The Exhibition

[Vince]

One Week After A Memorable Evening (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19486)


Adelaide,

Terribly sorry, but I'll have to meet you at the Exhibition instead of picking you up as planned. There have been some problems with the flight simulators, and I've been tasked with making sure that they are properly recalibrated. The flight simulators are located on the left wing of the thirty-second floor of the Imperial Centre Museum of Astrogation. I should be finished by 1030, so I'll see you there.

Trix.


The simulator settled down and the low whine of the motors quieted. People were milling around and watching as the pilot stepped out of the machine and spoke with a technician about something underneath the simulator, if the gesturing was any indication.

“There's still a problem with the handling, but the readings aren't showing exactly where,” the pilot said. “It has to be with the servos underneath. We've already checked everything else.”

Tricerus Idalix stretched, and heard his knuckles pop slightly. The technician was joined by three others, who had finished their work on the other simulators and had opened them to the public; this simulator, which mimicked the TIE Interceptor, still had problems. Two of the technicians went to work, lowering several panels from where the cockpit was joined to the base of the simulator. Trix leaned into the open simulator door and checked the readouts as they checked the servos.

“That's it!” he called, almost jumping out of the simulator and bending down. “You got it.”

The technicians lifted the panels again, and Tricerus settled into the simulator, mumbling to himself as he checked off all the problems fixed that morning. He climbed out of the multi-million credit toy with a wide grin some few minutes later.

“All done,” he said, and the technicians nodded, removing the barriers from around the simulator and opening it to the public. Trix picked up his jacket from the side of the platform and nodded to the others as he dropped down to the ground, checking his chrono as he did so.

The Museum was only starting to get busy, with people mostly congregating around the simulators which had been opened for some time and other exhibits. The Main Exhibition hall, where the actual ships were on display, wasn't due to open for another half an hour, so the main crowds hadn't yet appeared. This floor was devoted to the simulators in the left wing, and the cinema on the right, which was showing a documentary on the Starfighter Corps and science vessels of the Imperial Navy; this was a to-do, because the documentary was utilizing colour holograms, which was an expensive venture.

The simulators in the left wing of the floor were placed on raised platforms and surrounded by screened projectors; seventeen of these littered the space of the wing, octagonal pillars with a silvery sheen and placards on the outside denoting what ship it was and showing small holos of it in cross-section. The screens on the platform he'd just occupied were now rising.

Tricerus grimaced slightly, as it would be difficult for him to spot Adelaide within all this; he could only hope that she'd spotted him while he was visible on the platform and hadn't arrived afterwards.

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

What the hell had she been thinking?

It was crazy enough to think she could manage any semblence of a natural, normal aquaintance with Trix Idalix - the handsome young pilot who she had met at the Russard's celebratory dinner for the new Empress - but to venture forth on it in such a crowded, compacted press of humanity such as was surrounding her right now was as complete a departure from all sane reasoning as a body could hope to get. Standing ramrod straight, the bustle of curious Exhibition attendees swirling around her like a twisting current round a jutting mid-rapid rock, Adelaide fought her rising panic. What if someone recognises her? What if she's been found out? What if her past actions, screaming out for their rightful judgement, were only moments from hammering down onto her?

She should have listened. Corta had warned her that she wasn't as ready as she'd like to think herself, wasn't nearly as recovered as she needed to be to pursue a new friendship. Corta had warned that to go someplace so public by herself was fool-hardy in the extreme and that she would be overwhelmed. But Del was tired of her fear of being overwhelmed without Eliessa, tired of feeling like she would drown should she let go of the Judge's apron strings for even just a few hours and stir herself to try make something new of her imploded life.

What the hell had she been thinking?

She had been thinking it would be nice to feel normal again, to feel like her old self, before all...everything. It was a bald self-lie, though. That would never be possible.

Adelaide's hands were balled into fists and hung like two suspended weights by her sides. She sought out all the exits with quick, furtive glances, mentally noting those closest to her. A rise in the crowds collective chatter level, however, drew her focus from the outer doors to in closer to herself and she followed everyone's dominoed attention to the raising of screens all across the room. Before one screen was completely up, Del caught sight of Trix just as he was moving off the platform.

It was too late to leave now. He'd caught sight of her too.

