Nihlus could see that he was making the humans nervous by his presence and as he was in no mood to cause a problem or suffer the fools, he went to the far back end of the bar. It was better here anyway … his back was against the wall and he had a clear view of the entrance. He had already suspected that establishments on the human Alliance station would not carry his kind of drink so he had come prepared. He took a seat on the barstool, pulled out a bottle of Palaven Venefirous and waved over one of the bartenders.
"Can I help you?" the bartender asked with a scowl. Nihlus could see the hate in the human's eyes and it did not surprise him. The Relay 314 Incident, or the First Contact War as the humans called it, had left a bruise between the species and in some cases a deep cut of hate. This bartender it appeared was part of the latter group.
Nihlus shifted causing the bartender to back up slightly, "Just a glass for my drink."
"That will be 2,000 credits," the bartender said as he put down a dirty glass in front of Nihlus. At that price, Nihlus knew he could have purchased two bottles of Serrice Ice Brandy on Omega.
"Isn't there an entry fee as well?" A customer standing a few feet away at the bar asked. "Like ... oh, I don't know ... 3,000 credits?
Nihlus could have snapped the bartender and patron's necks in two quick moves or at the very least put them down for the rest of the night but he knew that it would create a problem for the Council so he began practicing sufōcāR, a turian way of restraining all emotion and keeping control.
"Did you hear, turian?" The customer said in a louder voice, "I think you have to pay an entry fee of 3C as well."
"No," A voice said from Nihlus' right. "No entry fee and no charge for a clean glass."
"Captain Anderson," the bartender looked embarrassed. "This turian with you?"
" Yes," Anderson answered, "and I expect him to be treated with the respect that you would show me or any other Alliance officer."
"Well …I …" the bartender looked at the dirty glass.
"Let's start with a clean glass." Anderson said without a hint of humor as he pushed the dirty glass towards the bartender.
"Captain Anderson," Nihlus greeted without emotion as he watched the bartender place a clean glass in front of him.
Anderson was under the impression that the SpecTRe was to meet him on the Normandy but when Nihlus had called and asked him about Shepard … Anderson had, without thinking, informed him that some of the Normandy crew and possibly his XO were going to be meeting at the club Aircraft 1512 for a pre-flight celebration. It had taken him all of two seconds after hanging up that he realized that Nihlus was going to where Shepard potentially was. He rushed to the club knowing that there might be problems and the last thing he needed was an incident with the SpecTRe … that would have been his ass.
"Shall we have a seat?" Anderson asked, motioning to a table unoccupied.
"Somewhere that I can see the entrance," Nihlus answered, rejecting the table motioned to.
As Nihlus moved over to a table that met his needs, Anderson ordered a bottle of Aberfeldy 21 ... "Have it and a clean glass sent to our table."
"Yes, sir," the bartender said.
As Anderson went to leave he stopped and added, "If Commander Shepard arrives have her come to our table."
"Shepard?" the bartender smiled. "Sure … and I'm a-sorry ab-"
Anderson did not care to hear apologies and left the bartender in mid-sentence. Nihlus was already sitting and looking at the entrance … Anderson sat across from him and thinking he might be hungry, "There is a restaurant just down the way that has a menu for turians."
"I'm not hungry," Nihlus said as he continued to look at the entrance. He had hoped to be alone when he saw her again … he wanted to simply watch her, see how she was with her kind. He had to hold his tongue as Anderson sitting across from him moved in his way. As he shifted slightly to see the entrance he realized that Anderson had said something. "What did you say?"
"I requested the bartender to have the Commander come to our table if she arrives," Anderson repeated. He had thought that it would make the SpecTRe relax and stop watching the door. Instead he sensed anger. "You did want to meet her, didn't you?"
Nihlus had meant to just watch her … "Of course," he answered, instead of showing his disapproval. He filled his glass and kept his eyes on the club's entrance as Anderson talked about the upcoming mission.
