Sulaco's Aspiration

“Thank you so much for being willing to do this interview! Its an honor to meet a real live Xero! The project is unlike any kind of tech! The fact that your species-“
“Can we just get on with it? I need to get back to my ship…” Sulaco grunted, taking a sip from his mug. The bar was nearly empty at this midday hour, and Sulaco was sitting alone at the bar before being approached by the short, odd alien before him.
“R-right, sorry! So the questions-“
Sulaco didn’t tend to talk to strangers at port. It was pointless. It distracted him from his work and whatever ship he was currently hired on, or it prevented him from finding new contracts if he had been docked for a spell. And even when he did strike up a conversation, it was usually an argument or technical discussion in the Engineering bay of the dry dock. A bar wasn’t for conversation…. It was for drinks and snacks between hours of work.
Suli had never seen an alien like this before. The man (?) was short, stout, and covered in fluff. Its ears were perked up, not unlike a felinidae or caanis. But his face was interrupted by two massive eyes and a small, cute mouth filled with rounded leaf-eating teeth. He stumbled as he approached, babbling on and on about science. Sulaco could barely understand the jargon until the alien asked if he could discuss Sulaco’s species.
There was no avoiding the facts. Xeros were still rare, despite all scientific efforts and the pioneering of the restoration program. Sulaco himself didn’t often give it much thought. He preferred the dark of space and had rarely even interacted with his own kind. Ironically, the alien didn’t want his perspective on that.
“I would really love to know more about how Xeros are integrated into general space culture, if you wouldn’t mind!”
Sulaco’s ears had perked, then. Fine… He could spare a dozen minutes while he waited for refueling. And Solaris knows how long it would take the rest of the freighter’s crew to come back from dock.
“Fine. What would you like to know…?”
The alien bought him a drink. The questions began. On and on, asking about where he had traveled and who he had met and what he had eaten and worn and seen. Sulaco soon found himself rolling into the questions, memories of his adventures and experiences flooding back in a way he hadn’t really considered before. I was all superficial, sure, nothing too personal. But, Suli could feel the warmth of memory over the years of learning and growing in his skills. Soon one drink became two, then three. The alien was laughing and enjoying the stories, writing notes and following up.
As the day began to roll on and the bar began to fill. Sulaco felt his cup emptying. He sighed as he waved a clawed paw for the tab from the mech managing the bar. The alien intercepted to pay the tab.
“Well, I gotta get back to the freighter. This wasn’t bad, xenos. Hope you got what you wanted.”
Sulaco’s bare feet hit the ground as his dismounted from the metal bar bench. The alien rolled in his seat to face him as he left.
“Wait! One more! One more!”
Sulaco snickered a little, turning over his shoulder to the alien. It’s large eyes had turned soft, its tiny mouth turned in a smile. It clamored off the bar seat to shake Sulaco’s paw.
“Where will you go now?”
Sulaco stood in silence, his eyes shifting slightly. He scratched behind his head, letting go of the alien’s hand to adjust his belt.
“I guess, wherever the stars take me, yeah?”
The alien grinned. “Yeah!”

Sulaco stepped off the docking bay to the freighter ramp, his paws slapping on the metal.
“Xero! Where have you been?? We were starting to think about leaving without you!”
“Shut it, lizard. You couldn’t run this hunk of trash without me.”
Within the hour, the ship was back beyond atmosphere and in the vacuum of space once more.

Sulaco wandered the ship to one of the star windows in an engineering alcove, climbing onto the ledge to lean back against the frame and pseudo-glass. He watched as other ships passed in similar traffic, the glow of debris behind them as they jumped into high speeds left glimmers in his dark slitted eyes. He felt something tug at his chest, as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his baggy pants, and smiled.
“Wherever the stars take me…”