7
A knock on Amalia's door caused her to turn from rifling through her duffel bag. "Come in," she called.
At that, the door hissed open to admit Tali. The quarian stood just inside the door, not allowing it to close. "Hey. You ready?"
"Almost…got it!" Amalia pulled out a worn, tan shoulder bag from her bag and proceeded to sling it over her shoulder. She rose from her crouched position and gently pushed her duffel bag back under her bed with her foot. "Now I'm ready," she smiled as she went to join the quarian girl. The two of them then began to walk down the hall towards the elevator.
"Are you ever going to use the closet they gave you instead of keeping everything in that bag of yours?" Tali asked curiously, cocking her head slightly to the side as she looked sideways at the biotic.
"Probably not. I like having everything in one place," Amalia said simply.
"But won't it be in one place if you put it in your closet?" Tali inquired further.
"I don't have any problem with where it is now, so that's where it's staying," the dark haired woman answered.
The two of them reached the elevator. The door opened and the quarian and the biotic climbed inside, the door closing behind them. Tali reached over to the pad and punched the button for the CIC.
"So where are Ashley and Liara?" Amalia asked, trying to start the conversation again.
"They said they would wait for us on the docks," the mechanic answered.
Amalia nodded in response.
For the first time in several weeks, the Normandy had returned to the Citadel. For both Amalia and Liara, it was their first shore leave since coming aboard. Due to that fact, Ashley had insisted that they have a girl's day. So far, she hadn't even specified what they would be doing. Amalia made sure to bring her credit chit, though, just in case.
The elevator arrived at the CIC and the door opened. The two girls stepped out of the elevator and almost ran into Wrex.
The massive krogan turned around to face them. "Watch where you're going. Don't want to step on you by mistake," Wrex said roughly.
"I think you're overestimating your size, Wrex," Tali said.
"Maybe he's compensating for something," Amalia whispered to Tali, just loud enough for the bounty hunter to hear.
"Watch it, Amalia. That's below the belt-literally," the krogan laughed.
Shepard appeared around the side of the massive bounty hunter. "You're not trying to pick a fight with Wrex, are you?" he asked.
"No, never," Tali answered innocently.
"'Cause, if I had to, I'd bet that Amalia would win in a fight," the commander smiled.
"What?!" both Amalia and Wrex exclaimed in disbelief.
"SO!" Tali began, trying to change the subject as she rubbed the back of her hooded head awkwardly. "How are you spending your shore leave, Shepard?"
Shepard laughed softly as he looked at the quarian mechanic. "I don't get a shore leave. I actually have work to do while we're here."
"That's too bad. You look like you could use some down time," Tali said, a smile evident in her voice.
"You have no idea," Shepard laughed. He glanced over at the krogan and the biotic were busy arguing about who would win in a fight.
"Are you just taking Wrex with you?" the quarian asked, trying to keep up the conversation.
"Umm," the commander returned his gaze to Tali, "No. I'm taking Kaidan with me, too. We're actually waiting on him now." The mechanic nodded. "So what are your plans?"
"Oh, Amalia and I are heading out to meet Ashley and Liara. Ashley said something about a girl's day," Tali answered, shrugging her shoulders.
Shepard chuckled. "Have fun with that."
"This isn't over, Wrex," Amalia said, pointing a finger menacingly at the krogan as they turned back to face the commander and the quarian.
"I'd hope not, squishy," Wrex laughed.
The biotic scowled but said nothing. Instantly, a pleasant smile was on her face. "So, should we go?"
"Oh yeah," Tali said, as if she had just remembered.
Amalia smiled inwardly. She had been so absorbed in her conversation with Shepard that she actually seemed to be in a daze when coming out of it.
"Well," Amalia grabbed hold of the quarian's shoulders and began to lead her towards the airlock. "You and your entourage should make sure to have some fun on your shore leave," she said.
Shepard laughed. "Oh, don't worry. We will. You guys have fun, too."
