[Illium and beyond] The beacon needs to be found (closed)

"Mm," Daia agreed, mid-bite, with Freh'ya's assessment of the burger, with a nod of acknowledgement in reply to Taleeze's thanks. The meal lived up to its name in krogan zestiness, but despite appearances - or maybe slyly matching them, given how cutesy the 'thresher' was - Kaga had eschewed any particularly confronting ingredients, managing to capture some of the joie de vivre of Tuchankan cuisine without any of the eye-watering kicks even the toned down versions suitable for non-regenerating stomachs often produced.

She shifted slightly on the couch to accomodate Ana leaning into her side, and seeing Taleeze engage her bondmate in conversation, devoted her attention to Freh'ya. The commando's description of Omega - "Mercs are still mercs, vorcha still vorcha" - got a wry grin out of her; she wondered if it had even changed that much since her own time there.

"Quite a while, actually," she admitted, when asked how long she had lived there. "A long time ago of course, before I ever came here. It was when I was starting to feel like settling down, a bit - I'd had my Maiden fun, and it was starting to look like time to... well," she admitted with a grin, "keep right on being a Maiden, in my case, but in one place for a while rather than travelling. I never considered Omega for that," she qualified, "it was more a stepping stone. Rake in the credits dancing and so forth there, then use them to set myself up somewhere a little more genteel." She snorted with mirth. "Illium's not a lot more genteel, I admit, but at least you can walk the streets without having to keep thinking about potential lines of incoming fire. Most of the streets, anyway."

She settled back, unobtrusively stroking Ana's thigh as the two of them conversed with friends, old and new.

"I suppose I weathered Omega well enough," she went on to Freh'ya. "But I played it safe, so far as you can. Didn't go wandering, unless I had someone a lot meaner-looking than me along - I don't exactly put the fear of Ajrakila into people just by myself," she giggled. "And the clubs I worked at were well connected, so I guess that discouraged any unwanted attention. It wasn't all gentle waves and sunflowers, but I got by."

Freh’ya was finishing up her burger and put her plate back onto the table. She leaned back to let Taleeze snuggle into her side again, turned towards the quarian. The dancer was involved in a quiet conversation with Ana, while resting on hand on the commando’s thigh. Freh put an arm around the smaller asari, her hand brushing against the side of Taleeze’s breast. She listened to Daia’s story, crossing her extended legs at the ankles.

It was amazing how welcome this asari could make someone feel… even more so, Freh’ya had to know if on Thessia… maybe the conversation could give her an opportunity.

The subject was a difficult one. Her whole Omega time had been a personal disaster, given her current plan to at least try and recover – for Taleeze, who gave her the energy to even begin. She didn’t really want to talk about it excessively. What should she talk about, how she got drunk all too often or screwed a partially cybernetic human in some desperate but amazing one night stand? Okay that would maybe something that would even flow casually with Daia… but the other two people in the room might object.
“Omega is nothing to settle down really, almost everyone is just passing through in away.” Tides, even I did pass through. “Tides, I was passing through myself. But… “…I wanted to leave through an airlock, without a suit. “…yeah. Anyway.” Damn.
“I spent my entire life up to the war in C-Space.” Minus the occasional operation in the Terminus “It is how I want my galaxy to be really.” Freh’ya looked down at her lap. Goddess, this was difficult! Her eyes came up to meet Daia’s again. She spoke with some resolve now.

“Nevos is a lovely place to be. I grew up at her beaches and got educated in her mountains. The monastery was overlooking a valley, steep cliffs left and right, the sea a faint shimmer in the distance, glistening through misty air. It was sundown side. I couldn’t live on Omega for long, I guess.” She sighed.

“Your’re from Attena, I can hear that. How’s your home Republic doing? Are your family and friends there well?” There… now please, please, please…

"Everyone but Aria," Daia joked, in reply to Freh'ya's comment that everyone on Omega was 'passing through'. "Everyone else... yeah, passing through. On the way to something better," she smiled, tilting her head slightly at the tender way the big commando was holding Taleeze.

"I know the feeling, a bit," she agreed. "Missing a real world. I used to take little holidays, ever now and then - whenever I got thoroughly sick of excavated habitation areas full of pre-fab buildings and recycled air, and all that. A cousin of mine joined a heavy frigate crew based on Atolia, and the Antumbran Reach isn't that long a trip - wasn't then, anyway, through the old relay layout. Whenever they went on leave she'd let me know, and I'd seal my apartment up, hop on the next ship going that way, and have a week or two of... well, wherever they happened to be, but somewhere with a sky instead of a ceiling, and water you didn't have to be a krogan to swim in."

She chuckled and shook her head, then nodded when questioned about her origin. Attena had one of the more distinct accents of Thessia, and while she could imitate a Serrice voice if it suited her (usually for clients with a particular stereotype-based fantasy in mind), she had never made much of an effort to lose her native sound beyond that.

