Chapter 17 - The Importance of Bloodstain-Resistant Clothing

Alliance News Network - Dr. Daniel Abrams, a human physician who ran the only free medical clinic on Omega, said the pro-human organization Cerberus forced him to shutter the facility and flee the space station. Cerberus took control of Omega by force earlier this year, justifying the action by claiming the station's human residents needed protection. Abrams countered that humans were no safer, overall fatalities on Omega having increased. "Cerberus didn't like the free clinic from the start because we treated humans & non-humans alike. When I refused to sign several death certificates as 'industrial accidents' as Cerberus demanded, they closed us down." Abrams said he was able to safely escape the station thanks to "friends of the free clinic's founder." - Diana Allers reporting.

"So, you two know each other?" Adria S'Voz asked Aria T'Loak while gesturing in the direction of the asari bartender.

T'Loak grinned as she eased herself into a seat at the bar near S'Voz, Solik Vass and Linia T'Pala. "Not really, no," explained the gangster queen of the Terminus Systems. She cast a sly glance at the bartender and added, "It is possible that we met somewhere along the line. Your path will cross with quite a few others' by the time you start nearing a millennium. But I can't say that we've ever been properly acquainted. I did follow Aethyta's career with interest back in the day... I must say, I didn't ever expect to find you tending bar here on the Citadel. How did that happen?"

The bartender smiled faintly as she finished pouring a beer for Solik Vass. "One Stellar Artois," Aethyta declared as she placed a pint glass before the salarian. She then grabbed a rag and began cleaning the bartop. "What'll it be? We've also got Newcastle Brown Dwarf Star, Molson Cardassian, Löwengrävity, Sierra Nova, King Fission, Coors Lightspeed and Samuel Android on tap," she announced, not bothering to look up.

"Just a glass of the house wine," the gangster replied, then added, "You never answered my question."

The bartender shrugged. "Not much to say. Everybody comes to the Citadel eventually. I just happen to be on the Citadel now. Kind of like you. And why not? It's 'the beating heart of the galaxy,' or so they say," Aethyta rasped. "Might even stay here for a while. What about you?"

The smile faded from T'Loak's face. "What about me?"

"Is the Citadel now your home?" Aethyta asked, then slowly drawled out, "...or what?"

T'Loak's face became an expressionless mask and her tone grew more steely. "My home is in the Terminus Systems. I am just visiting this station," she replied, the irritation in her voice clearly rising.

"Izzat so?" the bartender casually remarked as she poured a glass of wine. "I'd assumed you had decided to retire here. You kind of had that 'enjoying my twilight years' look about you. Goddess knows it happens when asari start to reach a certain age..."

T'Loak sneered in response.

S'Voz, Vass and Linia watched the exchange raptly. They all knew that T'Loak was the last person that you wanted to provoke, yet the bartender was doing just that. She hadn't backed down even after T'Loak had made her irritation clear. All three immediately discounted the possibility that the bartender didn't know who she was talking to. T'Loak was too notorious among the asari for that to be the case.

For Linia, the situation was especially strange. This bartender was the same asari matriarch that had recruited her to spy on T'Loak. That was why earlier in the night Linia had urged S'Voz to take them to this specific bar. The young actress had claimed that she had enjoyed the fancy cocktails available there. In reality, Linia thought she had sneakily arranged a masterstroke of spycraft: instead eavesdropping on S'Voz & T'Loak and then relating what she could remember to the matriarch later on, she had instead gotten S'Voz and T'Loak seated right there at the bar, allowing the matriarch eavesdrop on them first-hand. S'Voz and T'Loak would never know that they were being watched.

Linia had not, however, considered the possibility that T'Loak would recognize the matriarch bartender. After all, only certain matriarchs achieved the level of renown that made them instantly recognizable and this bartender wasn't among that select group. T'Loak recognizing the matriarch anyway had briefly caused a moment of quiet panic for Linia. That faded when T'Loak said that she had known Aethyta only by reputation. Linia shrugged it off as little more than a coincidence. After all, as T'Loak said, you do meet a lot of people over an asari lifetime. The young actress' mind was instead focused on the quietly astonishing fact that this matriarch clearly thought nothing of getting under T'Loak's skin.