[Vince]

Tricerus smiled upon catching sight of Adelaide, though it was only for a short moment. He walked over, the quickness of his gait cancelled out by the occasional need to shake hands, and greet some people who recognized him. It wasn't too long before he stood before her, somewhat self-conscious as he remembered that he hadn't put on his jacket or really tried to fix himself up after his work was finished: the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, and his jacket was held loosely in one hand.

“Adelaide!” he said brightly. “I'm so very glad you've come. You look very...”

He paused for only a short moment before continuing.

“You look beautiful,” he finished. His smile lessened slightly as he looked at her. “Are you all right? You aren't ill are you?”

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

Trix's less-than-polished compliment on how she looked did more to calm her anxiety than if he had presented himself in flawless charm and with perfect decorum. His slightly rumpled look - the rolled up sleeves, the mussed up hair - revealed him as he really was, unpretentious and almost as nervous as she was about today. "Im not good in crowds" she said a little apologetically. "This is quite the place" she said, taking in their immediate surroundings with a sweeping gaze, "Im so impressed that they were able to go ahead with the Exhibition despite all the damage done to Imperial Center from the meteor storm.

Adelaide turned a shy smile on him, "Its good to see you"

[Vince]

Tricerus smiled, and offered her his arm replying, “It's good to see you too.”

Now that the exhibition was opening up on a larger scale, the crowds had spread some, though the numbers didn't dwindle. Trix began leading Adelaide around the simulators, where small lines were beginning to grow into larger ones. The former actor couldn't blame her for her skittishness in crowds, though the feeling was one alien to him. He'd gotten used to them quickly in his line of work.

“It is impressive that they managed to get this running,” he said. “Though I think it was due to the meteor storm. Someone lost their job due to that; it shouldn't have happened, or it should have been seen. There's really no excuse. Something like this so soon afterwards is probably just an attempt to shift attention away from that fact.”

He shook his head.

“So how have you been? Everything is going well with the Judge I hope?”

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

Now that brought an amused grin, "The Judge? Oh, its fine, she's fine. She says hello.."

Funny that Trix would brave to even broach the subject of Corta - the Judge was a formidable personality, even in absentia, and it was Adelaide's experience that most people were happy to steer clear of any conversation that may put themselves and Eliessa in the same sentence together. One just never knew where that might lead.

"Well, it wasn't 'hello' " Del elaborated, "so much as it was, 'Dont let that flashy pilot turn your head,' but with Eliessa, it is the same thing."

Adelaide had taken his offered arm, but was certain he could feel how awkward and stiff she was walking beside him. She steered her focus to the displays around them.

"Which is the ship you fly?" she asked.

[Vince]

Tricerus led Adelaide to a plaque beside the shiny walls of a simulator, he gestured to the three-dimensional image.

“An Interceptor,” he said. “It was the fastest fighter in space. The Rebels' A-wings are faster, but not as manoeuvrable.”

The sleek dagger-like profile gave the fighter a very marketable image; though the most dangerous of the Imperial Starfighter Corps' arsenal, it had the lowest survival rate, and wasn't as tactically useful as the A-wing.

“The main hall isn't open yet I think,” he said while looking at his chrono, “but I can get you in to see the real thing, if you'd like.”

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

Adelaide jumped at the chance to remove herself from the crowding throng, more than to look at the starship, and nodded her agreement, "That sounds great"

It wasnt that she wasn't enthusiastic about the whole thing, about gaining a greater knowledge of who Trix was and all the work he did, its just that, well, she felt weird. She was weird. A fleeting image of Kazaar came to mind, the usual smirk and mocking that was always just behind his eyes. Del could just imagine what he would say if he could see her with Idalix right now. "Who'r ya tryin' to kid, Delly?"

"oh, shutup" Adelaide said

[Vince]

“Oh shut up,” Adelaide said.

“Pardon?” Trix asked, having had his attention diverted while he looked for an easy route through the crowd. “Come on, this way.”

The distance to the hall wasn't much more than fifteen yards; a walk that should have taken a few minutes at most took about fifteen due to the crowds and the occasional interruption. Instead of taking Adelaide through the large doors which would allow the rest of the public in, he turned to the left, and entered a door with a sign next to it reading “Staff only”.

The door opened to a small hallway where a couple of men stood each wearing the darker jumpsuits which effectively labelled them as mechanics.

They nodded and grinned at the pilot, while otherwise staying silent. Another door from the maintenance hall led into the slightly darkened main hall, star fighters and large holograms of larger vessels placed along the walls.