"Rebuilding," she replied. "Same as everyone... My mother was at the political cybernetics institute, so we thought- Well, before comms went down, we only got the initial reports. It wasn't until it was all over that we found out the damage from the strikes hadn't been nearly as bad as it seemed. She's still there - leading Matriarch of the institute now -" She said it in passing, not making a boast of it, but the pride was still there in her voice, "and I'm an only child, the other branches of the family are scattered all over. Lots of friends close to home, of course. Jandiri - my home town - wasn't targeted, really, beyond what was going on everywhere. Some friends of ours were off at the Academy, got caught up in the fighting there..." She shrugged - not dismissive, but an acknowledgement that what had happened was something she couldn't truly comprehend, having been so far away, behind thick walls from the monsters. "Some didn't make it... A lot did, though, and the climate's gentle most of the year, they had plenty of time to get power and shelter before the nights started getting cold. They had a hand in Artarva later, when that was getting up off the ground. And the ecological rejuvenation work going on around there, in the undeveloped areas." She grinned, reflectively. "Life goes on - the flora's got the right idea. The moonlight lilies are in bloom again, that's always been a good sign."

Freh’ya’s pulse slowed down. None of the children had an Attena dialect anyway, now that she thought about it…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Lady, will we go home now?”
“Yes, dear, these soldiers will bring us home, don’t worry.”
“I want to go home.”
…..
“Red team, extraction is negative. That destroyer is blocking everything. This is an Anti-Indoctrination scenario. Confirm that, red leader…. Red leader, we need you to confirm…. Red leader…”
…..
“Confirming anti-indoc… red team signing off.”
….
“Miss soldier, can we go home soon?”
….
“It is inevitable, Lady Matriarch.”
The gun felt so damn heavy. Why was it so heavy? Was there something wrong with it?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been half a planet away from Jandiri. This was safe. She realized that her hand on Taleeze’s breast had tensed, her fingertips digging into the soft flesh a bit. Taleeze had snuggled in closer as an unconscious response. It felt so good, her hand relaxed. It had been the only external sign of her inner turmoil though.

“I am happy your mother is well. This is important work they are doing with the communications infrastructure and the Institute as such.” Every asari knew the cybernetic institute and the attached AI cores. Freh’ya made small pause to process the philosophical approach of Daia. Life did go on indeed, but some flora also just got weeded out. Was she weed or a flower that would bloom again someday? This remained to be seen.

She didn’t want to talk about the war. She wouldn’t talk anyway, she had no hero tales to tell, and didn’t want to listen to those of others.

“Taleeze told me a few stories of stuff the two of you pulled off,” she changed the subject to significantly lighter themes. “You are leading quite an interesting life. I have never encountered someone who was so active in a regular business field and still pursuing a career in the sex business. I understood, it’s a lifestyle issue for you but still quite unusual. Did that ever interfere? I mean, like, ending up with a customer at night that you were negotiating deals with during the day?” Her voice was indicating genuine interest; there was no irony or anything about the question.

Daia ducked her head in thanks for the well-wishes to her mother, and let Freh'ya change the subject without comment; she hadn't noticed the commando's hand still, or any other overt sign of upset, but it didn't take a Matriarch to imagine why she might want to turn the evening's talk to happier times. A woman of her service, and the spirit and integrity Taleeze had described to her, didn't vanish to a place like the underbelly of Omega without some pretty potent shadows looming over her. Taleeze, and Freh'ya herself, no doubt had their work cut out for them banishing those demons, but seeing them snuggled together, Daia had ample hope, and laughed at the mention of the 'adventures' she and Taleeze had gotten up to.

"I bet she has," she giggled. "Just wait'll you see the holographic rig she came up with - she's quite the gadgeteer."

She leant forward to refill her glass, and her guests'.

"It's unusual," she granted. "Most escorts either move on to other things, or if they stay in the industry move into management of clubs and agencies; no more clients, save the occasional long-standing regular here and there. This kind of dual career," she gestured around with her glass, "isn't so common - but then, it came about quite by chance, really. It's actually beneficial more often than not, having the two 'careers' at once. The whole 'CEO image' is a bit of a drawcard, as an escort: the way Illium treats wealth and corporate power, there are a lot of people who idolise it, fetishise it even. We're not in the big leagues, by any stretch of the imagination," she admitted, "but it's the suggestion of it, the connection - however tenuous - to the kind of corporate high-flyers society here looks up to." She gave a grin, slightly wry, but fond as well. "It's a fantasy of course - but it's all fantasy in a way, one more aspect doesn't derail it.

