into the hallway. His feet carried him down to the mess hall where he got one of the others to prepare him a cup of coffee, which he gratefully drank down. He then got another mug of coffee, and took a pair of pills. They helped him get over his hang overs faster.

      Today, they were to head back to the mother ship and standby for their next assignment. When they got there, Ezra planned on going to see his superior officers about the situation with their ship. They Apex was a wonderful piece of equipment, but it simply wasn't enough. They needed a more powerful vessel. And some better equipment on board.

      Then he remembered what happened in the bar last night. How could he have said such things to Rolet? He had to have been out of his mind. And there was no doubt in his mind that things would be awkward between the two of them.[/list:u][/list:u]
 
Emily wandered back to the ship, taking her time, she walked instead of the ride offered to her. Rubbing her neck she sighed, cracking her neck as she did so. Why was it so confusing? Why did she have to always make things awkward. The woman sighed heavily once more. When she was back at her quarters she laid down, no one would bother her. She knew the rules, she poked the end of a sock from the door, it meant; I'm with another, don't come in. Even as it was a lie.

The Major laid there for hours, thinking about.. just things. How she could've handled the situation, to what she planned on eating for dinner when she got 'home'. Soon, sleep took over her, washing over her like a wave. She slept soundly, rolling over only a few times. And awoke to her face on the floor. Spittle was on her cheek and her hair was starting to suffocate her. She groaned and sat up, with only one beer in her.. well half a beer. She was fine. She pulled the sock back into her room and dressed. She finished pinning her hair back after thirty minutes.

Walking the corridors of the ship felt weird, and nervously she rubbed her arm. Though her wander was interrupted by the Coronal from the night before, who proceeded to ask her to dine with him. For employee purposes only. So, there the Major went, to the dining hall. Not usually one to eat in the morning, the woman settled for a bran-muffin with fruits littering the top and a mug of warm coffee. She could smell the caffeine. She took gentle sips as she spoke with the Coronal, who was congratulating her for her efforts. The woman waved him down, trying to keep her blush to a minimum.

As the Coronal began to ramble on about when he was young, the woman's eyes moved over the sea of heads in the mess. She nibbled on her lower lip, the wrapper of the muffin being folded again, and again, and again in her tiny hands. He was there.. and he was in pain. She could see the hang-over, see the headache, and she winced.

Feeling guilty she put her head down, looking away from him. "I apologize Sir, I need to check the engine before we head out." And she was excused. Then, Emily did just that, crawling into the 'passage' to check the engine.
 
    • Ezra was always liked this after he had been rejected. It hurt so much more this time because Emily knew him, and she knew how he was looking for someone to be happy together with. He couldn't ever find a civilian woman who would be willing to date him regularly, and there weren't many people that he could see in the military legally. Being shot down by her may have been for the best, but that didn't stop it from hurting so much. And so, things between himself and his best friend were going to be awkward for a long time. And that was just what he needed, to be unable to talk to the one person that he always talked to these things about.

      After taking those pills, Ezra was feeling a little better but he knew that he was in no condition to fly right now. He would let another pilot handle taking them back to the mother ship. He would just sit back and supervise what was happening. And if it came down to it, he'd let the Vice Captain of the ship take over his duties and he would go lay back down in his bed. Without a word, he rose from his seat and stumbled out into the hall, unaware of the fact that Emily was just there in the Mess Hall a few minutes ago.

      Ezra flopped down in the seat and motioned for the bridge to be as quiet as it could be - yes, there was a motion for this. The engine fired up as the platform moved to the runway, then the ship was pushed out into space. After gliding off from the initial thrust, the ship's thrusters kicked in and the Apex was on it's way back home. Their mother ship was a part of the network of ships that circled the earth just beyond the colonies. The flight would take about three hours since he wasn't at the helm, but that was time that he could use. To sleep that was.

