Xenospace - Second Miltian System
Established not long after the the Miltian Conflict, Second Miltia is one amongst the many worlds that are an autonomous government under the Galaxy Federation. The planet itself is in what's otherwise known as the Miltian Star System, but Second Miltia itself came about from a hasty evacuation from Old Miltia, and the terraforming of the new planet dozens of light years from Old Miltia itself. The planet is a beautiful one, still filled with forests due to its fairly recent terraforming. The atmosphere generating nanomachines within the oceans are still active, causing the planet to appear light green from space.
The Unus Mundus Network (U.M.N.) Control Center is based here on Second Miltia as well, which was also the former location for Vector Industries Headquarters. The Second Division R&D of Vector, however, remains based here as well. Beyond the system that Second Miltia is located, however, travel to the system where Old Miltia is otherwise impossible.. It is blocked, by a double black hole.
The spaceport isn't overly busy today, (just like last week!) there are few ships coming and going. Ziggy is here again, though this time he's standing a few feet away from the warp zone. He doesn't want to get another ninja in the head.
The cyborg's not one for recieving gifts, he just hasn't gotten many for a very long time. And certainly not from people he only met just one week ago. This sort of social situation is not Ziggy's forte, and he would usually like to just avoid it where possible. But Yuffie appears to be overly determined to get on Ziggy's good side, and he figures it would be easier on him if he just accepts the gift with good graces, than keep trying to turn her down.
Ziggy learns quick! Yuffie's almost unshakeable when she's determined to do something. Even Materia serves as nothing more than a means of delaying the scrappy little force of nature. The warp begins to swirl, charging up as someone from the other side steps into its depths...and emerges into the spaceport with a nimble hop. Yuffie straightens, lifting her head, and grins brightly at the cyborg. "Afternoon!" she snaps a two-fingered salute, the package wrapped in vivid crackling paper clutched beneath her elbow. "Wow, you look pretty good for a guy who punched through a stone wall. You're tougher than I thought!"
"My arm only suffered minor damage, luckily the wall was thin. If it were any thicker I may have had a problem." Most guys would use this as an excuse to toot their own horn, but Ziggy goes over all the details rather matter-of-factly. If anything, it sounds like he's reprimanding himself with that last part over being so rash.
"Anyway, I suppose saying that you don't need to give me anything is pointless? I'm not a very material person." Some people need to pack bags and bags of items and clothes when they move or go on a vacation, Ziggy is someone who is, quite literally, good to go as is at any time.
"Too right!" Yuffie winks, untucking the package and holding it out like a treasured prize. Which it is, in her eyes. It was hard-earned, and she paid the price to get it. So what's inside? The red silk emperor's robe, embroidered with expensive gold thread to outline glittering Chinese dragons. "It'll look GREAT on you!" Yuffie chirps, once he's opened the package to see what's inside. "Not to mention that you've got a lot of good dragonesque qualities. Strong, powerful, intelligent...it's totally you," she nods sharply. "And besides, I think you'd look good in red, it'll set off your hair." If he looks in the pockets, he'll find one of the emeralds slipped inside. "Material or not, everyone needs a good bathrobe, and you can't get much finer than this," she beams, clasping her hands behind her back.
Perhaps Ziggy should point out here that he doesn't take conventional baths (over half of his body is metal), but he decides that will probably just open up a whole other can of worms that he'd rather avoid. Ziggy will probably hang it up in his quarters, likely somewhere out of the way. Bathing is just another reminder of a human action, and those things tend to make him pretty uncomfortable.
But he knows if MOMO saw him get such a nice gift she'd scold him if he wasn't courteous. "I... don't have much of a wardrobe. Thanks though." He feels so awkward now it's not funny, so he decides to change the topic a bit to something he's more comfortable with. "What were you doing there anyway?"
Yuffie Kisaragi shrugs a little with a crooked smile. "Taking the initiative. Same as I always do! And getting a little profit on the sides, of course! Why, do you want to lecture me again?" she teases with a toothy smile. "And no worries. Now you DO have much of a wardrobe. Who knows?" she shrugs. "It might come in handy!" Smile smile! Yeah, if he ever has to play infiltrator at a fancy schmancy Chinese court, he'll blend RIGHT in! "What about you? I mean, I can see Cloud bursting onto the scene, but I didn't expect to see you there," she blinks at him curiously.
