[Citadel, Shin Akiba] The Daily Special [OPEN!]

"...Sure. The more the merrier."
Never ever say that again Alex.
Alex wondered why every single person instantly knew him. Was his face that recognisable? He wasn't sure to be complimented or insulted.
Changing the topic, and introfuving the new guests at his table, Alex decided to ask his new guests about... Stuff.
"Since you all seem to know me, at least enough to ask to sit down, I assume you all go on..."
Alex lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Cerberus daily news."
Truly, he still is the only one to think that that site is super dangerous and edgy, what with it being a ex terrorist site.
"So. What do all of you do for a living?"
Ten to one odds the Quarians are unemployed thieves
Shut the fuck up

“Oh, thank you.” Arina took a seat and placed the heavy bag next to her feet and the plate with her stuff and the Kaffe in front of her. She turned to the pink quarian. “Actually, I didn’t catch your name, sorry.”

That human obviously has found himself the center of a bit of attention. He was very recognizable after all so that was probably his own fault. Arina took a bite of her meal and a sip of Kaffe.
“I am an attaché at the asari embassy. I do systems analysis and statistics and have an eye on the extranet. That’s actually how I found CDN, when we did a search for Cerberus networks. I filed it as noncritical.” She laughed a bit.

Arina was curious who everybody was and if anyone else was active on that board maybe. So she looked at her company while taking another bite.

Leeta shifted awkwardly in her seat at the inquiry of her name. Most quarians were in the habit of introducing themselves right off the bat. Designations were usually sources of so much pride. She doubted the human or asari would care where she was from, but she was apprehensive to introduce herself all the same. "Leeta'Varo vas Tayseri." She fidgeted. "I live on the Citadel for my job. I am an agrarian specialist. I was part of the group of scientists that stayed to convert and upgrade the hydroponic bays when the war ended." She paused, idly staring at the table. "It is not particularly exciting work."

Arina had the impression as if Leeta had been a bit uneasy. Not that the name would ring any bells with Arina - maybe the small quarian with the fancy robes was just a bit shy.
"Nice to meet you Leeta!" Arina replied happily. "Oh, you could also say my work seems dull to many people - too many numbers involved. Actually I think you are working in a quite productive field. Reestablishing food supply is something that deserves highest praises."

Arina was taking a sip of Kaffe and a bite. The food here sure was no letdown. It had been a good decision to give them a catering opportunity. Arina was content.

"How do you two know each other?" Just asking and being open often was the best approach. No need for any agenda here.

"So a Asari Dimplomat and a Quarian Farmer? Man, Both actually important jobs." Alex said, mildly remembering the Quarians "Farmer's daughter" comment.
"I'm... Hang on, let me get this right, a "Liason from the Mombasa Police department, Smuggling and narcotics division" Alex explained.
"Basically the same thing as a normal cop, except less work and I have to stay in a hotel room for days on end." Alex said.
"Me and Quarian?" Alex asked.
She has a name you know
"Uh.. Me and Leeta are just two people from Cerberus Daily news.She happened to notice me, and I made the..."
Mistake
"Decision to offer her a seat. Turns out, that means also greeting a quiet Quarian and you as well." Alex said, not with any particular malice.

Well, no one seemed to be judging her on her designation so far, and that was always cause for a good mood. Leeta perked up at Arina's warm response, relaxing ever so slightly into her chair again. "Important yes, but nothing as interesting as tracking down smugglers or brushing shoulders with ambassadors." She held her hands together before idly brushing at some of the nutri-paste stains on her robes from her run-in with Hamilton a few minutes ago. "Ah, yes, I was in a discussion with someone else when I recognized him and decided to say hello. I thought he might have been called up as a consultant given some recent issues with smuggled equipment. I could not help but be curious."

Arbitrary, having positively identified all current occupants without having to do a damn thing, sits pleased with herself as she quietly retrieves a nutripaste at random, picking more based upon what the texture looked like than anything. As she expected, it was mainly just bland, but that was nutripaste. Exposing who she was to a C-Sec officer who browsed the forum may be a poor tactical decision so she decided quietly to deflect any such questions where they may come up. He did seem rather..uncomfortable though.

