My boss, the infallible commander Shepard, savior of the galaxy, shining beacon for all mankind has ditched us at the bar. He had better things to do like investigate a murder scene than drinking with his best buddy. Perhaps it's for the best. I haven't really had a chance to talk with Kasumi and Mordin who by the way brought the three of us drinks. He gets them for free thanks to Aria's immensely gratitude. I try to get him to spill the beans, but he refuses to talk about said. Said it was STG related.

My vocal cords are getting exercise today "I CALL BULLCRAP."

"What does bovine excrement have anything to do with my connection to Aria?" The distant salarian asks.

Kasumi puts down her drink to answer "it's a human phrase. It means he thinks you're lying."

"Come on tell us the story. Did you and Aria have special intimate mommy daddy fun time?" I cringe at my own words.

"I rather not speak of this. I should be examining my patients. I wish to verify my dispersal agent doesn't have long lasting consequences" Mordin gets up from his chair and I pull him back in.

"You're not escaping this conversation. Better tell us know instead of being trapped in the Normandy with me" Mordin's grunt signals I'm right.

He asks "You're not letting me go, are you?"

"Nope" Kasumi and I said in unison.

Mordin quickly swallows his drink. When he's drunk he sounds normal "huuugh. I opened my clinic on omega to redeem myself. Aria didn't trust me. The asari was informed I was former STG, wisely she didn't believe I had quit. I wouldn't have either. Time passed and she required my expertise. I never question the circumstances and she appreciated my silence. One day I had a very unfortunate series of events. Experiments failed. Unable to sleep which is highly dangerous for salarians, a patient died unexpectedly. She… helped me through the night" Mordin explained.

"Oooo" I let out.

"I am aware of social customs of species who engage in coitus. Salarians reproduce externally. We're unable to experience the pleasure other species have. Someone tried inventing a helmet that would activate similar regions in our brains to recreate the experience for better understanding of other races and curiosity. It failed. Our nervous systems would be overwhelmed" he said.

"So you didn't?" Kasumi asks.

"I did not participate in the bonding process. We have other means of connecting" Mordin steals Kasumi's margarita and swiftly drinks it. My gut twinges, alerting me. Mordin manages to escape while we try to figure out what he meant. I thought about it for a while then gave up. I notice Kasumi and I are alone.

"Am I ever going to get to see your face?" I ask.

"What has you so curious?" Kasumi asks.

I answer "I want to see if my imagination beats reality."

Kasumi warns me "You might be in for disappointment."

"No risk no reward" I said.

"Oh maybe another time. After I had a few more drinks" she teases.

"Fine. I can be patient. How does your suit work? Does it recreate the light around you?" I ask.

"I didn't produce it. It's a modified miniature element zero field generator. It does something that allows nearly all the light to pass through me. There is a part in my hood you can't see that amplifies any light passing through which is how I see" she explains.

"This element zero stuff sounds like a cheat code" I rub my face.

"So how is it being a kleptomaniac and unable to steal anything from the guy you have a massive crush on?" I seductively drink my water. It looks better in real life than in written word.

"Bold of you to assume that last part" she gets comfortable, resting her elbow on the table.

I remind her "You said I was cute in your non-american language."

"That's one interpretation. Oh! Why don't we speak Japanese? It's been so long since I've had a conversation in one" she said.

"Can't. I tried. Something about my tongue makes it sound like a blender with screws and a screaming chicken had hate babies whose crying are the worst" I said.

"You must be exaggerating. Who learns to only understand a language?" She asks.

"This guy. Maybe I need motivation" I said.

"Oh?"

"A couple of times I learned the language to get closer to my girlfriend. I'd say only the important stuff in her language. It hit different. They love it" I said.

"I know what you mean. My husband ke…" the atmosphere grinds to a halt.

"I didn't know you were married" the back of my neck is warming up.

"We weren't. Not technically. An application for marriage license would notify the police. We had our own promise. He… he died not too long ago. I am having a really hard time letting him go. I have this box that contains most of his memories. It's not the real Kenji. My love encoded information that will lead to the arrest of some very powerful and nasty people, but it would destroy all I have left of him. Shep is giving me the choice what to do" Kasumi said.

"I have no idea what to say" I replied.

"Shep said you were wise beyond your years. I was kinda hoping you had insight" she said.

"I know a lot of crap because I've went through a lot of crap. I never lost someone that important to me. I have no idea what I would do, and I shouldn't give you advice that I'm not sure I'd do if I were in your shoes" I said.

"That's disappointing" Kasumi frowns.

I have one idea "Should we make Mordin pay for an expensive drink?"

"No need. I stole the most expensive bottle before we talked to the head woman. It tastes so much better when you don't have to pay for it" she shows me the green decorative... wine bottle?

"I'm more of an earn it guy but whatever floats your boat" both my and Kasumi's omnitool beeps. Shepard asks us to meet them at the entrance to the VIP club. Said it is urgent and I will be especially needed.

"How long have we been drinking?" I get drunk of the atmosphere. It feels like it has only been half an hour at most.

Kasumi answers "It's been... about... hiccup. 100 milicycles."

"How long is that in minutes" I ask.

"I think 90 minutes. Two hours? I don't know. Time slows down when you're drinking. We should go find them."

Kasumi leads the way and I keep anyone asking for trouble away. We find Thane, Samara, and Shepard waiting for us. Mordin won't be joining and we'll meet him back at the Normandy.

"Both Shepard and I combed the details of the most recent victims. The killer is the asari who has developed a taste for strong passionate individuals. Normally women but men have been victims as well" Thane explains.

"My daughter did have a fondness for individuals bestowed with those traits when she was young. She has not hunted those with the characteristics I have just mentioned before. Something has changed. This is worrysome. It could mean that she is dry on inhibitions. She will be exceedingly dangerous. This will benefit us, and it will be easy to trap her" Samara explained.

"Now all we need is some tempting bait. This is where you come in" Shepard satisfyingly smiles.

"Oh God no!"