[Omega - Afterlife Club] No Strings Attached

The Afterlife, much like Omega never sleeps, there wasn't even a typical day/night cycle like you got on the Citadel, it was just open 24/7, and Albert for his part liked it that way. A small part of the lower floor of the club was reserved for the CDN meet up, a small feat in the scheme of things, but still one he was happy to have pulled off considering the short timeframe he had to work with.

The diplomat sat in a booth near the entrance, he had carefully chosen his armor to be both effective yet inconspicuous enough that nobody would mistake him for an merc. He drummed his hand to the rhythm of music as he sipped from his whiskey, wondering if anyone will show up.

Isadore walked into the lower floor of afterlife, his large, conspicuous armor immediately drawing the attention of Arya's men. He held his hands up in a geture of neutrality and slowly removed his helmet. A large Turian approached him and spoke,

"You know what your risking, coming here again." It was simple, but relayed the convulsing emotions swirling in him.

"Aye, Im here fer pleasure, not business. Theres supposed teh be a party here, a meet up o' sorts." Isadore said, a frightening smile curling his lip

Relief washed through the guard as he visibly relaxed. "Very well, have a good time, but please, don't cause trouble, I had a friend who was working the last time you came in."

A deep, rolling chucle, like gringing boulders came from the short krogan, "No need teh worry, I haven' a quarrel with anybody showin' up. Could yeh tell me which table there at?"

The Turian poked a finger toward a lightly armored human sitting at a table a bit away and mumbled something before heading back to his post.

"Thankee!" Isadore said with a chuckle and headed over to the human. He sat down across from the man with a low sigh and a muted thud from his seat. He said nothing, just turning his head slightly and regarding the human with one big, emerald eye.

"See," the short black haired woman said to the dark skinned turian girl she was practically dragging along, death-gripping her wrist, "They let us in. Didn't I say they would let us in immediately? I did say that. Because I know how this works." She was smiling wide, exposing her bright white teeth. The turian on the other hand looked like she would rather be in another place, mandibles twitching nervously, eyes glaring, darting through the room.

"Their music is okay-ish... could be worse." She pursed her lips and browsed the dancers out of curiosity, she knew none of them. Afterlife.... it was always odd for a club owner to hang out in other places so Sugar had been reluctant about the place. Her grip tightened a bit, it was reassuring to not be here alone. But it was obvious to an outside observer that the turian did exactly nothing to look protective, on the contrary.

"Look, look! There's Ice!" she pointed towards a table where a big krogan was just settling in with a human guy. A not too shabby looking human guy, Sugar thought. That must be Lowell.

She turned towards the two, dragging her turian friend along through the crowd.

"Heyyyy, guyys! 'Tis the CDN tables? I'm Sugar, you must be Dippy?" She bumped Isadore in the shoulder playfully, and then turned to Albert, extending her free hand, smiling.

Outside, a vorcha did a poor job of lurking. Vorcha were not permitted in Afterlife, and turian muscle was hired for the express purpose of keeping them out. To get inside would be both dangerous and difficult.

Once, in his former life, the Enlightened Cune would have considered the risk too great, and slunk off back to the tunnels. Things were different now. Life was different. It had begun many months before, when he was a younger vorcha and still aimless in life. He had eaten a multi-legged creature and spoken with his great ancestors. In the weeks that followed, he had thought hard about the experience. The ancestors had spoken to him for a reason. It was a sign that he was intended for great things. They had given him a destiny.

After a few months, he had taken full control of his pack, forcing them to share his vision. Many had left, but a handful remained, loyal and committed.

He had continued lurking on the forum named for the ambitious human clan, who had been vorcha-like in their ability to survive, with a string of hidden bases and warrens scattered throughout the galaxy. They were gone now. A lesson, perhaps? He knew that if he thought about it long enough, he would work it out. Today, though, he was too busy to think. An opportunity like no other had been placed before him. There was a meeting of the forum members taking place inside. Here, one of the few places that everyone on Omega knew. He would join them, and make his move.

The rest of his pack crouched nearby. This had been a team effort, and between them they carried the various necessary implements.

