Part 4: Meetup

: It was a lot easier to get in than I had expected. I would have thought it'd still be out of use for the public.



: Observatories had been repurposed as lookouts during the war effort. They hadn't been used to explore the stars that whole time; instead, they were focusing on Earth's immediate sphere of influence.

: That's like buying a pair of binoculars and using them to inspect your fingernails. With the war over, we can finally start studying the stars again!

: That sounds great and all... but on the other hand, we just dealt with one evil, invading alien species for the past thirteen years. Do you think we'd all be excited at the prospect of finding more?





Whoa, Nikita. That's pretty speciesist, comparing a sentient alien race to dogs!

: I think that's an unfair comparison. That's like comparing dogs to coyotes.

: ... What were we arguing about again?



: But hey, we're here! Neither of us have been to the observatory in all our lives, and now, here it is. Here we are.

: Yep. Here we are. We're at the observatory.

: We sure are.

: Now what?





: Yeah, we didn't think particularly far ahead on that one, did we?

: But hey, this place has an observation deck. And it's got a handful of those standing, pay-for binoculars.

: If we can't see the stars, maybe we can at least see the city we live in at a different angle.

: That's not a bad idea. I feel like I've only ever seen fifteen feet in front of me.

: I don't know if it'll give us any ideas on what to do with our futures, but hey, at least it'll be fun!





: It's a lot different seeing your city in person, and at an angle like this, than it is in pictures or paintings.

: See any spots you recognize?

: Yeah, a couple... I can see my engineering school. I can see the lookout platform that we met on.

: Let me ask a really pretentious question: have you found what you're looking for?

: Heh. I'll tell you when I've found it.

: Well, that was nice while it lasted.

As far as I know, this was meant to be a moment where the player could click around the sights of the city to get context about where we are and what's there to do in town. Sadly, it was entirely scrapped and never written, not even cut content to piece together.





: Wha – jeez! Carla!



: And as soon as I laid my eyes on the observatory, I figured, 'yeah, Ezra would be sentimental enough to want to spend her first morning as a free woman going to a place like the observatory. That or a museum.'

: And lo and behold, here you are!



: Sometimes, I wonder.



: ...

: *Sigh* Yes, Nikita, she's a friend.

: ... She certainly has a different energy than we do.



: And there's only so much low-energy to go around in Subsection Four. If I acted like Ezra, we'd both be too sleepy to do anything in the day.

: Although, we'd make great sleeping aides for each other.



: No, those eggshells would break. I am too fat.



: Nikita Klein. Ezra and I have known each other for maybe an hour.

: Carla Vaughn. Ezra and I live in the same dormitory at school.



: I can give you the quick-and-dirty version:



: We were only classmates for most of our childhood, but once we became teenagers and we happened to move into the same dormitory, well... I'll let you fill in the blanks.



: They said that proper socializing and merriment was to help keep our morale from dropping too low, what with the Riklid trying to destroy everything we hold dear and whatnot.

: Ezra and I bonded over the fact that 'mandatory socializing for the betterment of your mental health' seemed oxymoronic when they could have just, I dunno, given us a three-day weekend or something. We've been pretty close friends ever since.

Close friends, but not dating friends? Just with benefits? Interesting. Perhaps either Ezra or Carla weren't ready to declare their relationship official all this time?



: 'Pretty close friends,' she says.

: ... I can't say anything.

: We just had a threesome with a Ghian last night, but Nikita doesn't need to know that. She knows she could bring it up, but I know she won't.

: Telling her not to mention it is as bad as me saying it myself. Not saying anything puts all my trust in her to not be weird by bringing it up.

: Look at her. She knows what she's done. She's enjoying this.

: So, you say you two just met? Damn, Ezra, you work fast. She's cute as heck.

: Oh, before I forget–

: No, Ezra, don't take this from me.

: *Ahem.*

: Who is cute as heck, Miss Vaughn?

: It's you, cutie pie!

: And what was the exact sentence you said to Ezra just now?







: A really good looking one.

: Damn right I am.

: ...





: Wha?

: Oh. Yeah, you're a ten, or whatever.



: Now, now, you two; there's no need to get so upset over me.

: She's not upset, Nikita. She's fishing for attention. Change the subject before you give her what she wants.

: Here, like this: Carla, what really brought you to the observatory? If you wanted to track me down that badly, you could have just called.



: But anyway, let me answer that question with a question:

: Did you come here because you looked up, saw the observatory, realized that you've never been here before, and then realized that you have nothing but free time for the foreseeable future?

: ... Yes, actually, that's the total and complete reason I'm here.

: Same. It's a small world, Ezra.

: For as drunk as we got last night, I still remember the conversations that we had fairly clearly. And now I'm sober enough to take the concerns that you had a little more... personally.

: Knowing you and your 'I need to let everyone know how I think the sky is falling' attitude, you've probably already spoken with Nikita about how we should be taking our approach to the future a little differently now that the war is over.



: Sure am... but a big part of it is that Ezra is just that predictable.

: I prefer 'consistent,' thanks.

: Sure, you're definitely both of those things.

