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[Kel Riever]

The Mark V was accelerating as it came out of the large bank of turn seven and headed low across the open sea.  There was an altitude that was definitely too low for efficiency, but the design of the bikes was to handle all altitudes on the course.  Longbow was heading to 'top speed', or as she had explained earlier, the speed the bike could handle without destroying itself.

Things got warm inside.  Even with her cooled suit, literally environmentally sealed due to pressure and the extremes, Irina broke a sweat.  She knew it was from the insane performance levels of the machine she was riding on top of.  Beyond the wakes that were shred through the water below them, beyond the illusion of vapor clouds travelling with the jet bike, Irina saw rings or ripples emanating from the jet bikes in front and behind, as light waves were altered from her point of view.  Finally, Longbow eased up on the thrust (which was dominated by afterburner at speeds three times above sound) as they came into the last, long turn, highlighted by hard light that protected hilly grasslands just outside the city proper.  Coming out of the turn, it was a straight shot across the line for the completion of lap one.

The initial battle for position was over and now the strategy was setting in.  Thirty seconds befor the line, the 'pit' (or control as they called it) came back on the line, with the chief checking in.  Conversation was short.  It was only one total minute before they'd be cut off from communication again.

"How's the S.O. holding up, Longbow?"

"She's a natural.  Got us through the screw and ahead of Gallant."

"Well, your work is just beginning.  Gallant's still got pressure on you from the rear, and you've got seven to catch.  Race tight."

"Affirmative Control."  Longbow then said to Irina.  "Watch that 'six' as you call it.  I don't want any 'bandits' sneaking up on us." 
 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

(OOC - if it hasn't already been done, I've decided to move the Medusa to Armali for reasons)

 

Although the jetbike races were the big event in Armali, Dahlia wasn't that interested in them. This was the Asari home world. A world she with which she had little in common. Born in the slums of Omega with a Batarian father who was a hard worker and honest man she never had much. Being part of an honest family on Omega tended to make one poor. She wanted out of the slums and fell in with some dark company.

 

75 years earlier

 

Dahlia met a shadow in a night club where she had been waiting tables. Dahlia observed people. She listened in on conversations. Then the shadow saw her walk to a table with a couple of Turian VIPs who were slumming it for the evening. She stood there flirting with them as she took their drink orders and slipped a bug under the table. The table top amplified the voices. The shadow watched her as she listened and recorded the conversations. She brought them several rounds of drinks, took a fat tip, then at the end of her shift took a walk not to her apartment, but by a bank and made a deposit in the drop box. It wasn't her credits. 

 

The shadow stopped her, and she jumped. 

 

"Who are you? What do you want?" she asked.

 

"That is a dangerous game you're playing," the shadow said in a female voice, obviously an Asari. 

 

Dahlia tried to move around her. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just made a deposit in my bank account."

 

"And you lie quite well, too," she replied as she blocked Dahlia's path.

 

Dahlia's aura flared. "Step aside. I know how to defend myself."

 

"Please, I don't want to hurt you. I've been watching you for several weeks now. You're quite intriguing," she replied. "My boss said it's time to make contact."

 

Dahlia was perplexed. "Contact? Contact for what?"

 

"I'm going to make you a one time offer. An offer you can't refuse."

 

"Maybe I don't want to hear it?"

 

"I think you will. This is long term employment and the job pays quite well. But I'll warn you, once you're in, you're in," the Asari said. "If you want to walk away, do so now and be poor the rest of your life."

 

The last words echoed in Dahlia's mind. "What's the job?"

 

"The galaxy runs on information. Information that the Shadow Broker provides," the shadow said. "Your first assignment is to infiltrate Aria's operation. Don't become a stupid dancer. I'm talking about becoming a protege. Someone in whom she takes an interest."

 

Dahlia laughed. "This is some kind of joke, right? Surely you have someone inside already."

 

"Alas we did, but he got caught, and Aria flayed his mind. We need a replacement," she said. "That's you. Now, go home and sleep. You start tomorrow."

 

Dahlia scoffed. "Protege? You're kidding, right? From what I understand, Aria only takes in the young maidens whom she can mold the way she wants. I'm nearly 100."

 

The shadow smiled. "You had trouble getting this job, right? You look very young for you age. You fit the profile: both parents dead; strong biotic potential. We'll provide you with a cover. Everything will check. You just do what you're told," she replied. "Once you're settled in, we'll be in touch."

 

*******

 

Present Day - Armali - the Hotel.

 

Dahlia had done some shopping earlier in the day for some finery that she'd likely never get to wear in a place other than Armali. Back in her room, in the suites reserved for Medusa crew, she showered and put on her full length white long sleeved dress, heels, left her room and sauntered past the Janiri crew rooms on her way to the expensive sushi restaurant up on the roof where she had made reservations. She was walking past Johnny's room when....

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Irina kept her eye on Gallant who didn’t back off and stayed on their tail about eight lengths back through most of the race. On lap 143, the #41 bike missed the entrance to the corkscrew and flipped throwing its riders into the mass effect netting, but spreading debris all over the hard light surface of the track and caused another couple of bikes to crash causing the race to be run under the yellow flag for the next 20 laps. Three of the riders were treated for minor injuries but two others were seriously injured. One lucky rider escaped unharmed.

 

When the yellow flag came out Irina contacted control and told them to prepare for refueling. Longbow agreed. It was an opportune time since no one could advance and afterward they would be able to bunch up with the leaders for another rolling start behind the pace bike. Unfortunately this meant that those behind would also be able to catch up. However, the yellow kept the entire field at subsonic speeds for a while. Longbow and Irina were now nestled in 4^th behind Stormfront.

[Cknarf]

At the hotel

 

The marine stepped out in his casual duds, a light gray tank, Alliance blue BDU pants, and his trusty BCGs. With his face buried in his omni-tool, as it often was, he nearly collided with the passing asari. She had actually startled him a bit, causing him to take a quick step back.

 

“Sorry.” He apologized almost immediately, in proper Johnny fashion. “I was just going to have this...” He began offering an explanation to the stranger, before realizing that he probably sounded like a total weirdo. Like she gave a f*** about what he was doing.

 

"Sorry." He said one more time. While he offered no further explanation, the stained suit draped over his shoulder, as well his omni-tool's search results that were reflected in his glasses offered her a pretty good idea of where he was headed.  

 

Oh God.

 

Johnny pushed his glasses up a bit, and prepared himself mentally for a conversation with yet another stranger.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Dahlia smiled and looked over at Johnny. "Cleaned?" she said referring to the suit, and stopped momentarily. "It's alright. No need to apologize. I assume you're with the Janiri since you're in their assigned block of rooms? The Alliance BDUs gave you away. One of Naleena's team? I'm Dahlia, Navigator for the Medusa. I was part of the Janiri team until we retook the Medusa a few months ago. Tell you what. Why don't we take that suit down to the hotel cleaners, then you join me for dinner. You look like you could use a decent meal, and I know just the place." Dahlia hooked her arm through his, a move she had learned from Jess.

