Aela was actually looking forward to staying in her apartment for the night. After checking with Captain Talia on the flight schedule, they were clear to leave with a load of eezo along with the Crusader in the morning, so she and Perkins set off for a nice relaxing period in her apartment. Just her, Perkins, a bottle of Serrice Ice brandy, and the couch.
Wait, that sounded a little bit wrong. Just her, Perkins, a bottle of Serrice Ice brandy, and the extranet connection to her screen. Much better
It was rather much to Perkins' visible surprise and Aela's amusement that when they arrived at her apartment, Perkins whistled at its appearance. It had a rather stunning view of the university, with its large window walls providing a beautiful overview of it. It also helped that it was all rather tastefully decorated in a style that Aela like to believe would remain immortally beautiful: gentle, subdued furnishings in simple, neutral colors.
"This seems a rather bit more expensive than what I imagine an academic would earn." Perkins said after a brief moment of tasteful silence by the door.
"You can save a lot if you live for a thousand years, Perkins." Aela replied smugly.
"Point. Where will I stay then?" Perkins asked as he hefted his rather small bag.
"You can sleep on the couch," Aela replied, pointing out said sofa.
"Right in front of the telly. Already I feel like I'm back in the good ol' days of the academy,"
"Well, I do own the apartment. The Bed should belong to me,"
"It's all right. I'll just content myself with watching the telly. Speaking of which… How do I turn it on?" Perkins asked.
"By the small table in front of you is a console. That's for the screen."
Perkins promptly turned it on to find what looked like a news channel on screen.
"This is Calia T'Loni, of the Citadel Broadcasting Network, bringing to you the latest news from across the galaxy. Despite efforts by the Bretonnian Police Authority, there remains no sign of the cargo ship headed to New London. Reports say that despite warnings by the BPA, the ship proceeded to conventional FTL instead of making use of the Trade Lanes within the Leeds system. BPA authorities suspect that the ship ended up going through a particularly hazardous portion of the Leeds Smog clouds, and are now presumed lost. The BPA urges all ships to make use of the Trade Lanes, no matter the circumstances, as the navigational hazards of the system are incredibly dangerous. Citadel representatives have brooked no blame on Bretonnia for the incident, as the ship was warned before they entered FTL."
Perkins turned around to Aela, his eyebrow raised as if asking a question. It was probably the obvious one.
"Yes, she's my sister," Aela answered. "She always has been the more talkative one."
"I can see the resemblance," Perkins replied as he turned back to the screen.
"... and economists expect that proper integration of the Sirius Credit with the Citadel Credit is to be completed by tomorrow. Analysts expect that more formal large scale trading will begin tomorrow, once the integration is complete. Meanwhile, the Asari Republics are in negotiations with the Republic of Liberty regarding the construction of Jump Gates between the Tau 30 system and the Armstrong Nebula Mass Relay. Matriarch Benezia is expected to meet with President Wallace in three weeks on the Citadel during the opening Liberty embassy party to discuss terms. The Matriarch has confirmed her expectations that the agreement will benefit both parties."
"And it looks like Liberty is talking with your people. I can only imagine what new hells Liberty can come up with," Perkins said.
"I know that the Sirius sector has had a history with Liberty, but honestly, I don't think they will be in too much of a position to argue." Aela countered. "Despite your advances in several fields, the Asari Republics holds the technological edge in Citadel space and I'm quite sure we have much Liberty is willing to trade secrets for."
"Then that just means your people will be hand in hand with Liberty, lordin' it over the rest of us technologically illiterate peasants in the dirt."
"It's not like that at all. The Asari Republics prides itself on the very basis of fairness. I'm sure that this can only lead to further proliferation of all sorts of useful technology for the benefit of all."
"If that happens, then I can go and claim myself as the next Emperor of Kusari," Perkins said deadpan. "Just one more reason to go and be a freelancer, find some place where they can't smother what we have."
"And I'm sure you're overreacting, Perkins."
"I may not live to see it Aela, but I guarantee it'll happen. Your millennia long lifespan almost guarantees you will see it. At least, pending any unforeseen circumstances."
