Warning : MAJOR Book one and Book Two (now on "Pay Tree On" !) spoilers, tread with cation!

Niles missed his friends.

It had been almost a year since the Hegemony had found them drifting for space, interrogated them, separated them, and stuck him in a random district in the middle of the Mercantile with nothing but the clothes on his back, and the gaunt on his wrist. He hadn't seen or heard from anyone; Quix, Chellor, Isaak, Ten, Note, even boy wonder Val. Just told that he had a new set of rules to follow, and that he couldn't reach out to anyone from the Manta for now .

At first, he tried to fight it. Made a big deal, asked every day when he could see them again, where his ship was, about what the Hegemony was going to do about what they discovered. Niles made sure that if they were going to make his life hell, he was going to make theirs as well. Thank the architects that his parole officer was patient… or maybe he just knew that after a while; Nile would run out of steam.

The anger simmered down as the first few jobs fell through, his attitude less than stellar about the whole situation. He realized that his rage wouldn't pay the bills, and finally landed a job at a little diner. It paid decently; enough to get him his lights on, his belly full, and a few more clothes here and there. He knew he was no use to the team if he was half starved and a little crazier than before, so he decided that just keeping his head down was maybe all he could do right now.

There was a rowdiness that kept pipping up from the other side of the establishment, Niles looking to see what it was this time. So far, he had seen two nox, another kurgaw, a dahmack, and a mowlin sitting at the same table. They had an empty chair with them, which he thought was because they were waiting for someone, but after a while realized that there was a picture of a Veti'rii…probably a friend they lost a long time ago. The two nox were at it again, not with each other, but with threats directed at the kurgaw, who looked like he could give so little of a shit about whatever they were mad at him about. The mowlin was laughing, and the poor dahmak just seemed exhausted by it all, yet glanced at the picture, and smiled.

Niles couldn't help but think about his own time with the crew. Chellor, his stupid nicknaming and glass empty attitude; Isaak and his humbleness, Quix with her wittiness- damnit, he missed her. Almost as much as he missed his spry little co-pilot Note. Ten with her serious, level headedness, and then Val. Val… he was family. They all felt like family after what happened, but Val the most of all. Like a little brother, and it had hurt the most to watch him be torn away.

The bartender came back around and he ordered another drink, quickly slurping down the contents. Still lost in thought, he took the glass and tossed it over his shoulder-

"Hey, what the-?!" A voice made Niles jump in his seat and he turned to see he had accidentally pegged a dahmack right in the shoulder with it. They tossed it around like a hot potato before they caught it, looking frazzled.

"Oh, shit! Didn't see you there. You alright?" He asked, standing. The dahmack looked back at him, seeming irked.

"What in the name of- why did you throw a glass at me?"

"It wasn't at you, I had no idea you were there! I just-" He paused, and after a moment, made a gesture like throwing the drink over his shoulder, "...tossed it back, y'know?"

The dahmack - who's color he couldn't tell if it was blue or purple, speckled with silver blotches and flecks that glowed in the low light - looked at him incredulously, and he weakly smiled. They were wearing a dark brown uniform of sorts, made for maintenance workers employed directly by the Mercantile Repair Network, or MRN, for short. He couldn't make out their nametag, it was smudged with something. However, despite all that, he kept coming back to their eyes. They reminded him of.. Something. Something, he couldn't put his finger on yet.

"Look, I apologize. Can I… buy you a drink to make it up to you?" Niles asked. He saw them give him a measuring up-and-down look, and he couldn't help but feel awkward in his food-stained pants and white t-shirt, rolled up sleeves to boot. After a moment, however, they shrugged.

"I suppose I can't pass up a free drink as an apology for being dome'd."

Niles nodded, and pulled out a chair for them, then sat back into his own. They awkwardly wrapped the end of their tail around their ankle, holding the cup Niles had thrown. He grimaced a little.

"Here, I'll take that."

"Oh, yeah, here." The dahmack laughed a little, handing it over. The bartender came back, and looked expectantly at them, "Erm…"

"Order whatever you want."

"Thanks. May I have a SunSet?"

"Indeed. Sir?" The bartender turned back to Niles.

"I'll take more of what I've been drinking. Thanks."

The bartender nodded, and left to make their drink. Niles tapped his clawed fingers on the counter, then turned back to his company.

"I'm Niles. Niles Oron."

