A/N: This is for a prompt from an Elsword Fanfiction discord I frequent. The prompt topic is: Must include the phrase "Fine. But just this once." I took this as an opportunity to expand on an AU I've been meaning to write more about and I wanted to go a bit more ham on the world building so don't be surprised by the setting. Big thanks to Mirai_Akina for editing the fic. If you like this AU, please let me know as I'm considering future projects after I finish Our Inner Demons.
The dull clang of landing gears echoed in the largely empty docking bay. The cruiser-type frigate's boarding platform hissed open, and a single young man, dressed in a white and blue pilot's suit bearing Hamel's crest, disembarked. The name "Seiker" was printed on his suit's name tag. He pulled off his protective headgear, shaking his blond locks out of its helmet-hair state, and scanned the dock before him.
A holo-projected android dressed in a mostly-pink maid's dress bowed courteously in front of him.
"Hello, Ophelia," the pilot said, attempting to look past the silent projection, "Is Eve available, by any chance?"
The mute maid turned her head slightly, expressing her sincerest apologies before shaking her head no.
The pilot frowned at the response but pressed on, "Not even for a short visit? I was kinda hoping she'd be free since, well, I don't think we'll have another moment's rest like this for a while. Can you please just take me to her?"
The maid put a hand on her chin in thought. Visibly sighing, Ophelia tilted her head, and motioned at the only other ship that would share the dock with his. It was a sleek black fighter sitting directly behind the projection that was being tended to by a number of welding drones.
"She's over there?" the pilot asked, to which the maid nodded. "Thanks, Ophelia, I owe you one."
The young man strode over to the fighter, passing straight through Ophelia's projection as she fizzled out of view.
The ship in question was half the size of his cruiser and was clearly built for a single pilot. Yet despite its size, it was armed to the teeth, easily doubling the armaments of his own ship. Plasma cannons, rocket pods, and a rapid fire rail cannon were some of the few visible modules from the side. He was sure there were more, but his attention instead fell on a pair of legs dressed in a dull pink mechanic's jumper underneath one of the two main thrusters.
"If it isn't one of the saviors of the Bethma system," a female voice said from under the ship, "Have you come to gloat about how you saved us poor machines again?" A young woman slid out from under the fighter; her face and silver hair were covered in oil and grease. The pink jumper she wore was rolled down to her hips, revealing an equally stained white-tank top. She sat up, fixing her golden eyes on the young man as she wiped a smudge of oil on her blue-marked cheek with a relatively clean cloth.
"Ah, we're past the gloating stage," Chung chuckled, "So no, that's not why I'm here."
"Then why must I suffer from your presence?" Eve asked, her facial expression showing just how not in the mood she was for visitors, much less jokes from said visitors. Not that Chung ever saw her express anything but indifference, of course, but there was something strangely comforting about having Eve not scowl at him when he was taking an innocent jab at her.
She looked so much like a human that it still baffled the young man that she wasn't. She was a machine. The queen of the Nasod Hivemind, to be exact. Everything around Chung, from the holo-projection of Ophelia to the Flag-ship Empress he was docked in, was practically an extension of her. Every drone, sentry, guardian, and servant's core function was to protect their queen and tend to her needs. Should anything happen to this one single Nasod, the entire fleet would simply cease to function. With a wave of her hand, an entire banquet could be set out for her, or a complete section of her flagship would be reconstructed to fit her mood. The millions of other Nasods that accompanied her were at her mercy... and here she was getting her hands dirty fixing a ship.
It was one of the things that Chung found quite intriguing about this little Nasod… and one of the main reasons why he felt he needed to do this.
"I think we started off on the wrong foot. Both of us. And for that, I wanted to, I guess, start over, if you're willing to try."
"As Oberon stated during your flight here: I'm currently occupied."
"Was that what he was saying? I couldn't tell due to the fact that he can't talk," Chung sighed, "But that's why I came to see you."
Eve motioned at herself, propping her knee up and resting her arm on it in a sort of relaxed sitting position. "Well? You're looking at me right now. Is there anything else I can assist you with, or must I sit here waiting until you've had your fill?"
It took Chung a moment to realize that Eve wasn't being serious. It took him a moment longer to realize this was Eve's attempt at humor.
"I thought you said Nasods were incapable of cracking jokes," Chung smiled, shaking his head as he approached the fighter. He ran his hands over its smooth, jet-black finish and the word "Nemesis" printed on its side.
"You're the one who stated such nonsense. Not I," Eve replied, "I merely withheld the urge to correct you."
