[Citadel] Putting It All On The Line

Daia loved Nos Astra - well, some of it, 'most' on a good day - but there was something about the Citadel, always had been; she could understand why Taleeze had chosen to stay a little while.

The Blue Line wasn't difficult to find, with their extranet site open on her omni-tool to guide her - she grinned at a familiar face and figure swaying past on the screen, amid the cycling images of the club's dancers. For a moment she thought about messaging ahead, but the impish notion took her to make her visit a surprise. Taleeze was scheduled to be in the club at the moment, and Daia didn't mind waiting a while if she was away on a lunch break, or in the middle of a routine, when she turned up. She had a certain professional curiosity about the venue as well, although no doubt to anyone who didn't know her already, in today's not-especially-revealing dress, she would look like just another customer.

The club was decently filled with patrons, some distributed at tables alone or in small groups, approached by strippers for VIP dances. Some sat along the rails lining the stage, on which Taleeze was doing her thing at the moment. A close observer could notice the flashing of her electronic garter belt when one of the patrons tipped her.

The crowd was a mix of mostly humans, mostly males, a few asari, hanar and two turians, sitting in a corner sharing a drink. This was something that would have been frowned upon before the war but these days everybody was just letting them sit and not hustle them too hard over money they did not have. Their trade off was to occupy the cheap seats…

With blowing a kiss towards her rooting audience, Taleeze finished her performance and collected her two pieces of clothing. She left the stage near the DJ booth, giving a high five to the next dancer to go up, then disappeared into the locker room.

Now she had a minute to check the tips – a decent result – check her makeup and to dress another outfit for VIP work. There had been a few guys who looked like they would be interested in more…

When she left the locker room again, her eyes scanned for newcomers and snap-fixed on a very familiar asri figure, someone she would have identified in complete darkness. With a squeal that was well audible over the music, she hurled herself at Daia!

“Heeeeyyy! What in all the tides are you doing here? Why didn’t you drop me a line?... or did you and I just fumbled it?” She was nodding towards the bar area, where it was not as loud.

"Hi!" Daia half-hugged, half-caught Taleeze. "Surprise! Actually it was a last-minute thing - was going to be next week, but I had a gap in my schedule, and the spaceline did one of their 'fly cheap' days, so..."

She followed Taleeze's lead towards the bar, glancing at her before ordering.

"Buy you a drink?" she offered. "Nothing heavy, I don't want to leave you tripping over your feet. I was thinking of trying the Lasting Jewel '39?" It was within her budget for a treat, but a somewhat exclusive import - she knew she was technically occupying Taleeze's working time, and while she was sure her friend would tell her if she couldn't spare a few minutes, she didn't want to appear to be freeloading. The club was a business, after all.

"I got in this morning," she explained. "Flying back home tonight. I'll be doing the usual small shows for Bliss, and a couple of them will need co-performers, so I've been doing the rounds of a few names Mareea with the Sapphire Alliance turned up for me. It's not going to be anything needing precise choreography or anything, but I like to get to know my co-stars beforehand a little, know what to expect on the day. All taken care of now."

She took another glance around the club, as she had done briefly before Taleeze appeared.

"Good crowd," she noted. "Looks like you get seats filled pretty reliably? Not that that's a surprise, you look good enough to eat." She gave Taleeze a mischievous up-and-down look, chuckling, then paused as a thought occurred to her. "I'm not keeping you from your regulars, am I? Don't want to get chased by an angry mob on the way back to the docks."

“No, it’s cool. I am sure as abyss not paying for a drink at my club so feel free to invite me.” She smiled and gave Daia a professional hustling look with a wink.

Taleeze gave the bartender a nod and made a casual gesture with her hand, he served two glasses of the 39. What she had just done was to signal him hi didn’t have to tone it down as he would have served it to her otherwise. Not getting drunk at work while keeping up drinking with customers was a golden rule for her but she made an exception for Daia and the 39.

“Wow, that’s a quick trip, too bad you don’t have more time, but god you came down here, you don’t keep me, it’s okay to sit for a bit.” She looked around, following Daia’s eyes. “Yes, the place is running pretty well, it’s mostly humans around here, they spend good money and aren’t too rude… usually. Also surprisingly many hanar come here for whatever reason, I love them, they usually have good money and are willing to spend. I’ve never met a hanar who was ‘just here to relax’.” She airquoted the standard excuse for when someone only wanted to be left alone and watch without spending money on dancers.
“In fact, the management is open to creativity if it generates money. New things on stage usually do, so I am all for that. I mean, that was what I was looking for. You wouldn’t believe what kind drug dens are popping up on Tayseri. This place has strict rules.”

