In only a couple of hours they would reach the Citadel. The crew could barely stay on their posts all day long, they awaited the shore leave so much, it was all that they could think about. It was the beginning of the day cycle on the Citadel, and the crew was already up, most of them getting ready for docking.
And they had plans already: Joker and EDI were going to have lunch and look around the Presidium; Garrus and Vega were to visit a shooting range (typical, the guys just could not let go of fighting), and Tali remained on the ship for now, as they planned they would later meet with Shepard.
When the Normandy docked, and Jane gave the sign for everyone to leave the ship, it was empty in a minute.
"That was fast!" noted Joker with an amused expression.
"Well, I can't blame them" smiled Jane. They turned back and went through the bridge one more time. Everything was already checked, but they were all for another last look.
"I think we're done here Joker."
"I can only hope we didn't leave the rear lights on - I would hate to see the battery dead when we return!" he joked then turned back from the cockpit and started for the decontamination zone. Shepard laughed, and followed him, but there was someone who stepped behind her.
"Are you in or out?" asked Saren from behind her, not really fitting in the door because she was in the way.
"Out" she looked back, stepping into the decontamination chamber, letting him in as well.
Three of them were now in the chamber, awkward silence taking over them. When the process finished and they were free to go, Saren stormed off into the masses of the docking area, disappearing in the crowds in a second.
"Umm" murmured Joker "You sure you want to let Saren Arterius loose on the Citadel during a reaper invasion? Won't people recognize him?"
"Nah" she waved "Most people only knew him by name, he always avoided the limelight. As long as he uses a fake name, he'll be fine."
"Just don't be surprised when you'll see Miss Al'Jilani announcing an interview with Saren Arterius lookalike, Mr. Artius Hanarslapper..."
Jane almost tripped, laughing out loud.
"Okay, I better go before you come up with something as majestic as this joke was" she said, then left Joker behind.
"Figures, I do everything to land the best jokes, and this is what I get..."
After Jane finished running some errands, she had lunch with Tali and Garrus, and after spending some time just wandering around the Citadel, she went back to the Normandy. She called Tali up.
"So, how did it go?" Tali asked as she entered her quarters "You found anything good?"
"There's a new club on the the Wards, it's called Pulsar." Jane said as she put her stuff down on the coffee table. "It was built a couple months before the Invasion. It's a lot better than Purgatory, it's like five stories high, with a joint dancehall and multiple bars. Apparently they have really good trance and classic disco music also, so it will be perfect for us!"
She seemed very excited, and it suited her a lot. It was better seeing her in a lifted mood, rather than depressive. It was hard losing Legion and the others too, but they had to move on.
"Sounds good!" Tali eventually said, her smile covered by her helmet.
"Yeah, I'll send out the invites… done!" she said, closing her omni-tool after sending the message quickly "... and now…." she turned around "You need to help me choose a dress!"
That's right!
Despite being the savior of the galaxy and a brutal soldier, Jane had a lot of nice clothes, and when it was time to wear them, she was always so delighted. Tali envied her for being able to just switch between styles whenever Jane wanted: she had no way of doing that with her envirosuit. All she was able to do were modifications of design; so she was always fascinated by Jane's freedom to choose a dress to wear for an occasion.
They chatted away while choosing, and soon the room was a mess. Tali revealed that she brought booze for both of them, and they started drinking happily way into the early evening. Dress-picking soon became an act of leaving the dresses on the bed untouched, and instead turned into consuming the alcohol and giggling around.
"Okay, there's the line for me" said Jane smiling, sitting on the pile of dresses on the bed "If I drink more, it will affect my ability to sanely choose a good dress."
"I think you should go with the black one, the one you bought back on Omega" Tali suggested, relaxed, slightly tipsy.
"Yeah you're right, that piece is a real beast..." so she went and separated the black dress from the pack. She also reached into her closet and removed a small metal box.
