Chapter Text
THE HUB: Station Main Dock
Moritz’s Bay
A chirp from the console near the terminal Moritz was stationed at catches him off-guard. He unhooks his legs from his seat and floats toward it to check the notification. At the console, he spots a communication signal attempt from a ship outside of the Eye. A potential job.
His fingers start tapping rapidly on the screen, allowing direct connection to the ship’s communication channels. Moritz found it odd that the signal was private rather than publicly broadcasted to other bays on the Hub, but he tried to brush his curiosity off. Returning clients and recommendations are a thing anyways, even if they’re only common on bigger and more successful bays.
He nervously adjusts the console’s microphone, and presses a button that opens the communication channel and allows his voice to be received.
“...Hello? This is Moritz’s Bay that you’ve just contacted… I have received your signal. May I know who you are?”
He releases the button and waits for a response, crossing his legs mid-air as he stares at the console. Despite doing this many times before, a pinch of anxiety always comes when he has to communicate with people, whether directly or indirectly. It wasn’t his strong suit.
He hears a click from the console, and a masculine voice comes next through the white noise.
“Hello. Yes, uhh…” There’s a brief pause and faint muttering in the background. “...We are a crew coming from the Starward Belt. We wanted to make a stop on Erlin’s Eye for a ship diagnostic and repairs before continuing with our travels.”
The Starward Belt… Moritz is impressed. A long way from the Eye, and what makes it more crazy is that the crew decided to stop nowhere else but here: a ruined station on the brink of imploding on itself. They could have been goners if the station was decimated by the flux event from a long while ago.
Moritz opens comms again.
“Oh, alright then. You… you can dock at my bay then if you’re close…” Moritz looks through the wide glass window out into space. “...And if you know where it is.”
He closes comms, but he feels a hint of curiosity from earlier come back, and he opens them another time.
“Uhm, and… may I know how you got access to this frequency channel? If that’s… alright for you to tell.”
A brief moment of silence, a little bit longer than usual. Another click.
“...We knew about you from someone who really trusts your work. So much trust that they won’t let us dock anywhere but there.” A faint laugh crackles through. “They have come to see you as well.”
Moritz pushes back a little, astounded. Someone who trusts his work? Why would anyone that came all their way from the Starward Belt choose to make a stop at his bay? He tries to remember his clients… there was this one spacer who tipped him extra for admiring his job… but that was from recent cycles. There weren’t many clients that Moritz thinks admired his job enough to return, especially since life on the Hub is all about getting used to meeting and working for people you will likely never see again.
The thought that someone came back for his work made him a tiny bit happy, but a whole lot anxious as well.
Moritz speaks again “Right– Okay, uhm… thank you. That's all I wanted to know. I’ll be waiting for you on the dock, then.”
He closes comms, and no more clicks or sounds come from the console. The conversation was over, and now all Moritz had to do was wait to meet the crew that had come all the way from the Starward Belt to the Eye… and the mysterious person who indicated his bay to them.
The ship comes in slowly, a loud wheeze of air escaping from turbines as the docking was prepared. It was an old Solheim model, specifically a Rig, which alongside many other Solheim ships, are not very common to be found… at least not in good condition. Though, Moritz marvelled upon its giant structure, and it impressed him how clean and well kept it was compared to many other ships that came across his bay. It rather confused him how such a well maintained ship is in need of repairs, and how it seemed to show minimal struggles despite crossing a large portion of the Helion System to get there.
Moritz shakes his head. No, this wasn’t the time to make theories. These people came for his help and he needed to focus on what needs to be done, whatever that might be. He rubs his hands nervously and lets out a sharp sigh… then kicks away from the nearest wall towards the ship as it finishes docking.
He stands outside near the doorway of the ship’s main entrance, tightening the grip of his hair tie and fidgeting with his clothes.. Eventually, the propulsion noises slowly ceased, and Moritz looked forward to seeing the man who talked with him through the comms first. The large door of the ship slowly hisses open…
A figure stood there. Moritz flinches. This was NOT the person that was talking with him through the console.
They were shorter, a bit slender despite the large reddish bomber jacket that they wore… and had short messy hair that waved in the low gravity environment. But none of this was what shocked Moritz… it was something else.
He recognized this person, he knew that face.
“...Well well, now where have I seen you before…?” The figure gently smiles as they crossed their arms in a friendly manner.
White headphones hover around their neck, a worn but gentle look hangs behind their circular glasses. Moritz’s eyes glinted with emotion, and his lips trembled.
“...Bliss?”
Bliss replies with a nod. “Heya, Moritz.”
Another person appears behind them, a defined man with a red light jacket over a camo shirt, and very short white hair buzzed at the sides. A third figure also seems to appear behind both of them, certainly hidden enough that it was hard to tell their appearance.
But Moritz could only pay attention to Bliss. Bliss was actually back.
They look away, and float deftly out of the ship. “This place has changed a lot since last time I was here… Seems you've been doing a great job around this place.”
