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

Life has gone back to normal, they said in the news last night.
"Nevos Tourist Chamber has released the latest quarterly visitor numbers and generally the planet it seeing a normalization of tourist traffic. The festivities for the return of the Rings of Allune brought an estimated additional million of visitors over a short period..."

Blah. As if that stuff counts. Taleeze was tying a traditional rope to a pole to fix her sailig boat, the FuHa to the land in front of her house. It was dusk and the twin moons where already rising.
She just had returned from a three day tour with Rana and Ulish, the two teenage daughters of her neighbor, an Elcor diplomat whose Asari wife did not return from the war.

The two girls where holding up well and out on the sea they seemed to have forgotten the tragedy that hit them so early in their lifes. Taleeze was happy that she had company that did not want to talk bout hevy stuff or only asked about the war - the two girls never did so far - but only enjoyed the moments, the flying fish, the diving and catshing of a Retkun'Baba and preparing it for a fantastic dinner.

"Dad send a Skycar, his text says." Ulish read her Omnitool
"We gotta go" Rana, the older, punkish one was hugging Taleeze. "that was great! School sucks, this is much more interesting, Tal!."

"Be safe and tell your dad my greetings."

The skycar descended only seconds later and the two girls where gone.

Taleeze trotted back to the empty house that greeted her with it's automated soft lighting. It felt a bit as if the house VI was sensing her emotional state.

Another lonesome evening on the porch, the soft sound of the waves against the beach, wind in the palmtrees but no soul to share.

She slumped in a chair and watched the twin moons rising. Even they had company.
Tomorrow would be a day of regular job duties again to take her minds of things abut before that came a night of loneliness.
She missed Freh'ya so much and she decided then and there that she would finally do something about it.
The Asari had not returned to her homeworld, to the house the two had shared for only a brief time before the war but Taleeze was sure that the other asari was out there and she was finally ready to find out what this all was about. There must be reason why the Commando did never answer her mails despite the fact that Taleeze knew for sure that Freh was still alive and out there, she could feel her like a beacon in the night.

She would finally do something, for real. She had just discovered that CDN was up and running again. Someone must have seen Freh, someone must know something, eventually....

Taleeze was considering her next steps. She just had logged off from CDN and scratched going public with her search from the to-do list after she had seen the public reaction to such a thing coming from a quarian.
How much should she humiliate herself about this? Why did Freh bring her in this situation at all?

She needed a lead, a starting point. Maybe she could combine useful with curiosity though. Later this week she had promised a Turian to check on his weekend house - or palace more likely - near Ylica and since she went over there she could as well travel all the way to Port Sundis and check with the Defence Matriarchs Office for any records. Where was Freh'ya deployed? Where where her Credits going?

She had done this already but back then the records where almost non existent and maybe with the time passed the military archives might be more complete.
She'd take it from there, whatever she would find.

The Alarm clock rang, she had to prepare for a night show she was booked for. Taleeze decided to dance all dark thoughs away tonight.

The skycar raced back from Port Sundis in the fast lane. Taleeze had no more things to do and the sun was already going down. Maybe she would be home in time to do some work on her new Harborlights garden pool she had dug up in the tide zone in front of her beach house.
For now she had some time to think about the events of the day and what she had found out.

***
On the way to Port Sundis she had this stopover at Ylica to check on that turians house. The place sure was big and it took her longer than expected as she had a chat with a local rep who happened to be on site. All in all the place was safe.

Then she had arrived late in the Defense Matriarchs Office. Checking out personal military files were among those things that still required personal appearance as these matters of course were handeled as security relevant. As a resident and veteran she had access to what she needed and the Matriarch had told her that currently a lot of searching about records of realtives was going on. She was trying to keep all files up to date but there were still gaps that might never fill.

So, what did Taleeze find on Freh'ya.
She had left Nevos with Matriarch Sildessias unit for Thessia, so much Taleeze already knew, then the puzzle began. Obvioulsly after two engagements the whole unit - EVERYONE but Freh'ya was dead. There then was a short note about a transfer to an emergency platoon but it seems that unit was wiped before Freh arrived there. Then things became more sketchy as there was a general order issued to form combined emergency defence teams with all availabe Eclipse units. Freh'yas name was among those listed to have "officially performed cooperative ops" with them but no time or location was given. Then there was a relocation order to Earth that included her name. It was this infamous order that depleted every defence position of their major forces for the big strike on Earth. Taleeze remembered her own last fight, totally outgunned...
Anyway, obviously Freh had been moved to Earth and assigned to an Alliance Mountaineer unit as scout. But again, in the aftermath the whole unit was listed as KIA, only Freh was recorded as alive! So there was the proof, Freh had survived the war.

Then there came a little mystery. Obviusly one report was filed shortly after the end of everything about events on Thessia but officially deleted (not pulled or encrypted but wiped out, removed, made go away) and Freh'ya was listed with a "honorable mentioning" in the Asari War Scrolls! About as high as any official asari military honor could be. But for no given reason. The field was left [classified] and the names of the approving matriarchs were highest caassified. Even the Nevos Defense Matriarch could not obtain this information.

But it didn't matter since then came the real interesting part. Where was Freh now and what was she doing? She got an "unlimited leave of absence", giving her the freedom to decide on her return on her own at any time she pleased.
Her payments went to a Volus Bank account that was listed accessable in the Terminus. And were would an ex soldier that obviously did not want to have contact with his former live anymore possibly hide?

So Freh was an officially listed Asari war hero on an infinte leave with regular payments going to a Terminus based bank account. 1 1=2.
But then there was an odd thing, Freh allways disliked mercenaries, she was a classic Commando to the bones and having her cooperate with Yellowbellies was odd enough but given the circumstances on Thessia....

So there was her lead. Taleeze had to go look for Freh'ya in the Terminus. And where would an asari start? Illium of course... Daia T'Nara had practically just invited her to Illium on CDN. The plan unfolded by itself.

The skycar decended in front of Taleeze's house and instead of gardening, she went packing.

The omnitool folded together after Taleeze finished her last PM to Daia. The last call was already issued and she hurried to the gate.

Taleeze traveled light, only one large bag with a couple of stage cloths - tiny as they are they folded into next to nothing - one dress, a jumpsuit and mostly comfy clothing as well as a couple of shoes. And the Carnifex, stuffed into a boot.

She was entitled to carry a gun as registered reserve Commando and all. It had been a question that was bugging her, should she bring the gun or not. She's never been to the Terminus and most likely she'd have to go there veentually, so better safe than sorry.
_________

The cabin was not large and she shared it with 3 other asari who seemed fairly nice, two really young girls and a matron about to visit her daughter. A typical asari liner, nothing fancy and she enjoyed having company. Taleeze didn't disclose her story fully, only the part with teh dancing tour and the two younglings from then on glued to her lips and were looking at her like she was living a life they barely started dreaming about - the matron only smiled mildly over the matter.

It was funny though, cause when the lights went out and the stars outside the panorama window were visible in their full glory, Taleeze mused about why she hesitated to admit that she was about to look for a loved one.
It hit her pretty hard that night, the thought she always pushed aside. The thought that Freh'ya did not anymore return her feelings and that she, Taleeze herself, was the raeson for Freh's vanishing act...

"It's allright love. It will be good, it will be fine. Sleep well."

The matron was having the bed above Taleeze.... Matrons.
________


The ship decended to Nos Asta Spaceport. Everyone glued to the windows and in an awkward silence everyone observed the still visible large wounds from the war in this gem of the galaxy. There were large areas where the devastaion was extensive and the whole area of greater Nos Astra seems to have shifted to create a new centre in what once must have been suburbs. The healing took place like new skin growing but it left scars, clearly visible from far away, where new buildings had filled the gaps. But the closer they got, the less obvious these scars became and finally the spaceliner touched down between the spiking towers of the great Nos Astra.

It had been over a century since Taleeze had been here and back then there had never been time for sightsseeing. A lot to catch up.

After a goodbye to her three travelmetes and the checkout procedures, Taleeze hurried to the skycar terminals. Where to? Taleeze checked her PMs on the omnitool for the address.

Taleeze conected her omintool with the skycar to synchronize the address of the Apricity.

With a soft humm the car lifted from the platform and entered a traffic lane. The city was so huge, nothing like Taleee was used to from Nevos or Cyone. A bit more like Lusia, her birth world. All looked different and completely new to her, it seemed like she had never been here before.
At one point she could catch a glimpse of the jade sea through the sky scrapers, it was early afternoon. Enough time to check in at whatever place Daia would think good. Taleeze was buzzing with anticipation, on the club, the woman, everything.

After a trip that seemed like just a blink the skycar parked in front of large tower and the signs where clearly indicating the Apricity entrance. Not really a reagular hour to visit a club but maybe even better because there would not be much going on yet.

She threw her bag over one shoulder and aproached the automated door. A quick glance, the entry area raediated some class and style and looked quite big. Taleeze felt a bit out of place with her outfit, consisting just of a pair of black cargo pants and dark red t-shirt, sporting the Wildkat's logo on her chest.
There was what looked like a reception desk with a Volus behind it.
Taleeze smiled and slumped the bag to the floor:
"Hello, I am Taleeze. I'd like to meet Daia T'Nara, where could I find her?"

