Fisherman 5
The howling tempest rocks the boat. 2 men in heavy coats are descending fish cargo into the port.
"Pretty good day, right"
"In weather or in fish cargo?" the fisherman replies
"In what hell would I call this weather good? Dumbass, fish! I mean the fish!"
"Hahaha, I'm surprised we got this much fish this time"
"With this much I can finally afford my move off somewhere"
"Really? Where you moving?"
"No idea, my wife and I've been thinking about moving to the mountains to the east"
"Ah with the monks, I see, never took you for the religious kind"
"I'm not, but I've heard nothing but good things about them, so there I go"
"Well, I'll wish you luck then, it'll be lonely without ya"
"Oh piss off with it, you haven't even told me your name"
"Ha! I guess not"
After unloading the cargo into the port, the fisherman runs across the street quickly, the wind is cold and hitting harshly, grey clouds overlooking the city.
With the loss of a coworker, he can't help but wonder who's the next person that will be hired, or if they'll get along as much as he did with his previous coworker, hopefully someone who can banter a bit.
It's pretty cloudy, but no rain for now. Most people are rushing towards their homes and carrying lanterns even if it's still technically noon. The roads and the buildings create tunnels for the wind to gain speed in, creating a cold wind that necessitates the use of a coat.
"What a perfect time for a cup of coffee"
Strutting at a fast pace, the fisherman makes his way through the city to get a warm coffee cup, one that really satisfies the need.
Upon arrival to the coffee shop, the fisherman orders a special kind of cup.
"Hey boss, give me the 12 hour special"
"Ooo, very nice choice"
"You seem happier than usual"
The shop owner seemed to have a grin he just could not remove.
"Of course, back home had very important celebrations, they sent me some very good stuffs to celebrate too"
"Really, what happened"
"Special event 'the 12 hour party', that drink I'm giving? named after it!"
"I see I see, well, to celebrate I'll have some krisbread too"
Once the order is done, the fisherman looks around to table 3, an incredibly well dressed man in a foreign military uniform was sitting there, his stern face carrying certain sense of authority. The uniform looked complicated, elaborate, and a bit outdated, so it was clearly not from the Republic or from a normal soldier.
"Hello! I'll sit here if you don't mind"
"And what if I do mind?"
"I'll sit here if you do mind"
"Wow, when my father told me that people from this nation were insolent, I wasn't expecting it to be as much as this"
"I guess you do look a tad out of place like that, where ya from mate?"
The man clears his throat as if he was to begin some sort of speech
"I am-"
"Oi, I didn't ask who you were"
The man was shocked and confused, like he had suffered a rude awakening
"Wh- uh, right, I'm from Hoshiyomia"
"Oh now that makes sense! I've been to Hoshiyomia a few times, lovely fish! Say, what brings you here?"
"...If you're from the RID then I've already said all I have to"
"Man you must think me some sort of expert orator if I gave you that impression, I'm just a fisherman"
"...I see, well, I'm just here for vacations, my father taught me the language, so I thought, might as well go and check this place out"
"Ah I got it, you must be some sort of aristocrat, you speak the language like a natural, even the old boss back there's still got some issues after being here for a few decades"
From the back, a yell is heard "ITS WORK IN PROGRESS"
"I guess it must be rather easy to deduce"
"Shit, that and the outfit you got, 's way too fancy for here"
"Well, I thought your people might know a thing or two about class, but it seems I was terribly mistaken, all I see are brown cloaks and colorless wool"
"Ah well I'll turn that one around, that vaguely military dress you've got has got too much stuff going on, gets tacky"
"Wha- How dare you, this was passed down my family from service in the Marina"
In comes the shop owner with 2 orders.
"12 hour special and krisbread for you, standard brew plus brownie for you"
"Ah finally, the melhomie brew that I have heard so much about" The aristocrat exclaims.
"Is it that popular back home?"
"I have had quite a few fellows talk about this, so I am very excited to try it out"
"Look at that boss, your reputation grows stronger!"
The shop owner lifts his fist in agreement
As both men drink their cups, the impressions are formed.
The 12 hour special packs a punch, in just a moment it wakes the system up, that and the sweetness that the milk adds, but it's not just that, there's something extra in there, a slight sweetness, a strong smell, like lavander.
"I've got it, this one has lavander"
The boss just responds "Why say that as if it was new"
"Well it's new for me"
The Aristocrat took a swig from the coffee cup, letting himself feel the taste before gulping it down, once he sets the cup down he takes a moment to think.
"...Yeah, I'd say this is some pretty good coffee, I am quite impressed, I can't say I've had anything like this before"
"How nice, one would think aristocrats get access to top tier stuff"
"It can be complicated, but we do get cheaper imports, from the whole navy thing it can be understood"
"Haha, I guess a little gunboat diplomacy can go a long way"
"Very well, I think I will continue my tourism some more, this country is quite large after all"
"Aye, do check out the library in the capital, it's our greatest accomplishment as a nation"
"Really? Not your armies or industry?"