"As for the reverse... in a way, it's the same kind of deal. Not many CEOs are practising escorts as well - there are a handful who'd look down on it, but not nearly as many as you might think. The sex trade is a trade, and you know how Illium is with trade - flourish, and doors open for you. It's happened a couple of times that people we have dealings with here already know me from the Oasis, but I'm up front about it, and I don't take 'confidential' clients, so there's no pressure of secrecy on their end either... I tend to become quite friendly with clients anyway, so if we wind up in corporate meetings, it tends to smooth things over a little. And if it's negotiating deals we're talking about - where you have to play hardball - well, that I wouldn't be great at anyway; any time we need that kind of powerhouse presence, a friend of ours, Skylar, helps us out, and I just look pretty beside her in the boardrooms and agree with whatever she says. Admittedly there are probably a lot of people who think I'm more a figurehead, a sort of marketing gimmick designed to get attention for the company."

She shrugged, still smiling.

"Honestly, I can't be bothered by that, since it's not that far from the truth - without Ana," she glanced adoringly at her bondmate, "and Vale, our office manager, I really wouldn't know where to begin. But being noticeable, that I can do. It may not say anything about how good the company is - and I really am proud of it - but the dancing, the film work, just being known as an escort, being talked about... people remember the name. That's a lot of marketing, right there - once someone's looking your way, then you can work on convincing them you're the right company for the job, but the trick is getting them to look to begin with. I have a knack for that." She chuckled, somewhat in amusement at herself, but not without pride in her talents as well. "Truth be told, we have 'market presence', as they say, at the same level as some companies that spend ten times what we do on advertising."

Freh’ya chuckled a bit and sipped at her juice as Daia told her story. It was such a careful balance between her various facets, it became obvious that this woman had found her lifestyle. And the way she spoke about it she was happily settled finally. It was actually hard to imagine her in a place like Omega, she was representing an image of asari Illium in many ways. Freh’ya was a bit amused about the fact that she indeed was an image of fetish Illium as well.
Freh wasn’t exactly an expert on adult entertainment but Taleeze had told her a bit about Daia’s filmography. She really was so natural about it all, it was amusing to picture how this would unsettle her business partners in a way that they would totally fall for any deal. Daia had no aura of artificialness about her, Freh’ya thought.
No wonder she was attracting such a group to work together. Ana she already knew now, then there was this Skylar, a human Taleeze had also mentioned, but only briefly – but with a strange hesitation as Freh’ya had noticed. Obviously she was attorney and a performer in unison. An even more unusual combination.

“Yes, I know, Taleeze has quarian fingers. You should see what she did with our house…” It had come totally unconscious but Freh’ya noticed it – our house. She was starting to become curious about her house and the boat again. It felt good and she didn’t fight it. A very tiny pause ensued. “… and the boat. You two are invited to see for yourself at any time. Our house is yours and since I already heard you are a sailor yourself, you could probably enjoy the FuHa.”

Taleeze was laughing and nodding in Daia’s direction, when she overheard the subject.
“Indeed, That would be a total blast. I’d like to do a grander tour again some time.”

It felt really good to think about all these things that were just the normal life before the war. Could there be a way back to some parts of this? Making plans was easy now. But to pull through … she wasn’t kidding herself. Not about what she had done, nor about what lay ahead.
She made a pause, only Taleeze’s soft spoken conversation with Ana was going on. Then Freh’ya sighed and addressed Daia again.

“I am so grateful, Taleeze ran into you. You personally, and your family and friends. You are a bunch of great people who stick together and are supportive about each other. She has found true friends, that is what I see and this is what this galaxy needs, now more than ever.” She wanted to say that she was thankful for this fallback for Taleeze should she… fail.

“We are a bit limited this time and… yeah.. the situation is still… not… yeah, the greatest and all. But we will come again and maybe I can meet all those other people.” She sighed but smiled.

“I would like to see that club. Taleeze really likes it there and I am very sure she will want to dance there again. As you may know, I never was in the entertainment business myself – the whole Commando routine would be a real thing, you know that yourself for sure but it’s just not my kind of thing. I am fully supportive of Taleeze’s love for the dancing so I will definitely check out all her new toys and gadgets.” She chuckled remembering how often in the past she had to be the first critic for a new routine. She yawned and took a sip from the juice. Comfy and safe. A feeling that felt familiar and she had missed that for too long. Freh’ya hugged Taleeze closer, who responded by bending her head backwards and Freh’ya placed a gentle kiss on Taleeze’s lips.

It could be possible. One step at a time.

"I'd like that," Daia smiled, glancing at Ana as she mulled over the invitation to visit the couple on Nevos. With her bondmate's chronic fatigue soon to be a thing of the past, travel would be less of an ordeal - there obviously wouldn't be a great deal of attraction in 'seeing the sights', and even with her tactile 'radar' an unfamiliar house would be a bit of a trial... but then, there was much to be said for a holiday being psychological as well as physical, and Taleeze was already among the (somewhat slight, Daia ruefully acknowledged) ranks of Ana's friends. A holiday for company, rather than tourism. And to be away from the office for a while - Vale would be able to take care of anything that couldn't be handled remotely for a week or two, and if they picked their time right there would be little enough of that to get in the way of enjoying a change of 'scenery'. She filed the idea away for future consideration and discussion.