Tol Madan gave an amiable tilt of his helmeted head, and with a quick swipe of his gauntlet brought up a holographic display on one side of the reception desk, with information for guests on the venue's policies, legal certificates, and attractions.

"Greetings Thessia-clan," he said. "Miss T'Nara would be pleased to meet you-" hssk "-to discuss how she might best accomodate your inclinations. If you would care... oh." He broke off for a few seconds, studying a blinking annotation on the file on his own smaller screen.

"Oh, forgive me," he continued, deftly swiping through a handful of other screens, gathering information quickly. "Miss Taleeze Driana? Miss T'Nara left a note saying she was expecting you today." hssk "She has just concluded seeing a client, and will be available in no more than fifteen minutes. If you would care to avail yourself of the lounge," he indicated, with a surprisingly genteel gesture given his bulky suit, one of the several doorways leading from the foyer further into the venue, "she will be directed to you-" hssk "-as soon as possible. Miss T'Nara has covered any refreshments you may wish to select from our morning menu."

The lounge was a new addition to Apricity, an elegant, welcoming space populated with inviting couches and kaffe tables, arranged in cosy semi-circles and separated from one another by just enough trellisses supporting ssechanne vines to give a sense of privacy. Several patrons were already seated here and there - here a turian, speaking somewhat shyly with an asari employee who was smiling encouragingly, nodding now and then as he spoke, there a hanar, engrossed in studying its table's built-in holo display while absent-mindedly picking at a bowl of lippo fries with a spare tentacle. A human attendant met Taleeze as she entered, greeting her and escorting her to a couch overlooking the balcony rail running along one side of the lounge, enquiring after her order before retiring. Beyond the rail, a half-level lower down, the club itself buzzed with overlapping conversations from a dozen or so occupied tables getting a start on early lunches, while a spotlight picked out a pair of asari musicians on the stage - posed artfully on a high-backed chair, one upright, the other nestled in her lap like a contented lover, as they played a duet on Terran double bass and Lusian kyl kiak.

As promised, it didn't take long for Daia to make an appearance, and true to form she was difficult to miss. Her current attire, a two-piece suit in subdued lilac, might have been businesslike, almost on the formal side, with its turian-inspired high collar, heavy front, and firm shoulders, except that the cut of the jacket was evidently also inspired by turian style - it ended around the sternum, which on an asari, wearing no undersleeve beneath it, left quite a lot of toned midriff on display between that and the daringly low waist of the matching trousers. Worn nervously it would probably have looked bizarre; too much showing off would have made it gratuitous; Daia seemed quite at ease, as if it was quite ordinary attire, and somehow managed to make it work.

"Taleeze!" she said, reaching out both hands to grasp her guest's. "It's lovely to finally see you in person. I'm sorry I couldn't meet you down at the port, but," she waved a hand, vaguely encompassing the club, "business waits for no woman, sadly. How was your trip? Smooth flight?"

Taleeze was looking around in awe. she has seen even bigger and more luxurious places on Nevos but this one had a certain composition to it that made the impression special. It was the classy place she had expected, every detail seemed attended to, everything was carefully taken care of.

Since the attendant happened to be human, she dared place a special order without looking on the menu.
"Would you happen to have some human coffe? Just likam, no sugar."
"Of course, Madam", and of he went. Impossible to get on Nevos yet but Illium of course....

She took a seat from where she could overlook the stage below and the entrance at the same time. This display of the two musicians was great in form and tune. She wondered what the nightly shows would look like and if this would be a place to work for her maybe.

Her musings where interrupted by Daia approaching her table. Taleeze couldn't prevent a smirk because Daia looked even more stunning in real live then in the vids and her outfit was marvelous and the asari just looked sleek. She was a bit more slender than Taleeze and a bit taller, which was emphasized by the heeled shoes Daia was wearing in comparison to Taleeze's sneakers.
A great chioce to the dress and Taleeze made a mental note to do some shopping while on Illium and Daia would provide a list of places to go. Budget or not, this was an imperative.
Daia was a very likable person from the first second, her complete posture was competely open and charming.

Taleeze stood with a wide smile to grab Daias hands, which felt farm and soft. A very fine but unrecognizable scent reminded her painfully of her own sloppy getup.

"Daia, thank you so much! It's so my pleasure. The flight was fine, I had nice company, but you know how it is, you always end up tired and in need of a shower. Sorry for my lazy dresscode." Taleeze tried to straighten the T over her bosom but to no real avail. She hoped, she didn't smell!

"Do we have a bit of time or do we need to check my hotel first? I just ordered something to drink."
The atendant brought the Coffee, and Taleeze was amused over the old school terranian porcelain cup and pot - how original.
"Oh, how cute! Thank you again for the invite, Daia!"

Both asari sat down and Taleeze poured the likam into the coffee. The scent was already intoxicating.
"You look not stressed in the least though, if I may say, in fact, all the vids and pictures don't do you justice. So, what is going on on Illium, how are you doing? Whats the evil plan with me today?"
She sipped the coffee.... and holy f*** had she missed that. The first real human coffee since the beginning of the war. She made a mental note to check what that would cost on the menu later on to arrange a compensational thing for Daia.
Taleeze felt a bit of a hunger growing but this place was no burger joint so she'd rather have a real dinner later on when she was a bit more cleaned up.

Daia nodded and gave a "Hm" of agreement as Taleeze described her flight, then smiled and shook her head at the apology for her attire.

"You're fine," she assured Taleeze. "There's no dress code in the club except for special events, casual is fine. Granted, ideally that'd be a Pulsars shirt, but I don't think we'll hold that against you." She gave a wink, her eyes dancing with humour, to be sure the mock-critique wasn't taken as serious.

She looked up as the attendant returned, and thanked him as he handed her a cup of her own, in addition to Taleeze's. She made a mental note to mention that to his manager when she got the chance - she hadn't gone to the extent of arranging a drink for herself, and the man's initiative in seeing that she had one, rather than simply sitting by while Taleeze drank hers solo, was the kind of thing that marked an excellent employee.

"You're very welcome," she said, as they both sat down - a kaffe drinker by habit, she preferred human coffee black, and left the likam to Taleeze, evidently far more a connoisseur of the drink than she was from the way she reacted to the aroma. "There's no rush for the hotel. I made a preliminary reservation when you messaged me saying you were on your way, and I confirmed it just now, when I heard you were here. The Mavic Chen, in Osara - lovely place, human-owned, with a gorgeous landscaped garden courtyard."

She blushed lightly, taking Taleeze's compliments in stride without appearing to preen herself over them - her career tended to put her in the way of praise, ranging from the poetic to the graphically explicit (each appreciated in its own way, of course), and while she was gratified by the sentiment, she hoped she would never be one to let it go to her head. The invitation to reveal her "evil plan" got a wide grin from her.

"Nothing set in ice," she said, "but there's a thing or two I've been looking forward to since we spoke via extranet. Once we're done here," she took another sip of her coffee - perhaps it was the new blend the club's supplier was bringing in, but while the flavour remained more muted than it would to human taste buds, she could see what Taleeze saw in the drink more than on previous occasions she had tried it, "I have to pop back to the office. Ana's going to be heading out for lunch with a friend soon, and since I've been here this morning I'd like to catch up with her before she does. You're welcome to come along, if you'd like to - she'd like to meet you, and I can show off the corporate headquarters. Heh," she chuckled, "that makes it sound more impressive than it really is... But as bizarre as it is to think of myself as CEO of anything larger than myself, I'm proud of it."

She smiled reflectively for a moment, then continued.

"Anyway, you could probably use lunch yourself - unless you ate on the trip? Depends what the ship's timetable was, I guess. But there are quite a few good places along the way, one just downstairs from the office in fact, run by a friend. He used to run the kitchen here, while we were all cooped up together under siege. And then..." she grinned again, "after letting our stomachs settle, of course, there's a place I know up on the lakes that hires out light craft. I hope your voyage back home hasn't exhausted your appetite for sailing? Since the subject came up on CDN I've been thinking it'd be fun to get out there on a sabercat - or better, if you're in the mood for a little friendly competition, both take a single-hander waveblade and see who's faster?" She bit her lip and raised her eyebrows, then laughed. "I'll freely admit now, it'll be you, but I'm in it for the experience, so I won't get sour when you win. How's that sound, anything pique your interest?"

Taleeze saw how everyone just fell for Daia. The woman made space-time bend around around her by sheer asariness.
Instant positive and she was content with herself to befriend this woman. It would be very much fun for sure.

Taleeze was amused about Daias handling of the Coffee. One of the few human things Taleeze had studied a bit was their various procedures with this beverage. Caffein had a slightly different effect on asari than on humans but the liquid coziness was still the same.