"Nah, but don't get me wrong, those are pretty good accomplishments too"
Fisherman 6
"The hell's that on the port?"
The fisherman awakens rapidly to see what his new colleague is talking about
"Something going on?"
"Here, take the telescope and see" The fisherman does as he's told and observes the conmotion, some sort of vaguely woman shaped machine is being shown around the port by some aged man.
"That looks like one of those mechanical lifeforms"
"I mean, I saw that, but it looks too different from the ones I know"
"Yeah I know what you mean, guess we'll have to check it out after we get to the port"
"Nah, I'm real busy, I got a wedding to attent"
"Oh yeah, who's getting married" Asks the fisherman, surprised.
"Me! I've even got my vacations lined up for it"
"...Alright man, good luck on the wedding, I'm not gonna get ya a gift by the way"
"Bah it's fine man"
As the two fishermen are done unloading the cargo, the fisherman tried to see if he could find where the robot woman and the aged man had gone, unfortunately for him, they had left before he finished unloading the boat.
"Well, that's how the cookie crumbles" He thought, but if he knew something, it's that the little coffee shop he liked so much attracted a lot of strange people for no particular reason, so in an exercise of luck, he decided to see if they would stop for a cup of coffee over there.
"Yo boss, how ya doin"
"Good good, I got letters from home, I now have granddaughter"
"Oh congratulations! You planning on going to visit her"
"Maybe, I need to see who takes care of shop"
"I see, whoever you choose better do that coffee well then, on that note. I'll order a standard brew today"
"Coming up"
Once that's done, the fisherman proceeds to look at who is sitting in table number 3, somehow, his fortune is just right, the strange mechanical lady is there. The older man doesn't seem to be anywhere, maybe he's doing a small trip to the bathroom.
"Good morning, I'll sit down here if you don't mind"
Shocked, the robot woman immediatly questions the fisherman. "Oh? And who are you?"
"Just a fisherman who likes his coffee. Rather, who's you?
"I am not as well educated in etiquette as I would like to be, but is it not standard procedure to not bother others?"
"Social etiquette, like many other things done by us humans, is not something that has to follow logic, althought, I can't deny I've been called insolent a few times"
"...I see, and what does bring you here to question me?"
"Well, lady, I've met a few robots already, but none look like you! So you're a new kind of robot and my curiosity just beat me"
"Oh, there's the human curiosity that I like to see, very well, I'll answer your questions, if you have not seen any other mechanical lifeforms like me, it is because I am one of a kind, built from the wreckages of what you may know as the space station"
"Those guys up north? I never did end up finding out what happened to them"
"Most of us were forced on exile, and the space station fell, but with time and persistance, I built myself a body that I could use after the fact"
The fisherman thinks to himself for a moment, and decides to go for the question, even if it may bring unintended consequences "I know this may be rude, but that body you built for yourself doesn't look too human at all"
"Well apologies mister, uh, fisherman, but creating artificial skin is actually pretty hard, and the civilizations of this planet still don't have the necessary plastics for it"
"I'm not gonna pretend I know what a plastic is, but there's probably some other way to get a more human body"
"Ah, I do know the issue, I'm trying to find a proper solution with one of my friends here in the Republic to creating a more human body I can use"
"Oh, right, actually, where's that friend right now?"
"Stuck in the back"
"I see, he's gotta eat healthier then, else the boss is gonna start charging for the bathroom"
"I Would not do that!" Is heard from the back of the coffee shop. Just as the server comes in with the standard brew of coffee.
"Oh thanks kid" And the fisherman starts sipping along.
"Right, I do have a question, if you do get a more human looking body, how would you want to look, considering you get the rare chance to decide that"
"I think I want to look like those that created me, despite being artificial, I am a sanallite, so I will design myself after them"
"You know, one could never notice because they were always carrying around those bulky suits, but were they as, uh, how should I say it, 'busty' as your current shape is"
"They were, in fact, quite voluptuous, maybe it was influence from our goddess"
"Now that I think so, the void mother was always described as large, I guess it makes sense"
"Oh, I do want to ask you, Mr. Fisherman, what is the best place to learn"
"That most certainly has to be the capital library, go check that out, biggest collection of knowledge this side of the world"
"I see, that is where my friend is taking me"
"Good, honestly that answer is ingrained into us since childhood, say do tell me, what do you plan on doing after the capital, or after getting that proper human looking body"
"I cannot answer that, for I do not know, I do want to pay back some of the welcoming that has been given to me, but more than that, I want to see the world"
"You should get a way of consuming and processing food, that's half the fun of travelling, honestly"
"That is a good idea, however, creating an artificial digestive system is incredibly difficult"
"Well, nothing's impossible, you're already halfway there with being able to build a body in the first place, I think there's a group of robot people in another part of the continent, well, more half-robot than full robot, they call em cyborg's I think, you should look for some of their expertise"
"Huh, I'll ask around then.
As the fisherman steps out of the coffee shop, he realizes something, that friend of hers must have some serious bowel issues