He shook his head. That doesn’t make any sense. Why are they here? Why did they decide to return after all this time? It has been so long since they left with Ankhita, so what were they doing here, with a different crew and in a new ship? Nothing seemed real. What was going on?
Bliss looks back at Moritz, and notices that his bright eyes reflected an amalgamation of thoughts running through his head. He stared at the machinist in both shock and disbelief, and then Bliss’s expression shifts. They approach Moritz carefully, with a weak smile and a glint in their eyes, and open their arms to offer a hug.
That seems to suddenly throw Moritz out of his state of shock, his face now roughening up with emotion. He immediately rushes forwards to tightly embrace his old friend and business partner. His fingers trembled a lot despite trying to hold himself together.
Bliss pats him gently on the back, sensing his shaky hands and breath. “Hey, it’s okay... You can cry if you want to. I’ve also missed you, dude.” They speak softly.
And Moritz had to agree: he truly missed the sharp engineer, even if for the longest time, that feeling was tucked away somewhere inside him as time passed and he moved on. It takes some effort for Moritz to muster up some words besides sniffles and sobs.
“...Y-you’re back… Gosh, it’s been… a thousand cycles…” He pressed his wet eyes shut, keeping his tears from floating off. “I thought I would never see you again.”
“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?” They weakly chuckle.
Moritz laughs a little beside them. Still embracing Bliss, he rubs the wetness out of his eyes, and when he opens them again, he pushes back startled.
“Sleeper–!?”
He finally notices the third figure that came from the ship, and was hidden behind the others until now. A sleeper, the machinist type, wearing yellow leggings and different straps for carrying tools and bags on their body. They also flinch backwards a little upon being noticed by the Eye’s bay operator, a hint of awkwardness on their doll-like face from being acknowledged as a sleeper.
“Oh, right… I didn’t really introduce everyone.” Bliss pulls back with a weak laugh, wiping their eyes.
They extend their hand to address each of them. “Moritz… this is my crew! That’s Serafin, pilot of the ship, and this is Sleeper, the Rig’s captain. They were the ones that took me in their crew!”
Moritz looks back and forth at the crew, glancing a couple more times at Sleeper. He exhales as he settles down from his surprise… this was definitely not the sleeper that he knew and worked with. It felt awkward for the Hub's engineer to even confuse each other, since it wouldn’t make sense to find them at the ship.
Serafin lifts a hand up. “Nice to know you, Moritz. Bliss told us that you’ve both worked together in the past.”
Moritz nods, rubbing the back of his head. “Yes, uhm… we did. A long time ago.”
Captain Sleeper floats forward, carefully so as to not divert the attention from the rest of the crew with their presence. Up close, Moritz can see from their appearance and posture how clearly different they were from the other Sleeper on the Eye. They looked at Moritz with a sharp gaze, and they had a sturdy stance worthy of a captain.
“We are glad to be here and meeting you.” They spoke, their limited facial expressions softening up to show their appreciation. “We’ve heard many tales about Erlin’s Eye as well from Bliss.”
Bliss waves off their hand. “Oh come on, you guys are making it look like I talk about my past life 24/7…” They sigh.
“Wait, wait, wait–!” Moritz shakes his head and looks at Serafin and Sleeper. “You guys came all the way from the Starward Belt… Was she the one who brought you here…?”
“The ship?” Serafin questions “Oh, she has her battle scars, but she's way tougher than she looks.” The pilot smiles.
Moritz shakes his hands “No, no, no. I mean, that's great... But I meant–”
He points at Bliss, and the old engineer recoils a little. The crew all exchange quick glances with each other.
“Well…” Serafin frowns. “Not ‘she’... but they did.” He nods at Bliss, reassuringly.
Moritz looks back and forth at both of them, a bit oblivious. His mouth opens, but then he stops, lowers his head and looks away, ashamed.
“Oh. Sorry…” Moritz whispers towards Bliss.
Bliss taps softly on his shoulder, mustering a small reassuring smile to Moritz to overshadow any sign of their own discomfort.
“It’s alright. No hard feelings.” They answered softly.
“...Anyways…” The ship’s pilot stretches and raises his voice to disperse the awkwardness. “They aren’t the only one from the Eye we brought back. There’s someone–”
“--Sera! Why didn't you wake me up? Are we here?” An interruption.
Everyone turns their eyes to the inside of the ship, where the voice came from. A woman with long black hair and shiny eyes appears behind the crew, and something about her told Moritz that he has also seen her before.
“Tala.” Serafin sighs as he watches the woman stumble out. “You were the one who chose to take a nap just as we were making contact with Moritz.”
She smiles sheepishly at him, her hair floating in all directions. “I thought it would take a little longer until we landed…”
“You were from the station’s rim.” Moritz approached her, his memories a little clearer now. “Weren't you the barkeeper of that bar in Rotunda…?” He scratches the back of his head.
“I sure was.” She nods gently, leaning to the side a little as Captain Sleeper silently moves past her, heading back to the inside of the Rig. She points back at them.
“They were kind enough to let me join. When I heard my brother wanted to check out the Eye, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to also check on how things are hanging here.” Tala rests a hand on her hips. “And check on my old bar.”