"Thanks for the idea" she stepped to Tali. The quarian looked up, curiously looking at the box.
"Ok, so you managed to choose matching shoes as well?"
"No, this box has something much better." and with that, she gave the box to Tali. She shot her a surprised look, but eventually opened the container, and when she saw the contents, she felt like her helmet is going to explode.
The container held external envirorsuit decoration cloths, a whole set of them in different, beautiful colors. There was a bright red, a grey, blue, and a beautiful emerald one. Tali felt her tears streaming down her face and leaned into the hug Jane gave her.
"They're true cloth, original quarian-made. Their waves have distributed omni-gel memory. I hope you like them." she said, hugging her friend closely.
"I love them, Jane" Tali mumbled, picking out the emerald one right away.
Jane's smile was wide. So half of her shopping was successful, it seemed.
Saren got back from shopping for tech to put together, and went right for the elevator, he was really thirsty.
Drinking before going drinking was something that he did such a long time ago, he could barely recall. Maybe with Nihlus, many years ago… "Warm-up" - he used to call it. It was a fitting term, considering the fact that Saren felt like he was going to war tonight. Pubs, bars, sure… but clubs? Was Jane this wild? He surely needed a drink before he found out... that will stop himself from murdering the whole crew if he didn't like the party.
And he was already in the observation room. He walked to the bar to search for some turian drink, there had to be something. Horosk was his favourite, but since he broke that, that was out of the game. He opened the glassdoor below, and started looking at the usual place. There was some turian liquor there, and having no other choice, he lifted that bottle out. He grabbed a glass and looked at the-
"Drink from the top shelf instead!"
That was written on the bottle. All right...
He turned around, put this bottle back and looked up to the top shelves that were near the ceiling. A bottle with bright blue contents stood out for him in the first second and he grabbed it immediately.
It was a brand new, shiny bottle of his dear horosk.
His talons scratched the label as his mind processed the information. Jane indeed knew him better than anyone else, and it was reinforced in his mind, that she was an amazing, rare being. He was suddenly looking forward to the party. He opened the bottle, chugged down a shot, and went right for his cabin to take a shower.
The Pulsar was a huge place.
The whole club was essentially one giant open place, around five stories high, all the levels opened up together, with a giant dancefloor down at the bottom. The levels were hugging around the open space in the middle, allowing everyone from every level to be able to look down on the dancehall.
It was stuffed with people, especially the bottom level where the crowds rolled along like ants in their lair. The music was pumping through the whole club like blood in the veins, reaching every single corner of the place. The people in there were completely mesmerized with the music and the drinks, happily tumbling around, jumping to the music or laughing on the upper floors. All kinds of people turned up here: krogan, salarians, asari, turians, humans, even some hanar. Rich, poor, every kind, all trying to forget the ongoing war as one.
Jane loved it. The club was so alive, the crowd so amazing, the name Pulsar was more than fitting. They fought through the sea of people with Tali holding hands, as this was the only way to make sure they don't lose each other. It was pure luck that Jane included the exact level and place of the table they had reserved, otherwise there was no way that the crew members would find each other. After long minutes, they managed to get up to the first level on the right side, and found their table.
Garrus, Vega, Javik, Joker, EDI and Kaidan were already there, drinking away happily.
"Oh, look what we have here!" Jane chirped, hopping down next to EDI happily. "Where are the others?" she asked.
"Dr. Chakwas and Liara are on their way. I have no information about Saren."
"Probably for the better." commented Kaidan, earning a fierce glance from Jane. She also expected a comment from Garrus, but he wasn't even paying attention. He was deeply immersed into looking at Tali sitting across from him in her beautiful new emerald suit decors. They were at the same place the usual ones were, but - because of their colour - bringing a lot more attention to her. Jane couldn't help but smile at the sight of his best friend sitting there, jaw dropped, mandibles tense, his talons anxiously searching for his drink.
And then things just flowed from there.
