Silversun Strip

"Oh, here's a good one. The newest N7 recruit, and the Second Human Spectre walk into a restaurant."

"You're so funny, Vega." Ashley Williams said with a deadpan expression.

"It's a gift." Her companion, James Vega, replied with a smirk. The pair had just entered another of the several restaurants on the Strip, in search of food to bring to the party. Few places had very much in the way of Dextro-suitable items, and most had little to offer for bulk orders in general. Ryuusei Sushi did have a wide range, at least before Shepard's little adventure.

While the host left to retrieve a menu, Ashley eyed her friend.

"So, James. Honest question. You've seen a fair amount of her so far. What's your take on Abby?"

"Hmm… well…" James rubbed his hands together as he formulated an answer. "She can definitely handle herself in a fight. She knows her way around a blade. She's laid back and easy to talk to. And… at the risk of a verbal or physical reprisal, she's not bad on the eyes."

Ashley thought for a moment before nodding.

"That's probably the most… PG thing I've ever heard you say."

"Hey, come on! There's more to me than that." James said, opting to not share the more explicit opinions.

"So Kitana, huh?"

"Yep. I meant every word when I christened her, too."

"And Shepard is Lola, Garrus is Spike, Tali is Machine… how about me?"

James drummed his fingers on the bar. "Ya'know… I've never really thought of one."

Ashley scoffed. "Wow. Nice to see how much I mean to you."

"Nono. Like a good one. Jarhead and Guns seem a bit too on the nose. Loca is too close to Lola, and with how often Shepard takes you out with the squad, that would just get confusing. Chief is… well… what you used to be called, and from what I've heard, you didn't like it."

"I'm never going back to Gunnery Chief again." Ash grumbled.

"Hmm…" James racked his brain. "How about Cookie?"

"Cookie?"

"Yeah. You like food. Like, a lot."

"I do." Ashley said.

"Here you are." The host, a surprisingly cheerful sounding Batarian, said as he placed a large leather bound menu in front of Ashley. "Can I help with anything else?"

"No. Thanks." Ash replied, opening the book.

"Alright then. Now, just a fair warning, there are a few items in here that aren't available for catering orders. However, they can be ordered in bulk as a separate order. I'll give you a few minutes."

As the man hurried off to his host podium, James began reading over his friend's shoulder.

"Wow… Pricey."

"Ehh. Skipper said she was paying, and that money wasn't an issue. And frankly, I believe her."

"Seriously? They're askin' for an arm and a leg just for the appetizers. Hopefully they won't use them for that, though."

"Relax, James. Shepard has more credits than she'll ever be able to spend. Kinda comes with the territory of being the galaxy's savior. Twice over."

"Really?" James cocked his head.

"Oh yeah. More than once, we went to the weapons vendors in the Wards to try and sell whatever stuff we found out on missions. Weapon mods, armor, ammo mods, that kind of stuff. She kept getting error messages from her account saying that the displayed amount couldn't go any higher. In essence, she had 'too much money'."

"Talk about 'modest bragging'... What did she end up doing with it all?" Vega asked as Ashley kept browsing.

"Bought guns. Lots of guns. And Biotic implants. Anything that had a price tag on it, she would at least consider. This is going to be nothing."

After a few moments, Williams let out an exasperated noise.

"Of course they don't offer the Shaak Roast Tacos for catering. That's probably the best thing on the menu, too."

"Then we can just… order in bulk, right?"

"Probably not. The roast itself takes forever to make, and one plate only gives you two of them." Ashley sighed, turning the page. "They would've had to start making them yesterday for how many we would need."

"Hunt down the recipe and I'll make them." James offered. "Probably better than this place, too."

"That's the fourth time you've offered to cook for the party, James. You know, maybe you should be Cookie."

"Oh har har." Vega pulled the menu closer to himself. "The hell are 'Huttese Slime Pods'?"

"Good question. Most of this menu is actually Batarian, thanks to the Embassy they used to have here."

"Huh. That explains Four Eyes there." James gestured to the host, who was organizing something behind his podium.

"And many of the patrons, who can probably hear you." His friend hissed.

Ashley continued to thumb through the menu for a few minutes, occasionally pointing out interesting items, until she reached the last page.

"So, Vega. Anything catch your eye, or should we keep looking?"

"Plenty of things here are catching my eye, Ashley." James said with a smirk. Growing annoyed with the stocky Marine's mouth, Ash picked up the menu and smacked him with it.

"Stop it." She growled, a smile creeping onto her lips. "Seriously. What should we do?"

"Grocery shopping." James said, taking the menu from her and placing it back on the counter. "It's settled. I'm cooking. You can help… if you like."

Ashley shrugged. "Alright then. And I'll consider your invitation."

Vega took the lead out of the restaurant, politely waving to the host. Williams lagged behind, watching James walk, and surprising herself with the colorful thoughts filling her head.


A/N: Really doing my best to stay on top of myself with writing. The long hours of physical labor aren't helping, but at least I have Fridays off.

The menu items Ashley and James are looking at are actually from the 'Official Star Wars Blackspire Outpost Cookbook'. I highly recommend a few of the dishes and drinks.

The Coruscant Cooler is my new favorite cocktail.

This small chapter is also a bit of a hint towards one of the side ships between Ashley and James. During some of the party scenes, they can be seen flirting with each other, so I figured why not?

Speaking of, the party is coming soon, I promise. Just bear with me!

Thank you all for your patience, and I'll see you in the next one