Albert had been in embroiled in a staring contest of sorts with Isadore, silently sipping his drink while looking the krogan over. He was about to make a compliment about the man's crest when Sugar arrived, together with a reluctant turian.

"Hello Sugar, I'm indeed Dippy, please have a seat" he smiled, " this fine gentleman has yet to give us his name, but he knows how to stare, and he does have pretty eyes, so it is not a total loss." The diplomat smirked, "Please forgive me, but may I inquire to the name of your lady friend?"

Xees Ahaillia had little chance of getting into Afterlife on his own. Actually, no chance. He wasn't old enough, he lacked connections, having style on that level required easy cash and the ability to spend it.

The young turian was dressed in a black shirt (generic, mass-produced and worn), a simple tactical vest, and black pants. He always carried his crash bag with him, an oversized bloody-blue number hand-painted with every possible first-responder symbol in reflective paint.

He was, technically, a member of CDN, which meant he was, technically, invited, and in the optimistic way of young men acting like older men he had invited a very pretty, slightly older, Talon who had no interest in him past his ability to get her into Afterlife.

And she had gotten stuck at the door!

No argument he had made had changed things, and soon he had been very close to loosing his own opportunity to go in. He had mouthed some bullshit about finding the host and pleading their case. But it was clear. He was not going to get with the pretty Talon.

Once inside he spotted the cunning client from the other week and began walking over.

There was probably no turian on Omega more unhappy than Mex was right now. Dragged out of her apartment into the streets and dragged into this crowded (oh spirits there were so many people here) club to meet a bunch of assholes she had no interest in meeting. Which was why she was still shooting death glares at Sugar as they approached table. She was still shooting death glares as Sugar talked to the human. Still glaring as they sat down and only stopped as the human addressed her.

"I'm...", she paused not wanting to give out her real name or even her identity as pyjak because there were probably quite a few people that wanted to bash her face in. "Sili. I, uh, don't post on your forums. My friend,-- not lady friend-- here just dragged me here because she thinks I need to get out more", she shifted uncomfortably not really liking sitting at the table. "So uh, here I am, dude."

She gave one last glare at Sugar and started looking down at the table. Trying to avoid eye contact with anyone else.

He noticed the unhappy woman as he stepped up to the table. He wanted to put her at ease, and smiled at her warmly. "Hey Sili, I'm Xees. Relax, how often are we going to get into Afterlife."

He was entirely too young for her (absurdly young) but his natural talking-to-women tone was flirtatious. He looked over at Sugar. "Please tell me how you got your guest in if she's not on the boards. If I'm not back in one minute I'm going to loose my date."

"Pleasure to meet you Sili," Albert nodded to invite her to take a seat, "Sugar clearly has as great a taste in friends than she has in dresses. Anyway welcome."

That was when Xees made his entrance with all the bluster of a boy trying to look like a man. "Pleasure to meet you again Xees" Albert took his omnitool out, typed a few thing and when the guard's face appeared on the holoscreen Albert just scowled, nothing more and it was enough as the man on the other side seemed to straighten up.

"There your lady friend should be free to join us now." he said as a few more key presses were made.

Oh, wasn't he a charmer. She was wearing a sequined red cocktail dress with low cur back.
"Oh,yeah, Sili's a friend and I thought, hey, the more the merrier, right?" Idiotic, but her smile and blink made it totally work.

"Isadore" (she said ice adore) "didn't introduce himself? Well, he's the man from the picture, isn't he? you're more of a mystery man, Mr. Lowell!" It wasn't clear if that was flirtatious or just giddy.

Sugar chuckled at Xees' greeting towards Mex - sorry, Sili. And even more so at the turian's shocked expression. This girl needed a dose of the real world!

"Hi, I know you, you're that kid doc from that vid, right?" He looked so young. Definitely too young, she would kick her out of the Periwinkle, send him to a playground or whatever. This here wasn't her domain so she didn't care.

She snipped to get the attention of a batarian waitress. "Get me a Strobe please and my friend here likes a Mandiblizer."