"Sure thing, Shepard," Tali called.
With that, the women went out the airlock door and were gone from the commander's sight. They emerged outside the Normandy and onto the Citadel. Amalia looked up in wonder. Something she wasn't sure she could ever get used to is looking up into the sky and seeing an upside down city above her. Then again, the arm of the Citadel she was on right now probably looked like it was upside down to them.
Amalia shook her head and turned her gaze on the quarian girl next to her, a wide grin on her face.
Tali noticed her staring and looked at her. "What?" she asked in a mix of confusion and defensiveness.
"Look at you! You're practically giddy," the biotic said, struggling to keep back a laugh.
"Giddy?"
"Oh, c'mon! You're practically bubbling with excitement over being able to talk to Shepard," Amalia smiled.
"What?!" Tali exclaimed in utter shock. "I am not!"
"Yeah, right. You were fine before we went into the CIC. Now, coming out of it, you're bursting with happiness. There's even a happy skip to your step," the biotic said.
"There is not," Tali declared defensively.
Amalia outwardly laughed when she saw the quarian girl obviously trying to focus on getting rid of the 'happy skip.' "Alright, Tali. There isn't." The biotic thought she saw the mechanic's shoulders sag slightly in relief. "But." The tension was back in her shoulders. "Sooner or later, you're going to have admit it to someone. And, I want to be that person. Who knows, maybe I could even help you," Amalia shrugged, offering a supporting smile.
"Admit what?" Tali asked, playing innocent.
Amalia laughed and rolled her eyes. "You know what."
"Do we even have something in mind to shop for?" Amalia complained as she saw Ashley start to head into yet another store.
"Not really. It's called browsing," the gunnery chief called back. The brunette bent over a nearby kiosk and began to examine the store's wares.
The biotic groaned. She had never liked shopping. She liked to get in, buy what she wanted, and get out as fast as possible.
"What about you, Tali," Amalia heard Liara ask the quarian behind her. "Don't you have something in mind to buy?"
"Sort of. I need to find something for my Pilgrimage, but it needs to be something significant to the fleet," she answered. "I doubt I'll find something like that in a Citadel shop."
"You never know until you look," Ashley called from inside the store.
"Ash? Are you sure you're not a shopaholic or something?" Amalia teased with a smile, cocking an elegant black eyebrow.
"Pretty sure," the brunette answered in a serious tone, before turning back to the kiosk.
"I'm beginning to think that this 'girl's day' was just an excuse to drag us shopping," Liara said.
"Me, too," Tali agreed.
"Okay, fine." Ashley turned around and walked out of the store to join the small group. "What would you like to do?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.
The three women were silent. They looked to one another for an idea, but it seemed that no one had one in mind.
"Just as I thought. Don't complain about what we're doing until you find something else to do," the gunnery chief said triumphantly, obviously glad that they could continue shopping.
Amalia groaned. "I bet everyone else is doing something actually fun today," she complained.
"What is everyone else doing today? Anybody know?" Liara asked, looking from one face to the next for an answer.
"Well, Shepard was dragging Wrex and Kaidan around the Citadel on business. I know that much," Tali said thoughtfully.
"What about Garrus?" The asari shifted her bright blue gaze to Amalia, knowing that she would know the answer.
The biotic shrugged as she placed her hands behind her head. "He told me he was going to have some drinks with some of his C-Sec buddies."
"Oh yeah. He told me that, too," Ashley seconded.
"So, like I said, everyone else is doing something more eventful than us," the dark haired woman said.
"Oh, stop your whining," Ashley said, waving off her comment.
"What about Joker? What does he do during shore leaves?" Liara inquired further.
Ashley was the one to answer. "He has to stay on the ship. He needs to be ready for whenever Shepard wants to leave," she explained.
Liara nodded her understanding.
"Well," Tali began, "If we're going to continue shopping, I'm going to go check in that store over there. Be right back." Without waiting for a response, the quarian turned and began to head into a store just a little ways down the path.