"I wouldn't let her oversell me as a sailor, though," she added, grinning as she shook her head. "I can handle a simple small craft, but FuHa's a different kind of beast altogether. I'd love to take a ride on her, but I think I'll leave the boat handling to the experts."

She chuckled to herself, then busied herself finishing her meal to give the pair a moment's privacy to enjoy their kiss. Once Freh'ya was back in the world of other people, she smiled.

"You've got plenty to look forward to at home, then," she noted - her voice light at the notion of Taleeze demonstrating all her new tricks and moves, but there was another meaning, which she hoped would prove accurate. "You're both welcome back any time. Taleeze has made a lot of friends here - naturally - and I'm sure, once the opportunity is there, they'd love to meet you too." All the dancers and escorts at the Oasis in particular, she reflected: Taleeze had made sure as many people as possible were aware of her search for her missing lover (which had proved to be the key to finding her, in the end), there were plenty of people who would be happy to see them reunited, and have the chance to offer their best wishes. Another time, she thought - she didn't want to remind Freh'ya of their separation when it was so freshly ended.

The meal was also freshly ended, and as Taleeze took it upon herself to clear the plates away, Daia stood, held Ana's hand briefly as they parted - the quarian and the asari were still in mid-discussion, which continued as they moved over to the kitchen area - and extended Freh'ya a hand in turn as she stood.

"I'll show you the room," she offered, snagging the handles of the guests' bags with her free arm. "I don't think Taleeze ever saw it, so you can give her the tour once I've given you the tour. First things first - if you need anything later on, we've got a house VI. Sasha?"

They had moved over to the lounge area's rear wall, where Sasha glowed into existence at a slimline terminal placed between a pair of doors.

"Sasha, this is Freh'ya," Daia introduced her. The VI, unable to make physical contact, nodded her head politely, with a very Daia-like smile.

"Lovely to meet you," she said. She peered over Daia's shoulder and waved to Taleeze, who had spotted her activation.

"She'll look after you," Daia promised.

"Feel free to raid the food storage at your convenience," Sasha chuckled.

"Now..." Daia went on, opening one of the doors - it was well-disguised, blending in with the decor of a normal apartment, but the door's thickness and the complex hardware visible at its edge, between the decorative outer surfaces, revealed it to be a full bio-seal.

The suite inside seemed quite spacious, for its actual size - on close inspection the furniture was obviously chosen with care, large enough not to seem cramped itself, but small enough to not make the room seem likewise. A luxurious bed waited, half-separated from the rest of the room by a dividing 'wall' of shimmering water, barely a droplet's width between two invisible restraining fields and moving like waves in slow motion under the effect of a small mass field. Across from the 'bedroom' area there was a small lounge, and through another door a brightly-lit bathroom.

The main room's lights were muted, to allow the evening view of Nos Astra to shine through the windows - or what seemed like windows, until a backward glance from Freh'ya as she entered revealed that they were on the wall behind them as well, a complex holographic 'view' that betrayed none of the lack of depth of most cheap screen-window devices. It wasn't a unique idea - the concept had already been in Envirometrics' back-burner list of potential projects - but Daia had pushed for it to be finalised and put into production, and was quite proud of the results. Few clean-rooms had views - unless in a building with more than average hardware space in the ceiling and floor cavities, most of the clean-tech hardware had to go behind the walls - and Daia felt the telltale flatness of the generic screens their competitors offered only served to subtly reinforce the enclosed nature of the room. The 'Clean World' system didn't come cheap, even after Daia had pulled a few strings to get concessions from various manufacturers on the parts, but for a luxury item, interest and sales thus far were promising enough to keep it in production.

"There's a menu of views," Daia said, gesturing at 'Nos Astra'. "Nevos isn't on file unfortunately, but you'll be seeing that for yourself soon enough. Uh, that," she indicated another, sealed, door, "is a couple of other rooms, suit storage and so on - they're sealed off from here at the moment, and accessible from outside, so Ana will be able to change if she needs to without bothering you two."

She left the bags by the lounge, gave Freh'ya a gentle touch on the arm by way of parting for now, and returned to the main apartment to let her settle in, and see what Taleeze was up to.

Freh’ya noticed how Daia considered the possibilities. She really had no idea how seaworthy Ana was but weren’t quarians usually prone to all kinds of ships? Rannoch had oceans and the quarians as people a tradition of oversea travel. But that was a long time and an exile in space ago. Anyway, she would see eventually.

She let Daia lead the way and felt bad to let her carry the bags. A huntress was not supposed to let anyone carry stuff for her but in this case, the right of home was with Daia so Freh’ya submitted to the procedure with a sigh.

“Hello, Sasha” , she made herself known to the VI. She had to grin over the invitation to plunder the fridge. Daia seemed to have included a few of her characteristics to the VI.

She could hear Taleeze greet the VI back, obviously the two were well acquainted.

