Location: Mango's Pub - The Inner Ring - The Apex
"They're servin' bread sticks again!" She pursed her lips in disgust. "They aren't even good bread sticks! They taste like sh-" Stella's words were cut off short by a glare of the chef who made the bread sticks in question. That look cut right through her, and she shut up promptly, walking to her seat with the bread sticks. Hal followed behind closely, avoiding any kind of eye contact with the chef and instead looking down at his tray. It had a white substance on it in the corner, green circles in the center and a dark brown slab in the larger section. 'Mashed potatoes, peas and meat' he remembered Stella saying. He liked the mashed potatoes, but peas were not his thing. He ate them though, they were supposed to make him strong. Was he strong?
"Damn, why are we eatin' in a dive like this? We deserve class!" She whispered in an energized tone, making faces of unhappiness at her tray. When they were seated, the silver-haired woman glanced around, checking not only the place but the people out. "Not that bad.." she mumbled, returning her gaze to Hal. "Make sure to eat most of it, okay?" The girl began to dig into her meal, eating it like she hadn't eaten in awhile, and to be frank, she hadn't. Not a lot anyways, just snacks here and there. Hal looked down and began to cut his food into smaller pieces. A long time ago Stella had told him that if he ate in large bites and didn't chew he could choke, so he was instructed to always cut his food.
As he slowly ate, Stella looked at the expression on his face, and spoke as if she could always read his mind. "Don't worry, we're just here until the end of the council session. Once those aristocrats are done with their politics meeting, we're gonna transport them back to the outer ring and be done with the transport business. I know it's been shitty the past few weeks but it'll get better soon, I promise." Stella patted his hand, reassuring him of their plan. For some reason or another, Hal was uncomfortable inside the Apex nucleus. Something about being in the center of a space station told him "No." She felt it too, to some degree. Something wasn't right about the center. But hey, a job is a job and they had to do it. This last transport was going to get them enough money to hop aboard a starship and leave. They tried to avoid jobs on the Apex as much as possible because of heavy traffic regulation and simple population alone. There were so many people that the two of them felt unsafe to have Hal there, and would be better suited somewhere else.
He nodded and ate his food quietly, not ever really making any noise at all. She finished first of course, bread sticks and all, and sipped the tall red glass of her favorite drink: Sniggs. When it first enters the mouth, it creates an unpleasant sour taste. But if you hold it in your mouth, you are rewarded with a sweet, nutty taste that lingers for a long time. It was unusual to say the least, but delicious. "Hey, Hal.." She leaned forwards a little, voice dipping down to quieter proportions, "I've been thinking... How'd you like to find a crew to join? A starship crew, so we can just.. travel with them wherever they go. It might be nice to have friends right? And it would really save us money." The thought had been crossing her mind for awhile. If they could find a captain who needed extra hands, that would mean never having to find room and board, or paying for trips on ships. Plus, a crew would be good. Somebody to watch their backs.
Hal stopped his eating and nudged the peas on his plate. He didn't know what to think of that, of being around more people for extended periods of time. That might have been what he needed, but he had no idea. "As long as we stay together..." He whispered, same answer as always. Stella laughed and nodded, "Yeah yeah, you know that wont change.."