Ashley turned back to the asari and the biotic. "So? Is this your first trip to the Citadel?" she asked them.
"I've been here once, a long time ago," Amalia shrugged.
The gunnery chief shifted her gaze to the asari. "What about you, Liara?"
She nodded. "I've been here quite a few times for some conventions."
"Conventions?"
"For Prothean research. Scientists and all sorts of experts come from all over the galaxy to attend the convention and share what they've learned over the course of the year." Liara smiled joyously. "I look forward to it every year."
As the two of them talked, Amalia found her gaze wandering as she took in the sights of the Citadel. The many arms of the Citadel, which were actually massive cities populated by thousands of people. Skycars flew just above the tops of the lowest buildings and below the tallest ones, weaving their way through traffic and streets to reach their destination, their high pitched engines the ever present background noise to the Citadel. Massive warships patrolled the sky around the Citadel like watchdogs, vigilant for any threat to their beloved city. Large cargo ships lumbered towards the docks, weary from their long journeys as they sought to bring their wares to stores across the Citadel.
Slowly she found her gaze drifting down to the streets of the Citadel where assorted aliens walked side by side as they went about their daily business. But Amalia found her attention being drawn to two individuals, just visible off through the crowd.
Amalia turned and snapped her fingers, drawing Liara and Ashley out of their conversation. When she had their attention, she pointed through the crowd to the two feuding individuals. Instantly, the three women pushed their way through the masses and found themselves standing before Tali and a human C-Sec officer.
"I told you! I didn't steal anything!" Tali was yelling.
"Well, the shopkeeper is saying something different," the officer said in a hard tone.
"He's lying! This is just because I'm a quarian, isn't it?" Tali threw at him.
"That has nothing to do with it. Now if you'll come with me to-" the man began to reach out to grab the quarian girl.
"Whoa, whoa! She's not going anywhere," Amalia said angrily, walking up beside her friend and effectively cutting off the officer. Ashley and Liara were close behind, similar looks of anger on their faces.
"Excuse me, but this is a C-Sec matter. You have no business interfering," he said, obviously irritated by this new intrusion.
"What are the charges?" the gunnery chief asked sternly.
The C-Sec officer sighed. "A nearby shop keeper has accused her of stealing from his store. Besides, she's obviously a vagrant."
"No, she isn't," Liara told him defensively.
"Yeah, she's been shopping with us all day," Amalia said.
"There is still a possibility that she could have stolen something while you weren't looking," he added, growing more and more annoyed by their pestering.
"No, it isn't," Ashley said firmly. "We've been together the entire time."
"Look, ladies," the C-Sec officer said, holding up a hand to silence any more protests. "This is none of your business. I've got it handled. So you can just stop covering for her and continue shopping," he said scornfully.
Amalia had to restrain herself from punching him in the face. She did her best to take a calming breath before saying, "I'm making it my business, then. You're not taking her in for something she didn't even do." Her face was contorted into a fierce scowl, her eyebrows were pointed down like lightning bolts. She crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly, glaring at the C-Sec officer.
The man took a few menacing steps toward her, but Amalia didn't move. "And how about I run you in for obstruction of justice?' he asked menacingly.
"You can't do this!" Tali shouted at him.
"Can and will," he said with a threatening smile, not taking his eyes off Amalia when he answered.
Despite her fury, Amalia couldn't help but to think about their girl's day. She couldn't deny that there was some degree of hilarity to the fact that their first shore leave and girl's day was ending with them getting arrested by a narrow-minded C-Sec officer. She sighed inwardly. Oh, well. At least Shepard could use his Spectre authority to get them out once he found out what happened.
The C-Sec officer began to dig through his pockets for, what Amalia could only guess to be, handcuffs. Suddenly, a familiar voice made them all stop short.
"What is going on here?" They all turned to look behind them to see Garrus approaching.