: But... yeah. Now that I've gotten all of that partying out of my system, I woke up today wondering the same things. And I imagine a lot of others will.



: Not any more than you two have, I think.



: Personally, I'm... I'm still kind of reeling from the news. I had gotten so... I guess the right word would be 'inured' to the idea that, in less than a year's time, I was going to be doing my training tour around the asteroid belt before I was put on the front lines.

: For years, I had been grappling with the idea of: 'Holy shit, I'm probably going to die' if I did that. I was probably going to die at twenty-five years old, in a pressurized, rocket-propelled, one-seater spaceship the size of a trailer in the cold vacuum of space.

: And this morning was the first time that that thought didn't cross my mind.

: ...



: ...

: Now that's an attitude I can empathize with!

Carla absolutely picked up on something, but didn't push. Good on you for knowing when to stop, Carla.

: The future isn't going anywhere, and now, we don't have to worry about it coming to us. I'm all for just kicking back, opening a cold one, and letting the world pass me by for a few days.

: That, or, well, more of last night. Which I think is safe to say is going to happen for... at least a few more nights.

: Which part? All of it?

: I'll decide that when I get there.

: So! Here we are in an observatory.

: This place was always open to the public, but I can't imagine it got a ton of tourism during the war. I wonder how they plan on handling the influx of visitors they're no doubt going to get.

: Nikita and I were just wondering that earlier, actually. It's probably going to take a while, but eventually, we're going to relax enough to stare at the stars for the science and the wonder of it rather than keeping watch for enemy combatants again.



: During the day?

: ... That's a good point.

: Yeah, Nikita and I also realized that too late.

: That's a shame. I was kind of hoping we'd be able to see Earth. I've never seen her before.

: Oh, you never have?

: No, never. I was born in Subsection Three, but I moved here when I was five, and I haven't left ever since.

: We have that in common, then! I've done all of my training in simulators and gravity chambers; I've never actually seen Earth, let alone even been in her airspace.

: What about you, Ezra? Have you ever been to Earth? Or even seen her in something other than a picture?

: No, not me. And as far as I know, neither has my dad; the closest he's gotten is Mars, where he did most of his military time.

: The only one in my family that's physically been on Earth is my mom.

: Isn't that funny? Three Earthlings, all together, but we've never even seen the Earth with our own eyes!

So then, where is everyone at? You'd think by now it'd be clear. The introduction of the game said only the Earth, Mars, and the Moon were colonized or fighting back against the Riklid.



: Hmm...

: Carla, look at that one monitor, the one closest to our left.



: ... Well, I'll be darned.

: ... Today's Sunday, right?

: Last I checked.



: But that will be then, and this is now. And right now, I'm in the mood for some lunch. Who's with me?

: Yeah, I could stand to go somewhere. What about you, Nikita?





: In fact, let's trade registries. I want to get back in touch with you both sometime soon.

: Uh, if that isn't too forward of me, I mean.

: Are you kidding? I'd love nothing more than a guy friend I can trade hair-care tips with!

: Oh, perfect!



: Any hints on what this other appointment of yours is, Nikita? Or is it something personal?

: No, it's fine; I just wanted to go check in on some family of mine, and after that, I need to call my CO to check in.

: While our training has been formally concluded in the wake of the war's end, I got a message earlier today saying to check in for our final evaluations.

: And, well, now that I'm mostly sober and the war is over, I have a few questions about my academic future that I'd like clarified while I'm there.

: Yeah, that all makes sense to me.

: It was great meeting you two!

: Likewise! Say 'hi' to whoever for me!





: Well, either way, you know he's walking out of that door thinking to himself, 'what could Carla have meant by 'whoever'?'



: That's how you get people to remember you, Ezra. Just say something stupid every now and again.



That's very true, although there's a fine line between "stupid" and "idiotic." People can only give so much slack!

: Well, I suppose if you don't mind people thinking that you're occasionally a buffoon.

: I'm no buffoon. But I do enjoy tomfoolery from time to time. I am a tomfoolerist on my off-hours.

: Oh, and he could definitely tell that we had sex last night.

: What makes you so sure?



: But there's no way a guy that looks like that couldn't sniff us out like a bloodhound.

: You think Nikita gets a lot, too?



: I get the better impression that... he's not a prude, exactly, but, well... just because someone wants to look like he does, doesn't mean he's available, you know? His tone and body language implied that he wasn't interested.

: He said he was a fighter pilot, too. Which I believe. A stomach like that takes effort, and I hear the Aerospace Force is pretty easy on hair styles compared to the military. But I'm sure he gets a lot of harassment on the base for it, and he knows how to spot the signs, as it were.

: I get the better impression that he's after emotional connections first.

: I say that after only a few minutes of talking to the guy, mind you. That's not a lot to go on.

: ... So, all of that was you talking out of your ass?

: My gut, actually. But it all comes out looking the same in the end, I suppose.

: Changing gears: did you have any plans for where you wanted to go for lunch?

: No, not especially. After all the booze last night, any decent, warm meal is probably going to taste like a gift straight from God.

: Perfect. I've got just the place.

*The screen fades to black.*