 

"Sorry if I seem so forward, but I don't get ashore as often as I used to. Do you like sushi? They have other food on the menu if you don't. I have reservations at the restaurant on the roof. Window seats." she said as she started walking with him. "Supposed to have a fantastic view of the city and surrounding area. We might even be able to see the race, not that I really care about that. I'd just like some company for dinner, and the way you behaved just now was ... cute." Dahlia flashed her big purple eyes at him, eyes that would make all but the hardest person melt.

[Cknarf]

Johnny sighed internally at the Dahlia’s remark, but maintained his cool on the outside. As cool as his social awkwardness would allow, anyways. He was still feeling a little warm. He responded with something that hardly passed for a polite smile, despite feeling slightly uncomfortable with the unexpected contact.

 

“I uh… well. I mean, yeah, sushi sounds great, but…” Johnny carefully weaseled his arm free, opening his omni-tool again in an attempt to make his weaseling less obvious. “I’m hardly dressed for dinner at such a place…” Johnny knew it was a poor excuse, since she clearly didn’t mind his current attire in the first place. If only he could muster up the courage to say ‘no’ every once in awhile...

 

This time he did, in a way.

 

No. You’re going, and that’s final.

 

He told himself. If he could go get wasted and watch a shitty movie with the biggest, baddest turian he had ever personally laid eyes on, why couldn’t he enjoy a quiet dinner with a seemingly pleasant asari?

 

“Dress blues.” He said under his breath, remembering his Alliance dress uniform. “I mean… I’ll be right back.”

 

Johnny emerged from his room a short time later, dressed in something far more appropriate.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Dahlia looked him over. "Nice. There's something about Alliance dress blues that look better than the others, and the way you carry you covers when indoors, under the left arm," she said, and noticed that when she went to take his arm he had an awkward look on his face since his hands were full. Dahlia simply smiled. "I'll take the suit, and your arm."

 

They waited for the elevator that took them first to the lobby where they dropped off the suit at the dry cleaners, then up to the roof to Sarina's where there was a line outside waiting to get in. Dahlia just led Johnny past the line.

 

The hostess wearing a long light blue gown with a gold and white pattern approached. "I'm sorry but you'll have to wait."

 

"We have reservations," Dahlia said.

 

"So do the people in line."

 

Dahlia tapped her omni-tool.

 

The hostess' omni-tool buzzed. She looked at it and raised her left brow. "Sorry for the inconvenience. Right this way," she said, grabbed two menus, and escorted them to the window table that Dahlia had described. "Zensah will be your server. Enjoy your evening."

 

Zensah had arrived immediately. "May I take your drink order?"

 

"Bring a bottle of the Monastic Honey Mead and two chilled glasses," Dahlia said and glanced at Johnny. "It's not as sweet as you think, and it will go well with the meal."

 

Zensah nodded and left.

 

"I didn't feel like waiting an hour in that line, did you?" Dahlia said. "And 200 CR? That's probably what that hostess makes on her entire shift. So tell me about you. You still haven't told me your name. Where are you from? Do you have a family?"

[Cknarf]

"Johnny." He answered, without looking away from the view outside. "I'm from Earth, as are a lot of humans my age." He glanced back for a moment, before looking outside again. "I lived most of my life in a place just like this..." He gestured out the window. "Just... not as big, I guess." He said, shrugging as he turned back to face Dahlia. 

 

Much to Johnny's relief, the waitress returned just before he got to the family question, excusing him from an answer, if only temporarily. She set a chilled glass before each of them, and carefully filled them. She left the bottle at the table, as requested.

 

"I'm... really not all that interesting." Johnny shrugged again. "Neither is my life, so far. Although, the past couple of weeks have been pretty crazy." He wrapped his fingers around the glass, and lightly swirled the liquid. "Working with a spectre... how the hell did I work that one out?" He chuckled a bit, shaking his head.

 

"Why don't you tell me a little about yourself instead?" Johnny asked, making contact with those eyes that he was instantly jealous of. But only briefly, because eye contact was hella awkward. "I'm sure someone with a century or two of life experience would have something worth sharing."

[Kel Riever]

Armali Raceway

The full speed jetbikes on their 'yellow flag' laps once again could be heard as they passed the start line (as opposed to their silent approach at supersonic speeds, only to be heard after they'd shot through).  Longbow was going through a systems check with Irina, and using the onboard VI to execute any minor repairs.  One was the use of Omni-gell to seal the threat of any microfissures in the hull.  It was a chance to take a drink from the limited supply of water onboard.  The constant heat from the function of the bike would get to the riders, otherwise, so hydrating was critical.

As the race got under way again, traffic was almost as intense as the start.  Fewer riders were bucking for position but those that did, had more on the line with most of the race done.  The threats were somewhat different now, with Gallant far back in 12th.  Coming out of the first turn, Longbow and Red were close on Stormfront, just below and behind her in the perfect chase position, and Eccentric in third could be taken in a few laps.  Even better, Silver Specter and Terminatrix could be seen, something impossible before. 

"Time to close in," Longbow said with a growl.  But then something hit the Mark V.

It was the slightest of pings, hitting the bike at still just under the speed of sound.  Irina had seen what looked like a thin vapor streak come off of Stormfront's bike to tag the hull of the Mark V. 

"Goddess that pain in my ass, Stormfront!" Longbow shouted.

The VI showed a sliver of red on a diagram of the bike.  Irina saw whatever clipped them was probably small, but at their speeds, anything could cause a problem, and this certainly did.  There was a hull fracture which was automatically sealed by the computer, but it caused the ever so slight inefficiency of the hull.  Irina saw the VI was attempting to further the repairs, but for some reason the VI was having a hard time with it. 

Longbow slipped one bike into fifth from the reaction.  She wasn't the worst loss of placing, however, as Eccentric and Meter fell back from third to just behind the Mark V in 6th.  'Goldstrider' had moved up to fourth and Stormfront was now in third.  Longbow didn't lose any more distance however, and maintained her position.

"I swear Stormfront lost something on her hull on purpose," Longbow groused, but said nothing more as whatever happened was let go by the officials.  The race was on and there was no arguing with the ruling, or lack thereof.  Longbow had not taken every sliver of Irina's advice early on in the race, but as time had passed, she'd come to trust Red.  Now Longbow asked Irina what she knew was something she wouldn't have if Longbow didn't have faith in her.  "Red, you've got to make a call here.  Do I play it safe here and maintain for fifth, or do we push this bike to take this thing.  We're in this together.  I'm leaving you to make the call."





