Arashu's Gift

Chapter 15

Shepard went to the lower level of Afterlife and joined the dance floor. The rhythm of this room was more entrancing, and its effect was noticeable on the guests. She was also beginning to feel it, thanks to the few drinks she had already consumed. She hadn't felt like this for a long time. She let herself be carried away by the music and danced, not caring who might be watching her or how she looked.

A few minutes later, she noticed Garrus arriving by her side. He said something about how leaving her completely on her own in this den was a bad idea, and started to dance next to her. Shortly after, she saw Jack, Tali, Zaeed and even Kasumi arriving at the lower level. As she swayed to the rhythm, she noticed Tali closing in on Garrus on the dance floor. They began to dance together while Jack cheered them on teasingly from the side. At the bar, a turian was approaching Kasumi with the intention of inviting her for a drink. Zaeed seemed to have failed on his first attempt at wooing the asari of the upper level, and so he was trying his luck again with another one who kept ignoring him.

The air smelled heavy, and not only due to the mixture of sweat and alcoholic drinks. At the beginning, she had difficulties placing the essence – it was a sort of strong perfume with a chemical edge to it. Then she remembered when they had recruited Samara in Nos Astra's spaceport. Clouds of red sand had hung above their heads throughout the place. She pinched her nose because, whatever this was, it was beginning to penetrate her nostrils. It was a similar sensation to when she ate an especially hot wasabi or mustard.

Someone grabbed her by the arm. It was Jack. She took Shepard away from the dance floor, leaving for the aisle connecting both rooms. The music sounded muted there.

"Someone's dusting up on red sand right there," Jack said, rubbing her eyes. "That shit is strong, even if you don't take it yourself. It's like being a secondhand smoker but times a hundred."

Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were beginning to tear up.

"Let's go out for some air," she suggested.

They went out through the main entrance and sat on the stairs.

"There's far less invasive shit to get high on," Jack complained.

"Such as?"

"Hallex, for example. The hanar's mindfish, the drell's natural skin oil ..."

Shepard turned to her.

"What did you just say?"

"You didn't know?"

"No, what is it?" Shepard said, chuckling.

"Drell venom makes some species trip balls – us included."

Shepard was dumbfounded.

"But, how does it affect us, unless ...?"

Jack smiled, raising her brows.

"That's right. You wanna try, Shepard?" she said, pointing at the main balcony across from the nightclub.

Shepard followed the direction Jack's index was pointing and spotted Thane. He seemed lost in thought, his gaze focused somewhere high above. Before she had time to react, Jack winked cheekily and stood up.

"Enjoy," she said, smiling, and went back into Afterlife.

Shepard walked toward him. If he noticed her arriving by his side, he didn't show it. He was supporting himself with both hands on the border of the balcony, looking at the space void as if he sought after something long lost. Inevitably, Garrus' words returned to her mind. She wanted to believe her turian friend exaggerated on his impression of Thane, or he was simply extrapolating his species' biology to the drell's without more in-depth knowledge. Shepard wasn't naïve – she had known there was something dark and unknown about Thane from their first conversation – however, she had always connected that to the nature of his work.