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

There was a moment of silence, and then Ana rested her chin on one hand and let out a small sigh. When she spoke again, her tone was a little softer, her pitch higher - conciliatory.

"I think we misapprehended each other's intentions at some point. For what it's worth, that was a hell of a response - I suspect, if you decide to stick around, we'll get along very well in the future." There was a smile in her voice, for lack of a better term - tone could convey a lot, in the absence of facial expressions. "Ah, but...yes. I misinterpreted. The two of you do flirt a lot on that joke of a site we all go to, and Daia usually acts on that kind of thing. So I arrived at the wrong conclusions. My bad. I apologize."

Already her water was almost finished. Silently resolving to get an envirosuit reservoir or something, Ana'Therion popped out the canister and dropped it under the desk into a trash receptacle. The painkillers were finally starting to set in, with the initial rush finished, and with a little luck the burning ache in her cheeks and eye sockets would subside in a few minutes - it was distracting her from focusing fully on the conversation, and considering how sensitive the subject was, it wasn't really something she could afford to half-focus on.

"With that said," she continued, "let me clear things up a bit, Taleeze. You got kinda defensive there, which to me says a lot of good things about your moral character, but I think it was because you didn't quite gauge my intent. I wasn't accusing you or getting jealous or anything like that, it's...more complicated."

She'd had this conversation a few times now and it never got easier. Ana had always been very touchy about her pride, especially since it helped her deal with a variety of deep-seated insecurities, but it had taken something of a beating over the last year.

"I don't know how much Daia told you about my injuries - the last thing I want is to look weak to other people, so she doesn't really spread the information around, but..." Okay, wait, no, this was putting the cart ahead of the horse. She had to approach it differently. "I'm getting ahead of myself. Okay. You probably knew this already, but Daia has needs. Considerable needs. She's...pretty fucking insatiable, physically speaking." In that moment, Ana was fairly sure she had never sounded more drained in her life. "And those are needs I can't fill, Taleeze, not remotely, not anymore. I'm completely blind - like, eyeless blind - my face is so mutilated it looks like a disaster zone, and I have to constantly be on analgesic drugs just to function in everyday life. All I can really do is meld, and that's only scratching one itch out of many, so to speak."

A blush suffused her cheeks. It stung a bit, but at this point the drugs had kicked in enough that the embarrassment outweighed the pain.

"So I try to address that where I can. I sure as hell didn't object when she kept escorting, and I try to get her 'side dates' where I can, so to speak. It's the least I can do - Daia takes care of me, she gave me a job when the Directorate pushed out the quarians, she's pretty much the only reason I make myself get up in the morning. The last thing I want to be is another restriction on what she can and can't do - I figure, unless anything significantly changes about my health, I'll probably only be a burden for another thirty or forty years, and that's a drop in the ocean for asari, but...still, you know? I can't deny her basic needs, and if I can't meet those needs, I'm obligated to at least try to help her find an alternate way."

Maybe it was for the best that she was napping after this. One more lunch with her staring at the table and replying in one-word answers would probably result in Skylar disowning her, which Ana found totally understandable.

"So you see, Taleeze, I wasn't upset at you or anything," the quarian said, gently. "It, uh, wouldn't be the first time I'd arranged that kind of thing, and experience kind of colored my judgment, I guess. So again, I'm sorry for misunderstanding you." She smiled wearily under the visor. "Just trying to give back, since I spend most of my time leeching off my bondmate."

Briefly, Ana considered asking the asari if she'd reconsider, but the thought passed almost as quickly as it occurred.

"...Well. I assume Daia will be back any minute now. Hopefully you don't think too badly of me for this - you seem like a good friend to have."

… and a job that you think you cannot fulfil. Define me satisfaction Ms. Therion.

Plop made the buoy, daylight and sunshine above the depths of this conversation. A few gloomy clouds lingering on the horizon though.

Taleeze let Ana speak out before replying, sitting there as she had been, smiling softly more in the way of happy than pitiful.
“I wouldn’t do it if you asked me to. And that’s not because of you or her, but because of me.
I am not angry or anything at you, in the contrary.”

Ana had cracked open way more than Taleeze had imagined, which was anyway the best after this head on near collision and it was the ground she’d hoped for with that woman.
The revelation of the real physical disaster was painful to hear alone. No wonder did the woman think she’s only half the thing she used to be.

“I am sorry that you are that bad off, really, I didn’t know. I’m… Daia was not making an issue of it at all, she just told me about the eyesight, which is a fact that’s kind of good to know to not act goofy. Other than that, she is protective with things concerning you.” Taleeze remembered the pieces of conversation in the car. “She told me a few things though and those were among the most beautiful I have heard an asari say about her bondmate, so… whatever that is worth.”

A small pause, in which Taleeze recollected a few memories from the war that she didn’t dig up lightly.
“I have been in the war too, volunteer frontline service, corps of engineers. I may not look like it but I have seen shit that sticks with me forever. I have seen people with no face, I have carried out someone with no legs…” Those last hours had been hell, although Jo had made it and was happy back on Sanves again by now, with new artificial legs. “I have seen Banshees, who most likely where asari I knew before.” Goddess, forget that shit. “I just got out lucky, blue light being not a second too early and all. Why am I blabbering like this? Dunno, this memory doesn’t come up often these days anymore, I am happy about that. But in a way I can relate a bit. This is… you told me more than necessary, I value that and be sure that this is safe with me and please don’t think you have to put up an act about it around me. I’d rather know what’s what.”

Delicate issue, Taleeze hoped she had found the right words. Ana must suffer immensely and bodily pain affected the mental state. There could be a faint hope in modern advanced treatments though, after the war this area of scientific exploration was blooming.

Taleeze unfolded her legs and moved a bit closer, sitting on the edge of the chair. She grinned sheepishly.

“So what’s what with me and Daia, huh? Yeah, yeah, you are right, we do get along flirting – you got my point about boundaries already, so… it’s fun for me and I think for her it’s too.”

“She is hot and if she was free and all, there would be no real valid reason not to have some bump-in. As said, it’s me who is in charge though. A little bit of what you noticed about me is true though. Since the war I have been on a sexual low… there is the issue with my girlfriend from before the war – Freh’ya is her name. That disappearing act got to me bad on top of the aftermaths of the war in general. Daia was kind of a positive influence in that regard, I can feel my senses and sensuality coming back to life again and don’t be surprised if you see me acting out a little bit on the casual level while I’m here.”

She chuckled and looked to the floor. “Consider me feeling seriously underfucked around Daia.” Taleeze looked up again, the faceplate showing no direct emotion of course.
“You talk about melding almost as if that’s the same level as bodily sex. Maybe Daia has a much larger amount of everything but to me melding is a very sensible matter. So, what you can do is special. As for everything else… I see six healthy fingers so whatever…”

oops, that came out before her brains could shut the gate.

“Okay, sorry that was… I think I get the picture what you mean, it's Daia after all.“ Rescue action. “I am glad this thing here took the right turn and I am looking forward to more of it. You sure are different than Daia and that is perfectly fitting. Thanks for giving me the chance and I like your openness. I am sorry to have misjudged you as well or if I have given you wrong signals.”

Taleeze was now closely observing that special holo of Lexi.
“That’s a nice one.” The asari was sporting a mixture of suffering and enjoyment, kind of like this conversation had gone. Fitting in an odd way. Lexi was wearing a suit that left not much to imagination.

“I am happy to know you a bit better now, Ana. I hope that bumpy start is a good augury.” Taleeze laughed. “Do you know this is the first time I actually talked to a quarian? I’d like to do it more often, you also must be a good friend to have.”

She extended two open palms across the table.

"It's not quite that easy, the issue's less 'how much of me is intact' and more 'can I afford to use my energy, because I don't get much over the course of a day'. Resource management, I guess--" Ana cut herself off in mid-sentence, contemplated their situation for a moment, and then shrugged. "Right, I'm taking the conversation way off course. Dunno how good a first impression for quarians I'm turning out to be - we're not particularly special or exotic in reality. Much less glamorous."

It took her a second to interpret the motion through her tactile sensors, but eventually, the quarian reached a hand across the desk and cautiously placed it atop Taleeze's offered palms. It was an uncertain act - after all, the gesture had been difficult to clearly interpret and if she'd made a mistake about Taleeze's intent, it would be embarrassing - but after a moment, Ana'Therion managed to relax a little.

Not being able to see that the asari was looking at the holos on her desk, she continued the conversation in a different direction. "Sorry to hear about your girlfriend. The war did things to all of us that can't ever really be undone, it's true. I don't know if you were ever here before the Reapers, but sometimes I go out and just listen to the noise in the streets - it's easier to notice the subtle things, since I'm more attuned to audio stimuli now. The sounds from the crowds, back before the war, used to be more vibrant, more full of life. They weren't always happy, but there was a zest to them. These days, they mostly just seem subdued. Tired. 'Depressed', if I can slip into a pseudo-professional capacity there." A pause. "Then again, I did just say I was more attuned now. Maybe they sounded that way all along."

Then again, maybe she was just projecting. 'Subdued, tired, and depressed' summarized her pretty well, after all.

"Anyway, I don't know if there's anything I can do to help you out with that, but like I said, Daia's friends are my friends. Uh, to a given extent of 'friend'. Arm's length, mostly. But yeah, I still have some contacts scattered here and there, if you ever need anything."

Taleeze could now firsthand observe what the situation was. Ana’s hesitation on her gesture was split in two. If she would have had vision, Taleeze would have called the reaction reluctant but here, she sensed a definite time that Ana needed to interpret the situation. Step one in adjusting around her – be distinctive in what you do and maybe accompany it with words.

When Ana had returned the gesture of friendship Taleeze was smiling happily. She had no idea if Ana could identify facial expressions. There was software for that but given the circumstances she didn’t rely on that. She’d really like to know more about the technical aspect but this was not the time and place.
“Thank you for the gesture, Ana.”

“And sorry, I maybe can’t as much relate as I would like to in certain facets. I can open my eyes and then most of the time the images are gone if they really haunt me. It’s the lack of sleep in the first months at home that wore me out most. It is better now.”
Why was it that the biggest problem always was sleep and rest, as it also seemed to be for Ana.

“Missing so many people around home doesn’t help either. It’s been troubling me too. We have a lot of tourists again but that is not the same of course. I’ve been here a few times, as said, but only briefly, never wandered the city, old or new. It was just for sports events during my studies. I used to play pildavi… you might read me post on that mostly on CDN.” She chuckled a bit. She hasn’t hit the ball since the war. She’d like to sometime soon.

“It is strange. You seek rest but then, when you come to rest, a lot of other stuff breaks in on you again and it’s not possible.”

