What do you mean?

I reported the completion of the job to the client and we went our separate ways.

[She gives an amused smile] What, did you expect that we all of the sudden fell in love and were inseparable after the mission?

[She sighs] Perhaps such a situation would occur between other individuals, but for David and I, it was something more... subtle. Do not get me wrong, we stayed in contact after the job, mostly on David's part at first, but there was a period of time where that was all we did, talk to one another through messages sent through the ICS.

Nothing really, simple small talk for the sake of talking. Well... that is what it was at first, but eventually we started to delve into deeper subject to talk about.

Philosophy, politics, etcetera, whatever people tend to talk about when there is nothing else going on.

Oh it wasn't, at least he tried to make it sound that way. Human's have a very casual method of conversation, but David was of a league of his own when it came to phrasing his insights so casually they almost pass over entirely. Of course, as time passes you tend to get used to such things, and with David there was a certain.. Subtlety to his speech that became apparent.

His casual references to things I did not even notice, or even avenues of thought I had not considered. He himself did not phrase it in such a profound tone either, but the way he spoke of such things in brevity led me to believe that he was far sharper than he let on. Of course, he was not perfect in that regard, there were many a phrase or implication that he would miss entirely that were commonplace to me. Perhaps it was just a case of cultural clash, as what is counted as subtle in one species can be exaggeration in another. In our case, we seemed to fill in each others gaps, which is perhaps why I remained in contact with him for so long.

You would be correct in that regard, Keeper, we did not see each other in person for months after eliminating Rau and Palladius, and the one thing that did bring us together was in fact another job. It was a simple protection job, contracted from one of the many traders that heard of what I had done to Rau. Such a reputation gained me some notoriety among the larger players in the Poros Systems, but with that came an increased amount of requests from individual traders directly. It didn't pay well, not at all, but simple jobs like that kept my conscience clean for a while. It was also fairly boring, but after dealing with Rau, I was prepared to take on a few... low effort jobs if only to have some peace of mind, and to fade off of the radar for a little while.

Largely the same really. While there certainly some notoriety to being a human those days in the Poros Systems, the one who had cause the most noise on Cerebi and Engane had been me. There were rumors that I had a partner, but seeing as I was trying my best to keep myself scarce, there was nothing to confirm such a thing. I never informed David of my activities either, and he never found the need to talk of his own as well. We kept work out of our discussions, though the occasional tale of our past excursions would pop up from time to time. It was by complete serendipity that we ended up signing onto the same job.

You could be right about that, but regardless, it was a pleasant surprise to see him on the trader's ship then. He was all silly smiles of course, which I suppose was one thing that was endearing about him.

On the contrary, no, this job went smoothly. We encountered virtually no hostility while the trader conducted his business. There was a lot of down time in that particular job, down time enough for us to talk face to face for a while.

Much of the same really, though being face to face made things more... intimate than before. Keeping contact over the ICS was nice, but there is nothing quite like face to face communications. The little emotive quirks you notice, the slight eye movements and even body language, it gives you a complete sense of somebody.

That he was as casual as I assumed him to be. At times it made him seem far more lazy than he actually was. Were it not for his focus during our assault against Rau, I would have kept such an impression of him. Instead, I found the casualness of his demeanor to be soothing in a way. I could trust him to be on point when I needed him too, but also relaxed enough to where he was pleasant to talk to outside of work.

[She smiles] It did, though like I said, we didn't talk about anything all that groundbreaking.

I was just about to get to that, actually.

---

Our client had led us to Tlona, a small planet off to the edges of of the Poros Systems. There was only a small outpost located on the planet, but it was bustling enough to hold a bar for the intrepid traveler. Our job finished, we decided to spend some time on the surface before we parted ways. It was by my suggestion, surprisingly enough to even myself, but David showed no signs of objection as I asked him. He merely gave me his usual silly smile and led the way.

"So Lilia, what's in store for you after this?" He asked, drinking a light blue substance called a Shock Tonic. There was no whiskey on this planet, though David didn't seem all that bothered by that fact.

I was drinking the same, feeling a slight buzz to my lips as I sipped the drink. "More of the same really, don't think that I'm ready for anything too exciting right now."

He swirled his drink. "Yeah I know the feeling. That whole thing with Rau was a bit more... explosive than I expected."

"Downplaying that little scuffle aren't we?"

He chuckled, "Says you, but speaking of Rau... you still owe me a date."

I spread my arms out to the bar around us, "What, this doesn't count?"

"Nah," he sipped his drink, "You invited me here remember? If I was doing the asking we'd be in a place more... suiting to the mood."

"One could say you're implying I have no sense of atmosphere," I said with a coy smile.

He returned one of his own, "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. I can say that I'd be better at it though."

"Could you? Well then David, regale me with what this date would entail."

"Let's see... first, we take a trip up to Zoloke."