      Once the ship was on course and all of the proper checks were cleared, Ezra got up and headed back to his room. Or back to what he thought was his room. Somehow, he ended up down near the maintenance department. Seeing the sign on the wall that read maintenance thoroughly confused him since it hadn't been his intention to come here. Especially now that things were going to be so awkward between himself and Major Rolet. It would probably be for the best that he just went back to his room and slept his hang over off.[/list:u][/list:u]
 
Now things were awkward. The woman mused as she fine-tuned the engine of the transportation craft. As things usually became in these such situations. The woman was fiddling with the engine, making sure it would be fine for the return trip home. Now, in her little passage, Emily was hard to see, her combat boots poked out a bit, but barely. She was hovering over the engine when some people entered the room. She heard them all silence at the same time, and she assumed someone with a hang-over was in the room.

Then the engine started up. She felt it move, under her gloved hands. It started up slowly, then gained speed, heating up quickly. She felt the hot air on her face, and it didn't help with her nausea. The woman put her hands on the sides of the compartment, steadying herself from shaking too much. She groaned softly, her stomach twisting and churning from the feel of the take off. "Jesus.." She whispered.

Soon though, they were flying straight, pulling herself back out of the tunnel, she glared at the startled pilots. "Warn me next time." She said, her face a greenish tint. The woman left the room, trying not to stomp her feet, though obviously upset. Her mind was plagued with the thoughts of Ezra, should she just.. change ships? Deal with it? Or what? She was confused and not feeling well. The woman walked down the halls towards the Mechanic wing.. and there he was. "Oh.."

"I'm just going to my room." She said, turning herself away, her face a light pink. Brushing her fingers over the peak of her hat, she sighed softly.
 
    • As if on queue, Emily came walking out from the Maintenance Area. It was a shame that she had to wear such a uniform, as it covered her body up to the point where it was impossible to see just how good she looked. By the same token, it had to be for the best that things were like this. Being the only woman on the crew on a ship with nineteen guys who were all, in one way or another, sexually frustrated, seeing her walking around in anything that fit her like her civilian clothing would have been torture on them all. And it was quite possible that one of them might have done something they would have ended up regretting.

      Of course, one of those nineteen men had already done something like that. Shoved his foot right in his mouth to be more precise. He was attracted to Emily, not just physically, but as a person. He had been for a long time now. But protocol, rules, and laws all said that they couldn't have a romantic relationship. Not as long as they were on the same ship, not as long as they were in the same fleet. And Ezra was sure that Emily still wouldn't want to pursue anything with someone like him if they were in a position where they could do just that. She was just like all of those other people that he tried to start something with. It seemed as if he were just the kind of guy who was meant to be alone.

      It was obvious to him, even more she opened her mouth, that things were going to be strange. She didn't even say hello, or good morning, not could she look him in the eye. She just said that she was going to her room. "Yeah. I guess I'm doing the same," he replied. Without waiting for a reply, Ezra turned and stumbled back up the same hall that he had just come down. He'd been going to his home to rest.[/list:u][/list:u]
 
Emily blushed and rubbed her heels together, looking up at the man. "Wait. Captain.." She called after him, as he turned away. Emily had a strange look on her face, her eyes looked glazed over, thoughtful, her mouth not in it's natural smile. "I'm sorry.. about last night. What I said was harsh." She said, trying to explain what she meant, her hands falling to her sides, sticking deep into her pockets. She looked up at his face, searching for his eyes. "I mean... perhaps... we should.. talk? Like adults about this?"

Though her eyes traveled over his stumbling frame, "Maybe.. when you're not so hung-over though." She noted, pointing a finger at him, swirling it into a circle. "Go rest, see you when we dock." Major Rolet half heatedly saluted the Captain before she continued to her own room, where she laid herself down in her bed, after kicking off her combat boots. Wiggling her toes in her fuzzy wool socks. The major began to speak to herself, she found, speaking aloud was much more soothing, "What do I hope to accomplish? By speaking to him. I know his darkest secrets, mostly about women.. why would this make a difference?" The woman sighed heavily. "Maybe I should tell him I plan on leaving this ship? Maybe.. oh I don't know.." She sighed.

