Two beers down and starting to feel human again, Aurin was thinking about what to order next when she felt an elbow in her ribs.
"Tall, dark, and handsome. 10 o'clock," Kairi stated, as if she were sighting for a sniper.
Rubbing her side, she looked in the direction indicated. Holding the door open while a man on crutches hobbled in was indeed a handsome, tall and dark-haired man. The left corner of her mouth tugged upward the barest fraction of an inch.
With a chuckle, her friend leaned close to whisper in her ear. "You just got in. You can have dibs."
Aurin laughed. "C'mon. I'm not that bad," she said, turning in her seat and mock-punching her friend in the shoulder.
"You know we both are," Kairi replied, elbowing Aurin in the side again. Like schoolgirls, they started giggling.
"What's so funny?" Oliver asked, looking up from the extranet site he'd been browsing on his omni-tool.
Kairi laughed harder and waved her hand in the direction of Aurin and the small group of people who had just come in the front door.
"Have we had that much to drink already?" Aurin wondered aloud, Kairi's laughter trickling off into a snicker.
"Oh hey, those're the guys I was telling you about. From the Tokyo. Hey, Jeff!" Oliver shouted, waving the group over.
The one on crutches, Jeff, turned his head at the sound of his name, squinting to identify the voice calling him from a booth at the back.
"Over here!" Oliver shouted one more time. Jeff nodded and led his group toward their table.
"Jeff, this is Kairi and Aurin," Oliver indicated the two women sitting with him at the table.
"I told you, Tam, Joker's fine," Jeff replied, collapsing his crutches and sliding into the booth.
"Yeah, yeah," Oliver waved him off. "Kairi, Aurin, the one with the bubbly personality is Jeff 'Joker' Moreau."
"So, this is the place to be?" Joker asked as he was inching around the table, more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Aurin chuckled. She'd be the first to admit the sarcasm was warranted. The place wasn't exactly run-down, but it wasn't busy. It was a bit of a hole in the wall - exactly what most Special Forces preferred after a long tour.
"If I'd known you were looking for action, I'd have recommended someplace closer to barracks. This is just where we come to unwind." Oliver said, leaving the others to introduce themselves.
The dark-haired one nodded, as if it were a sentiment he could appreciate, and was the last to introduce himself.
"Kaidan," he said, offering his hand to Aurin. His hesitation was nearly imperceptible.
"Aurin." She reached out, shaking his hand firmly, an eyebrow rising slightly at the lack of static discharge. Well, that explains the hesitation, she thought.
"Kairi." Kairi piped in, shaking Kaidan's hand in turn. There was a small flash of static electric discharge right before their hands touched. Used to the sensation, she didn't even wince. As Kaidan sat down, she shot Aurin a look that said "Well?"
"First round's on me," Oliver chimed in, loud enough for the bartender to hear.
Ignoring her friends for the moment, Aurin leaned forward. He was seated directly across from her, but she kept her voice low in case he didn't care for anyone to overhear.
"None of the enlisted L3s run as hot as I do; that makes you an L2, yeah?" She kept her expression open and friendly. Thanks to the debilitating side effects they often suffered, she hadn't been able to interact with many L2s and none of the current L3 generation biotics spiked as high as she did. She was genuinely eager to talk shop. She told herself the tall, dark, and handsome thing would just be a bonus.
"That explains the lack of a spark. Yeah, I'm an L2." Holding up both hands to forestall the usual follow-up question, he added, "Just migraines. And I appreciate the caution, but it isn't necessary. They all know."
"That makes things easier," Aurin said, relaxing as she leaned back into the bench.
"Makes what easier?" Kairi asked, pretending she hadn't been eavesdropping the entire time.
"L2." Aurin and Kaidan said simultaneously, making Kairi laugh.
"That why your handshake kicks as much as hers?" She motioned at Aurin with her thumb. "I always wondered why different biotics had different discharges. Power levels, eh?"
"Something like that," Aurin replied.
It was difficult to draw her gaze away from Kaidan. She wasn't one to have a type per-se, though he certainly ticked more than a few boxes on her list, but there was something about him. While he wore the jeans and t-shirt that had been humanity's casual uniform for the last couple hundred years, the short mohawk he kept his thick, wavy hair styled in spoke of a strong individualistic streak. He didn't display the enthusiasm of a new recruit, which meant the military hadn't been able to beat that individualism out of him. It was a stubbornness she shared.
"The usual for you three, I assume?" the bartender asked, reaching their table.
"You know it!" Kairi responded for them.
"She always like that?" Joker asked Oliver while the bartender took everyone else's orders.