"Like what?" Aela asked dubiously.
"Pirates, industrial accidents, vehicular accidents, navigational error, slavers, drug overdose, simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time…"
"I get it Perkins, but I'm relatively sure I can handle myself in those situations. I did live on Omega for a while."
"Omega?"
"Think a neutral ground for the criminal society of the Galaxy. A large portion of the people who live there are involved in a criminal enterprise in one form or another."
"A wretched hive of scum and villainy?" Perkins said with a smile a little too wide.
"... yes?"
That response just got Perkins roaring into laughter, though Aela failed to see what was so funny. Honestly, humans still confused her sometimes. Or maybe it was just Perkins.
"That" Pub
Trafalgar Base, New London system
For Jerry Maxwell, life as a Junker was good. It's an easy living picking up scrap from the many many junk fields scattered around the New London, then selling it to whoever was popping by. Whether it was some freelancer or a Corsair who wanted some old part for some reason, someone, somewhere wanted to buy something from a Junker.
He kind of hoped that some of those blue ladies would be visiting soon. God knows he could stand to see some more... attractive women in his life. Heck, he might also be able to charge them extra. Its not like they'd know the difference between a repairable part and something completely junked.
"Oi," hissed his partner Dean by the bar's viewing bay. It gave a great overview of the approach to the docking bay, letting anyone who was expecting someone to do their business properly. And on its way to Trafalgar was a definitely alien ship. All chrome and fat, likely a freighter, but definitely not a human ship. "Looks like one of 'em alien ships approaching us."
"You think it'll be one of them blue asari ladies?"
"I hope so. I know that the ladies here are a little.. feisty for my tastes."
"Too right, mate," chuckled Jerry, as they scrambled to the docking bay. Seeing as they ran the commodities bay of the station, it was always prudent to get to know your clients early, no matter who they were. Outcast or Corsair, Freelancer or some poor bobbie sent here to fish, all were welcome, so long as they had the credits and followed the rules.
Of course, Junkers gave no guarantee of not being caught by the cops due to a leaked bit every now and then, but that was an acceptable level of risk for many for the near universally accepted neutrality that Junker bases provided deep in House space.
It was thus to Jerry's pleasant surprise that upon arriving at the docking bay, he discovered that the ship did indeed carry at least one rather pretty specimen of asari kind. She strutted down that freighter of hers in her hardsuit like she owned the station, as if nothing but God himself could command her with a small group of rather feisty looking asari bodyguards.
Jerry figured the bullshit approach would not be wise. "Welcome to Trafalgar Base," he greeted as jovially as possible, signalling Dean to let him handle things. "I'm Jerry, and I run the commodities and equipment dealership here on Trafalgar. Is there anything I can help you with, Miss…"
"Captain, actually." she said in a firm voice. "Captain Enyala of the Eclipse. I'm looking for engine components, light arms, anything of yours that is high tech and makes or stops a big bang.
"I'll be honest Captain, that could be problematic. Not for us mind you, but for you." he said as he walked towards the main commodities bay, gesturing her to follow.
"You see," he said as they walked along. "You ladies did indeed come to the right location to acquire your less than legal commodities. You need anything bought or distributed, we're the right people to come to."
"Thing is, the bobbies, thats the name we use for 'em BPA blokes, have been stepping up patrols around the field. Normally, we have an arrangement with them, but with something this big, weapons that aren't exactly what we'd call 'civilian' grade, they'll be scanning everyone and everything that goes anywhere near a jump gate, along with the BAF. There is no way you'll be able to bypass that."
"We'll settle for barely legal then." Enyala answered promptly. Good that she understood the risks.
"Then I have just the things for you." he said as he cheerily led them to one particular area. "I must also warn you of the… policies aboard the station. No killing anyone. You're all guests aboard here. And all purchases are final. Period. If you're unhappy with someone or a business arrangement, then tough luck on you, take it out of the station."
"I'm not really in a position to negotiate here," she said, her hostility just barely felt by Jerry. Still nothing overtly hostile on her part, so he figured it still safe to lead her into the his own little kingdom.
