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Post by pinksoyuz on Dec 19, 2009 3:34:01 GMT -5
Kajka Marecek sat in his humble captains chair overlooking the small bridge of the Prince of Aargau. Despite having himself and his crew placed on the ship's muster list only recently, they were quick to acclimating themselves with the transport ship. To them even the sight of gargantuan colonies were a thing of repetition, though the sheer size never ceased to amaze them. Clearing his throat, Kajka pressed down on on a button and said, "NHK control, this is the Prince of Aargau requesting permission to dock." "Prince of Aargau, this is NHK control; one moment please," came the immediate response. "You are cleared to dock at bay Bravo Two-Four." "Bay Bravo Two-Four. Prince of Aargau out," Kajka confirmed before closing the feed. "Sarabajka, inform the crew that we will be docking in about five minutes." ~ "I can't believe we're getting a furlough at Neo Hong Kong!" Alice exclaimed, throwing an ecstatic look at Nadia. "Eh, we're not the ones on recon for that Federation pilot," said Nadia as she busied her fingers with fastening the buttons on her cream white blouse. Alice shrugged at the statement and headed for the room's door having finished her preparations earlier than her mentor. Pausing for a moment at the exit, she said, "I'm going to go catch up with some old friends, so I'll be back in about six hours, okay?" Picking up a hair straightener, the older woman replied, "Alright, have fun," before making passes with the iron onto parted segments of her hair. Puzzled by Nadia's rather curt reply, Alice asked hesitantly, "Well, what are you going to do?" Nadia poked her head out of the bathroom with a dumbfounded look while continuing to straighten the black hair of hers. "I don't know, probably go window shop then hit up a coffee place. I don't really have much to do here." "Oh, I see," said a rather disappointed Alice. She averted her eyes to the floor before looking back at Nadia with a forced smile and continued, "Alright then, I'll see you later then." The sight and sound of the closing wooden door meant that Nadia was all alone in the hotel room, yet she was in no particular hurry to leave. After all, there really wasn't much for her to do here on Neo Hong Kong except sight see. Nothing was wrong with sightseeing, however, since it the sight of shopping centers and parks that was enough to entertain the woman. Having finished the last of her grooming rituals, Nadia removed the pins still in her hair and gave a few quick side to side turns of her head to evaluate her work in the mirror. Her black hair certainly matched the black A-line skirt of hers, but it irked her somewhat realizing she didn't have any skirts in a more attractive colour. Still, nothing could dampen her joy of seeing a youthful face in the glass even if it was as a result of cosmetic products. Oh, only if her face looked like this naturally. Blowing an imaginary kiss to herself in the mirror, Nadia smiled and let out a cheery laugh and then headed toward the room's exit. ~ After spending a full two hours spent on taking photographs of various locations in Neo Hong Kong, Nadia decided on a short rest at a populated sidewalk cafe. Her camera lay next to a cup of coffee on the rustic wrought iron table, but other than those two items nothing else accompanied the test pilot. Have to enjoy this while it lasts, she thought to herself while looking at the numerous strangers walking past her table. The feeling of calm and relief that came with being on Side 6 reminded Nadia of the days after taking an exam and this thought made her laugh out loud for a moment. Immediately she looked around to make sure nobody the outburst before resting her head on her hand after realizing how silly she was acting. She shook her head for a bit and then fell her gaze onto a leaf that had fluttered in the wind and then landed near the camera. Flicking the leaf off the table, Nadia let out a long drawn out sigh and attempted to reminisce on her time spent as a student in Europe. |
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Radune
ZMF Officer 
Ensign
The child of the sun
Posts: 428
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Post by Radune on Dec 19, 2009 11:00:19 GMT -5
Emil was walking around, exploring Hong Kong City a bit more. He's not used to cities this big, so he was curious about just how big it is. Perhaps it was because he had been out in space for so long, but this place just seemed so.. peaceful. Since he knew he wouldn't be able to stay here for long, he decided to make sure he didn't waste a single minute of it.
He found some sort of sidewalk cafe he hadn't seen before, so he figured he might as well take a rest there. However, it seems to be a popular cafe, since all of the tables had been taken already. Looking around, he found an empty seat, but there's a woman sitting at that table already. Trying to be polite, he asks for permission to sit there.
"Er.. excuse me, miss. Is it alright if I sit down here?"
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Post by pinksoyuz on Dec 20, 2009 0:13:52 GMT -5
Portugal. Lisbon, Oporto, Obidos, and the list went on in Nadia's mind as she tried to recollect the wonderful times she experienced whilst studying in the country. Her friends, her classmates, her classes, oh how she yearned to relive those years knowing full well that it wasn't very healthy to dawdle on such wants. To hell with those suggestions, she thought to herself. Given the situation, Nadia believed that she was entitled to dream in the past. Now, if she could only change some parts of it.