 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Dahlia took a sip of her mead. "Strong silent type. Alright, Johnn," she said and the menu was in Asari so she ordered for both of them. "I ordered a sushi plate and I ordered a sampler plate for you. It'll give you a broad spectrum of Asari cuisine. It tends to be a bit on the spicy side." Dahlia tapped her omni-tool to find a cross reference in human cuisine. "The closest I can find on Earth is a cross between Japanese and Thai. And don't worry, I didn't order you the 'live' plate."

 

She grabbed the stem of her glass with her fingers, and looked out the window. In her typical animated manner, Dahlia began to tell her story. "This is all foreign to me. I don't get to experience it very often, but it doesn't mean I don't like it. I grew up poor on Omega. When you grow up like that you do what is necessary to survive. More often than not bad things happen. My father was Batarian. Now I know what humans think of Batarians, but he was a kind and loving father, and he never mistreated my mother. My parents ran a shop until they were robbed by some thugs when I was 50. I was out making deliveries when they were robbed and killed. The motive was that my father wouldn't pay the hike in protection money to one of the gangs," she said and poured herself another glass of mead. "At such a young age, for an Asari, I had neither ability nor the desire to take over the family business. I didn't want to remain poor, so I hooked up with a rival gang and began to spy and gather information on the gang that killed my parents. My gang finally had enough intel to take out their rival, so a gang war started." 

 

She took a deep breath and paused. "I hope I'm not boring you, but you did ask. Aria doesn't like gang wars. They get messy, so she and her enforcers stepped in after we'd weakened each other sufficiently, and she found me. 'Well, well, well. What have we here? So much talent being wasted. Take her,' she said. The others didn't fare so well, but I really didn't care about them. Aria started me doing pretty much the same thing: espionage, then running drugs. Then she took me aboard her frigate and taught me how to be a navigator. But I was young and kept screwing up. One day a few months ago, she handed me over to Naleena to 'teach me some discipline.' That was before she became a Spectre.

 

Dahlia sighed. "Naleena's idea of teaching me discipline was to have me filing. I hated it. It went on that way until I saved her ass on Duellos. Without my barriers they would have been Aspirant chow. Oh, those were the abominations the Drowned Aspire was making down in the mine. Thousands of them," she said turning to Johnny and leaned across the table. "The Asari Navy carpet bombed the area of the planet with anti-matter bombs. Later, when we took back the Medusa for Captain Stone I saved Morgan's life and stayed behind as Stone's navigator. Better than filing papers, right? Naleena got Anika in exchange, so I think that worked out okay.

 

"My favored weapon is a modified Claymore. I like the finer things in life. But now on this mission, I get to see the galaxy, and... I'd like to see more of it in a less stressful manner once our mission is done."

 

Their meal arrived saving her from having to come up with more to say, Johnny apparently getting tongue tied. She picked up a piece of sushi and bit into it. "Delicious. This is to die for. How is yours?"
 

[Cknarf]

"It's..." Johnny began, closely examining whatever was on the end of his utensil with a raised eyebrow. "Different." 

 

For such a beautiful race, the asari sure have some ugly food.

 

He took a bite of the mystery object.  It tasted fine, but the texture was tough, yet somehow gelatinous. He felt as though it might have been one of those dishes where you're better off not knowing where it came from. "This is nice, though." He held up his glass, and finished it. "I might have to bring a bottle of this back to the ship with me." He said, while filling his again, and topping off Dahlia's.

 

"I think I can bring alcohol aboard... found a small stash of what I think might have been whiskey in my quarters... I threw it out."

 

Spoiler

"You what?"

 

Johnny poked at his weird food, not really sure of what else to talk about. He was beginning to regret his decision to come, not because of the food, or Dahlia. The guy was just a little awkward. He might have smiled a little bit, kinda.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"It's..." Johnny began, closely examining whatever was on the end of his utensil with a raised eyebrow. "Different." 

 

For such a beautiful race, the asari sure have some ugly food.

 

He took a bite of the mystery object.  It tasted fine, but the texture was tough, yet somehow gelatinous. He felt as though it might have been one of those dishes where you're better off not knowing where it came from. "This is nice, though." He held up his glass, and finished it. "I might have to bring a bottle of this back to the ship with me." He said, while filling his again, and topping off Dahlia's.

 

"I think I can bring alcohol aboard... found a small stash of what I think might have been whiskey in my quarters... I threw it out."

 

Spoiler

"You what?"

 

Johnny poked at his weird food, not really sure of what else to talk about. He was beginning to regret his decision to come, not because of the food, or Dahlia. The guy was just a little awkward. He might have smiled a little bit, kinda.

 

Dahlia giggled at Johnny's discomfort with the food. "It's just seafood with noodles. The flour is clear making look like a gelatin, but that's okay," she said and called the server over and spoke quietly to her in a dialect not picked up by the translator. 

 

The server smiled and nodded. 

 

"You feel a bit awkward, don't you?" she said. "Well, don't. I mean, how much more awkward could the evening be? Only an hour ago you nearly knocked me over in the hallway. You were in your BDUs taking your clothes to dry cleaning and probably thinking about watching a vid or something. Next thing you know you're in your dress blues, in a five-star restaurant having dinner with an Asari you just met only moments before. And you have a strange looking dish in front of you that you don't really know what to do with.

 

"How about this?" Dahlia said, put her elbows on the table, folded her hands and rested her chin on them. "How about we start this over? I spoke to our server and she's bringing you a nice steak. I hope you like medium-rare. And some grilled vegetables. I can't have the man I'm with go hungry. She perfectly understood and there was no offense taken.

 

"And you can talk to me about anything you want," she said again giving him her big purples. "Your time in the military. Sports you played if any. Maybe we'll go for a walk on that beach after dinner if you'd like. It's warm out, and perhaps you like the ocean?"

[Cknarf]

“That sounds… great, actually.” Johnny nodded. “There aren’t exactly beaches back home, you know. In Indiana, I mean, not Earth. Earth has plenty of beaches.” He sipped at his drink, and looked back outside. He was quiet for a moment.

 

“I… uh… I was never really into sports. I might have been a little on the heavy side back then, too. I don’t know how things work on Thessia, but on Earth, fat kids with asthma don’t exactly excel at sports.” He chuckled a bit, facing back towards Dahlia.

 

Are there chubby asari? Hm…

 

Johnny couldn’t think of any off the top of his head, but he couldn’t help but feel as though he was going to see one very soon. ((Character idea, or nah?))

 

“I signed up with the Alliance as soon as I could. Because…” There was a noticeable pause in his speech. “Well, I just wanted to see more of the galaxy, I guess. Not that you really see much from inside of a ship, or anything.” He shrugged. “Still, I feel my life has done nothing but improve since I joined, really. I made some good friends in the Alliance, Friday especially.”

 

Johnny pulled up a photo of himself, bench pressing a much smaller marine. The man had a bright-red high and tight, and was displaying a proud middle finger. Their ‘spotter’ was a lanky kid, who closely resembled the man being lifted.