“And just wait until someone finds out who you are. The would probably chase you but for another reason. As long as you keep me entertained at the bar and spend money on drinks, you can look just like a customer.”
She raised the glass.
“To us, Daia” and her facial expression got a bit more serious for a moment. “and to absent friends, huh?” the smile was back immediately.

"Then you're invited," Daia laughed; the order was already programmed, so she only had to catch the bartender's eye and make the tilt-hand gesture that sent it to his console. "Good hustle, by the way." It was, too, Daia reflected - the humour of the situation and the affection Taleeze had for her made her all the more attractive, but still, she had the knack of communicating through a glance like that. Daia had been on the customer side of the equation a few times over the centuries, enough to know professional allure as seen through the recipient's eyes.

"I can do that," she said with a chuckle at Taleeze's suggestion she 'look just like a customer'. "I'm a good tipper, too, you know." She took her glass with a word of thanks to the bartender and a quick flash of her omni-tool to deliver a tip as promised, then raised her hand to touch Taleeze's.

"To all of us," she agreed, meeting her gaze before taking a sip, then a longer drink. That was a good bottle, she reflected. Obviously refreshments were an accessory to the main attraction of the club, but it was a mark of a good business that you got value for money, even so.

"I do miss humans a bit at home," she reflected. "There are some - well, you know the audience mix for yourself - but before the war there were a lot more smaller companies keeping Nos Astra offices and bringing their executives in. It's mostly just the big corporations that stuck in and rebuilt afterwards - Hahne-Kedar over in Nos Aedolos, that sort of thing. We haven't exactly made ourselves welcoming to the 'little guy', as they say." She shrugged, then brightened. "Not an issue here of course - do you know what the shuttle fares are like? I hear a lot of regions down on Earth are stabilising passably well, there must be a fair bit of tourist traffic by now. Dinner and a show on the Citadel, and back home before midnight? Well," she mused, "give or take delays at the docks - but still, must be tempting."

She took another look at the stage, and its current occupant, who was generating quite some interest among the patrons seated closer.

"I've heard the stories, on the news," she nodded; everywhere had similar problems to some degree, but Tayseri was still suffering, and no doubt would for some time to come. "Trust you to land on your feet though. They're letting you improvise to your heart's content, then? What have you been up to, more magic with holograms?"

“Thanks.” Taleeze replied to Daia’s gesture. Her friend had not realized she had thought about her murdered acquaintance, how was Daia supposed to know even. She didn’t want to mention it further anyway.
“You are looking into a short trip to earth? I have to adamit, I don’t know what the fares are! But such trips exist, sure. Aside from that one short trip where Hoffmann was helping me find that part in the scrape yards I have not yet set foot on the planet, we took his shuttle for that. I guess I will only go down there for real when Skylar takes the lead. But the news are full with earth related stuff here, a lot of planet side stations are added to the holovid networks on the Citadel now. Yeah, it’s a mixed picture if you believe the media, some regions still look devastated but those that are high on the attention list are doing very well, I think you could even walk through some centers and not see any remnants of the war anymore.”

She followed Daia’s gaze to the dancer on stage.
“Yeah of course I get to show off the holocostume a lot but not only.” She pointed at her current skimpy two piece outfit with some fancy straps. She moved closer to daia and continued in a low voice.
“I am currently working on a new show, it’s in conjunction with a hanar VJ who’s a buddy of our DJ. He’s doing hanar light art programming for the costume, a song in hanar on stage. But psssst, that’s still in the works.” She continued in normal voice.
“It’s a lot of fun.”

"No specific trip plans," Daia admitted. "Just general curiosity." She took a sip of her drink and sighed. "To tell the truth, I don't know that I'm in any hurry to see Earth close up, after everything that happened..." She managed a smile at herself. "Not very mature of me, is it? But there's this little - entirely irrational - piece of me that feels, until I see otherwise, Paris is still just like it was when we were there." She chuckled and shook her head. "My little slice of stubborn self-delusion. But maybe while the festival's on and nothing's scheduled for a day we'll go somewhere new down there, Ana and I - it's a big planet."

She turned her attention to Taleeze's attire, happy for a more upbeat topic of conversation.

"Just as well," she giggled. "If you only wore holograms, I'm sure somebody would try sneaking in an EMP sooner or later. Is that new? I don't remember seeing you in it on Illium." She glanced down at her own dress. "I look almost respectable by comparison, I think I'm getting jealous."