"The resort planet?"

"The one and the same. We spend a day going taking in the place, I heard there is this nice art exhibit that recently opened there we could take a look at."

I traced my finger around the rim of my glass, "Sounds interesting, any idea what kind of pieces they'll be showing?"

He scratched his head gave a small chuckle, "Fenician glass sculptures, said to be exhibiting the raw nature of their potent emotions."

"Sounds like a line from an advertisement."

"That's because it is."

I snickered a bit, "How honest. Do you happen to know the artists featured in this exhibit?

"Ah well I dunno much about that, just seemed cool is all."

"Simple minded are we?"

"Hey now, I've just got other things to focus on is all."

A sly smile tugged at my lips, "Well I never said it was a bad thing now did I? Anyways, what will be doing after?"

"Dinner, there is this place overlooking the Thoth Sea. Breathtaking sight really, shame that no one cooks here though, would really add to the atmosphere."

"Cooking? That's handled by machines is it not?"

"It is, but it's a little boring is all I'm saying. Not quite the same as having someone else cook for you, or serving you your meal for that matter."

"Can't say that I am familiar with such a feeling."

"You and everyone else in the Poros Systems it seems. Not that I can really blame you, it is more efficient, just a bit... lacking."

I nodded along to what he was saying, though I couldn't quite relate to the statement all that much. Cooking by hand, honestly, had been considered somewhat beneath most people at the time since it was just a simple task to get food from a dispenser. Humans had yet to expand upon the practice since they still kept themselves somewhat isolated, but the longing in David's voice was enough for me to consider that I was missing something.

"This all sounds wonderful really, but Zoloke is hardly the place to go on some casual date. I mean, the entry fee alone is around 50,000 credits is it not?" I said.

"Well I never said I could afford it, just that it'd be nice is all," he said with his trademark silly grin. To which I could only shake my head at, though I could not hide the bemused look on my face.

"Instead, here's what I propose," He leaned forward, "As luck would have it, Tlona is not too far from Yvolt, where I've got a safe house set up for when things get a bit heated from my activities. And considering the current situation right now... I think it's time for a bit of cool down."

"Why is that? No one I know was even aware that you were there."

"Yeah but some I know do... and let's just say that they were none too happy I played a part in getting rid of a business associate."

"I see... but how does this involve me?"

"Well, I've got some stuff stored up there in case I get a little homesick. Some food from home, a few movies, even managed to fashion myself a little kitchen there. If you were interested, I could treat you to dinner, maybe a little wine and I could showcase some human... art for you."

"The way you said art makes me a little suspicious."

"Well some would call it art, others would call it a waste of time."

"And which what do you think of it?"

"I just think it's nice to watch."

I smirked at him, "Good to know your simple mindedness is universal."

He shrugged, "Hey if it's cool it's cool, doesn't matter where it came from."

"I can appreciate that sentiment... fine, I'll take you up on that offer."

He perked up at that, "You will? Great, just let me know when you want to stop by and I'll get everything set up."

"How does now sound?"

"Now?" He said, for once actually at a loss at what to say.

"Yeah, I've got nothing important coming up and it is as you say, it's time to go silent for a time," I leaned back in my chair, "Besides you don't have a ship of your own right? You probably need a ride up there."

"Well I mean... if you insist," he said, shrugging and smiling to himself as he finished off his drink.

---

From there we made our way to Yvolt, a trip that took about a day or so a planet that somehow managed to present an even smaller level of activity than than the small station on Tlona, which made is the perfect hideaway from someone like David to go to should he find the need to make himself scarce for a while. Said hideaway was little bigger than a standard two bedroom apartment, and beyond the stockpile of human paraphernalia, kept itself relatively barren of any sort of decorations. To put it into human terms, it was a spartan sort of layout, but oddly enough there was still an air of homeliness to the place, mostly generated from the warm look on David's face as he looked through his pile of human goods.

"So this is it huh?" I said.

He sifted through of his storage containers, coming up with a box of what looked to be pale sticks and a jar of some sort of red substance, "I know it doesn't look like much, but the proof is in the pudding," he took another look at the items in his hands, "or pasta in this case. Anyways take a seat, it's gonna take a little bit to prep everything." He motioned over to the larger part of the opening area, where a couch sat facing a blank wall. There was a holoprojector hanging from the ceiling, and a small panel on the wall with a small slot and screen. Next to the panel was al cabinet, filled with a number of small cases and what I guessed to be books that were haphazardly stacked next to one another.

"So what is all of this?" I asked, peering into the cabinets.

He looked up from me as he chopped up a small white... object and slid the pieces into a pot, "Hm? Oh that? Those are just some novels and vids from home, you're welcome to take a look if you find anything interesting."

"I would, but the Translator doesn't translate written script, unfortunately."

"Ah, well just give me a sec and I'll help you out."