Yes, the major loved her team, her crew, her odd family type surroundings.. but she strives to be bigger, better! The woman wanted to, someday, be a Coronal. But as a transport vessel's mechanic? There was no way she could achieve that.

Another sigh left her, and then a yawn. She stretched out her tiny body across the bed, before her eyes shut, and she fell into a bit of a troubled dream.
 
    • Talking when he wasn't hung over would definitely be for the best. Right now, his head was still pounding and he was feeling. . .well, bad. Really bad. Standing up was a chore and walking was practically impossible. Frankly, even he was surprised that he was moving around as he was. Ezra figured they would wander around until they found each other after they docked, so he turned and headed back to his room after returning Emily's halfhearted salute with a halfhearted salute of his own. Once he reached his quarters, he slipped inside of his room and directly to his bed. Before just falling onto it, as he almost had, he took a moment to contemplate his action. If he did just collapse, he would make himself dizzy, and he would feel sick. Instead, he sat down on the bed, then slowly rested his head against the pillows. This was much better than falling down on the pillow, and more comfortable than slamming down against the mattress.

      The Captain almost fell asleep immediately.

      He woke up about three hours later feeling much better than he had before. The ship was just pulling into the port, and thankfully, the Vice Captain of the vessel was going to be giving the mission report. This would leave him with plenty of time to go and speak with Emily about. . .whatever she wanted to talk about. After last night, and the brief moment they spoke earlier, Ezra wasn't optimistic about this meeting. Not in the least. Then again, with how awkward things had become after he told her about his interest in her, he wasn't expecting anything good to come of this situation anyway. At least by going into the conversation with his expectations set low, he wouldn't be surprised if things ended badly. If things went well? Then it would be a pleasant surprise.

      Once again, the captain headed over to the major's room and knocked on the door. If she were in there, she would answer. If not, he'd walk around the ship until he found her.[/list:u][/list:u]
 
The Major was sleeping pretty soundly, her chest rising and falling in steady rhythm, before she heard the knock on the door. She jolted up, the blood rushing to her head and causing spots to flicker in her vision. With a groan, the woman fixed her hat and slipped her boots back on. Emily was quite surprised the jolt of the ship docking wasn't enough to wake her. Usually sleeping on the ship alone was a chore. Major Rolet walked to her door, sleep still in her eyes. She opened it, seeing a rather depressed Captain Ezra at her door. Looking up at him, she smiled. Nervously. "Let's walk?" Her voice quivered, making her statement more of a question.

The woman was silent, for a few minutes, trying to piece it all together in her mind. "Sir.." She began, but she lost the thought. Turning back again to look at her feet, she continued to walk. Finally, Major Rolet stopped completely, turning to face the Captain. "Look Ezra.. I.. am flattered at how you feel-- or think you feel, about me. Truly. But.. I think you've got it wrong. I think you are just.. acting like this towards me because of the friendship we have, which, if I remember correctly, you've never had like this before." She started, trying not to confuse herself. "What.. I'm trying to say is.. I think that this 'feeling' you have towards me isn't real." Removing her hat, she flattened her hair down, and put it back on. "I mean.. c'mon.. it's me." She laughed, nervously.

Sighing, the woman was glad to get that part off her chest, she didn't want to tell him what her alternative was.. leaving this fleet, she meant. That way he couldn't confuse this friendship for ... more than that.
 
    • "Is that what you really think? I thought that, out of anyone, you would be able to understand me more than anyone else. You'd know if I were joking or even confused about something like this. And I mean, you've been there when I've hit on other people. It's nothing something that I have a problem with. I had to down a mug just to be able to begin to tell you what I felt, that's. . .not something I normally have to do. And yes, yes it is you. What's so hard to believe about that? Before I even took a good look at you, I felt this way about you. I thought you were a man for Christ's sake, and I still had these feelings. But that's just because I don't know what I'm feeling right? I'm confused?