Her eyes lit up with interest at details of the 'hanar song' being planned; she nodded and winked at the suggestion to keep it quiet.

"The secret's safe," she promised. "But if you debut it by the time I'm back here for Bliss, book me in for a front-row-centre seat, that's going to be a real experience to see. You'll have almost every hanar on the station crowding in for your shows!"

“Just go to a beautiful place, wherever down there and donate something for the rebuild of the rest.” She concluded Daia’s ruminations about earth. She wondered when Skylar would ever be ready. Well, Taleeze had time, lots of time.

Taleeze raised an eyebrow over the EMP Daia had mentioned.
“That’s get the person thrown out I guess. And it would just be disruptive, wouldn’t it? They get to see without it anyway all that would achieve would be damaging the show and everyone’s experience, cutting it short. Not what you come and pay money for I would think.” She chuckled, then sipped her drink.

“I hope we will draw out every hanar here and all the guests. Bliss is a fixed target date already, sure thing. I am negotiating use on my own discretion afterwards, I think we can arrange something. Illium and nevos both have hanar communities after all.

About the seating, the club doesn’t do reservations but I’ll make everything possible for you, that’s for sure!”

She sheifted a bit, leaning on her ellbow.
“What about you, anything bid or surprising in the making or will you stick more to seminars?”

Taleeze had noted the glances the two received from other tables. She taxed the potential to use this situation as a hook for a hustle later on.

Daia smiled at Taleeze's advice re: Earth, reminded again why she enjoyed their friendship so much - not just the pleasure of her company, but their understanding of one another.

"Hanar are a good niche to have in your pocket," she agreed, as the conversation moved on. She had some experience of her own reaping the benefits of becoming a 'celebrity', in her own little way, among a particular community, in her case Omega's krogan. Profitable as well as rewarding - and as Taleeze had already noted, hanar paid well. Attending without abiding by an expected custom like tipping would be unthinkably rude for most of them.

"I've got a few things on," she said when Taleeze asked after her schedule. "There'll be the miniseries premiere of course, various appearances in-costume and the like - and the usual round of seminars naturally - but since I'm not with the Illian Stars any more I've got more free time than the past few years. There wasn't time to prepare new shows, what with filming and all, but I've got venues booked - nothing grand, but I like the little cabaret stages, more intimate - for three shows, routines I've done before that I thought were due a revival. One I'm hoping to draw a big human crowd for, a solo act - you know, slinking around to music and so on - set to a medley of Terran jazz. I first did it a few years ago, had a giant cocktail glass to sit in and everything - not sure if I can find one on short notice again, but I've got contingencies either way. Then there's Volcanic, from last year - that's a solo explicit, with some nifty anti-grav elements - and Rite of Passage and Unstoppable, they're the ones I was 'auditioning' co-performers for earlier today." She chuckled. "Now you've got me thinking all about hanar I'm wishing I'd brought back Warm Waters from twenty years ago, but that one needed precise choreography, couldn't throw it together on stage without any full rehearsals. Ah well, c'est la vie."

She took a longer sip of her wine, and gave a satisfied sigh.

"That's really nice, we should get some at home. Oh, one other thing..." She leaned closer to Taleeze, slightly mock-conspiratorial. "If we go ahead with it I won't be advertising it all over CDN like everything else, but Ana would be happy to have you in the know: she's toying with the idea of the two of us taking part in Authority's amateur night while we're here. Nothing elaborate, just a little spot of discipline." She smiled and bit her lip lightly, reminiscing. "That first date of ours was at one of their amateur evenings, did I ever tell you? Harrad and Cour did a rope show, it was quite impressive."

“Aw, you have to be sure I have a plan of all of that early on… in fact we must coordinate! Since, I don’t want to miss things because of messed up conflicts that could have been prevented. I can already foresee Skylar and me not being able to catch everything together, so please keep me in the loop.” She sipped.
“Also some might depend on when Freh will be back. That’s still uncertain. Greetings whenever you meet Daia was what she said, so here you go.” She chuckled and got serious again. “The messages out of the Traverse are spotty, it depends on ground deployment and such but I can really see her trying to keep up with at least short notes. Also, the Alliance has a contact office… a terrible thing to say, isn’t it? But hey, commandos…” She sipped again, a bit of a bigger gulp this time.

It was obvious she was not totally easy about it but who wouldn’t be at least a bit nervous in that situation. It wasn’t the first time, it wasn’t the most dangerous mission even but Daia didn’t know that. Taleeze produced a genuine smile when she sat down the glass.