Anyway, the offered plans sounded good and she could need a bit of flexing and putting her nose in the wind after the trip.
"I'll take your offer for some lunch gladly. They sure served something on the flight - it was overnight and two days after all, but you know, well, maybe you are accustomed to first class stuff, but this economy food is mainly filling voids. Maybe some of the stuff comes in handy when there is a hull breech."

"So yes, lunch sounds good. Are you talking about this Krogan I read about on the ExNet? I think I remember a Krogan chef mentioned for this club at one point. Too bad Ana can't join us but I sure would love to meet her too. I don't want to disturb your office or anything, but you know, i am curios." she giggled a bit "What's she doing, is she back in her old line of work or working at the same place you... run?" Taleeze had read on CDN that Ana had problems with her vision or something, as result from the war but wasn't sure about details.

"As far as sailing goes, what better way to spend an afternoon? I never grow tired of that, in fact a great idea. But I think I'll decline the matchrace today if you are not too disappointed. I've never been... no sorry, have not been to Illium in a long time and would like to enjoy the view from the sea a bit for my first time out." Taleeze looked down at the weathered Katface, grinning, with it's two large fangs, bulging over her breasts. "And yap, that would have been the 'Kats I am afraid. We never had time to see much of Nos Astra back then unfortunately."

Taleeze sipped some coffee again and looked at her travel bag that was slumping at her feet like some deflated green-grey animal.
"There is... this." She opened the zipper on the side and pulled out a small wooden box and presented it to Daia who looked a bit surprised but took it gracefully. "I don't know if you care for any of it but it is the traditial gift of Nevos, a small Rings replica. It's the self floating display version so you can personally recharge them, which is neat I think. A little appreciation of your hospitality." She smiled as Daia opened the box and sipped the rest of her coffee. It had revived her for the adventures ahead and sure improved her appetite as well.


The musicians had moved along their set and their soothing sound was like promise for a wonderful afternoon and evening.

"I've had more economy food than you might think," Daia chuckled. "I spent plenty of time travelling cheap, back when I was a Maiden - I mean, chronologically, plenty of people will tell you I never really grew up, and I'll happily agree."

She took another sip of coffee, and nodded.

"It's probably him I mentioned, yeah," she noted. "Kaga, his name is - he used to run the mobile café in our neighbourhood, back in old Nos Astra. I had a hand in talking him into trying a permanent location, once the war was over. He enjoyed working here, but he really loves being out among diners, chatting and telling stories while he cooks - the open-air café setup suits him much better, and he makes the building forecourt a lot more lively. You'll see for yourself," she added, with a grin. "We'll say hello to Ana, then go downstairs and see what he's come up with today."

Daia's smile broadened as the subject of her bondmate came up, and she cradled the cup in her lap, leaning back contentedly.

"She's working with me, yes," she nodded. "Not in either of her old jobs - she was involved in mental health administration during the war, with Health Directorate, but," the asari's expression darkened slightly, and it was obvious she was making a conscious effort not to be more visibly affected, "afterwards they went back to the cosy little setup they'd had previously, keeping management firmly in the hands of the privileged few. A lot of people who'd stepped up during the war got pushed out. And," she added, with a sigh, "she isn't up to being a dominatrix again, professionally. Without her sight, it'd be... too awkward, in that kind of situation, with someone she wasn't close to." Daia didn't want to broadcast Ana's injuries, but she wanted Taleeze to at least be aware of her blindness, so as not to give rise to any awkward misunderstandings when they met. These days, Ana was interpreting the input from her suit-based sensors well enough that, in casual meetings across an office desk or in a meeting room, a stranger might not immediately realise she couldn't see them.

"So she's working with me," she went on. "Technically for me, but that's really just a fiction we keep up for PR - it gets the company a bit of attention, having someone like me as CEO. If she was co-CEO, publicly, nobody would buy that me being there wasn't just a marketing gimmick. Which it kind of is," she giggled, "but we're a small company, we'll take any edge we can get. She's a brilliant administrator - she used to run the Anhedrax Centre on the Citadel, before she moved here. There's no way I'd have been able to manage half as much on my own."

She finished her coffee and nodded eagerly at Taleeze's notion of a good day's sailling.

"Perfect," she agreed. "Truth be told, I'm not that competetive anyway - a leisurely sail's as good as a sprint, so I'm happy either way."

She put her empty cup aside and leaned forward to accept the surprise gift.

"Taleeze, this is beautiful," she said softly, resting a fingertip on the smooth metal of the replica, nestled within its box. "I... I remember, when the news came that the Rings have been recovered - it was so unexpected, it was as if a weight had been lifted, people were smiling, and..." She shook her head, then looked back at her companion.

"Thank you," she said warmly. "I'll treasure them, truly." She looked back down, smiling at the miniature rings a moment longer, then closed the box. Seeing Taleeze's drink finished as well, she stood and offered her hand.

"Shall we, then?" she invited. "Nos Astra awaits."

Taleeze was very happy at Daias reaction to her little surprise. She hadn’t been sure if Daia already possessed one since she had lived on Nevos herself but finding that she was truly graciously surprised was making her feel good.

She could see Daia tense a bit over the subject of Ana’s condition and it seemed to be worse than what it had seemed to Taleeze. Obviousy though both where making quite a good living and doing well so it would be fine. Taleeze was curious about Ana being a quarian. How long had these guys been like the ghosts of C-Space. Nobody knew anything for real and now they where bringing in so many things. The more the merrier and since Taleeze was an engineer she shared some interest with the visorheads. She’d take it on the fly whatever Ana would be like, no need to worry.

“Oh, that is a relief! I am glad you like it. Ya, the return of the Rings to Nevos was quite a show and the old Matriarch of the Rings is like feeling 200 years younger now!” a sad shadow was shortly passing her face “Although, she’s about the only person of the old temple crew left. All the Commandos and priestesses died somewhere, Thessia, the Republics, C-Space… It will take some time, the Rings will be attended to in a proper fashion again. It’s not that I am a religious person, far from it but that’s sort of a symbol that we are still there, the asari are still there.”

She was taking a moment to look down at the musicians again before facing Daia again.
“I really look forward to the show you run there. Environmental stuff… sounds important in the face of all the rebuilding going on.” She grinned “So you are feeling inappropriate since your maiden days should now be over with getting all seriously bonded and stuff? C’m on, you look like barely 300 and should not talk like that.” She thought about the matron she hat met on the cruiser and how that woman had sensed what Taleeze was all about without even talking. “But I’m still too far off that myself to crack wise, honestly.” She klickered her eylashes a few times maidenlike.

“And yeah, you should know that I am a lazy bum at times myself, too much a maiden should be maybe. And guess what got my blue ass going? A stupid woman of all… talk about feeling of getting mature here. I am not sure where this all will end but I take it as a maiden voyage of sorts.”


Taleeze grabbed the bag and stood.
“Okidoke, then let’s go. I want to see where you do your deeds – some of them anyway – and godess, I am starving now! That Krogan better serves big plates.”

She slung it over her shoulder.
“I will look like a tramp, schlepping around this bag in all your office places but if you’re cool, I am as well.”

She took a good look around before they went outside to the foyer again.
“This place is so nice. And thanks again for taking me along."

"Inappropriate?" Daia shook her head, grinning. "Nah - or perhaps I am, a little, but if so I like it too much to stop. Truth is, I've never really paid much attention to what I "should" be - just been happy being whatever I am, and it's worked out pretty well so far." She smiled, leaning back. "Looking around at my life now, I suppose there's a lot of Matron to me, but... When I think of who I am, it's still of waking up in the morning curious about what'll happen today, looking forward to the surprise of whatever it is, discovering something new. Maiden at heart."

She giggled along with Taleeze's eyelash move, and nodded as she spoke about her upcoming journey. Not wanting to delay their departure any longer she didn't press for details, but she was sure there would be plenty to talk about over lunch, and through the afternoon.

"Oh, he does," she grinned, when the subject of Taleeze's appetite came up. "He's krogan, after all - never does anything by halves. I remember him once telling the story of how he got hired by a four-sea restaurant, back when he first came to Illium, and walked out when he found out how small they wanted their portion sizes. 'You call that a meal? A krogan would finish that before he'd even noticed he'd started eating!'" Her voice, which had slipped into a surprisingly decent rendition of a krogan rumble, albeit higher and more feminine than the real thing, returned to its usual smooth Attena tone as she laughed.

"I'm glad you like it," she said, as they returned to the foyer. "The way it started, during the war with everyone evacuated here, from old Nos Astra - a lot of us all pitching in to get things up and running, helping out wherever we could - we're proud of it, what it represents. More than just a venue or a workplace, it's... family, in a way. There are some other places - good places, worth seeing - you might want to have a look at, if you still want to arrange some performance work while you're staying here, but I think you'd like it here, getting to know everyone."

Leaving the foyer she led Taleeze down a side corridor, away from the main entrance and out onto the employee landing pad. Waiting, obedient to the signal she had sent from her omni-tool as they left the club, was what appeared to be an old-fashioned ground vehicle, with tyre wheels and all, styled with elegant curves and glossy, distinctive bodywork quite unlike the standard model aircars flitting about Nos Astra's skies in their hundreds.

