Yan Sun remains blissfully unaware of Jessica's misunderstanding as she leads the way towards the gyros place. Like the rest of the establishments along the gallery, it's sleek, corporate fast food. She stops at the back of the lines to one of the ordering terminals that are lined up some distance away from the order pickup counter, where another line of people waits to receive their food. The place is busy, families and groups of travelling
#Arcturus – August 3, 2025
friends chatting as they wait, or arguing as they try to finalize their orders. Solo travelers stare at their omni-tools or a datapad as they shuffle forward in the lines. Above the pickup counter, a holographic display advertises various menu options with tasty imagery and flashy graphics that blows apart each meal, separating them in 3D space and marking each ingredient. There doesn't seem to be a full list of the place's options
Jessica follows close behind Yan Sun, gaze briefly scanning over the animated display. "What you are getting...?" she asks, attention shifting back to the woman beside her. She keeps her crate in front of her as they wait in line and her duffelbag tucked in close to her body. Adrasteia taught her not to make it easy for pickpockets or thieves when you're in a crowd. Not that someone would get very far if they tried the old
snatch-and-run schemes she and her brother had pulled off when they were younger with security like this around, but old habits die hard.
Yan Sun lets out an uncertain noise. "Mmmnot sure," she mutters, gaze scanning across the eye-catching but not all that helpful displays. "Probably the-" With the terminal in front of them free, she steps up and presses her fingertips against the interface to open up the list of options. A couple of quick flicks and swipes later she has her selection queued up. "This is pretty good. With the garlic sauce? What are you thinking?" Judging by
the speed with which she located her chosen menu - a chicken gyros roll - this is likely a chain with locations elsewhere in Alliance space. There seems to be a good number of options, mainly kebabs and gyros, and a few promotional oddities, and every item can be customized. Authenticity, on the other hand, seems in short supply, the offerings divorced from both the old-fashioned Mediterranean style and the classic street food style.
Jessica furrows her brow as she looks over the menu, suddenly feeling like she's on the clock with such a crowd. Luckily for her, she's never been one to concern herself with whether or not she's annoying other people, so she takes a few moments to idly poke through the menu, far slower than Yan Sun's breakneck pace. "Maybe-..." she hums aloud as she eventually settles on a beef kebab plate, the image showing a mix of meat and
vegetables with some pita bread. She glances Yan Sun's way. "We can split, yes? You give me some of yours and I give you some of mine?"
Yan Sun seems a little amused as she waits for Jessica to make her choice, watching her idly. The question that follows her decision draws out a quiet snicker and bright smile from her, gaze lingering on Jessica with a sudden fondness. "Sure," she agrees, quietly enough that it's almost lost amid the chatter of the crowd.
Jessica nods to herself and studies the screen for a few more moments before she finally places the order. When she turns back to Yan Sun, the look she's faced with causes her to give a small raise of her brow. She's quick to try and hide the smile it draws out of her with a roll of her eyes. "Come on, stupid." she mutters, giving Yan Sun a playful nudge as she steps out of the way of the people that were waiting behind them.
Yan Sun giggles and gets moving, eyes sweeping across the nearby tables as they leave the line. Spotting one that's just freed up she nudges Jessica to draw her attention to it and hurries over to claim it, dropping her bags onto the padded plastic seats of one of the benches. It's by the railing, giving a view both of the crowd below, and the busy space outside the panoramic windows. "You guard the seats, I'll get the food?" she suggests,
Jessica follows Yan Sun over, nodding a few times to her suggestion and slips onto the bench, tucking her crate under the table and slinging her bag amongst Yan Sun's. "Mmm." she hums an affirmation as she brings her legs up onto the bench, already getting comfy while Yan Sun heads back for the food.
It doesn't take too long for Yan Sun to return, and soon enough the two of them are enjoying their shared orders. The background noise to their meal is the noise of the crowd and the sound of announcements - calling out soon-departing flights and their gates, and PSAs about travel restrictions and not leaving bags unattended. Outside the station a gargantuan, kilometer-long Alliance dreadnaught sails slowly by, close enough that it must be some
kind of display for the benefit of the people on the station. Alliance white & blue armor plating is interrupted in places by heat sinks, comms arrays, point defense lasers, or jutting broadside guns. In bold letters, each larger than a building, SSV ORIZABA is emblazoned along the spinal mass driver that serves as the ship's main gun.
Yan Sun 's attention is inevitably drawn to the hulking ship in the vacuum outside, eyes following the slowly prowling shape, and the escort frigates, fighters, and shuttles that swarm around it like a shoal of fish around some great whale. It's not every day you see an expression of the Systems Alliance's military might that rivals many of Earth's tallest megascrapers in scale. "Woah..."
Down below, some travelers stop and gawk at the windows, one father picking up his kid when she points excitedly at the window.
Jessica picks at the food slowly, basking in the sights and sounds surrounding her. Much about her family's exodus from Earth is unknown to her. She was far too young to remember any of it. Her earliest memories are firmly rooted in Aite. But she can't help but wonder if her family walked these same halls all those years ago. What would it have looked like back then? Those thoughts are quickly eclipsed by the hulking dreadnaught,
causing her to sit up a bit straighter in her seat to better watch. "....Fuck." she utters under her breath, words which quickly turn into a chuckle as she looks across the table to Yan Sun. A brief moment passes before she seems to realize something and begins scrambling to ready her omni-tool for a picture.