"The Terminus Systems have a lot of advantages," T'Loak acidly quipped to Aethyta. "For example, it is a place where the comedians are on the stages and the bartenders are behind the bars, not vice-versa."

Aethyta chuckled. "Fair enough. No offense meant. We're just chatting." She poured herself an Earth gin & tonic. "So, how long is your vacation on the Citadel going to last? Are we going to be blessed your presence for the foreseeable future? Hmm?"

T'Loak gave her only an icy stare in response.

Vass quietly finished a sip of his beer. His mind was racing trying to figure out why the matriarch bartender was acting this way. He recalled that when he had first met this same matriarch on Illium a few months back, it was in establishment frequented by members of the criminal underground. The matriarch had quickly deduced that Vass was acting undercover in some capacity. She had also made comments indicating that she had experience with asari spy techniques. So, in all likelihood, she was involved in spying herself. None of that gave Vass any clue as to why she would prod T'Loak in this way. 'What is she hoping to accomplish?' he wondered.

Whatever that was, Vass decided, the steadily growing possibility that T'Loak might lose her temper and unleash her biotics against an asari matriarch in a public setting - a fancy hotel, at that - was trouble. If it happened, it would be all over the Citadel news by morning. The fallout would complicate the Special Tasks Group's mission to aid T'Loak in regaining control of Omega. The gangster queen could, of course, simply get up and walk out of the bar, but it was clear to Vass that T'Loak wasn't the type who could simply backdown from a confrontation, even one like this. As a STG agent, it was therefore his duty to prevent any incident that would compromise the mission. That meant disrupting whatever the bartender was up to. So, for the second time in less than half an hour, Vass steeled himself and directly intervened in a situation that involved an angry Aria T'Loak.

"You guys won't believe this," Vass told S'Voz and T'Pala in a slightly raised voice, "but the reason why Ms. T'Loak & I were gone as long as we were was because a pair of humans tried to mug us as we were heading back to the bar! They were red sand addicts looking to make some easy credits."

Linia gasped and grabbed Vass' hand. "By the Goddess, really?!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

Vass patted her hand. "It was tense for a moment," he told her. "But ultimately neither of us were hurt."

T'Loak scoffed at Linia's alarmed expression. "We were never in a moment's danger, maiden. The humans had no clue who they were dealing with." T'Loak cast another glance at the bartender. "It's a common mistake by members of that species. They'll learn."

"Izzat so?" asked the bartender.

Vass inwardly sighed. He had successfully drawn T'Loak out of the conversation with the bartender only for the gangster to immediately return to it. 'Keep at it, Agent Vass!' he thought. 'You've gotten Linia and Ms S'Voz intrigued as well. So there will be four of us to keep the conversation going. The bartender has nothing add to the mugging incident. Just keep steering the conversation back to that.'

"How, umm, did you deal with the... situation?" S'Voz cautiously asked the gangster queen.

T'Loak took a sip of her wine and a slight smile returned to her face. "I did nothing. Young Solik here handled the situation. He talked to the muggers and made them realize what a bad and... irrevocable life choice they were about to make. They took his advice to heart and left."

Linia gazed adoringly at her boyfriend. "Goddess, that was still so brave! You could have been hurt!"

S'Voz was less impressed, grunting out an "Oh..." and rolling her eyes for good measure. "So they were just common beggars then."

The gangster queen subtly shook her head. "Beggars with guns," she clarified. "Beggars who pointed those guns at our faces." T'Loak eased back in her chair and her smile grew wider. "I was just about to use my biotics to turn them into smears on the sidewalk, when - wouldn't you know it! - I see that Solik has grabbed the pistols off of both of them! Caught them completely off-guard. Then he tells them to leave while they still can! And off they went!"

S'Voz was incredulous. "That was really how it happened?"

T'Loak shot a bemused glance at the actress. "Was that how it happened?!" she sarcastically replied. "Does the Goddess have tits? C'mon, Adria, you know I don't make up stories like that," the gangster laughed, then grinned at Solik. "You robbed me of a bit of fun, but it was probably for the best."

