Madison was a little surprised by Zob's shyness. "Why wouldn't I be willing? That sounds like fun. I keep hearing about those carrier ships. Of course I'd go. But don't feel like we have to wait to go tear it up again. The Pulse is open all the time."

Zob smiled a bit more then usual, "Of course ill have to see what my upcoming duty assignments are though but once that's figured out we can hit up The Pulse again, but i shouldn't keep you Madison if you got places to be"

Madison wondered if Zob was rushing her out or just being thoughtful. "No. I don't have anyplace specific I have to be. But if you need me to go, it's fine. I won't be offended. I guess I'd just go to the Rec Dec to get something to eat."

Zob nodded then looked back to the kitchen, "We can sit down and have a coffee if you wish?"

Madison chuckled. "Sure. Coffee sounds great."

Zob walked back to the kitchen and prepped the pot and after a few moments poured them both coffee pointing to cream and sugar if she wished before taking a seat, "So tell me about yourself Ms Madison" he said taking a sip from the cup.

Madison accepted the coffee with a smile. Sitting across from Zob, she added a cloud of cream and two heaping spoons of sugar before taking a sip. In that deep voice, lower than baritone, he invited her to talk about herself. She liked that voice. Though it was a little spooky, it was also powerful and oddly soothing.

"Well, I'm from Wyoming on Earth. I grew up on a horse ranch out in the great American West. My grandparents raised me after my mom while giving birth to me. I have no idea who my father was. I don't think my grandparents did either, or they would have told me by now. So, I lived in the big country, riding horses and hunting antelope. My first job was as a genuine cowgirl, herding cattle on Alabaster Ranch. It was hard work, but it was also a lot of fun." She looked at her hands as she rubbed her palms. "It was horrible for my hands though. It took a long time and lots of lotion to lose the callouses."

"So, anyway," She sapped out of that momentary spell. "I was just obsessed by staying in motion. Riding, running, biking, cars and motorcycles, if it moved, I rode it. The faster the better. The ultimate, of course, was to fly. I got to do fly some small aircraft, but in college, I went right at aerospace engineering, but a recruiter got to me and I signed up for military service. So, here I am, on my first assignment, living my dream. I've been on exactly one mission and I'm already a decorated Ace."

She sipped the coffee. "The coffee is good, by the way. Thank you."

"Um, so, my birthday is April 27th. I'm a Taurus, but not all that bull headed. I'm a little rough and tumble, and I like to be challenged. My favorite color is green, but autumn colors move me too. As you can guess, I love horses and big dogs, and you know I love to dance. This whole war thing is going to take some getting used to. The violence and the 'live like it's your last day' culture is a bit of a shock. I thought I could be spontaneous before. This is a whole new level."

She took a few moments, sipping coffee as she summoned the memory of her and Zob's night together. "Things sure can turn in unexpected directions."

"So! What else do you want to know?"

Zob listened on quite intrigued, "I know absolutely nothing about Earth aside from where it is in the black" he let out a small chuckle, "You get used to living life on the edge out here, for me it was war against the angels when i was younger now here i am with the humans fighting the empire funny how that all works... but sometimes its best to just take things day by day"

He then sipped the coffee again and gave a nod when she complimented the coffee, "Thanks i try and keep it as fresh as possible, i don't remember my actual exact birthday us demons don't really celebrate namedays unless they are of the higher nobility, so if i did have one question i guess it would be do you see yourself being a career pilot for the rest of your days or did you have some other ambition once the war is over... assuming we survive of course"

Madison raised her eyebrows about Zob never having been to Earth or remembering his birthday. It wasn't that surprising that he hadn't been to Earth, but she never really thought through his origins. If she had, she might have guessed it. But not knowing his birthday? That was surprising. She would have to ask about that after. First she had to answer his question.

"You know what? I actually haven' decided what my long term plans are. I supposed I expected to stay in as a career pilot by default. But since the last jump off, and seeing how precarious or lives are, I'm even less inclined to plan too far ahead. I'm living in the moment. The other night, you and I, that was the first time I've cut loose like that in literally years. I've just been so focused on achievement. you know, just graduating then getting through the academy. I had no time for fun. You helped me make up for that, so thanks."

"So tell me about you. You're half demon. What's the other half and how did you come to join the good guys?"