” I have no Idea what situation I will find when I find Freh’ya. I don’t imagine the situation to be honest. Finding her is a task that keeps me occupied and on focus, that’s a positive in its own. I really appreciate your offer. For whatever it is or you might want me for, I’ll always be approachable for you too. I don’t know if a quarian could need an asari for some engineering stuff, but even that. Just tell me.”

And a little bit more hesitant, she added.
“Or in case you want to talk about anything.”

Taleeze was putting a hand next to the holo this time as she had noticed the non-reaction. “That holo here of you, I like it. Quite exotic and glamorous.”

She could now hear the door behind her.

Daia cast a long backward glance at Ana as she moved through the connecting doorway between their two offices, then smiled and turned as the door swooshed shut, muffling the sounds of the conversation starting between her and Taleeze.

Daia's office was rather more abundantly decorated than Ana's, and deliberately so - not only did Daia obviously have more of an interest in visual decor for her workspace, she also had a reputation to maintain. For every one potential customer or professional partner who frowned on her other career, there were plenty who took no issue with it - Illium's businesspeople, for all their faults, tended to judge a company on its products, not the unrelated behaviour of its owners - and what being a publicly-known escort and occasional erotic performer did accomplish was to get Envirometrics talked about. Daia had little business experience to offer the company she had wound up in charge of, relying heavily on Ana and other employees in that regard, but if she could help them all make ends meet simply by being herself, that was the easiest decision ever made. Consequently, odds and ends of movie memorabilia and other reminders of Daia's sensual side had a strong presence, with the walls lined with holos and posters from films and stage shows, the furniture chosen with a less utilitarian, more luxurious style in mind (not that she had been able to afford to splash out on the million-credit handmade office fittings that were the hallmark of Illium's elite, but it was surprising what you could do with a little, when you focused more on looks than which designer's name was on the bill), and the lighting and colours suggesting more a cosy boudoir than a clinical board room.

Still, the room was an office, not a private suite at the Oasis, so while several of the posters depicted quite a lot of the CEO (although only the projections, which could be altered to less explicit alternatives depending on who was visiting), it wasn't usually the case for the CEO herself to be naked, despite what a handful of corporate gossip columnists with little personal knowledge and a whole lot of lurid imagination thought happened when Daia and 'Lexi'Bel' worked back late. In any case, in this instance - no doubt to the columnists' disappointment, had they known - it was simply for the purpose of getting changed into something more suitable for an afternoon on the water than a fancy suit. One of the doors tucked away on the other side of the office, past the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over northern Nos Astra, housed a walk-in closet - in a manner not that unlike being with a client, Daia often subtly tailored her appearance to specific visitors and business contacts she was meeting - so luckily there was no need to dash back upstairs to the apartment to get something to wear.

It was a shame, she mused as she got changed, about Ana's lunch with Skylar, but she knew better than to question the importance of Ana getting as much rest as she could when she needed it, and Skylar would understand as well. Fatigue wasn't just a minor irritant for Ana - the two of them had learned many lessons about adapting to Ana's condition, and making the best life together they could regardless, and one of those was that physical and mental energy was a precious resource; "resource management," Ana had noted on more than one occasion.

Daia glanced at one of the decorations in the room that had more to do with herself than projecting an image (however helpful it was to the business) to others - while the ExtranetPlayground and Illian Stars posters, and the photos of herself with various minor celebrities (often with one or both of them in rather risqué attire), were arranged for the benefit of guests, positioned for visibility from the entryway, the chair opposite Daia's at the desk, or the couch where she conducted more informal meetings, the spaces that were more her own, including the alcove leading to the wardrobe, sported images of Ana. Not exclusively - there were other photos, reproductions of treasured moments from centuries, friends and family and loved ones past and present - but there was no doubt, from the assortment, who dominated Daia's thoughts.

As it happened, it was Ana's grindhouse-style Lexi'Bel poster that her eyes fell on - not the one she had bought at Bliss Festival that lifetime ago (that, like so many other mementos, was gone now) but a duplicate, which Daia, with shameless sentimentality, had spent some time with to recreate its lost twin, down to the slightly creased corner where the volus vendor's gauntlet had held it a little awkwardly while displaying it for her in the convention's massive shopping hall, and the faint trace of lipstick where she had impulsively kissed the image after that first message Ana had sent her, after their night together.

The bold near-silhouette, coloured only by the glare of a fully-lit faceplate and the soft glow of the exposed cells on the magna-cuffs held in one hand, was a powerful reminder of Ana as she had been before the war - intensely physical, voracious when she got going. Daia remembered, back then, thinking how fortunate she had been to have found a partner who not only loved her utterly, but made love to her physically like she was powered by a supernova; she didn't think of herself as shallow in that regard, but for someone with her inclinations, it was a considerable benefit.

She sighed, turning to select something practical to wear, a matching set of leggings and a one-shoulder top, naturally tailored with a view to figure-hugging distinctiveness, but still quite casual. She had been fortunate then - but, she reminded herself, she was fortunate now, too. How many had lost everything? Ana had gone through a war, and if she had come back scarred, she had still come back - Daia thought that worth any hardship they had to deal with now.

With another glance at Lexi's poster - this time blowing a kiss at it - she gathered up a few essentials for the afternoon ahead, packed a shoulder bag, and spent a moment at her desk quickly checking her message logs, tapping a few commands to send automated read-receipts and confirmations where no more was required, before heading back into Ana's office.

She was pleased to see the pair evidently having gotten quite comfortable talking in her absence, and gave Taleeze a wave as she circled around the desk and crouched down by Ana's chair, letting a hand rest warmly on her hip while she leant in to kiss her shoulder.

"All's well?" she asked, more or less rhetorically. "Rest well, siame. You know how to reach me, if need be - otherwise, I'll be with you in the evening." Her voice dropped to a whisper - she wasn't much of a private person, and didn't mind Taleeze seeing this moment between them, but some things simply needed to be said one to one. "Thinking of you always, love. Dream of me."

With a parting caress up Ana's arm, Daia stood - a little reluctantly perhaps, but she knew as important it was for Ana to conserve her energy, it was equally important she not feel guilty for tying Daia to her while she did so, and the unfamiliar feeling of heading out for some entertainment or diversion or other, while Ana remained home to rest, had become easier with repetition.

"Well then," she said to Taleeze, after blowing an audible kiss Ana's way as she rounded the desk, "time to see what Kaga's got in store for us."

She led the way back through the outer office, nodding in passing to Vale who was still on a call, and calling up schematics on her terminal, and down a shallow ramp from the waiting area to the main elevators.

"Plaza," she said, once one had arrived and they had entered, then to Taleeze: "So, that's where the magic happens - there's a tech office on the floor below, too. Not quite your stereotypical Illium corporate office, but," she laughed lightly, "where's the fun in being typical, anyway?"

When Daia entered, Taleeze could see the reflection in Ana’s faceplate. A slightly bent form of an even more slender asari who wore a casual tight second skin outfit now. At least with Daia around Taleeze wouldn’t raise any attention. Maybe an occasional by passer would accidently bump into her but hey….

She observed the exchange of affections, or more Daia’s display, as Ana seemed to suck it in. That’s what love looks like. Nonetheless Ana gave her a few tougher nuts to crack and contemplate about. There was a few things she wanted to talk with Daia about but one step at a time and after some thinking. Where is a Matriarch when you need one.

Part of her brains went on to process that intense meeting – intense was a word that Taleeze immediately associated with it. Ana was intense.
Taleeze was sure though that there wasn’t any misunderstanding between them anymore now and in fact Ana had told her more about the relationship of the two than Daia ever had so far.

Her stomach grumbled, when Daia mentioned Kaga’s. Goddess, she hoped, that krogan was any decent.

She waived and said her goodbyes to Ana, following Daia into the elevator.

“Nice place, your HQ. And on top of that, the company seems busy. It’s good to see you doing well, the product is an important one if you ask me.”

The lift arrived at the lower level and they left for the plaza. After the artificial light inside and especially the dimly lit office of Ana, the bright Illium-ination hurt her eyes a bit. Taleeze fingered into one of ´pockets of her cargo pants and fished out her sports shades. She snapped the lekku-pieces under the rim of her outermost lekku, then she took a good look around the plaza.

It was staggered in a terrace-like manner around an impressive tree. There were water basins and little cascades with seating. The twin towers, who obviously where no exact twins, sported various kiosks and shops on the lower level. It was a kind of modern and inviting business area with quite an amount of traffic. Asari, human, an occasional elcor, volus… even a group of drell in office suits and with cases.

“What a nice area. This is inspiring in many ways. It is good to have bit of a mental recreational area near the workplace.”

Moved a bit to the side there was Kaga's Mobile Café. The red and yellow sign could not be missed. From a first glance, the pace looked not directly impressive but Taleeze saw behind the obvious understatement. A krogan with a sense for subtle understatement – that would be something great!

By closing in on the location, it also became clear that the “mobile” was also just a symbolic phrase.

"No argument here," Daia smiled, as the elevator doors closed. "There're more quarians on Illium than most people think - I mean, what with the old Flotilla ban, you get visitors surprised there are any; hard to blame them. And in a lot of cases, it's more just that they wound up here for one reason or another, rather than set out on purpose to settle on Illium. But here they are, so," she waved Taleeze ahead as the doors opened on the plaza level, "we've got business. And even if it ultimately is just a business, still, it's nice to think you're doing something that makes a real difference. Most of our competitors have cut back to low-cost baseline clean tech - 'good enough'. The profit margin on more advanced systems is lower... but on the bright side, we don't have to deal with a lot of direct competition on top-of-the-line clean-rooms. Even if it is just a win by default."

She ducked her head slightly until her omni-tool read the outdoor lighting conditions and reprogrammed her contacts' filters accordingly, then walked with Taleeze - who looked quite eye-catching in shades, she noted, they gave prominence to her lips - towards Kaga's.

"It's a good space," she agreed. "We came to Envirometrics after they'd chosen the site for their HQ, so it wasn't by design, but I'm very glad we wound up somewhere like here. A lot of the central city administrators just aren't interested in this kind of thing - waste of potential office space, they'd call it. I prefer this, palms down. It's too easy to live and work in a building and never meet your neighbours - with all this here, it brings everyone much closer." She chuckled wryly. "If you packaged that idea up as 'potential for forming contact networks,' you could probably sell the big tower admins on the concept, come to think of it."

She caught Kaga's eye and gave a wave as they neared - the café's kitchen was in the building, behind the main counter, but no walls cut it off from the dining area outside.