“I'm quite sure that no one will mind us getting a little peek,” he whispered with a conspiratorial grin.

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

The grinning mechanics disappeared from view behind the closing maintanence hall door and Adelaide relaxed visibly once she and Trix entered the sanctuary of the Main hall. Her shoulders dropped - and she was surprised when they did, not realising just how tense and hunched she had been.

After a momentary adjustment to the dim interior, Del could see the outline of the Interceptor, its sharp lines rising high above them.

"Well" she said sincerely, "That is a fine looking ship."

She walked along its length, peering up at the craft and feeling very small beside it.

"You really fly this?" she asked, not meaning to but sounding amazed that a man really could.

[Vince]

Tricerus wasn’t as brash as most pilots were, but it didn’t mean he hadn’t absorbed some of the common swagger and confidence that all pilots actually needed to deal with their jobs in the middle of a war. His smile at her amazed voice was brimming with an easy self confidence.

“Yes,” he replied, following her gaze. “It’s hard, but worth it. I was actually slated to train with bombers at first; the differences in speed have to be felt to be believed.”

He turned to look at the silhouetted form of the Bomber.

“I don’t think it’d be that bad, flying a Bomber,” he said finally. “But the lack of a gunner is one of the main reasons they’re shot down. Escorts without shields are taken out too quickly to do much defending.”

He grinned ruefully.

“And I’m told flying bombers isn’t as glamorous.”

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

"You didn't get enough glamour in your old job?" she asked good humouredly, her eyebrow arched and a subtle glint in her eye. "I thought the pilot business was so you could be a more serious man..? I mean, its quite a switch to go from holovid star to military hero." She smiled as some blush came again into his face.

Then Del dropped her voice to a quiet and strangely serious tone, and Trix got the feeling she was not just asking for his benefit only, "Do you still believe you made the right choice?"

[Vince]

He flushed a bit, shaking his head. All he had done was enlist, and that was no heroic act. Millions of others had done it; and since he’d been a fighter pilot, he’d done no great feats or such. All he’d done was survived, though if one thought about it, surviving was something of a feat in itself.

“I do,” he answered, resting a hand on the panelling of the fighter. “It was the right one. There’s things that need changing of course, but I think if I keep up with this, I can put myself in a position to make those changes, or maybe help anyone who can.”

He grinned, and offered her his arm again. “I’m no noble or anything like that, so I can’t become a Moff, unless I impress the Empress, which seems singularly unlikely. The only way I can do something is on the bridge of a Star Destroyer. I can become an Admiral.”

He laughed lowly. “It’s far more likely though that I’ll just let my enlistment expire and try to get back into acting. Something needs to happen for me to get noticed, and I don’t think I’m extraordinarily gifted at command, so I’ll do the best I can with what I have.”

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

"The best you can with what you have.." She echoed and found herself agreeing with the sentiment.

"Thats a good way to look at things, life in general" she answered, taking his arm. The trouble comes when someone or something takes it upon itself to mess with you so that you have to reach beyond your best and go to a much darker place in order to manage. But she refrained from saying that.

"I think you will get noticed" she said instead. "You dont strike me as a man who remains easily in the background. It just depends on how much you want a thing, what you are willing to do to get it."

[Vince]

He smiled, letting his right hand rest on hers in the crook of his arm.

“Thank you, Adelaide,” he said, genuinely touched by her remark. “I suppose you are right. I’ll just wait for my opportunities and grasp them with both hands.”

He led Adelaide down the promenade between the softly glowing holograms and shadowed hulks of hulls and metal, toward the other side of the main hall. The museum’s main hall was in fact the innermost room (or rooms) of the building. The very centre of the building held suspended models and replicas and some authentically ancient starships, rising up to almost the top floor. People often had their holos taken with the suspended ships as a background, and there were some turbolifts specially made for the views they could give of the ships.

“Do you see yourself anywhere in the future?” he asked as they passed under the shadow of an old droid starfighter from the Clone Wars. “Is there anything you feel you might want to do, even just as a fanciful sort of thing?”

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

Adelaide hadn't really considered her future with anything resembling optimism for sometime now, not since Crei. It was all she could do to limp along each day forced on by the iron will of Judge Corta to make her even wake up in the morning. And even at that, she was living by rote - commanding one foot, then the other to slide automatically from the covers of her bed and plant on the floor, using all her will power to make the rest of her body follow suit and pull herself from the vague comfort of sleep and enter the day.

