Chapter 28: Operation Santos City… Start (Part 4)

For a longer than expected duration, the low numbing hum from the engines persisted. As the shuttle reached a certain altitude, it stopped ascending, and the pressure Don felt from the ascent subsided. 

Feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Don leaned forward and let out a sigh. Trixie did the same, even going as far as to unstrap herself from her seat before placing her hands on the table and resting her chin there.

"Wow, that was fun. I have to hand it to you humans. You always create the most fun stuff," she remarked.

Shortly after Trixie spoke, a beep resonated around them as a digital voice instructed, "Optimum altitude reached. You may unfasten your seatbelts."

Upon hearing the message, Don proceeded to unstrap his seatbelt before reaching for a nearby compartment where he could see a bottle of water enclosed behind a glass casing. The ascent had left his mouth incredibly dry, so he quickly opened the casing, grabbed the bottle, and drank from it. As he was sipping on the water, another digital voice resonated around them, stating, "Autopilot engaged."

In the next moment, Gary stood from the pilot seat and walked over to where Trixie and Don had sat to check on them. Upon arriving, he carried himself with his usual demeanor. "Apologies for the turbulent ascent. Old age is finally starting to catch up to this air shuttle."

"Don't worry about it, Gary. I didn't feel anything," Trixie responded, not minding the ride at all.

Don soon realized the apology was likely directed at him since he was the one drinking water. Taking that into account, he decided to play it off. "I didn't mind it. Aside from gravity fighting back, it was honestly a smooth ride. I'm more amazed you know how to pilot this thing."

Don showed a smile as he gave his response, making sure to try and change the focus of the conversation from himself to Gary. As a notorious introvert in his former life, whenever life called for him to socialize, the easiest tactic to get through it was to have the other party speak more than himself. Provided one wasn't too obvious about how they put it across, the chances of it working were always high. In this instance, it worked as Gary gave him a warm smile and nodded.

"It is nothing, sir Don. If you've lived as long as me, you pick up a few skills here and there. It really isn't all that difficult. Much of the piloting is done by the onboard AI assistance mechanism. Even with one month of training, you would be able to pilot the air shuttle."

Don nodded as if interested by the fact. Though not entirely uninterested in it, piloting was far from being a priority for him right now as numerous other things were on his mind. Not one to stay silent for long, Trixie also joined the conversation, choosing to divert it. "When you finish your training, Don, be sure to give me a nice long, hard ride."

Both Gary and Don could see that Trixie was trying to provoke a reaction. 

Though Don was currently unaware, this was simply one of the key traits of a succubus, who could feed on emotion. Gary was more aware of this fact. Plus, he had long grown used to her antics and so he simply sighed while shaking his head.

Don didn't show any immediate reaction himself and instead considered how best to act in relation to his aura. Though he was yet to lose any, he felt he might if he reacted in a certain way to her teasing. Without much knowledge of the succubi, he didn't want to gamble on her response and so he decided to simply match her energy. He showed her a grin and gave her a shrug. "We could definitely do that if you're up for it."

Trixie's smirk grew wider as Don, much to her surprise, replied positively to her clear teasing. Part of her had expected him to shrug her off or give some other reaction. 'This guy is more clever than he lets on,' Trixie thought, now forming her own conclusion of what type of person Don was. Though much like Gary's and Elle's interpretations, it was far from true. This was common in the real world. 

Every person you interact with, whether acting as yourself or putting on a front, perceives you in a certain way. This perception is further influenced by the personality of the very person concluding what type of person you are.

For example, if an extrovert interacted with another extrovert and showed them a great time, they may be seen as fun by that person. However, if they showed the same fun time to an introvert, they may be seen as wild or perhaps too loud. The same principle applied to Don's current situation. 

Trixie's conclusion of his character came from the fact that his behavior completely contradicted what she knew about him from Elle and Gary. Earlier, when they met, he was more reactive to her teasing. 

But now, though he was still reacting, the emotion she smelled emanating from him was different, which would only be done if someone had simply decided to do a complete 180 on their character or they were incredibly good at acting. Trixie settled on the latter and so she began to see Don as more clever than he let on. This only made her more interested in him.

Trixie was about to bring out more provocative lines, but Gary interrupted her. "We will be arriving at the Santos City airbase in roughly an hour. This may be a good time for you to accustom yourself to your new gadgets, Sir Don, and read the information regarding the background that's been forged for you to explain what you had been doing after leaving Santos City."

Trixie playfully pouted while leaning further forward and staring Don in the eyes. Don stared back at her for a moment before adjusting his aviators and activating the retina scan. "It won't be too late to talk when I'm done," Don explained in the most firm voice he could muster up. He chose to reply this way for two reasons. 

One, he really did feel that it was important that he get his back-story straight. And two, he didn't want to entertain Trixie too much. 

Though he didn't know if succubi women were the same as human women, Don had learned from harsh experience that giving a girl too much attention would always work against you down the line. 

The more you spoke and the more attention you gave her, the less interested she would become as she'd see you as someone who was easily reachable. Though not true for all women, it was very much applicable to most in the younger generation, which Don was part of in his former life. 

He had never been bold enough to act that way toward a woman since he wasn't especially rich or especially handsome. But here, things were different, so it was worth the gamble. The worst-case scenario was she simply became disappointed.

Don's gamble paid off as, rather than show disappointment, Trixie bit her lip and gave Don a hungry look. 'Oh, he's definitely going to be fun to be around,' she thought.