"Thank you!" He went off to fetch his date.

Really, Xees did not know what was going to happen, which made watching it all the more entertaining to watch.

This is what was going to happen. His 'date', an energetic young woman (key word: woman) with a very nice waist, was going to slip upstairs and flirt with the gangsters and mercenaries. It would be less than ten minutes before Xees limped back, rejected.

Oh well. He might have a chance with Sugar, right?

Isadore turned his head towards Sugar and gave her a frightening, toothy smile, in the action, showing Albert his milky white left eye. With a voice like crunching gravel, "Aye, Tomaj Isadore, at yer service."

He flagged the waitress as she turned,"Klixxon blood on the rocks, atomized." He saw the kid starting after his friend and added, "And juice for the kid, no matter what he wants."

He withdrew a bright green pack of cigarettes and shook out a long, jet black smoke, lit it, then blew a curling stream of purple smoke towards the ceiling, admiring the way the shades of it changed with the pulse of the lights and music.

"Didn't think I'd see you in a club other than your own Sugar."

"Isadore?" Albert looked at the krogan, "pleasure to meet you."

He nodded before turning back to Sugar, "Pictures can be deceiving, as for any mystery I might represent, I can assure you, I am just a simple diplomat that sometimes end up in extraordinary circumstances, a thing that can happen to everyone."

He saw Xees return without date was the small talk between himself and Sugar ended. "Well, ambition is important, reach for the stars and you might end up on the moon, or something like that." The diplomat did not however laugh with the young man.

Stopping the waiter for a second, "ignore the krogan, give the kid whatever he wants as long as it is not levo, is radiological active or has an ABV equivalent above," he looked at Xees, "let us say 1.3%. And remember I am the guy paying." The waiter really hoped Xees would order juice, he did not want to choose between the guy who could get a reservation on such a short notice and a krogan.

Isadore turned his large, sparkling green eye on the boy and fixed him with a stair. He said nothing, just watched the youth.

"Oh be quiet." He rolled his eyes and shrugged, returning to form. "Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained? But she wasn't half as pretty as you, Sugar."

Yeah, contradicting Krogan in a bar. Not a great plan. "What if he wants a dexto Paragade Red?" He turned to Albert, giving him a polite nod. "Thank you, but I don't have the genes to drink."

"Well, at least you have the genes to recognize beauty," Albert said with a grin, "I admire your initiative, but maybe you should think about people more your age?"

"Thank you?" He shrugged again, still smiling. He pointed to Sugar. "Are you calling this beautiful lady too old?"

The frightening, toothy grin showed itself once more and, with a chuckle, "Good choice."

Isadore's swirling, misty red drink was brought over by a Turian wearing thick combat gloves that looked like they had been splashed with acid. The Turian set down the beverage in front of Isadore gingerly and edged away from the frothing cup, obviously eager to be clear of it.

Thankee!" Isadore called after the quickly retreating waiter, his chilling grin growing just a bit wider, showing just a couple more dagger-like teeth. He sniffed the smokey drink lightly, then took a small sip, shivering from crest to toe, his tail even wiggling a bit, at the strange explosion of flavors and senses from the drink. Just a second longer in the atomizer and it would be perfect...

She chuckled at Albert’s hint to the waiter. When the boy returned, she immediately saw what had happened. From the brief look she had gotten on the turian woman he had been bringing, it looked like she had just used him as an excuse to get into Afterlife. Aw well, lessons of life.

“Hey, would you please stop talking about me in third person?” Sugar joked. “Yeah, I know, I know, it is a bit odd to hang out somewhere else but I make an exception for the chance to spend an evening with Mm…Sili..” She hugged Mex a bit around the waist, saying that “… and you peeps. You know, look at how miserable the competition fails at being as awesome as the Periwinkle! And thanks for the compliments, guys!” She nodded with a perfect smile and a blink of her dark and long lashes.

Their own drinks arrived and Sugar had not the slightest doubt she would have been able to make it better. One sip… yep, not bad but not perfect. She licked her lips and thanked for the invention of abrasion proof lipstick.