Either, the officer recognized the C-Sec armor that turians on the force wore or he knew who Garrus was. The man, seeming slightly put off his game by Garrus' sudden appearance, pointed a finger at Tali. "This girl was accused of stealing." He shifted his finger to Amalia, who continued to scowl dangerously. "These women here wouldn't stop interfering with my investigation. This one in particular. I was going to run her in for obstruction of justice," he said.
Garrus walked up beside Tali and stopped. "Did you ever actually find anything on her that she supposedly stole?" he asked.
"Well…no. But I didn't get a chance before they came up and began interfering," he said, glaring at Amalia.
"That is a lie! He didn't even search me! He just came up, told me I was accused of stealing, and said I was under arrest!" Tali shouted, her voice outraged as she moved from looking at Garrus to the C-Sec officer.
Garrus, as level headed as ever, turned to look at the human officer. "Is this true? And don't lie and waste my time. We have three witnesses here," he said with what sounded like a bored sigh.
The C-Sec officer scowled furiously at Garrus, but the turian looked as if he couldn't even be bothered by it.
"Just as I thought. Now run along before I decide to report you," the sniper said threateningly.
With an irritated growl, the C-Sec officer turned on his heel and stormed off. In seconds, he was lost among the afternoon crowds of the Citadel.
Tali turned to the turian next to her. "Thanks, Garrus," the quarian said gratefully.
"It's no problem. That guy was out of line," he responded. He let out a small laugh. "Though, I can't help but to find it slightly funny that you and Amalia nearly got arrested on her first shore leave," he said, a smirk evident in his voice.
Amalia laughed. "That's what I was thinking, too."
"So? Now what?" Ashley asked.
"Well, as much as I would like to escort you around the Citadel and make sure you don't get arrested, I actually have somewhere to be," Garrus said.
"Oh, sure. Thanks again, Garrus," Tali thanked him once again.
Garrus nodded. With a small wave at the rest of them, he turned and headed into the crowd.
"Alright. No one answered my question." Tali, Amalia, and Liara turned to look at Ashley. "What are we going to do now? Should we keep shopping?"
Tali let out a long, slow groan. "After what just happened, I'd really rather not."
"So then what do you propose?" the brunette asked, arching an eyebrow questioningly.
"How about a movie?" Liara suggested.
"Oh! I like that idea!" Tali said happily. She instantly pulled up her omni-tool and began to search for movies, theaters, and show times.
"Umm…I'd rather not," Ashley said slowly.
"Why not?" Tali asked, looking up from her omni-tool.
"She's probably just wants to keep shopping," Liara said with a small smile.
"No. That's not it. It's just that Shepard could call us back to the Normandy at any time. I don't want to pay for and sit down for a movie and then have to leave in the middle of it when he calls. I only like to see a movie when I know I'll be able to see it from start to finish," the gunnery chief told them.
"I don't mind," the asari said.
"Me either," the quarian agreed as she resumed scanning through her omni-tool.
"Amalia?"
The dark haired woman looked at Liara. She smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Sorry, but I'm with Ash on this one. I only like to pay for a movie that I know I'll be able to see the whole way through."
Liara sighed as she turned back to the quarian girl. "Well, looks like it's just you and me, Tali," she said. She briefly looked back at Ashley and Liara. "What about you two?"
The gunnery chief and the biotic exchanged a look. "We'll go to Chora's Den for some drinks. If Shepard doesn't call us back by the time the movie is over, you can come and find us there," Ashley reasoned.
Liara nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
Tali perked up. "They're showing Fleet and Flotilla at the theater down the street! If we run we can make it!" Her omni-tool faded as her arm fell to her side.
The quarian and the asari paused as they looked at Ashley and Amalia. "Oh, just go already," Amalia grinned, making a shooing gesture with her hands.
With broad smiles on their faces, the two women took off down the street, dodging passerby. Within no time at all, they disappeared into the crowd.
Ashley looked at Amalia. "Shall we?" she asked with a smile.