      "Well then, I guess you know what you're talking about. This is my first time having a friendship like this and I am probably just confused. Sorry for wasting your time with my nonsense,"       Ezra said. He suddenly turned and started walking in the opposite direction. Out of everyone, he thought that Emily would have understood his feelings at least somewhat. And he certainly thought that she would be the last one who wrote his feelings off as something else so easily. Coming here to speak with Emily felt like a huge mistake - this was definitely a conversation that he could had done without. If nothing else, this just hurt more than her just leaving the bar last night without even glancing back at him. It would have been better for her to just have ignored him than for her to want to say such things.

      So where was Ezra going? To get hammered again. Sure it was the middle of the day and he just got over a nasty hang over, but nothing took him away from his problems like downing a lot of alcohol and passing out somewhere. Yeah, that actually sounded very good right now. These kinds of drinking binges weren't uncommon for Ezra. In fact, they were much too common, so much so that he was often in danger of losing his job as a Captain altogether and being forced into some kind of rehab. Of course, that would earn him a discharge, but he didn't really care. Maybe he could find someone who would give him the time of day if he didn't have a job like this one.[/list:u][/list:u]
 
Emily bit her lip, listening to him speak to her. Her head hung low, eyes barely open, looking at the shiny tip of her boots. What he said, made her feel bad, guilty even. Finally, he pushed her over the edge, and her teeth grit, as he turned from her. She was trembling, fists clenched at her sides, her shoulders so tight it was painful. "How could you have felt for me?" Finally, she looked up at him, her blue eyes were brimmed with tears, her lower lip trembling. "You didn't even know my fucking name!" She screamed at him, glad that they were the only ones on board. "You know nothing about me! You don't know, so how can you care?!" She was trying not to shriek, but her unsteady and quivering voice was making that hard.

"But fine! You're the victim of my bitchiness. Fine. Fine, fine, fine." She repeated, turning from him, her nails were biting into the soft skin of her hands, a droplet of blood gathering under her nail. "I'm leaving the fleet, Ezra. You wont have to deal with it again." She called after him, slamming her hat against the wall and leaving it there as she left the ship. In such a hurry, the woman shouldered past the Coronal, trying not to let him see the pain in her. Yes, she'd hurt him, but in the same the wound he inflicted on her was so much more. He claimed to have feelings for her, though, until then he hadn't even known her name, didn't know her past, her fears, her worries. Nothing.

The Major rushed to the living space on the Mothership, not even signing out to the desk, all they'd seen was a blur of green and blonde. The woman ran.. and ran.. and ran, until she stopped, hands on her knees, before her apartment like living space. Tears had freely trailed on her face, but now she stubbornly wiped them off of her ivory cheeks. Entering her 'home', she sank into a familiar chair, curling up and staring at the wall, trying to keep herself from crying again..

"It's not fair.."
 
    • The Apex did not just lose Major Emily Rolet that day, it also lost it's Captain, a Mr. Ezra Vaughn, as well. Rather than getting a dishonorable discharge, he turned in his resignation and went to his favorite local bar. He had been upset that he had just been written off by the person he finally worked up the courage to tell, but he had said some hurtful things to her. And she was right. He didn't even know what her name was, he didn't know anything about her. But there was something about her that was so simple and charming that he wanted to get to know her better. He wanted to see what could have happened between the two of them, but it looked like he ruined all chances of such a thing. Not to mention the one real friendship that he had in his life.

      What better way to forget about all of those things that to drink himself under the table, he could not think of. So what did he do? He drank himself right under the table. After that, he got up and drank some more. Then he stumbled out into the street in a drunken stupor looking disheveled and smelling of hard liquor. Thankfully, there was still some reasonable level of rational in his mind that allowed him to make it to his own 'home'. How exactly? He wouldn't have been able to tell anyone if they were holding a gun up to his head threatening to blow his brains out. But when he got home, he felt horrible. Needless to say, the toilet seat became his pillow so that he could have easy access to the toilet bowl when he needed to vomit.