"Well, since it appears you're in a good mood, I was hoping to take advantage of this little respite since we're currently orbiting a forest planet. We're safe for the time being, we could, you know, find some time to relax?"
Eve shook her head, "Elrians and their fleeting sense of danger. I can't. Not after our last skirmish with the elves. If anything, it shows how outdated my Exotic-Class fighters have become. To put it bluntly, my fleet was inferior in combat effectiveness compared to elven formations. You, as well as the rest of the humans aboard Ruben, should be on high alert rather than 'relaxing'. We may have escaped in one piece, but I significantly doubt we'll be as lucky a second time."
"It's my time off," Chung stated, "Unlike Nasods, us Elrians need a break every now and then."
"I can't empathize," Eve shrugged, turning her attention back to her work, "Well, go on. Enjoy your break. I must finish my adjustments on this fighter before we are ambushed again."
Chung watched as Eve slid herself back under the ship, and the sound of a welding torch could be heard once more. He bit his lip and tapped his foot nervously before stepping closer.
"Erm, actually, I was wondering if, you know, since I stopped by, if you could… maybe… go with me on a scouting mission. On the forest planet we're orbiting."
He could see Eve waving the offer away from under the ship. "My drones have already scanned the planet of any valuable resources and have come up empty-handed. Save for a few billion humanoid civilians, there is nothing worth exploiting."
She resumed her welding.
Chung grumbled, "I mean, scanning aside, I was hoping for something more like… a manned scouting mission. Just you and I. I'll take you on the Chaser, and we can fly onto the surface and have a look around."
Eve slid out from under the Nemesis once more. Confusion was apparent in her otherwise expressionless face.
"Have you forgotten that I'm a Nasod?"
"No."
"And that I can practically see anything and everything my fleet can see?"
"Oh, I haven't forgotten," Chung nodded.
"Then if it's a scouting companion you want, you're free to take Moby with you. I'll have the drone ready to accompany you when you're ready to leave."
"But I want you to come with me."
"Why?" she asked, "Why would I willingly put myself, the queen of an entire hive race, at risk when a drone would suffice?"
"Because… I thought it might be fun," Chung muttered.
Eve scoffed, "Fun? Unlike Elrians, Nasods don't require entertainment."
At this point, Chung felt he was out of options. He didn't want to play his trump card so early but if she wasn't budging on the matter, then there was no other way.
"Because you owe me," Chung said, "Because if my cruiser wasn't there to defend your only functioning N-drive engine, your flag ship would probably still be back in the previous quadrant. You said you'd pay me back for my help somehow, and I'm giving you that chance to. All I'm asking is for you to come with me."
Eve squinted at the young man. "Why are you so desperate to have me accompany you on this scouting mission?"
Chung scratched his head, feeling as if he's just backing himself in a corner if he wasn't going to just outright say it.
"It's not a scouting mission. I just want to spend some time with you."
Eve scanned his face for more answers, to see if he was hiding something. He wasn't.
Eve relented.
"Fine. But just this once."
"The Elrian is being quite persistent," Eve commented as she slipped off her tank top and stepped out of her pink jumpsuit hanging around her ankles. She kicked it haphazardly aside for a silent drone to catch behind her. Another drone flew in and quickly wiped the dirt and grime off the queen's face and hair. "Not to say it's out of the ordinary with that particular Elrian, but considering our short, and often opposing stances on matters, I find it rather peculiar of him to be going out of his way to have me accompany him. Don't you?"
The drones said nothing as Eve pulled on a white and pink flight suit that she had only worn one other time: during her initial fitting. Her drone zipped her up and fastened the button around her neck before checking the suit's environmental safety seals.
"I was unable to deny his request. As much as it pains me to admit, the Elrian's interference bought us enough time to charge our secondary N-drive to jump out of the Bethma system. The least I can do is humor his little invitation," Eve commented, continuing the one-sided conversation, "Hopefully it doesn't take too long. I still need to finish making adjustments to the Nemesis-Class fighter and run our tests before the elves find us, again."
The drones completed their series of checks and handed Eve her flight helmet. "Well? How do I look?" Eve asked, prompting the drone to project her reflection for her to inspect herself. Satisfied, she waved both of them away and exited the side room, back to the dock.
In total, it only took a few minutes for Eve to clean herself up. Eve came back looking like she hadn't just been knee deep in a pool of oil. In fact, her change to her flight suit was so quick, it took nearly three times the amount of time for her to inform Ophelia of her tasks while her queen was away.