The Normandy crowd was deep into their celebration of the next day's launch as the house band started taking requests and Joker cringed at every song performed. "I hate this band," he said as it started playing Lay Your Hands On Me. "I think I'm gonna …"
Kaidan was on his third sidecar and looked over at Joker, "You're gonna what?"
Joker was frozen, mouth open and looking towards the entrance. Kaidan turned to look and there she stood … hair down, dark green v-top that fell just above her knees and cinched at the waist with a black belt, black leggings and black thigh boots. She had walked in alone and her eyes fell on the turian within seconds and the battle on Antibaar came back to her in a flash. She wanted to turn around and leave but she knew that she had been seen by others so she took a breath, its okay … you're not on Antibaar and that's not the turian that you fought. She thought to herself … Let it go.
The bar had seemed to stop as she stood in the entrance … Kaidan, as senior officer present, quickly stood and was about to approach her when he saw her turn. An older male in a grey business suit came up behind her and put his arm around her waist ... Kaidan continued to watch as the two smiled at each other and she put her hand on his chest and whispered in his ear. Kaidan looked over at Joker who was now glaring.
"Do you know how handsome you are?" Shepard had said to her lover.
Liam pulled away, smiled at her, looked around and saw that he had competition as usual, "Hopefully more than the other guys here."
She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "What other guys?"
He looked into her eyes and felt his love grow, "Would you like me to get you a whiskey?"
Shepard nodded and as he started to leave she stopped him and added, "An hour and then back to my bed, I promise."
"Shit!" Joker said as Shepard made the bastard smile, "Shit! Shit! Shit!" he repeated and then gulped down his beer.
"Yeh," Kaidan was right there with Joker as they watched her pull away from the male and look in their direction.
"Commander!" Engineer Helen Lowe called out, waving her over to the table.
Shepard saw her, smiled and walked over causing heads to turn as she went, "Helen?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Helen beamed as she knew that everyone was watching them. "I'm stationed on the Normandy too!"
"I'm glad to hear that," she said. "I won't feel so alone."
"Alone?" Helen smiled as she motioned towards the tables with the crew. "You don't ever have to worry about that. I've never seen the guys look so stupid or hungry."
"Helen," Shepard cocked an eye, "I know that you and Michelle are friends but don't take some of her bad qualities."
"No one can be that bad," Helen laughed. "Although, she did call me this morning and told me that I have to represent her … oh, and I thought that you were single."
"Hmm," Shepard smiled as both women looked at Liam who was at the bar getting jealous looks as he ordered Shepard's whiskey and a mineral water for himself.
"Bringing a lamb among the wolves?" Helen teased, "You know the boys ... and some of us girls are going to kill him if you leave him alone."
This made Shepard laugh ... She had debated letting him come with him, worried that he might feel out of place more than get murdered, but it was their last night for an undetermined amount of time … so, there he was braving the wolves. "I think he'll survive."
"How long have you two been dating?" Helen asked.
"We started dating a couple months ago." Shepard looked again over at the turian briefly and saw that Captain Anderson was with him. So it must be the SpecTRe, she thought and then looked at Helen.
"Civilian?" Helen asked.
"Of course," Shepard was not into military men unless it was quick sex. "But I keep waiting for him to realize that there isn't any positive things about dating an Alliance officer."
"What?" Helen feigned shock. "Not seeing your partner for six months to a year sometimes is a drawback?"
Shepard looked at Liam standing in his business suit and looking so out of place among the uniforms, "I'm sure that he will break my heart at some point."
"A man leave you?" Helen looked at Shepard's curves, "That would never happen."
"Already has," Shepard smiled. "How is Nancy?"
"Now that was a great segue way … She dumped me and went back to her husband," Helen frowned. "And before you say anything, I know it was crazy being with a straight married woman."
"The heart doesn't take advice from the head," Shepard squeezed Helen's arm and looked over at Joker who was rubbing his head. "Is this a good group tonight?"
"I think so," Helen answered, "Well if you don't count our senior pilot."
