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Hunting Ghosts - Cafe Serendipity

Posted May 1, 2021, 7:03 a.m. by Civilian Luana Iolani Kaili (Director of Mental Health - Sacred Heart Hospital) (Silke Fahl)

Posted by Civilian Atticus Wolf (Property Investor / Developer) in Hunting Ghosts - Cafe Serendipity

Posted by Civilian Luana Iolani Kaili (Director of Mental Health - Sacred Heart Hospital) in Hunting Ghosts - Cafe Serendipity

Posted by Civilian Atticus Wolf (Property Investor / Developer) in Hunting Ghosts - Cafe Serendipity
Leaning back in the seat on the balcony that overlooked one the business districts of OEDV, Atticus closed the lid of the small but substantial PaDD device he used for communications and his business dealings. A civilian model, it had some extra features that the flat screened models often didn’t but in return was bulkier.

He finished his coffee, slid the cup to one side for room service to tidy once he left the room and stood while he bundled the PaDD into his shoulder case. Looking out over the district, his eyes moved to the tall figure of Sacred Heart Hospital in the distance, then slowly followed the road down and along a side street to where the Cafe Serendipity was to be found. Last time he had been on OED, he had developed a fondness for the small out of the way cafe. He had need to leave the colony shortly after discovering it, but now he was back he was quietly pleased that he would be able to visit again.

Stepping out of the hotel rooms front door five minutes later, Atticus adjusted his neat leather brown jacket under the shoulder case he carried and turned for the shopping district. In his mind he ran through the invitation he had sent to the Xahean woman, Kaili. If he had done is research right, she may be able to help him solve his current problem. If he had done his research right, he smiled to himself, then he might just be able to solve one of hers as well. He needed a coffee.

The message sent to the Director of Mental Health would sit blinking in her message box.

Good Morning Director Kaili,

We haven’t met yet but my name is Atticus Wolf. I’m a property developer and investor that has recently arrived on OED. I have an interest in a property that has been abandoned for some time, but the circumstances are a little bit of a mystery and I’m trying to clear up some confusion around it.

I’m trying to find the owner, a Xahean man that lived on OED some years ago. I know you likely don’t think you have much information that might help me, but I’d like to meet over lunch perhaps if you have the time to go over some details, there were very few Xahean’s on OED at the time. If you do have the time, you can meet me at Cafe Serendipity in the Business District. It’ll be my shout for dragging you away from your busy day!

Yours Sincerely, Atticus Wolf

Atticus Wolf, Property Investment

Kaili was sitting in her office at the hospital when the message came in, taking care of the paper work. Being the director of mental health meant that paper work took up a large amount of her time. And then of course there were the large projects she was working on for and with the governor. Expecting it to be a message from some one on her staff or another hospital employee, she didn’t even look at the name of the person who had sent it before she opened the message.

At first she was confused as to what a property developer and investor might want from her. She had no property here, or any where for the matter, after all. And then the words Xahean man jumped out at her. Could it be? But how could she help? If if it was who she thought it might be, she had no information. Not even a name. Well, there was only one way to find out.

After checking her chronometer, she finished a few more important tasks before rising to her feet. As usual she was dressed in business casual attire:, black ballerina flats, a pair of grey slacks, a blood red t-shirt with lace trimmings around the neckline and hem and a light cardigan that matched her slacks. Before she left her office, she glanced into the small mirror to check that her hair was still pulled back into a neat ponytail and grabbed her purse.

It didn’t take Kaili long to arrive at the indicated Café. But before she rounded the last corner, she used her abilities to become virtually invisible. She wanted to get a glimpse at the Café and the man she was meeting before he could see her.

~Dr. Luana Iolani Kaili

The small cafe was busy for lunch as it often was, but not unpleasantly crowded. Various peoples and species all gathered here for their short lunch breaks, a light tune playing in the background barely audible among the chatter and laughter, but there nonetheless helping the feeling that even if you were by yourself you were never really alone. The smell of fresh bread and other lunchtime delicacies mingled with the aroma of actual coffee, not the replicated sort.

It was a pleasant looking little cafe, with potted trees out the front on the walkway and small wooden tables and chairs spread among the open courtyard. More were spread inside for the patrons that wanted a more sheltered lunch, and around them on the walls were paintings of landscapes from many different worlds and by various artists.

Every table bar one had two or more people lunching and talking together. At that one table was a lone Human man, his brown leather jacket casually spread over the back of the chair he was sitting on while his left leg was raised with his left ankle resting over his right knee. An empty coffee cup rested before him, in his hand was another he appeared to be enjoying slowly. The man was tidy and well presented, good looking enough in an ordinary way and it was clear the man was quite lean but it was an athletic lean, not a skinny lean. With dark brown hair brushed tidily to one side he sported a short, neatly trimmed dark beard. Everything about the man looked ordinary to a casual glance, and her appeared to be in no rush at all. By his feet lay a shoulder bag, and beside the empty coffee cup on the table was a PaDD device with a lid raised.

It didn’t take Kaili long to spot the only person in the Café who seemed to be on their own. But instead of approaching him, she remained where she was and watched him for a few moments. Her body utterly motionless save for the gentle rising and falling of her chest and the occasional closing and opening of either set of her eyelids.

He was seated facing out towards where she would approach the Cafe, the table off to one side so that not so many people were all around it. A lone chair was positioned opposite to him but that chair would also be looking towards the street, closer to being beside him than opposite him. Taking a sip of his coffee, the man’s eyes lifted to the street and moved along it slowly, seeming to pause every few moments as if he was searching the people walking by or the store fronts on the walkway opposite the Cafe. One of those pauses seemed to rest on Kaili, but there was no indication he had seen her.

Raising his hand the Human got the attention of one of the passing waiters and they spoke for a moment, the waiter walking away and the Human returning to his coffee.

Atticus Wolf

Taking a step back, so that she was out of his line of vision, Kaili became visible again. With a slightly guarded, though not unkind expression on her face, she walked straight towards him. Stopping exactly opposite him, she asked without so much as a preamble, “Are you Mr. Wolf? Atticus Wolf?”

~Dr. Luana Iolani Kaili


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