 

“That’s James. Biggest a*shole in the galaxy, and closest thing I’ve ever had to a brother.” Johnny pointed first to the guy he was holding up, and then to the other.“And that’s Carroll. His actual brother.” He closed the omni-tool.

 

“The Alliance is also responsible for… well, all of this.” Johnny gestured at himself, perhaps sounding a little vain, which he likely had every right to be. He was quite the specimen. He valiantly fought off an urge to flex.

 

“They really kicked my ass, and gave me the confidence I needed to better myself in a way I never thought possible, and I am forever thankful for that.”

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Armali Raceway

 

Irina checked the readout on her VI as they exited the corkscrew and it confirmed everything. Not bad enough to put them out of the race, but bad enough to keep them from winning. She also noticed a harmonic oscillation in the engine. It wasn’t bad, but it was happening at high speeds. If they pushed the bike hard the oscillation in the engine would widen it and could eventually cause the bike to break apart at full speed.

 

“On purpose you say?” Irina asked.

 

“Yes,” Longbow replied. “But I can’t prove it. No one can prove it.”

 

“Hold our position, then, and give me a minute,” Irina said and ran some high speed sims. They showed some instability could occur down the main straight with the current thrust configuration if they tried to push the engines as needed to improve their position. “First they took your S.O., now this. I’m sorry, Longbow, we have a little problem. Not unsolvable, but it will take a little… creativity. Just… don’t push this thing.”

 

“I’ll hold our position then,” Longbow sighed. “Void!”

 

As they entered turn 8, Irina got on her communicator with control. “Control, this is Sloane. We have a problem. We have a minor hull fracture. It’s sealed, but it’s causing some instability… Yes I’ve run the sims. Here’s the data…. No, we’re not going to bring it in. You give us a solution…. What do you mean there is no solution?” Irina asked and got mad. And Longbow could hear her. “Longbow, just maintain position.”

 

“It’s alright, Red,” Longbow commented with some resignation.

 

“I’m not giving up, Longbow,” Irina flipped back to control. “Put me through to Alisa Cascian…. What?.... No. I’m registered under Cascian Racing…. This is perfectly legal, and she’s cleared by the committee….”

 

“Who is it?” Longbow asked.

 

“Cerenya,” Irina replied.

 

“She’s got an ego,” Longbow commented. ”This is Longbow. Don’t argue with her. Just do it!”

 

“Alright, we’ll have her on your next window,”  

 

Alisa was with Irina’s bike in the shuttle watching the race when she got the call with about 40 laps to go. “Cascian here.”

 

“Alisa, this is Irina. I need a favor. We’ve got a problem: a minor hull fracture. It’s small and sealed, but we’re still getting a red light. Could be dangerous if we push this thing. I’m sending you some data, and I need a solution,” she said. “Use our resources, then get back to me.”

 

Alisa took a look at the data that was coming in. “I’m on it.”

 

“What are you doing?” Longbow asked.

 

“Leveling the field,” Irina said.

 

Alisa pulled up the Starscreamer’s specs. This bike was the dream bike to her. Her dad had raced the older Mk IIIs back on Palaven, and she was a grease monkey, constantly tweaking the thing before she joined the Turian military for her obligatory service. The Mk V wasn’t that different, just more sophisticated and a little faster. Sealing a hull fracture on the fly was tricky but it could be done. What surprised her was that Longbow’s crew seemed to be content with 5^th place. Must be that long life thing. But Irina gets one shot. Then she noticed something that wasn’t off, but it could be better. Irina's data showed some core oscillations but they were within racing spec. Within spec wasn't good enough for her. The shuttle’s military VI was far more sophisticated than those on the bikes and what the pit crew had, and she input Irina’s data directly, and it spat out a solution. She ran a sim. It still wasn’t good enough: Alisa applied some manual tweaking to the numbers in the .001s and the Mk V had a little more in it than they thought. Alisa smiled with satisfaction and copied the calibration program from the VI. Calibrations and precision: along with the stick up the ass, it was a Turian thing.

 

Longbow entered turn 8 again, and Irina was on her comm to Alisa. “Talk to me, Alisa.”

 

 “Are you ready? First, it’s going to get a little warm. When you hit the straight you’ll need to lower your kinetic barrier by 40%. Shoot more omni-gel into the crack. The heat will cause the crack to close and create a bond. Then when the outer hull temp reaches 300^o C, start bringing up your kinetic barriers again slowly. Upload this program to do that,” Alisa said. “Then I noticed your thrusters were off a bit and I made these adjustments, also a minor adjustment to the core balance. This will get rid of that little harmonic oscillation and give you another 3% out of the core without overheating. I’ve sent that program to you as well. Good luck out there, and kick some ass for me.”

 

Irina smiled. “Thanks. I owe you.”

 

“Thank me when you win,” Alisa said. “And tell that Asari she owes me a drink.”

 

Irina prepared the omni-gel sealant. The bike was equipped with an underskin much like her skin weave that would deliver omni-gel to superficially damaged areas like this.

 

“I’m resealing the crack and I’m going to start lowering the kinetic barriers when we go into turn 7,” Irina said. “It’s gonna get quite warm in here but that should seal the crack. And I’m making some adjustments to our thrusters and core balance. Cascian thinks we can get another 3% out of this bike. Just don’t push it until I give you the green.”

 

As they came out of turn 7, the hull temperature began to increase. Infrared track sensors picked this up as a malfunction of their kinetic barriers and sent an automatic message to their control. Sweat started pouring off Irina and Longbow as it became increasingly uncomfortable in the cockpit. Then the hull integrity light turned green, and Irina ran the program to bring up the kinetic barriers again going into turn 8.

 

“This is control. We were notified of a malfunction in the kinetic barriers. Bring it in,” Cerenya said.

 

“Negative. No malfunction. Barriers are fine. We made a hull repair. Hull integrity is back to 100%. We’re finishing this race,” Irina said.

 

“Copy that. Control out.”

 

Irina programmed added the thrusters and core program. Something like this was blocked by a passcode. It required Longbow’s retinal ID to prevent tampering. “Longbow, our board is green. I just loaded the core and thruster program. I need your retinal ID for it to work. We have some ground to make up. And Cascian says if we win you owe her a drink.” 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Dahlia & Johnny

 

Johnny’s steak was done to perfection and although cut from one of the spacecows, tasted pretty darned close to beef, and the locally grown vegetables resembled grilled asparagus with a garlic butter. Dahlia had finished her sushi and sat in silence watching Johnny eat.

 

While he was eating an older pair, a matriarchal aged Asari and a matron, possibly her daughter were seated nearby. The matron was heavyset, obviously having enjoyed the finer things in life. Dahlia pointed her out to Johnny.