"My ride," Daia said impishly, opening a panel at the rear, which proved to be a cargo compartment for Taleeze's bag, before opening one of the doors for Taleeze herself and getting in the other side.

"I had it converted before the war," she explained, resting a hand on the wheel which appeared to be the primary control; various holographic displays sprung into being, overlaying the archaic dials and gauges which seemed to have been the vehicle's original instrument panel. The vehicle's engine emitted the familiar low hum of an eezo core, but the sound it built into as the 'car lifted off the pad and flew up to join the traffic corridors was the muted revving roar of a combustion drive, rather than the reedy whine of a civilian flight core.

"It's a Terran design," Daia explained. "Found it at an antique shop, as a display piece, and I thought - you know what, I wonder how much effort it'd be to get that thing to fly. As it turned out, quite a lot," she chuckled, "but I like tinkering with engines, so it was a fun challenge. It's a regular air drive," she added, "I just put in a sonic web to make it sound like an old roadster. Not quite as roomy as a factory aircar, but it turns heads, and it's one of a kind." She patted the dashboard affectionately. "That's all it takes for me to love it."

The 'car, despite its eccentricities, settled smoothly into a traffic lane, and piloted itself as ably as any other vehicle would when Daia released the wheel and leaned back in her seat. The sun glittered on the reflective towers around them as they headed north-east, through the new commercial centres rising from a forest of cranes and construction sites out towards the mixed residential/business areas reaching out towards the shores of the Gemstone Lakes.

"You've visited Illium before?" she recalled from their earlier conversation. "Was it Freh'ya you were with then?"

As Daia led the way, Taleeze followed her throw a door that said “staff only”.
“Yeah, I sure want to polish my performing a bit while here! I was so caught up with reconstruction jobs back home that I am itching to go dancing a bit more. Only lately, as the tourist sector had recovered, there where some job offers on Nevos for performers. I was getting more money and more jobs repairing and fixing stage equipment then beining on one.”
It had been a nice change of pace and she’d seen a lot of new things while working at the spaceport project.
“But it is the show that a maiden like me likes. You can’t just dangle your feet in the water out at sea the whole day. A maiden has to flex her muscles a bit, spread the wings, shake the lekku… I’d say, whenever you get me in contact with your friends, I’ll talk to them and I’ll find something suiting. As a matter of fact, I have had some time on my hands to prepare something that I had no real chance to perform on Nevos yet, it is a bit unu…s….”

She stopped at the entry to the platform, where Daias “Ride” stood. That was fucking Tits On Wheels. A very shapely bodywork with almost female curves who aerodynamically covered a chrome and white set of wheels. Taleeze had seen such designs in technical illustrations about ancient traffic systems but never in real life.

“Wow, this is amazing!” She said, while approaching. Her hand slid along the curve of the wing-thing on the front that contained the head lights. She walked around the shiny piece of engineering from another time – and another world, as Taleeze had realized this had been a human design. She threw her bag into the compartment Daia had opened and was sliding into the passenger seat as elegantly as possible under the circumstances. She whished she’d had taken out the dress, as this would have been the proper thing for such a jewel of machinery.

“Mmh, leather seats!” In a short dress she would have felt the material to her skin, the special feal of real leather, being skin-to-skin with a machinimal. There must be other times where she could ride with Daia in this.

Daia seemed very satisfied that her little show had the desired effect, Taleeze could sense that and she could totally understand her being prowd of this ride.
Taleeze took a good view around the interior, while the thing took off – a state of the art Eezo drive.

“‘Kay, Daia, if you want to bang in the back seat, just say so! Anytime, I’ll come flying.” She chuckled. “style, girl, style.”

Daia told her a bit of the backstory, the thing being a human “car” and how she had it reworked.
“You surprise me, I’d have never thought you where interested in tech. Never judge the asari by her facemarks, huh? It turns heads for sure. A stripper’s got to ride in style, that is what I always say. May bank account not so much though at the moment.” She laughed. “you know, I actually was thinking about getting a vehicle of my own too, besides the boat. I mean, you can go a lot of places on Nevos with a boat but the continent is large and they are building new and nice scenery rideways in their rebuild efforts. But I was thinking a bit smaller, I would be one for a motorbike: I had one a long time ago but then ditched it, had no time anymore. Now I want to get into it again. I was thinking some hyper-modern but seeing this..." - and feeling the leather seat under her, she admitted to herself, “I may be looking into some vintage stuff, something I can work hands on myself. Polish the chrome and all. Maybe I can find something affordable. Humans have an eye for design sometimes.”

The traffic flow was much more intense than Taleeze was used to from Nevos. She watched the sunglares from the glass towers, overhead, the blue sky, only very little clowds.
Signs of reconstruction everywhere, a small detour, yellow blinking markers along the skyway. The Talbot was taking each curve with an elegant swing.

“Ya, I have been to Nos Astra but that was .. long before I met Freh’ya. It was when I used to play for the Wildkats. I studied at Monoi Tech. So for the away games with the Pulsars I was coming here but as I said, we had not much time. Spaceport – hotel –stadium - spaceport… Feh’ya I met much later.” Girl, now her stomach clenched a bit. She had almost forgotten this whole feeling but Daias question took her a bit off guard. She reassured herself. She was going to do something about it, she’d find the asari and find out what all was about, so fucking get a grip, girl. She continued with some more élan: “We had met playing pildavi actually though. Back home on Nevos. I was hanging out at the grounds on weekends and the Commandos used to play there too. We had a fun team of friends and coworkers and we took on those lethernecks. we stood no chance and everyone was just relying on me as the former pro but that didn’t work, only had the effect that I had all the tackles on me in an instant all the time. So basically Freh’s and my first encounter was when she heavily bodychecked me as a defensive end, that ended my game that day. Love at first strike maybe.” Taleeze laughed at the memory. “She was all sweet and was calling the next day to see how bad it had hurt and then she sent me a voucher for a spa. That’s how it began, being rammed into the dust by a giant Commando. We usually play on the same team now but still go one-on-one from time to time at the beach for fun.” It took a moment to sink in. “Ah… you know.” Another moment. “well... anyway...” She chuckeld. I’ll go one-on-one with you where ever your sorry ass hides now, Freh’ya. I am coming for ya, girl.

“So, how did you and Ana meet actually?”

Daia watched with pride as Taleeze drank in the style of her aircar. Dismantling the vehicle's essential components to donate as spares for the war effort hadn't been one of her happier moments, even if it would have been unconscionably selfish to do otherwise; it was a good feeling, once the Reapers had gone and her and Ana's situation had stabilised enough, to be able to gather up replacement parts, dig out Thel's old notes on the original rebuild, and get her beloved Talbot back in working order. Taleeze was obviously someone who appreciated style in engineering as much as she did herself - to be expected, in one who owned a craft like the FuHa.

"I've dipped in and out of all sorts of interests over the centuries," she said, when Taleeze expressed her surprise at her techy side. "Engineering - tinkering, really - has been a hobby since I was young. Mum passed her ornithopter on to me, and taught me to fly - a dawn sprite, low on the VI-assists, so learning was all about the mechanics of it, and I learned full maintenance as well. Ever since then I've enjoyed taking things apart, seeing how they work, putting them back together again - usually working again, after the first few exploratory ventures," she chuckled. "I even considered engineering as a career, when I started travelling, but ultimately I didn't really have the self-discipline to face the whole apprentice stage, starting out. Stripping, on the other hand - well, you know how it is - even as a newbie, so long as the audience likes what you do, you can experiment with something new every show. I think I'd only be a happy engineer if I got a new, different machine to work on with every job."

She patted the steering wheel, smiling.

"Mind you, something like this, that's beyond me - I helped out, but when I bought the chassis I had a friend take the lead in the conversion. He thought I was crazy when I showed him the car and told him what I wanted to do with it, but we got it done - his skill, my cheerful indifference to common sense, we made a good team. Ana's got one of her own - you'll probably see it parked when we land, another Terran one, named after a predator cat called a 'jaguar e-type'. That one I did mostly solo, but I had Thel's notes to work from, it was basically just fitting the same tech into a differently shaped chassis."

She raised an eyebrow when Taleeze mentioned motorcycles.

"Remember to mention that when I introduce you to Eafina, at Apricity," she said. "She loves bikes - proper surface cycles, no antigrav. She used to have an Auora Seven with a Maketari overdrive, it'd make your head spin to see her whip around the old Helix arena track on public days. Lovely machine... She had to leave it behind in the evacuation, sadly, but since things settled down she's started a new pet project to build its replacement - she dug up some old manufacturing stats, Goddess only knows where from, for a pre-exodus drell cycle, a genuine Rakhana design." She grinned sidelong at Taleeze, and chuckled. "We're an eccentric lot around here, you know. But we wouldn't have it any other way."

