"Thanks," Niko said and took it, pouring syrup all over the pancakes. He
appreciated the gesture even if his mind was too pre-occupied now to savor the
taste. "I was so hungry, I thought it was much later than it was, and now I don't
feel hungry at all."
Anders tech glinted in the light of the moon, and Niko admired it for all of a
second before Anders raised eyebrow made him look away, blushing.
"You know I have that effect on every single person on this base," Anders
laughed. "It means nothing to admire one of us."
"Something in the water?" Niko stabbed a little of his pancake off, the syrup
he'd just lovingly poured over it dripping off as it dangled from his spork.
Anders stared at him, a slightly crooked smile permeating the corner of his
lips. "You just can't help yourself, can you?"
Niko winked at him and shoved the pancake in his mouth, also grinning.
"I love this view," Anders drank some of his coffee, the smell drifting over
to Niko.
"Same," Niko said and chewed. "It never alters its beauty no matter how
much we throw at it."
"Something just so peaceful about the lull of the ocean and the hum of the
helos."
Niko surveyed the bustling activity of Station Five, its towering edifices and
the constant stream of helos taking off and landing. "They're up and about early."
"Sometimes they never get breaks," Anders remarked providing context for
their early activity.
Niko let out a sigh, recognizing the all too-familiar truth in Anders words. A
day off was a rare luxury, and the current break he was on had been forced upon
him, leaving him anxious and uncertain about what lay ahead.
"I don't know what's coming for me," Niko confessed, finally voicing his
fears.
"You're in a position few would like to be," Anders noted, his tone
sympathetic.
"What's that?"
"One where life and its choices matter the most." Anders explained picking
up a salt shaker and using the salt to draw a Y pattern on the table. "This is you,"
he said, pointing at the straight. "Two paths lie ahead."
Niko stared at the salt pattern his emotions as unsettled as the wobbling
pancake on his spork. "I don't know what to do."
"I can't tell you which path to take," Anders replied softly.
"But you will?" Niko looked hopefully at the Techean.
Anders frowned and shook his head. "No, these choices are yours and yours
alone."
Niko took a bite of his food, savoring the contrasting flavors of the syrup and
the coffee. The stark reality he needed right now.
"How long have you been here?" Niko asked eager to shift the conversation
from his impending life changing decisions.
"The bar system's been in my family since the station was taken over." He
picked up a slice of fake bacon. "I was born here."
"But not as Techean?"
"No." He chewed thoughtfully. "You know this. We're all regular human just
like you at birth."
Niko nodded, but he knew there was much about Techean history and their
transformative decisions that he didn't understand. "You still made the decision,
though, to become one?"
"It's nice having two legs," Anders acknowledged with a shrug, then he
glanced down his naked torso, and with a flick of his tail, the water sloshed up all
around him. "But it's even nicer seeing what's in the deep without worrying about
drowning."
Niko moved his arm just in time as the tiny wave washed over the barrier
separating them. "Never much liked water," he confessed, and picked his own
mug up, savoring the bitter, yet full bodied flavor of his drink.
"We are oceans apart," Anders said.
Niko thought about it for a moment and ate some more. The salt Y in front of
him stared right at the back. He watched as the bitter ocean breeze spread salt
particles over his table, then he laughed. "Couldn't help yourself either, right?"
Anders laughed too. "Nope, every single lead I get."
Though silence spread before them almost as vast as the ocean. Anders
waited and then asked carefully. "What makes you want to fly?"
"That," Niko pointed out to the sun as it rose higher into the sky. It left pink
and red shimmers over the top of the almost silent waves.
"I can't argue with you," Anders said. "What you see above I see below.
Wonder."
Niko just nodded. "I want to go with Lacy." He picked his own coffee up. It
was already cooling in the morning air, and he took another large drag.
Anders stayed silent.
"I want to follow one path together." Niko said his eyes fixed on the Y-shaped
salt trail on the table. Silence drifted between them once more.
"But," Anders gently coaxed.
"But she's going places I don't want to," Niko said waving a hand over the
Y, then putting a finger in the middle of the straight, disturbing the trail. "She's
taking this path." He traced his finger up and to the left. "And I want to go on this
one."
"Hard decision," Anders glanced back as several others came into his bar
area.
"You can go," Niko said.
"I'm allowed to eat. This might be my bar, but they," he pointed over his
shoulder to the young Techean that moved to intercept the new customers. "They
run this one."
"You're really here for a friend?" Niko asked.
"A friend in need, yes."
"She'll be heartbroken." Niko pushed his plate away, feeling the emotion of
his decision.
"Lacy is a strong capable woman, and you love her, right?"
Niko smiled at that, thinking of the fiery lass which he loved. "I've never
even said it to her…"
"Said what?" a low voice asked behind him.
Niko whirled around, and there she stood. "Lacy," he choked. "What… why are you here".