Drinks and chatting followed for everyone, and when Vega presented that Joker should try dancing, they all started egging him to do it, eventually resulting in everyone going with Joker to shield him from the crowds, so they can all witness his glorious dancing without him breaking a bone.
Saren entered the club that was on the invite, and he was immediately sure that Jane was indeed crazy. This was the flashiest, biggest nightclub she could pick on the whole Citadel possibly, and it was full of people to the brim. It was however also an advantage for him. With his sleek, black robe and scarf, he blended in quite well, masking away his real identity.
He went for the table they had reserved, and found nothing but empty glasses.
"Great" he mumbled to himself, realizing that they probably went dancing, which was a thing he was never going to participate in. He found himself lucky suddenly, since if he would have arrived sooner, the others might have tried to sweep him away for a round of dance more awkward than the pink drunk hanars on the dancefloor below. He stepped to the bar to order a drink, and just sat on the stool then and there.
"A small turian horosk" he said to the bartender, who turned around to prepare his drink.
"Oh, did I hear that right? We have real men drinking here?" The question was from a deep, female voice he recognized as turian. He turned to see who made the comment, and he found a turian woman sitting next to him.
"Who the fuck are you?" he asked without moderation. He needed to relax.
"Ouch" hissed the girl, obviously not disturbed, but rather turned on by his harshness. That was even weird for a turian woman. "You'll burn me with that fire!" she added.
Saren seriously thought he was going to vomit then and there. Even though she didn't look horrible, he never liked women who forced things this furiously. They were all easy to get, replaceable and boring. To show his disapproval, he turned his back to the stranger, pretending to be looking for someone on the dancefloor. The woman started talking next to him, but he shut it out completely, even though he was quite bothered by it. His eyes ran idly through the dancehall, and he decided if the damned woman says one more word, he'll shut her down the same way she approached him.
But in a second, he completely forgot about that.
In his pretending he noticed Jane on the ground floor, laughing in the middle of the group, trying to dance but failing from the laughing fit they were all in. Her red hair was giving her away, her blue eyes shining in the red lights of the club. His horosk arrived in the meantime, and he reached for it without turning back, and downed it in a second. He slid the glass back on the bar and just left. The turian lady behind him gasped in surprise, but there was nothing she could do, Saren was off to the dancefloor.
He took the stairs from the first level down to reach the dancefloor, keeping his eyes on Shepard. As he took the steps, Jane accidentally looked up, noticing him right away. She froze for a second, then smiled. He continued down and when he reached the ground floor, he entered the crowd. He cut through the people, and he already saw her with the others, she was in a tight black dress. She noticed him again, and a playful smirk appeared on her face, she wasn't far away now. Another turian then crossed him sideways, cutting his glance off of her. When the turian was gone, she disappeared.
He stopped and looked around, and noticed her red hair, as she was leaving the floor. She looked back at him, an inviting smile on her face again. As he changed directions to reach her, a strange excitement flowed through him. In a minute he was at the bottom of the stairs on the left side, Jane standing on top of the stairs, waiting for him, urging him to follow her. Her smile grew bigger and more beautiful, and she almost skipped away from him. He jumped on the stairs, taking two of them at a time, squeezing himself through the crowds. He turned left, through the crowd, then left again, up the stairs, following her to spirits know where. She was playing him, running away from him, shooting him looks of mischief on every corner before disappearing and reappearing way ahead of him.
The more he moved, the more energized he became, and as the music pulsated through the club, and the lights danced in every corner, his predator instincts became stronger and stronger. Her moves were fluid, waiting for him at the stairs, bars, anywhere where she'd lead him. He followed her figure, the colour of her hair, the sound of her laughter as it rang around him constantly, but he was never able to reach it.
He enjoyed it thoroughly. She was as playful as when they fought on missions, when she could let her powers loose next to him. Their chase led them all the way up to the fifth level, where the least amount of people stayed, as it seemed. He clearly saw her exit the level at a glass door, and so he followed. When he exited the door, the artificial air of a luxury terrace brushed in his face, and there she was.