"Eve... I think they'll be fine on their own for a few hours," Chung reassured her, lightly coaxing her to move along without physically touching her. He knew what happened last time he did that.
"A few hours…?" Eve trailed off, "In that case. Ophelia, I'll also need you to-"
"She'll be fine! She'll be fine!" Chung said.
"But-!" Eve protested as Chung led her to his ship. Ophelia silently waved at the two as the boarding ramp closed behind them.
The door to the ship's bridge hissed open and Chung pointed out each station as he passed for Eve. It was an elongated bridge set up, with the pilot's seat at the forefront of the bridge.
"Over there's the ship's shield controls. Across from that is the engines…" Chung paused at this panel, reaching over the chair to flip on the engines before continuing his brief tour, "Next to that is navigation. And over at the front is the pilot and the gunner controls," Chung explained, hopping over the pilot's chair and patting the gunner's seat next to him for Eve.
The Nasod clearly wasn't too impressed with The Chaser's rather primitive layout. Where all of her ships required only one sentient Nasod to run, this Elrian ship required five, likely disorganized, individuals to function at full capacity. And it was then that she became aware of the complete lack of the other Elrians in question.
"Your crew isn't with you, today?" Eve asked, sitting on the chair and quietly looking around for the safety harnesses.
"The other paladins are back on Ruben enjoying a little R&R," Chung flicked a switch and the ship rumbled to life, slowly lifting off the ground.
Eve, gripped the chair, the knowledge of a five man ship being flown by a single person sinking in, "Don't Elrian ships this large require more than one person to fly…?"
Chung waved her question off as the ship slowly spun around to the dock's exit, "It's fine. I've piloted The Chaser alone well before I had an actual crew. And it's just a simple atmosphere entry procedure. I could practically do this with my eyes closed." He eyed his companion, watching as she finished snapping on the safety harnesses.
"Well… as long as you're caref-"
Eve was cut off mid-breath as the ship accelerated. She was pressed against her seat as Chung gunned the ship out of the dock, flipping the ship on its head and pulling up, nosing straight towards the deep green planet far below.
Eve yelped, clutching at the back of her seat as the pilot rolled the ship sideways, narrowly missing an Electra-Class gunship before expertly weaving through a squadron of Exotic-Class fighters.
Chung laughed, pulling back on the throttle and bringing the ship to a slow cruising speed. Looking over at his co-pilot, Eve was practically glued to her seat. Her legs were up on the chair and one hand squeezing the cushion out of the headrest while the other grasped at the armrest. She didn't look scared, save for the widened eyes, but her speechless state was enough to put a mischievous grin on the pilot's face.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," the young pilot giggled.
"Take me back," Eve ordered, still frozen in her chair.
"Aw, Eve, I was only joking!"
"Take me back!" Eve begged. No sooner had Eve begun to protest, the swarm of Exotics already had the ship surrounded. "Please. I shouldn't be out of the Empress. I… I shouldn't be risking myself like this."
"Eve…" It was just like their first meeting. Chung had noticed, during the captain's meeting between Ruben and The Empress, Eve had refused to step past her ship's boundaries, forcing Captain Hagus to board the foreign ship to shake hands. It was an odd gesture that others attributed to Nasod wariness.
Chung brought The Chaser's speed to a crawl and he gently redirected the ship back to The Empress.
"Sorry," the pilot apologized. Glancing at Eve from the corner of his eye, he could see the Nasod beginning to calm down as she finally was able to sit properly in her chair. Eve didn't respond and seemed content with just letting the tense air hang over them as Chung returned to the flagship.
"I just wanted to try to bring you out of your shell even for a little bit. I noticed you never leave your ship. Not that I can blame you, you have everything you could ever want in the Empress, so I understand why you'd prefer staying onboard. But I couldn't help but imagine how lonely it must feel just watching the universe from the safety of your holo-projectors."
"It's… not lonely," Eve stated.
"Is it, though?" Chung pressed on, "Don't pretend like Elsword and the others haven't noticed. We see you on your bridge during our flybys. You're always there by yourself."
"Nasod bridges only require their core to run an entire fleet. I don't need anyone else."
"That just emphasizes my point. You do need others. You needed us when the elves attacked us in Bethma and we needed you in return. None of us would've made it out of there alive if it weren't for all of us working together and watching each other's back. That's why I came to visit you. That's why I wanted to express my gratitude; to help you feel a little less lonely."
Chung extended a hand towards her, gently resting it on hers.
The Nasod flinched, pulling her hand away.