She listened with interest as Taleeze talked about her previous trips to Illium - her eyes widened as she learned that her companion was a real Wildkat, not just a fan wearing the shirt - then it was all about Freh'ya. Part of Daia regretted bringing it up, since it was obviously a painful area - she imagined how she would feel if it were Ana, out there 'somewhere', with only the vaguest indications that she was alive, no clue as to her whereabouts or state, or why she hadn't come home... if she even wanted to. But the longer Taleeze talked, the more Daia was reassured that it wasn't a situation where she should have just kept her mouth shut. She could sense Taleeze's resolve, forming as she spoke - it reminded her of what Linya had told her, back when Thessia fell and she had feared the worst, advice passed on from her own mother, coming (unintentionally, but powerfully nonetheless) into the flower of her Matriarch wisdom: if there's even a chance, you can't give up.

"I do know," she said gently, when Taleeze paused. "She sounds like quite a woman. Make sure you bring her for a visit when you find her. You will." Said casually it might have come across as an automatic platitude, but there was real sincerity in Daia's voice. 'You can't give up' - even if, worst come to worst, hope led to disappointment, Daia believed it was a risk worth taking. Better that than hopelessness.

Her smile broadened, almost without thinking, when she was asked about Ana.

"Through CDN, initially at least," she said. "I was on the Citadel, a couple of years before the war, for Bliss Festival - I was with the Illian Stars then - and there was some talk about it on the forum; she mentioned that she was going to an event night at her favourite S&M club, something along the lines of "Have fun at Bliss opening night, it's a bit tame for me so I'll be at the Authority," so you know," she grinned mischievously, "I can't resist a challenge. And," she gazed out at the skyline, remembering, "I was curious about her. She'd said hello when I joined the forum and introduced myself, we'd replied to a post or two the other had made here and there - and if you're not into hardcore S&M this may not mean anything, but back when she was doing films she performed as Lexi'Bel vas Kontrol, and knowing that I'd got hold of her films and... anyway, yeah, a chance to meet her in person, I definitely wasn't going to pass that up."

She shrugged, half-way between happy reminiscing and amused at herself.

"So, we met, had a couple of drinks, shared a table with Harrad and Cour - also CDN friends, a lovely turian couple. Cour said Ana and I made a good-looking couple ourselves at the time, so you can imagine his smugness when we got together for the same double-date later on, after I'd proposed to Ana on Earth." She laughed; Cour's 'smugness' had obviously been the friendly sort. "Anyway, after we'd had our fill of the club, Harrad and Cour headed off, and Ana invited me back to her apartment - we'd done the sending-out-signals routine without much delay, so that was a foregone conclusion by then, and... Well, a memorable night for all concerned," she finished, just a touch smug herself.

"And that might have been that - back then I had casual flings wherever the opportunities presented themselves, so that sort of thing wasn't really out of the ordinary for me... well, that 'casual fling' was out of the ordinary -" She stopped herself before she could get caught up in that kind of reminiscing. "- but, not a strange thing for me, make friends, take pleasure in one another, go our separate ways happier. Except, I couldn't get her out of my thoughts, and I didn't know until later, not really, but she couldn't either... We sent messages to one another, flirted on the forum here and there - this," she opened the high collar of her jacket, revealing a slim black leather choker around her neck, with a silver 'M' on the front, "turned up at my hotel room, a memento from her, and I took to wearing it all the time, whenever I wasn't with a client. Still do. She... the more I knew about her, the more I wanted to know more. After a couple of months..."

She glanced around, taking note of where their flight had brought them, and tapped a command on the steering wheel. The aircar dipped gently down out of its traffic lane, steering itself towards one in particular of the low-rise tower complexes up ahead. A horseshoe of shopfronts and retail kiosks surrounded a central plaza, dominated by a grand-looking tree, its branches spreading majestically out across the public space; from the ground-level building two towers rose, and atop the taller of the two was a penthouse, with an aircar pad.

"Well, long story short, she's irresistible," she resumed, grinning suddenly. "And I hadn't exactly been trying to dissuade her, even if I hadn't entirely realised what I was doing - eventually, we just had to figure out we loved each other."

'Long story short' indeed, she mused, as she took manual control and guided the 'car to its parking spot. There was so, so much more, heartache and despair and perseverence, everything Ana had revealed to her, everything she had endured to be free of her past and the demons tormenting her, so she could be Daia's - but as much as Daia liked Taleeze already, it would have been utterly unfair to Ana to reveal such private details.

"Home sweet home," she said, opening the 'car doors on auto, and retrieving Taleeze's bag for her. The landing pad, surrounded by turian-style desert garden plots, all golden sands and vibrant, hardy flowers that shrugged off the exposure of being atop a building in the open, was one side of the tower roof - the other was taken up by the top level of the penthouse, with the lower level occupying the entire floor below them.

"Ana's Jag," Daia said proudly, indicating the other aircar parked to one side of the pad, another gleaming Terran design, all streamlined curves and polished chrome accents. Even stationary and with its engine offline, the vehicle looked poised to roar into life and devour the distance ahead of it in a burst of speed. While Taleeze was inspecting the 'car, Daia flicked her omni-tool on and keyed in Ana's ident code, flagging the message as non-urgent - Ana would know it had come in, but Daia didn't want to unnecessarily interrupt her if she was in the middle of something.

"Hey, love," she said warmly - the roof's safety fields, which had glowed discreetly to life as soon as the sensors had detected someone up there, had the side effect of calming the tower-top winds to a gentle breeze, so she didn't have to raise her voice for the recording. "I just landed up top, with Taleeze - her ship from Nevos got in this morning, I picked her up from the club. We'll be down in a moment. Mwah."

Switching the 'tool off, she turned back to Taleeze, and led the way into the house. The top level was predominantly a bedroom, situated on a wide balcony overlooking the floor below - asari interior design, little in the way of separating walls between areas of the home. The door Daia led Taleeze through was separate to the bed area, which had its own door to the roof garden - the one they used opened straight onto a curving staircase, which met another from the bedroom half-way down and finished in a wide stair opening onto the lounge area,, with a kitchen to one side, and a pressure-sealed door to the other. Indicators by the door marked it as the entry to a clean-room suite, but here and there about the entire house were sterile field projectors and environmental control nodes, half-hidden by the more eye-catching decorations - art from a dozen worlds and cultures, small indoor trees, full-height display cases containing several quarian suits with elaborate, wickedly fetishistic designs, movie posters - some featuring Daia - and shelves lined with books, real print editions rather than tasteful covers containing data slates; severel of the shelves were empty, so obviously whoever was assembling the collection had ambitions to make it considerably larger than it currently was.

"Most of it's replica," Daia admitted, looking around at the eclectic collection of decorations and mementos. "The evacuation from the old city wasn't rushed, exactly, but even so it's not the kind of situation where you dawdle to pack all the odd little trinkets you collect. And," she said, with a little sigh - but if the loss bothered her, it was obviously something she had resigned herself to without too much upset, "the Reapers flattened the whole neighbourhood back there." She smiled suddenly, eyes gleaming with humour. "You never know, maybe in fifty thousand years time, some xeno-archaeologist will dig through all the ceramacrete and find our 'accessory' collection - that ought to be worth a speculative thesis or two." In among the decorations were a few hints as to what said accessories entailed - crops, a lash, silver magna-cuffs, a black silk blindfold, all arranged on the walls like display pieces.

CDN as a intergalactic dating site was an interesting thought. Bringing different races together for love instead of being a hub for racist terrorists, if only it’s original creators would know.
Taleeze took in the cityscape as the car moved through its skyways, from time to time she glanced over to Daia for a display of emontional reaction or to see the look on the other asaris face. There where a few times she had just short bursts of joyful laughter.

There were many aspects to Daia worth exploring more and she was the woman of many interests Taleeze had guessed her to be. A successful businesswoman in every aspect, a beautiful escort, a passionate and tender lover, a techy, playful and funny to be around, without any exhausting habits or traits.

Taleeze listened to the story of what seemed to be the real love Daia had found. The Woman told it in a brilliant voice with high spirits that carried a great deal of contentedness. It was clear that there were depths that should remain private and Daia already had opened up quite a bit, not just the funny parts but also glimpses of how serious this thing was to her and obviously Ana too. Lexi’Bel vas Kontrol… Taleeze had come across this name on a couple of porn sites, before the war and she grinned a bit over the thought she was about to meet her now. The concept of S&M wasn’t unfamiliar to her, not at all and there were a few thing she would have liked to know about the two of them. From all the impressions Daia gave, this wasn’t a 24/7 thing a all, as someone might have thought with a person of Ana’s - or Lexi’s reputation. But Taleeze knew that a real S&M role as a character trait was not just dropped like a coat. She doubted that Ana could have become what she had been by only acting. This was making Ana even more interesting. She wasn’t about to bring this up now though, this was her own private interest for now.

Her train of thoughts was wandering a bit, and she realized that she finally around Daia was able to put Freh’ya’s image in her mind into a fine box, kind of padded with silk on the inside, made of featherlight woods of thessian trees on the outside. She put that on her inner shelf and could be relaxed without having the slightest odd feeling. This was her mission and she was on it. There would be no burden anymore around other people. She was happy that having a new friend could lighten her heart finally. Daias supportive words, coming from her heart had helped a lot, they had been spoken in a very asari way.

