[Citadel] Auld Lang Syne

"Yeah yeah yeah, and I know the quarians have marines, and a military, and had been fighting the geth since forever, but most of their "fighting" was just trying not to die and ship to ship combat and hacker stuff. I mean if the Hierarchy went behind a veil for four million years or whatever we'd be like that too."

"And no, I know I'd have to do my 15 years, my dad would totally kick my ass if I didn't. He still thinks their system is the best system. I'm just wondering if it's worth it. I've been taking groundschool from Harrad and thanks to the war and stuff civilian pilot training is pretty hard to come by and Vindi won't give me the money for it. The Hierarchy though, they lost so many pilots during the war, they need more. They're taking people if you're good enough to pass their tests. I figured I can do the test no matter what, if I don't pass it's easy, but if I do I'll have to choose quick."

From the way she talks she seems pretty sure she'll pass.

"Harrad lets me fly the sims and sometimes...." She looks around. "Sometimes I think he just wants to get me hooked on it."

It's weird hearing Harrad talked about as though he were a drug dealer.

"Three-hundred. There's lots to admire in the bucketheads. They have unity and pride and each other's backs."

"Am I supposed to say that's silly?" Kayana hated it when people treated her like she was crazy. She wasn't going to treat Trex that way. "You're right. A lot about the Sundowners is just never going to be okay with him, and he wants to seduce you away from that."

"I don't think he's doing it consciously. But yeah."

She spun her drink. "Cuts both ways though. After letting Quatra get loose? Your sister could send you to flight school if she wanted to. Everyone's going to be pulling for their own side in this."

"Well you better make-up your mind, you don't want to leave this kind of thing up in the air to the last minute."

"Quatra, as in the boss who ran Kubla Khan back on Omega? She's bad news. We never had any problem with her, 'cause we were on the other side of the station, but stories do travel."

Trex thinks about that. Quatra, Vindi, Harrad, everyone pulling on her for their own ends. "I'm getting a little sick," she said, "of people telling me what I can and can't do. What they want me to do. I...I like flying. I like it a lot. But if I want to learn how, I have to put up with fifteen years of the Hierarchy telling me what to do."

...Or maybe not. Maybe she could get the money for lessons herself. There are a lot of civilian instructors out of work now that there are so few civilians with the money to learn to fly. Lessons are cheap. All she needs....is the cash.

Raelon could get it for her, but...He shouldn't be stealing. It's not right, for a holy man. It's not right, for someone trying to make a new life on the Citadel. It's not right because the money he took from Quatra paid for his prosthetics.

Trex should get her own money.

How many jobs would it take, to afford flying lessons? Two? Three?

...She looks at Kay and Itzen and Hadas and wonders what they would think. Maybe...maybe this is something to talk about with Nex instead.

So she glosses over it with, "What about you guys? I mean, Hadas, I'm guessing the priest thing is keeping you busy but Itzen, I know you're changing jobs, but not what to."

The question about his new (technically future,) job caught Itzen slightly off guard, most people tended to still want to talk about his previous job, most of the time in awkward round-about ways.

"I've got an internship lined up with Mercury Logistics, they provide in-cluster logistic solutions, that's a fancy way to say that they're couriers, but they also do last leg market customization. I'm going to be working in the main-office doing busywork they don't trust a VI with and probably getting coffee for the other people there."

The drell smiled, leaning backwards in the couch, his arms crossed behind his head. "but I'm doing that just to get work experience, and it’s a requirement to pass the course, they hardly pay me anything at the place. I've been saving up for years to afford going back to school, a reserve to cover my expenses. But you're absolutely right, you should do what you want... within reason, it's your life and you should be, if not happy at least comfortable with your decisions about it, after all you'll be living your life for the rest of your life." He chuckled, "that went a bit meta, but I'm sure you get it."

"That said it can't hurt to talk and hear other people's opinion about it," Hadas added.

"Sure, but it must remain her choice in the end. Anyway that's my job, as for him... he does priestly things. I'm Enkindled so..."

"He's secretly afraid I'm going to convert him..." Hadas added with a grin.

"No, I'm afraid you're going to spring one of your sermons on us," he looked back at Trex, "he can go on for hours and hours at a time, he would put a hanar or elcor to shame with his stamina."

"never heard you complain about my stamina before." that earned the priest a cushion in the face.

"Yeah I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Gross," she adds, sticking her tongue out.