"Who, Kairi? Yeah. What was that nickname they saddled you with in Basic, Kai? Cheerleader?"
Oliver reached up and caught the drink coaster a couple of inches from his face before turning back to Joker. "Never mind her. She only pretends to be offended by it."
Aurin laughed. "No matter how rough the drills from the day before, she'd be the first one up at dawn, waking us up with that enthusiasm. Rumor was there was even a competition between drill sergeants to see who could get her to cry first. I don't believe any of them ever won."
"Yeah, well, somebody had to keep them distracted from all the trouble you two were getting into. I swear. You were still sneaking out and bringing in salvage for Olly back at ICT. You know all you had to do was requisition it." She sighed and crossed her arms, her expression turning thoughtful. "Though I suppose we'd never have kept our unit together through those first few months if it hadn't been for his toys and your crazy biotic acrobatics..."
"Biotic acrobatics?" Kaidan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're just bitter because I ended your Muay Thai Reign of Terror."
"Using biotics was cheating," Kairi retorted.
"Ellison disagreed. He said it was the most useful application of biotics in a fist fight he'd ever seen." Aurin replied smugly.
Oliver nodded. "That's probably the only time that man has ever complimented anyone. After that he started pairing biotics with the other greenies to, and I quote, 'Replicate field conditions on alien worlds.'"
"That was you?" Kaidan asked, blinking in disbelief. "Everyone was still talking about that when I signed up. Kept asking if I could use biotics to fly. Wait. You can't be a day over twenty-five. How old were you?"
"Kaidan, it's not polite to ask a lady her age," the one who'd introduced himself as Adams teased.
"Eighteen," Aurin said, grinning. Kaidan's jaw dropped.
"To be fair though, I didn't fly. Just altered my mass a bit, flipped over her head, and gave a gentle biotic push from behind."
"Gentle, my ass!" Kairi griped. "I practically flew out of the ring and landed on my face. Talk about embarrassing."
With a laugh, she flung an arm over Aurin's shoulder and hugged her close. "We've been best friends ever since."
"Oh, hey, Adams," a woman named Addison interjected. "Wasn't Chakwas coming?"
"She said she had to finish up last minute reqs for the med bay. That reminds me," he said, raising his hand to call the bartender over, "she told me to make sure we found some Serrice Ice for her."
"So, Joker, how's the new ship fly?" Adams asked, a slur on the conjugation the only testament to the alcohol he'd consumed over the last hour.
Puffing up with pride, Joker responded. "You heard about that, huh?"
"I knew your name sounded familiar!" Kairi said, loudly.
"We all heard about that. Just how is it that you're here and not, you know, in the brig?" Aurin, elbows already on the table, propped her chin up on clasped hands.
"Yeah, well, that... What can I say? I'm the best damn pilot in the Alliance. Hell, probably in the entire galaxy. I couldn't leave the coolest ship humanity ever built in the hands of some second-rate pilot just because the Hierarchy thinks even less of me than the average human soldier... She deserves better."
Remembering the bits and pieces she'd overheard in the shuttle bay this morning, Aurin felt maybe his bravado wasn't entirely unwarranted. Kaidan, however, was shaking his head.
"What is it?" she asked quietly.
"He is the most skilled pilot in the Alliance," he admitted. "He holds the highest records on all the flight sims at the Academy. But he's damn lucky. The admiral was furious. He ordered the Normandy shot down. He was willing to destroy years of development on the most advanced ship humanity has ever built rather than risk its theft."
Kaidan sighed. "His gamble paid off in the end. The entire stunt impressed the turian general. He insisted Joker be the new pilot on the continued welfare of human-turian relations." He paused, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. "Shit. At the time, those of us in the command center were certain he was going to single-handedly start another human-turian war."
Interrupting his own story, Joker half-stood and began scooting around the booth. "Excuse me, gotta hit the head."
Aurin, Kairi, and Oliver got up so he could slide out.
"Everybody slide around," Kairi slurred, pushing Aurin toward the other side of the table and Kaidan. "Let Joker be the one that has to get up next time anyone needs to take a leak."
"Hey, watch it!" Aurin said to her friend, as she was all but picked up and deposited in Kaidan's lap.
When Kairi ushered Oliver back to their original side of the table and sat down across from her, Aurin reached over and thumped her on the nose. "You don't have to be so obvious about it."
"Hey, you don't hear him complaining any."
She sat back down, conceding the point. Her stomach got all fluttery when she accidentally set her hand down on his thigh. What the hell am I, twelve? she thought, quickly clasping both hands together on the table.
"Now, what was that earlier about sneaking out at Basic?" Kaidan teased, his attention focused on her.