The room was an amazing piece of technology and design, that much was instantly obvious to Freh’ya. She wondered how much something like this would cost and how many quarians would actually be able to afford it. Not many on their own she guessed.

It was aesthetically pleasing and practical at the same time. She liked the integration of water, both as an element as such but also in the context of its sysmbolism for purification.

And still. It’s reason was imprisonment because of bodily necessities. She didn’t envy quarians, not a bit.

“It is really something impressive!” Freh’ya commented on the whole room arrangement. “Nos Astra is a fitting view, it is where we are and a sight to behold.” She had seen the large wounds in old Nos Astra from the ship. She knew all too well what it mst have been like back then to enjoy a peaceful view of normality. She should get used to ‘normality’ anyway.

“I don’t see this as a matter of course, Daia, thank you again. We’ll see each other tomorrow then.” She returned the gesture and after the dorr had closed with a hiss, she undressed and stepped into the shower.

~~~~~~~~~

In the meantime, Taleeze had returned to the couch, holding her glass with both hands. She had tucked her legs under and smiled at the returning Daia. Her eyes were partly betraying her, reflecting a little bit of the sorrow and doubts this whole situation still held. The hard work had just begun.
“I just have another drink before I turn in. Want to join?”

Daia returned to the living room to find Ana rising to meet her, pausing to wish Taleeze a good night before joining her bondmate in a standing hug.

"Bedtime for me, siame," she said quietly. She sounded content, but the evening and the prolonged conversation had put fatigue in her voice. Daia nodded, her head resting against Ana's hood so she could feel the motion, and gave her a kiss.

"Don't you two be up all night," the quarian chided playfully. Daia chuckled and gave her hip an affectionate caress before parting.

"Soon, love," she promised, glancing down to appreciate Ana's walk as she headed towards the stairs. Taleeze had a glass for her, which she accepted as she sank onto the couch next to her, with a nod of thanks for the offer.

"You got her at last," she said - smiling, but not excessively. She already knew Taleeze was struggling with a lot, not just reclaiming Freh'ya from the dark place the war had left her in, but unresolved feelings for another, as well.

"How are you holding up?" she asked quietly.

Yeah that question. But if she was sure about anyone’s honesty, it was with Daia. This was something she had missed, those one-on-ones.
“It’s a lot all at once.” She spoke a bit softer than usual, with a low voice. “I have managed to reconstruct a piece of my former life that obviously was immensely important for me. How important, I realized more and more along the way. There were so many moments where I could just have dropped it, given it up but towards the end I was getting more and more sure that’s what I really want. It’s been twenty years almost, where she gave me so much and if I have to give her something back for the next two hundred, I will gladly do it. She is worth it, enabling her to get back to a real life is all the reward I need.

I am beginning to see what was going on with her. What she told me up to now is absolutely shocking. She did never say it like that, but I am sure I saved her life. The path she was taking was one to destruction; it was… totally without any means or purpose. She knows she doesn’t have to go into details now, it comes in bits and pieces over time.

I am sure she sees me as her purpose right now. But we have to find something for her beyond that. I want to get her in touch with the Matriarchs back on Nevos.

By her file and from what I heard, she is still an honorable huntress and will be received with open arms. Experienced huntresses are so rare now. Freh doesn’t want to turn away from that, we have talked this through and it’s the way she wants to go. Her education was very strict and she has a lot of guidelines that may need reconstruction but she can hold onto them, so… she wants it, it seems and getting her to want something is an accomplishment. It’s like as if she wants to see if her dream of a huntress life is still intact.

But… I know there are things that weigh on her self esteem. Things that happened on Thessia. She didn’t tell me everything yet but I don’t pressure. It’s something that needs time and her finding her place again. But she is definitely disconnected, right now I am the only knot that ties her to asari. That’s strange… and it’s a freaking burden, Daia. It’s frightening in a way and it’s weighing down on me!

But this is worth all the energy I can spare. When we’re on Nevos again, I won’t be in this alone anymore. But still, it’s not that something is finished and over, but it’s even a bigger task before us now. I love her and I realized that I want to be by her side forever. I have decided to invest my life into this.”
She took a sip from the drink, she had made herself a really strong one. The word bonding had come to her mind recently but that was way too soon to even mention.

“It took her a while to allow herself to meld again. In a way it was good that we stayed on Omega a few days longer. It gave us time to get used to each other again.” Taleeze chuckled, thinking about the time. “I could have devoured her right away… Or thought I could but it was totally different. It’s like first steps again. And she is very cautious. I know why… she is afraid to let me in too far, she doesn’t want me to look into an abyss involuntarily, she is afraid to shock me. I don’t think she can, but her fear is genuine so I respect this and we are taking this really slow. It’s like she needs time to sort it out afterwards. Maybe reassuring herself that sensual melding doesn’t open theses memories to me. I hope counseling by the Matriarch will help her to sort her mind. No – I am sure it will… it just has to.” Now it sounded a tiny bit desperate.