The future? She had not considered it would be anything less than the same automoton routines that passed for a real existance and allowed her the charade of moving forward. Her first thought every day still was of Bren, her son, and the yawing chasm of loss that his passing had left inside her. And fast on the heels of that grief was the image of Kimiiki Crei - the Albino Crime Lord who had destroyed her life as a whim of antagonism against her ex-husband and the Drudlord's longstanding enemy, Aurelias. Bren had been an innocent, but that had not saved him. She, too, could once have been called an innocent, but that had not saved her, either. Del looked up at Trix - he was smiling kindly at her. If he was an innocent, it would not last long, and neither would it save him in the end.

"Oh, I dont plan too far ahead these days" Adelaide responded, "And there doesnt seem much room for fanciful ideas while working for the Judge. In fact, Eliessa does her best to keep life very practical and relentlessly sensible. You should see what she says about my choice in shoes."

In truth, Del did have one fancy but doubted that Trix would appreciate it. She wished the opportunity to kill Crei again, to feel once more the empowerment she felt as she took that worm's life from him, but with one difference - She wanted it without breaking herself as she did so. She wanted to feel guiltless, amoral, numb. If there was one fancy to be had, that would be it - Crei dead by her hand and the joy of that to always remain.

"How about you, do you have such fancies?"

[Vince]

“I actually have no idea,” Trix responded honestly, leading Adelaide out through another maintenance corridor. “I draw a blank when I think about anything farther than two weeks from now. When every time you go out the chances that you won’t return are has high as sixty percent, it doesn’t seem worth it. My life depends on my ending as many others’ lives as I can, and the only thing I can say is that I’m doing it for what I hope are the right reasons.”

He shook his head and checked his chrono.

“Here I am turning the conversation on a morbid bent. We have time, if you want, to catch the holomovie on the Starfighter Corps and science vessels of the Navy,” he said. “It’ll likely be the most beautiful bit of propaganda produced this year.”

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

"That sounds nice" she said, stepping along in the direction Tricerus indicated with a slight lift of his hand.

Adelaide hadn't really considered how risky Trix's job was, that returning safely from a mission was worse than a 50-50 gamble. She snuck a side-glance at him as he fell into polite chatter about something or other as they headed to the theatre area. His heart certainly seemed in the right place. Compared to Kazaar - who operated out of a deep seeded hateful anger of the Empire - Trix's motivations for fighting seemed founded in a noble committment of right-doing with the care of others at its center. What a contrast. Where Aurelias was bitter and violent and frighteningly lethal, Tricerus appeared to have remained unsoiled by the dirty task of killing his enemies. Or, perhaps the difference was only that he had not been doing it as long as Kazaar, and it would just be a matter of time.


The right reasons.. what a tricky little sentiment that was.

She checked her own heart and the black, decaying state it was in. Shamefully, she recognized that she was much more like her former husband than the man walking beside her. Who was she to judge Aurelias, or anyone else for that matter? She had removed herself from that right the moment she put blade to Albino throat.

"Sorry, you were saying about the fighter Corps?"

Adelaide hadn't heard a word Trix had just said and she now realised she had been staring at him. His grin told her he was completely aware of both those embarressing facts. She coughed self-consciously, "Sorry" she lamely repeated.

[Vince]

Tricerus’s smile showed a touch of concern as well as some understated mirth at her embarrassment.

“I was just making some idle chatter,” he replied. “Are you all right? It seemed as though you’d gotten lost in thought. Perhaps a darker glade in the forest turned you awry?”

The phrase was an odd one, he’d admit, but he’d read the line in a collection of poetry: I wandered silently through a forest, and a flashing gleam caught my eye, but as I walked toward it, a darker glade turned me awry. If he remembered correctly, the title had been something to do with being lost in thought.

The area in front of the theatre was thronged with people, and Trix could see Adelaide suppressing a grimace out of the corner of his eye. Desperate for something to take her mind off the crowd, he spied the concession stand and directed her attention to it.

“Do you want to get some snacks and a drink? I’ve always been partial to Doctor Pfeffer and some Star Drops myself while watching a holomovie.”

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

Some of the crowd behind them were cranning their heads their way and it took Adelaide a moment or two to understand the draw. Some had recognized Idalix from his acting days and in a murmuring ripple effect, more heads were turning, eager to catch a glimpse of him. Del dropped her head, looking at her toes and wished she were some place else.

