The Docking Bay's speakers spoke loudly. A mechanic voice announced the arrival of the Station's Owner. A Marauder slowly descends on the landing pad, followed by its engine to slowly shut down. The young man climbed out of the cockpit, then threw himself off the ship's short wing as he slid on it towards the floor. He took a moment to glance at the numerous droids working tirelessly to add structure to the Station. While far from done, it at least took a more aesthetically pleasing shape. A droid awkwardly walked towards Vincent, resembling the walk of a penguin. "Vincent! Why are you not responding to my messages!?I've explicitly told you to take your vitamins in the morning and after lunch! You did none of that!" it said with a mechanic voice, angry at the forgetful redhead. "Sheesh, you're really going at it. Calm down before you blow a fuse, man." he frowned as he replied to the droid before phasing out for a moment. He stared at the machine as it made erratic gestures with its hands left and right in anger. "I'll head to my room, I guess....'promise I won't forget tomorrow. he said as he walked away, leaving the droid to continue its chaotic movement even after he left.
[10:45 PM]
Vincent opened the door to his room. One filled with various posters pasted poorly on the walls, most depicting the Xenos, while some would depict the Nomads. The latter ones were mostly placed around the only table in the room. A metal table filled with trinkets, home-made gadgets, an old "toy" or two and a computer using mildly outdated tech. Vincent took his jacket off, hanging it behind the door before crashing into his creaky bed. Not the tidiest bed of the bunch, but nobody would expect less from someone with a chaotic mind. He picked up a voice recorder and pressed on the only button it had, followed by a red LED to brighten up at it's side. "So...ole' journal. I've done absolutely nothing again. Although I- oh, screw it. he said, stopping midsentence to gently throw the recorder in the trash by his bed - a whole cluster of empty junk food bags, soda cans and a bottle or two of whiskey. "I've got no more ideas on how to keep these recordings as interesting as they get. Whole operation's a mess. Damien knows about the expedition to that Ancient System. At least he's not mad...I think. I'm still not sure about Raven's condition and- I'm talking alone. Cool,
Vinny. Very cool. he continued before getting up.
He took a seat before spending a minute or two to calm down. Eventually, he grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper to write something down. And a poor writing style at that.
Finish building up Station!
Ask Raven about her illness.
She probably won't respond. Ask again anyway.
Meet the Harbinger again. With proper questions this time.
Get some food.
Help Raven.
Help Damien.
Find a way to Alberta
!!!Be a hero!!!
After writing down the list, Vincent took a piece of adhesive and pasted the sheet on his poster wall, covering half of a fairly well drawn Nomad Warform.
[4:00 AM]
It was getting late, and all Vincent had done was browsing through the pictures he took as of late Alberta, the Harbinger, Vagrants with different behaviors, Sunflare Anomalies and the Anomaly Cluster which mangled a Liner. He scrolled through them for so long that saliva began dripping out of his mouth onto his favorite T-Shirt, nearly falling asleep in the process. Eventually the picture shuffling stopped at the Collapsing Jump Gate, engulfed by the Dark Matter. Whether the Gate was slowly starting to cease absorbing matter or not is yet to be figured out. A glimpse of a vanishing blue cloud was spotted by the center of the structure, which would be associated with The Harbinger, yet as things tend to defy logic, so does the Harbinger in his actions and nature.
Unfortunately, the snorting noise was beginning to fill the room as Vincent fell asleep. Head leaned backwards against the chair, hands crossed with the remote controller clutched between them, and legs stretched towards the table - one over the other. All he could think of were theories that may or may not be real. And if asking Damien for aid was a slow suicide or the smartest choice he could ever do. Without Raven to be in a decent condition, he couldn't risk taking her in another dangerous expedition.
The ship landed once again on the Station. The hangar looked better by the day as the droids did their work. Vincent got out of his Marauder with a smile on his face. With awkward, goofy walk he set off towards the Station's bar. The hallways were empty as always, just as intended. Only the sound of machinery echoed in the distance.
