Asking Opinions: Star Slayers
Takes place during Episode Two after Chapter Two. It is cannon.
The next day Zelgadis tries to decide on the lesser of two evils. In other words which crew member is he going to talk to first?
Lina insisted that he ask the other crew members for input concerning the upgrades for the Dragon Slayer. Originally he wanted to simply message them, but the Dragon Slayers herself recommends he interact face to face with everyone. Something about it being good to establish healthy work relations?
Releasing a heavy sigh and a grunt or two, Zelgadis wanders towards Amelia's room. If he's lucky she won't make this conversation longer then it needs to be, but Amelia has been exceptionally friendly, especially compared to the other crew members. Xellos aside.
When Zelgadis lifts his hand to knock on her door it's as if his wrist is struggling against heavy weights.
"Coming!" Amelia says brightly on the other side of the metal door. In the next second the white metal door slides open. "Good morning Mister Zelgadis, how can I help you?"
Despite rehearsing his simple question with the Dragon Slayer in advance Zelgadis still draws a blank for a split second.
'I'm going to . . .' the Dragon Slayer begins prompting her creator, feeding him the words he needs.
It's demeaning.
Hiding his discomfort behind a stoic exterior, Zelgadis cuts the inner dialogue of the ship's computer off when he addresses Amelia, "I'm going to be upgrading the ship's system. The captain wants me to ask the crew members for their ideas."
"Well," Amelia puts a finger to her chin and glances up at the white paneled ceiling. "The laundry chute was all I really wanted. But it would be nice to have a bigger mirror in my room if that's okay?" She looks up at Zelgadis with an adorable smile, her eyes shut to optimize her cuteness to the fullest.
It seems the optimistic young lady is not yet aware of his limitations, but even so he blushes at her adorable attention. Patiently Zelgadis explains, "I cannot synthesize reflective glass or plastic with my metallic nanites." As he speaks he unintentionally emphasizes the word metallic, he hopes belatedly that Amelia doesn't take offense with his tone. To hide his blunder, Zelgadis eagerly asks again, "Was their anything else?"
"Oh, okay then, hmm," Amelia thinks about it again and as she thinks scrunches her nose slightly. "If you can't make glass then how are you going to construct the camera's you want to install?" And with this question Amelia reveals just how much she knows about his current project. It also suggests that she's been thinking about what upgrades she would like to see for quite some time.
She is deceptively smart past the giddy optimism and girlish charms.
Even with her innocent tone Zelgadis finds it difficult not to go on the defensive. "The same way I constructed your existing mirror," Zelgadis replies tartly, "I have to recycle available material from the ships existing stores." This is taking longer than he intended, he wants to demand an answer for his question and not stick around entertaining hers. Clenching his hands behind his back Zelgadis can't hide his impatience completely, "Is there anything necessary or mechanical in nature that you want?"
Sensing Zelgadis's displeasure Amelia's smile wavers. "Just the laundry chute is fine," Amelia clasps her hands behind her back. "Good luck Mister Zelgadis." With that she walks past him on her way to the sick bay.
'You need to apologize to her later,' it isn't a suggestion, the Dragon Slayer honestly believes Zelgadis owes the girl that much.
However Zelgadis does not agree, 'I did nothing wrong.' He got her answer didn't he? Now he can get on with the pointless assignment. Since Zelgadis didn't want to face another girl again after talking with Amelia, he decides to save Sylphiel for later. Zelgadis is determined to leave Xellos for last, or perhaps skip him altogether, so that leaves Gourry.
The man is still sleeping soundly in his room and doesn't hear the engineer knock. It takes the Dragon Slayer beeping at the man to wake him. Having grown up a soldier, Gourry automatically assumes the worse when he hears the alarm and tumbles out of bed. "I'm up, I'm up!" Gourry practically screams as he lunges at the door.
Sliding the door open Zelgadis has the pleasure of witnessing Gourry in nothing but his shorts as the blond staggers to his feet. "Oh hey Zel what's the commotion?"