He resumed cutting up a number of what I assumed to be vegetables. There was also a mass of red, ground up meat to his side, and a small sizzling sound could be heard coming from the pot sitting on a small platform on his counter. I had seen raw crops in my travels, but due to the current processed nature of food, beyond its presence in the fields I didn't pay them much mind. I was more likely to see food cooked than raw, so the atmosphere around David at that moment was somewhat... alien to me. Yet, at the same time I felt a sense of comfort emanating from his actions as he cut up the ingredients in front of him. It was easy to get drawn into, even if he wasn't speaking as he did so. There was the question of how he preserved such ingredients for so long, but human preservation technology must have reached a point to where storing fresh ingredients for prolonged periods of time was a rather simple affair. Regardless, there was a certain appeal to the practice that now made itself known to me.

It took him about fifteen minutes or so to put all the ingredients in the pot, resulting in a sauce that steadily simmered. The room was filled with the aromas of herbs and spices I was unfamiliar with, but it was pleasant. David joined me in the living room soon afterwards, wiping his hands on a small cloth.

"Right then... man it's been a while," He clicked his teeth, "Well I dunno, what are you feeling? Something romantic, something adventurous, something funny?"

I tapped my chin, "Let's go with something adventurous."

He smirked at that, "Awesome, lets see... oh this is a good one."

David pulled out a thin case from the cabinet, it's artwork on the cover depicting a crashed spaceship of unknown make overgrown by vegetation, "Raiders of the Fallen Ark, one of my favorites as a kid."

"What sort of ship is that on the cover?"

"Oh that? Belongs to an ancient race called the Precursors, entirely made up so I wouldn't put much stock in it."

"Ah... seems like an odd decision to make up an ancient alien race when there is actual otherworldly sentient beings present."

"Yeah well this was made really early in the period of human space exploration, didn't know what exactly was out there yet so there might have been just a smidge of speculation."

"Creation of an entire species seems more like a smidge."

He laughed, "You got me there, but like I said, I don't sweat the details. It's fun to watch."

He pulled a small chip from the case and slid it into the panel, walking back over the counter and procuring a tall, dark green bottle and two glasses that let out a ringing sound as they clinked against each other.

"You strike me as a wine type," David said, placing the bottle and glasses down on a stand next to the couch.

"Wine?" I asked with a bit of concern, "This isn't like your whiskey is it?"

He chuckled as he poured a red liquid out of the bottle and into the glass, "No, this one is a bit... smoother than that."

He handed me a glass after swirling it in his hand for a bit. I took it, looking at the liquid with some caution given me previous experience with human alcohol, but eventually sipped at it curiously. The taste was both sweet and bitter, with the alcohol more of an aftertaste than anything immediate. It was... pleasant.

"This is good," I said, with more surprise than appraisal.

"Looks like I was right," he said with a smile, then, putting on a dignified face and mimicking what I assumed was somewhat of a posh accent said, "This is the finest Bordeaux, fermented from the finest grapes in the region straight from Earth."

"Sounds impressive."

"Wouldn't it be? No this is just a two buck chuck I bought at a supermarket before I left," he said with a laugh, "That kind of wine costs a small fortune."

I swirled the glass in my hand, "Well regardless, this is a fine drink, far better than the last one you gave me."

"Probably also helps that we're not planning to kill anything later today."

"Well I was planning to kill someone that day, you didn't make that decision till later."

"You'd be right, but when you're in our kind of work... it always sits at the back of your mind you know?"

I sipped the wine, "You aren't wrong..."

"Anyways, enough about work, we've got about two hours to let the sauce simmer, which gives us enough time to watch a movie."

And watch the movie we did. The movie was more fast paced than I had anticipated, making the two hours length it took up feel like half that. It was a rather simple movie, telling the tale of a team of down on their luck adventurers finding an ancient crashed spaceship that they decide to raid for any pieces of salvage they could sell. Of course, things were not as they seemed, and the group instead finds themselves entangled with a secret organization hoping to harvest the ancient technology for their own purposes. It was a movie with a predictable plot and acting that was... functional, but David looked at it with a glimmer in his eye that I fully understood. It was much like the look I had when I listened to the stories of my elders as a child, and perhaps for David the movie was the same. Something to fill his head with grand visions, grand ideals.

"So, what did you think?" he asked.

I smirked at the question, particularly at how hopeful it sounded, "Well it's a little dated by modern standards, the acting was spotty in some places, and I'm pretty sure half the feats performed in the movie are physically impossible by even a Jorakin."

David snorted.

"But... it was enjoyable," I added.

He smiled at that, "Glad it was."

"Yes, it reminds me of a lot of the stories I heard as a child actually, from some of my kind that returned from their Pilgrimages."

David turned in his seat, facing me, "Really? If you don't mind may I hear one of them?"