“Well, then I sure am looking forward to the irresistible lady!.” She took a closer look at the choker as Daia presented it. Quite a few times Taleeze had already mused about the letter M or if it was a letter at all, and what it may mean.
“Beautiful and very classy. I noticed it on your pictures of course and was already thinking what kind of special meaning it has to you. Now it’s clear! But why an M?”

The Car was nearing it’s target, a cool penthouse obviously on a large but elegant building.
From far, Taleeze could see a fancy looking thing parked down there, as Daia explained it to her.

So both of them had such a cool piece of equipment huh?? Little bit of show-off, huh? Taleeze was making a mental note to browse the extranet for bikes and stuff finally. Maybe Eafina could give her a hint or two. She definitely needed a cool piece of metal of her own.

The Talbot was taking the last turn to the area in front of the house. It was fairly large and was a pleasant asari design, Taleeze liked it. A lot bigger than her beach house but on Nevos the beach was practically part of the living room. Anyway, this was the perfect place for those two exceptional pieces of machinery that now sat there together like incarnations of the two women who owned them: exotic erotic and powerful slickness. Well, well…

Taleeze was just laughing. "I could have guessed that, that is just too fitting.” She got around the Talbot, giving the thing a playful slap on it’s rear flank that Daia didn’t notice, to get around to the Jage Type thing. Completely different character of car but the gracing curves of the metal showed the same aesthetic value of it’s human creators.
“What a wonderful piece. You are wetting my mouth here.” Taleeze didn’t touch the Jage Type as this wasn’t Daia’s, she only let her eyes glide along the chrome trims.

Finally she followed Daia into the house. For a moment she stopped to turn around and take in the décor. Daia was a woman of books – or Ana, most likely both, hopefully both – which was a treat that Taleeze was ranking very high. If you came to someone’s home and there where books you could tell a lot about the person and the person showed a certain intellect. There were a lot of homes that did not honor the value of the written word anymore unfortunately, but this home was far from it. She noticed the excessive space. Taleeze wasn’t so rude to study the titles though. There would be times for that.

“Oh my, wonderful. This is a great place and you have a lot books I see. I love books. I always feel good in homes that contain many books. It is a home were a higher spirit is welcome.”
It was funny to guess who’s piece what was exactly and the arrangement showed some mix of obviously Daia’s and supposedly Ana’s decorations in a certain way.

“It’s really such a shame you two lost so much. So many people lost so much. Emotional value can often not be replaced by a mere artificial object.” She thought about her own loss. She had not lost a single piece of hardware from her home, but a person dear. And that must be dug out from under the rubble fast. It wouldn’t take fifty thousand years, that’s for sure. “But I see you have made quite a new home.”

Her eyes came to rest on the displayed pieces of Ana’s line of work The arrangement was a bit strange but that was the question. Was this a museum of Ana’s past or were these pieces still sometimes taken out for a ride? Taleeze couldn’t tell and this wasn’t the moment for an open question about it. Maybe she would know more after she had met Ana. But then, who could read anything from a opaque faceplate except the spoken word? Daia most likely could but she was quite the expert after all…

“A lovely place. Not to compare with my humble hut – except the view maybe which I wouldn’t trade.”

Daia grinned, and lightly touched the silver letter.

"Originally, one of her suits," she explained. "The one she happened to be wearing that night. Ana's got some fantastic styled suits, from when she was a dominatrix, they each have names and visual themes. It was just a souvenir of that night, really, to begin with. But as we got closer, we... kind of appropriated it, made it mean more, in retrospect. So it's for 'Mistress'. More real than a suit's name." It was true, in a sense - not the whole truth, but all that mattered. Daia herself had never had much to do with personal privacy - she kept clients' confidences, but that was different, a matter of business; she had always been content for as much of her own life as anyone was curious about to be freely on display. But Ana wasn't her, nor did Daia want her to be, and she felt no qualms at the white-lie-by-omission that kept Midian private. After all, nowadays it was true - Midian was a suit, nothing more powerful than that, and Ana had never given Daia cause to think otherwise.

She smiled happily, then glanced at Taleeze, continuing smoothly on. "We're not 'lifestyle', exactly, but there's a, a thread of D/s that runs through our bond. We're equal," truthfully, Ana relied on her far more than the reverse, for stability, for emotional support, "but we both know who cuddles up to whose legs on the couch at the end of a long day."

The thought put Daia in a very pleasant mood as she set the 'car down, and led the way into the house.

"We went through hard times, like everyone," Daia nodded when Taleeze commented on the war's hardships. "We were luckier than a lot, though - and if it wasn't something we went looking for, the experience of rebuilding adds a kind of... vibrancy to life, nevertheless. I like that this is our home, that we started together." She ran a hand along the edge of a benchtop, as they ambled slowly from the stairs over to the main elevator.

"It was fortunate actually," she went on. "Envirometrics started building this place as their HQ, before they ran into trouble and we wound up buying the company out. It wasn't to live in, they planned it as a top-of-the-line demonstration, something to show clients around, to wow them with the absolute best and most stylish tech they had. Most of the hardware and home fittings were already in place when we moved in - we just stuck a 'private' sign on the front door." She grinned, with a slight air of mischief, then gestured at the artfully unobtrusive clean-room technology built into the house's interior. "This entire place can be completely bio-screened and brought up to safe standard, if need be, quite aside from the sealed clean suite over there. Obviously it'd never stay clean with me in here as well, sharing the same air, and," she laughed lightly, "Ana's kind of fond of my company, so that aspect of the house doesn't see much use. But it's nice to have. Still a good tech demo, even if we don't bring VIPs up here to show them around."

She paused by one of the bookshelves, nodding at Taleeze's observation of them.

"Again, mostly replica," she admitted. "Luckily almost all my old collection was backed up to data, so refilling the shelves after the war was just a matter of getting a nice custom fabricator that can do proper paper and binding replication. I like the old-fashioned paper feel," she grinned. "Not that I can object to the convenience of having an entire library available to pop up on holo-screen wherever you want, but I've always found it very soothing to curl up with an old book in my hands."

The lift was waiting for them, opening automatically as they neared. Daia tapped the control, ducking her head in thanks as Taleeze complimented the house.

"I can imagine," she said, of the view. "There wasn't much of a view where I lived, way back when I was on Nevos, but from the rapid-rail on the way to and from work - still one of my favourite commutes, I'd just look out the window the whole way. Beautiful landscape - and the sky, it just seemed to go on forever." She laughed softly at herself, as the doors opened. "Bit of a redundant thing to say, but you know what I mean."

The floor they emerged into was fairly traditional, so far as Illium office buildings went, but even here there was evidence that Daia had put her touch on things. To one side, next to a stretch of transparent wall looking into a vacant conference room, was a floor-to-ceiling poster from Citadel XXX 2, providing considerably more colour, and barely-concealed titillation, than most companies' purposefully bland corporate art. A display case stood alongside it, containing a costume from the film, based on Justicar armour, accompanied by smaller framed images showing Daia herself wearing it, one a publicity shot with her hands wreathed in biotic flare energy as she held a combat-ready stance, the other evidently an on-set photo where her character's cool gaze was replaced by a far more Daia-like glee as she and her co-stars smiled into the camera, arms around one another's shoulders.

An asari in a well-tailored suit stood to greet Daia from her desk, overlooking a semi-circle of inviting couches serving as a waiting area.

"Taleeze, this is Vale," Daia introduced her. "She's our office manager here. Vale, Taleeze, visiting from Nevos."

"Good to meet you," Vale smiled politely, nodding and extending a hand in greeting. Each tendril of her scalp had a whisper-thin crystalline strand fixed to its outermost ridge, glittering strings of rainbows as they caught the light when her head moved. She glanced at Taleeze's shirt with interest.

"Kats fan?" she asked. "I spent a couple of seasons with the 'Skirters back at Poly."

"Kats player," Daia informed her, a touch of pride in her voice at her friend's achievement. "I didn't know you'd played top league."

"Just second line," the other asari shrugged, looking at Taleeze with respect. "I enjoyed it, pulled my weight on the team, but we had a strong lineup back then, fierce competition for the starting spots." She picked up a data pad from her desk and handed it to Daia. "Pre-vis for the nature line - Dak's not asking for final word now, but he thought we'd like a look at the direction he's thinking of going in. I had a look through the sets, I think it's solid - that's a fair sample, but I can upload the lot to your omni-tool if you'd like."

"No need," Daia shook her head slightly, glancing at the pad, which bore concept art for a banner advertisement. "You've got a good eye for visuals... I like it too, let Dak know he's on the right track." She handed the pad back. "We're just popping into see Ana, then I'll be out for the afternoon - anything need-to-know?"

"Nothing to speak of," Vale said. "Ms Therion's got all the RFP docs wrapped up, and the tech room's making good speed on the particle ricochet virtual prototype. Cadra Nor's secretary called to ask if we could put his meeting back a couple of days, but they've got room in their schedule then to accomodate us whenever suits us on the day." She glanced back at her desk as a comms chime sounded from her console.