Another lengthy sigh later, Nadia was back to people watching with no real plan in mind. She believed that she could explore more venues and continue her photo journal, but the discomfort in her feet dissuaded any intention to do so for the time being. After several weeks of work in space, she had underestimated her feet's resilience to the effects of gravity, and the black slingback heels only exacerbated the issue. Seriously, what was she thinking? Things always sounded better in theory than in practice.
Then out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a person abruptly slow down their gait until the figure was standing stationary across the table from her. Even though she had a fairly good idea as to what was going to come out of the stranger's mouth, Nadia still shot a quizzical look at the feminine figure. Hearing the voice alerted the woman as to the true gender of the person and with that little mystery out of the way, Nadia naturally posed little objection at sharing a table.
"Oh, not at all," she replied, a friendly tone conveying the words to the inquiring stranger. Instinctively, she then crossed her legs and straightened her sitting posture.
Nadia put up an earnest smile while watching the rather young looking man seat himself opposite of her. Not long after, she consolidated her belongings closer to her side of the table and excused herself for being so inconsiderate.
"Lovely day, isn't it? A bit more lively than I'm used to," she said with an uneasy chuckle. While talking to strangers certainly wasn't an exhilarating idea, an awkward silence would probably be one of the more damning things that Nadia could endure.
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Radune
ZMF Officer
Ensign
The child of the sun
Posts: 428
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Post by Radune on Dec 20, 2009 2:10:12 GMT -5
Hearing the answer he wanted gave Emil a big smile on his face as he sat down in the free seat. After walking for a few hours, this chair felt amazingly comfortable, and he couldn't help but to keep smiling. He ordered some hot chocolate, and answered the question the woman asked.
"Yeah, it's just lovely being here in one the colonies. I've been out in space for so long I'd had forgotten how great it is to just sit down and relax at a cafe." Emil sighed a little, and then continued. "I'm still not used to being in a place with so much people, either. But it sure as heck beats being all alone, right?"
Emil got his hot chocolate and took a few sips, throughly enjoying each of them.
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Post by pinksoyuz on Dec 20, 2009 2:55:50 GMT -5
Nadia let out a small laugh while covering her mouth with the back of her hand. It was certainly true that company was, for all intents and purposes, a welcomed commodity in the vast expanses of space. Not many could endure a life devoid of any interpersonal interactions and she certainly wasn't immune to the fact.
"Yeah," Nadia replied agreeably, "it can get a bit lonely out there in space."
She averted her stare down the contents of her cup and ran her index finger around the circumference of the object. It felt odd fraternizing with a civilian after so long and Nadia felt as if she had forgotten how to compose herself in an informal social setting. Military regulations were cookie cutter and textbook in terms of communications with others, but this was different. Too different.
Looking up at the giant transparent arrays, she commented, "The light's really nice here. It's real for once. I mean, fluorescent arrays just aren't the same, you know?"
She wanted to leave, but to go do what? Maybe help out guarding the ship back at the dock? No, she thought. She couldn't even mildly handle the issued sidearm so she would have proved to be more of a liability than an asset. No, she had to do something that wasn't available back in the military environment. Nadia felt as if she couldn't waste the small amount of time she had here, so this conversation, no matter how alien it was to her, would have to do. Even if it meant making silly observations like she just did.
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Radune
ZMF Officer
Ensign
The child of the sun
Posts: 428
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Post by Radune on Dec 20, 2009 3:17:11 GMT -5
Taking a few more sips, Emil listened to everything she had to say, and tried his best to say things worth saying. She seems to think that the light here is great, and that other kinds of light just doesn't work quite as nicely, so Emil tried to pitch in a little bit.
"Yeah, the lights inside of a Mobile Suit really can't compare to this. Everything is much better outside of them. The food, the drinks, the lights.."
Emil, realizing that he probably shouldn't speak too lightly about things like this, even to a civilian, tries to find an excuse for what he just said.
"But then again, what do I know, anyway?"
He figured that he should try switching subjects, in order to get the attention away from what he just said.
"Say, have you ever tried piloting a Mobile Suit? I kn-" He stopped himself right there and rethought a little. "I've heard that it's really unlike anything else."
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Post by pinksoyuz on Dec 21, 2009 2:21:13 GMT -5
"A mobile suit?" she asked cautiously. "Um, well, not really-- wait, hold on my phone's ringing."