 

“See, not all of us are supermodels,” she said. “That’s just something you see in the travel brochures. Just like all we see for Earth in the brochures are well toned young men and women. It works both ways.”

 

After dinner they went down to the beach. Dahlia had grabbed a large beach towel at the hotel exit, and removed her heels. The sand felt good on her feet as they walked on the beach near the water as the Parnitha set in the west. The tide was out, and she found a rock that had been submerged during high tide. The noise of seabirds could be heard as they fed nearby. There was a tide pool filled with sea life, and she called Johnny over. Crab-like creatures, bright colored slugs with what looked like flowers on their backs.

 

“Don’t touch them,” she warned. “I read about them. They sting, but they’re beautiful, aren’t they?”

 

“They say our race evolved from this sea, but we’ve yet to find any fossil link to one of the sea creatures,” she said. “Strange isn’t it?”

 

She noticed the area was quite private as well. “It’s been long enough after dinner. Do you want to go for a swim?” she asked. “Don’t worry, we’re still near the hotel and there’s a protective barrier keeping predators from getting close to shore. It was in the resort brochure.”

[Cknarf]

“It’s not the predators I’m worried about…” Johnny began, as a naturally curious human finger eased its way toward one of the creatures that Dahlia had warned about. It was quickly pulled back as the structure on the animal’s back made a swift movement, not necessarily a hostile one.

 

Weird.

“There are still plenty of things I didn't learn in my time with the Alliance...” Johnny stood from his crouched position. “Like how to swim...” He sighed.

 

Surely it can't be that difficult.

 

Johnny decided that today was a perfect day to learn.  What better place than a secluded area, at dusk, with an asari half his size as the 'lifeguard'? There was only one way this could possibly go...

 

Spoiler

 

Swimmingly.

 

YEEEEEEAAAHHHHH

 

"I should be fine, as long as we don't go too deep." He said, sounding a bit unsure. Carefully, he began removing his uniform. For as shy as he was, Johnny was surprisingly cool with undressing in front of other people, likely thanks to seven years of the privacy-free showers that the Alliance was so fond of.

[Cainhurst Crow]

-Sanctum-

 

Machaera tapped his fingers lightly against his forearm as he stood with his arms behind his back, as he worked to keep himself from pacing. Patience was something he liked to think he had, however, patience only lasted so long when surrounded by incompetence.

 

"Have you sent the signal yet?" He asked with a growl in his voice, the technicians working on the computer systems flying through various screens and command boxes as they did their best.

 

"We're doing our best. The files you requested were heavily encrypted when he first arrived. And we had to compartmentalize them to access the other systems..."

 

"Work faster then..." He said, hand on his blade when he heard a whistle from behind, glancing back to see his biotics expert and semi-coverts specialist approaching with a cocky grin.

 

"Looks like someones in a foul mood..." Yron said, his voice sounding cheerful, if not a little curious, and the same smile he always had was plastered on his face a she approached, "All I've heard the last day or so have been files this, and send them that...So, what's the big plan you're working on, hmmm?"

 

"A simple task. One my technicians cannot seem to get right..." He said, his eyes going back to his frantic subordinates as he let go of his blade, "Shouldn't you be testing the new weaponry?"

 

"What? You mean those death rays?" Yron asked in mock surprise, thumbing back towards the hanger with a quickly returning smirk, "They're already done. Work like a charm, though they tend to overheat like crazy if you use them too long."

 

"Grrrrrrrrrr, Fine. Then go work on the armory or something...Or find me some data on Eclipse..." Machaera said with a dismissive wave of his hand, Yron raising a brow as he got an even toothier grin.

 

"Now why would you need me to do research on the eclipse?" He asked as he walked to stand right next to Machaera, "I figured batarian intelligence, or whatever the divisions called, would have any info you needed. And I doubt it's to do any operations against them, not with how anti-human we've been lining ourselves up as..." Yron looked towards Machaera as he rubbed his hands together.

 

"And then there's the data your looking for, about the blue suns, in their own systems...You want to hire them, don't you?" Machaera, if he hand't seemed tense already, was tensing up even more as he tightened his grip on his sword, fighting the urge to cut Yron down as yron looked to it and smirked harder.

 

"That swords fast...but you know I'm faster...especially on the draw." He said in his calm and jovial voice, seemingly not bothered by machaera's threats. He knew his boss, and it was only when he was calm, that you really had to watch out around him. "Anyway...I doubt your looking to just hire them. You want to do something under the books...and knowing our current modus operendi, it's going to involve a lot of people dying. Right?"

 

Machaera was silent, and Yron continued.

 

"I may have...a few contacts through Binary Helix. They still owe me after P'yatpree's little power grab..." Yron said as he shrugged his shoulders, "Though I don't see why you don't just set up a meeting yourself..."

 

"Sir! We Cracked the Encryption! We have the signals ready to access and to use..." The technicians called out, as various mail accounts opened on the screen, an in inside the Blue Suns communications network.

 

"I've sent a request for a meeting through the BSIU...I'm connected as well..." Machaera said as he seemed to relax a bit, yron still smiling as he held his own hands behind his back, and rested one hand on the grip of his gun.

 

"However, that will get me a meeting with a mid level grunt, or a spokesperson at best...Sending in the request, and flagging it as high interest through their own systems however..." Machaera said as he grinned, eyes flashing as he purred out the next words, "I'll be able to lead out some high profile suns...and they'll be able to tell me all I need to know..."

 

Like yron said, Machaera was dangerous when he was calm. Because it was when he was calm, that his murderous intent really reached its peak. For the drell, he was simply happy to not be the focus of said intent, though his smile was all too real.

 

Because nothing, to Yron, was as fun as dancing inches away from death. Just daring it to break him in two.

[Kel Riever]

Armali Raceway

"I'm going to celebrate this with a lot more than a drink," Longbow said as they left the communication window. 

Irina felt the bike throttle up, the heat inside the vehicle sweltering.  They were in traffic for a bit, and there was a sense of a controlled thrashing, as Longbow whipped around the slower racers like a slalom.  Then Goldstrider was in Longbow's sights.  The Mark V moved to the ideal position just below, and inside for the turn.  Goldstrider and her S.O. never saw it coming.  Longbow and Red shot under and through, screaming past Goldstider to catch back to fourth.

Now the laps were a countdown.  Time took on a whole different meaning, with each second passing seemingly slower, though each was more crucial.  The systems display on Irina's HUD was changing again, what was repaired to green showing wear again.  But Irina knew it wasn't because of the lack of a decent repair.  It was Longbow, and she was pushing the bike over whatever edge she might have taken it before.