"Ha! Daia!" The big krogan flipped some sort of omelette once, then adjusted the flame beneath its pan and left it to simmer while he ambled over to the pair. "A fine day to you."

"Hello," she smiled. "Kaga, this is Taleeze, she'll be staying in Nos Astra a while."

"And our fair city is the better for it," he said smoothly, bowing low with a courtly flourish before reaching behind himself, without looking, and moving a pot off its stove before it boiled over. "Please, peruse the menu - or if you would care to indulge an old chef in his adventurous spirit, today's special is a hearty sandwich of Urdnot roast - tailored to the asari palette, naturally - topped with kasik, and Skyblest Coast dressing."

Among the chaotic - though somehow harmonious, in its muddle - activity of the kitchen's pots and pans and cookers, all stewing and grilling and bubbling away with goddess knew what, there was no way to tell which of the various foods was which, but the mingled aromas wafting out across the cafe's seating space made it a tempting offer.

“A pleasure and thank you very much!” Taleeze greeted the Krogan and pushed her shades up to get a closer look into the kitchen area and out of politeness.

“Daia has been advertising this place quite good, so here we are and I definitely brought a bit of appetite.” She sniffed a bit at the mixing and mingling scents, her eyes were browsing the on-goings in the kitchen and the contents of the open pans and pots.

The krogan himself seemed a rather friendly example of his species and he was openly smiling. For some a maybe unsettling thing but Taleeze always had a soft spot for the krogan.

“I am always for a Chef’s special!” she glanced at Daia quickly for an affirmation, “so yeah, hand me one of those sandwiches, please. But I’ll also browse the menu if you don’t mind… Oh, I see you have deep fried Sinso-sticks over there.” She pointed to a pot where hot oil biled and a couple of long sticks where dipped into it. Next to it on a table lay a few prepared ones, the seafood being already covered in it’s mantle for the next load. “Could I also have some of those? I’d like water to drink, any brand, give me something local.”

Taking in the local water had a bit of a meaning for an asari besides only fighting thirst.
They took a seat near the Bar so Kaga was within talking range and Taleeze only need to lean over when the Krogan handed her a huge plate with a kind of gigantic sandwich, along with a bowl of the fried sticks. This container had an additional bulge on it’s side, containing a greenish dip.

The meat was lurking out on the side between the covering bread parts and a lot of azure blue leaves still dripped from fresh water. Taleeze lifted one corner to get a closer look at the sauce – it smelled fantastic.

“Help yourself with the Sinso, Daia” Taleeze pushed the bowl into the middle of the table and took on to try and get a bite of the sandwich without making a mess. But the Chef had just put the right amount of sauce onto it so she didn’t make a fool of herself. Whooo…
“This is one tasty sandwich!” Kaga obviously was satisfied upon the reaction.

After taking a sip from the water – which tasted rich and a little bit of sun, leaving a tiny bit of sparkling in her mouth – Taleeze was dipping a Sinso and bit off one of the fleshy seafood pieces.

Daayyammnnnnnn… hoooooooot

Her cough made the Krogan really happy “That’s my recipe. It is called Tuchanka Rush.”
He laughed heartliy. Taleeze laughed along in between coughs and water and coughs again…
Krogan cuisine was the best, if you only get an upfront warning!

"Thanks," Daia smiled, taking a Sinso stick and resting it on her plate, before turning her attention to her own sandwich. She had little fondness for Omega, but one of the things Illium tended to lack by comparison was the station's bloody-minded individuality. Most 'krogan' cuisine in Nos Astra, along with any other non-asari fare - even some of the more adventurous asari culinary styles - were so watered down and homogenised that it was barely worth calling them exotic anymore. There were times, usually after a client's booking included dinner at a particularly bland restaurant notable only for its haughty image, when Daia sorely missed being able to walk half a block from her old apartment on Omega and pick up a fresh, hearty varren burger.

Then again, on Illium she didn't have to have her omni-tool set to bioscan every time she bought food from a street vendor to make sure it was safe. Kaga was the best of both worlds in that regard.

"Did I ever mention I have a particular fondness for sandwiches?" she mused, lifting hers and studying it as Taleeze took her first bite. "The taste, obviously, and the texture, but also... the geometry, if you know what I mean. All those layers, sliced through, like geological strate divided up into precise interlocking shapes. Is that just me?" She grinned at Taleeze. "It's just me, isn't it? Not to worry, I can live with that."

She was in mid-bite when Taleeze sampled her Sinso, thus unable to sympathise verbally - instead, while she swallowed she projected a tiny field to lift the second carafe of water Kaga had thoughtfully put on standby on the counter over to their table. She had encountered Tuchanka Rush before; one wouldn't really be sufficient.

"You okay?" she asked, when her mouth finally wasn't full. She picked up her stick and looked at it.

"See, now I'm nervous," she admitted, then shrugged and grinned. "Oh well, toujours l'audace." Her reaction on trying some was a little more restraints than Taleeze's, but she still took on an interesting expression as she lightly patted her chest and reached for her own water.

"Okay, wow," she chuckled, her voice a trifle hoarse. "Welcome to Illium indeed." She shot Kaga a mock-severe look.

"It's not my fault all you kids didn't get born on Tuchanka to learn what proper food tastes like from the start," he grinned.

"Just as well you're here to educate us," Daia smirked.

"Exactly! Ladies, enjoy your meals - if you'll excuse me" He bowed again, then moved off to greet a pair of salarians approaching the café. Daia smiled at his retreating form, then returned her attention to the meal and Taleeze.

"You looked to get on well with Ana," she noted. "I know it makes me sound like one of those awfully condescending know-what's-best-for-her bondmates, but it's good to see her making friends. She didn't know anyone but me when she moved here, and then with the war turning everything upside down..." She shrugged.

“Yes…..okay…..Well, that’s a welcome indeed” Taleeze’s voice was sounding a bit rasp, as she poured more water. And even more. The initial rush subsided finally and left her mouth all tingly but with a testy explosion that was like bouncing around in her throat.

“You knew that stuff, didn’t you?” She shot a playful glance at Daia, frowning.

In an instant her face lit up though. “I expected nothing less from a krogan chef.” She was taking on her sandwich again and on Daia's remark she had to look at the structure along the cuts. It was one of those foods that presented a literal cross section of it’s ingredients, that was true. She’d never noticed that but found the observation funny.

She was chewing along, now mixing a Sinso bite with the sandwich. Being prepared helped indeed. Her hunger subsided but with one eye she was browsing the listing of food on the screens above the bar. She wasn’t here the last time.

As the Krogan went on with his business and the two of them munched along, Daia brought the topic to Ana. The Rush had sharpened Taleeze’s senses a bit.
Was she already prepared for a in depth analysis of that talk? Just shooting verbiage at Daia wouldn’t work, so she’d need something substantial that’s already processed.

“Well, I guess, she at least doesn’t hate me.” Taleeze replied with a smile “If I am already considered a friend in the making, don’t know. It was a first encounter and it was great to meet her finally in real life. I’d very much like to be a friend of the two of you.” It was good you took so long, but no need to tell right now that otherwise the full recovery might not have been possible. “She’s a beauty in her suit but she does seem taller in the vids.” A small giggle.
“I admit, I’ve seen a few.”

With more seriousness she added “I don’t know how social she usually is” I guess not so much “but if I can be a part of anything, that would be great.”

“Anyway, she was very open about her injuries. You didn’t really prep me so I was letting it come to me. I don’t think I was making grave mistakes but I had no real idea what to expect from her. The quarians seem so… secluded behind their facial screens and you almost never have them in see-through mode. You get to look a body language and all but it is something different.”

“It must have been hard for the two of you. That is such an awful thing you have to deal with. I overheard only bits and pieces but… as I told her, I have been on the frontline as well and I have seen things that I didn’t ask for. A condition like hers doesn’t shock me. It makes me feel fortunate. I won’t play all special for her because I have the feeling she’s not the type that appreciates the feeling to be pitied. If there are any special dos and don’ts beside obvious technical issues, let me know. I’d want her to feel good.”

Taleeze made a small pause to blinking into the sun above, then she faced Daia, who looked a bit funny at this particular moment, biting of a big slice of sandwich.

“Daia, take the greatest possible care of her, without care taking. I think you know what I mean, she kind of impressed me. Really, the bond the two of you have is special. I feel like centuries away from that with my idle search thing I have going… cherish what you have found.”

“I am sure you do anyway and don’t need such observations from someone like me.” Taleeze had to laugh and scratched her rearmost lekku that suddenly itched. Then she slid the shades down again over her eyes, leaned back in the chair so her face was in full sunlight and out of her protection zone observed the nice and beautiful Daia T’Nara – not without a little envy. And a lot of admiration.

She bit another small bite off a Sinso and told herself, the Tuchanka Rush was responsible for the sudden wetness in her eyes.

Daia nodded, smiling, as Taleeze gave her impressions of Ana - she wondered in passing whether one of the vids she had seen was Shriek, but couldn't quite think of a casual way to ask. 'Open with sexuality' was one thing, but even then a café lunch wasn't exactly the place to find out if her companion had seen her sensually tormented to within an inch of her sanity, with Tessena's cameras capturing everything in graphically explicit detail. Perhaps, she thought, the topic would come up more naturally on its own sometime later, and she could assuage her curiosity.

"Dos and don'ts?" she mused, when Taleeze asked. "No, not really - it's useful to make yourself known to her, out loud, since she can 'see' people with her suit sensors, but not tell who's who, apart from a handful of individual profiles with some new software she's been refining. Not full introduction, just saying 'hi', she's got a good aural for voices. Aside from that..." She put her sandwich down for a moment, then shrugged. "No, I'd say you've got it already - no special treatment, just honesty. She's good at deciphering people, which has come as a nasty shock to a few would-be 'ingenious' negotiators she's had to put in their place. You get used to that sort of thing," she said ruefully, taking a quick glance around at the neighbouring towers and office buildings visible from the plaza. "Sometimes it feels like half the city's trying desperately to hide who they really are to dupe unsuspecting potential buyers, and the other half's trying just as hard to conform to whatever public image they think will help them get ahead. Really brings home the value of people who simply let you see them as they are."

She picked up her sandwich, pausing before taking another bite, and nodding slowly at Taleeze's advice.

"I do," she said, before reaching across the table to hold Taleeze's free hand. "And thank you, for saying it. I hope I never forget to cherish her, not for a single day. If I could spend my whole lifetime with her..." She smiled sadly; even involved as she was with another asari, Taleeze would know full well what loving an alien meant, in the end; the knowledge was ingrained in asari culture.