"Sorry…" Chung muttered, sighing in defeat.
Eve clutched her hand over her chest. Did she really look that lonely to others? Surely not. Her people may not have a voice but that does not keep her from conversing with them. They just don't reply back.
She shut her eyes and exhaled.
"Let's go," Eve said after a long moment.
"Eh?"
"To the surface. Let's go to the surface. However, I'd appreciate it if you refrained from any more of your stunts. I'd prefer it if my life weren't threatened when leaving the safety of my ship."
The fighters that escorted Chung's ship disengaged, resuming their normal patrols and giving the pilot the greenlight to turn the ship around, again.
"I promise I won't do anything like that with you on board, again," Chung stated, happy to see Eve having a change of heart. He rotated the ship back towards the green planet, gently reaching atmosphere entry vectors. Chung unbuckled his harness and floated over to the shield controls.
"Where are you going?" Eve asked, looking back at the pilot-less chair next to her.
"Just activating the heat shields. Don't want to explode in a burning ball of flame after all," Chung answered.
"But… what about piloting the ship?"
"It's fine right now. Don't worry!" Chung laughed.
After flipping a few switches, the ship's thermal shields were activated and the view from the cockpit lit up in a bright white-orange. Chung floated back to his seat, strapping on the harnesses as he looked over at the nervous Nasod once more.
"Elrian ships are completely absurd…" Eve commented, relief coming back to her as Chung took control of the ship once more.
"It'll be fine. I told you, I can practically do this with my eyes closed."
"I'd prefer it if you did this with your eyes open," Eve stated, clutching her seat, once more.
"Of course, of course," Chung chuckled.
Several minutes passed as the ship dove into the planet's atmosphere and, before long, the viewport finally cleared. What greeted the two space-farers was a lush sea of green as far as the eye can see.
Chung engaged the atmospheric flight mode, bringing the ship below the cloud line. Light rain splattered the viewport as the ship glided through a thin mist. Through the horizon's worth of canopies, several tree spires, some just as large as Eve's flagship, towered well above the cloudline. Even at the ship's current altitude, The Chaser had to fly around these massive trunks.
Vines as thick as the colony ships curled around the fauna, some snaking their way through the dense forest floor like a giant mythical serpent. Plateaus of shifted earth had been lifted by these vines. Lakes formed by the constant rain created the image of overflowing goblets that the pilot couldn't help but bring his ship closer to fly through. The waterfall cascaded harmlessly off the hull as The Chaser flew under these giant plateaus. Flocks of white flying fauna that had been roosting under the umbrella took flight, creating a torrent of beautiful white and green among the thick swirling vines.
Chung brought the ship back out from under the floating lake, back into open air, the flecks of water bouncing off the ship casting a bright rainbow as they were greeted by the yellow and blue binary star hanging in the sky. A school of pink and blue fish-like creatures swam through the air, dancing and playing in an area of clear open skies. In the distance, on top of one of the many goblets, Chung could see the sparkle of distant skyscrapers with a skyway of airships commuting to and from its city.
Chung checked on his co-pilot, he was delighted to see that Eve felt safe enough to have left her seat. The Nasod was pressed against the ship's viewport, marveling at the surreal setting before her. Her golden eyes were wide in wonder. Clearly, this was the first time she had seen anything like this for herself.
And yet, despite being so close to the wonders around her, there was still something separating her from the rest of the world.
Chung checked the atmospheric scanners. Oxygen and carbon dioxide levels were heavier than what they were used to but overall the readings were normal.
"Would you like to get closer, Eve?" Chung asked.
"Eh?" Eve turned towards him. She gave him a strange look. It was almost as if she were appraising him. Chung shrugged it off, patting the seat next to him as he brought the ship into a gentle ascent.
"Opening the airlock. You ready?" Chung asked.
Eve didn't answer and stayed fairly far back from the ship's reinforced doors as they hissed open.
The boarding ramp deployed and the young pilot stepped out into the warm rays of the binary star. He scanned the goblet lake The Chaser had landed next to, noting the few trees tall grass-like fauna that lined the shore.
The air had a certain crispness to it that was different from the archipelago planet he had grown up in. It was a shame that they were only here to refuel and resupply. It'd been nice to take Elsword and the others down to surface level with him.
Chung looked back over his shoulder and was surprised to see the Nasod still stuck at the far end of the boarding ramp.
"You coming out, or what?"
"The fauna," Eve said, "Are you sure it's not poisonous?"
Chung shifted on his feet, stamping on the green grass lightly. "I don't think so."
