>PLANET NYKARA…
> ISLAND NYADA
> ALLIANCE SECTOR
> CITY Halsion
A Wyvern was gliding past the gravity-defying island, beneath it the small city of Halsion at the rim of an alliance sector.
Surrounded by two wall-rings, the city adapted to the coast. The center of the city was characterized by an encircling highway, which secured a fast advancement, with many gateways went off. Likewise going off of the highway, a circular bridge connected the small neighboring island Nyada, where the bridge piers were even visible from the sky. From the perspective above, the bridge and the highway composed of the form of the number eight.
The inner wall-ring was heavily cultivated, but the cityscape was characterized by comparatively smaller buildings. Only in the city center, there were a few skyscrapers. One building on the edge of the ring stood out, a several-block high complex.
The complex itself was surrounded by a small wall and separated it from the rest of the city, it was the military base of the city. Since it was on the outskirts, the town had a small garrison of several thousand soldiers and a few ships that were supposed to protect the town in case of a failure until reinforcements arrived from one of the main bases.
In contrast to the first ring, the second ring was only inconspicuously built along the streets leading from the ring. The rest was laced by fields and the like that allowed the city to have limited self-sufficiency.
The island of Nyada, which rose out of the ocean to the west of the city, was only sparsely built with a few tall buildings. It had no walls itself, the sea seemed to offer enough protection from whatever the walls on the mainland were protecting the city.
Outside the second ring of the wall, there were only a few buildings, presumably warehouses and other buildings that did not require special protection.
It was early in the morning and the city was beginning to wake up.
_____________
> Bar THIRTEEN
> SEVEN O’CLOCK ELEVEN MINUTES
The shiny counter reflected the morning light that filtered through the windows of the busy restaurant. The bar Thirteen was a popular restaurant, and many professionals and students used the restaurant and its location for breakfast. The restaurant was on Nyada Island, near the industrial park and the academy. Like every morning, there were many guests and, like every morning, there were quite a few female students among them.
A small, trapezoid-shaped serving robot drove through the restaurant while it contributed to the cleanliness of the establishment with the cleaning nozzles built into its musculoskeletal system. There were compartments on the sides to bring the orders to the tables. Orders could also be accepted. People could both speak to him and only select the menu on his holographic screen that appeared above him, or they could order directly via their personal data interfaces, PDI.
All this work the Robot performed with a smile on his face. The screens on the front and back were decorated with a cute smiley face, which was kept in a retro-pixel style.
But the little serving robot, which everyone only called Sound because of the sounds it made, couldn't serve the crowd on its own. That's why Ben came in. He was the owner of Bar Thirteen. Despite his age and the white hair, he had a well-trained body, one could only guess what bulks of muscles were hidden under the shirt that was under the apron. Armed with a special PDI on his belt, an apron that was only worn over one shoulder, and embroidered with a large 13, he served the customers together with Sound.
People enjoyed the food from the kitchen and talked to each other as well as to Ben, who was a well-known face in town, while Sound drove through the restaurant. The female students, on the other hand, whispered and looked expectantly in the direction of the counter.
Zane sat at the counter, as he did almost every morning before school, but today he seemed absent somehow and starred into the deep black of his cup.
His blonde hair was hanging in his face when the girls' whispering suddenly grew louder and the sound of china brought him back to the present. Still, in his thoughts, he could not identify the origin of the noise at first and looked up a little confused. After a few seconds, his gaze fell on the source of the sound that had ripped him out of his thoughts.
A large plate was on the counter in front of him, the smell of freshly roasted bacon and scrambled eggs rose to his nose while a set of cutlery wrapped in a napkin was placed next to the plate. Zane raised his gaze again and saw Zero, who was putting a basket with fresh bread buns next to the plate as he passed. "There you go." He smiled.
Ben's foster son, Zero was the restaurant's chef and Zane's best friend. Like Ben, Zero wore an apron, but his was a normal version that was simply tied around the waist.
"I didn't order anything," Zane protested a little puzzled.
"Enjoy it. You need strength for the exam later. Today it's on me", Zero waved Zane aside with a smile as he went back into the kitchen.
"But…"
"It’s fine Zane", laughed Ben, who got a note from Tyler, who was sitting next to Zane.
"Just take it, you still have to grow tall and strong!" Tyler added with a mocking laugh.
"In that case, thank you," Zane thanked Ben and Zero, who might still be able to hear it in the kitchen, ignoring Tyler's gestures. Had it been a normal morning, he and Tyler would probably have had an argument. It was always like that, like cats and dogs. Mostly it was Tyler who made some kind of comment that annoyed Zane, who then threw some words towards Tyler. Most of the time it was just that they wanted to annoy each other.