"But, we're only sapient," she continued - the sombre thought was obviously one she had acknowledged long ago, and had well in control - "so it's a great relief to know if I do ever start taking her for granted, I'm not short of dear friends who'll talk sense into me." She patted Taleeze's hand, then released it, returning to her meal.

------

It took only a moment to summon the aircar down from its rooftop when the two asari had finished lunch and said their farewells to Kaga, so it wasn't long before they were on their way, with the Gemstone Lakes shining ahead of them. Daia deliberately steered the 'car to a high traffic lane, so that they both got the full benefit of the glittering rainbow of colours that seemed to sparkle from beneath the lakes' gentle waves - the harmless mineral impurities in the water, which had caused the first surveyors of Illium, looking down from their flight path, to give the lakes their name.

The Talbot's flight brought them not to the lakeshore, but a little way out, to one of the islands reaching down in a chain from the north-west, where the southmost body of water began to split into the separate northern lakes. Graceful bridges connected them to one another, and the shore, and scattered about them were homes and beachfront businesses, including a number of hanar buildings, their semi-submerged architecture a distinct contrast from Nos Astra's predominantly asari construction. There were no big resort complexes to speak of, but the local businesses were evidently doing a brisk trade, with the beaches well populated with tourists as well as locals enjoying an afternoon off work, and quite a fleet of small craft scattered out across the water.

"And here we are," Daia said, as the 'car reached a landing platform fronting directly onto one of the islands' beaches, hovering sideways from the pad to set down in one of a number of shaded parking areas. She retrieved both their bags from the back of the vehicle, then looked up and waved at a hanar who was swaying towards them from a nearby office.

"Moloon, Taleeze Driana," she introduced the pair.

"This one is pleased to make your acquaintance," the hanar intoned to Taleeze, before turning its tip towards Daia. "Will you require the waveblades?"

"Not today," she replied, laughing. "Happily Taleeze is feeling generous and won't be humiliating me in a race, so we'll just need a single craft. How's that sabercat you were talking about?"

"Two such craft are available for hire today, should you wish," Moloon replied. "However, this one has recently come into possession of a restored skiff it suspects you may be intrigued by. This one, anticipating your arrival, has taken the liberty of preparing it."

"Can't really say no to that, can we?" Daia asked Taleeze rhetorically.

The hanar led them down across the beach, past a pier where a number of his craft for rent were moored, arriving at an unusual boat drawn up onto the sand itself. Unlike the more sophisticated vessels that made up the majority of the lake's population, with their nanofibre hulls and programmable handling profiles, the boat on offer was far simpler: two wooden hulls, polished and lacquered to a rich finish, joined by a central platform of curved beams and tightly-fixed fabric between them, an unusual catamaran design with one hull set further forward than the other, but the wings either side of the hulls were curved backward on one side, forward on the other, creating a sense of symmetry. There were none of the automated features of a modern leisure craft, just ropes looped around gleaming alloy pulleys and hand-turned winches.

"Oh, this is beautiful," Daia said, studying it, before giving Taleeze a glance. "What do you say - I haven't been out on a real, honest-to-Goddess manual sailer in who knows how long."

"This one has personally certified the craft's worthiness," the hanar added. It raised a tentacle to indicate the mast, where a slim metal panel was attached out of the way beneath the main boom. "A comprehensive instructional VI is installed, should you require any advice on handling the vessel, however this one is assured that it is a most intuitive craft. Its previous owner indicated that its name is 'Nymph'."

"I think we have a winner," Daia noted. "Kind waters to you." Holoon returned the traditional hanar blessing, and left the two asari to their business.

"How about that," Daia said admiringly, running a hand along the smooth portside hull. "This has got to be handmade - Serrice, maybe? I don't really know boats as well as I should," she confessed. "Most of the time I'm on the water, it's as the guest of some client or other, and most of their boats seem like they're designed to be just floating luxury hotel rooms - some of them you wouldn't even know you were out on the water at all, kind of seems like it's defeating the point."

She set their bags down on the hull and opened hers, producing a pair of slim tubes with bright graphical markings on them, one of which she handed to Taleeze.

"The sun here's a bit harsher than Nevos, from what I remember," she noted. "It feels more temperate, but that's just the geocontrol moderating the climate - trust me, you don't want to spend your second day on Illium regretting the sunburn you got on the first."

As she spoke she got undressed - no showgirl tricks to draw attention to herself, but neither was there any hint of self-consciousness as she stripped off her clothes. With nothing to hide it, the tattoo on her back was plain to see - gentle lines trailing up her back, spreading and curling like the wisps of smoke from freshly-extinguished candles, blossoming into a complex pattern as it spread tree-like across her shoulderblades. Once she was naked she pressed the silver tube to her stomach, shivering slightly as its contents of programmed gel spread quickly over her body, covering her in a protective film against the sun, invisible but for a slight gleam to her skin.

"Do you wear a suit?" she asked. "I wasn't sure if you'd brought one ready to use, I picked up an extra from the office that'd fit, if you want to borrow one."

“If I could spend my whole lifetime with her..." It almost wrenched Taleeze’s guts but she did not move although she had almost sobbed a bit.

She let Daia’s hand rest on hers and closed her eyes behind her dark glasses. A dear friend she had said. It has been long time since someone said something like that with a similar honest meaning to her. A few faces passed, memories from Nevos, memories of people that weren’t there anymore. She would be trying to be that dear friend to Daia.
What would Freh say to all of this? Not much probably as she usually could be a real walking one-liner. She had to dig her up and ask her. Why do I have no friends anymore, Freh? Why are they dead or hiding or… whatever….
The tears had dried. She had a job to do.

“Daia, I sometimes have the feeling, we know each other much longer than just this brief time.” Taleeze was stretching her back, arms crossed behind her head. “I promise you between two asari that I’ll not hesitate to kick your tsu if you get sloppy.” With an awry grin she lifted her shades “and I’d expect nothing less from you, if I ever mess up, my friend!”

*********

“Oh wow, would you look at THAT!” Taleeze was pressing her forehead against the window to gaze down at the gemstone lakes. As if Daia had never seen them – and she was grinning exactly like that. “That is so amazing! You never see them from the spaceship, they approach the other way – maybe to keep it more calm here, I guess.” She pointed at the busy promenades “Isn’t that some traffic! And hey, look at that, there is a bladeracer!” Taleeze was following the small figure on a monoski, pulled by an aerial sail made of an energy field. The person was controlling it’s permeability for wind by the control grips in both hands and was curving in wide S-es at very high speed.
“Oh that sparkle is really beautiful!”
It was going on like this until they landed, accompanied by ah’s and oh’s and an occasional wow.

On the ground, Daia introduced her to the hanar who was running the boat rental. From a brief glance, the crafts at the pier looked neat and tidy. She had expect nothing less from Daia anyway. Then the hanar, who was kind of emulating the glitter of the water on his surface, suggested he had a special craft for the two of them. Taleeze couldn’t object, Chef’s Special basically. When she actually saw the catamaran, she had to nod in admiration. That must have cost a fortune, judging from the real wood craftsmanship. Nowadays, almost all boats were manufactured out of ultralight materials but something like this was a rare sight. The asymmetric form was graceful and Taleeze wondered how this would handle.

“Definitely a winner! A beauty you have there, Holoon. I can’t imagine, why anyone would give that up. Nymph is really fitting name to carry the two of us, don’t you think?” Taleeze took a cocky girlish stance with her hands in her hips and blinked at Daia over the rim of her shades.

“Oh, thanks, I have some with me” Taleeze replied over the offered sun protection, “but actually I’d rather not dig through all of my stuff out here. What do you have there?” It was a brand Taleeze knew but none she used on Nevos. It promised to “make your skin shimmer like the gemstone lakes with the protection of multi-ray filter nano fluid with the EXTRA skincare of teloocian dragoon seeds”. Well, that stuff ought to be good.
Seeing Daia naked on holos or in vids was already a pleasant thing but now Taleeze had the first hand view. The lithe body was already glistening in the sunlight “like the gemstone lakes” – an ad that actually holds up in real life! – when Taleeze finished reading.

“Suit? No, I won’t need a suit, but thanks for thinking ahead.” Taleeze dropped her shoes and stripped out of her shirt and couldn’t prevent the comparison, like most asari probably do.
Taleeze's breasts were a fair bit larger, but then, Daia was a bit taller after all.

“Spectacular tattoo you have there!”

Taleeze dropped her pants and stepped out of them. All in all she was satisfied about the comparison, nothing about herself that bothered her particularly. All in all a bit rounder, but as Taleeze thought, the right places.

“I did some experimenting with temporary tattoos too a century ago but dropped it. I think, I just could never make my mind up what I really wanted.”

Acually, only when she let the gel cover her own body, she realized how completely without question it had been to strip down on that very spot. Taleeze wasn’t the exhibitionist Daia maybe was but she was carrying her body with some confidence. Next to Daia nobody would notice “the other naked asari” anyway. An asari didn’t need swimgear and back home on Nevos nobody would object that either. As the two stood there naked next to each other the stark contrast in their skintone was really obvious.

“Can we leave our stuff here just like that? I would miss it if it’s gone afterwards!”

When Daia assured Taleeze that their gear was safe with the hanar they went on to examine the boat. It really wasn’t hard to figure out, the rigging was straightforward and like straight coming from an instruction vid. The wooden planks felt pleasantly warm but not hot at all under Taleeze’s bare feet.

After some laughter and playful arguing they had the craft going. They didn’t pay attention to any surroundings but concentrated on each other and the small craft under their feet.

*********

The wind wasn’t very intense but the light craft was cutting the waves like a laserbeam. With the multicolored sparkles around them it was almost like riding the tip of a photon wave. Taleeze was happy she had her shades now as protection from the spray. The asymmetric design didn’t influence the handling at all and it was tremendous fun. At top speed the two of them were hanging over the edge and had to pull all they had to keep the sail. They were trying to get it as high on the clock as possible.

Taleeze deliberately let her ass dive into the water at high speed, producing a spectacular spray
“Hey”, she yelled at Daia, laughing, “I hope that sunscreen stuff is resistant to abrasion! Yay!” The water was very warm, even warmer than the secluded bays on Nevos.

After a while of excessive speed play, they found a slow and nice rhythm and they let the boat and the wind lead the way.

“I haven’t had that much fun in decades! And you are a great sailor, Daia, don’t sell yourself short.”

Finally they decided to bring the boat around and take a break. The sail folded neatly into itself and the two hulls came to rest on the light swell of the lakes. The shore was far away and only very few details could be seen, although quite a few other water enthusiasts were out today all of them were far away and it seemed that the lakes belonged to the two of them. Taleeze was standing upright in the bow, hand in her hips, one foot up on the board. The heat began to rise as soon as they had no slip stream anymore.