"So you're not certain?"
"Eve… come on out," Chung urged, stepping on the ramp and offering her his hand. She hesitated and took a tentative step forward. She inched forward, slowly, step-by-step, and extended her hand towards him until she finally stood in the star's rays.
Chung took her hand, pulling her gently on to the grass which she stumbled in a feeble attempt to resist before she found herself, for the first time, standing on something other than steel.
Eve glanced over her shoulders, half expecting some alien beast to be lurking in the nearest brush but found nothing but grass and trees surrounding a cool lake.
"You alright?" Chung chuckled.
"I… I believe so," Eve stammered.
"Good. Good. Do you think you can relax, now?"
"I... believe so," Eve repeated.
"Good. Do you think you can let go?"
Eve looked down, pulling her hand away from Chung's after practically squeezing the life out of his hand.
"Sorry."
Chung shook his head, "Don't be. You got quite the grip, I'll give you that."
"So… we're here. What is our next objective?"
"Our next objective is to relax, of course! Explore, kick back, admire the surroundings, whatever!"
Eve looked completely lost at the concept. Unsure of what to do, she simply stood there, waiting for something to happen.
Chung sighed, "Want to go for a walk?"
"To where?"
Chung turned, making his way along the shoreline, "Around, Eve. Just follow me."
It took the two space-farers roughly twenty minutes to reach the halfway point around the small suspended lake, with neither side saying a word to each other during the walk.
For Eve, she was far too distracted by the way the gentle breeze carried a light mist from other nearby waterfalls. The distant binary star refracted two tones of rainbows off of the water spray. The smell of cool moss and the sound of rushing water accompanied by the melodic call of flying creatures all came together in a level of harmony Eve had never experienced before.
Her senses were so overwhelmed that she could do nothing but gaze in wonder at her surroundings. She felt light; as if the wind itself would carry her and take her on a journey that she was all too eager to see. She wanted to explore-to see what awaits below the treeline or within the distant city's limits. This was far from anything her holo-screens could ever allow her to experience. To think she had been missing out on all the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds all this time.
This, she concluded in her head, was what Elrians must refer to as beauty.
Chung, on the other hand, had been silent for a different reason. He wanted to speak, but couldn't find the right way to start. The pilot finally had a chance to set the mood but Eve seemed far too engaged with her surroundings for Chung to just interrupt. Would it be right to? Although it didn't quite show in her face, the way she craned her neck around at everything around them made it way too obvious that she was at least enjoying their little trip.
"Eve?" he said, finally, after noticing they were reaching the halfway point of their lap around the lake.
"Yes?" the Nasod responded, finally snapping out of her state of wonder.
"Having fun?"
Realising how she must have looked to her companion, her pride got the better of her and Eve quickly formulated her neutral response. "Nasods aren't as easily drawn to amusement as Elrians."
"Oh don't give me that kind of answer, Eve," Chung groaned, "I just wanted a simple yes or no."
"What do you mean?"
"I wasn't trying to… I mean you're…" Chung tried to find the words as his frustrations with being around Eve suddenly came to head, "There's nothing wrong with enjoying yourself. I just wanted to know if taking you down here made you happy."
"Oh," Eve said, "Then yes. I'm having fun."
"Good. Glad to hear it," Chung replied, though with a rather annoyed tone.
Eve watched him for a moment as they continued along the shore, "What is it that I do that so easily upsets you?"
"Where do I start?" Chung sighed.
"The most aggravating issue first, if there are more than one."
"That was a rhetorical question, Eve."
"Ah."
"And that's why I find it so hard to leave people behind. For Nasods, it may be a matter of just replacing lost ships, drones, or whatever else, as long as you, the core, is alive. But for us Elrians, every life is significant. They have hopes, dreams, ambitions, and they all work together despite having their own personal priorities, to bring the people they care about with them. To us, every life is like an individual core. Everyone is as important as the next."
"Every life is considered a core… I think I understand," Eve nodded in thought, "I suppose I can see the necessity in protecting others."
"It's why we decided to help you. Because we care about you."
"Huh. Even you?" Eve asked.
Chung dropped his head, a bit embarrassed to admit, "Yeah… Even me."
"I see…" Eve muttered, rubbing her chin in thought, "Then… I suppose I'll move you up the priority list as well."
"That'd be nice," Chung smiled.
"But only if you promise to protect me, in return."
"Of course."
