The Circe Project-Chapter 1: Night Out
Seven Days Later
Argentum Tower Residences
Draco Baryon woke up expecting to hear the sound of gunshots and explosions to continue. The eerie humming of Reapers descending, the shouts of the wounded and the dying, the yelling of a uncaring commander shouting ridiculous orders, sending them to their deaths. Yet he found nothing other than the whirring and buzzing of skycars passing by the high windows of his bedroom. The room was lit by the eerie blue light of the city— the was faint conversations from the neighbors. His shirt was damp with sweat and the time read 8 pm. Draco swore as he forced himself out of bed and into the shower. He had a "thing" with some friends that he would have to attend. He can't be late, not to that. Not after he missed almost everything that happened during the "day". He lived by the clock that everyone else on the citadel had. A nocturnal pattern, Draco could sense it, was slowly arising the past few days; made easier by the citadel's lack of a star around which it could orbit .
He got out of the shower and hit the lights. The ambience helped stimulate his brain better. He needed to get up. The collection of clothes Draco possessed wasn't fancy, but he liked to dress decently. Not too casual, neither too formally. However, he had a suit buried somewhere in his wardrobe, and he found it after ten minutes of looking through. He was out of the door in minutes and made his way down to Moonlight Park. It was a long rectangular park, almost like a boulevard. Around it were residence towers, restaurants, pubs and bars, casinos and arcades. It was a small district where Draco Baryon had come to call his home. Now he lived on the Citadel one the Tayseri Ward. Having suffered extensive damage during sovereign's attack, property prices had dropped. The Ward experienced power-out, But that changed when the reapers helped rebuild who introduced new forms of powerful technology. Home, the word had become alien to Draco for some years. But that ended when the Reapers came.
Vallian Tarkentius was made a war hero during the battle of the Miracle on Palaven. Taking lead when their commanding officer died, he commanded twenty men into a Reaper Processing ship, disabled it and brought each of those twenty back out alive. So Draco never did figure out why the Turian would give up his military career and join the Citadel Security or C-Sec forces. Maybe much like, Draco he didn't like what he saw in war. The soldier however never really left the battlefield, for in a soldier's mind daily life was a battlefield and the rules of war applied. The Turian stood at the ready, as if he was going to pull out a gun at any moment, staring at the sky. The temptation to look up was too great and even Draco didn't want to fight it, and turned his eyes to stare up at the great figure above them. It was mostly black and grey, metallic, and dotted with fluorescent blue lights. It had only been three years since these colossal beings descended upon the galaxy. Toppling the greatest of civilizations and decimating the fiercest of fleets—they would have wiped the galaxy clean.
Then came along a Alliance Commander, by the name of Shepard, who sought to unite the galaxy against the sheer power of the reapers; like a mouse standing against a herd of lions. In the end he saved the entire galaxy, but only at the cost of his own life. The people tell legends of him, since barely anyone really knew what happened aboard the crucible that fateful day three years ago. What the people did know was, once it was fired the Reapers instantly became static. Then the reapers started to help. Shepard had become an AI and now the controlled the Reapers. The Reapers helped carry supplies to the hurt worlds, they carried refuges to new worlds where they would rebuild, in some places, they would help rebuild the places they once laid waste to. So far in the three years there had been peace. It was fragile and uneasy, and built upon the assumption that anyone who went up against Reaper forces was dead—but at the very least it was peace. An new Era had begun. Before all the different species had different calendars but not anymore. The Year was 3 W.R., With the Reapers. Scholars and thinkers were still debating on the name of the new era, how some names may seem to aggressive and left too bad a legacy for future generations to look up to. He didn't care much, he was almost glad for the war however. If not, he would never be free. He had always seen these colossal beings not as an enemy, but as his liberator. Liberating him from a life that was too much like slavery.
"By Shepard's ghost! Look who decided to show up!" Draco had been so deep in thought, he was almost caught by surprise when Vallian gripped him by the shoulder. For a man who had been through so much combat he was quite cheery and social. In fact this event's of tonight were much more Vallian's idea than it was Draco's. Maybe that was why he left the military. Together they crossed the width of park, which was about five minutes walk.
"So, do you think this is such a good idea? I mean I haven't gone out with anyone since… Damn it! I can't remember the last time I had a date!" Draco said nervously.
"Relax, Casanova. It's like… like… riding a bicycle as you humans put it."
"Still though."
"Not a date in so long you can't remember. Damn! What did they do to you in—"
"Plenty of stuff: exercise, combat, all the highlights of a healthy social life." He said sarcastically.
"Something tells me you'll like the ones tonight! Unlike that night at the Black Hole Club."
"That was an accident! I was heavily…" he caught himself, and thought before he put the last of his dignity on the line, "intoxicated."
"Here we are, the Aurora!" The Aurora, was one of the more prestigious restaurants at Moonlight Park. It also served a number of Human dishes, for which Draco was grateful. Though he rather have one of the Turian dishes, than eat the stale paste that they served when he was in—"There they are." The Turian said, "I told you you'd like them."