Three laps more and Stormfront was just ahead, just outside of the thruster jet wash.  The fourth place bike wasn't going to give up, and kept shifting to cut Longbow off.  But the rookie of the year showed her piloting, gaming Stormfront with her own blocking, putting her off the line as she was so consumed with blocking Longbow and Red that Stormfront and her SO missed the perfect line coming into the mountain tunnel.  The Mark V slid past and hit the line perfectly.  Stormfront had whipped so hard to one side on her failed block attempt that she would miss the tunnel completely.  Instead, Stormfront was forced to abort the turn, and shot off the Tube to safety, but a healthy disqualification to the race.  As they came out of the mountain into a roaring turn seven, Irina saw Longbow glance towards Stormfront's bike with some satisfaction as her competitor flew across the open sky completely off the raceway.

"We're going to win or get ripped apart, Red," Longbow said, her voice seemed to pierce through like a spear.  "Keep up the damage control as long as you can."

They were down within ten laps now and Irina could see the starfire blue thrusters of Silver Specter, Terminatrix and Eccentric ahead as they crossed the launch strip.

"This is Control.  Longbow, your bike is on borrowed time.  Losing the Starscreamer isn't worth losing fourth."

"It's all right, Control.  I know what I'm doing."

It was hot to the point of being uncomfortable now, for Irina, and she could feel Longbow's body beneath her, burning with a fever.

~ ~ ~ ~

In the Iallis' booth, none of the sisters was sitting down, and all of them were pressed up against the window.  Only Drasteya sat, but Irina could see her gaze locked on the monitor.  The sisters were wide eyed, and talked to each other in a flurry.

"Holy Goddess, Longbow is going to go for first!"

"She's turning that bike into a meteor!  She's gonna melt it!"

"The void with that!  She's going to win!"

"GO WHISP!"
 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

The bike's core was had hit red line. It was running smooth, but the indicators were lighting up on Irina's HUD. Longbow tried to get around Silver Spectre into third a number of times but she was good. Real good and her speed matched them on the straight. Irina had been watching Longbow on Turns 7 and 8, and she was good enough to handle them with a lesser degree of kinetic barriers. This was going to take some timing. 

 

They came out of turn 1 and Irina started talking.

 

"Hey, Whisp, yeah, I looked it up, we got a little problem and I need to trust you now otherwise we're gonna cook," Irina said.

 

"Talk to me."

 

"You can only run at red line for short periods. It's a safety protocol. The VI is having a fit and is calling for a core shutdown," Irina said. "Now with Cascian's adjustments, she said we can get an extra 3% out of the core which to me means we can run over red line. There's only a couple laps left. We're in fourth. If you want this we need to make a run. I'm bypassing the safety protocols. You should be able to take Silver Spectre and Terminatrix on the next straight. But be careful. This will give us another 50 kph, but don't push it any more. The core is going to get hot. I hope we have enough reserve coolant to make it."

 

"Got it," Longbow replied. She understood the gravity of removing safety protocols. This was dangerous. One slip up and the core could blow. 

 

They'd gone through the corkscrew, drop, and around the turns and then entered turn 7. Longbow was in synch with Irina. They were one. "I'm droppin' the hammer!" she said and smiled.

 

The bike gave off a momentary puff of gold followed by blue as the afterburners kicked in. Irina monitored the heat and manually regulated the coolant. Silver Spectre and Terminatrix had gotten a little head start on the straight and started pulling away, but the Starscreamer started gaining, and midway down the straight Longbow swung outside their wash and cruised past them into second place. She went hot into turn 8, and to compensate so that the bike didn't come apart, Irina lowered the kinetic barrier braking. Longbow had to do the riding of her life in the turn and came out of it hot. Then Irina brought up the barriers to full. 

 

"What in the Void was that? Warn me next time!" Longbow said.

 

"There wasn't time. But you handled it, and now we're closer to Eccentric," Irina said. 

 

****

 

"What in the Void? Eccentric commented. "Control said that b*tch's bike was about toast a few laps ago and now she's coming up on my tail? Do something!"

 

Her S.O. made a few adjustments on their Cison CS4000. "I've got this thing running the best it can run. I'm giving you the best lines. I don't know what more we can do. And cameras are glued on us now so I can't drop any weight. The way they're running that bike will blow apart. Stay with the plan. We've got this."

 

****

 

Everyone was on their feet for the last lap. Everyone except Alisa Cascian who sat in the shuttle leaning forward with her eyes glued to the screen. Only Drasteya and Naleena still remained seated in the Iallis box. Naleena took her flask of her private reserve Ambrosia and poured Drasteya a finger in her glass, as well has her own. Jenus was on her feet. Iole was on her feet going nuts. Frank was.... well Frank and half drugged out. 

 

****

 

Eccentric and Longbow navigated the corkscrew, drop and the rest of the technical section. Longbow had closed the gap and tried to take her on turn 5, but Eccentric cut her off and Longbow had to regroup and lost several lengths going into turn 6. Eccentric looked like she was on the path to victory. Both riders went into turn 7 and hit their afterburners. Longbow hit them a little early trying to make up some lost ground. 

 

It worked. Mid-way down the straight she was closing the gap. 

 

"****!" Longbow shouted. "This is no good! I'll have to drop behind her for the turn, and we'll cross the finish line in second."

 

"You really want this, don't you? Will you trust an orange line, and can you hold it with minimal kinetic barrier braking?" Irina asked. "You'll have to engage thrusters if you lose it."

 

"How minimal are you talking?"

 

"I'll cut our barriers to 25%."

 

"Plus the orange line?"

 

"Yes, and I'll also cut the g-force neutralizers and redirect the power to control thrusters," Irina said. "It's going to get rough in here. About 3 Gs."

 

"Do it."

 

"Here's your line," Irina said, sent the line to her HUD, and made the adjustments to the bike.

 

"Anyone ever tell you that you're insane?"

 

"Even I know that," she laughed.

 

The gap between the two bikes closed to non-existent by the end of the straight. Eccentric took a standard line around the turn. Longbow swung to the outside for the first part, then as the turn tightened she pulled down inside of Eccentric. The g forces inside the bike were building and she fought the steering to hold her line. The bike began to groan under the strain and would have flipped off the track but the added control given to the stabilizer thruster power prevented that allowing for a faster turn. Irina almost blacked out, but then as Longbow pulled them out of the turn they were a half-length ahead of Eccentric as the checkered flag waved and a photo shot the finish line. 

 

"We have a winner! The team of Longbow and Red!"

 

At that moment the short track configuration appeared for the victory lap, which they completed despite the smoke trail.

[Cknarf]

"Holy t*ts! Like, who could have seen that comin'? I sure as sh*t didn't!"

 

===============================================

In the VIP area...

 

Mr. Taetrus had watched the last few laps of the race in complete silence, anxiously nibbling at the highly polished talon at the end of his thumb. As the unlikely victors crossed the line, he let out a deep sigh of disappointment.

 

"I'm... sorry things didn't turn out the way you had expected." Kira offered a little support, not that it meant much to the turian at this moment.