Ziggy doesn't continue with that line of discussion, since he knows what will happen if Yuffie thinks he's 'lecutring' her again. Though HE really didn't think so, but so many people seem to take a lot of what Ziggy sas as a 'lecture', must be his rather flat voice.
Wardrobe aside, Yuffie brings up another tricky issue for the cyborg. Buth e already HAS a stock answer for this one! "I'm a member of the Palace Guard, remember? I offered Cloud some back-up when he said he wanted to check on you. Outworld can be a dangerous place, from what I understand."
Yuffie Kisaragi smiiiiiiles. "Really?" She cocks her head to the side, her eyes sparkling. Hands tucked behind her back, she slowly swings from side to side, watching his expression carefully. "And that's true, Outworld can be dangerous. Gave me the creeps last time I was there. But that's just part of the job, you know? Being a 'hero', fighting the war, sticking it to The Man. I wouldn't be much of an ally if I stuck to targetting helpless little old people."
Ziggurat 8 frowns a bit (which might be kind of redundant, considering...) "And the items you stole had no bearing on your initial decision to go there? While hurting EVIL's resources is good, putting yourself in danger by going deep into their territory for what equates to nothing more than trinkets to them isn't the best judgement." Oops, bordering on lecture mode again, back up. Sigh. "I'm sure what you did irritated Shang Tsung, and that's all well and good. But being a Palace Guard I'd much rather see everyone else make smarter decisions than get a new robe."
Yuffie Kisaragi just laughs, and shakes her head. "Ah, well, didn't mean to make you worry," she smiles, glancing to the side and scratching the back of her head. It's not an apology, but it's the closest thing you'll get from Yuffie. And yes, she totally is probing since she suspects he WAS worried about her. "And hey, I can't take on EVERYONE at once! Best if I pick on the ones best-suited for my skills for maximum gain, right? I got lots of other things too," she beams. "Loss for EVIL, gain for us. I gave ten percent to the Palace, which is pretty generous!" Knowing Yuffie, that's an understatement.
Was he worried about her? Maybe. She won't get a straight answer out of him though, so hah! "Just make sure you pick foes a little less lethal than Shang Tsung, unless you have back-up. One day someone may not be able to respond." At this point it should be obvious that Ziggy can't help being in lecture mode, it's just how he thinks and how he sees everything. Actions can always be improved upon, behaviours can be modified, etc etc. You'd almost think he made a decision or an action in the past he regrets (wink).
"Ten percent to the Palace? It didn't look like you were carrying much, where'd you hide all of it?" If Yuffie gave out ten percent, then she must have stolen a LOT more than what Ziggy saw her with.
Yuffie Kisaragi grins, taking a step forward. "Well, most of it was small. Jewelry, and the like. The robes and the boxers were the bulkiest part, honestly, the really valuable stuff was small. Necklaces, rings, pendants...things like that. And no worries, I ran it past R&D. It's all clean!" No demonic possessors or skull-rotting curses, thankfully. "And I'll keep that in mind." Grin grin. Ziggy gets his lecture, Yuffie will allow that much to slide. She could argue, but she won't. She has one last thing to give to Ziggy before she runs off. And she'll definitely have to run.
"As long as you were careful with them. Sometimes it's hard to trust simple jewlery from some of those zones..." After all, he comes from a zone with no real magic, all technology (with some exceptions). Even the stuff that resembles magic can be explained by their rationale. By this point he's gotten used to the idea of magic as it relates to other zones, but it's still not something he's overly comfortable with.
"Well then, if that's all, I'll be going."
"Yup, that's it! Thanks again," Yuffie smiles. There's a trace of warmth in her expression. But it's also drowned out by the spark of impish mischief in her eyes. Two quick steps forward closes the distance between them as Yuffie stands on her toes, pecks Ziggurat 8's left cheek, then his right. "I appreciate it. Even if it was just 'doing your duty,'" she winks as she drops back to her heels. And then she's off, making a dash for the warp before he can bonk her on the head. "See you around, Zigs!" Dive! Dive!
Ziggy... doesn't respond. In fact, Yuffie's long gone before even the slightest hint of realization hits his face. Whatever it was that was going through his mind it was complicated. Something old, something complex, something he'd rather not have remembered. This is the reason he likes to avoid typically human behaviours, memories are a hard thing to repress and an easy thing to dig back up.
After a few moments, he walks away. A bit bewildered.
He nearly dropped the package.
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