"Lt. Moreau?" Shepard asked although not surprised.
"He goes by Joker," Helen answered. "He is an absolute ass and can make you want to kill him within seconds. I'm just glad that I work far away from him."
"You work alongside of him," Shepard looked at her confused.
"Not normally on the same shift though," Helen explained. "and when we are together we say the minimum."
"I see," Shepard could tell that he would be a hard guy to get to know, but if you were patient enough he would be a loyal and true friend.
"Now Lt. Alenko is good looking and smells good for a guy but I swear half the time I don't know what he's saying," Helen offered, prompting Shepard to look at him. He was standing and looking back at her, turning away when their eyes caught. "Oh ... and across from him is Silas. He is funny as hell and has a crush on Kaid-"
"Okay," Shepard laughed as she cut off Helen. "Maybe I should go and say hello before I have all of their history."
Joker saw her walking towards him and he pushed his crutches under the table, "Commander."
"Lt. Moreau, it's good to see you here," Shepard said, trying to put him at ease.
"I'm here too!" Wang popped his head between the two. "Why don't you drop the loser and come back to my friend's place? We have-"
Wang did not get to finish his sentence as Joker grabbed his shirt and pulled him down into a seat, "Aysay ustjay oneway oremay Ordway andway I'llway utcay ouryay oatthray."
"Alright," Wang said as he put his hand to his throat. "I was just trying to be your wingman."
Shepard looked over at Kaidan, who was still standing and he was good looking ... Shepard had quickly scanned his body and it made her smile, "Lt. Alenko."
"Commander," he said trying not to look at her body. "Would you like a drink?"
"No thank you," she said. "My date is getting my drink."
Nihlus had watched her from the moment she had arrived … he watched her move through the crowd, saw how she impacted a room and it made him smile. She had seen him when she first arrived, her eyes darkening at his presence but she had not flinched … if the memories of what she had experienced passed in her mind she had not shown it.
Anderson had not realized that Shepard was there and was talking about how they were going to tell Shepard, "we need to present this to her as a positive move for her career."
Nihlus, as he poured another drink, was now watching Shepard's male at the bar. "Are you concerned that the Commander will reject the offer?"
"It's possible," Anderson responded, hoping that he was wrong. But a part of him saw the possibility as Shepard's profile was not one of intentional advancement but one of cause and effect. No, there was nothing in her report that implied she was career driven but given that she had been serving for over ten years, she might be a career soldier. That would work in their favor.
"She will see reason," Nihlus said more to himself then Anderson.
"Shepard," Liam handed her a tumbler of whiskey on the rocks.
Kaidan looked at Shepard's date and just couldn't see it. The man was older than her by at least ten years, slightly overweight and not good looking. Okay, he knew that looks weren't everything but … he looked at her. It just didn't make sense. He looked over at Joker who was glaring at her companion and it worried Kaidan that her date or worse … Shepard herself might notice. "Uh, Joker can you go to the bar with me?"
I hate him, Joker was thinking as Kaidan was talking to him. He must have money because he sure doesn't have looks or … or a body.
Shepard had seen Joker's glares but Liam was too busy looking at Kaidan to notice ... Liam was feeling threatened by Kaidan and trying hard not to show it while Kaidan was too busy trying to get Joker away to notice. Sometimes men made her laugh at their transparency when it came to desire. She thought of her dad and how he had started acting weird after she had started to develop … upset over her friend Tyler helping her out of a twisted shirt, that two-piece bathing suit that he hated and sitting in the dark with Tait on the porch. Well, pops … this would be your idea of hell, she thought as she watched these three men. But the thought of Pierce Shepard made her wish that he would walk in. She would have gladly traded every male in that room for just an hour being with him. Laughing, playing music and even sharing a drink together. Pops ... I wish you were here. We could have one more secret from mom.
The band began to play Into The Mystic and Shepard put down her drink, "Liam, dance with me."