 

"As am I..." Taetrus said, as he stood. "Although, I suppose that's the risk one takes when gambling on an event with so many possible outcomes... No matter how sure you are that the odds are in your favor, there is always a chance that someone will surprise you... and cost you a great, great deal of credits. It was quite foolish of me, really." Taetrus cocked his head a bit, while he examined his talon.

 

"No matter." Taetrus offered a hand to Kira, and pulled her up from her seat. "I doubt I'll have much trouble earning back what I lost today..." He began, gesturing to his accompanying females. One of them started preparing a drink, and the other went to fetch something else."Although, it may prove a bit more difficult than before."

 

"And why is that?" Kira asked.

 

Taetrus took a moment to respond, as a drink was placed in his waiting hand, and a cigar in his mouth.

 

"The recent death of an old... friend." He puffed the cigar as it was lit for him.

 

"I'm very sorry to hear that..."

 

"Don't be." He waved a hand, smoke filling the air around him as he spoke. "She was a real c***." He chuckled a bit.

 

Kira's eyes widened a bit and his sudden vulgarity. Her security detail instinctively perked up a bit.

 

"Excuse my language, Matriarch Kira. But that's literally the only word that could be used to describe her." Taetrus walked up to the window overlooking the track. "Wouldn't you agree?" He turned his head, just enough to see Kira from the corner of his eye.

 

"Excuse me?" 

 

Taetrus chuckled.

 

"It's been all over the news. And everyone seems to be buying the story. At least one of them, anyways... Which one was it, hm? Horrific accident, or elaborate suicide? Or perhaps it was homicide...The galaxy may never know!" He turned around.

 

"I really have no idea what you're talking about..." Kira looked away.

 

"Oh, but I think you do." He took a few steps towards her. "I saw everything." He said softly, blowing a slight amount of smoke in Kira's face.

 

Kira assumed a less passive stance, and her aura flared. Taetrus' escorts drew their weapons, as did Kira's.

 

"Is this really the best time for this?" Taetrus turned back around to face the window. "I can see it now: Asari matriarch murders turian spectator by launching him out the window." He laughed. "They'd never put the pieces together after that!"

 

With a firm outward movement of her arm, Kira forced Taetrus' escorts hard against the wall and held them there.

 

"I was attacked, and acted only in self-defense." Kira pushed a little harder on the escorts.

 

"Well, then. What are you waiting for?" Taetrus casually sipped his drink.

 

Kira took a deep breath... and dropped the now unconscious escorts to the floor. "Stand down." She sighed, causing her own escorts to lower their weapons.

 

"I knew you'd see reason!" Taetrus turned around, with his arms outstretched.

 

"What do you want from me?" Kira asked.

 

"For now? I want you to leave." He waved her off. "Go on. Get out of my box."

 

Kira lingered for a moment, staring hard at the turian, before covering her face.  She quietly headed for the exit with her security detail.

 

"I'll be in touch." Taetrus added, just as the doors closed

[Kel Riever]

'Three G's'

Longbow knew it was going to be more than that as they hit the last inside turn.  She felt like Irina was just sweet talking her, which was funny if true, since the asari had been on jetbikes longer than the human had been alive.  But the strategy was sound so she had said nothing.  Nor did she say what she had anticipated happening on the last turn.  The human was bigger than her, had been in combat, was fit.  She was strong.  Just strong enough, in fact.

And that extra power was a function of what the bike could handle without tearing itself apart, or rather mostly tearing itself apart but not quite.  The engine could be left shooting across the finish line if Longbow wanted to throttle it more.  But you needed two riders to finish the race.  More power than they could survive, that's what they were sitting on.

So when the turn came, and Longbow felt the blackout coming, she'd locked in the controls for the last trajectory.  She could feel Irina's head loll as the human nearly passed out.  But that's when Longbow did herself, the world becoming a grey tunnel, and then nothing, until seconds later, Longbow was back, gaining full consciousness, looking at the finish line coming at her, not a single jetbike in front of her.  The Starscreamer Mark V shot across the line, streaming smoke, at supersonic speed.  A glance over her shoulder and Longbow saw Eccentric and Meter alongside, but half a length behind.  At least until the line was crossed, when the damage to the Mark V took its toll and the bike slowed for its celebration lap.

Eccentric slowed just enough to give a congratulatory wave, visible through her bike's canopy, then she slowed further to fall back behind Longbow and Red, so they could be out front for the victory lap.

Longbow was panting.  The temperature inside was cooling off but had gotten insane.  Irina felt hot on her back, but Longbow laughed at the feeling.  She laughed most all the way around the track until finally she pulled into the launch strip to settle the bike down.  It hit ground, incapable of keeping itself aloft even in a park mode any longer.  The jetbike was surrounded, though the crew was there first, trying to get the team out.  It had gotten so hot, the hull had sealed itself shut. 

"Full slag," Longbow said, still laughing.  "We'll make another."

The crew came at the bike with a laser cutter that got through the high tech, but lightweight hull quickly, without risk to those inside.  Once the canopy was completely cut around, the crew lifted it off and helped the team out.  First Red, who the chief herself made sure was all right, then Longbow, who stumbled slightly but steadied herself with the broadest grin she'd ever had.  Cameras moved in and the cheering began.

And then, Longbow grabbed Irina and kissed her full on the mouth.

~ ~ ~ ~

"WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" The sisters in the Iallis' booth collectively screamed.  Even Rea, typically calm and certainly controlled, was jumping up and down, fists held high in the air.  Drasteya's face was fixed with a satisfied smile, and Naleena knew that inside, the matron was happy right to her biotic core, for as laid back as she seemed on the outside.

Of course, as the bike came in, every camera was on it when Longbow and Red came out.  None of the sisters was expecting what came next, but nobody missed it as front and center, Thessia saw Longbow lock lips with Irina.

"Well, I guess, she's pretty Goddess damned happy," one of the sisters said.

~ ~ ~ ~

Iole and Tallis were silent.  They looked over at Jenus.

Jenus had said nothing.  But she had turned a shade of purple that, in fact, neither of her companions had ever seen before.

Oh, and then there was the flare.
 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Irina was still somewhat disoriented, not being used to pulling so many Gs around those turns and only used to sub-sonic racing. She'd underestimated what Longbow would do. Longbow took the line a little tighter than recommended because Eccentric had also compensated resulting in a 5 G turn. She had been bent over at the waist as the blood came back to her brain, then finally stood straight and wobbled when Longbow grabbed her shoulders and planted her lips against hers, taking her completely by surprise. 

 

Oh ****. Jenus....

 

Irina took Longbow's hand, grinned ear to ear, and held it up along with her hand in a victory pose. The cameras flashed, but this would be the secondary picture everyone would see. The kiss would be plastered on the front pages of the Asari sports news.

 

Longbow was right. This race did change people. It was life or death out there, but nothing Irina hadn't faced before. She had to improvise both in combat and on the track. 