To the untrained eye, it would've been best described a random junk. Parts from what looked like all sorts of ships were littered here and there, but to a Junker, these were all the things worth saving and not immediately smelting down to be turned to metal.
"I've here some parts that a lot of locals of… questionable authority make use of to make their Mules and Wolfhounds. Lots of old civilian grade weapons found off wrecks that we got to, and you'd be surprised at the sheer number of them. Even have a few shields that didn't blow up with their ships."
"We'll take them." she said tersely. Talk about a cold fish.
"Interested in anything else? Construction Machinery? Latest models from Leeds, guaranteed to last you a good 30 years. You want some Molly Gold? We're a regular stop for them, and we offer rates I don't think you'll find beyond the Dublin system. General supplies? We have a little bit of everything here."
"We'll take a resupply. We're low on food, and it'll be interesting to see what human rations taste like."
"It's shit, but its nourishing," Jerry answered dryly. "But we have some real food in the bar. Why don't you ladies come and enjoy some Junker hospitality and introduce you to the other… visitors we have. I'm sure business can only be improved with new friends."
"Let's," said Enyala, her icy tone lightening up a bit.
The sound of more credits being made was bound to warm up the chilliest ice queen, thought Jerry. Maybe if he's lucky, he'll end up in her bed with those bodyguards of hers. A man can dream after all.
Waking up in her own bed for the first time in what felt like years certainly did wonders for Aela. She felt like she could take on the world. It rather made her feel a little guilty having Perkins sleep on the couch, but she wasn't going to be sharing a bed with him. She wanted to maintain at least some form of employer-employee barrier.
Though… if she could use it to mess with Talia, that might be worth a little teasing. She'd have to get Perkins in on it of course, to make it look convincing but it could work.
Still, seeing that according to her clock it was rather early in the morning, she got up out of bed to get ready for her undoubtedly long trip away from her home again. Grabbing her large travel pack reserved for long term trips, she proceeded to pack her usual dig gear. Her shield and Elkoss combine pistol were the first in. While she may have been capable of putting up a barrier, having a shield never hurt as an extra layer of protection. She figured Perkins' own gun was better than hers too, but still. Better safe than sorry. Her various tools and dig outfits were up next, and finally, she carefully packed in an elegantly simple white dress, reserved for the inevitable begging for funding from various sponsors.
It was while packing her dress that she realized that she had no food for any visiting aliens. Thessian food had a considerably higher than safe level of eezo for non-biotics in them, and she hadn't informed Perkins of that. Deciding to rectify that mistake, she moved out of her room to find Perkins already up and about eating from a tube.
"Good morning," he greeted as he stopped eating. "I see you've finally woken up."
"It's barely sunrise, and you're saying I woke up late?"
"I may have left the Armed Forces, but they haven't left me yet." he said after a brief chuckle. "Care for some SynthPaste? It's a lot better than it looks I assure you. I was about to sample some of your goods in the cupboard, but I wasn't exactly sure if it would be safe for me to eat. I mean, just because you can eat what I can eat doesn't mean I can eat what you can, right?"
Aela just sighed a little in relief after learning that. It wouldn't do for Perkins to get eezo poisoning. If it was anything like what happened with other species, it was a nasty way to go. Though…
"SynthPaste? As in the company?" she asked
"Yeah. Totally edible and tasty food. Great for rations, as they have all the necessary nutrients, and don't actually taste like shit." Perkins exclaimed. "I'm almost sure you had some before back in the Sirius sector. You did, right?"
"Sorry, I don't think I did," she replied. "Anything exotic about it? Artificial flavoring, colouring and all that?"
"Not really. It's just ground up genetically modified kelp that SynthPaste somehow manages to change flavors without modifying the kelp strain or add any chemicals. I'm pretty sure it's safer than a lot of things you've had in the Sirius sector. It's certainly safer than Liberty ale."
"If you say so…" she said as she very hesitantly grabbed the tube of paste and carefully squeezed a pea sized morsel on her finger. She then very gently brought the dab into her mouth.
"Sausage?" she exclaimed after taking another larger sample to be sure.