Taleeze was making a break, sipping from her drink, tugging her feet closer.
There was one other thing. But it needed a bit of mental sorting out before mentioning it. She took another sip, the burning alcohol was oozing through her system.

“How are the two of you doing? You seem to be in a good and relaxed mood. Ana told me about her plans and expectations.”

"She'll get through this," Daia said softly, when Taleeze had shared her anxieties - she reached out to gently place her hand over Taleeze's, reassuringly. "You'll get her through. I know - I do know - how it feels for you, to be her... hope, what keeps her going. The weight of it." She didn't want to get into how, exactly, she knew. Taleeze had a fair idea of how integral she was to Ana, but the exact circumstances of that dependance she shared with Daia alone. She hoped Taleeze would take it on faith.

"It'll be good for her to confide in a Matriarch," she went on. "And if you ever need to talk - any time - I'm only a comms away. Ana too." Ana hadn't told her so in so many words, but she trusted the friendship between her and Taleeze enough to say so. "There'll be difficult times, there always are. But," she grinned, lifting her hand to tap Taleeze gently on the chest, "she's got the best reason in the galaxy to never give up."

She smirked and sat back, cradling her drink, and raised her eyebrows at Taleeze's inquiry.

"We're good, yeah," she nodded. "Went through a rough patch - I guess you saw some of that," she admitted, a little guiltily. "It's been tough on her - she's got quite an appetite," a little glimmer in her eyes made it clear she wasn't talking about food, "and being too fatigued to do anything but meld - and me still being an escort..." She nodded again; Taleeze knew enough not to need a full recap. "But we talked it through, pretty well, and - well, you can't 'fix' everything just by finding the right words, but having it all said, it did help. Us both knowing we're in this together, ups and downs. It's good to be reminded of that every now and then." She smiled suddenly. "And of course, what is going to be a practical help will be her treatment. Did she tell you she's going to be back at the Oasis, as a dominatrix, once it's done? That'll be great - the company's important, to both of us, but administration doesn't really compare, in terms of thrill. It's what she loves." She took a sip, looking perfectly content, as if the last four words were all that mattered in the universe.

"Thank you so much, Daia", smiled Taleeze. The older asari just never failed her. It left a warm feeling in her chest.
She turned the drink in her hands and chuckled.

"She hasn't detailed her plans but I had figured she wanted to do something. It's good to see her making plans again! So, keep me posted, I'd like to know how everything goes and stuff. Technically... if she goes back into the business, would she technically be a colleague - given that I can come back at one point?" Taleeze had to laugh a bit on that idea.

She took a sip and thouht about all the emplyees of the Apricity, Eafina and Charisma, Tol Madan and all the performers, the kichen crew... She'd defintely be back to the place. And Skylar. Skylar Sinclair. She took a much larger sip, feeling the burn in her throat. It made her feel awake.

"How is Skylar?"

"Technically, yeah," Daia laughed. "Inter-departmental colleagues - you're Apricity, she's Oasis, but you know how that doesn't matter in the common room." Taleeze wasn't the only 'dancer-only' employee, now that Apricity was an established part of the business, and the performers and escorts mingled quite freely behind the scenes.

She sobered at the mention of Skylar, nodding thoughtfully. She had wondered if and when Taleeze would raise her.

"She's... well," she replied. She chose her words carefully, not wanting to influence Taleeze one way or the other, merely giving as honest an answer as she could think of. "Keeping busy. She misses you. That's a given." A small smile managed to sneak through, then vanished again. "But, she understands - why you had to go, why it has to be Freh'ya now. When the news came, that you'd found her - she was truly happy for you, for both of you."

She gazed intently at Taleeze, hoping she was conveying what she meant to, then hesitated over a new thought.

"She'll be coming by the office tomorrow morning," she said cautiously. "Just a bit of paperwork to wrap up some contract-wrangling she handled for us a few days ago. Do you think you'd like to talk to her then, before you leave for Nevos?"

“Did she… say she misses me? Or is this your impression?”
Taleeze laughed a dry laugh. “I judge your knowledge of people beyond anyone elses, Daia, so it doesn’t matter really. You know exactly what’s going on.“ She sighed and looked at the glass in her lap.

“Yes I want to see her. I want to see her so bad but … I am also terribly afraid at the same time. I tried to say goodbye to her at the spaceport when I left for Omega but that was a total lie. To myself and to her. Maybe I wanted her to… run, or be angry… or jump to the next blue ass for comfort… but who am I kidding, she’s not like that, right?” When she looked up at Daia again, her eyes were a bit wet. She wiped them with one hand and sighed again.

“This is not going away by itself, I know that now. Now that I have been with Freh’ya again… It just won’t go away and I want to see her again.
If Freh’ya would be healthy I would just talk to her, she’s a very traditional asari and a lot older than me, so… but she isn’t well and that makes things complicated. Sky is a human… and I have the feeling I know nothing about them sometimes, other than that they have such short lives.

