A/N 1: First of all: thanks A LOT for all your encouragement and reviews (boy, did I need them... :) ), you guys rock!
Guess what day it is, my dear readers... That's right, it's Soon-I'm-off-to-play-the-new-Citadel-DLC-day! But before that (and most of all, to celebrate it), I've got a new interlude for you... :)
By the way, I'm sorry for all those interludes, but for me they're a way to cover the times Liara and Shepard are apart (since, let's be honest, those two together should be considered the main story...), though they will be apart for the next few chapters anyway, so let's just look at them as one big interlude... :)
As for the plot: Part I will mainly focus on the two characters, giving you a chance to get to know them before they get tossed out into the big, dark galaxy in the following parts...
And, at last, the first character appearing will be revealed and it's... Guess you'll have to read and see for yourself... ;) enjoy...
Interlude III
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"So... I've seen someone leave your apartment early this morning..."
Startled by the voice behind her, Liara spun around to see Jenna standing a few feet away in the otherwise empty hallway, grinning suggestively.
Sighing, Liara turned back to her door to lock it, shaking her head with a sigh. Of course you have...
When the silence continued even as Liara stepped away from her apartment door, Jenna linked arms with her and pulled her down the hallway, still grinning. "Well?" she asked, eyeing the asari curiously.
Liara shook her head, keeping her eyes straight ahead as they walked down the stairs of their apartment building. "I don't see why this would be of any concern to you..." she answered, making sure to keep her voice soft despite the nervous flutter in her stomach.
"Oh come on, it's been so long! And you always tell me about stuff like that... Is it someone I know? It was kinda hard to tell in the dimmed light of the hallway..." Jenna's grip on Liara's arm tightened and she gave a mocking gasp. "Is it a customer? You know we're not allowed to take them home... If Torek hears about this..."
"He won't hear about it unless a nosy dancer tells him..." Liara declared, shooting her friend a warning glare. The human simply shrugged, obviously unimpressed by the threat.
They stepped out of the cool apartment building and were immediately met by the early afternoon sun, promising a friendly day they would once again spend in the dimmed, stuffy night club they were currently headed to.
A few aliens passed by, not paying them much thought while the duo scanned the sky above them for a skycab. Liara was the first to spot one of the shabby vehicles and waved it down, silently praying for a capable driver this time...
But despite all of this, Liara couldn't stop a happy sigh to escape her when memories of last night ran through her head while they waited for the skycab to set down in front of them. She quickly turned away, however, feigning to rummage through her bag to hide her smile from Jenna's suspicious gaze next to her. "Besides," she murmured into her bag, "Technically she's not a customer..."
Jenna's face lit up immediately. "Ooh, there we go... Don't worry, we'll have more than enough time 'til we reach work for you to tell me everything..."
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"I'll pay you double if we reach the planet within the next solar day."
The pilot's eyes widened at her offer and Shepard couldn't hide her triumphant smile any longer. She knew she had him...
Scratching his beard, the man grinned at her as he announced, "Lady, for that sum you could have the whole damn ship..."
"That won't be necessary." Shepard's eyes wandered over the ship's interior, a skeptical eyebrow raised. Judging by the vehicle's exterior, she hadn't been surprised by the sorry state its interior was in, but she still took the time to inspect it while the pilot seemed to be occupied with his preparations...
Crammed in the small space were three more seats – obviously added later on, judging by their light rocking movement every time the noise of another ship landing or taking off reverberated through the hangar – and it was obvious that the pilot spent a lot of time in his ship, as indicated by the blanket and pillow stowed away in the rearmost corner of the ship. Other than that, the ground was littered with datapads, empty and half-empty bottles, empty food cans and the occasional item of clothing in its respective state of cleanness... all of it only adding to the ship's unique charm, which was exactly why she'd chosen it in the first place.
There were a lot of other ships docked at the hangar, but Shepard had quickly learned that, the better the state a ship, the lower her chances of convincing the pilot to bring her to her destination without waiting for more passengers to arrive and thus increase his payment...
So she had settled for an old, shabby ship hidden in a dark corner of the landing area after observing the ship's pilot for a while. He didn't move much, but judging by the effort it had taken him to simply sit down on the edge of the ship's opened hatch, she assumed it must have something to do with his obvious limp. The entire time Shepard had watched him, he hadn't strayed away from his ship once, which had been reason number two she'd chosen him; it seemed they both shared the need to get away from this place as quickly as possible...
Reason number three was harder to put into words... There had been something about the man that had told her he was the right one for the job. Competent enough to get her where she wanted to go and discreet enough to keep his mouth shut for the right prize – she had spent enough time of her life in the dark corners of the galaxy to know she could simply trust her instinct on this. Plus there was a certain gleam in the man's eyes, partially hidden in the shadow of his cap, that told her he'd have a lot of interesting stories to tell – a detail not to be underestimated for a flight that would take them this long...
So she had approached the man, had waited patiently while he'd eyed her – which she deemed only fair– before, after a few exchanged words, he'd crawled back into the pilot seat where he was now sitting in, nodding to himself.
"Good, 'cause it's crap anyway..." he murmured while reaching under his seat to produce a datapad which, after being activated, flashed the promising words 'manual'... Scratching his beard with his free hand, he scrolled through it. "I doubt anyone but me would be able to fly it anyway..." Obviously having found what he'd been looking for, he distractedly motioned towards the back of the ship. "Just take a seat and we're off..."
Shepard nodded and approached the nearest seat, bending down to pick up a datapad momentarily occupying it. Upon touching its shabby display, it flickered to life and a smile started tugging at her lips as she turned back to the pilot who was already steering his way through the crowded docking area.
"Fornax?" she asked, her eyebrow raised in amusement as she sat down.
"Asari Special," the pilot added. He turned in his seat as soon as they were on the right track, shooting through the darkness towards the faint, blue glow of a distant mass relay. "There's a nightclub a few blocks away... best entertainment you've had in years, trust me..."
Not able to contain her smile any longer, Shepard leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs. "You don't say..."
"Yup." The pilot nodded as he turned back around, his hands flying over the controls in front of him with ease.
While her pilot was once more occupied with the ship's controls, Shepard let her eyes wander over its interior once more until they got caught at a discarded jacket partially covered by a crate near the pilot chair. She turned her attention back to the man and casually asked, "What's an Alliance pilot doing in a place like this, playing taxi for shady people in this old thing?"
The pilot's hands stopped and he tensed before he shrugged his shoulders after a second's hesitation. "That was another life..." he evaded. "Besides, where's the difference? As a pilot for the Alliance, I'd still play taxi for all those 'important' people. And as for the 'old thing'..." Giving a short laugh, he lovingly patted his seat. "That might be part of why I'm not an Alliance pilot anymore... There might have been a... disagreement regarding the ownership of this little beauty... I couldn't just leave her behind when I decided to leave..."
He punched a button on the controls and Shepard's assumption was confirmed as the ship sped off into space at a much quicker speed than expected from a shabby little vessel like this...
Once she had regained her balance on the unstable seat, she slightly leaned forward, her eyes gleaming in obvious curiosity, "You stole an Alliance ship? Do tell..."
A/N 2: It's Joker, who'da thought? To be honest, I wasn't his biggest fan in the games, but I think he fits his role in this story perfectly... After all, he might have left the Alliance, what with teachers and other students making fun of him, etc...
So, what do you think? Agree? Disapprove? Suggestions for the future? Let me know.