As they headed for the dance floor, Kaidan finished his drink and headed to the bar after Joker grumbled, "I really hate this shitty band!"
Nihlus watched Shepard lead the male to the dance floor and as they began to slow dance Anderson realized that she was there. He looked over at the bartender who was busy serving drinks and he cursed under his breath. He told Nihlus that he would get the Commander but Nihlus stopped him. "I can meet her tomorrow, Captain."
"It will take just a minute," Anderson said as he began to stand up.
Nihlus watched Anderson walk out onto the dance floor, moving through the small crowd towards her and then a tap on the male's shoulder. He watched Anderson motion over to the table after Shepard introduced him to her companion and when she looked at him he remembered pulling her helmet off as she lay dying. He remembered the oath that he had made as he left her on the Antibaar ground to be rescued by her own people, "We will meet again Shepard. I will teach you to be stronger, quicker ... to understand what is hidden in the galaxy. And after you have trained with me you will be a SpecTRe." This was a time of honoring his oath.
"Commander Shepard may I introduce you to Nihlus Kryik," Anderson said as they arrived at the table.
"Kryik," Shepard smiled at the turian but she would have preferred to still be on the dance floor ... anywhere really but standing in front of the turian who had made her skin crawl the moment that she had seen him. Now standing face to face she looked into his eyes and saw sacrifice. He had sacrificed much and she saw it, using her mother's gift of perception.
"Commander Shepard," he seemed to purr as he extended his hand to honor her. Humans were the only species to shake hands as a greeting while the turians would grasp each other on the forearms. Shepard knowing that the turians had a custom like the ancient romans placed her hand on his forearm which pleased him.
"An honor," Shepard smiled, as she thought of how to bid a quick farewell.
"No," Nihlus countered, "you have honored me."
"I hope that you are enjoying your time on the station," Shepard smiled as her date moved closer.
"I miss Palaven," Nihlus found himself being open with her.
"I understand," Shepard knew he was honest in that moment and it touched her. "I miss Mindoir at times."
"Need of home," Nihlus looked deep into her eyes, "One thing our species has in common."
"I'm sure there are more things then just homesickness that we share," Shepard said as Liam shifted next to her. "Oh, please excuse my rudeness, this is Liam Serafino.
Liam put his hand out and Nihlus just looked at it for a moment as only Shepard deserved that kind of respect. "You must be her suppliant?"
"Suppliant?" Liam lowered his hand.
"Lover," Shepard lied, as she knew that it was a turian term for a person who was being sexually used by someone of greater authority or place in life.
"Yes," Nihlus looked at Shepard.
Another individual might have been offended by the use, but Shepard knew that each species was different. He had simply stated what he saw and Shepard couldn't honestly say if she wasn't just using Liam for sexual purposes ... Don't judge what you don't understand, her mother would caution. "Well, I must say goodnight. Liam and I are scheduled to meet friends at a restaurant for a late meal."
"Yes," Liam caught the lie and thought he would help. "I am afraid that our time is limited and can't keep our friends waiting."
"Commander," Anderson said sharply, "The SpecTRe wishes to discuss a very important matter with you. Your friends can wait."
"No, Captain." Nilhus said, "The Commander should enjoy her evening before her duties take her away in the morning."
Shepard looked at the turian, sensing that he was trying to read her, Sorry, but if I could hide my thoughts from my mother, Shepard thought, you don't have a chance in hell of seeing the true me. So stop trying to read me, turian.
Nihlus could size people up in a matter of seconds but this human … she was an enigma. I have time, he told himself. I will solve your mystery. You will learn to trust me, to need me and you will be stronger, faster and wiser because of it.
As the house band went on break, the Alliance crew watched across the dance floor at the meeting between the SpecTRe, Captain, civilian and Commander. The DJ stepped up and began spinning Better The Devil You Know as the dance floor lights cast colors and shadows on the meeting.
Helen had just done shots of tequila with a few of the guys and looked over at Shepard. "This is gonna be a bumpy ride, boys!"