I need to know how Sky sees me. I can’t find out without talking, right?” she chuckled again, with a bit more resolve now. If all this wasn’t so damn complicated, with Freh’ya having her issues and the two of them having to go off world... What would Freh’ya think of Skylar, would she like her? Would they like each other… could they like each other?
Talking to Daia about the matter for the first time was relaxing.

"No, no blue asses are being jumped lately," Daia chuckled. "That's kind of... illustrative, I guess, of how she's feeling. She's never been shy about casual flings, but I doubt she'd ever do something like that for ulterior motives. Sleep with someone while she's thinking of someone else. She's... honourable, like that." She knew Taleeze would understand that, having the same quality herself. She had had some dalliances around Nos Astra during her earlier stay, but Daia had never felt they were in any way efforts to replace Freh'ya, even for a few hours. Possibly Skylar would do the same, in time, but not now, not so soon, before she could trust her own feelings. She exhaled slowly, considering Skylar.

"I'd talk," she said at last. "If I were in your position. That's the only advice I can give really. I don't know what'll come of it, but... better to know than always wonder." She shifted and offered an arm to Taleeze, taking her glass and drawing her gently down to rest her head on Daia's shoulder, softly stroking her scalp.

"She's an odd one," she mused. "I sometimes think she was meant to be born asari - but then again, not quite. You know how she sees us - us the species, I mean - but there's no... no self-fantasy there, she doesn't want to be anything other than who she is. But you've seen how she lives, how she is, she takes inspiration from Thessia. She's certainly not one of those humans who, you know... subconsciously they kind of believe we're just human woman ourselves, beneath the cosmetic differences." She chuckled at the thought of some of the more embarrassing examples she had heard of, over recent decades.

"She is what she is," she continued. "But she'll listen, like we would - take the time to consider what you say, to understand what you want to know. She's... well," she admitted, "she's as tangled up as you are, I think, but show me someone who isn't confused by the galaxy sooner or later. We manage. She'll do her best, for you - and Freh'ya."

The comfort by Daia felt good, Taleeze sighed and smiled, eyes closed.
“You’re right of course. It’s not that I do not know her… I do and that’s why I am so attracted to her. But you know how it is, you suddenly get all girlish and insecure…” she giggled.
Skylar for sure did not think of asari as blue humans. Her knowledge of the not so openly visible physical differences and her mindset were very well known to Taleeze. Do as you would with an asari, she thought.

She enjoyed Daia’s touch a few moments longer, then slowly getting up, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder as a thank you. It was, like so many instances between them before, a display of affection with no erotic context, just from one friends warm heart to another.

She finished up herd rink.
“Alright, you were a big help – as always. I still wait for the day when you will ever need my help with anything.” She laughed. “I am also happy you got along with Freh’ya so well. I overheard a bit of your conversation. She was a bit tense when we arrived at the ‘port but you loosened her up. So, now let’s see if she’s already asleep.”

Taleeze brought her empty glass over to the kitchen and before entering the separated guest area, hugged Daia.
“Good night, dear, see you tomorrow!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


There still was lots of time and the bags were already packed. Taleeze was wearing a dark grey combination with pink applications, standing at the kitchen table, drinking her coffee. Freh’ya was caressing her cheek, having just finished hers.

“I need to start formulating a report finally… I have pushed it long enough. The re-application form is already half done.”

“Alright. I might visit the office downstairs to say hello. Just take your time.”

Freh’ya nodded and went back into the guest apartment, the air tight door closing with barely audible sucking noise.
Taleeze was happy to see what a good night’s sleep without too many nightmares was doing to Freh’ya. She had shown signs of improved interest in the things that were necessary for their return. The first appointment with the Matriarch was the day after tomorrow. Taleeze finished her coffee and noticed Daia’s entry. She was in surprisingly good mood, anticipating the confrontation with Skylar. Daia had reassured her beyond that moment yesterday.
“Hey, good morning … well, late morning.” Taleeze smirked, remembered the shower in the guest apartment, which had cost her a bit of time. “How are you?”

"Good morning!" Daia beamed, obviously in a good mood as she descended the stairs, with an empty plate and nutripaste canister in one hand, and a pair of dresses dangling from clothes rails in the other, possibly explaining why she was so far only wearing a rather exciting slip. "Excellent, thank you - you two slept well? That's the guest room's first proper try-out, you know. Ana doesn't sleep out of her suit, so we haven't really had any case to use it." She chuckled to herself. "I did go and have a bounce around on the bed when we moved it in, just to make sure it was up to standard. More coffee? No?"

She levitated Taleeze's mug over to herself and placed it in the cleaner; Ana's canister went into another machine beneath the counter, which blinked on a steady light as it went to work preparing the tube for re-use.