"Niles? Nice to meet you. I'm Space."

"Space…? Like, outer space?"

"I suppose you could say that, yeah."

"I like it, unique, one of a kind." Niles said, leaning an elbow on the counter, "What brought you down here, Space?"

"Oh, I was going to meet a friend but she had something come up at the last minute. Worried me a little, that almost never happens. How about you?"

"Oh, just relaxing after a long shift, got a day off tomorrow for the first time in weeks."

"Wow, that's rough. Where do you work?"

Niles laughed a little, rubbing his quill down as he debated lying, embarrassed, "I'm a… cook at Nebula Noms?"

To his surprise, their eyes lit up, "Really? They have such good food!"

"Oh, well, you definitely came before I started cooking then." Niles laughed, "I'm good, but not quite what the last cook was. The regulars make sure I know it."

"Well I'm a regular, and I never noticed." Space shrugged.

"How about you?"

"Eh, nothing special, I do commercial electrical installation."

"Damn, that's some pretty high dollar work."

"Yeah, well, I'm a late bloomer. Haven't started making bank yet. Don't think I will, it's kinda… well, it's got an environment that isn't too friendly to my lifestyle."

"...what do you… mean by that?"

"Well, I mean…. Ah, I can't explain it."

The bartender came back, and gave them their drinks. Space lifted it, and started to drink from the straw. Niles was a little more restrain than prior, sipping his- holy fuck, this was aweful. He held in a cough, setting down his drink and remembering to make sure he never sipped his slammers.

Behind them, there was a riot at the same table, and the two looked to see that one of the nox- the one without ear fur - had stood up. She was leaning over the table, almost in the kurgaw's face as he sat back unaffected, chewing something, hand in a little bag. The Mowlin said something and the Nox leaned back to look at them, and right then, the kurgaw removed his hand, and pinged the nox in the snout with… a berry.

Slowly, the nox turned her head back. It was now, Niles noticed the handle on her back, and could only imagine that there was probably some sort of bludgeoning weapon on the other end of it. The whole table had fallen quiet, but Niles could just barely hear, "You want another, Ekiya?"

The table burst into a roar of laughter as 'Ekiya' inhaled, sighed, and sat: defeated.

"Damn, that was close." Space commented.

"Nha, they've been doing that all night. I bet they're really tight, otherwise that kurgraw would have probably been stuck to the dart board an hour ago."

Space laughed, sipping their drink again, "You seem to be talking from experience."

Niles had picked up his drink, going for another sip before pausing. A wave of sadness hit him, and he decided that slamming this would hurt more. Quickly, he tossed it back, and went to throw the glass over his shoulder, stopped, then put it down on the counter. He was wrong, the burn hurt, but not long enough. Sitting before him, waiting patiently, the dahmack watched him.

"Did I say something wrong, Niles?"

"No, no… I had friends, real close friends. But, we did something stupid, something we knew was stupid from the second we started it and now… I can't say if I'll ever see them again."

"Have you… tried to reach out to them?"

"It's not that simple, but… I wish I could explain. But I do miss them, and I wish I could tell them that."

There was a silence that expanded for a moment, before Space said "I guess I know what you mean."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Last year, when the Cell attacked-" Space paused. Niles felt a lump in his throat as they cast their eyes downward, "I lost someone close. Real close."

"Did they…?"

"...yeah. I wasn't there when it happened, but… I wish I had gotten a chance to say goodbye."

"I'm so sorry, Space."

"It's alright. What are your friends like?"

"Well…I know two vaulters, Chellor and Isaak. Chellor was kinda an asshole at first, but he got…well, less of an asshole. Isaak was quiet, kept to himself. Survived the shit though, you know? Then we had Quix, the little scientist; easily excited, loved everything new. Very smart, kind. Ten, she was alright, had a big heart; cared alot more than she let on. Same for Note, but she had potential to be a great pilot, I saw it when she flew with me. Then.. well, there was Val."

"Val?"

"Yeah. Kid's got a little bit of a hero complex, but I mean that in a good way, yknow? He had alot on his shoulders, and he wanted to try and fix things. I guess… sometimes when you try to fix things, you sometimes can break other things."

"Oh goodness, that should be a mantra." Space laughed, "You said pilot… do you have a ship?"