Adelaide had smiled at the turn of phrase Trix had quoted to her. It had to be from a poem, she felt sure of it. That he read her mood exactly, and his intuitiveness could prompt him to say what he had, made her realise that he was someone extraordinary. Yet, it also served to reflect what poor company she was. Trix should be with someone better, who, like now, wouldnt shun the attention that he was getting and pull him down into dark and bitter thoughts, like she would. Was.

"I..I'm not sure Im up for the movie, now that I think more on it"

She glanced behind her and was alarmed to see some of the crowd strolling intentionally toward them, cautious smiles stuck on their faces.

"Maybe its time for me to head back"

[Vince]

Trix nodded slowly, and turned to lead her out, berating himself for taking her here, though it had been something of an accident in the first place. The crowds seemed to be tugged on a string between the retreating form of Tricerus and his companion, and the fanfare (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glw32XBkL-o) that could be heard emanating from the theatre, indicating that a showing had begun.

“I suppose I should apologize,” he said finally. “I forget sometimes that crowds can be overwhelming. If you want to head back, I certainly don’t hold it against you, but I don’t suppose you’d like to go get something to eat on the way?”

He hoped he hadn’t sounded too hopeful at the end, but he wanted to salvage the day; he hadn’t taken a woman out for anything since before he’d enlisted, and he wanted to make a good impression on Adelaide, whatever came of this.

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

The apology should have been hers to make. Normal people didn't mind such a mild crowd and most girls would have thrived on the excitement that being in company with a celebrity brings.

How could she explain to Trix the waves of paranoia that swept her at the least provocation? Explain the tumbling fall her mind takes the minute she releases the white-knucled grip on sane thought and remembers the murderous thing she did? If he knew, would he still want to buy her dinner? Most certainly, no. Would he understand? Would he even want to try? Adelalide couldn't fault him if he wouldn't - should the roles have been reversed, would she?

Idalix turned a shy smile on her and thoughts of ending the afternoon so abruptly sat unhappily with her. She liked him. That was part of the problem. If he knew who she really was, how could she ever hope for him to like her?

"I think something to eat would be nice" she said, knowing it was selfish, but she couldn't deny wanting just one nice day for herself. Something wholesome to hide close to heart. "We will have to go with my people, though. I know you mightn't have noticed them, but the Judge has me cornered hereabouts with two of her personal security men."

[Vince]

To be honest, he’d been too intent on Adelaide to notice anyone shadowing or tailing them. He blinked a couple times and looked around, as if he might be able to notice them now; he was quick to chide himself when no one stuck out, as if he could simply find a couple of good bodyguards in a what was likely a room with a fair number of the type in it. He turned his face back to Adelaide, and smiled at her acceptance of a quick bite to eat.

“Better to be safe than sorry, I suppose,” the pilot answered with a shrug. “I don’t mind. I can pay for something for them to eat too, if they want. I don’t know if they’d accept that though. It might not be professional.”

Adelaide was turning into an interesting sort of mystery to him, as did most people he actively got to know. The various idiosyncrasies and mannerisms that made each person unique made him curious as to what in fact lay beneath them. Adelaide seemed like a reserved young woman with a very endearing penchant for small episodes where she’d become much more out-going. He was much interested in seeing whether he was right in his assumption or not.

“Where do you want to eat?”

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

"I know just the place" she said, immediately brightening at his response.

"Come on" she nudged his arm for him to move along with her. "There's no point looking for them, the guards, they'll just seep out of the crowd and be waiting for us on either side of the exit door. They've probably already called for the car to come round.."

The idea had been for the bodyguards to be there, but unseen, and they were very good at their jobs. They would not have taken their eyes off Adelaide, and consequently Trix, since her arrival. Even during the foray from the corrider to the empty main showroom, Del had been monitored remotely. They'd had strict orders to allow the girl freedom, but not privacy. It had been a trade-off with the Judge that Del had agreed to, both with annoyance yet also with profound relief. Perhaps Corta knew a little of what she was talking about after all.