Zelgadis is the very visage of calm. He looks around at the equally serene hallway and states innocently, "There's no commotion Gourry, your alarm clock must have startled you again." Given the blond man's habitual forgetfulness, Zelgadis isn't worried about Gourry figuring out that he set off the alarm.
"Wow, I didn't even know I had an alarm," Gourry is impressed, unaware of the innocent prank Zelgadis has played on him. "How did you know when my alarm was gunna go off?" And then there are times the blond is actually perceptive.
With a shrug Zelgadis suggests, "Coincidence?" Without any further explanation, Zelgadis returns to his task, "Since I'm here, were there any improvements you would like me to make to the ship during the next upgrade? So far I'm adding laundry chutes and cameras to the storage areas." Even though Gourry can be a little dense, Zelgadis is more than willing to be patient with the man.
'Why can't you treat the others with the same kindness you extend to Gourry?' The Dragon Slayer asks. It is a valid question, one that he chooses to ignore.
"Hmm," Gourry crosses his arms, humming in all manners as he shuts his eyes. His head turns from the left, to the right, up and down. Finally he opens his eyes and is about ready to answer, momentarily forgetting. Luckily he catches the thought before it wiggles from his mind completely.
"Training area," Gourry says. "It would be great if we could have a place in the hanger to train."
"That's a good idea," Zelgadis starts walking away, assuming the man is only allowed one intelligent thought per day. "I'll put it next to the hanger." Talking and playing with Gourry puts Zelgadis in a better mood, he's ready to talk to Sylphiel.
"Kay Zel, Oh and hey," Gourry calls to Zelgadis as he walks away. "I'll be in the hanger checking over the robots, maybe we can spar if you get the chance."
"Maybe," Zelgadis calls back over his shoulder. He actually plans on initiating these upgrades as soon as he's done interrogating everyone but sparring would be a good way to unwind.
Sylphiel is in the kitchen preparing breakfast and is just about done. When she turns and spots Zelgadis by the door she jumps a little, surprised to see him. "Good morning Mister Zelgadis," Sylphiel puts something in the oven before turning towards the engineer. "Are you here to ask about the upgrades?"
"Yes," he wonders if Amelia has already talked to the woman. In the back of his mind the Dragon Slayer suggests treating Sylphiel in the same way he treated Gourry. "Is there anything you think might make life better on the ship?"
"Actually. . . I made a list," Sylphiel hands it to him. "I was hoping you could include another oven, microwave, stove top, blender, a larger fridge, pantry, and a few other things. Since Amelia, Gourry and Lina eat large amounts of food it's quite necessary. We're running short on supplies as it is . . . I do hope the captain realizes we need to land eventually." The woman sighs.
Both thrilled and intimidated, Zelgadis takes the list she has carefully hand written, a rare thing to see. Sylphiel makes a valid point about food and supplies but he still doesn't feel safe about stopping anywhere. "Maybe after the upgrade we can find a remote port to restock at. Thank you for the list, I'll do what I can." He really is grateful to the woman for being so efficient but this means there's no reason to put off Xellos. There's no doubt the Regal could make valuable suggestions given his experience, but for some reason Zelgadis doesn't expect the mysterious alien to be intentionally helpful.
Following Xellos's unique energy reading, Zelgadis ends up at the helm. Xellos is at his station working through Garv's endless notes and flipping through research regarding the astral weapons. Some of the documents date back all the way to Shazard Lugandy and a few are written by Rezo and himself.
Close by Lina walks along the bridge with screens hovering around her. She isn't the kind of person who can hold still and does her work while moving since she can.
Catching sight of Zelgadis as he trudges towards him, Xellos turns and grins at the moody engineer. "Mister Zelgadis," he greets as pleasantly as a frozen corpse. "Are you here to ask for my suggestions about the updates?"