"Coming down?" she asked, gesturing to the elevator. "Skylar commed a few minutes ago, she'll be here soon." She gave Taleeze a quick glance, then smiled. "You look good. Ana's having a lie-in, but she'll be up in time to take you both down to the 'port. I've got an appointment this morning, I'm afraid - I'll have time to see you off before you leave here, though. Actually, speaking of-" They stepped into the elevator, and as the doors closed Daia held one dress then the other up against herself. "Serrice Max, or Dassus Fold? I'm going for 'aloof but secretly hoping to be charmed into being naughty'."

“The bed is super comfortable indeed. But I am happy whenever Freh’ya just sleeps through without constant nightmare interruptions, so… “ There were better and worse nights, the better ones more frequent lately. She appreciated Daia’s thoughts though.
“The bathroom and shower is excellent as well, like standing under a tropical waterfall. Consider that tested.” She grinned and thought about Daia’s water bill for a split-second.

Taleeze looked at the two dresses. “Hm, I’d personally go for the Dassus Fold but I think, the Serrice Max would suit you more today. They are both awesome – as is this thing. Have you been shopping at la petite coquette?” She pointed at the slip.

When Daia explained her plans for the day. Taleeze nodded.
“That’s okay, don’t stop the world for us. I don’t plan on being off the grid long, there is stuff to do and things to see. I put a lot of faith in the Lady Matriarch. It will be good… Freh is doing better already, just judging by her looks and all.” Indeed, the purple huntress was now looking much healthier than she had weeks ago, when Taleeze had picked her up. Staying away from drinking had helped as well. “She’s making plans, like contacting her old monastery and such stuff. That’s really encouraging.”

Taleeze hoped, she could be able to bring up relationship issues once they had settled in on Novos a bit again. She didn’t want to burden Freh with her emotional problem right now. She needed to see and speak Skylar first anyway. There were things that needed to be said.

“So, yes, let’s go of downstairs.” She felt some positive excitement now, being around Daia always reassured herself, it was a good feeling.

"Good signs," Daia smiled, heartened by the progress Freh'ya was making. Ana's experiences - quite similar in some ways - gave her a point of reference, such that she knew how important the little steps, forming connections, were.

The lift opened onto the office foyer, largely unchanged since Taleeze's last visit, although the conference room's walls had been reset to a frosted-glass opaque finish, rather than clear, and the Citadel XXX 2 poster had been replaced by a teaser poster for CX3. Vale was at her desk, talking into a holographic headset - she gave the pair a cheerful wave, and raised her omni-tool to transmit to Daia's, without breaking stride in her conversation. Daia held up her two dresses, and Vale pondered a moment - still talking to her contact - before pointing to one of them.

"She agrees with you," Daia said to Taleeze. "And Skylar's in my office. I'll use the workstation in the conference room, give you two some privacy, to talk. So... ready as you'll ever be?" She gave Taleeze a reassuring smile, then motioned towards her office door, which opened to admit them.

Skylar was seated on one of the office's lounge chairs, browsing documents on her omni-tool; she glanced up as the door opened, saw Taleeze, and quickly stood, straightening her dress - today's was tight-fitting, black and shiny, with thin, stark white markings on the corset that Daia vaguely recognised as belonging to some Terran stringed instrument.

"Taleeze," she said, quietly, then more firmly: "Daia. Good morning."

"You're allowed to use the desk when you're in here, you know," Daia smiled at her. Skylar's devil-may-care style reasserted itself somewhat, as her vulnerable expression gave way to a more characteristic grin.

"I save the I'm-in-charge-here theatrics for when I'm visiting my opponents," she joked. "The Serrice, by the way," she added, glancing at the dresses.

"That's three from three," Daia shrugged cheerfully, turning to Taleeze. "Decision made. I'll go get dressed and pretend to be businesslike then. See you shortly." She gave Taleeze a quick touch on the shoulder, then left the two alone.

This was about the only office where the workforce had to cope with - or make that had the pleasure of their CEO running around in nothing but a skimpy slip. Taleeze waved a friendly 'hello' to Vale, remembering the easy and relaxing hours they had spent - and a few of the purple spots when she had hit Taleeze with the pildavi ball in their occasional one-on-ones.

Then there was Skylar. It had just happened. Office, door, desk, Skylar. How beautiful she looked, so concentrated over the papers, then her face when she recognized the two of them. Taleeze thought she could see a slight flicker in Skylar's eyes but that could have been a reflex from the office windows. She stopped a bit behind Daia.
"Skylar" she greeted with a soft smile.

It amused her that everyone was picking the Serrice dress for Daia. We know you a bit, my friend. The seconds the conversation took gave Taleeze time to sort her composure and to take a good look at the sleek dress and corset. The dark color made her hair glow like on fire in contrast.

When Daia left, Taleeze returned her touch by the stroke of two of her fingers along Daia's hip. Thank you.
She took two step closer, offering her hands and arms for a greeting, but leaving it to the human how much she'd accept of it.

"Hello Skylar", she said again, in a very low voice. "I missed you, I couldn't... stay away. How are you doing?"