"How long since you've been to <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Alien_Protection_Zone"> Invisec?" </a> she asked Idalix as, true to her word, two unassuming men - one in an about-town suit, the other in casual dress, jeans and polo sweater - flanked them on either side and escorted them from the building and into a waiting government-issue hover-car. "I have a hankering for authentic Nemoidian stir-fry that would rival the appetite of a Wookie"

[Vince]

Idalix smiled at the turn of phrase Adelaide used. “Well, I guess we’ll get some Neimoidian stir-fry then. It’s been some time since I’ve been to Invisec, though. Had to have been before I enlisted at some point, so perhaps three years or so?”

His voice turned upward as he ended, giving the impression he himself wasn’t sure of the veracity of his memory, though he wasn’t bothered by it. The speeder was a nice one, he noted idly. The bodyguards had settled into the front seats and the repulsors lifted them off the platform and into traffic. He let his mind drift into momentary thought, reminding himself that most people called it Invisec, not the Alien Protection Zone. And for good reason, he allowed with a small stab of guilt that he was fighting for the government that had established it, after all. He let the feeling go and focussed once more on Adelaide.

“I remember having stir-fry before, though I’ve had galley meals for so long I think I’ve almost forgotten the taste of real food,” he said with a grin.

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

If the bodyguards thought dinner within the environs of the Alien Protection Zone was a bad idea, they gave no indication. Apart from a subtle nod passing between them, they proceeded to navigate the vehicle in the requested direction.

Invisec was not a forgotten area of Imperial Center, but rather an ignored one. Even the moniker, Invisible Sector, was inaccurate for it was not that the zone could not be seen, but that it was most often willfully unseen. Government and civillian eyes turned deliberately from it as one might avoid looking at a putrifying wound - you know its there and can often feel the symptoms from its inflamation, yet, to acknowledge requires action if it is to heal. Much easier to just build bigger walls and make it harder for any corruption to seep out.

But not everyone ignored Invisec, many moved in and out of its borders trading, trafficking - where there is a multitude of need, there is a multitude of opportunity for those who know how to take advantage of it. The Zone is a melting pot of species and cultures forced to co-habitate while yet all striving to retain their own particular traditions and heritage, and all doing so in that particular soul-destroying environment of poverty, predjudices and fear. And still, the residents there live and labor in varying degrees of success or failure, just like any where else.

It was a dangerous place by all accounts, but not necessarily lethal to those who were familiar to it, or had a mediocum of sense and common humanity. It was one of those places that has a complicated atmosphere of volitile hostility together with an enthusiastic abandonment to all pretense - it was a real life experience if you managed to live through it. If you were accepted here, you knew it. It was akin to being welcomed into a Wampa den with a terrifying and woolley embrace only to realise with unutterable relief that you aren't to be the next meal. That was how Del had felt the first time she had visited here back in the early days. So long ago now. She hoped the Nemoidian restaurant she remembered was still standing.

They passed the border check without delay, unsurprising given their Judicial Department credentials. Most the line-up came from those trying to come out of Invisec, not in.

"Its been a long time since Ive been through here" Del remarked, looking with interest through the dark windows of the speeder. "I recall being a little nervous"

[Vince]

“I would think so,” Tricerus said, not so much interested in the view outside as the one inside. “I’ve certainly heard some things about the place.”

The speeder drove through an intersection, and a swarthy, noble twi-lek, wearing a spacer’s vest and his lekku hanging down to the small of his back, gazed in through the windows unseeingly.

“Anything exciting happen?” he asked, glancing out his own window. The signs above the diners flashed, so second-hand and dim compared to the lights outside the sector that Trix felt as if he’d gone back into one of the old holomovies he’d watched as a child.

[Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar]

“Anything exciting happen?”

Which time? Del thought inwardly. She had a lot of history with this flea-bitten area and this restaurant in particular. The important thing was that is was her history, a time before she knew Aurelias, although he came to be a part of it later. But that was a tale for another time. She wanted tonight to not be about him, despite his shadowy presence standing behind her every unguarded thought.

Tonight, she'd show Tricerus some of her grass roots. To tell the truth, this wasn't were she came from or grew up or anything. It was the place she had rebelled to, away from parents and expectations and, well, she'd forgotten most all the reasons, really. None of it mattered now, nor had it for many years. All Adelaide knew was that she found an acceptance and a welcome here that her life up to that point had not given her.

"I drank my first Core Driver here - a particularly nasty home distilled whiskey." she said. "As you might imagine, it was a moment hard to remember and one I clearly never forgot" She smiled roguishly. "Im glad to say I survived it - and so will you"