This time the Dragon Slayer doesn't suggest being friendly. "Yes," Zelgadis says simply. He doesn't have to explain to the Regal his limitations or concerns about Rezo tracking them, Xellos should be aware of all these things. He hopes without hope that Xellos will make this simple and stop prying into his nanite system files while he's at it.
"Use figure spec's 3 and 4 when you upgrade the sensors, I know you downloaded every file from my data stick already so you should make full use of it," Xellos replies casually. "I would also like you to add a few extra docking platforms for a Regal Armor unit, two if you can. Along with the necessary equipment to repair them."
At first Zelgadis doesn't know how to respond, after all Xellos is pretty much calling him out for stealing precious secrets from his data stick. When Xellos mentions the Regal Armor, Zelgadis immediately goes on the offensive. "Building accommodations for Regal Armor is an unnecessary waste of material," he insists, "Unless you plan on arming yourself in the near future." Eyes narrowing at the smiling mask, Zelgadis practically dares the sentient husk to deny it.
"I am already well armed," Xellos tips his head towards the terminal meant to power the main cannon. "That and my armor unit will need repairs eventually and it doesn't look like I'm going anywhere anytime soon. As for needing two, I predict you're going to need an armor unit yourself in the future. Best we have all our bases covered wouldn't you agree?"
Zelgadis feels violated, has this thing read his thoughts! This Mystic! It seems Xellos is just as aware of the impending conflict as Zelgadis is. Inwardly shaking his head, Zelgadis calms himself, remembering that Xellos is just as smart and resourceful as he is perhaps even smarter if he is honest with himself. 'Xellos is never to be underestimated,' Zelgadis warns the Dragon Slayer internally.
'But he is also to be taken advantage of,' the Dragon Slayer answers.
Finding he is still glaring at Xellos, Zelgadis does not dwell long on the computers assertion. "I will take your suggestions under consideration." Zelgadis stalks towards the Captain's stateroom, it isn't as if he needs an armor unit anyway, he has the entire ship at his command!
He thinks this until his thoughts are broken by the true commander of the ship. "Hey Zel, I need to talk to ya'," Lina calls to him, swiping her screens aside so she can give him her full attention.
Zelgadis shuts his eyes a moment, conflicted. Breathing out his nose he regains his composure and walks towards Lina. "Yes captain?" he asks.
"It's Lina," she corrects dryly, but her coldness is lost in a flash as she beams up at him. "I don't want you running those updates quite yet, kay."
"Yes . . . Lina," Zelgadis catches himself just in time. "But I don't think we can afford to put this off."
"It's going to be at least another four days before we reach our destination anyway, we have plenty of time," Lina says all smiles. "You will ask for every ones input again tomorrow, including Amelia," her expression twists into a smile belonging to an imp, leaving no room for argument. "Take the rest of the day off, that's an order." And just like that she's pleasant again.
Dejected and more than a little irritated, Zelgadis tips his head. "Yes . . ." his frown turns into a smug grin. "Captain."
Realizing that he's trying to get on her nerves Lina doesn't respond, but a few blood vessels threaten to pop on her head.
Zelgadis finds her expression funny, but knows better than to stick around. If anyone cares to ask his opinion, talking with his fellow crew members again is a waste of time, but hey at least he's got some time to spar with Gourry now. He'll try and make the most of it.
"Oh and Zel don't you think this place is too white?" Lina calls after him.
"I'm on break!" Zelgadis screams back at her.
The End
Author's Note: This is am RP written by my sister Clang55 and myself. We wrote this while on a road trip with the family so some of it might be a little choppy. Unlike the last time where I played Amelia and my sister did everyone else we switched it up. Clang played Zelgadis and I played the part of everyone he comes in contact with. Great fun!
Those of you who actually read Star Slayers will be happy to know that it is the main project I'm currently working on since Mermaid's Curse is finally finished. This year so far has been a little tough though so I'm not sure how consistent updates will be. There will also be some little extra's along the way too. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.