The Asari however was given a proper amount of attention, turning to speak to her properly. "You must be quite impressive to get a position directly with the embassy, Ms. Arina. The Republic is nothing if not security conscious when it comes to cyberspace." It couldn't hurt to build a contact in the Asari embassy. Really, she mentally kicked herself for not having done so already.

Her eyes wandered from Alex to Leeta.
“Oh, you’re on CDN as well? Yeah, this guy is recognizable, isn’t he?” Arina chuckled, winking at Alex, sipping her Kaffe. “Must be the glasses.”

Then the yet unnamed other quarian spoke. Agenda here I come. First, why would she think I am new to this and second, it was Republics. It was plural, everybody knew that usually.

“Well, I guess, I must be good enough.” Arina chuckled lightheartedly. She has been in the corps for centuries literally, but no need to wave it at the quarian right away. Diplomatic duty in different Republics and with the council species was a fun way to combine maiden travelling and serious work. The pay was almost as high as in some areas of the entertainment business so Arina was quite comfortable at what she was doing. Sometimes she envied maidens like that Taleeze girl from CDN for their freedom but hey, you can’t have it all. Also, she wasn’t two hundred anymore.
“And who do I have the pleasure to have lunch with?” She asked the yet unnamed quarian.

"Oh yeah. Who are you Quar..." Alex said.
Before a slight hum of a ringing sound emmited from his right leg pocket.
My boss? Ah crap. Only he'd ring this piece of shit
Alex reached into his pocket and withdrew and scrap heap barely worthy of the name "Phone".
"I've got to take this." He said.
"Hello, you've still haven't upgraded to a omni-tool, how may I help you?" Alex asked
"Adolrikson! Where the hell are you? I couldn't find you at your desk. We've got a massive shipment coming in!" Shouted his boss, the chief of his department back in Mombasa.
Luckily, the boss hadn't realised that the antique phone he bought had been upgraded to tap into the communication bouys, or else there would be a noticable delay in speaking.
"Sir. I'm on the Citadel. Remember, you sent me here." Said Alex, with detectable malice.
"Dammit Adol! I Demand that you help out down here!" Shouted his boss.
Alex sighed and pinched his forehead.
"I'm having lunch." He replied.
"Do something!" Shouted his boss.
Alex smirked a little before saying the next bit.
"Wait a second sir, I can see the ship from up here. I might be able to... Hang on."
And so, he carefully placed the antique mobile phone on the table, span it around a little and...
Slammed his fist down on the table as hard as he could, sending the phone jumping into the air and slamming back down onto the table.
He picked up the phone again.
"There, I shoot at it. Sorry If I missed." Said Alex, with a clear smirk on his face.
"Thanks Alex. Alright. Cya." Said his boss.
"Wait! How long am I going to be on this Station!" Alex shouted.
But sadly, his boss had just hung up.
Alex swore under his breath, then realised almost everyone was looking at him.
"...Sorry about that." He said meekly.

Arbitrary was about to answer the Asari when Mombasa had his little moment, deciding to merely chuckle and shake her head before diverting her attention back to her focus. "Anistasy'Renya." She tapped a button on her omni-tool and her faceplate became transparent, a custom modification to be sure but it did allow for better socialization. "I can only imagine being in your position you must get to see new places rather often. You work on cycles through the different Republics, correct? I lived on Thessia for a time and a friend of mine there was an envoy." Yes, perfectly legitimate reason to know the workings of the Asari diplomatic corps.

Oh, that Alex guy was a funny person. Obviously he was being pestered by an incompetent superior. Well, aren’t we all from time to time? His techniques were quite creative though. Arina wondered if he was a good cop. At least he seemed to have a lot of potential.
She laughed in surprise and went to chuckle.

When the quarian introduced herself, Arina was more than just surprised. This behavior was unexpected to say the least. She knew enough about them to know that this was a very odd thing to do and she herself had never seen a quarian face that close other than on pictures. The highly reflective eyes weren’t even that prominent this way, she mused, interesting.
She was giving Leeta a glance to check on her reaction to this. Her own expression was a raised eyebrow.

“Nice to meet you, Anistasy. Well, not that often. Diplomacy is based on trust and known variables, so you want to take advantage of your network after some time, I think I’ll be around for a bit. But yes, you get to travel a fair bit, not just the Republics though.” She had been attached on turian worlds as well but no need to raise all flags right away.
“I am from Thessia actually, so that’s interesting. Have you been there recently? It’s getting better on a surprising pace but it still is a long shot from being presentable in a few places.”