As he reached the bar's sliding door he reached for the handle, yet the speaker next to it killed the comfortable silence with an overly eager, mechanic voice. "Vinny, my man! Been hoping you'd show up and visit your pal!" said the droid as the sliding door opened abruptly. On the other side, the machine sat leaned against the counter, extending one of its four arms with a bottle of whiskey and another with a bottle opener. "H- Hey! How you doing, Tick? I didn't know you'd be expecting me." he replied, staring awkwardly at the droid. He eventually took a seat next to the counter - one of those taller chairs. The sliding door closes, letting the two to have a more comfortable conversation with no unnecessary eavesdropping - not that anyone would do any spying, since nobody inhabited the Station except Vincent.
[11:00 PM]
The chatter between Tick and Vincent carried on for a little bit over an hour, which held multiple topics ranging from any general plans to the latest news and adventures. While not all of the subjects were really subject for discussion, some sparked interest in the droid's metal head. After a bottle of whiskey or two, the two began to reminisce about recent events. "So...this girl you met. What about her? I didn't quite get your point." asked Tick with a rather curious tone, gently shoving Vincent's shoulder with his own metallic elbow as a means to lighten up the mood. "I met this girl just today, you know. Lumia Saksa. She's alright. I'll admit I did the same mistake I did with Eliza back then - judging by the affiliation. I told Cobra about her initially, thinking that he might want to have fun and shoot. Turns out he knew her all along! They're neutrals, even. So...I eventually ended up helping her not get caught or be suspected by the local badges to find out about her relations. Played as an alibi. She was to be my escort." Vincent replied as he took another shot from the whiskey glass. Ice had already melted from his glass. Tick tilts his head to the left as he looks at Vincent, then frantically speeds his head several times over, yelling as loud as his voice box would let him. "Wo-o-o-o-o-h! Vinny's finally found someone!" he said, continuing afterwards. "So? What happened next? You didn't just leave her to go, right? Golden chance like that you won't see. Probably ever! Did you ask for her number?". Vincent stood straight, staring at Tick, frowning afterwards as he sat back on the chair, lowering his head on the counter and covering it with his arms, mildly embarassed despite being alone on the Station. "Urgh...look. She's cool and all that. I mean it. But I still want to know how is Eliza before...moving on. Lumia left me her number to keep in touch, that's for sure. I guess that'd help to an extent." Tick shook his head, disappointed by the young man's poor decision-making and lack of social skills.
[12:45 PM]
"...so then I started telling her about yadda dadda...a job offer and - and urgh...- said Vincent with half a mouth as if he was anesthetized regarding a topic he didn't manage to remember the next day. "You are pretty damn bad with women, you know. Study a bit. See how she behaves around you. Act accordingly! Eliza surely has dumped you. Maybe she never really loved you in the first place, or ever. Stop following blind emotions when the ones before your very eyes are telling you to see about this Lumia of yours! You're twenty years old, damnit." Tick replied, leaned against the counter. Vincent stared at the droid with one eye open and one eye closed, followed by a half-smile. He waved off Tick's tips and got up, stumbling towards the exit of the bar. As he was closing in to his room which was about a few dozen meters away from the bar he opened his PDA, staring at Lumia's number and a message he made up in the bar. Eventually, he put the device back into his pocket, refusing to contact her at that time. Messaging her the next day was a wiser choice, for sure.
The sliding door to Vincent's room opened together with the bright lights. With the last of his strength he turned the lights off and crashed into the bed - one filled with bags of junk food, yet a pillow prepared just right.
Vincent stood on the floor, leaned against one of the bar's couches while staring through the large window the bar had on the side. Multiple bottles of beer littered the floor around him. Tick stood by the counter, cleaning a few glasses with a mildly worn piece of cloth after rinsing them with water. The droid eventually broke the silence as he addressed to Vincent with a crackly, mechanic voice. "It can't be that bad, can it? Come on, V. Liberty won't attack a civilian in the Independent Worlds just like that. And even then, I've heard that friend of yours has the whole Xeno Alliance ready to jump in for you. You've also got plenty of other friends!"
The young nerd didn't respond. Instead he grabbed another bottle which had some beer left inside, albeit warm. He drank whatever was left and rolled the bottle towards the window. The clanking sound between the two objects made itself heard throughout the bar. "Raven told me that the Nomads finally found me out. They could invade this place at any time. To top it all off, the Station is not nearly as ready to fend off any attackers..." he replied with a weak, tired voice. The droid stared at him for a brief second, pausing his routine of cleaning glasses, only to resume after a second, taking his sight off Vincent and back at what he was doing before. "Look. Whatever happens, I can only say that I liked what you did in this place. What we did, if we count that all this booze got you out of some nasty pinches. But it doesn't have to be the end of it. You've still got the Xenos. You've still got the Auxo. And you certainly have three ships at your disposal." said the droid, before lifting the glass he was cleaning above his head, and staring through it to see if it has been cleaned properly. "You tried to not take any sides. But I suppose I'm not the first one to say that you should probably choose one now. Or if you still don't want to do that, I think calling every single friend you've got might be a good idea."