“The Authority, huh? Actually, no, you never told me about Harrad doing a stage performance there! You mean the Harrad, right? Oh goddess, I’d have liked to see that! Sure, I’d want to be there should you be on stage.” She had to laugh at remembering her first meetings with Ana and how intimidating the quarian had been. Until Taleeze had figured her out. Then a lot had changed for the better since her surgery.

Taleeze was surprised when she noticed the human male behind Daia, clearing his throat.
“Hey, uhm, Ladies…“ he waved the bartender for a round of another two glasses. He looked at Daia. “Uhm, excuse me, you’re new here, aren’t ya? I think… you know, you just look like someone I know… you totes look like a movie star.” He was smiling awkwardly, obviously not completely sure about his assumption and slightly tipsy on top of that. “I’d totes buy dances from a famous movie star and her cute friend, you know!” He was leaning against the bar now in a very boasting way, his beer dangling in his right hand, grinning at the two asari from the side… tapping a foot to the music.

"I certainly will!" Daia promised. "Actually now that I've got my co-performers lined up that's all the prep work done - I'll be locking in stage times with the organising committee as soon as I get home, and then I'll forward you my schedule." She chuckled. "Just don't feel pressured to be at every show, you and Skylar have catching up to do." Her eyes sparkled mischievously for a moment, before growing serious again at the talk of Freh'ya.

"Commandos," she agreed. "Send her my love, of course." She had only to reflect on Ana's time with the Fleet to understand the mixed feelings all too well - pride, longing. She reached across the table and gave Taleeze's hand a quick squeeze.

"I do mean the Harrad," she confirmed, when the talk moved on. "He and Cour looked very handsome in their little tiny shorts." She chuckled, and nodded warmly to Taleeze's resolution to come see her and Ana.

She turned in her seat at the sound behind her, recognising the curious human habit of 'clearing the throat' for polite attention - for a moment she wondered if she was about to meet the manager, asking who she was and why she was taking up Taleeze's time, but the demeanour of the man was instantly recognisable, in broad strokes. She uses the moment he was looking towards the bartender to glance back at Taleeze, for guidance. A second glass wouldn't bother her, and she had noticed the little gesture earlier, so Taleeze would be able to make sure this one was suitably toned down for her - but as a guest, it wasn't her place to take work here (well, an impish inner voice pointed out, she was fully licensed for the Citadel, but taking her own initiative without the management even knowing would be rude, not to mention problematic for Taleeze). Then again, she didn't want to immediately dissuade the man's interest - Taleeze was working, and if his attention could be shifted to her... That wouldn't be difficult, he had surely seen her already. Her glance conveyed the quick message 'your call'.

She turned back with a warm smile, set to charm, but nothing outright seductive.

"I don't know if I'd claim 'famous'," she admitted. "But I've had the odd role here and there. As has my cute friend once or twice, for that matter," she added, giving Taleeze a moderately sultry look. A slight exaggeration - one of those 'twice' being a behind-the-scenes consultant gig - but along with the glance, she imagined it would put Taleeze firmly in the driver's seat of the conversation.

Taleeze laughed gently. “I assume there’s no picture evidence for that stage act? I only wished the guy had more time for CDN these days…”

Then the guy spoke up. Taleeze raised both eyebrows in surprise and smiled at her famous friend and the customer. Daia was experienced enough to not jump the gun as dancing at a stripclub as a guest was heavily frowned upon and some bouncers didn’t care about your supposed ‘stardom’.

Taleeze turned more towards the walking talking credit chit. “Hey there, I am Taleeze. I’m afraid your mistaking Miss Daia here for a dancer, but she’s a guest, just like you, but sure I’d like to give a show in the VIP zone if you two can agree on sharing.” She smiled, winking over the rim of her glass – the new one that he had ordered - , blinking at him.

Dancing in the bar area was not allowed, the dancing area and the bar were separated to have clear lines of what’s what but hustle was of course possible anywhere.

“Whoa, you’re also an actress? What holos have you been in… oh, oh wait.” His brain was bit slow. “You’re Da Nara, you’re really Daia Da Narra! I knew that, ey.” he was mispronouncing Daia’s name but he obviously remembered her. “I’m Dunny, that’s a total pleasre! Wow, so you’ve already a deal with Miss here?” he pointed at Taleeze. “I don’t want to disturb you ladies having fun!” His face was somehow telling. “But maybe I could take a picture with you? Man, a pic of me with Da Narra! Hey, Miss Talice, can you take one for me? I’ll wait until you’re free then, and buy extra dances you know, that’d be awesome.” He was positioning himself behind Daia and was draping an arm over her shoulders, a bit too intimate maybe, and making a thumbs up gesture, grinning like it was his birthday.
The barman exchanged a glance with Taleeze and the asari nodded. Taking pictures was not completely forbidden but closely scrutinized. The dancer taking it was no problem though.