When the other quarian spoke up, Leeta's attention shifted from Arina. Considering they had taken the time to introduce themselves just moments ago and she had neglected to do so, Leeta found it odd that the quarian would latch onto Arina's statement about working for the embassy. She mentally shrugged it off, but there did seem to be some sort of agenda there. She supposed Arina must be used to that sort of thing, and was silently grateful she had never taken to politics. No one really felt the need to befriend someone of her position for ulterior motives, except for perhaps access to fresh food sources.

Zoning out and lost in her own thoughts, Alex's hand slamming down on the table made her jump. She snapped her eyes to him, but it took her a moment to realize he was talking to someone with a primitive communication device. She laughed very softly in embarrassment and relaxed into her chair again, making a note not to let her mind wander from the people in front of her. When Anistasy finally introduced herself, Leeta pursed her lips in hidden skepticism. No ship. That usually meant either she had some reason to keep her ship a secret, or she didn't have one. Even more curious, the quarian seemed to have no reservations about making her appearance public. It wasn't the first time Leeta had seen such a modification, but she didn't seem to acknowledge it. Intrigue piqued her interests, but given her own apprehension about living in a ward and not on a ship, Leeta wasn't about to question Anistasy. "Thessia must have been nice..." Leeta finally broke her silence to contribute. "What is it you do?" She directed her question to Anistasy.

Arbitrary nodded her head to Arina. "I have been there recently yes, to assist with construction efforts. I have a fair bit of funds that were left untouched during the war and, having adopted your homeworld as my own, felt it best to help however I could. Most of the time there was spent in the Dassia region so I can't quite speak for other areas but good work is being done there." Not to mention the Reapers had destroyed her home or anything, that was always inconvenient.

When Leeta asked what it was that she did she had to pause for a moment, as if trying to think of one specific thing. "Many things. I am a combat and infiltration specialist but recently I've taken a hand to calmer things. The war may have burnt me out a little so I've taken to colonial surveying independent of any one government. It pays very well and allows me time to manage my other business investments while waiting for samples to compile, and to me the feeling of exploring new territory never gets old." She gave a brief smile to the other quarian, relaxing in her seat with a sigh. It wasn't every day someone met a quarian combat specialist, and she was hoping that didn't narrow down the list too terribly much.

Now that was interesting. Dassus was Arina’s home as well, she hasn’t lived there for a long time, much longer than this quarian’s age for sure but she was still having some contacts. Of course she took an interest in it’s reconstruction effort. It was nice to hear the quarian call it ‘her second’ home… and that rang some bells.

No ship designation in her name, unusual social behavior and a very special field of expertise to put it mildly. This was not your average quarian. Why would a combat specialist like her not be attached to the Migrant Marines? Why would she have lived on Thessia long enough to call it ‘home’? homeworld… that left about two or three option what this quarian was.

Interesting, but nothing Arina would want talk about openly. She had already noted that there was at least one exile active on CDN, so it may not be surprising to see others. Since it was none of her business anyway, she noted it but it didn’t matter much under the given circumstances. She was watching Leeta though, wondering if the smaller quarian had noted the same things.
She wondered how much the human knew about quarians.

“Oh, Dassia? I haven’t been to Dassus in a long time but I grew up there!” Arina replied cheerfully. “I keep informed about their progress, it sounds promising! It is great to hear you put your knowledge to use. My personal thanks are with you.” She was nodding in acknowledgment of Anistasy’s support of Thessia’s rebuild.
“So, what’s bringing you to the Citadel? Or are you already on your way to somewhere else?”
Arina took a sip of her kaffe, leaning back in her chair.

Arbitrary watched the asari very carefully, noting the little revelation that seemed to go on in her head, if she was reading her correctly. "Well, I had a rather exciting run in with some klixen nests on my last outing so I've decided to take some time to myself. I dare say the past four years I've been neglecting my personal life and it's time I fixed that."

