His Night begins as he enters the dimly lit communications hub. The room thrown in a purplish tint as their Station Servitor rests in the nest of cables and arrays that stud its chassis like barnacles affixing themselves to a ship. All geared towards maximizing signal strength and frequency. Aniks is a Navigator, a voice pulsing from a comms system, guiding Awoken fleet elements safely back to Cybele. His tetrapod of hands outstretched towards the delicate equipment before him, flicking switches and adjusting frequencies. Reaching out to any wayward ships in proximity. He will man this station until Cybele's Orbit carries them back into the Sun's angry glare. Aniks works the Night Shift. A quiet, knowing voice in the dark, guiding ships too precious to lose through the seething miasma of the Reef.
His newest group is an element of the Salvaged Fleet. Ramshackle Galliots escorting a small, arrow-nosed Picketship. The craft cut and skimmed through a field of debris like a dagger, occasionally blasting away pieces of potential shrapnel or asteroids too large to simply be maneuvered around by the larger shuttle. He watches their process through a series of many-lensed observation probes. Floating dodecahedrons, just barely larger than the Servitor that lay in its pile, each side adorned with a specially crafted optic, the lens conceived from thinly sliced sheets of meteoric glass. Each capable of pivoting 45* in any direction. Providing more than enough visual data to keep track of the fleet throughout its journey, even if they were lightseconds away. Aniks' watch persisted. Silent apart from the callout of a potential explosive left behind from Kaniks' seeding of the Reef or shards of rock that had careened towards the Fleet's position unexpectedly. Eventually the Ships arrive close enough to see without magnification. And with the wheeze of hydraulics and docking clamps Aniks know the fleet is safe.
He continues with his work and goes on throughout the cycle. Freelance Guardians feeding Cybele's databanks with updated Scorn movements. Galliot Wolfpacks returning from their sorties. Ether Runners, small, nimble ships, loaded to the brim with the substance needed to sustain the Fallen combat personnel. Despite every Reef settlement effectively being self-sufficient. It never hurt to have a surplus. Aniks liked to believe he guided every ship with the same level of care and efficiency. But he knew deep down he always leaned a bit to get the Runners safe and sound as soon as possible. Before long He can see the sunlight creeping around the derelicts and asteroids. Shining on Cybele's face. Aniks squints against the light funneling through his instruments, knowing the light meant his work was over, he pulls his hands away from the console and makes his way back home, through the marble and titanium inlaid roads criss-crossing Cybele.
His Night ends when he arrives at his Habitat. The domed structure taking up a comfortable amount of space in a decent district. He slots his cipher into its hole in the door and it opens up with a sound of mechanical locks unbolting. He opens the door up to be greeted by a pair of shrieking Eliksni children. Aniks' daughters' faces light up as they each cling to one of his legs, chattering as they look up at him with adoration in their eyes.
"Dad! Dad! How was work?! What did you do?! How many ships did you see?! What do they look like?! What colors were they?!" They both chatter, their questions overlapping each other. Aniks tiredly smiles at them and rests his lower hands on their heads and gives them a light pet. Their mother comes from the adjacent room, shooing away the girls, who flee away, shrieking as they tackle their older brother, who was still lounging on the couch and had only offered a lazy "Hey Dad." He was now giving up exasperated protests as he tried to fight his sisters off. Aniks lets out a entertained huff as he feels his wife wrap her arms around him and give him a kiss. "Aniks…" She says in a low purr, resting her upper set of arms on his shoulders as the other set wrapped around his waist. Aniks returned the embrace. Resting his chin atop her head. The kids were too busy fighting to notice their parents' display of affection. They slowly break from the hug as Aniks sets A trio of hands on his children's heads, parting their scrabbling. "Come on, you little heatseekers. Let's sit down for some breakfast." He says.
They sit down for Ether-infused noodles. A rather unorthodox way to get their fill, but considered a treat and a welcome break in habit from simply ingesting it normally, and the kids liked it, so that was a plus. They chat, they play and before long the children leave to help out their neighbors or receive what education they can. His wife leaves to tend the Ether farms. Aniks is left alone, he reclines on his couch for the moment, looking up at the ceiling. Feeling content being left in the wake of his loved ones. But at the same time his thoughts drifted to his own siblings. Brave, Noble Dharis. Adventurous Inerras, the triplets, so full of energy and potential. His own parents. He feels a longing, looking up at the ceiling, wondering where they could be before he dozes off on the couch.