"Oh, Manta, my pride and joy. She was my sweetheart for ten years… now I don't know where she is, hopefully…" Niles didn't want to think what could have happened to his ship by now, and shut his eyes, "Hopefully she's having great adventures."

Space smiled a little sadly, "I hope she is, for your sake."

"Thanks… What about you, do you have any friends?"

"Oh well, of course! My friend Mewl, she helps with all the paperwork side of shipyards, knows how to build them too. Artie, he does some small time film-work but he's also a very successful writer! Xion, he's a scientist too, incredibly smart; my brain explodes every time I talk to him. Las, he's an artist, I think he's still in school though but he's got a gig for concept art starting soon. We have Leela, I… don't know what she does but she got the best damn jokes. And Ronin, I don't think that man sleeps, designs indie video games."

"Damn, that's quite the arrangement of people to know!" Niles commented. "Do you hang out with them much?"

"Unfortunately not, we all live in different sectors, some on different planes even." Space sighed, "It's been a long time."

"I'm sorry to hear. They sound like your family."

Space looked up at him, tipping their head, before they smiled, "Yeah, I… I guess you're right."

The bartender came back, making them some more drinks that the two took a minute to enjoy before Space shifted and set their drink down, turning.

"Okay, stop me if this is inappropriate, but… how'd you get that scar?"

"Oh, I got it from a bounty hunter."

"A bounty hunter?"

"Not a good one." Niles grinned, "I was still a small punk, he ran like a chicken… after giving me a good walloping."

Space laughed, "I mean, I'm impressed you lived. Bounty hunters are no joke. Was this before or after you got your ship?"

"Oh, well, so-"

The next few hours were filled with Niles telling Space stories about his space-faring adventures. He never realized how much he actually enjoyed telling these stories, moving his hands as he spoke, his voice rising and dipping at the excitement and suspense. Drinking was almost forgotten if he didn't need to keep his mouth a little wet here and there. The whole time he spoke, Space was enamored, full of reactive expressions and excited questions. Living in the moments with him.

"Last call!" The bartender's voice came to his ears and he turned, then looked at the clock. It was almost closing time. Alot of the customers had left, including the rowdy bunch - picture not forgotten, but drink still left as if for their ghost to come enjoy at any time.

"Oh, geeze, I didn't realize it was so late. Sorry for taking your time."

"Oh, not at all! I'd… honestly love to hear more?"

"I mean, sure, would you like to swap gaunt contacts? Can we meet here again some other night?"

Space chewed their lip, cutely tipping their head to the side, "I meant… maybe tonight? You said you… had the day off tomorrow, right? Do you… live nearby?"

All gears came to a complete halt in Nile's head, his face changing to one of shock. Space was still sitting there, their tail wagging very gently at the tip, legs crossed femininely, but leaning on their elbow, looking at him with- moonlight. That's what he saw when he looked in their eyes : pure moonlight.

"I… uh… well… N-Not to be rude, but my place isn't exactly m-made for guest." He coughed into his fist, chewing his cheek a moment before looking back. Space had a completely amused expression on their face.

"I mean, I suppose we could go back to mine."

Niles did everything in his power to not sighed in relief. Instead, he inhaled, and reached up, slicking his scales that had slightly risen back down. He also leaned against the counter, looking them in the eyes, and smiled back

"I'd like that."

"Prefect. Now, let me close this tab."

"Close the- now hold on a moment!" Niles said, flustered and trying to get his credit chit, but he was too late. The bartender had already been swinging by, and they handed theirs to him. Niles watched them go, and snorted a little.

"Least I can do for taking your drinking time telling me stories." Space shrugged.

"I really could have gotten that."

"I think there's something else you could get tonight."

Nile's eyes widened in surprise, realizing he might be getting more than he originally bargained for. At his expression, Space laughed.

"You're cute, Niles."

"That's quite the compliment coming from a starlit night sky like yourself."

Now it was Space's turn to be flustered, eyes fluttering wide as they made a surprised sound. Nile was tickled. The bartender came back, handing the chit back, and Nile slid him a smaller chit for a tip. Once Space had everything gathered; Niles got up, stepped back from the chairs, offering his hand.

"Shall we continue this elsewhere?" He asked, his voice low and curious, but with a hint of a sultry tone. Space lifted an eyebrow, and reached out, taking his hand.

"I think I'd like that."

I hope you all enjoyed
Update (10/24) Part 2 is now online!