Draco looked at the park bench on which two Asari sat chatting, they turned to greet them as they approached. "Draco, meet Tiana and her sister Yanna. Yanna, Tiana meet Draco."
"Nice to meet you, Draco." Some small talk was exchanged, and Vallian conversed with Tiana. More than he did with Yanna, it seemed clear at this point who was who's partner for the night. Draco offered his hand for Yanna, she looked away bashfully and Draco noticed a timid smiled cross her face. She took it and stood up. Walking lightly to his side; slowly as if on purpose so Draco could admire her stark white dress. It shone in the light and contrasted beautifully with her dark blue skin.
"Vallian, where are your manners?" Tiana demanded playfully.
"Oh yes! of course," Vallian took step forward, and copied Draco's moves. Tiana moved to his side and Vallian began to walk towards the Aurora. But not without whispering in Draco's ears first, "You haven't done this in how long?" Draco just replied with a wry smile and the four of them walked to the Aurora—Yanna and Tiana hand in hand, both still talking, then flanked by their respective partners. Vallian, always the smooth-talker, handled their reservations and they made way to the second floor. Where their table awaited by the edge of a glass balcony, complete with a view of both the Moonlight Park and the Citadel's four other Wards. There was even no Reapers near save that in the distance, Draco wondered if Vallian talked them into going away as well. They sat at the circular glass table and began to order. Draco ordered a Zurich Steak, and everyone on the table had agreed on a bottle of Asari honey mead. Given his lack of social activity in the past few months, Draco arrived thinking that he wouldn't need to talk much. That changed as he saw Yanna, who obviously wanted to Join Tiana and Vallian's still going conversation. He suspected that he was the reason she hasn't spoken ever since they sat down.
"So Yanna, how did you meet Vallian," Draco then knew he'd done right when he saw Yanna's face light-up softly. "I know he works at a C-Sec office Close to the presidium. So?" He made a inquiring gesture.
"Well, my sister is a nurse and I am Journalist. We both are working at the Presidium. I still just arrived—I'm still just an intern here—and I got lost a couple of weeks ago when, I just arrived. Vallian found me and he said he knew my sister. They met at night club… someplace called the Black Hole." Draco froze, and before he knew it he had started to breathe in his steak. Choking and coughing harshly he managed to get the bite sized beef out of his trachea only to find the rest of his table smirking. Draco coughed on a bite sized beef, he looked nervously at the rocks on Vallian's dish. A dish of a certain kind of fish, served with various sauces and rocks. Turians often ate rocks since their digestion was similar to that of bird on Earth.
"Excuse me, I thought I saw a umm… dreadnought pass quickly by…" Damn it Damn it, "You know that a dreadnought shouldn't pass that closely to the citadel or it would—"
"Or did you happen to hear how Tiana and I met, at the Black Hole Club?"
"Or I might have heard that… um… yes!"
"Sorry, Yanna," Tiana began to speak, "But I'm afraid that Draco here doesn't recall Black Hole Club very fondly." For the first time looking directly at Draco.
"Why is that?"
"I had an unfortunate accident that earned ill repute," Draco smiled nervously, desperate to get to different subjects. "Vallian, you never told me that was when you first met Tiana."
"Well I had decided that knowing the circumstances of when I met her it telling you about her should wait until you actually met her."
"Yes, Vallian was afraid that you might be reluctant to see me knowing I was actually there that night." Tiana chimed in.
"You were there that night!" Draco exclaimed.
"More wine anybody?" Vallian ventured.
"Yes I was." Tiana said still to Draco.
"Did I… by any chance…" Draco asked still remembering fragments of the ill fated trip to the Black Hole Club.
"No you didn't," Draco blushed with relief, "No, in fact, I was quite entertained."
"Can anyone please tell me what happened?" Yanna asked, still feeling left out a little.
"Wine? Anybody?" Vallian ventured again, sensing the situation deteriorate little by little.
"Well it happened some months ago when—" Tiana began to continue her story
"I think that the less you know, the better, " Draco jumped making a move for Yanna's hand almost involuntarily. Her head turned sharply when he did, but when she saw him holding her hand and trying to put on the most convincing look he could, the alertness broke.
She smiled, "Well, I guess. But don't think that I don't want to hear the rest of you story."
"Actually, why don't you just let me finish, this is one story to remember," Tiana continued. "Ohh… you should have been there to see him. Going at them like—"
"I thought she told you no," Draco replied.
"Actually I don't mind," Yanna continued, enjoying the opportunity to tease Draco.
"Hey everybody," Vallian said loudly enough, that some of the other table's turned to look over. "I think we should get another glass of wine? Don't you think so, Draco?"
"Maybe something stronger," Draco muttered.
"What was that?"
"Yes, another bottle of wine would do well." Draco said throwing Yanna a questioning look. The two Asari nodded in reply and the conversation went on to talk about latest news on the Citadel. Since Vallian was a part of C-Sec he often had some interesting news. Draco found most of it uninteresting, he only really listen to one. Something about a incident on the other Wards. C-Sec some supposedly mafia-linked attacks on property. Draco was haunted by combat. Nightmares would still haunt him. The more he thought about it though, it scared him to find out he still longed for it.