His table was tucked under a large umbrella that blocked out the majority of the strong sunlight that bore down on the street. People passed by the cafe on their way to various tasks as Arex relaxed at the table.
He lifted the thin sheet of paper off of the table and turned the newspaper on, reading over the headline as he sipped on the coffee.
................
CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR AND STUDENT ARRESTED
Dr. James Aaronson and Tabitha Cheung charged with terrorism, breach of student-teacher relationship protocol.
Ms. Cheung's head hung low today as Persephone police escorted her and respected professor, Dr. James Aaronson, out of Physical Chemistry II in the middle of a lecture. Students balked, and some took pictures as the rumored lovers were carted away on charges of breaching student-teacher etiquette and plotting terroristic actions against the Alliance Armed Forces and the Parliament. Aaronson, an outspoken critic of the current administration remained tight-lipped as reporters hounded...
................
Dr. James Aaronson and Tabitha Cheung charged with terrorism, breach of student-teacher relationship protocol.
Ms. Cheung's head hung low today as Persephone police escorted her and respected professor, Dr. James Aaronson, out of Physical Chemistry II in the middle of a lecture. Students balked, and some took pictures as the rumored lovers were carted away on charges of breaching student-teacher etiquette and plotting terroristic actions against the Alliance Armed Forces and the Parliament. Aaronson, an outspoken critic of the current administration remained tight-lipped as reporters hounded...
................
A video clip played below the animated headline, showing a handcuffed Dr. Aaronson and Ms. Cheung being escorted to an Alliance police vehicle while reporters and photographers massed behind them.
Arex didn't bother to read the rest. He didn't need to read the rest. He inhaled deeply, something of a personal acknowledgment of the story and flicked his finger to bring the next page of the newspaper up on the thin screen.
He was reading through a particularly scathing editorial about the Parliament's refusal to grant greater taxes to Traders' Union vessels when his PDA began to ring. He looked down to the screen and clicked the green "Answer" button.
"Guten Tag."
"Cute, Nomad. Enjoying the afternoon?"
"Like you wouldn't believe."
Tazami chuckled in a manner befitting a mentor's good natured acceptance of a student's personality.
"Don't get used to this Nomad."
It was Arex's turn to chuckle, "The only easy day, aye?"
"You got it, Nomad."
"New orders?"
"Not quite. Report to Scion at 0530 on Thursday."
Arex blinked and placed his cup back on the saucer. That gave him three days before he had to be anywhere.
"Did you have a stroke, Nomad?"
Arex snapped out of his self-induced trance and answered with disbelief, "I'm wondering the same about you."
Tazami laughed, "Nomad, we do things a bit differently. Now enjoy yourself. I understand that young woman works at Xian's?"
Arex frowned as he responded. As usual, he was baffled at the man's apparent omnipresence.
"What about her not waiting?"
"Doesn't mean you can't stop by and say 'Hello.' "
Arex smirked and rolled his eyes. "I'll be sure to put that at the top of the docket."
"See you in three, Nomad."
The click of a disconnect coincided with Arex's removal of the device from his ear. He flicked through the menus of his PDA and ran a search for flight times to the other side of the planet. He reserved a flight for the day prior and set an alarm to remind himself.
The necessary business complete, he leaned back in his chair and brought the cup of coffee back to his lips. he thought of the young woman's face again. Something like heartache and warmth stirred and his cup hovered below his chin as he lost himself in youthful fantasy. he looked down at his PDA and retrieved an Eavesdown Docks map. One search later, he was looking at two brightly colored dots on the screen. A blue one, signifying his position and a red one, Xian's Fine Cuisine.
He stared for a few moments, two equally strong motions in his head vying for supremacy. The ping of lonliness tugged at his heart, as it so often did when he had too much time to himself. A part of his self-esteem that tried to tell him he was just as worthy of love as the next person. Yet, his rational mind called too, reminding him of the cold, inescapable truth. He agreed to his life and the sacrifices it demanded. It was the classic struggle of the head and the heart. A drama that played itself out with his emotions as the battleground.
Arex continued to sit quietly for a full minute, the PDA and coffee hovering in place as he thought. Finallly he flicked away the map on his PDA and put the device back to sleep. he took another sip from his coffee, now lukewarm much to his chagrin.
He watched the world pass by him, thinking soberly to himself as he picked the paper up again to start reading the article again.
She wouldn't have liked what she found anyways.
Arex didn't bother to read the rest. He didn't need to read the rest. He inhaled deeply, something of a personal acknowledgment of the story and flicked his finger to bring the next page of the newspaper up on the thin screen.
He was reading through a particularly scathing editorial about the Parliament's refusal to grant greater taxes to Traders' Union vessels when his PDA began to ring. He looked down to the screen and clicked the green "Answer" button.
"Guten Tag."
"Cute, Nomad. Enjoying the afternoon?"
"Like you wouldn't believe."
Tazami chuckled in a manner befitting a mentor's good natured acceptance of a student's personality.
"Don't get used to this Nomad."
It was Arex's turn to chuckle, "The only easy day, aye?"
"You got it, Nomad."
"New orders?"
"Not quite. Report to Scion at 0530 on Thursday."
Arex blinked and placed his cup back on the saucer. That gave him three days before he had to be anywhere.
"Did you have a stroke, Nomad?"
Arex snapped out of his self-induced trance and answered with disbelief, "I'm wondering the same about you."
Tazami laughed, "Nomad, we do things a bit differently. Now enjoy yourself. I understand that young woman works at Xian's?"
Arex frowned as he responded. As usual, he was baffled at the man's apparent omnipresence.
"What about her not waiting?"
"Doesn't mean you can't stop by and say 'Hello.' "
Arex smirked and rolled his eyes. "I'll be sure to put that at the top of the docket."
"See you in three, Nomad."
The click of a disconnect coincided with Arex's removal of the device from his ear. He flicked through the menus of his PDA and ran a search for flight times to the other side of the planet. He reserved a flight for the day prior and set an alarm to remind himself.
The necessary business complete, he leaned back in his chair and brought the cup of coffee back to his lips. he thought of the young woman's face again. Something like heartache and warmth stirred and his cup hovered below his chin as he lost himself in youthful fantasy. he looked down at his PDA and retrieved an Eavesdown Docks map. One search later, he was looking at two brightly colored dots on the screen. A blue one, signifying his position and a red one, Xian's Fine Cuisine.
He stared for a few moments, two equally strong motions in his head vying for supremacy. The ping of lonliness tugged at his heart, as it so often did when he had too much time to himself. A part of his self-esteem that tried to tell him he was just as worthy of love as the next person. Yet, his rational mind called too, reminding him of the cold, inescapable truth. He agreed to his life and the sacrifices it demanded. It was the classic struggle of the head and the heart. A drama that played itself out with his emotions as the battleground.
Arex continued to sit quietly for a full minute, the PDA and coffee hovering in place as he thought. Finallly he flicked away the map on his PDA and put the device back to sleep. he took another sip from his coffee, now lukewarm much to his chagrin.
He watched the world pass by him, thinking soberly to himself as he picked the paper up again to start reading the article again.
She wouldn't have liked what she found anyways.
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