“Mind if I swim a short round?” Taleeze asked over her shoulder. She didn’t wait for a reply, as she dropped her sunglasses and jumped into the water right from that spot.

The rush in her ears subsided and she opened her eyes under water. The gemstone lakes indescribable wonders unfolded in front of her. She was flowing over with joy as she made a fancy pirouette under water before she came to the surface again and made her way around the boat.

She pulled up into the boat next to Daia, almost causing the craft to take water. Both asari giggled and laughed as Daia was fighting for the boats stability, while Taleeze was hauling herself in without much elegance. “Talxu Taleeze coming aboard! All asari get readyyyyyy!”


Taleeze sprawled on the deck to let herself dry in the sun. After a few moments she rolled to her side so she was facing Daia. She put her head up on one arm and let the other hand rest on her hip, her fingers playing slightly over the structure of her skin at a particular spot.

“Daia, I’ve been wondering…” she opened with a slight pause, “Did you ever think about fucking me?”

Daia's eyes widened at the question. Lying in the sun, after the energetic sailing - largely following Taleeze, but having a more experienced hand taking the lead made it easy for her own sailing skills to resurface - had lulled her into a contentedly restful state, and it took a moment for her to get her brain back to speed.

"Well, now I am," she joked, rolling onto her side as well to face her companion, mirroring her posture. "No," she went on, shaking her head, "well, yes - but only thinking. Can't blame a girl for having an imagination."

She chuckled, then her gaze became calmer, settling on Taleeze's eyes - not serious, as such, but sincere.

"Under other circumstances - and if I were welcome, of course - then without a doubt. You're a good soul, kind, spirited, funny... You've got joie de vivre - it's a human thing, a language I'm learning, the connotations are pretty close to how we'd say "a maiden's gaze"... I just like French... Not to mention," she went on, letting her gaze rake down Taleeze's form before settling back on her face - not a lustful leer, but making no apology for admiring the view - "you're such a temptation to the senses. How oblivious would I have to be not to wonder?"

She smiled, then lay back down, one arm stretched out above her, her other hand resting idly on her stomach as she tilted her head sideways to keep her eyes on Taleeze.

"It wouldn't happen, though," she said. "When I asked Ana to be with me, I decided to be hers, only hers. It's not that I think couples should be under an obligation to be monogamous, no matter what - often that works, but sometimes not... I have some clients who are bonded, or married as the case may be, and so long as their partners genuinely have no objection..." she shifted her shoulders slightly, a very relaxed shrug. "I certainly don't think any less of them. People... fit together in all sorts of ways, sometimes unexpected ways. All that matters is that they fit - each other, not someone else's expectations.

"Being Ana's alone isn't something I do because I feel I should, I just... want to. It feels good. No complicated explanation, just that: it feels good."

She lay back, gazing up at the sky, and her smile faded slightly.

"She'd let me, if I did," she mused; her voice was quiet, but with the shore far off and the deeper waters calm, there was little ambient noise beyond the gentle lapping of the tiny waves on the hulls. "It wouldn't be easy on her, but... sometimes things aren't easy, and they happen anyway. I know she'd never leave, or stop loving me. She feels there's something she can't give me, though, and she wants me to have everything I could possibly want... even if it means I find it in someone other than her. And," she glanced at Taleeze briefly, before returning her gaze to the sky, "since she told you about her injuries, you can understand how, from a certain point of view, she's right. I love sex." She giggled abruptly. "That always sounds strange, to just say... but it's true, and it's just that simple. It's my passion, my pursuit, my... calling, I suppose? It's not a compulsion, either, it's... it's what I want to do with my life, to discover and experience all the joys sex can bring, and share them again with the galaxy. Not the whole galaxy - there wouldn't be time," she grinned. "Ever since I was old enough to notice how I could make my body feel," unbidden, the hand on her stomach stirred, fingertips stroking her waist, until she glanced down with a wry grin, and lay still, "-and later on, with other people - that's how I've felt. Melding with Ana is incredible - and you know, after everything I just said, I'll still say this, it's better than anything physical could ever be. But I love sex, and she knows I do - nobody knows me more than she does - and she wouldn't try to hold me back. It's not obligation. Just... a choice."

She stretched out, folding both arms underneath her head, then laughed suddenly.

"That probably sounds pretty strange coming from an escort, huh?" she asked. "Almost hypocritical even - I know you wouldn't think that," she quickly assured her companion, "but it's a... thin distinction, I suppose. A matter of degrees. I don't know if I can explain it, really, the difference between sex for pleasure and sex for business. It's not the obvious one, not for me, anyway. For some escorts, it is 'just business', and they're happy with that, they're content with their lives... they're really good, too, I'm certainly not criticising the level of satisfaction they give. But for me, it's pleasure, either way - pleasure for business, but it's still about loving someone, feeling their emotion and being part of it, joining, whether it's a client, or a colleague in a stage performance, or whatever. Perhaps it's just a matter of semantics - but then, it's a difference that matters to me, and to Ana, I believe. And that's all it needs to, for us. She never asked me to stop escorting, even before - I won't say there was never any thought put to it, but it's a part of my life - of me - that we both accept. She knows what it means to me, and I know what I mean to her." She sighed, happily in spite of all the difficult ground they had covered, then giggled again as another thought struck her.

"Plus which," she said, "I've got a bunch of gene mods and augmentations that don't have any point apart from facilitating sex with other species - it'd be a shame to let all the non-quarian ones go to waste, just because I've found the love of my life, and she's not turian or krogan or elcor or what have you."

She propped herself up on her elbow again, looking curious.

"Why do you ask?" she said. "Just curious... Don't get me wrong," she chuckled, "I can see how, with my reputation and all, it's a question that occurs to people..."

Taleeze was retaining the same position while she listened to Daia, her face being wholehearted but with a faint smile around her eyes and at some points in Daia’s reply she smiled a little more.

“Actually, no, it’s not just like that. It didn’t even really occur to me until recently, to be honest. But this is something really important I want to be clear about and between us.”

She rolled onto her back, one hand on her stomach, kind of similar to Daia, her had tilted towards her.

“I am truly grateful about what you said, just so you know. But, yeah, call it reputation, but not the way you might think now, I wanted me to know… to hear from you that I’m not going to be the new sextoy. Although I knew that already but… you know, hearing it is different.” Her voice was really halting as if she had to carefully put together the pieces here.

“I for one am so happy how things run between us. You are open and uncomplicated, you are the funny person I hoped you’d be, you are kind and very grounded in your life. This should be the last thing to stand between us. It may be more natural to you than it is to me, being around you.

I am looking at you as a friend – a real one, no the girlish thing. And I’d never be able or would want to do anything to hurt you or those dear to you.” She was staring at Daia for a moment then her eyes flicked to the planks they rested on.

“Ana was almost taking me off guard up there. I don’t know if you noticed that. She wasn’t sure who I was going to be and she… “ yeah what did Ana actually do, how to phrase that? “… she was taking me for a potential lovetoy and offered to kind of give me her permission to screw you. In an actually very disturbing way – to me at least. That was actually the first time the thought really hit me… I was never before thinking about that. I mean, I saw a couple of vids of you and I think maybe that’s part of…. I never wanted it to be like that between us …. Do you get my point, like, at all?”

Taleeze laughed a bit, thinking back to that moment, just hours ago.

“It felt… strange. I think I gave her an appropriate reply though. She got really open after that and I have the feeling, she really let me into something there. I am greatful for that. You know, how you talk about her, that’s so special… blargh, I am repeating myself, but it’s true. So just take it, I wouldn’t do you, even if she asked me to – no offense.” She giggled.

She raised her head a little to let her eyes go down Daia’s body and up again, to meet her eyes.
“You are such a hottie! I am just happy to have the hottie friend, which, for me, is worth more than testing the sack with you, much more. I just work a bit different than you – hey, most people do when it comes to sexual appetite I guess.“

Taleeze thought about Nevos and the live she had, her friends, closer and not so close, and Freh.

“I go by the preset that I never hit on anyone who’s bonded. Call me romantic but bonding is like special, and I cannot interfere with the love of others, it wouldn’t feel right for me, no matter how appealing the other is, it cannot be casual for me. Other than that, I was never the one to let a casual opportunity slide.” She was tracing a few flying animals overhead, having no idea what they were.

“Then came Freh’ya. I think over the time it could have been called love, the thing we shared – hell, we bought a house together. But we both weren’t like bonding yet. She’s a bit older than I am, about a century, but still, maiden at heart. So we both were going out and about at times but the good part was, after twenty years or so you are really sure that the other would be at home again whenever you need her. She is – was – is my friend, my dear. Ain’t we asari a funny bunch? I mean, we both are ticking … actually ticked the same way. Don’t know what makes her tick now.”

But I’m going to find out. Taleeze rolled over onto her side again. Daia scent was mixing with the water and and the faint scent of wood.

“Melding was exclusive to us. I did not meld with anyone else since then and I know she didn’t either. I’ve had sex for sure but never the all out mindfuck, couldn’t get myself to do it and never wanted to. Come to think of it, I have read your book… guess what it does to you when you are alone on a warm evening.” She giggled at the thought. “I was a bit … dense, not able to let go, all the time since the war. Around you I can again. You are doing me already Daia, in a way that’s better than sex – for me at least.” She grinned sheepishly at Daia.

“So don’t be surprised if I kind of test my market value while on Illium. Maybe I’ll be able to pick up a few things from the best, ey?” She laughed and poked Daias midrif slightly with a finger.

“You may wonder what makes me so sure Freh would even want come back to me. I know her well, I know that it’s a protective mechanism that makes her do what she does. She is not wounded, her records would have shown, I suspect something else she thinks she can’t put on me. But she’s wrong, she can, anything. Mabybe this path will lead to bonding, maybe not, but I sure as azure are willing to go find out.”

“I haven’t had a girlish sex talk in ages… stupid that it had to be triggered by a misconception of Ana’s but the outcome is good as far as I’m concerned. We should do that again.”

What would Daia think about all this messed up talking? She who alwys was just so natural about her sexuality?

“I am looking forward to work the showbussines a bit more now. I am not going to go escort but hey, helping someone getting off is not a bad thing either. I am curious how the famed Apricity really is. I hope Eafina thinks I am worthy!”

Taleeze was raising her torso, resting on her arms behind her back, the light breeze was gently blowing over her body. Her gaze was trailing the far shore. She hadn’t felt so free in a long time.

She looked down at Daia who was blinking up at her.
“So what you say, Captain, time for another round? I’ll let you lead the way back home.”

