"Andrew, shift's over. Want to go for a drink?"
A worker with the number six hanging on his chest spoke to a middle-aged worker with the number nine hanging on his chest.
Andrew smiled and politely declined.
"No, I need to go home and spend time with my son. It's his birthday today."
Andrew bid farewell to his coworkers, left the T'au Factory, and headed toward the residential district on the outskirts of the Factory.
This place had once been housing for Imperium citizens, home to Imperium workers as well.
But each worker's household had only ten-odd square meters of space. Everyone lived in homes the size of shipping containers, unbearably cramped.
After the T'au arrived, however, they renovated the housing, and everyone could live in spacious flats of over a hundred square meters.
Andrew walked down the street, bought a large cake from a bakery, then headed home with a smile on his face.
His wife had died in childbirth over a decade ago, leaving him with a son who was now more than ten years old.
Usually, he worked at the T'au Factory while his son was looked after by T'au teachers. Every day after class, the T'au teachers were responsible for bringing the children home.
This greatly eased the burden on him as a single father, allowing him to devote his energy to work.
But he was an important engineer at the T'au Factory, busy with work and neglectful of his son.
Fortunately, their project had made new progress today, allowing him to leave early and spend time with his child.
Carrying the cake, Andrew entered an apartment building, went straight up to the fifth floor, and paused outside his door to straighten his clothes before knocking.
"Dad!"
An excited child's cry came from behind the door.