"Thanks," Daia smiled, as Vale looked back to see if she was needed for anything else before she took the call.

"Ma'am," she replied, formally but warmly. "Nice to meet you," she added quickly to Taleeze before returning to work. Daia motioned Taleeze across to the other side of the floor, where - flanked by a pair of drell tribal scrolls - the door to Ana's office opened after Daia signalled a chime.

"Hey, you," Daia said as she entered, her voice suddenly so much warmer than the casual words would usually have been. "Taleeze is here - Taleeze, Ana'Therion vas Nedas, my bondmate." She stood to one side as she made the introductions, enough to be sure Ana's sensors would be able to clearly isolate Taleeze's presence from her own. A recent refinement to the system had added the option for 'signatures' connected to particular people, such that Daia's tactile image was given a unique pattern that differentiated her from any other person the suit picked up and transmitted to Ana. It removed the need for Daia to audibly identify herself, but neither of them were in any particular hurry to break the habit - the old cliché about other senses taking on a richer quality in the absence of one of their number had a grain of truth to it, and Ana had always liked Daia's voice regardless.

"Vale told me the documentation you were working on is finished," she said, rounding Ana's desk to lean down, gently brushing her cheek against the soft cloth of Ana's hood. "Mm, love you... Are you still on for your lunch? We're planning on going down to the plaza and seeing what Kaga can dish up for Taleeze." She smiled across at her guest. "I'll make sure he doesn't get too adventurous with the cuisine... much."

"--paste letterhead 2, edit for details. Full return, open greeting. Text field. Mr. Garibaldi, colon. End field. Full return, indent. Text field. We at Envirometrics have received the details of your discussion with our representative, open parentheses, Ms. T'Lai, close parentheses, last week and are pleased to offer you a full-range quote based on the needs you specified in that discussion. Period."

The office VI turned on an overhead light as Daia and Taleeze opened the door - apparently Ana'Therion's office was pitch black when no one else was in it. Appropriate, as sparse as it was. The desk she sat behind was flanked by a VI kiosk and a second terminal, presumably the one to which the quarian was dictating. Apart from that, there wasn't much in the way of substance: a few decorative holos here and there, and one in particular at the edge of her desk, depicting her and Daia by the Seine in Paris. Happier times.

"The prepared quote can be found at this, end field. Highlight previous word, overlay hyperlink, paste specific 1. Text field. Address, comma, where you can browse it at your leisure. Period. If you are interested in further negotiations, dash, or wish to make a purchase and finalize any details, dash, you can find them--" She looked up as the two asari entered. "End field. Save temp, close document."

Even having been told in advance that Ana couldn't see, it'd be hard to blame Taleeze for thinking she'd been tricked, at least for the first minute or so. A year of trial and error had taught her the finer points of calibrating the suit's spatial sensors, and particularly since the software upgrades let her pick out Daia specifically, this meant that the (blind) quarian looked directly at Taleeze as they were introduced. "Hello."

Despite all this, she wasn't nearly as impressive at first glance as her the buildup had suggested - barely over five feet tall, and (even with the visor masking her face) looked very, very tired.

"Love you too, Daia," Ana replied, leaning back a little into the asari's touch. Her diminutive size belied the rough, almost growly nature of her voice. It was an odd contrast. "I'm actually skipping out on Skylar today - went ahead and let her know in advance. I just need to lie down for a while, I think. Last night didn't go so well and I could use an hour or two to rest. Uh, in the meantime, though, Vale's right. RPF is done, and we just heard back from Celerity. I'll finish drafting the response to them before I take my nap." Giving her bondmate a quick squeeze, she made a shooing motion. "All right. Go get ready, love, I'll keep our company entertained while you grab whatever you need for your, ah, outing."

Once Daia had left the office, Ana leaned back in her chair, seeming to study Taleeze from across the desk. "So. Taleeze." She drew out the syllable, as if tasting it, and propped her knee up on the desk's edge next to a holo-statuette. (It depicted Lexi'Bel vas Kontrol astride a supine asari, both thighs constricting her victim's head. There was a distinct possibility it had been set out in preparation for Taleeze's visit.)

"I hope you're enjoying Nos Astra. If you don't mind me asking, what are the two of you going to be up to today?"

Taleeze had always been fascinated by the artful suits a lot the quarians wore. She had total understanding for why people would find this concept of beauty kind of erotic. A woman like Ana would most likely be able to give a new suit a new personality or become a new facet within a specific suit. As Taleeze understood it, quarians were kind of one with their suit as they where a second skin and sensorium literally. So a quarian dominatrix made total sense and she remembered a particular line of pictures she had seen of what obviously had been Ana that were very artistic and showed a cybernetic being radiating willpower and grace. She must have been good at her work and she must have loved it.

The picture forming in Taleeze’s mind was one of a very special relationship. The war had damaged so much and yet, to see that it hasn’t been able to tear those two individuals apart was a comforting thing.

“Actually, I also have a lot of paper books, even scrolls. I do prefer bindings though, for handling reasons. The smell of aging paper is something special, don’t you think? It adds to the character and the look of slight oxidation makes it feel like skin that saw something of the universe.” Taleeze laughed a bit and touched one of the volumes lightly. “I have a few that I take out on the FuHa, it’s Thessian water lyric that you can sing and recite over and over, those developed the special texture when the pages get slightly damp from my hands and then dry in the sun. I like the feel of them as well as their content.”
She chuckled.
“But don’t think wrong of me… I read the occasional girlish love-dove drama as well. But to be honest, so few good is written lately! I had to over-board a particularly bad example of foolishness and just bad handcraft recently where the sea is deepest. I think you should never destroy a book but in that case I think I did the galaxy a favour. 35 shades of blue, avoid that, if you can.”

Daia was making her way to the elevator and talked about the company and how it all had come together.

“That is convenient”, Taleeze stated when told about Envirometrics’ history. “Who better to be in the lead of such a corporation than a real life couple with the need for the equipment? It means you really care for the matter and know first hand what you are talking about.” Frankly, at first when she had heard the name, Taleeze had thought it was about some environmental rebuild or world forming stuff. Clean room buildings and procedures were among the most delicate and sensitive. Greatest care had to be taken in manufacturing and maintenance. Something you needed someone trustworthy for.

The location on top of the office was neat. Typical CEO style though, Taleeze thought, who never wanted to live at a spot from where she could see her working place. The two were living in their product in fact. That’s why she’s a CEO and I am not maybe…

A quick and exceptionally soft ride brought them down to the executive floor. Taleeze had to smirk over the special touch Daia had given her offices. Whoever wanted to deal with Daia always got the full Daia deal. One of the facts that Taleeze had instantly liked when she first had read her postings on CDN. There was no split personality, no hidden agenda or ashamed hiding of facets of her lifestlyle – which was in fact in Taleeze’s eyes perfectly normal but other species tended to differ here - and so Taleeze was after all not that surprised to see the Citadel XXX posters around.

Daia introduced the office manager to her. Her stylish wardrobe and delicate jewellery telling something about her – the more surprising came the small talk bit that Vale in fact had been a player for the Dirtskirters! Taleeze guessed the asari a bit older than herself and she didn’t want to jump on her now over that bit of info but with a certain remarkable tingle that Taleeze haven’t had in long time, she made a mental note about Vale. Maybe there would be a chance to talk some other time and find out when exactly the woman had played.

Meanwhile, Daia and Vale where discussing business and Taleeze asked herself if the assistants body shape was more that of a forward of a defence. Slender and flexible – forward she guessed.

Her musings were then interrupted and moved to a closed office door on the side, that opened on Daia’s approach. Ana’s office. Taleeze had the impression that the light just came on when the door opened but it had happened too fast to really tell.

The scene was not fancy, more practical and simple, which had style. Ana sat behind a desk that was big but not in a bulky manner. An asari design it seemed, that would make anything look light. Ana was smaller than Taleeze had thought, somewhat smaller than herself from what she could guess.

So, now for the introductions, just don’t do anything unconventional or stupid – like talking loud all of a sudden to a person that has bad eyesight.

“Hello Ana, nice to meet you.” Taleeze replied in a cheerful manner with an casual wave of the hand, as she really was happy about that.

It didn’t escape Taleeze that Ana was perfectly facing her. As a quarian she must have various possibilities inside her suit to scan the environment without eyes so why wonder? There was brief glimpses of something on CDN a while back about that but the exact details escaped Taleeze at the moment. The fact that Taleeze couldn’t see beyond the plate made it easier actually and she relaxed a bit. She would behave just as if the woman could see her until further notice.

It was funny though, the quarians could produce kind of facial expressions with their helmets on. She’d seen grim marines on Cyone for example, but Ana looked tired. Her … veil – scarf, Taleeze had no idea how they called the cloth head piece actually, was as is if was hanging a bit tired and exhausted in a funny way. But Ana was still carrying a stance that made her look like the constantly overworked but still dutiful executive.

Their business conversation and exchange of affections gave Taleeze a chance to notice the holos. When Daia had left the office to grab her stuff, the situation seemed to red-shift a bit.
In one word – presence.

