Recruitment...

(Just before the events of Part One...)

Things had become... routine.

Aashe hated that, she hated being off the job. She'd named her ship The Eris for a reason after all! She'd been docked at the Citadel for longer than two months, engines cold, no whispers of anything interesting. She was beginning to understand why some people worried so much about money. If she hadn't had a small fortune to her name, she'd be wondering where her next meal was coming from.

She spent every day in a predictable pattern of work. Wake up, take time getting showered, dressed, and made up, enjoy breakfast in the tiny kitchen on the main floor, check messages, work on latest painting, find odd repair jobs to do on the Eris, go out to enjoy a walk on the Citadel, have lunch somewhere in the Presidium Commons, check in with contacts along the station, see what was going on for entertainment that night, purchase groceries for home made dinner, have shipped to The Eris, go to the entertainment of her choosing, go back home to the ship, make dinner, enjoy dinner in her cabin, watching the bustle of the Citadel around her, wash dishes, go to sleep.

Today was no different in terms of routine, except that she'd been summarily destroyed in chess by her unknown opponent - she was still waiting to hear what question she had to answer, or what dare she had to fulfill as punishment for losing. There was an itch rising in her soul. Cabin fever had a hold on her, with no one but Jarvis to speak to, and no dangers to put her mind on, Aashe was at the precipice of insanity. She knew it was especially bad when she could find nothing she wanted to see at the ticket counter for the Presidium Arts and Culture Complex. She stared at the myriad of projected posters, advertising the various products, concerts, and acts that were currently performing, but nothing was catching her eye. Aashe had already seen Vaenia, the new Blasto movie, and Elcor Hamlet twice (the first time was on a dare, and she broke into fits of laughter every so often, she had to see it a second time to try and get the art of it. On the second run, she had better luck - and had to admit, she enjoyed where the director was going with it...) There were Turian and Asari operas, Human Concerts, and something that looked vaguely like the long running Cirque du Soleil on earth, except it was being done entirely by Drell...

She had just about settled on a production of Il Muto (with an Asari playing the Pageboy) when her Omni Tool beeped to inform her that she had a new message. Aashe frowned at it, it was most likely her bet coming to call... Reluctantly, she pulled her arm up to inspect the Omni Tool. An unknown number... great. She opened the channel, and was silent.

"Aashe DeWinter?" A voice said to her, female... human, if she was guessing right. There was a mild accent there, something perhaps Asian?

"You've reached her." Aashe said, stepping away from the ticket counter. Aashe moved to a shaded spot under a tree, away from the walking path. She sat on the cool grass, back to the tree, eyes out to the paths around her, cautious.

"Someone's looking for you." The woman said. "Corwin Havens. He wants a meet tomorrow night at Chora's Den. He wants to hire you, and your ship, for a mission."

"What do you have to do with this?" Aashe asked, curious.

"I was just asked to find you." The woman replied, Aashe could hear her smile through the words. "You're hard to track down - except for that game of chess you lost last month, to me. How was the Elcor Hamlet production?"

Aashe laughed and shook her head. "Better than you think. A wasted dare, and I'll win next time."

"You're on." The woman said with a laugh. "At any rate, would you like the contact information?"

"Sure, thank you." No sooner had Aashe spoken the words, that the information was in her Omni Tool, and the signal was dead. She smiled and shook her head. She had her guesses who the woman was - but they were all just guesses.

She knew nothing of the mission, and at this point - she didn't care. The meeting was well within the realm of convenience for her, and the chance to sit at a bar and have a drink with someone was not to be passed up, regardless of the reason.

She raised the Omni Tool to record a message to Mr. Havens. "I hear you've been looking for me. I'm interested in meeting you. I'll see you tomorrow night in Chora's Den."

With that, Aashe stood up, feeling a little better about the world. She walked back over to the ticket counter. The Salarian behind the counter looked up as she approached.

"What would you like to see tonight?" He asked, clearly recognizing her.

"Il Muto, and I think I'll take box seats tonight. I might have a job lined up, and I'm feeling lucky."