 

Alisa Cascian was smug. Time to collect. She left the shuttle, locked it, and took her cart over to Longbow's pit area. Security stopped her, and she displayed her badge.

 

"I want to congratulate Longbow on her win. Besides, I work for Red," she said.

 

The guards waived her through, as she saw the pit crew dumping a couple bottles of sparkling wine over Longbow and Irina. Thank the Spirits we don't have that custom on Palaven!

 

*****

In the Iallis VIP box, Drasteya was making arrangements for the victory party. Naleena received a call from VERA that funds had been deposited into her account. 

 

Drasteya approached Naleena. "I assume you'll attend the victory celebration?"

 

"Of course, Drasteya. I would be honored," Naleena replied. "There are others who are close to 'Red' and I was wondering if they could be invited as well? They are Asari Commandos. Mira, Iole, Jenus, Tallis, and Ereba. Iole will probably want to bring her partner, Frank Eli."

[Cknarf]

Frank made one of those ooooo sounds that you always hear in black sitcoms.

[Kel Riever]

Drasteya nodded simply to Naleena.  "Anyone you want on the list, just add them."

"I want to meet Red," one of the sisters said.

"Me to," another yelped.

Rea shook her head.  She was the second youngest but it didn't feel like it to her at the moment.

~ ~ ~ ~

Down on the raceway, it was hard for Irina or Longbow to get through anyone.  They had to get up to the podium first, for the trophy.  Several, though certainly not all, the racers came by to offer congratulations.  Silver Spectre, the favorite to win but who came in fourth, was actually first to give her well wishes.  Then Eccentric and Meter, the even second place finish still advancing them in the standings.  Longbow's chief was first to answer the pilot's inquiry about Divine; the S.O. would be all right but still not up for any sort of celebration.  Divine had passed on her congradulations from her hospital bed to both Whisp and Irina by video.  She'd had her system flushed and she looked like the only thing she was happy about was the race.

"A few hours of this and we'll get into our own private space again," Longbow had to shout at Irina even though they were next to each other.  "Get used to the attention.  You're famous now."

As if it wasn't abundantly clear.  Irina had never seen so many drone cameras in her life.

~ ~ ~ ~

"We've got it!  It's all right," Iole told the two security guards who'd worked their way over.  They looked like they didn't believe her.

When Jenus had flared, Tallis thankfully had found a way to raise an instant barrier around her companion.  The biotic explosion was contained within.  Nobody was hurt, nor would they necessarily have been anything but blow off their feet.  Still, it made for a pretty frightening bang and the crowd around Jenus found a way to disperse.  The comparison, if one was an Earther like Frank, might have been someone throwing a huge punch in the stands.  In this case, though, there was no ensuing brawl.  Just a bunch of asari looking at Jenus like "What. The. Void."

It had mostly the same reaction from security, though.

"You're going to have to leave," one of the security guards said.  "Now."

Tallis and Iole understood.  "Come on," Iole said, "No need to stir up any more trouble."

As the Commandos turned to head out of the stands, an asari was calling out to them.  It was unclear who at first, or why, but through the crowd (who also decided leaving might not be a bad idea after a flare), a waving hand became obvious above all the crested heads.  Then Mira pushed through, heading for them, smiling.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Ereba had been quiet. She’d felt an uncomfortable vibe that made the back of her neck warm throughout the entire race, and it had emanated from Jenus. Jenus had no problem with Irina competing, but Ereba had a distinct impression that Jenus didn’t like the idea of her lover lying against another Asari in an intimate position for such a long period of time. That prolonged kiss Longbow gave Irina really set her off. Ereba knew what that kiss meant. It was more than a peck. And with Jenus it was trouble.

 

She looked up at the monitor again as they showed the replay of the finish, and of course… the kiss. The kiss that would be displayed on every monitor around Thessia. Red, although taken by surprise, didn’t look like she was protesting too much, not that she had a choice. Probably one of those heat of the moment things, Ereba thought. No, definitely a heat of the moment thing. It didn’t matter that Red took Longbow’s hand and went into a victory pose with perfect timing afterward. Jenus was having none of it, and Ereba knew by now to just stay out of her way.

 

But I know what the speculations on the gossip news will be. ‘Longbow and Red lovers?’ Void, Life on board the ship will be tough for a while…. Now who the f*** is that coming up? She seems to know this bunch.

 

//////////

 

Down on the racetrack, sportscasters were shoving microphones in the faces of the two winners. Irina’s head was swimming.

 

“…. Reports have it that your bike was damaged. What did you do to fix it so you could finish the race?”

 

“A little adjustment here and there. What else can you do on the fly?” Irina replied quite deadpan.

 

Another reporter chimed in. “But you came out of the problem running faster than you were before. How was that possible?”

 

“I don’t know. Ask Longbow. I was holding the bike together with omni-gel and we were running low on that,” she replied and smiled.

 

“What were your thoughts while you were in the last turn?”

 

Irina laughed. “Going in? I was praying ‘please stay together.’ During? I, uh, kinda blacked out. Next thing I knew we crossed the finish line.”

 

"What about that kiss?"

 

"No comment."

 

“Ikora from TSPN. Red, we’ve done some checking and you’re a former Alliance marine currently serving aboard a Council ship. Given your performance in this race and the singles event, have you given any thought to a racing career? You obviously have talent.”

 

“Quite honestly, this started out as a vacation. When I entered the singles event I didn’t realize there was a member of Cascian Racing maintaining our shuttles. Next thing I knew she put together a full pit crew. If it wasn’t for them, I’d have gotten nowhere. I didn’t expect to place in the top 10 of the singles event let alone be part of the winning team in the main event,” Irina replied.

 

“I’m glad to hear that Divine is going to be alright. It should have been her standing here today, not me. This was the final event of the season. I haven’t thought about the future, but a lot can happen between now and next season. This was a hell of a ride.”

 

“Thank you, Red. This is Ikora with TSPN in Armali. Back to you, Tesha.”

 

//////

 

Back in the studio, Tesha summarized things. “Irina Sloane is perhaps one of the most interesting people we’ve had come on the scene in a while. Local hard track racing on Duellos while she worked security with ERCS was her only previous racing experience, but it goes to show you what kind of experience one gets from hard track racing. It’s a tough environment where one mistake can get you killed. There aren’t the mass effect safety nets like we have on our tracks.”
 

Llarisa interrupted. “And she has it all. She didn’t forget her crew. She didn’t forget why she was in the main event in the first place. And that kiss from her partner after the race. All I can say is, ‘Wow!’ This is a people’s racer. I hope we see more of her next season.”

 

TSPN showed the exit from the car and kiss one last time freezing on the kiss. “This is Tesha and Llarisa from Armali Raceway. Stay tuned for Thessian Wrestling Federation Championships.”