In Media Res - Part 1

Arex watched the city walls pass by the train windows in bright flashes. The strobe effect made many people sick but Arex couldn't help but enjoy it. There was something exciting about the way the darkness and light mixed together as the objects passed by his seat. A slight feeling of danger being so close to an object at such high speeds. No matter how many times he rode the train, he never seemed to tire of the feeling.

The sun was setting in the horizon, bathing the city in bright oranges and yellows. The shadows cast in the train were sharp, highlighting hidden features in the fabric and unseen flaws in the metalwork. Not entirely unlike how he felt.

Arex's favorite time of day was sunset. Everything seemed clearer in his mind. Mistakes in his life. Answers to questions the days had created. Plans for the future. It was all so much clearer.

He took his mind off his thoughts and looked around his compartment. An older woman sat in the rows two down from Arex, talking quietly to a friend with a personal Coretex communicator. Three men in business suits stood in the aisle behind Arex talking about the day's activites.

The whine of the wheel brakes sounded through the cabin and the men shifted their stances to accomidate the deceleration. The passing objects flew by with decreasing velocity, increasing the contrasts in Arex's eyes. A final jerk of the train followed a feminine voice over the loud speaker announcing the location in Chinese and English.

Arex heard the businessmen behind him shuffle out of the train as he turned his head back to face out the window. The station was just one unremarkable step closer to his destination, but he was nevertheless facinated with the stops in this city. Each had a local flavor, from the font on the display signs to the juvenile graffiti that always seemed both gauche and yet strangely appropriate.

Arex rolled his shoulders towards the window in an automatic response as the sound of clothing ruffling against the train seats approached him. Arex relaxed his shoulders as the person brushed by quietly and sat in a seat somewhere in front of him.

The drone of an alarm signalled the sharp crack of the closing train doors and the cars once again grumbled from light slumber into motion. His eyes adjusted to the rapid changes in contrast as he adjusted himself in his chair. Arex blinked a few times as his eyes protested the light changes and grasped the seat in from of him. He let out a slight groan as he stretched his arms in a feeble attempt to stay awake on the ride. He looked to this left after shaking his arms to see the person who had brushed past him, raising his eyebrows to fight the laziness creeping up his body.

A young woman sat in her seat complacently, gazing intently at what Arex guessed was a music player. he could make out the flicker of colorful menus on her skin as ther fingers twitched in subtle motions on the device's controls. She was wearing a simple pair of green cargo pants, much like Arex's, and a form-fitting brown tank top. Her hair was clearly suffering from a day's toil in the baking sun, but still maintained a fashionable appearance. Her skin was soft in the waning sunlight, occasionally broken by freckles.

The woman looked up from her music player and drew her face into a confused smile. Arex realized that he was staring and snapped his head backwards in a reflexive action. The sharp metal ping of his skull impacting the rail above the seats rung out in the nearly vacant compartment and his face twisted in embarrassed pain.

Arex mouthed a few words that probably would've made anyone in earshot blush or laugh at the content and smiled weakly at the woman. Her hands were covering her mouth, and her eyes alight with concern. She let her hands fall back to her lap, revealing a warm smile. Arex felt his face redden as his embarrassment rose. The woman leaned forward slightly to speak with a soft voice. The barest hint of laughter flowed through her words.

"Are you hurt?"

Arex grimmaced and spoke softly in return, his voice slightly strained from the pain.

"Only my pride."

The woman paused and laughed lightly at his answer, "Well, I guess I don't need to lecture you, then."

Arex shook his head. The pain was already subsiding to a dull throbbing sensation.

"So do you always hurt yourself staring at strangers?" There was a good natured self-righteousness in her voice, like a mother talking to a boy who had not heeded her warnings and still insisted on taking foolish action.

"Only the ones that catch my eye."

The woman drew her face into a soft scowl that did little to hide her amusement. She finally began silently laughing and nodded her head to the delight of Arex.

"Well, that was certainly a good line."

"You don't think I was too strong?"

"Just a little..."

Arex laughed and brushed the hair out of his eyes. The moment of embarrassment was passing into something of intrigue. The woman seemed content to continue the coversation, something Arex found more than a little surprising.

"So, would it be entirely inappropriate to ask for your name?"

"Yes, it would be."

Arex felt taken aback at her statement. She laughed again at Arex's obvious ego bruise.

"Doesn't mean I won't give it to you."

She brushed her own hair from the side of her face as she spoke.

"Aria."