Tyler was two years older than Zane and Zero and had already graduated from the academy. He served with the island's Defense Forces and was an ATBS pilot. It was said that he was the best ATBS pilot in town, but personally, he didn't care about the rumors.
Then the ringing of the opening door caught the attention of the three.
"Good morning Carol". "Morning" Ben and Tyler welcomed the new guest, while Zane with the fork in his mouth only waved to her while the sweet taste of the bacon spread in his mouth.
"Good morning guys!", Carol replied as cheerfully as always to the greetings of the three. The two pearls on her headband shimmered in the sunlight. Her curly, waist-length, orange hair was tied in a side braid that exposed part of her forehead. In contrast, she wore bangs that only covered up two-thirds of her forehead.
With the bag around her shoulder, she approached the counter as Zero leaned out of the kitchen and peeked around the corner: "Morning Carol, your breakfast is almost ready".
“Morning Zero!”, she waved happily.
Finally, Zane finished eating and greeted Carol: "Morning Carol".
“Morning Zane”, she greeted him. “Thanks, but you really don’t have to Zane. I can get something on the way”.
“That is out of the question! You would only buy sweets and who knows what else”, Zero reproached her.
“I can imagine that very well”, Ben laughed heartily.
“Hey! That’s not true!", pouted Carol who sat down on the barstool next to Zane.
"It’s almost done. Just a moment", said Zero as he put a glass of hot chocolate in front of her that he had already prepared. A brief glow was seen in Carol's eyes. It seemed as if a smile was emerging on her face, but then it gave way to a pouting face as if she remembered that she was angry.
As if to emphasize her outrage, she demonstratively puffed her already inflated cheeks even further.
However, her pouting didn't last long when Zero reached out his hand to her.
Like letting air out of a balloon, Carol's cheeks shrank back to their original size and were colored in a soft shade of red. Her pout had given way to a smile.
Careful enough not to ruin her hairstyle, Zero's hand gently stroked Carol's head to caress her while Carol leaned slightly forward.
The sweet smell of the hot chocolate filled the room as Zero went back into the kitchen. On the chair where Carol had pouted her cheeks until recently, now sat a completely satisfied Carol, who lit up the room with her smile.
"You just wanted to be petted, didn't you?", Zane laughed, her smile peaking for itself.
"You have to go back to the hospital today, right Carol?", Ben asked, as she took a sip of her hot chocolate.
"Delicious", Carol smiled satisfied.
"You still have to go to the hospital because of the dizziness?" Zane asked in amazement.
"Yes, they said they want to examine me more often from now on", she confirmed, turning back and forth on the rotating bar stool.
“With today's possibilities?”, Zane dug deeper in disbelief, questioning the medical knowledge of the doctors. "It's probably something chronic", added Zero who came back from the kitchen. "I've asked before, but they didn't really know what it was either".
"Hopefully it's nothing bad", Zane expressed his concern.
"Okay, I have to run a few more errands. See you later guys", Tyler said goodbye on the way to the door.
"Goodbye Tyler". "Bye!", said Ben and Carol who now turned like a hurricane on the bar stool.
“See you later, Tyler. Thanks for visiting”, added Zero.
"I expect you’re not going to screw it up Zane", Tyler laughed while waving with the back of his hand at the group.
"Yes, uhm ... thank you?", Zane said confused. "Was that good luck or ... what was that?" Zane asked his friends while chewing his breakfast.
"Probably yes", laughed Zero. "When do you have your appointment, Carol?", he turned to Carol stumbling on the stool. After the carousel ride on the stool, both her eyes and the single strand of hair that protruded from her braid turned.
“At eight, but I don't want to go there! I'm just sleeping there anyway!”, she pouted, laying her arms first on the counter and puffing up her cheeks again. "I would much rather watch the exam with you".
Again, Zero stroked Carol on the head, while she smiled at him. "Just stay healthy ok", he smiled back.
"OK it should be ready", Zero turned to the kitchen.
"So, how's it going at school, Carol?" asked Ben, who had gone behind the counter and was polishing a glass with a cloth.
"Yes, very well, but it's boring since Aki is no longer there ..." she rocked back and forth on the chair.
“Right, she graduated from the academy last year. What is she doing now?"
Zero came back from the kitchen with a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and served it to Carol. "Yay! Bacon and scrambled eggs!" she was happy and grabbed it under the eyes of everyone who just smiled at each other.
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