Taleeze had a good chuckle but took a picture with her omnitool, and made it accessible for him to copy.
“That’s way cool thanks! So yeah, uhm… you’re really cute and I’ll gladly wait my turn, Talice!”

Taleeze was sure she could empty his budget for the night single handedly. If she would take him to the VIP now, he’d leave with an empty chit!

“You know what… Dunny, why don’t you invite Daia over to the VIP, buy her another drink and the both of you some dances while she tells you about her films?” That way, technically both of them would be customers. She hoped Daia would catch the drift.

"Sharing?" Daia repeated, smiling as she saw what Taleeze had in mind - yes, that would cover all the necessary professional angles nicely. She looked back at their admirer, adopting a well-honed expression of hers, a raise of the eyebrow and slight upward curl at the corner of her lips that gave a tempting 'I'm up for this' suggestion to anyone in the proper mood.

"I'm sure we can behave ourselves and share," she purred, letting her tone of voice do more than the actual words. "It's a pleasure to meet you Dunny. I'm sure you're not disturbing us." She gave Taleeze another glance, more for effect than confirmation, since she had a good idea what direction her friend wanted this to go now. It was far too soon to guess what might specifically appeal to Dunny, but she had found it true often enough that a hint of attraction between two women - even if the women were working for the customer's benefit, not each other - rarely went amiss. It was no hardship to let a little heat filter into her gaze before she turned back to Dunny - even though it was a path neither of them would ever take, she was attracted to Taleeze, and the thought had never bothered her.

She looked to the other asari again, more stealthily this time, for confirmation that a photo was allowed. Since all seemed in order she accepted the arm around her shoulders without protest - she stopped herself from (almost by instinct) nuzzling up against the body behind her, though; he was here to look, not touch, and while she was a guest and could allow certain liberties to be taken with herself, she didn't want to imply to Dunny that he could expect anything beyond the visual spectacle Taleeze was offering. She did, however, quickly raise a hand to the neckline of her dress - a little half-circle touch in the right place on the control contact, and the fabric lock was released, letting her draw a finger down her chest, opening it up to show a little cleavage for the photo, before closing and sealing it up again afterwards with an impish grin. Given their surroundings - and what Taleeze and the other dancers mingling with guests were wearing 'fully clothed' - it was no great show, but she felt if the man was to get a photo with a 'porn star', it ought to be a good photo.

"I wouldn't dream of making you wait," she smiled, backing up Taleeze's suggestion. Under cover of finishing her glass, she mentally ran through the checklist of what customers were and weren't allowed to do here; she had consulted the club's site on her way over, out of professional curiosity. Since she wasn't a dancer (and it wasn't Taleeze she was working her magic on) that actually gave her more freedom, within reason - but she wasn't 'working', and she had made a commitment to Ana (and to herself) to reserve her personal appetites for her bondmate alone. Still, she mused, she could strike a happy medium - assist in Taleeze's enticement (not that she would need much assistance once she started dancing - Daia had seen her on stage before), and even add a little flavour of her own to the experience, without entering uncomfortable ground. She set her glass down, and gave Taleeze a slight nod, confirming she was on board with the plan.

“Righto, then please come along…” With a graceful motion, Taleeze pushed herself from the bar and with a swaying gate led the way to the VIP area in the back. A really huge muscular human bouncer in a suit registered Taleeze’s booking and a door opened into another area, private serapes with couches and small platforms, the music from the outside was audible through a first class audio system. A waitress was serving drinks to the individual booths…

~~~~~~~~

After one and a half hours, Dunny had just had the time of his life, just what he had come here for probably. He was not outright drunk but tipsy enough to be happy when he had eventually spent his last credit. He giggled childishly as he observed the transaction being registered by Taleeze’s electronic garter.

It had been a fun conversation about porn and actresses, the man had behaved and everyone was happy in the end, enjoying themselves, the man leaving the place eventually. This was what the club was here for, and Dunny would sleep well tonight.

Taleeze checked the credits. Really not bad, target for the day met.
“Hey, I am a bit hungry. Would you like to accompany me down the alley to a small burger place? I’ll slip into more comfortable boots. I owe you at least a snack now, thanks for that. It’s a bit different than Apricity, isn’t it?”