Arex's eyebrows flickered with curiousity and he spoke the lie that came to his lips as easily as it came on any day.

"Daedalus. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Aria drew her mouth in interest.

"Daedalus? That's a name you don't hear very often."

Arex nodded and spoke convincingly with a broad grin. A mixture of false facts and true feelings. The perfect lie.

"My parents though the Master Craftsmen would bode well. I think 'Bob' would've worked out just fine, don't you?"

"Oh no, it's a beautiful name. Just unusual."

Arex nodded, "Aye, but the same could be said about your name."

Aria grinned in a slightly reserved manner, hiding a measure of her enjoyment from Arex. She continued with a much more subdued passion in her voice than was truly beneath the surface.

"So I've never seen you here before..."

Arex nodded and answered innocently, "Just looking for work."

Aria nodded. Persephone's exploding post-war economic prosperity drew people from across the 'Verse for work.

Arex shrugged and motioned out the window, "S'pose Persephone is as good a place as any, ya know? But what's your story?"

"Me? Just live here for now."

"For now? Where do you want to go?"

It was Aria's turn to shrug and she looked down at her feet, "Just want to go somewhere else. See all those places people talk about in stories."

"Always good to see the world and everything in it."

Aria smiled, noticing the barest hint of sadness in Arex's voice. The squealing of the train wheels brought them both back to reality as the next stop approached. Aria looked at the sign emblazoned on the wall of the station and grimmaced.

"Well, this is where I get off."

Arex smiled grimly as well and nodded his head in acknowledgment. He leaned back in the chair and let a soft murmur escape before speaking again.

"All good things, aye?"

Aria inhaled at the message, feeling an urge flow through her to stay. She spoke again, an edge of nervousness present in her voice.

"Yes, I guess they do." There were many desires she wanted to express all coming to the surface at once. She paused as she tried to sort them in her head.

"You know, I work at Xian's. If you're, ya know, not to busy..."

The quiver in Aria's voice was a new development. Arex smiled warmly and leanded towards her.

"I would love to."

Aria smiled as the train jolted to a halt. Aria walked to the exit towards the front of the train and smiled a last time at Arex before she hopped down to the platform. The signal of the closing doors drowned out the sound of another man who boarded the train as they snapped shut again.

Arex continued to stare warmly at the doors Aria had left through, only breaking the smile on his face when he felt the man sit in the seat behind him. Arex didn't turn to face the man, he already recognized Tazami's uncanny presence. Tazami made himself comfortable, his back to Arex's and stared blankly outside.

Arex did not acknowledge Tazami. A conflict he had never known began to grow as the realities of the situation returned in ugly form. A frown graced his face as the train lumbered towards its next destination. Silence passed for an eternity until Tazami spoke quietly.

"Do I need to be concerned?"

Arex kept silent. Tazami's words tethered his mind and drove it back down to the situation at hand. Arex inhaled and did his best to replace Aria's face with the upcoming tasks. A slight wave of anguish simmered in his mind.

Tazami didn't wait for Arex to answer. Arex didn't need to answer. Tazami spoke again, gruff undertones emphasizing the remaining concerns.

"She won't wait."

Arex knew as much. There wasn't a man or woman alive who could live under the Xi's shadow. Too many secrets. Too many disappearances. Too many vacant stares and drinking problems without end. Relationships would always self-destruct and you didn't even have to break a sweat in the process.

"Is it worth it?"

It was Tazami's turn to fall silent. Arex stared blankly at the wall opposite him as he waited for Tazami to respond. Only the sound of the moving train passed through the passenger compartment. Tazami inhaled and answered as the train began to grind to a halt. His words barely registered over the whine of the brakes.

"You'll have to find that out for yourself."

Both men exited the train as the doors opened and stood on the platform. A young woman seated on the platform benches stood from her seat and walked to the two men. She remained silent and looked into the distance without saying anything to the two men.

Tazami looked as he removed a PDA from his pocket and checked the time. He nodded to himself and turned quietly to the woman.

"No trouble, Sophia?"

The woman shook her head and turned towards Tazami. She was First Sergeant Miranda Drake, the last member of their team.

"Nope."

"Good."

Tazami moved his finger carefully on the PDA and motion to the others. Arex and Miranda both removed a PDA of their own and held them near Tazami's. Tazami pressed a button and instantly sent the coded directions on his device to theirs via shortrange infrared communication. Tazami waited until both confirmed its reception and spoke a final time and walking casually out of the station.

"1800, Eavesdown."

"Understood."