She had a feeling the asari knew something was up, though she believed herself to be doing a very good job of not being a stereotypical psychopathic exile stereotype. The x factor here was the other quarian, who if she came to the same realization might be just a smidge less welcoming, considering what she represented. "Normally I'd be on Thessia but..I suppose I live there for different reasons as of the war's conclusion. Not much to go back to and all, so this was the next logical place until that is fixed." She didn't change overly much in facial expression as she spoke, but it was obvious there was something she wasn't too keen on mentioning directly. "In the short-term I have been able to get a nice place overlooking the Presidium, so it's not all bad."

Alex had a itch in the back of his head. The same "Detective itch" that appeared when taking a statement, or looking around a ship.
It was useful in social events too. Someone forgets to mention something, something doesn't quite add up, and it helps them along.
"Wait. I'm no Quarian expert.." Alex began to ask. Because, really, why would I give a shit
"But you didn't mention your Vas whatever name. Do you have one, or am I being a idiot?" He asked.

Anistasy didn't need to answer Alex's question for Leeta to know why she didn't include her full designation. Through narrowed eyes, Leeta scrutinized the exile. She had never met one before, but exiling a person was the ultimate punishment, and one used sparingly. Leeta had sympathies for people who were threatened with exile during the Reaper war; tensions and political agendas were unusually high. Four years made it sound like Anistasy had been exiled even before the Geth attacked the Citadel. Still, Leeta didn't really feel justified in confronting her or verbally attacking her. After all, she had gone through a somewhat failed pilgrimage. The interruption if the Geth conflict had cut off her chance at bringing home something truly valuable, and in a way she had exiled herself to the citadel out of shame.

Leeta glanced at the other quarians in the restaurant, as if waiting for some sort of indication from them about what to do, but if anyone else had been listening in they didn't say anything. Leaning back in her chair, Leeta folded her arms over her chest, her easy going attitude cooling considerably.

Ho, now it was getting awkward here. Leeta obviously had added one and one and that cop, Alex was… oh why did this guy drop it onto the table?

Arina was weighing the options. She could make a comment on the food that was served. It was amusing in a way, how this had developed. She felt bad for Leeta, as she now was the one with the cultural problem
She gave Alex a quick glance that said ‘don’t be so rude’ though.

“The Presidium. Your investments must pay quite a bit.” It was funny, she would most likely be the only quarian living there. They were getting away from their bad image and as you could see with people like Leeta were integrating into the galactic processes more and more but still they were looked down upon by a lot of so called upper class cititzens. Maybe some neighbors already had filed complaints about a quarian in their fancy Presidium apartment block. “I am happy to live a bit away from work to be honest.”

Arina was taking the last piece from her meal and wondered, how Anistasy would play this.

Arbitrary, to her credit, knew how to work an awkward situation like this to a T. While the quarian already knew what was up, she wasn't saying anything, at least not now. With that, she capitalized on the C-Sec officer's lack of cultural understanding and cleared her throat. "Would you ask an Asari if she was pureblood?"" Enough cultural awkwardness was now caused to likely make the C-Sec officer stop questioning it and toss it up to 'weird alien crap' which was fine with her.

Bringing her attention back to the Asari, she inwardly sighed in relief. "And they do pay very well. Unfortunately not as much as before, however I have always been..adaptable. In fact the reason I am doing work again is because the War destroyed a lot of my investments. I can see how you might want to get away from work though, I'm stuck working for sometimes months at a time depending on how big the area I'm contracted to is."

Yeah, great, now we start flailing random bad names? Anistasy wasn’t really helping the conversation. That Alex… yes, well… idiotic question, man.

Arina had just wanted to sit, eat and talk to a few people… She leaned back with her kaffe and laughed a bit. She could now ask further details about these ‘investments’ and ‘contracts’ but Anistasy most likely wouldn’t produce any details anyway. Just no subject for the occasion and Arina’s lunch break. She made a mental note to look this woman up on CDN though.

“Yeah. I even managed to come down here to have my lunch and pick up stuff for the office. Change of scenery is good during the day, you can’t just stare at holoscreens all the time. So, what about you all…” she was looking at Alex and Leeta, trying to invite them on the subject and back into the conversation, “Do you come here often? I’m here for the first time, I read about it on CDN and gave it a try. It’s really worth it, food is great. I have even seen a few party announcements near the door – judging by the pictures on the extranet, they have great crowds.”