Vass modestly shrugged. He lacked the vanity to do much more than that. "To be honest, yes, given Ms. T'Loak's biotic abilities, I may not have been in much danger," he told his all-asari audience. "I was much more worried that if I just stood there and did nothing, things might have gotten... out of hand," he said. Privately, Vass thought, 'Ok, I should add in something to distract from the fact that that I disarmed the muggers so the conversation doesn't undermine my cover as a STG agent.' His mind raced for a few moments, then he spoke up. "Plus, this is literally the first time I have worn this suit and I cannot afford a replacement if it gets all bloodstained," he explained, gesturing at his off-the-rack outfit. "My contract with 6th Dimension Vids to do the 'making of' vid is a great opportunity for my career as a documentary maker, but it doesn't allow me to keep on buying new suits."

S'Voz sagely nodded. "It was risky. There are few things more dangerous than getting in Aria's way when she is upset," the actress quipped. "Most of Aria's staff on Omega know to only buy clothes that are easily washable. Or at least ones where the bloodstains won't become too visible."

"Do they now? Makes sense I suppose," chuckled the bartender. "Do you keep in touch with any of your old crew?" she rasped to T'Loak. "I'll bet they all got together, threw a party and gave you a nice gold watch when you retired from running Omega."

Vass sighed. His plan had worked for all of 30 seconds before the bartender was able to get back to prodding T'Loak. He was at least beginning to grasp why the bartender was needling T'Loak this way: The matriarch was subtly trying to get T'Loak to divulge her future plans, hence the questions about what place T'Loak considered home and whether she had retained her old crew. The gangster would never talk openly about those things if she were in a calm frame of mind but she might if she was in an angry, agitated one. The matriarch was gambling that continually reminding T'Loak of her exile and loss of power would cause the gangster to drop her guard.

T'Loak took a sip of wine. Vass could clearly see that she was mulling over her answer. "I am loyal to the people who are loyal to me, yes," she told the bartender through gritted teeth.

The brief awkward pause that followed was broken by Linia. "Well, I, for one, am glad that you didn't get your new suit all scuffed up, Solik. I think it makes you look quite handsome, so I'd hate for you to lose it," she announced, then turned to S'Voz & T'Loak. "We picked it up just this afternoon on the way back from the set. The store actually did have the stain-resistant variety for close to the same price but I urged him to buy this one instead. The others all looked so... drab, you know? It's probably because the heavy-duty fibers in them always make the outfits look gray and metallic."

Linia had made the comment in the belief that T'Loak, S'Voz and perhaps even the bartender would find the details of her shopping trip with Solik as interesting as she did. That wasn't the case. The young actress shifted nervously in her chair when all she got in response to her attempt at girl talk was wordless stares. The look from the matriarch bartender was particularly sharp and annoyed, causing Linia to slightly slouch down into her seat.

Vass discreetly took Linia's hand in his and gave it a quick squeeze, followed by a pat with his other had. She squeezed him back, tightly.

The salarian was quietly grateful for Linia's effort. Without realizing it, the maiden had derailed the bartender's effort to draw T'Loak back into a one-on-one talk, giving Vass a second opportunity to redirect the flow of the conversation. He jumped back in before the bartender got another chance. "I usually follow Linia's advice on clothes. Plus, there aren't that many occasions when a documentary filmmaker such as myself is going to need a bloodstain-resistant wardrobe," Vass declared, adding, "As tonight proves, you don't even need one for an evening out on the town with Aria T'Loak."

"Who knew?" quipped S'Voz.

"Only because you were able to disarm the muggers," Aethyta pointed out as she cleaned an empty glass. She cast a sly glance at the salarian. "Where exactly does a 'documentary maker' like yourself learn hand-to-hand combat techniques like that?"