"She did?" A complicated parade of emotions passed across Daia's face, quickly one after another, as she contemplated Ana's offer, and the feelings that might have led to it. She of course knew Ana was deeply unhappy at being unable to make love physically, and the fact that her sexual appetite was being sated at work - in pleasure, at least, if not love - was not one her bondmate cherished either. Daia wondered, not for the first time, if she had made the right choice. If she had turned away from her profession, she knew Ana would be wracked by guilt, blaming herself for causing Daia to abandon her lifelong passion. Would that have been worse than the pain it caused Ana, knowing what she was doing at Apricity, or in clients' homes or hotel suites, while Ana was in the office, or at home?

Perhaps. Perhaps not; leaping from one imperfect condition to another was no guarantee of future happiness. There were no guarantees.

Except Ana's love. Even if it meant not just allowing but facilitating the sexual escapades that gnawed at her, here was yet more proof, if Daia ever needed it, of how brave her Ana was. She never saw it that way herself, but it was the hope Daia followed, even when the life she had used to cherish, and the happiness she wanted for her bondmate, seemed sometimes to be slowly crumbling bit by bit under the galaxy's cruelty.

She smiled, and if there was a little sorrow mixed in with the cheer, it at least wasn't a majority.

"I'm sorry she caught you off guard," she sighed. "I didn't really expect... then again," she interrupted herself, with a grin, "she's never been one to prevaricate when she could just be upfront. One of the reasons why she's a blessing to anyone she calls a friend, even if it does mean she tends to catch them off-guard a lot. I'm glad you and she got past that misconception - she must think well of you, to have warmed to you after a start like that."

Her smile became a little brighter as a thought occurred to her.

"You two really got through a lot while I was off digging up a swimsuit, huh?" she noted. "And I didn't even end up using it... Ah well. I'll have to show you my collection sometime - trust me, I'd never give up being comfortable naked, but there's a certain something to be said for a little judicious decorative clothing here and there. Come to think of it, you've got just the figure for a design I picked up not too long ago..."

She chuckled, and gave Taleeze a gentle nudge in the side.

"You know what," she added, "even if Ana does underestimate my fidelity sometimes, she knows I've got good taste, so in that sense at least she'd have already thought highly of you. Even if I were the type to go picking up 'lovetoys' on a whim, I wouldn't go after just anyone!"

She moved one leg sideways over the edge of the hull, foot and calf dipping in the water, and looked at Taleeze beside her while she spoke of Freh'ya, staring at the flights of near-birds in the sky.

"All you can do is find out," she said quietly. "You may well be right, that she's worried the war changed her... It changed all of us." A smile appeared on her face. "But it's easy to imagine the worst - if that's what she's fearing, once she actually sees you again... She won't doubt you."

At Taleeze's invitation she sat up, arching her back in a brief stretch before standing and taking hold of the mainsail guides.

"I like the sound of that," she agreed. "Captain Daia says, onward, me hearties!" She pointed theatrically towards the horizon, then grinned back at Taleeze. "It's a human thing... trust me, it'd take far too long to explain."

------

The sun was nearing the western horizon, its face divided into segments by silhouetted towers, when the Talbot and its two occupants set down outside the Mavic Chen hotel. Osara was a new district, and evidently not intended for high-rise complexes - low domes and structures left the sky quite unobscured, and with nature strips carefully placed along the groundside boulevardes and traffic access corridors, the bustle of Nos Astra in the evening was moderated to a pleasant background hum.

The 'car landed outside the hotel's reception, which along with its offices and a small restaurant formed one of its three wings, the others being guest rooms, all arranged around a central garden. The design was clearly alien - Terran, Daia had explained, although quite different to the architecture and decor brought to Illium by the more visible human corporations, largely originating from the UNAS and Eurpoean zones. Small pagodas and connecting wood and stone bridges formed an intricate path around and through a miniature forest lake, decorated by dozens of different species of trees and plants. With the evening setting in, the garden was lit by the glows of dozens of colourful paper lanterns, some hanging from the pagoda rooves, others designed to drift slowly on the surface of the water below.

"Bet you haven't seen anything like that before," Daia observed cheerfully, as she retrieved Taleeze's bag from the trunk.

Inside the lobby a human wearing a well-tailored suit greeted them with a courteous bow and a warm welcome.

"Thank you," Daia smiled, returning the bow, then tilting her head towards Taleeze. "Miss Taleeze Driana has a reservation?"

"Of course," the man nodded, consulting his terminal. "Miss Driana, welcome to the Mavic Chen, on behalf of all the staff here. Your room is prepared." He tapped a command, and a glowing holographic ring appeared above the reception desk, for Taleeze to hold her hand in while the room's virtual key was downloaded to her omni-tool.

"The dining room will be serving meals until 24:30," he went on. "Our chef's specialties are Cantonese and Kendra Ocean, including a number of fushion dishes I can personally recommend. You will find a menu in your room, as well as options for orders from other nearby restaurants at any time of day or night, should you wish for another style of cuisine."

"I'm sorry I can't stay for dinner," Daia said afterwards, as she and Taleeze made their way across one of the garden's wooden bridges towards the far side, where the room was. "I don't want to keep Ana waiting. Sharing a meal with a quarian is admittedly more a matter of us both having our own meals side by side, but at least the company is the best."

She paused as they reached the central pagoda, and held out her hands for Taleeze to take.

"It's been an absolute pleasure getting to meet you today," she said warmly. "I hope I've gotten Nos Astra off to a good start for you. Will I see you at Apricity tomorrow?" She grinned. "I know it's technically kind of a job interview, but Eafina's not one to stand on formality. Besides, I'm curious to learn what you've got in mind to wow our patrons from the stage."

“No, actually I think it was a good thing that happened.” Taleeze replied, when she saw Daias thoughts stumble over the fact. “You know… it was definitely better than her thinking it and it never being that way. Better to clear the air right away. Also…” obviously Daia was aware of Anas troubles and it must be a tearing matter. “… I think it opened up a couple of good doors for the future. I did come to like her, the way she rolled over me.” Taleeze chuckled. “It was really intense minutes. But why have I suspected different from your mate after all? I should have known.”

Taleeze grinned over Daias remark on taste and her figure.
“Yeah, yeah, too late for that now! Blame Ana if you have to.” She compared their bodies over the swimsuit issue.
”Well… You certainly have a point. It’s not the practical use of a swimsuit but it’s aesthetic value as an accessory of course. I’ve got a few as well and some make the greatest costumes for dancing. So yeah, I’d definitely like to peek into your closet, Daia. Actually, I hoped we could add some new stuff to mine while I am here. As you saw I travelled light. I am sure you know a few cool places where an asari can leave way too many credits for way to little fabric.” She laughed.

Taleeze was getting a bit more serious over Daias remark on the war. Wasn’t that true. But how much had the war changed herself for example? Enough to travel out here without a plan but a fat gun in her bag… that was now resting with some hanar she didn’t even know. Great.
Taleeze, maybe you are in over your head but Daia was absolutely right with her simple girlish way of being positive, you’ve got to find out. She had wanted Freh’ya so much she didn’t’ even really think about anything, it had just been coming naturally to her. Follow your instincts on this one.

When Daia rose and struck her Captain’s pose, Taleeze was giving a lazy salute “Aye Ma’am – that’s what those Alliance types used to say at least.”

_______

The hotel was just a lovely exotic place as if coming from another world – which in a way was the case.

Taleeze was yawning as they exited the car. The day had been so exciting and turned out five hours longer than her regular Nevos day. She longed for a shower and some food – the little restaurant looked neat, humans and asari in obviously alien wardrobe of red and blue with lots of gold applications were serving the customers.

“No, you are right, I’ve never seen something like this, it is human design, isn’t it? That garden looks beautiful, like a secluded miniature world. It’s really interesting the put up something like this out here. On Nevos they just opened a large construction site for a human oriented hotel complex, so maybe I’m going to see some more of this back at home.”

When they entered the lobby Taleeze thought, she probably should have discussed the budget issue with Daia a bit more in detail upfront. This place made a good impression and sure was not the lowest class. She’d find out if this was up to her account or not soon enough.

The concierge was very friendly and the registration was done without hassle. When he mentioned the opening hours of the restaurant, she also noticed how hungry she now really was after the workout with the boat. She wondered if they had coffee.

“I totally understand, although I have to say, I’m sorry about that.” Taleeze replied on Daias remark about dinner. “From what I get, the dinner thing is special time for the two of you, right? You don’t seem to be together during the day so much. I also enjoy…ed the common meals as an intimate time. No matter what or how you eat, I guess.” She thought about having that drink with Ana. Unfortunately back then she couldn’t enjoy it that much. Maybe another time.
“Maybe we could have a dinner by three some time… don’t know how Ana feels about that though, never mind.”

Taleeze grabbed the hands offered, they still felt warm from the sun.
”The pleasure was with me, this was quite a bit for a first day.” She laughed. “You have quite a pace.”

“I sure hope you will be there too tomorrow… actually, what time should I be there? I have the feeling I still need a bit of adaptation to the local time. It is quite a difference compared to Nevos.”

“And please, don’t make me nervous! I don’t take that lightly, that’s a bit more than the holiday joints I worked lately. I am sure you won’t be disappointed though.”

She thought about the collection of costumes in her bag.

“Maybe I’ll rehearse a bit later on to relax. I assume, just describing it verbally won’t cut me deal tomorrow, right?”

________

With Daia gone, Taleeze sighed and opened the door to her room. Pleasant, it was a modern room with all the equipment but a bit of a cozy touch to it as the designers had added wooden elements to it to make it appear as if it was the inside of a larger wooden superstructure.

There was surprisingly spacious bathroom to the left and the main room contained a large bed, suitable for two, a couch, a desk with a holographic interface and a chair and the cabinet with wooden sliding doors.
Taleeze threw the bag onto the crimson coversheets on the bed and approached the window. White and beige curtains where covering it. She pushed them aside. The view was not exactly spectacular but after all the true sight was the garden on the inner side of the hotel complex anyway. She could stay here for a while for sure.

On the desk there was a vintage printed menu, next to a small welcome card. Some of the foods she had never heard of, some she knew quite well. The restaurant seemed to have a good selection of seafood so she decided to indulge on something fishy to honor the boat trip today.