This was good. He was glad they weren't getting into a full blown argument again. Last time they had a discussion, Aisha had to break the two up before they could strangle each other. It took a lot of drinks and a one-on-one talk with Elsword to finally convince Chung to at least try to set aside their differences. Even though he was already up a few drinks, he still remembered his friend's words:
"We can't have you two at eachothers' throats every time one of you opens their mouth. We need as much support as we can get and your stupid little spats are only going to hurt us rather than help us," Elsword had said, "Because until we get that elf to Velder, we're the only ones that know of the horror that's coming from the void. The entire Elrian galaxy depends on us. I can't talk to Eve. But I can talk to you. Fix this."
"Thank you, Chung," Eve said, grabbing the young pilot's attention.
"For what?"
"For listening to me. Since we met, I have thought all meaningful communication between us was not feasible and therefore not worth the effort. It was one of the main reasons why I was hesitant to accompany you in this trip to begin with. I assumed that being alone with you would only exacerbate if not completely destroy the metaphorical bridge between us. I'm glad to admit that I was wrong in that assumption and I am acknowledging your efforts in straightening out our differences."
"You could've just said that you were glad we talked."
"I'll say it however I wish to, thank you very much."
"Okay, fine. And I guess thank you for coming out. I'm glad you listened to my thoughts as well, since, we never seemed to really want to hear each other out during the heat of the moment."
"When lives aren't in danger, then it opens the opportunity to take the time to listen, yes. I suppose we've never really had that chance, given our recent string of predicaments."
"No. No we haven't. Well. Since we've said all we needed to, I suppose it's time to wrap things up. What do you say we put all of what happened in the past behind us? Friends?" Chung extended a hand towards Eve but noticed the Nasod's eyes drift to something behind him. Leaving him hanging, Eve simply pushed past him to whatever had caught her eye.
"Eve?" Chung stopped as the Nasod crouched down over something in the grass. "What is it?"
"I don't know," the Nasod replied. Chung saw Eve was hovering over a rather peculiar looking blue furry blob on the grass. It crawled slowly in front of her and looked rather soft to the touch with its fine hairs and simply bumbled along.
Eve poked it with a nearby stick and it only coaxed the creature to crawl away at a slightly faster pace.
"Hm," Eve mumbled, curiously. She hobbled closely after it, poking it again with the stick as she went. "Hmm…"
She's like a child, Chung thought to himself but figured to let her be. He was hoping to at least talk a bit more with her. But this was her first time out of the confines of her ship. If this was how she chose to spend her free time, then he was content with it. Carefree atmospheres such as this were few and far between for the space-farers he might as well cherish this moment while it lasted.
The pilot took a seat at a nearby tree and kicked his feet up as he watched Eve play with her new friend.
"She's like a child," Chung repeated, outloud this time, before shutting his eyes for a quick nap.
"Eve?"
"Hm…?" the Nasod mumbled as The Chaser came to a rest in the dock. She could hear the engines powering down as the ship depressurized into the Empress's artificial atmosphere.
"Eve, wake up. We're back."
"Eh…? What… What time is it?"
"You've been asleep for the past three hours. Turns out you needed just as much rest as I did," Chung chuckled.
"Huh…? Wait, we're back on my flagship?"
"Yep. Carried you back to the ship because night was falling. Weather scanners indicated torrential hail storms coming in during the planet's night cycles so I decided to end our trip a little early."
"Oh."
"Also, you're a lot heavier than I expected," Chung commented.
For some reason, Eve felt the rising urge to slap the young man. "That's normal," Eve defended, "Nasods are made of denser material than bone."
"I never said it was a bad thing," Chung replied, "It was just an observation."
Eve sighed, undoing the safety harness that Chung had strapped in for her and made for the exit.
Three hours… she hadn't expected to be out for so long.
"It was fun," Chung said, turning from the pilot seat to her, "Our little date, I mean."
Eve paused at the door frame. The respite was nice. Chung was right. It had been a few days since she had a proper rest.
"Yes. It was," Eve said before silently disembarking. As she stepped off the ramp, she could hear the Chaser's engines beginning to power on once more. She moved towards the bow of the ship, looking up at the viewport at the young pilot who waved at her.
"Thank you," Eve shouted.
Chung mouthed something at her. She did her best to read it and came up with a simple sentence. "Let's do this, again."
She hesitated. Eve may have said this trip was a one-time affair, but in all honesty, she quite enjoyed herself during their little outing together. If he asked her for another one of these dates, maybe she'd set aside some time for it.
Eve looked back up at the pilot, mouthing her response in return: "I'd love to."