      Somewhere in the back of his mind, he told himself that he needed to stop doing this. Every time something happened in his life that he couldn't handle on his own, he went out and got drunk. Before he knew it, he had become somewhat of an alcoholic. That thought alone made him uncomfortable. Almost as much as the unsettling rumble in his stomach that caused him to vomit once again. Almost.[/list:u][/list:u]
 
Though, poor Major Rolet, had not the guts to turn in her forms, instead, she wallowed in her self-pity and pain in her bed room for hours. Her phone rang, once or twice, but the distraught woman merely stared at the phone. Soon, hunger took over her, and she ate. Though, not much and it fought in the way down. Swallowing water to force the food down, she realized it was wrong. Everything; was wrong. Drinking deeply again, and again, the woman finally managed to re-hydrate from the tears she shed, not over him, but the words he said, and her own rebuttal. "This is wrong." She mumbled, as she sat in front of her television, the news on, but the TV muted. In her pain, the woman merely tossed on a pair of pants and a shirt, nothing special.

"Completely, and utterly wrong. But for who? He offended me, and I him. Perhaps.." The woman sighed. "I don't know what to do.." Her eyes followed the movement on the screen effortlessly. They were talking about.. something unimportant with her life. Her baby blue orbs traveled onto a picture frame, sitting on the desk in the back of her room. With a grunt and a sigh, Emily pushed herself from the couch, lurching onto the floor. Stumbling to her desk, she picked up the picture. Of course, it brought tears to her eyes once more, but she did not cry from sadness, but laughter, remembering the day this picture was taken..

It had been their first mission on the Apex, Emily was not yet a Major, receiving her star days later. But there she was, a scared, timid, trying-not-to-laugh female mechanic. And the Captain, whom she had to admit, she admired and adored, thought very kindly of in all to most aspects, who had his arm over her shoulder, a drunken haze in his eyes. Beside them were other crew members, Richard, Thomas, Smithy (She didn't know his real name) and others. They were in a bar on the Mothership, still in their uniforms, drunk and cheering..

"I need to apologize to him."
 
    • Ezra had fallen asleep on the toilet seat for about two hours. He woke with a hangover worse than the one he had that morning. By now, his stomach was empty, and he was thankful because he was more than tired of puking. His head hurt, quite a bit. When he stood up to move, her felt dizzy momentarily, then sick. At the most, all he could do was gag a few times. Slowly, he walked into his room, took his jacket off, then held it in front of his face to block the light that was coming from outside. He closed the blinds, unplugged his clock, turned off the overhead lights, and closed the main door into his room, making sure everything was pitch black before he laid down.

      He couldn't help but think about Emily now. The day she first came on board the ship was as clear to him as anything else. After introducing herself to the crew, and having a brief chat with him, she hurried into the maintenance area to take a look at things rather than going to her room to put her stuff away. Almost immediately, she seemed to make plans for things she could do to help improve the upkeep of the ship. And sure enough, as soon as she was settled in, she got to work. Their first mission was to carry weapons from the mother ship here to a war zone a great distance away. On their way to the combat vessel, they were locked onto by a small fighter.

      A former fighter pilot himself, Ezra shifted back into that old mentality of doing anything and everything he could to stay out of the enemies sights. So, he ended up pushing the ship all the way to the brink. In the background, he could still hear Rolet shouting at him, almost puking, and shouting once more. In the end, they got away with just a few bullet holes in the armor of the vessel, but he ended up taking more than a few blows from her wrench. The maintenance team was busy for about five hours straight after that, trying to get the ship back into working condition.

      When they got back to the mother ship, they all went out drinking to celebrate making it back and the new addition to the crew. And come to think of it, he had known that Rolet was a woman. Everything pointed to it - her shrill voice as she shouted, the way she walked. . .how could he have forgotten such a thing? The former captain was all too ashamed of himself for forgetting something so important, and for hurting his friend so much. As far as he knew, anything and everything that there had been between the two of them was long past. The one good thing that he had in his life, and he had gone and ruined it. . .[/list:u][/list:u]
 
Emily sighed, yanking (with some violence) the chair back from the desk, before plopping herself down in it. Her hand heavy on her brow. She flicked open the thin mechanical devise before her. It had a keyboard and a mouse, but the screen was less of a.. screen and more of a hologram. Never the less, turning the equipment on, she watched it load, her per-set color and everything. There was a network (a series of networks really) that it automatically connected to. It hummed lightly, and like it was a machine, Major Rolet relaxed feeling the warmth of it's insides working, the music in the humming of it. For a moment.. she closed her eyes.