The sound of bottles being toppled started to emanate in the bar as well as the loud footsteps that accompanied them. The droid looked away from the glass to see what is this commotion about. "Vincent?" asked the droid, but nobody was there to reply.
Vincent's ship landed in the hangar. He jumped off the cockpit before the sliding door opened fully, then ran straight for the hangar's exit. Every droid that stood in his way was pushed aside by the young man. Tick was one of them. "Hey- HEY! What the-" said the droid as he hit his wall with his back. Tick only saw his owner running through the right corridor. The droid straightened up, then sighted, albeit in his own mechanical way, already knowing that something didn't quite go as planned. "What did you do now..."
Vincent's room was always at war with the term "clean". This time, however, it was entirely wrecked. One would barely be able to walk through it without stepping on clothing, or bags of junk food. As Tick approached the young man's room, he could hear thumping noises. The door slid open. Vincent was taking jabs at the nearest wall, cussing at himself. His fists were bleeding, smearing blood over the metal wall with each punch. "What on Pittsburgh do you think you're doing?!" said the droid as concern took over. "Are you TRYING to get yourself in the medical ward again?! Are you TRYING to give me a short-circuit?! he continued. Vincent eventually stopped punching the metal wall of his room, which was already covered by droplets of blood, with a larger smear in the middle. He turned towards the droid, leaned against the wall he was hitting, sliding down on it, then faced the floor. "I- messed- I just- I m-messed up. S-So...fuck. So- why. Why could- How- WHY?!" said the young man, though his voice was trembling, drowned by the sudden cascade of emotions dropping down on him.
"You are not making any sense, Vince. Relax, have a drink and then let it all out in a constructive way. Inflicting trauma on yourself doesn't quite help." said the droid while taking a seat on Vincent's bed, located adjacently to his owner. "You have time. I have time. Both of us do. So tell me. What's been bothering you?" he added, supporting his head on his arms, staring down at the mess the man before him has left. Vincent rested his head against the wall. At first, he couldn't gather enough strength to build up a sentence, let alone a conversation. He stood silent for a while, then tried again. "I- I met...Raven today- and. I'm not sure what went through my head. I- I don't even know why I even-..." he paused for a second, then continued. "I was trying to get her to keep trying to...survive. She kept fighting for me to live. I thought returning the favor would help her case. But- I-. Tick, I indirectly threatened to get rid of all the people she held dear so that she would have time for herself to try and live despite...all that mess she's gotten herself into-"
Tick stood idle for a brief second, then interrupted Vincent before he could finish that sentence. "So you worded out something bad, but she didn't catch wind of it. What's the big deal about it? Get a hold of yourself and try again. Tell her you want to help, and nothing else." he said to the young scientist, though he only got in turn disapproval.
[03:00 AM]
Vincent and Tick spent roughly two to three hours trying to make a hold of the situation. Eventually, all was explained to a certain extent. Tick got up and walked towards Vincent, then started bandaging the man's knuckles, even though the blood had clogged long ago. Look. I get what you mean. Everyone throughout their life has done something so stupid that everyone in Sirius would slap their forehead in shock if they saw. Trick is to not let it affect you. And that thing with The Order? Just let them. It's their funeral, not yours. Being someone's tool isn't something that you were usually fond of. You have the skills, and you certainly have the friends to back you up in things go south." added the droid as a means to re-open the conversation on friendlier terms, hoping to raise the morale. Vincent simply nodded in turn, making up a faint smile as he got up after having his hands lightly bandaged to cover the wounds. He walked up towards his bed, crashing into it. "...thank you, for everything. I just hope she won't- well. I think I have to stay low for a while."
The droid kept his eyes locked on Vincent as he stood up, then walked up to the door. "For now rest. I'll vouch for you if anything happens." he said as he turned off the lights, followed by the door to close behind him as he exited room.