Mouthing out a "sorry", Nadia reached down to grab a small handbag that had been resting under her chair. Her hands dived in and soon produced a phone and she then flipped it open before pressing the device up against her ear.
"Nadia!" came the booming voice from the device's earpiece. She winced at the blast and frantically used her thumb to press the a side rocker switch to save both her ears and to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.
For at least half a minute the woman spoke into the phone while covering her mouth and mouthpiece with her free hand. The entire duration of the call had her body facing away from the male while occasionally pausing to turn back and make sure he was still there. It would be her luck that the small vacation of hers would be interrupted by duties-- one of Murphy's laws probably said something about this situation.. Whatever it was, she thought, it wasn't very timely at all. Or it was depending which perspective one took, but in the end it was clear that she needed to leave.
"Something came up," she said reluctantly, turning back around but still averting her eyes away from the sitting figure. "Sorry, but I'll have to leave."
Then an idea formed in her mind. Reaching again into handbag, Nadia's hands now produced a pencil which she used to hastily scribble a sequence of numbers on the back of a paper receipt. She abruptly stood up and collected her belongings before gently placing the paper in front of effeminate man.
Hesitating for a moment, Nadia said, "But hey, if you're still around in about three hours, feel free to call me." She paused for a moment realizing that she was forgetting something and then realized that she hadn't introduced herself. How silly of her!
"Oh! And my name's Nadia."
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Radune
ZMF Officer
Ensign
The child of the sun
Posts: 428
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Post by Radune on Dec 21, 2009 2:43:38 GMT -5
"Nadia, huh.." Emil said quietly, while putting the piece of paper in his pocket. Standing up, he introduced himself, as well. He almost saluted, but managed to stop himself before he did it. "I'm Emil, pleased to meet you."
As Nadia was heading away, Emil tried to speak with her a little more. "I'll try my best to be still be around in three hours. Hopefully I won't have to leave for a while." When she was gone, he checked the pockets of his coat, and it turns out there was a cellphone in there. Huh, I guess Laura must've gotten me that, as well.. I hope it's not to keep track of me, though. He thought to himself.
He decides to finish his now rather cold chocolate, he sits down again. For some odd reason, he gets a chill sent down his spine, almost as if someone was watching him, but when he looks around, he finds noone.
He figures it probably just was the wind, pays for his drink and leaves.
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Post by pinksoyuz on Dec 22, 2009 13:04:11 GMT -5
Please record your message after the tone.
"Hey, Emil, I suppose if you're hearing this then you actually called and I appreciate that a lot! Unfortunately, I won't be able to honor my side of the deal since I had to leave on an unscheduled business trip. I'm... I'm really sorry about this."
Click
Nadia sat in silence for several seconds staring at her hands that were firmly planted against her black skirt. So much for enjoying herself for once. She could remember seeing Kaja's disappointed face when he told her about the new orders from high command informing them to move back into open space. Intelligence gathering on the elusive Federation pilot had been called off, and they were to join with a newly formed task force.
Six hours. It took Nadia six hours to realize and appreciate what she had been missing for so long, and now it was going to end as abruptly as it started. She couldn't help but hold a feeling of resentment at the Duchy for cutting this short even if it seemed completely short sighted.
A lengthy sigh later, the woman stood up with a handbag slung over her shoulder prepared to trek back to the ship. She stopped near a large potted plant and rested her phone near its central stalk before covering it up slightly with some of the soil. As she straightened back up, Nadia began the process of hardening her mind in preparation of returning to military life.
"Oh what the hell," she thought to herself. "He probably wont even call."
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Radune
ZMF Officer
Ensign
The child of the sun
Posts: 428
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Post by Radune on Dec 22, 2009 15:33:53 GMT -5
Emil sighed. He'd been trying to call Nadia for a while, but he hadn't gotten any response. However, after six hours he finally got one. An answering machine.
"Hey, Emil, I suppose if you're hearing this then you actually called and I appreciate that a lot! Unfortunately, I won't be able to honor my side of the deal since I had to leave on an unscheduled business trip. I'm... I'm really sorry about this."
Emil sighed once again. Thinking that it would've been fun to spend his last few hours on Neo Hong Kong with Nadia. However, it seems that isn't happening. But he has to be polite and thankful about it, anyway. So he gives a message to the machine, just in case she might actually be listening.
"Ah, just my luck, huh? Well, I had really fun talking with you, and I hope you did the same. I have to keep running away soon, as well. I've got a Zeon ship hunting me, and I'd much rather not let them find me. Don't feel sorry about having to leave early, I understand, business always manages to get in the way of fun, huh? But yeah, thanks for helping me kill some time, miss Nadia. I'm really thankful for this."
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