“I assume you're one of the Sleeper’s friends then. Heard nice things about you.” Moritz smiles sympathetically.
“What can I say? I'm good at impressions.” She smiles playfully. Serafin rolled his eyes, but held a grin on his face.
“...Not to the spacers you've told me you beat up.”
The former barkeeper laughs warmingly, and both Bliss and Moritz watch the two siblings poke fun at each other.
As that happens, Bliss turns to Moritz. “We are all happy to see Erlin's Eye still holding up… even with the war raging across the system.” They puff out.
“...Well, it has been mostly peaceful over here. Even after the flux, if you've heard of that.” Moritz says, remembering the flotilla from the Ember’s moons from hundreds of cycles ago. “...How are things over at the Belt?”
Bliss breaths out sharply, the lines under their eyes accentuating their worn out expression.
“...Things are definitely shaking up.” They look down, but then back at Moritz, giving him a half smile. “But… we can talk about all of this later.”
Their attention is diverted when Tala pulls Serafin out of the Rig, holding her brother with one arm tightly.
“I'm gonna take Sera down to the Bantayan and see how things are over there, if that's alright.” She glances at Bliss, as if looking for some kind of approval.
They shrug. “He's not mine, I don't mind. Go take him for some leg exercise.” The engineer smiles teasingly.
“And what about his captain?” She raises an eyebrow.
“...I don't know what they've been up to.” They push towards the entrance, peeking inside. “Oh wait, they're coming.”
Moritz sighs, scratching his face. “I still can't believe I'm meeting another sleeper. Now I can put on my resume that I've met two sleepers in my whole life…” He whistles.
Bliss holds back a snort amusingly, and Moritz couldn't understand why. The captain of the ship reappears again at the entrance, this time with someone following behind. To Moritz’s surprise… they were also not human.
His chin drops. “...Are you joking.”
“... I'm sorry.” A sleeper with faded orange markings speaks, looking down. Their body and face showed traces of heavy repairs from several past injuries, and one of their arms was completely mechanical, somewhat similar to their captain, but more improvised.
“You're fine, Flint. He's just surprised about meeting another sleeper.” Bliss nods reassuringly.
“Not that.” Flint shakes their head. “I was too busy in my own head when we arrived. Sorry for showing up just now.”
The other sleeper gently presses their hand on their shoulder. “You're alright, you don't have to apologize. Feeling better now?”
“Mhm. Yeah.”
It already felt wild for Moritz to meet two sleepers in one cycle, but seeing them interact was somewhat sweet to him. He thought of his friend, and how happy they might feel when they meet more of their own in the station.
“Hey, you two wanna come down with us too and check out my old bar?” Tala calls for the sleepers. “Or, at least, what's left of it.”
“Maybe some other time, Tala.” The captain politely declined. “Me and Flint want to know the station better, and we would like to look for the other sleeper as well.” They turn to look at Moritz.
“...So, Moritz. Do you happen to know where we might find your friend?”
The nervous bay owner fidgets with his fingers. “Oh, well… That's hard for me to answer… they're usually all around the Eye, doing different things…” He raises a hand to his chin, thoughtful. “... However…”
He kicked off towards the large glass panels of the bay, where it was possible to see the perimeter of the station. Moritz then points towards the green section next to the spoke.
“They are often around the commune over at Greenway. You might find them there.” He looks over at the sleepers. “You'll need to pay a fee for the first entrance, though. The community is a little closed off.”
“That won't be a problem.” Sleeper nods. “Thank you, we might be looking over there first.”
Tala gives one last look to the rest of the crew. “Great! If we happen to find Sleeper before you guys, we'll tell them to come see you both at Greenway.” She winks, pulling Serafin along with her.
“Thank you, Tala.” Sleeper answers appreciatively before both siblings are out of the bay, and then turns to look at Bliss. “We will go shortly…unless, you might want to come along?”
Bliss stretches backwards “Thanks for the invite, but I prefer to stay up here. If any of you see my old Sleeper friend, tell them I'm waiting at the Hub.” They wink and smirk. “Have fun with gravity, you lot.”
“See you later then, Bliss.” Flint waves off, and both sleepers kick off towards the outside of the bay, following the route that Tala took out of the Hub. Moritz and Bliss are left floating silently with the Rig. The old repair technician feels memories flooding back from this single peaceful moment.
“...Well, I guess we got some work to do now.” They break the silence, putting both hands on their waist and looking over at Moritz with a big smile. “The ship is due for a full check-up after this long journey, I’d say.”
Moritz smiles back, rubbing his hands enthusiastically. “Hah, gonna be just like old times.”
“Just like old times.” Bliss repeats after, and huffs lightheartedly. “But first… mind showing around my old bay? Gotta get familiar with the place first!”
Moritz chuckles and kicks off, gesturing towards Bliss to come along and look around the new additions and changes to the repair bay. Despite the weariness of time, Moritz was relieved to have Bliss back, even if for this single moment. And that was the right moment to catch up with the lost time, and share all the news and stories that they’ve built these many years apart.