The whole Citadel, the ring of the Presidium in the background was behind her, enveloping Jane in a light of icy blue. Saren stopped at the door, and drank the sight in. She was standing at the railing on the terrace, her arms casually placed on the rail, all of her body turned to him. A strange feeling from deep down emerged in him, as he realized how flawless she was. She wore a black, tight dress barely reaching her knees, revealing the most perfect hourglass shape he'd ever seen. Her fiery hair was almost purple in the blue light, brushing her toned shoulders and slender, long neck. Her almond eyes looked at him playfully, a shine of icy blue glaring into his mind. A small, impish smile took over her face, she was waiting for him.
She looked like a queen.
She was more beautiful than any turian woman he ever encountered. He never really liked those women much: tall and strong, too much roughness. His eyes much preferred Jane's small stature, soft curves and fiesty nature.
At his thoughts, a smile appeared on his face too, as he slowly stepped forward to approach her.
"If you wanted to get away from me, you failed" he said, his baritone soft.
"Well, what can I say? I'm not an escape artist." she said, still smiling, entertained by their banter. He stopped a couple feet away from her.
"No one can escape from me" he said instinctively. Where was this conversation going exactly?
"Have you found it?" she changed topics, obviously thinking about the horosk.
"I did. In fact, I already tested it" he said, taking a step closer.
A smile masked away her awe. Saren was tall, dressed in a tight black robe, his scarf on his shoulder. The black clothes contrasted his white face plates that swam in a blue light now, accentuating his eyes. The sharp, strong contours of his face shined as his mandibles pulled apart in a smile. He looked truly elegant, handsome, as if he was on a hunt for women's hearts. As he stepped closer to her, he seemed even bigger, even though he was tall naturally. He wasn't as lean as other turian males, and it showed especially well when he had no armor on, like now. He was muscular, strong, and she loved it. His being screamed strength to her and her heart responded to him in a way she couldn't contain.
"And how was it?" she asked, remembering the horosk.
"Just what I wanted" he murmured, the sound coming almost from his chest.
Something was happening. He acted so relaxed, so at ease, as if he wasn't closed-off anymore. His eyes were glowing right at her as if she was the only one existing in this world. And she was doing the same thing, they were somehow unintentionally on the same wavelength. She had no idea why this was happening, but she haven't felt this safe and happy since… well, she never did.
He reached up and moved a rogue lock of hair out from her face and behind her ear. He had no gloves on, and a talon accidentally brushed on her cheek.
"I plan on getting wasted tonight, you know" she said, eased at his touch.
"Am I supposed to be surprised?" he teased. She laughed a little, sarcastically, and his mandibles moved in response. She opened her mouth to say something in reply to continue their friendly banter.
But that was gone in a second and she forgot what she wanted to say. All she saw was glass shattering, and something brushed along her face, causing sharp pain.
What Saren felt was a giant whiskey bottle flying to his head from behind, shattering to a million pieces.
"Leave that lady alone, you monster!" came from behind them, and Saren turned around to see what had happened. He was never attacked with a whiskey bottle before, but it was obvious now, that it did not work against him: the glass shattered on his head, broken to pieces by his carapace. Not a single scratch on him. The guys that stood behind him - two giant humans - seemed surprised by the fact that he wasn't on the floor knocked out.
"Do you have any idea what you just did?" he pressed the air so tight between his teeth, he almost hissed. He immediately opened his mouth, baring his teeth, and a low rumble started in his chest. He took a step forward.
"What the fuck" gasped one of the humans, taking a step back, regret in his eyes. It was clear that they mistook their conversation with Jane for him trying to assault her.
"You thought I was attacking her?" Saren took another step, his eyes dark with wrath he couldn't keep at bay.
"Yeah man, we've seen you touch her!"