"You can hardly taste the difference, yeah?" Perkin said a he grabbed another tube from his pack. "You can have that one by the way."
"Amazing." Aela said after slowly letting this batch settle on her tongue for awhile. "How do they do it?
"Like I said, I dunno, but whatever they're doing, God I hope they continue. It's a lot better than my usual rations. They have thousands of flavors from the most exotic to the most bland, and near everyone loves it. I can't imagine it not doing well."
Aela mulled over this. If it was this good, then SynthPaste was going to quickly make a killing in Citadel space. She quickly bought up her OmniTool, and after doing quick check on her accounts, let herself have a rather predatory grin.
"That smile of yours could be good or bad. I'm not sure which." Perkins commented.
"It just occured to me that, well. If SynthPaste can arrange itself a wide variety of flavors now, what more when they start mimicking others?"
"I'm not sure I follow."
"At first it'll be human tastes, but eventually, they'll be capturing Asari tastes, Batarian spices, all of it in one convenient package for travel between planets."
"...Then they'll really start to make a killing." Perkins breathed out. "I'd best be buying stock then while it's low. I mean, creds are good and all, but if I'm not under a steady salary, it pays to have a little bit tucked away for a rainy day, right?"
"Perkins, when you've lived as long as I have, you learn a trick or two." Aela said with a neat smile as she had her brokering program prepare to purchase a lot of SynthPaste shares. If she was lucky, maybe she'll be able to fund her own expeditions with this particular little bit of wisdom from the humans.
The rest of the morning was spent just watching the various programs available on the screen, though nothing in particular really grabbed Perkins attention outside the news, though to be fair, it was rather early in the morning. By noon, they got a message from Talia that things were good to go on their end, and expected them to meet her within the hour. Aela naturally grabbed her things and led the way to the nearest fast transit point.
"Are you excited?" Aela asked Perkins, as they flew through the city in the aircar.
"For what?" Perkins replied, taking his eyes off the view of the city.
"For seeing another new planet, I mean."
"It's a yes and no kind of thing," he admitted after a while. "On one hand, it's another brand new planet, and from the way you describe it, it sounds like a virtual melting pot of cultures. On the other, I've had hardly a day to even get a feel for this planet. It's hardly enough time to even begin to get a sense for it."
"Sense?"
"You know, every place has a flavor to it. A kind of something that distinguishes its people rom everything else. Even stations have that kind of culture to an extent."
"Take New London, center of Bretonnian culture. Most everyone there works a government job and the people tend to think very linearly. Very focused on their procedures and all that bureaucracy stands for. Cambridge on the other hand is full of hopefuls, its people tend to be quite idealistic and always seek to learn more about the universe and all that. Manhattan is corp and rich central. I mean, of course there are exceptions to every rule, but… you just get this feel for each planet and city the more you interact with it."
"I think I understand." Aela said after a brief silence. "Like how the Citadel has its highs and lows, the gleam of the Presidium and the neon lights of the Wards, Serrice's University, and the Temple of Athame, all of them have an… atmosphere about them."
"Yeah, and it's something I really look forward to seeing more of." Perkins aid with a certain amount of.. wistfulness to him.
"Well, I guess as a Freelancer with a galaxy to explore, that won't be anything near as much as a problem for you huh?"
"Right." he said, his normally cheeky tone returning. "Let's go."
"I'm glad you two could make it." Talia said the moment they arrived at the ship. "I figured you would be far too busy in whatever room you two managed to squirrel yourselves away in."
"Nothing like that happened. At all," Aela said quickly. "I prefer things to be professional between me and Perkins."
"Employer employee relationships are always bad in my experience." Perkins helpfully supplied.
"Good. That means I can have you all to myself, hon." Talia said as she slid up to Perkins' side. "I can show you all sorts of things we asari are famous for."
Aela just shook her head, noting that Korvan and Lia were both doing so as well. Aela silently hoped for something to happen to bring Talia to some sort of seriousness. Like pirates for instance.
A woman could dream after all. It was probably a horrible thing to wish for, but she had a feeling that it would definitely be preferable to what she figured was coming.