As if this could get any weirder. Trex had just started wrapping her mind around the idea that Kay had two boys - Quatra had kept a few, actually, and rumour said there was a chieftain in the eastern mountains who had two wives (one had been declared dead but actually imprisoned, he had remarried, then the first had escaped and returned, and they'd come to an understanding) - but Hadas' comment makes Trex suspect that either Hadas, not Trex, is the chief in this house or else they're all doing each other, and the last notion is incredibly uncomfortable from a turian point of view. Where's the sense of personal pecking order when everyone can do stuff with everyone else?

Let's not think about that!!

"Kay, are you starting a family?" Trex asks instead. It seems natural to her. This is a hall now; time to fill it with kids, right?

"His sermons are getting much better and you put those cushions back."

Kay's face twisted up a little when Trex asked about kids. She looked at Hadas and then back at the turian. "I want children, we both want children, but there's no rush. These two are keeping me sensible."

Her smile was not a hundred percent happy. "When I finish with school, and if I turn this job with Krios Memorial into a permanent thing, then maybe."

"There's nothing gross about it," the blue one huffed, "it's just something that grew naturally over time due to the nature of our relationship."

"Yeah Itzen, is right but maybe we shouldn't dwell on it, let's talk about kids instead. There are no maybes with me, I'm sure there will be kids." Hadas said as he returned the cushion to Itzen, so they could be back to their right place.

"We both want children, after all" he looked at Kay with a bright smile, "so there's no reason why we won't go for it, once we're ready. "

Ever step in a minefield? Trex did, once.

...It felt a lot like this.

"Oooo-kay...." What can she say that isn't going to make this any more awkward?

"I'm ungrounded, can we go out to a club some time?"

Kayana was very glad that Trex had dropped the topic. "We could go out to a club now, if you don't mind being buffered on all sides by humans."

"If we're going to a club I'll get changed." Hadas said already standing up, only for Itzen to pull him down.

"you're fine Hadas. Now stop whining, for someone who parades around in a loincloth and does who knows what you priests do, you're really being a square over some casual wear."

"But that's different." but he relented anyway, "Okay so I guess we're good to go? As long as it's not something fancy."

Breathe, Trex, it's going to be okay. Go out dancing, just like old times, enjoy being loose from Vindi for a bit, get some space to wrap your head around this weird relationship dynamic your friend's gotten herself involved in.

Trex feels confused all over again. She'd just about convinced herself that Nex was right, that joining the Hierarchy was insane. She should be just like Kayana: go to college, get a boyfriend, prepare for a civilian job. Now she's not sure she's ready to do exactly what Kayana's done, which now leaves her wondering all over again what to do with herself.

Kayana grabbed her wallet and cards, tucking them in inner pockets. She gave Hadas a quick kiss as he held the door for her, then hung back a little so Trex could catch up.

""You up for any particular kind of music tonight? ...You know, if you wanted to call someone, that would be cool. I feel like we're ganging up on you a little."

"We could go to the Calypso," Itzen fell in step, "it's not far, and they always have a good crowd going without being overcrowded, and there's always a few turians around which means that their dextro drinks don't suck."

"Anything but turian folk. Even that pop-rock version that Battis and Ahsaala play. Can you believe they STILL get requests for "Victorious Star" every single night? They actually have a rule now they only play it once a week." Trex shakes her head. "Take me somewhere we'd never see Vindi in a thousand years."

Trex opens up her commlink. "Nex? You still talking to me?"

She's worried about him. He's been spacy and distant since he came back to Sniper's Touch, and she's afraid he's still angry about her "join the Hierarchy learn to fly" plan.

"I can very easily believe it. Please don't make that song replay in my head." She looked back and forth between Trex and her two gentlemen. "Since your sister is entirely repressed: The Calypso. We'll have you test the dextro drinks. Though aren't all dextro drinks made for the turian palate? I don't think the quarians drink."

She shut up when Trex started the call. She didn't want him to refuse because of her.

"There's a turian only bar two doors down, I figure that if the drinks at the Calypso sucked they would all go there." There was grin on the man's face.

"Well it's settled then,"

Itzen looked at Trex, and passed her a note with the address of club should Nex want to join them. Meanwhile Trex' commlink finally connected, it was audio only.

“hmm?” a deep rumbling voice replied, it sounded that Nex was groggy, not hang-over or anything, more like he just woke up, “Oh hey Trex,” he said more softly, almost whispering “talk? sure what's up?”

"Hey Nex, how are you feeling? Up to going out?" She grinds her mandibles nervously. "I know you think the Citadel is really loud and bright sometimes, I understand if you don't wanna...but my friend here has two guys with her and I haven't got any."