Zob took another sip as she asked what the other half of him was he set down the cup and responded, "The other half of me is human very nice genetic malleability and near limitless potential" he said with a smirk on his face, "To give the summed up version i was a prisoner aboard a transport ship heading to my execution, the fleet raided that ship in a attack and i lucked out with them not killing me outright and they took me prisoner and from there they gave me a chance thanks to Dr Christie and i proved my worth and here i am"

he then took another sip then refilled his cup, "Obviously the story is a bit more complicated and long but i summed up the recent important parts... its hard to recall every detail that happened over a millennia ago that lead to this point"

Madison's eyebrows popped up. "Are you saying you're over a thousand years old?" She remembered Flores telling her about the angel food prolonging their lives. "How long do you expect to live?"

Zob nodded in response to her asking if he was older then a thousand years old but that was by human standards, "We demons age much differently every year for us is about give or take 20 in human years and I am roughly 220 I'm quite young"

He then sipped the coffee before letting out a bit of a chuckle, "As for how long I expect to live I honestly don't know as most Demons never make it to old age before they die, the oldest I could recall was Hels previous monarch that died at the age of 11,000 demon years old."

Madison shook her head. It was a lot to take in and the translation was a little confusing. Not the math of it, just the mechanics.
"Okay well, I'm 22, so you're literally ten times older than I am." She grinned as she sipped her coffee.

Zob rested his shoulders on the table, "Age these days is mostly bragging rights to a certain extent with Angel food and the like being a thing, you can expect to have a long life ahead of you"

Zob chuckled, "Well I'm young at heart"

Madison laughed. "Well, I can attest that you're young in more ways than just your heart." She stretched both shoulders back, biting her lip. "If anyone cares to ask." She settled into her chair and took another sip of coffee.

"You said that most people don't like demons. That must have been hard, finding acceptance. Do you still see that prejudice? Even here on the Hermes?"

Zob shakes his head, "Sometimes but its very rare now, I'm pretty famous overall from all the vids, action figures and the like and the tons of combat medals ive earned... when i first arrived i spent over 2 months in the brig with a bomb collar attached to my neck and a armed escort everywhere i went with orders to kill if i caused trouble"

"That sounds awful." Madison put a hand on Zob's, squeezing for comfort. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. But, hey, you're an action hero now. Where can I get one of those figures?" She smiled, trying to bring up the mood. "We can get some vids next time we go to the pulse. How many views would that get? Zob, the dancing Demon."

Zob wasent much bothered by the experence far as he was concerned it was justifiable, "I'm sure you could order of the net but would take a long time to get here or pick them up at any toy store on a carrier station"

He then gave a slightly dissapointed smile, "Beth's security protocols would prevent any type of vid upload that wasent approved through her and security more then likely... and the last person you wanna be on the wrong side of is her"

Madison raised her eyebrows at his lament, shaking her head and smirking. "I was kidding. I didn't really have my heart set on promoting your new dancing career. Are you always so serious?"

Zob shrugged a bit it was who he was he, "Yeah kinda, but last night was a welcome change to that i will admit" his left eye glanced over to his smokewood cigar that sat at the edge of the table he thought about lighting it up but refrained from doing so instead keeping focus on his guest as to not be disrespectful.

Madison was glad to hear it. It was gratifying to know Zob had enjoyed the evening, even going so far as to appreciate the change of pace. She smiled, folding her hands on the table, giving him the opportunity to advance the conversation. She nodded. She sipped the coffee. She looked at him expectantly.

Zob inched his hand across the table as to place his hand on hers, "Never got a chance to say it yesterday but you do look absolutely stunning Madison" it was a odd feeling for him letting his guard down like this but it was a risk he was willing to take.

Stunning? Yep. Madison would take stunning. She didn't get many compliments. She never did. Maybe it was because she tended to be closed or reserved. Or maybe she was intimidating in some way. Of course Zob wasn't the sort to be intimidated by anyone. And a compliment was always nice to hear.

"Thank you," Madison smiled. "I don't get a lot of compliments. So what are your duties for the rest of the day?"

Zob was lost in thought for a moment, "Lets see... about a hour i should probably get down to the Rec Dec and make sure the new recruits don't cause trouble for the waitresses when they get their free meal"

"Really?" Madison found that surprising. "That seems like it's below your pay grade. Or is it the intimidation factor they're going for? "

"I'm not sure what I expected when I first came to the Hermes, but I didn't expect to have so much free time. "