Cid stepped out of the hotel, a duffel bag in one hand and a spear strapped to his back. He didn’t take the Venus Gospel out in public anymore; this society seemed pretty exclusive to projectiles. Not that he didn’t understand that mentality; quite a few of his pals back home were weaponry buffs. But that’s where his understanding seemed to grind to a halt: Why should everyone stick universally to one type of fighting style? Regardless, he hadn’t handled the Venus Gospel in combat in quite a number of months, and was actually beginning to lose his feel for it.

Ignoring the glances and odd looks he got as he walked down the street, he headed down to the docks with the glimmer of hope that someone would need a pilot. Or any work, really. It wasn’t his place to be picky. He’d done some things over the past year he wasn’t particularly proud of, but that just seemed to be the way this ‘verse operated. People on the ‘rim worlds’ did what was necessary to get by. Cid had been reluctant to visit the Core planets; the reputation of the Alliance was less than outstanding. Though, with his lack of information so far, all the answers he was looking for seemed to be in the Cores.

Cid was so wrapped up in thought that he didn’t notice the girl barreling towards him until she was right up on him. She stopped a few feet in front of him, causing the pilot to blink a few times. She stood about half a foot shorter than him and had long, dark brown hair that covered her shoulders, stopping just above her breasts. Her locks complemented her eyes, which were also brown. She wore a long, flowing blue and grey dress and she was panting heavily.

“Are you…?” she started.

“Uh… am I?” Cid replied, bemused.

She waited a few more seconds before trying to speak again, catching her breath. “Are you the man who can’t think?”

He made a face that was a cross between confused and bewildered,.“Don’t reckon I am.”

She furrowed her brow in concentration. “But there are no thoughts. The music of life but no chorus.”

It was then