Then the baby blues re-opened there was hard definition in them. She had something she needed to fix, it was her job, this was a job like never before. And she would mend it, as a doctor of machines, a creator of devices and a master of mechanics, she vowed to fix what was broken, shattered and torn.

That was their relationship, as friends, as possible lovers.. as anything. She would fix it.

And so, the Major opened up the mailing system, she scrolled through the names until Vaughn was neatly placed after the "To:". A nervous and heavy sigh left the lithe woman, before her slightly trembling hands laid on the keyboard.

Dear Ezra..

Dear friend, I feel terrible for what has passed in the last few days. I have no right to be angry at you, for your naive-ness. You are a dear friend to me, I adore you as much more than just my Captain. You must believe this, the Apex, it's crew and I all need you in our lives. Perhaps not in the way you think though. Please, do not be angry, do not drink yourself into a coma either!
Can you understand my confusion with this, sir? My anger? If not.. I shall explain; You did not even know my name, and that hurt, it wounded me. As amusing as it was, for you to think I was male, deep inside it stung. And then, the moment you see I have breasts, you claim to have strong feelings for me? I do not doubt it is possible, but.. true? I have doubts on that. Please, understand how much it must hurt for a man whom calls you his best friend to know nothing about you? Ezra, you are very dear to me, a very true friend who does care about me, to a degree but..

Her hands hovered over her keyboard, a lump in her throat.. she finished the letter, closed it and sent it. The end read:

...perhaps.. over time.. we could think on this?

For now, let things return to what they were. I expect to see you, dressed, and ready on the Apex in two days Ezra.

Your dear friend.
Major Rolet.
 
    • Ezra had been resting peacefully. The lights were off, the room was silent, this place was damn near perfect. It would look as if he were gone once again to anyone who came by. His rest was greatly disturbed by the sound of a loud beep that shot through the air. Almost immediately, he bolted upright and covered his ears. Someone was sending him a message - his guess was that it was one of his superiors inquiring about why he chose to resign at such a time. The entire time, he was thinking of different excuses he could give to get the boss-man off of his back. He took a seat at his desk and turned the 'monitor' on, immediately recoiling in pain as the light from the holographic image blinded him. When he saw the message, he was surprised to see that it was from Emily of all people. So certain was he that he ruined whatever there ever could have been between the two of them that he assumed he would probably never hear from her again.

      After turning the brightness of the screen down, Ezra sat back and read Emily's message slowly, making sure that he took in every detail. The message that he would sen back to her would most likely crush her in some sense, but it would be for the best that he went ahead and told her everything now rather than waiting until later. Knowing her, she would show up at his doorstep just to whack him in the head with one of her wrenches.

      Emily,

      Regretfully, you won't be seeing me dressed, in uniform, and ready to go on the Apex in two days. I've already resigned from my position as Captain, and from the military altogether. Though I doubt they will let me go so easily, as of now, I am no longer your Captain. Even if they persisted, I don't think that I could go back so easily. There are. . .a lot of things that I need to work on, myself being one. I know that there is a lot about you that I don't know, but I do know that you want to be more than just a mechanic. We never really did spend much time talking about you when we were together, as I spent most of my time talking about myself and my own problems, but I do remember you mentioning that you dreamed of becoming someone great.

      With the promotion that is coming your way, the one you earned by saving out lives back on Earth and risking your own, keep on moving up. As always, I'm rooting for you,

      Ezra Vaughn

      And it was left at that. He did not address his feelings or his thoughts on the matter of them anymore. After putting himself out there and being shot down, he wasn't ready to open up about the matter anymore. His timing in telling her how he felt about her may not have been the best, and his ignorance didn't help anything either. But the fact was, he had feelings for her, and that they wouldn't go away anytime soon.[/list:u][/list:u]
 
The woman waited, anxiously at her desk, fiddling with pens, papers, doodling on the desk itself. She hoped he hadn't drunk himself into a coma, or went to some strange woman's house for the night, to wake up robbed the next morning. The thought brought a sudden pain into her chest, something she'd never felt before. It twisted in her chest, over her breast, like a knife. Major Rolet blanched, her face was pale and her eyes wide. A sudden realization touched her..

