Drifting in Public
Posted on 22 Mar 2021 @ 8:16pm by Aiden Dhow
Edited on on 22 Mar 2021 @ 10:24pm
Mission:
M2 - Sanctuary
Location: Obsidian Command
Timeline: MD 02 1342
619 words - 1.2 OF Standard Post Measure
The shuttle had come and gone, leaving Aiden with nothing more than a tote bag and a credit slip of undetermined wealth. Ionas had said it would be enough to get him started and maintain comfort until he was able to supplement himself, but he did not specify what that equated in funds. Aiden supposed he could take the slip to a cashier and find out, but for now he opted to explore his newest home and get a feel for where life had led him.
His first thought was that this station dwarfed Lacuna. He'd imagined the outpost rather large for a space hub but, then again, all his previous assignments had been either planet-side or on assorted vessels. Here ... here it was more than just the scope of the environment that made him feel small.
That, of course, led into his second thought. Ionas' parting words to him had been to 'find yourself'. He had been working off and on between the various assignments his mentor executed and had yet to find any true starting point from which to work. Oh, sure ... he knew the basics. He had learned his name, recovered his true face, but outside of that there was precious little from which to build an identity. Besides his mother - who he would likely only see on occasion until he was sure his past was well and truly behind them - and Ionas who had officially cut ties to move on to his next great endeavor, Aiden had no one to help him define some form of structure in his life.
Looking about, Aiden realized his surroundings had changed, shifting subtly about him. He had moved out of the Docking area and into the main promenade – albeit a poorly established and sparsely inhabited one. So much space, but less establishments than even the standard trading post left for large swaths of uninhabited real estate. Perhaps he could start his own business. Aiden paused in his trek, playing that prospect over in his mind before discarding the idea to move on. He didn’t know the first thing about running a business, let alone building one up from the ground. What service would he even have to offer that others might find marketable?
Resuming his trek, Aiden set about wandering among the crowds milling about the more occupied regions of the promenade. Various races, species, shapes and colors … many humanoids similar in appearance to him, yet not quite. He noted Bajoran noses, Vulcan ears, Andorian antennae and blue-tinted skin; and then there were those which ventured even further out of the range. A Klingon shoved past him, knocking Aiden off balance and nearly sending him toppling into a Ferengi shop keeper. The end result was a diatribe against ‘clumsy hewmons’ as he extricated himself from the situation and moved on to find safer ground to wander.
He had just about given up on exploration and was beginning to consider what needed to be done to get lodging established when a name caught his eye. Lacuna. Aiden blinked, certain he had imagined the phrase from his present ruminations. Yet, there it was, printed in a bold text above one of the shops facing the main thoroughfare. Not quite the empty spot it claims. The thought came to mind as he noted the illuminated interior and a front-display of various artworks. Curiosity determined his course and Aiden found himself gravitating toward the shop. If anything, browsing the fare might prove less hazardous to his person as the shift of bodies was denser here than it had been closer to the docks. With nothing much to lose, he extricated himself from the flow and stepped inside.
