Ryder tilted her glass and watched the ice slosh back and forth. She sighed, looking across the room at Kralla's song.
"You seem – lonely, no?" Reyes cocked his head to the side.
She frowned at him, "No, Reyes."
He laughed, "Not for me, you've made that clear. Just an observation." He turned in the direction of her gaze, seeing Jaal sitting at a table with Peebee, deep in conversation. He tapped his hand on the table, "I may be able to help you." He brought up his omni-tool and sent her a message. "There's a little known, shall we say, service, here on Kadara. It's for people who need to be discreet. It can be difficult for people in certain positions to meet someone. Or, maybe they need to keep their lives private for whatever reason."
She narrowed her eyes at him, "What are you talking about? Like a dating service?"
"Um, no. Not exactly. Sort of meeting others with mutually agreed upon needs to spend time together."
"Oh, I got you. No way."
He rolled his eyes, "This is not your typical Omega hotel set-up. It's high-class, and invitation only."
She leaned across the table towards him, "So that I enter the room and you're there waiting in bed with a rose in your mouth waiting for me?"
Angry, he pulled back, "Look Sara, I'm offering you something as a friend, to help you out. You've done a lot for me, and I could repay you in some way."
She looked contrite.
He leaned in towards her, "I can see things aren't working out for you the way you would like," he looked towards Jaal, laughing now with Peebee across the room. "I can see the loneliness and sadness in your eyes. Sometimes, we just want to be with someone, even for a short time, you know?"
She nodded, "Okay, I'm sorry." She took a deep breath, "Tell me more about it."
"You use a code name, all anonymous. Submit your preferences, and if you get someone interested, make an arrangement. The location is in the message I sent you, along with the main site."
"How safe is it?"
"Very, and very confidential."
"Have you used it?" she looked at him.
"Yes, I have. A few times. I wouldn't recommend it if I thought it would compromise you in any way."
"And Sloane Kelly?"
He smirked, "Believe it or not, she knows nothing about it."
She leaned back and leaned her elbow on the top of her chair, "You run it, don't you."
He smiled.
"Now I get it. So how much?"
"Ha, for you – free. And don't worry about vid or anything. If information leaked out, it would be shut down. There would be a lot of unhappy people, and I don't want unhappy people. Bad for business."
She ran her fingers through her hair, "Uhhh, I don't know."
"Think about it. And – it's open to all species."
She raised an eyebrow. That made it more appealing. "I'll check it out. And – thanks Reyes."
"Don't mention it. And – don't mention it to anyone else."
"Don't worry." She finished off her drink.
Late that night, back in her room alone on the Tempest, she felt the weight of the silence and emptiness. She had been crushed with disappointment that Jaal was not interested in her. She watched as an outsider as Peebee flirted with him, and entranced him with her loud, bubbliness and endless touching. Sure, he liked Ryder too, but wherever Peebee lead, he followed. It surprised and saddened her. She'd thought for sure he would see through her shallowness, but so far they'd only gotten closer.
She pulled up Reyes' message and looked it over. She hesitated, but finally decided to give it a try. She didn't have to go through with it, right?
She entered her information, encoded and encrypted. She spent more time thinking of a code name. She finally decided on Jane. Simple, and generic. She put in her preference – Turian. It was a long shot, but you never know. She'd never really had a satisfying relationship with a human, and a long time ago had started dating Turians. She kept it a secret from her dad. She'd confided in her brother, Scott, and he'd helped her keep it quiet. She laughed, thinking now how afraid she'd been that he'd find out. It seemed so trivial and ridiculous that as a grown woman she'd been intimidated by her dad's opinion.
She finished and sent it off, and got ready for bed. They had more to do on Kadara tomorrow, and she wanted to get an early start. As she changed her clothes and put her sleep shirt on, her omni-tool went off. She checked it – a message with Reyes' name attached. She opened it with a required corneal scan. Someone had responded to her inquiry. She felt excited, but hesitant at the same time. She read the message. Simple, to the point. A Turian male was interested in meeting her. Reyes had added a message at the end, stating this was a verified member who she could trust. She leaned back on the couch, contemplating what she should do. There were plenty of places like this not just on Omega, but on other planets in the Milky way, and the Citadel too. She'd never been to one, but knew it was not an uncommon practice for busy professionals, people who travel a lot, and don't have time to form relationships. High ranking people politicians used it frequently, as dating around wasn't an option.