"Where does anyone? And does it matter?" T'Loak shot back. "You're only asking because he is a salarian. You wouldn't ask a turian, a drell or a batarian the same question. Or even an asari." T'Loak took a long sip of her wine and then indicated to the bartender to re-fill her glass. "But that's the thing about salarians, isn't it? We're constantly underestimating them." T'Loak leaned in towards the bartender. "The truth is, when you actually need to get something important done, they can do it quicker and quieter than anyone else. Better even than our own people."

"Izzat so?" asked the bartender.

This time, Vass decided to remain quiet. T'Loak appeared to be intent on pressing home her point about the advantages of working with salarians to the bartender. If the only salarian present were to disrupt that, it would undermine and potentially even embarrass T'Loak in front of the matriarch. So Vass instead took another sip of his beer and merely watched.

"Yes, that has been my experience," T'Loak remarked, her tone getting more serious. "Granted, salarians can also be sneaky, devious, under-handed little shits." She paused briefly to look over at Vass. "No offense," she blandly added.

The salarian gulped lightly. "None taken," he replied, shaking his head vigorously.

T'Loak turned back towards Aethyta and continued, "But sometimes you need the help of devious little shits," she explained, tapping a finger on the bar. "And when you do, you want the devious little shits who are the best at being devious little shits. 'Cause you know they won't make rookie mistakes. You know what I'm saying?"

Aethyta picked up some empty glasses and put them away. "I see your point," the bartender told T'Loak. She smiled at Vass, Linia and S'Voz. "Well, ladies and devious little shits, I am afraid the clock says this has to be last call. Don't care who you 'embrace eternity' with tonight, but you're gonna have to do it at home."

Vass had just exited the hotel men's room and was trying to remember which direction it was towards the valet parking area when a raspy voice called out to him. "Hey, kid. Got a minute?" asked Matriarch Aethyta. She had apparently been loitering in the hallway.

"Yes?" Vass warily replied.

"Tell your bondmate or whatever her 'patriotic duty' for Thessia is complete," the bartender announced. "We won't hold it against her that she bollixed it up. My fault, actually, for not giving her clearer instructions. Though, Goddess, you'd think, 'Don't lead the person you're spying on directly to your own handler,' would go without saying," she said, shaking her head and sighing heavily. "Still, we learned what we needed. If Aria wants to work with you Special Tasks Group folks rather than accepting help from us to re-take Omega, fine. We wish her luck, in fact."

Vass nodded and left. He reached the valet parking area and hopped into the skycar where T'Loak, S'Voz and Linia were waiting for him. A few minutes later Vass and Linia were dropped off at their hotel.

"Goddess was that ever a crazy night! Glad it's over," Linia declared as they rode up in the elevator. She then noticed the quiet, pensive look on Vass' face. "You look a little troubled, dear. Is anything bothering you?"

Vass looked up and smiled. "No, I was just... thinking. It was nothing important though," he replied, yawning and stretching as he did. "That was a long night. I'm looking forward to getting some rest."

Linia looked at Vass suspiciously. "I know what you were thinking, you devious little shit," she declared, then broke into a smile as the elevator door opened on their floor. "You want to cuddle, don't you?" the asari laughed. She grabbed Vass by the hand and dashed down the hallway, pulling him along as she went.

"You saw right through me!" Vass exclaimed as he stumbled along behind her.

Illium Entertainment News Update — Destinee Asscension, president of the Galactic Union of Liberated Performers, Inter-species Transgressives, Dominants, Orgy Workers and Nymphomaniacs, said her organization will oppose an effort by the adult vid industry to limit residual payments for performers to no more than two centuries. Some asari and a few krogan performers have been receiving residuals for upwards of five centuries for the same classic vids. Long-established companies say this has created a serious financial drag for them. Asscension told our reporter, "If these performances are still getting people off half a millennium later, then the performers in them deserve every credit."

[Authors' Note: We apologize to 'Her Majesty's...' readers for the delay in getting this chapter out. Some mundane in-real-life issues got in the way. Be assured that this story is very much an alive, ongoing project. The next chapter will be coming out soon. As always, comments, suggestions, requests and constructive criticism are all welcome, so go ahead and PM us or drop them in a review if you have any. - Thanks, Magpie & Fred.]