Yan Sun snickers as she notices Jessica getting out her omni-tool. A few people down below seem to have the same idea, catching the Fifth Fleet's new flagship in a picture or on video as it sails by deck by armored deck. "I can't believe they're still building more of those things," Yan Sun says with a snort. "I mean, I can, it probably makes bank for Cord-Hislop. But how do they justify it? You know the Alliance has pumped out, like,
three of them since the geth attack in '83?" she says before popping a bite of Jessica's kebab into her mouth.
Jessica peers through the viewfinder on her omni-tool's interface, biting down gently on her tongue as it pokes out the side of her mouth. She taps a few times but continues to hold her omni-tool up after, likely recording a video as well. "How they are impress those fucks down there without ships?" she asks, nodding her chin towards the droves of people watching out the window. She doesn't seem to realize the irony of her omni-tool
being firmly pointed in the direction of the dreadnaught. "Is muuuch better than fighting the Collectors disappearing colonies, or the geth blowing up ships, or the batarians taking people, kitty cat." she continues, her words dripping with sarcasm. Every self respecting Terminite has a healthy amount of bitterness towards the Council, and every self respecting human Terminite politely extend that to the System's Alliance. It
doesn't run quite as deep with Jessica as it does with others, however. Adrasteia made sure she had far more pertinent issues to occupy herself with than another impotent government. The Collectors undeniably made their incompetence feel a little more personal but... what's another let down on a mountain of disappointments? She seems to have gotten whatever footage she was hoping for, lowering her omni-tool and giving the
interface a few more pokes before it dissipates. She watches the ship for a bit longer, smirk tugging at the corner of her lips as she shoots a look back across the table. "But it is fucking awesome, yes?" she adds.
Yan Sun lets out a surprised snort, a fond grin on her face as she flicks a piece of garlic sauce-drenched lettuce at Jessica. "A fancy ship is all it takes to impress you too, huh?" she asks with a glance down at the 'fucks' below that were so recently disparaged. "Maybe we should steal my dad's yacht and go for a joyride," she jokes, before seeming to realize what she just said and going quiet, abruptly awkward as her attention falls to
Jessica flinches as a piece of lettuce thwaps her. She gives a roll of her eyes and scoops up the lettuce. "Is a very fancy ship, kitty cat." she offers in her own defense, giving a small raise of her brows and popping the piece of lettuce into her mouth. Her own smile slips when Yan Sun's discomfort becomes obvious, but she just studies her from across the table and gives a shrug of her shoulders, unwilling to let her wallow in it
right now. "A yacht is a ship, yes?" she asks, inferring as much. "You would be muuuch sexier if you had a ship." she admits, smug grin tugging at the corner of her mouth.
Yan Sun snickers quietly, a hint of embarrassment tinging the grin that crosses her lips. "Yeah? I'll have to keep that in mind..." she muses as she watches Jessica across the table, forcing thoughts of her parents, and whether they'll learn of her return to Earth, out of her mind.
Jessica snickers, turning her focus back to her food as she takes in the activity swirling around them.
Yan Sun too goes back to eating as well, silently observing their surroundings and enjoying Jessica's company. At least for a time. As food starts to run out, her thoughts inevitably drift back to their imminent arrival on Earth. Her gaze lingers on one of the mass relays floating in the darkness of space outside, sending ships to Sol in streaks of bright blue light. They'll be one of those streaks soon enough. And then it's just a matter of
crossing the solar system. It won't be a long flight. A faint sigh slips out as she fidgets absently with her empty soda cup.
Jessica settles back into her seat once she's finished up her food and turns her focus to people watching. But it's not long before her gaze settles on Yan Sun. On that distant look on her face. She stretches, extending her leg to poke at Yan Sun's under the table with her boot. "What you are thinking?" she asks, her gravelly voice colored with a hint of exhaustion. Unsurprising given the whirlwind that the past few weeks have been with
Yan Sun blinks when Jessica's foot prods her, attention brought back to the woman in front of her. "What? Oh." A shrug. "Just... the trip." Her city. Her parents. Her friends. "It's weird to think we're almost there. It doesn't feel real, really."
Jessica draws in a breath, shifting in her seat. She props her chin up with her hand, elbow planted against the table. She gives a tired nod against her hand in agreement. "Is good, though, yes...?" she asks, well aware of some of the baggage that comes with this trip for Yan Sun.
Yan Sun musters up a quick smile. "Yeah... just, weird. The last few months have felt like a whole different life..." she muses, sinking a bit deeper into her seat and watching out the window as if she could see Earth out there in the distance. Maybe it's a good thing she too is a little exhausted, dampening the nerves that her homecoming brings.
Jessica nods once more. Each leg of this journey towards Earth brings them one step closer to all of the things Yan Sun wanted to get away from. And at the same time it's taking Jessica further away the only home she's ever known. From a place she spent her whole life wanting to leave. At least that's what she told herself... "Just because you are going back does not mean you have to go back to your old life, kitty cat." she offers.
"You show me your city. We fuck in new places. And then?" she gives a small, nonchalant shrug, propping up her smile, "...Maybe we will go somewhere else."