But first things first. She stripped out of her cloths and turned on the water in the shower. The warm water was refreshing and made her feel clean again. There was a cozy bathrobe with the embroidered hotel name next to the shower and she wrapped herself into that.
A small screen next to the door explained the basic functions of the bathroom – most of them obviously known to Taleeze but also the concept of the laundry service. Taleeze put her pants and her shirt into the prepared bag and dumped it into the slot – in the hope to actually see them ever again.
The closet was much too big for her few things. She decided to put on a simple black jumpsuit for tonight and spread her costumes on the bed. All of her stuff had survived the travel well – she had to throw a quick glance at the pair of boots that contained the Carnifex. The gun had a DNA safety so it would be useless to most casual thieves anyway but after all she wasn’t that used to carry a gun. Maybe it was better to put it in the safe.

So she did and finally slipped into a pair of shoes and headed out for dinner.

_____

Some time and a couple of exquisite sashimi later, she had returned to her room. There still where the costumes on the bed…

Let’s see. She connected her omnitool to the multimedia centre on the desk… while at it, taleeze cast a quick glance on the fare rates on the hotels intranet. Quite a surprise made her smile a bit. Daia had picked a small gem for a small price. Why even worry with the woman.

On that high note, she uploaded her playlist and selected a playlist. The electronic beats filled the room and Taleeze was swinging her hips and whistled along, as she stripped out of the jumpsuit and began rehearsing a few moves.

_____

Taleeze was waking up the next morning after a night of very relaxing sleep. The activity yesterday had made her really tired and she had slept in, because the time she was expected at the Apricity left her enough time to get ready anyway.
Her cloths from yesterday had magically reappeared inside the laundry

She ordered a small breakfast to her room and packed a small handbag with a simple deep purple dancing costume while she mused what to wear. She decided on the black and pink minidress, pink high boots and, for once, underwear which would provide an additional set of possibilities, performance wise.

She still had time, so she decided to go on a little stroll around the neighbourhood, checking out the restaurants, supermarkets and stuff….

After an hour of aimless wandering she hailed a cab with her Omnitool and headed to the Apricity, which was not yet open at this time. She now was already known to the volus, who greeted her on entry.

“Hello, Tol Madan, I have another appointment today, this time with Ms. Meressus.”

“The ladies area expecting you, please go ahead to the salon, they will be with you shortly.”

A band of holographic colour projected along the floor led Taleeze from the doorway Tol Madan had indicated down a hall, past several side doors, before she reached one which opened for her, as the holo-guide came to its end. The room within was decorated Citadel-style, all clean, smooth surfaces and soft omnipresent lighting. One wall hosted a small bar, with several vacant stools, the asari-designed serving mech installed behind the bar in sleep mode. In the centre of the room, around a turian crystal sculpture, was a circular couch, with matching curved sofas on either side of it.

Across the room was another door, with an 'Employees Only' marker on it; before Taleeze had had time to more than glance around the room, it opened to admit Daia and Eafina, still in mid-conversation.

"-real wood and everything," Daia was saying. "It - oh, there she is! Hi Taleeze."

"Welcome," the other asari said, greeting Taleeze with an outstretched hand when Daia stepped aside. "I'm Eafina Meressus. Would you care for something to drink?"

Daia instructed the mech and retrieved the tray it prepared from the bar, while Eafina seated herself on one of the curved couched, gesturing Taleeze to a seat beside her - not close enough, on the long couch, to be uncomfortable on first meeting, but far less formal than an 'interview' type arrangement, facing each other directly. Daia handed out the drinks then draped herself across the centre couch, across from the pair.

"Daia was just telling me about your sailing adventure yesterday," Eafina explained, taking a sip from her glass. She had asked for a spring mist, a mixture of fruit juices native to Niacal; a trace of an Aurolis accent was audible in her measured, precise voice. She wore an indigo suit that matched her skin, tailored with an open neckline and tight waist which flattered her figure, but nonetheless looked professional and businesslike, like the woman herself - especially compared to Daia, who was wearing a gauzy floor-length robe with little more than lingerie underneath. To Eafina's credit, she seemed quite at ease beside Daia's eye-catching presence; indeed, with her rich skin tone, striking markings, and expressive features, she wasn't short on attractive qualities herself.

"So then," she went on, "I like to do this sort of thing as informally as possible, but there are a few preliminaries to get out of the way. This," she offered Taleeze a slim data pad, "is our standard performer contract. Daia's told me a little about your professional background, and you'll find the relevant sections marked and customised in the document; there's a full copy of the complete Apricity/Oasis contract set, if you want to look into anything. I imagine you'd be confident Daia wouldn't steer you into anything disreputable, but this is Illium - making sure you're covered on all the angles before signing anything is a sensible habit to get into.

"That's the formality done with," she went on, sitting back. "As I said, my spy," she grinned at Daia, who winked at Taleeze in turn, "has told me a little about you, but put it in your words, if you would. What would you look for in a club like this, what's going to make you happy, if you decide to work here?"

When the light on the floor lit, Taleeze had to smile. She followed the indicated path into the inner regions of the Apricity. The club was quiet and deserted, like a theatre without public or actors. It had a special atmosphere to it, one of secrets and mystery, the air was fresh but still carried a faint scent of the parties, the food, the sex.

She entered the room and the light disappeared. Taleeze had arrived at her destination obviously, a well lit salon with a bar and nice comfy sofas. Only seconds after her arrival, Daia and Eafina entered the room. She had seen pictures of Eafina on the Extranet before so she recognized the woman immediately. Daia wore what seemed like elegant and alluring workwear, while Eafina was looking a little bit more businesslike, she sure radiated Boss, but without any harsh undertone.

Taleeze took the offered hand on introduction.
“My pleasure, Miss Meressus, I’m Taleeze Driana, but please, call me Taleeze.” She weighed the offer for a drink. Nonalcoholic for sure. “Yes, thank you, I’d like a Virgin Star, if possible.”

With a smile and a “Thank you.” Taleeze accepted the offered seat and leaned back into the comfortable cushion. Nice quality. She put her small bag next to her feet on the floor.

She had been to a couple of job interviews in her life, quite a few in clubs and the like so basically she had seen a lot. There were those bosses who demanded a hardware test right with their second sentence, then those who took barely a look on the fresh meat but just waved through what ever came in. The real classy establishments cared about a reputation and had a certain idea what they wanted and what a performer should bring as an addition. The Apricity sure was a classy establishment, so a bit of care was in order, she wanted to be taken seriously, and after all Daia would surely have advertised a bit and she didn’t want to disappoint her.

“Yes, we were … oh, thank you!” Daia handed her the Cocktail and Taleeze took it with a smile at her friend. “We took that little catamaran out quite nicely. I’ve never been to Gemstone Lakes, it was tremendous fun for my first day.”She laughed a bit, remembering the sun on her skin.

“Yes, well, this indeed is my first Illian contract” Taleeze replied as she took the datapad, flipping through the pages. “They have quite a reputation, as you might know, but as a matter of fact, yes, I do trust Daia not to sell me into slavery directly.” She laughed and continued “So Daia has already put forward some suggestions?” Taleeze glanced at Daia, then at the pad, that currently showed a lengthy list of paragraphs in a complicated speech.

Taleeze remembered a few contracts that had been drafted on the fly on paper taken from the bosses dumpster during the interviews. The big resorts on Nevos also had complicated contracts but they were in fact really a bit shorter than this. She put the pad in her lap and faced Eafina while taking a sip from the cocktail.

“Hm, good. So, you ask me what I’d want, that’s nice. Well, maybe I start a bit with what I have been doing in the past so you get a picture of my resume – which in this case you don’t have in written form. I do have one on my Omnitool, if you’d like it for reference or file though.” Taleeze made a small pause to take another small sip, then continued “I started dancing professionally about one hundred years ago, after university – I am an engineer, Monoi Tech - and a couple of decades in the skycar industry. Just on a side note, my knowledge came in handy a few times as I freelanced as a sort of light technician for example. Some clubs are short of hands sometimes…anyway, most of my prior engagements were on Nevos, with some extraplanetary tours and events. I know most of the active establishments on Nevos and used to work for a couple of the big ones, like Azure Allure or SunShores but the more interesting engagements to me had always been those in smaller clubs. It’s not as rigid and more familial, which is something I do prefer. A good atmosphere at your workplace and among colleagues is best for having fun and I’d rather like what I do than just fulfilling a contract.” She padded the datapad with her hand to make the point.

”So what do I like… I do like to dance and perform. I do gogo dancing for clubbings as well as showdances on stages or runways, I do free showdance as well as poledance. I have a couple of choreographies on my own and also work on some new ones but I am also open to new ideas. Music wise my personal preference is with electronic dance music but I am open to all that has good danceable rhythm.” She thought back to the days of it's a blue thing! and a soft and a bit sad smile escaped her. “Actually, I used to run a bit of a troupe on my own as a matter of fact. I was serving as a volunteer combat engineer on Cyone during the war. A few of us show girls got together and in our free time organised entertainment events for the troops stationed there or passing through. We had a couple of real stand up comedian talents there and it was a mixed kind of cabaret show with dancing, stripping, stand up and usually a bit of partying in the end.” So many dead now…
“Unfortunately the war only left a memory…. But that’s the past. So what I want to say is, I am familiar with working with others and be part of a common effort on stage as well, like duets or also bigger formations. I can fall in line or be first lyrix , whatever is called. And I am certainly not shy about anything and if it’s necessary, also quite capable of defending myself – just, you know, stuff happens sometimes in this line of work. Not that I’d expect any of that here!”

She took another small sip.

“What may be also important and of interest here is, that I prefer to stick to dancing, meaning, I do no escorting or live sex shows. I don’t mind doing private shows as long as the customer keeps her or his hands to themselves. If they do get busy there and the customer wants to get off, no prob for me, as long as I am not needed for physical assistance.

Which brings me to a couple of questions I’d like to address directly – I am sure I could find them in here” again she padded the datapad, “but I am one for direct speech, if I may…

I’d like to know what your general working conditions are in a case like mine. For example, do your DJs get floor fees from the dancers? Who manages the tipping – in a place like this I’d expect a personalized internal network - who gets percentages of them and what am I to keep in the end?
And what about the contract ending conditions? Could I end the contract at any time on my own on a prewarning or is there a special Illian exit scenario where I can be bound against my will? Sorry to ask that so bluntly, but you know, there are stories and I guess, if you tell me in your words I sure will be contented.”

“Oh, well, now I have talked quite a bit, I am sorry.” She giggled, putting one hand to her breast. “But that’s me, direct speech and all. So, that’s what there is to say about me for starters.” She leaned back and took another sip, her eyes wandering from Eafina to Daia and back, waiting in curiosity.
She was feeling quite comfortable.

"Thank you," Eafina nodded, at Taleeze's offer to share her resume. "We try not to pry into personal details, but anything you're content to share professionally could be a useful guide to us, in assessing what opportunities you might like offered up for consideration in the future." She didn't look at the resume once it was transmitted, though, simply confirming its download into her omni-tool and returning her attention to Taleeze.

