Stenn made it to the restaurant a few minutes before his companion would. It wasn't hard to find, on one of the biodome mezzanines and with a stellar view of the nebulas. Normally the type of place he avoids. Not pleasant being so much in open, and not usually something he has time for. Today is different. He's not under contract, has free time, and actually wanted to come here.
It was a weird feeling. He opts to wait by the entry rather than get a table in advance. No point in assuming they would also like to come here. It's not the type of place that suits everyone. But then again, neither of them are just anyone.
Eliza was late again. Being late had almost turned into a signature move of hers by now. The girl wanted to prep herself a bit before this spontaneous dinner offer. As spontaneous as it could be considered, having in mind that she almost had to beg Nick to dare and ask her out again. If he had contemplated on it any longer she feared she might have had to ask him out herself.
In her own mind her auburn hair was still a mess no matter how much she tried to fix it and eventually the Maltese accepted defeat with an annoyed puff. It was as good as it could go, given the situation. Perhaps the messy hair and the flight suit could all be pushed as a more casual angle to this dinner? Not like she had a choice, she thought to herself as she made her way to the agreed meetup spot.
There he was, sitting at the restaurant's entryway. Was something wrong? Did he have second thoughts about this? Eliza had such thoughts herself but tried to suppress them. She closed the remaining distance a bit more shyly and tried to peek inside the restaurant before asking worriedly.
"Sorry I took so long. Why are you still here, is the place full or something? Don't tell me we forgot to make a reservation!"
"I was waiting to see if you'd show. Didn't wanna go sit inside alone for hours." His voice was light, but had a hint of seriousness in it. "Luckily it's not full yet. We can still get a table. If you're in the mood for steak and loud music that is."
Stenn was still in his own flight suit, having headed straight to the restaurant from his ship, his mind already focusing on more important matters than how he looked. Its been a while since they had last met up, and aside from the unlikely chance encounter they'd had crossing paths in Honshu, he was certain that he'd never have asked her to meet. He was only slightly shocked that she had said yes. Even if she had basically forced him to ask again to say so.
Eliza nodded enthusiastically with a smile. It was evident to her that Nick was also having some doubts about this dinner. There was no point feeding them further with her own concerns about all this. What was done was done, no point to turn tail now when they got this far. Plus a steak sounded quite alluring to her empty stomach.
"Yeah, sure. I'm starving!"
The girl motioned him to go in. Even though Eliza had spent considerable time on Freeport 11, she never had the chance to visit this restaurant before. The place looked pretty new and renovated, perhaps it was built after the last siege on the station. Freeport 11 had an ill history of being under siege a lot, even over something as simple as a warehouse full of cigarettes. Hopefully such a thing would not happen again right about now and ruin this dinner, she hoped.
Well, this was going to be interesting to say the least. "Found this place while the whole Carthage crisis was going down. It's quieter now that all the opportunists and mercs are gone, but still has good food." Holding the door open, he ushers her in. A few hand signs later and the two find themselves in a relatively quiet corner table. Relative for the location at least. Even without the influx of extra pilots drawn by the conflict, the place is nearly packed and some variation of rock and kusari music mix is being played loud enough to keep conversations private.
He waits a moment while they settle in. "So how come you were in Honshu?"
Eliza leaned forward onto the table as she looked around the establishment. She wasn't entirely sure how she missed visiting this place, especially considering this station and the now gone Carthage addon were her home for the majority of that last Freeport 11 crisis. Either way she quickly found the charm in the place, regardless of the fact she always considered Rheinland music vastly superior. After this brief survey of her surroundings, the girl's attention turned back to Stenn.
"Sigmas used to be my home away from home at one point. And with this new war between Rheinland and Kusari I wanted to check up on the place."
Her visage produced a hint of sadness as her otherwise cheerful smile shrunk noticeably before she continued.
"Plus I needed a bit of fresh air so to speak. Things at 'home' have not gone exactly great over the last week... What about you, Nick? What brought you to Kusari?"
The Maltese quickly shifted the attention to her friend as she was quite curious what Stenn had been up to ever since he disbanded the Forlorn Hope and disappeared almost as if into cold void of space.
He had known this question was coming since they had crossed paths in Honshu. He still didn't have a good answer. "Samura wanted their security wing brought up to speed. They hired me, and I hired some old friends." He considers skipping over the first part of her question, but decides its worth an answer.
"I've been drifting aimlessly mostly. Moving on autopilot. Needed to clear my head a bit, and get away from everything. So I went back to Lost. Just like every other time, I couldn't let go so easily, and made it out. Since then, I've been ghosting through the edge worlds, trying to figure out a plan."
"Nick! You know those Omicron worlds are bad mojo! You really shouldn't be going there, especially alone!"
The young girl quickly protested his reckless endeavor into those dark edges of the Omicrons where nothing good ever lingered. A bit hypocritical of her, considering her habit of exploring those very same systems all alone, though her concern for Nick's well being was greater. Eliza gave out a sigh of helplessness before continuing.
"A plan? What do you need a plan for? I mean you've got a deal with Samura, right? Sounds like a good job. How many of the old Forlorn wing are coming back? I've lost contact with all of them. I bet Sanada could be of help around Kusari!"
In her mind, the Maltese tried to recall last time the infamous Nick Stenn was actually enjoying life and not thinking of work. Sadly no such memory appeared in her head. Surely everyone could use a little break every once in a while, she tried to comfort her concerns as her eyes slowly drifted around the place.
"You know, next time you feel gloomy just take a vacation somewhere nice and sunny instead of ending up in the Omicrons. It always helped for me, at least."
He almost looked surprised, like he hadn't expected her reaction. The silence grows as it slowly becomes clear that Stenn has no idea what to say next.
Eliza blinked in sheer surprise. This was not even remotely close to any kind of answer she expected of him. Why did Stenn have a private island on a pleasure world such as Curacao at that if his idea of vacation was venturing into a forsaken place such as Omicron Lost was his idea of vacation? Men, she figured she'd never really understand them. Not that she understood women, but that was a different story. Lost in her own head, the girl realized they had slipped into the dreaded awkward silence. A killer of moods, a downward spiral that becomes worse the longer it lasts. Her senses quickly switched to search and destroy mode as she began looking for stimuli in the room that could be that life belt out of this tricky situation.
"I never figured you like someone who enjoys Kusari music, Nick. The aesthetics of the place are pretty cool though! And the view! It just needs a bit smoother music to seal the mood."
The girl's azure eyes locked on Nick Stenn with expectation. She did her part, it was his turn. A conversation is a two players' game.
![[Image: nvLh5yk.png]](https://i.imgur.com/nvLh5yk.png)