~Sophie's Canaria Cafe~

[Ant]

A dark haired man in his mid forties walked into the cafe. He wore a standard looking shipsuit over his slight frame and his glasses looked utilitarian rather than fashionable. He was trailed by a beeping four armed maintenance robot.

A bit frustrated, he looks over his shoulder at the robot, "How should I know if there's an afterlife for robots? Can you prove to me there's one for humans?" He shakes his head and walks over to order.

"Welcome to the the Canaria Cafe. I'm Siggy. What would you like?"

"Good morning. Siggy. I'm Alan... and the droid is XM.
"I'd like one of those Canaria specials please, the number 9." Glancing over his shoulder for a moment, he talks in a quieter voice. "I don't suppose you have anything that needs fixing do you? My droid could use something to keep it occupied right now."

"Nothing at the moment sorry. Please have a seat. Your order will be delivered."

Walking to a nearby table, Alan looks at the robot again. "Look, I understand why you might be unhappy about the demise of your "friend" but I don't know if I can help."

As Alan sits, the robot drops it's arms.

Alan glances down at the disconsolate robot, looking like he's about to say something, then sits back instead, shifting his gaze out the window and reflecting on recent events.

The somewhat shady business dealings in Cambridge had gone according to plan. However, the attack on Cambridge was not something he'd expected to see.
Watching the defense fleet take such punishment had forced him to reassess the position he was taking.
Waiting and watching from a concealed position, he'd been in position to collect an escape pod from one of the ships. The information that one of the passengers gave him, along with intercepted transmissions, had led to actions that had kept the damage to a minimum.
He certainly hadn't been expecting to be a witness at a wedding. Fortunately the happy couple were off on their honeymoon now.
Then there was the news of Sophie Noire.

Alan looked down at XM. "Nothing you can do about it now. Think about the others that need you."

The robot swivelled it's sensor unit up from where it had been looking at the floor and beeped, almost hesitantly.

Alan tried to keep a serious expression on his face. "Yes, I'm sure they still want your services."