"And so what?" came from behind Saren. Jane stepped forward, a rage in her voice Saren never heard before, she was so pissed. There we go. "A girl can only talk to small squishy human guys?" she shouted. The two men took a step back.
"I mean… we-"
"Shut up!" she commanded. "If you're so tough and smart that you thought hitting a six foot tall turian spectre with a whiskey bottle was a good idea, you might want to test my biotics as well!" she said and kicked her high heels off. Barefoot, she stood in combat stance, flaring up her fists with her biotics.
"We're sorry!" they cried.
"I don't think so!" she shouted, but Saren noticed a hint of amusement in her voice… he smiled, and felt his rage turning into something else. He saw how these men were now shaking, backing off, looking at either him, or Jane, not knowing which one was the bigger threat. They regretted all of their actions now. This was starting to be pure entertainment. "You hit me as well with your bottle, you clumsy assholes!"
And she moved her hand, imitating the start of a biotic blow.
The men turned their back on her and fled through the door in a fraction of a second, not even looking back. She straightened her back as they left, and went to put her heels back on, like they were never off.
"Stupid dickfaces" she murmured under her breath. Saren stepped to her and turned her towards him by grabbing her hand slowly.
"They indeed hit you too" he said, looking at the small cut on her right cheek, a small trail of blood was dripping down on her face.
"Yeah, now I have to go to the bathroom..." she said, annoyed, removing her face from his palm anxiously. "But their faces… did you see?" she asked with a smirk.
"Yes." he said with a small smile.
"We should go back, I had enough of this terrace."
She was right. He just got hit in the head with a bottle and he was really keen on seeking these guys out and show them what he did to people who dared to attack him from behind. But this would have taken away his precious time from the delicious horosk they kept behind the bar. He anyways wanted to see what a drunk Jane looked like if the sober version was this feisty.
By midnight it was clear that humans loved alcohol - but their tolerance was nowhere near the turians'. Saren watched the crew member's cognitive functions deteriorate with every long drink and shot more and more. They loosened up, became more crazy, cheerful and they even forgot that they were partying with him there. If he wanted to betray the whole Normandy, this would have been a perfect moment to do so. But instead he was busy with his ice cold horosk and Jane's laugh.
They were at the same spot on the couch at the table they have been for the last hour, and just chatted about tech, dark matter, stories and spirits know what. His smooth talking came in handy, because Jane was constantly between smiling and laughing. They had enough drinks, they felt that their conversation was more fluid than usual. He forgot about everyone and all he saw was her.
Until Joker sat down next to them.
Pretty much everyone was scattered around on the dancefloor, the table or the bar, but somehow they were suddenly back at the table after Joker arrived, and the situation escalated so quickly, that they were now in the middle of a drinking game.
"I don't want to be disrespectful Commander" Joker teased "But being the savior of the universe, it is physically impossible that you don't want to play this game."
Jane looked at her shot, calculating the possible damage this is going to cause. She was next in round, but she did not want to get completely wasted, she was drinking already with Tali, then Saren, and now..
"Yeah well, and who's going to carry you home if I black out?" she returned the tease.
"I have a personal mobility assistance mech, you know.." he looked at EDI. "So you can just go ahead."
The others cheered her on, and so it had to be done. She downed it, resulting in everyone clapping. And then it came to Saren. Everyone was looking at him, and for the first time in forever, not for the bad reasons. Looking at their faces, they probably all expected him or either Garrus win, so when he spoke, they were all on board:
"You should listen to your Commander" he said, in all seriousness. "By the time I will be done here, you'll all be in the hospital for alcohol poisoning."
"That's the spirit!" Tali cheered for him, and he earned the applause from the others as well in a second, when he chugged his horosk.
This wasn't one of those complex drinking games with tasks and games, it was just simply drinking after each other. And because of this, the destruction it caused was swift and irreparable. He had no idea who won. Hopefully it was him.