"I guess that's me too now that I'm the Pathfinder." She thought about Jaal, her frustration and decided to go for it. She pressed send.
She shut her omni-tool off and went to bed. The next morning, she checked and was disappointed to see no response. "Hm." She tried to push it out of her mind as she took a shower and got ready for the day. She went to the kitchen and rummaged around, when Vetra came in, looking for something herself.
"Have a good time last night?" Vetra asked.
"Um, it was okay." Ryder replied.
"I saw you with Reyes at the bar."
"Yeah, just friends, totally." She emphasized with her hand.
"That's good. I was about to warn you about him."
"No – I had his number from the start. We have a sort of friendship going, but nothing more."
Vetra nodded.
Jaal came in, opening the cabinet and taking out some nutrient paste.
"Have a good time last night?" Vetra asked him the same question.
Ryder refused to look up at him, sickened by the thought of him and Peebee together. What does he see in her? She thought.
Jaal licked the paste off the spoon, "I had an okay time."
Vetra laughed, "That's what Ryder said."
"Really? Well. I do not like Kadara as much as other people do." He looked down and kept eating. Jaal thought back to Peebee talking to everyone and anyone in Kralla's song, getting drunk and passing out on the street.
Vetra raised an eyebrow plate at Ryder, who then finally looked over at Jaal who was quietly eating. Her omni-tool pinged and she saw a message had popped up – a response back. She felt a little nervous as she read it. He was definitely interested, wanted to set something up that day. She had a small mission in Kadara port, some supplies to replenish, that was it. "What would you guys think about having shore leave today until tomorrow morning?" she looked up at both of them.
"Sure, sounds good." Vetra nodded.
"I don't see why not. We are waiting for more intel before we can proceed to the next mission anyway." Jaal replied.
"Great. I'll send the crew a message." She smiled at them and grabbed her meal. She walked briskly back to her room to look more closely at the message. A few times were offered and she chose one for later that afternoon. She quickly got a confirmation.
She tried to go about her business on Kadara that morning, a dozen times going to cancel, but always stopping herself, because dammit, she really missed having someone's arms around her, and she deserved to feel that.
At the agreed upon time, she made her way to the navpoint, and was shocked to see a hidden entrance to a secured, very nice, very small building with a few rooms in it. A corneal scan opened a door and she took a deep breath and entered the room. She looked around, and initially thought she was alone, but movement from the darkened corner made her back up slightly.
"Jane?" a deep Turian voice asked.
She gulped. "Yes. Um, Kalen?" she remembered from the message.
He walked slowly forward. "I am for today."
She smiled. "I've never actually done anything like this before." She nervously put her hair behind her ear.
He chuckled, "I can tell." He got closer and crossed his arms in front of him. "You are very beautiful."
She rolled her eyes. He laughed, "No, seriously. You really are."
She bit her lip and got a closer look at him. He was good looking, and in shape. She liked that. Maybe this would work out.
He walked around to the couch in small room, "Would you like to have a seat?"
She nodded and sat down as he sat next to her. He started, "If you are uncomfortable, we don't have to do anything, we can just talk, spend time together. I won't lie, I'll be disappointed, but I would enjoy any time you would like to give me."
She heard a little sound in his voice that was familiar. That yearning for companionship, that ache she felt every day. She reached out and lightly ran her fingertip over his silver leathery skin on the back of his hand. "I'm getting more comfortable. I miss – this, to be honest."
His expression softened. "I do to. I have to tell you, I was very excited when I saw your request. I've had that out for a long time, and no one's ever answered it. There are few human females who want to be with Turians, and in Andromeda you're the first one I've found."
She was surprised, "Really?"
He nodded. "Have – have you been with a Turian before?"
"Yes, a few, well. Quite a few. I had a longer term, serious relationship with one, but it was over before I left for Andromeda. What about you?"
He leaned back and sighed, "I usually don't talk too much about myself, security and all. I will say I had a human girlfriend, but at the last minute she backed out of coming to Andromeda. It was a huge disappointment." He turned to her and smiled. "I'm glad you're here."
"Me too."