"You're obviously very well versed in the business already," she noted, once Taleeze had finished her run-down of her experience and conditions. "That's good to know - in fact, that may open up a door or two. I know you're not intending to settle here in the long-term, but while you're here there's no reason you couldn't be involved in some of the behind-the-scenes organisation as well. We try to offer opportunities to our employees to branch out, if they wish, beyond whatever particular field they start out in. I can't promise anything hugely ambitious, on a short-term basis, but there are roles to fill beyond performance, and it wouldn't be unpaid work.

"So then, to start with what I expect is your most pressing concern, end-of-contract. Daia mentioned you had other, more personal business in the Terminus as well, which from what she told me obviously takes precedence over working here." She gave Daia a quick glance, then looked back at Taleeze, intent but not unfriendly. "I can set that concern to rest: if you receive news and need to pursue it, or even travel immediately, you won't suffer any legal repercussions. We have longer-term contracts with some of our escorts and performers - nothing to the extent of servitude," she quickly qualified, obviously not pleased by the thought, "but benefits we offer in exchange for guarantees of completing set employment terms, things like additional promotion, tailored support, a degree of financial incentive." She shrugged. "The contract we're offering you is strictly short-term, though - which isn't to say we won't put effort into supporting your stage career while you're with us, but there wouldn't be any obligation placed on you in exchange. Obviously advance notice, if you need to leave, would be appreciated - but if it comes to it, even if you need to cut short a dance and leave while the music's still playing... well, there are more important things than dancing."

"She's not just saying that," Daia added. "When Ana landed here, after the geth ceasefire, I was with a client, and Eafina never said a word in protest when I raced into her office, and out again. Just sped me on my way, and covered the situation behind me."

"There wasn't much to cover," Eafina noted, obviously pleased at Daia's praise. "He was very understanding about it, I don't think he'd even have insisted on your next meeting being on the house if you hadn't already set it up."

"It was only fair," Daia said. Eafina smiled, then returned her attention to Taleeze.

"That's professionally," she resumed. "On a personal note, we'll do all we can to help you in your search. The Illium Intimate Services Sisterhood is headquartered here - I don't know if you've heard of that facet of what we do, but the Sisterhood is a trade guild, of sorts, aiming to use what influence the members of the sex industry - covering performance, including non-sexual stage dance, as well as prostitution - have to raise standards of safety and practice, and discourage business owners from taking advantage of employees or customers in a way that discredits us all. Not to mention destroys lives; the negative stereotypes of the industry are all too real in much of the Terminus. It's an uphill battle, in some places, but we do what we can.

"I'd encourage you to look into the Sisterhood while you're here - there's no obligation to be a member to work here, but the membership fees are as minimal as we can manage, since the Sisterhood is largely donation-funded, and even if it's as small a thing as having an information link tucked away in the corner of any advertising we run for your performances here... well, every little bit helps. But I mention this mainly because the Sisterhood is present on quite a number of Terminus colonies and star nations - influential to a greater or lesser extent, depending on local factors, but present, and we maintain close contact with all our members. I'm not saying I'm the Shadow Broker," she said, with a self-effacing grin, "and I can't promise the hand of the Goddess to aid you. But the war left a lot of people displaced, and sometimes we've been lucky enough to have someone in the right place at the right time, to bring them back home."

She held Taleeze's gaze for a moment, then sat back, taking another sip of her drink.

"Hopefully that sets your mind at ease," she went on. "So far as the other matters go, firstly, being a performer only is quite alright. We have a number of escort/dancers, but also many who prefer one or the other, and don't mix them. You won't be asked to do anything you're uncomfortable with - and you can be assured we've taken every precaution to ensure none of our customers tries to make unwelcome advances either. It's good that you're versed in self-defence - that's just good sense - but I very much doubt you'll need it, with our security systems and staff.

"So far as fees and tips go, there's a complete breakdown in the contract. There's no floor or club fee structure, as such - we operate more akin to a cabaret than a freelance club. With the contract you'd be operating under, there wouldn't be any fees to show up for a shift - the trade-off, if you will, is that we'd ask for some pre-show time: rehearsal, prep work with DJs or bands, that sort of thing, depending on the kind of show you're interested in being a part of. We have everything from full troupe to solo acts, and we like to keep things fluid behind the scenes - if you'd like to try a collaboration with a particular musician or band we have on contract, or other performers, or be involved in a complete rehearsed stage musical, we'll do what we can to accomodate that. All we ask of you is that you perform at your peak, and we'll provide whatever support you need for that. Our employees - escorts, dancers, musicians, chefs, from top to bottom - are what our customers come here for, and we don't want to forget that.

"So far as tipping goes, we try not to be as... single-mindedly devoted to eliciting tips, let's say, as some clubs. But we encourage our patrons to be appropriately generous, and my feeling is that an atmosphere where a customer doesn't feel obligated to tip, whether overtly or subconsciously, actually lends itself to generosity, rather than limiting extra income. We have an in-house network to handle it all, as you say - not making a customer feel deliberately obligated is one thing, but obviously it's to our benefit to make tipping as quick and intuitive as possible. We'd be looking at having you an advertised performer - we handle promotion via our extranet and city network sites, and you'll have input into your advertising when we set it up - and for any shift where you're billed to appear, we consider our 'percentage' to come out of the entry charges on patrons; any tips they choose to give are all yours."

She relaxed in her chair, suddenly seeming a little more casual - she was still the more businesslike of the pair, between herself and Daia, with far more of the air of a Matron about her, but from the start, and especially now, there was a sense about her that she wasn't one to insist on formality for its own sake.

"If it all sounds very Republican for someplace like cynical, credit-driven Illium," she said, "I can't disagree... Truthfully, as a entertainment venue alone, we don't run nearly as high a profit margin as most of Nos Astra's strip and erotica clubs. There's a significant amount of internal subsidy happening, from the escort side of things, and of course the club and the Dusk Oasis agency are woven together. But Apricity's something we want to do the way it is. Somewhere that's... that's not just a strip club. Somewhere performers will be happy to perform, and patrons will know they're seeing artists enjoying their art."

She gave a little shrug, as if to say 'and there you have it', and set down her glass.

"So," she said, "hopefully that's encouraging to you. If you'd like, Daia suggested you might like to see backstage - there's nothing major in progress right now, so it'll be a good chance to get a feel for how the club works from a performer point of view, perhaps have a chat to a few of the other people you'd be working with, if you chose to join us." She shot a sly grin Daia's way. "Actually she said you had an idea for a show yourself, so this would be her way of wheedling the details out of you."

Taleeze was ready to sign the thing right away, item sold, case closed, welcome to the club.

“Oh” , she said, taking a small but thoughtful pause. “This is for real the best workplace advertisement I have ever gotten.

And… I am sorry that you where the one to bring my little … problem up.” She was looking at her boots. “Yes, you were informed correctly, Ms. Meressus. I am looking for someone as sort of a priority mission.” She faces Eafina again.

“Your generous offer and that for the help of the Sisterhood shames me a bit. But to be honest I will gladly take any help I can get to track my friend down. Freh’ya is her name by the way. I am fairly sure that she is somewhere in the Terminus Systems, staying away from Republic Space. The reason I do not know yet but she was a respected and honored commando on Nevos. I can’t imagine her becoming a mercenary or something like that, if you might think, why doesn’t she just connect the Eclipse or some other. She was Republics Commando through and through. The war did strange things to a lot of people and who knows what she saw on Thessia. You know, I may sound like a stupid maiden but there are… connections, between the weaves of space that make us feel one another. And I feel that she is out there somewhere and that she is not doing so well. She might need some orientation again, which she somehow lost and… I just love her very much.” There. Happy now, Taleeze? Yeah… happy, very happy. It was some time ago when she last said that loud. She continued on a fairly higher note.

“So yes, I am kind of taking this as it develops. But I am usually not the one for rash actions, so I do not imagine me just jumping off stage and into an adventure.” She chuckled “funny as this does sound though. As soon as I find out any more details either here or through the Sisterhood, which in fact I’d gladly join and support, I’ll talk to you first. The cause of the Sisterhood is a real important one indeed. I have seen bad things and I guess the war didn’t make life better for a lot of sex workers. Every little bit counts that improves that situation. And to be fair, it’s not only bad in the Terminus. I have also seen black beeksh among club owners on Nevos who treat their … investments not so good.”

She took a sip from the cocktail. Now she could actually need some alcohol.

“I don’t expect Freh’ya to be involved in the sex or erotic business, well, at least not as a performer, she is not like that, maybe indirectly though, security work, that kind of stuff… but prostitutes and dancers see a lot of stuff and a lot of people. She is one to stick out so maybe… maybe I’ll get another lead on her.” Her eyes went to undefined distance… but focused back on Eafina.
“But to be honest, I am now torn, because you have indeed put my mind to rest and the Apricity is an amazing club offering an amazing opportunity. The fact that you are not taking me on as freelancer but as a contract employee makes you stand out among all clubs. I only had such an arrangement with Azure Allure before to be honest. I would be proud and pleased if I could bring on whatever I have to offer to your establishment.” Taleeze flipped through the contract in her lap to a certain page that contained the money arrangement. The sums were in a range where even at a short glance she did not need to think twice. “If you are willing to take me on right from the spot, I am happy to take on your offer in the same manner of trust. I will not disappoint you and you can be sure of my honesty about my special obligation.”
That was the first time for her there was no display of arts requested in an interview. Taleeze got the impression though that Eafina would not have made an offer to her if she would have had the slightest doubt that Taleeze was up to the task for Apricity. Daias word must sure carry weight and Taleeze was once again happy about her encounter with the beautiful escort. A beautiful body and a beautiful mind and soul. Taleeze activated her Omnitool to sign the contract pad and downloaded a copy to her own data storage.
“Why play around, I am sure this is the right thing to do. And please forward me the paperwork for the sisterhood.”

She faced Daia “Daia, this is thanks to you, my friend. I really hope this gets my search along but I also hope this here can be more than just a short episode. I am committed to this and do feel an obligation. I am proud I got the chance at the Apricity.” To Eafina she continued: “This girl is really doing great advertisement for the club out there on the Extranet, you know. Although she’s the sole example of your stable I know personally so far, I am more than curious to meet them all and become a part of it. It is my pleasure.”

She handed the pad to Eafina and then finished her drink.

“Yes, I most certainly would like to see the inner workings of the Apricity! And Daia knows she doesn’t have to work me to get my ideas, I’ll gladly discuss them with her.”