She--

The beep of her monitor tore her from her thoughts. Her train of thought, gone. Her heart was beating frantically behind her breast. "Oh please.." Would he at least reason with her? As it turned out, as she read the e-mail. He would not. He would rather choose to stand in the shadows and observe this time around. She seethed, again, with rage. Her baby blue's dark with anger, narrowed as her fingers hammered her keyboard. Her replying message was nothing more than a warning.

No. Ezra, this is something I will not allow. I will see you on the Apex in two days time. Even if I must drag you there by your hair! I refuse to let this crew lose not only an amazing Captain! But a dear friend. Be warned that if you do not show up for duty, I will come get you.

And I will not be gentle.

Emily wrote with no formalities, her hands shaking violently as she hit the send button, throwing herself back onto her couch. Closing her eyes. For moments she listened to the growl of her stomach, too lazy, too shocked and too upset to move from her comfortable seating area. It took her a few heavy sighs and some reasoning within herself to get up, and move to the kitchen. Where she prepared a quick meal with clean, sprayed off veggies. A simple tossed salad. Which she enjoyed from her seat on the counter.
 
    • Now he was just confused. Was she mad? Was she not? What did she expect him to do after her outburst earlier? Sure, Ezra loved his job, but without Rolet on the ship, he didn't want to be there anymore. And with a job like the one he had, there was no one around who wanted to stay in a relationship with him. The pay was good, but he would still be well taken care of after leaving the forces. With credentials, accomplishments, and his rank, he could get a top-of-the-line civilian job and still take good care of himself. Rolet was soon going to earn a promotion, and without him there on the ship, there was a chance that her position would be a higher one than it would be with him there.

      And he wasn't vital to the operation of the ship. He was a top notch pilot who did some crazy things, but outside of that, he was rather slack. They didn't need him as much as Rolet tried to make it sound like they did. It seemed as if it were just for the best that he left the ship, it worked out for the best for everyone. It had to have been too late by now, the paper work would have reached their commanding officer, and as Ezra said, he probably wouldn't be let go so easily, but there was always a chance that he would just be let go.

      So what could he possibly do? How could he respond to Rolet's last message without her coming down here to attack him right now?

      I don't know if I will be there, but I'll try.

      That's all he sent back as a response. If he was just let go, it would be months or even years before he could rejoin the forces. Unless something terrible happened, which would have the military looking for any and every willing, able bodied person they could get.[/list:u][/list:u]
 
Emily wasn't pleased. Not in the least.

Her baby blues scanned the small fragment of what he said. She wasn't furious, but she was mad. Why did they have to make everything so damned awkward now? Slumping back into her chair, she crossed her arms and pouted her full lips, her eyes gazing out now, towards the window of her dormitory. Her mind was racing, did he truly think a promotion was worth losing him as a captain? Did he think the ship could ever be the same without him? The bond they all shared, the tears shed and the laughter echoing in the halls? No. Never, it could not be replaced nor recreated with anyone else. A resolve began to form in her chest. She would not let him leave them, a silent tear touched her face. Her family had already left her, disowned her for her dreams and sights, but.. him to do so too?

"I've lost enough family."

Her mumbling was muffled by the sound of her moving about. Not even ten minutes later she stood in front of his door. She wore plain clothes, a simple black and gray zip up sweater (one with no hood but a full turtle-like neck) over a white t-shirt, with some stained jeans and a pair of sneakers. Her long hair hung low on her back, and the tie keeping the hair up, was pulling at her skin. Emily realized then she was nervous, her fingers shook as she stood in front of his door. Her trembling hand knocked on the door twice, before it fell to her side.

What had she planned on doing? Saying? She had no clue.. but she was going to do something.
 
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