"Well," she began breathlessly. Coughing once to clear her throat and settle those butterflies, she tried again. "It's a long st- Okay. I guess it's not really that long. Before I signed on with the Alliance, I spent some time on the str- On my own. Anyway. I used to have a friend who was amazing at repairing broken or run-down tech. So, to bring in some money I'd go out and find things. From salvage yards, mostly. Stuff that had been discarded by wealthier people who'd upgraded. Stuff that was still useful." She shrugged. "I had a knack for finding good stuff. We had buyers. It paid the bills."
Why am I so reluctant to admit I was on the streets, running with a gang? That's not something I've ever been embarrassed of before. She'd been looking at her hands clasped on the table as she talked, certain she'd never felt so self-conscious in her life. She looked up to see his gaze still fixed on her.
Having come back to the table, Joker had just noticed the change in seating arrangements when Kairi intercepted his attention.
"So, tell me more about hijacking this ship," she insisted, sliding over and patting the space on the bench next to her.
He sat, a grin spreading across his face as he began with how he'd stashed the shuttle he'd locked the pilot in.
In an effort to get herself back under control - Really. It's only been six drinks- No, seven. Crap. - Aurin tucked several strands of hair that had fallen loose behind her ear and leaned back, returning Kaidan's gaze.
"My partner and I ended up getting into some trouble. He died. My biotics manifested in a truly spectacular fashion and I ended up recruited. But old habits die hard. Kairi, Oliver, and I were in the same class. It turns out he's incredibly talented. The gear they give the recruits is, well, shit. But you know that already. So, I'd sneak out and find him better gear. Or, rather, busted gear that had potential and the tools to fix it up. It wasn't quite as sinister as Kairi likes to make it sound."
"You weren't concerned about getting caught?"
"Honestly? Never occurred to me to worry about it. Going unnoticed is something I'm rather good at."
"I find that hard to believe."
Aurin folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't… I mean…" Kaidan stammered and practically blushed. "What I meant was," he cleared his throat, "that I find it difficult to believe that anyone would not notice you."
It was Aurin's turn to blush. "Well, that's…"
The alarm she'd set earlier on her omni-tool went off.
"Saved by the bell, eh?" She grinned, tapping a command into the holographic display that popped up when she brought her left arm in front of her.
"Sorry to cut this night short, you guys," she announced to the table. "I've got an early morning. Duty calls and all that."
"Spoil sport!" Kairi called out.
Aurin chuckled and tapped a few more commands into her omni-tool before shutting it off. She reached out and touched Kaidan's wrist lightly.
"I'd love to do this again sometime," she said and smiled at him before getting up from the table.
"It was nice to meet you all." She waved to the table, turned on her heel and walked away, nodding to the bartender once before leaving.
It wasn't until they were leaving the bar an hour later that Kaidan noticed a message indicator light flashing on the wristband that was his omni-tool. He pulled it up while he held the door open for Joker to hobble drunkenly through. The message was brief; just two words, two initials, and one phone number.
Call me. – A.S.
Joker noticed the smirk on his friend's face and slapped him on the shoulder. "You've got balls, man."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaidan asked, allowing the door to close as they walked through the passageway.
Joker gestured toward his now dormant omni-tool, indicating he'd read the message.
"Aurin?" Kaidan asked, still puzzled.
"Holy shit! You didn't recognize her?"
"Recognize her? What do you mean?"
"The acid burn scar across her cheek and shoulder didn't ring any bells?"
"I noticed them, but I haven't met a single N without scars. Comes with the territory, I guess. Makes her more alluring, honestly."
"Alluring?" Joker scoffed. "Who says that? Kaidan, man, you are dense. That was Aurin Shepard. Commander," he added for emphasis, "Aurin Shepard. The bloody Survivor of Akuze."
"Oh fuck." Kaidan had the grace to appear chagrined, at least.
"Yeah." Joker tried to sympathize. "She's hotter in person, but still. No way she survived that mess without serious issues. Even I wouldn't try to get in bed with that."
"No. Not that." Kaidan shook his head, not even registering what his friend just said.
He stopped walking and quickly pulled up something on his omni-tool. Scrolling through, he found what he was looking for and held his arm out for Joker to see.
"Is that the final Normandy roster?"
"Just came through today."
Blinking in the orange light, he read what Kaidan was pointing at. Listed below Captain David Anderson and just above Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko was Lieutenant Commander Aurin Shepard.
The sound of his laughter rang in the nearly deserted passageways of Arcturus Station. Judging by the look on Kaidan's face, it was not the reaction he was expecting.
"Oh, that's rich! You've got a thing for our new XO."