The way Ana positioned herself and the odd nature of that one holo were so not exec like now anymore.

“Ya, I do, but to be honest, so far I’ve not seen much, the club and some skyway scenery. Plus of course the spectacular ride of Daia’s! She told me, yours is the other one outside? I have a bit of an interest in machinery so Daia was trying to push the button I guess.” Taleeze chuckled “And she was successful, of course, she’d be most of the time.”

By now Taleeze was sure that Ana was also up to little game of sorts. Proof being, she had not offered a seat and there were a couple of office lounge chairs around. Taleeze felt a bit like at a job interview going heavy or in the office of a superior officer at the military. Ana’s voice was pleasantly deep but you could feel that it could cut and command if Ana wished to.

This wasn’t an interview or military though so she decided to keep her hands in her pockets but involuntarily got an upright posture. Tension? Yes, definitely. Bad? Not… really.

“Well, Daia had arrangements for some lunch – and I admit, I am starving! – and later on we’re going to take a boat out to the sea a bit. Maybe one of the ways to get a greater picture of the city. I’ve been here before, but some decades ago and just briefly, so consider it all new to me.”

“I think, later tonight we’ll be at the club again, to meet some people. I don’t know what Daia told you why I’m here. It’s not mere amusement, although I admit, I could use some distraction of the senses, I probably haven’t had enough of that lately.”

Apparently, this was a satisfactory answer, because the mood in the office seemed to relax a bit. Ana'Therion let out a quiet breath and rose from her chair, stepping over to a nearby cabinet.

"Yeah, she's good at pushing buttons. Grab a seat, Taleeze; Daia does enjoy taking her time on things, and it might be a few minutes before she gets back."

She returned a second later with an intravenous module and two canisters of purified water, and as she settled back into the chair, the quarian inserted the module into the side of her helmet. One almost imperceptible "oh" later, Ana's shoulders dropped a little and she seemed to relax enough to match the conversation's shifting mood. "Water?" she asked, offering a canister. "It's sterile, but they manage to purify without making it taste all...hospital-y, for lack of a better word."

The painkillers apparently went a long way towards making these kinds of conversations more doable. It made sense; she'd been giving dictation prior to Daia and Taleeze's arrival, so Ana had probably been extensively using her facial muscles for some time now.

"Sounds like a nice day out," she continued. "The sea's beautiful this time of year. I remember when I first moved to Nos Astra - old Nos Astra, mind - Daia took me out on the Gemstone Lakes one day. I mean, quarians don't really have the same proclivity towards water that asari do; I don't think we get quite the same tactile experience out of swimming, heh. Still, it was gorgeous - the spray from the skimmer's wake, the sun glistening on the lake's surface..."

She sounded distant for a moment.

"Anyway. Daia's mentioned a little of why you're here. No details, she's a little more protective of your privacy than that, but I understand you've got some searching to do." Leaning back once again in her chair, Ana 'watched' Taleeze across the desk, her tone pleasant. "To business, then. One, Daia's friends are my friends - maybe not always socially, but my culture's pretty big on the 'support your own' thing. So if there ends up being anything you need with your, uh, personal project, anything I can do to help you - or that Envirometrics can do, I guess, but she's probably already offered that much - all you have to do is ask. I have a pretty limited capacity, admittedly, but I figured I'd put that out there in the interest of friendliness."

Slotting the purified water into her helmet's mouthpiece, she took a long swallow. The shock of cold was refreshing in her mouth and throat, of course, but it also helped her stay awake more easily, which was nice - considering there was still correspondence to draft, she probably wouldn't be getting that nap for a while yet.

"In return," Ana said once she'd drunk from the water, "all I ask is that you bring her back relatively intact and satisfied. I won't insult you enough to suggest that you need advice, but if you want it, the best place to screw her's probably going to be on the boat - waves rocking, bright sun out, that kind of thing. It goes well with her moods. Plus it's out in the open - she's kind of an exhibitionist, which you probably knew already because ancestors, she does nothing to hide it." Another sip from the water, and she steepled her fingers, seemingly looking over their tips at the asari. "You could probably also get away with it in the skycar - you're right, it is really nice, and I'd be lying if I said the backseat wasn't spacious enough. Mind you, these are just suggestions. You'll know what to do when the moment fits, I'm sure, particularly if she jumps you first."

In retrospect, this conversation had probably been doomed from the start to take an incredibly uncomfortable turn.

Ana rose unexpectedly and for a moment, Taleeze expected her to call for “attention” but then the whole atmosphere changed. Ana’s shoulders where slumping a bit and she was in no way looking as impressive standing at that cabinet as she had just minutes ago in that chair.

When she offered Taleeze a seat, she felt a bit dumb. Had she misinterpreted the situation? Nah, there definitely had been something … odd.

“Oh thanks” she replied and took a chair and crossed her legs. Soft and expensive but not pretentious.

When Ana faced her again and settled into her chair, she presented a canister to Taleeze.

“Oh, thanks, yes. I only had coffee at the club and after some time I get thirsty again after that, water is the best anyway.” She took it with a smile and opened the lid.

Taleeze took a sip while she observed the quarian drink. She’d seen marines doing it before but never that close, so she did her best to not being rude. The way Ana's posture changed after that sip… was she taking medication? Painkillers maybe? Taleeze realized she had no idea how bad the injuries might be after all and only the blindness had concerned her so far but maybe the woman before her was having another issue that was even more troublesome. The chat shifted considerably into a better direction now though.

“Actually, I have not much of a knowledge about quarians and water. I have seen turians try swimming though, it is quite a thing and kind of a test of courage for them – they were drunk and asari lifeguards on duty though.” She laughed, remembering that particular holiday group. “But I imagine, you are more capable in that regard. I am a bit of a talxu, I need water inside and out, I’d not make it on a desert planet most likely.”

Everything was moving fine, until the word “business” fell onto the table like a strange object from the dark space.

“Uh, it’s no private matter she’d have to keep from you, well at least I don’t think so.” How should she take that one?
“Actually, no, we haven’t talked about the company much and I’d never want to interfere with whatever corporate business is going on her, but thank you.” In fact, one last braincell was making a mental note. There was one thing… but the rest of Taleezes brain was kind of occupied keeping track of all the wrong turns that now happened in quick succession.

Red alert, all asari to battle station.
Taleeze was mentally double checking what she had just heard. Maybe she sat there for a moment, with her mouth a bit open, she wasn’t able to tell exactly afterwards. Is THAT what all of this was about? For one she had been totally wrong from the start, secondly, here was someone jumping guns the size of a dreadnaught and third, she need words with Daia as to what she had told Ana about her – and what not, that part would probably be the more interesting one.

The result was, Taleeze was back on the top of things again, red-shift totally gone.
She took a sip from the water and held the container in her lap while looking back at Ana across the table. Was this woman playing her or was this for real? Either way….

“So, this is what you think will happen? I must tell you though that you couldn’t be farther off the mark. I won’t screw Daia at all. I don’t care if you take that as an insult” the last sentence was spoken a bit harder than she had intended “but what I do take as one in fact is the simple assumption that there isn’t anything else than the exchange of body fluids anyone like me could possibly want from Daia? You in all the universe should most likely know better.” This ship was picking up speed but Taleeze was talking in a calm voice. “This is not why I am here and this is not what I will do with Daia today, tonight or ever. And I can positively assure you, I am able to resist any advances, should Daia really ever want to test my boundaries –which I doubt.”

She could have gone on with more and colourful words but the retro boosters fired.
Taleeze hadn’t moved a bit. She was angry and a bit sad that this encounter had gone sideways so bad. Could she be mad at Ana? She did not know a thing about her condition or medication and she did not know a bit about what problems there existed between the two regarding Daias promiscuity, so to speak. All she knew came from Daia and the few times the two of them appeared on the extranet. Maybe it wasn’t all roses and poppies in the house?

Taleeze shifted forward.
“So. Daia is yours and yours alone if you ask me. I am a friend-in-the-making if you want. And I have business here that involves looking for a person that’s dear to me and that got lost in the war. Don’t measure me with whatever Maiden Average comes by, drooling over Daia, the porn star. I am so not interested in that facet of her, you cannot even imagine. Especially not her.”
Taleeze was putting the pronunciation on Especially.

She was speaking softly now to make a final point.

“I never engage occasional with someone in a relationship like yours. You know that the asari have various levels of intimacy from casual sex to the high arts of melding. For me, each is taboo if someone is not free and Daia isn’t to me, no matter what your arrangements may be.”

She leaned back again.

“I want to be her friend, because I think she is an amazing person with a great variety of interests and fun to be around and do stupid stuff together – and not so stupid stuff because from all I know so far she has a bright intellect.”
Another small sip.
“And I’d really like to be friends with you because you are what you are to her and I value that high. My culture is big on that.”

“I promise, I’ll do all that’s in my power to return her safe and sound but don’t hold me accountable for her satisfaction.”

That’s your job.
Taleeze smiled a bit while taking a longer sip, looking at the opaque faceplate.