#at least they have Saren for that first part oop

[lovelywingsart]

I was reminded of this meme and I had no choice

Between Earth being a dumpster fire and the Reapers, Cam really hasn't gotten much of a break

[ferusaurelius]

Spectre Evaluations Quartet

Ya’ll I can’t tell you how glad I am to have finished what started out as a silly one-shot and then decided to transform into a four-part series of developing-relationship ... Kryterius romantic comedy.

AO3 Links:

This will have no bearing on your evaluation.

Above center of mass in all respects.

Preserving joint environment lethality and ingenuity.

Adapt doctrine to circumstance.

... I’ve got a few fun background trivia points to expand on below the cut for anyone who is a fan of the pairing and this overall framework. ;)

Time for some fun character trivia that is alluded to in the stories, but that didn’t quite fit into the fics themselves:

1. This will have no bearing on your evaluation.

Nihlus in this AU is loosely based on the turian mercenary backstory I wrote for him in ‘The husbandry of victory is blood’, though only in the most raw outline. There are a few significant differences that will be apparent to anyone who has read both. It was important to me that Nihlus be both proud of his cultural differences and that Saren eventually take a great deal of care in acknowledging that pride.

I did not INTEND to write the whole quartet in such an experimental flavor of point of view! At least not at first. I tried to write the opening story in Chora’s Den with a more serious tone which just kept failing, no matter how I revised and poked and prodded. At some point, I just got the idea of Nihlus’s characteristic voice and reluctantly leaned into the absolutely ridiculous things it was telling me about what it was like to be a drunk ST&R candidate.

The most shocking moment in writing ‘This will have no bearing on your evaluation.’ (which was always its title!) occurred when wrapping up the ending scenes and realizing that Saren and Nihlus were respectively having two different conversations:

Saren: Realizing that Nihlus was making a genuine attempt to chat him up, since he hadn’t actually known that he was going to be chosen as a Spectre trainee. Saren has no idea what to do about a mentee who is personally interested in him, except put an immediate stop to all those questions so that he can focus on the job at hand. Beyond flustered by the implications, but also doesn’t want to admit to having anything remotely like an emotion, himself.

Nihlus: Confessing his many sins, still (unfortunately) realizing that Saren is actually his type for real and now they’re going to be working together. AWKWARD.

I wanted Nihlus to tell Saren the truth here even though it was going to make him look totally stupid!

The last scene is all about this dynamic and is intended to be the bedrock of their -- unique -- developing relationship:

Saren goes from interested, to blank-faced, to entirely still. Except that now his voice is flat, and his stare looks like it could melt a bulkhead.

“I will say this once,” Saren grates. “I expect you to keep the next two years professional. Your life and mine depend on whether or not you can maintain total focus on what I’m trying to teach you. Are we clear?”

Fuck, he’s hot.

“Aye, sir,” Nihlus answers, as automatic as if he were a fresh Ensign.

Saren accepts this answer, grudging. “While I am disappointed you did not acquire the selection results in advance of the announcement, I can appreciate the sheer audacity of your approach.”

What I intended to do here was illustrate on the one hand that Saren is absolutely laying down some ground rules for training, that Nihlus is still very much attracted to Saren (oops) and still capable of accepting those stated professional boundaries, and that Saren can respect Nihlus’s honesty and is offering a bit of concession or personal disclosure in return.

Even as the author, I didn’t expect Saren to admit that Nihlus had surprised or impressed him in any way. In retrospect (and after having written Saren as the background character in this series), I can see that Saren as a Spectre is used to nothing but lies and obfuscation and has no idea what to make of someone who is willing to confess to the truth of a situation so ridiculous that it beggars belief.

Nihlus doesn’t realize it yet, but Saren finds honesty to be a rare and valuable resource in his line of work. While Nihlus has a habit of constant internal narrative exaggeration, he’s also honest to a fault, especially with people he respects.

2. Above center of mass in all respects.

I wasn’t sure how much time I wanted to let pass between the first fic and this one, or where in the developing relationship I wanted to focus. However! I knew I wanted to stick to my absolutely rancid military jargon titles, and that I wanted to focus in some sense on the ‘evaluation’ implied by the previous story. What situation would create an opportunity for Nihlus to begin to realize that he’d earned Saren’s professional trust faster than anyone else in history?

Enter: the embassy hacking plotline, about six months into Nihlus’s training, after I thought Saren and Nihlus would have had time to get to know each other through regular assignments in the Skyllian Verge. I wanted to imply that they were busy enough outside the confines of the Citadel for something really dumb and standard to get overlooked (Nihlus’s security credentials). 

At this point I also decided that I wanted Alleia (still no surname, hah!) to become a recurring character, and that she needed to be a Blackwatch technical expert stationed on the Citadel. I generally imply that Saren’s usual area of operations is in the Skyllian Verge, so I wanted to set up a situation that would prompt him to return to the Citadel to “take care of things personally.”

It’s implied that a suspected ‘rogue’ salarian Special Tactics Group agent is framing the batarian Special Intervention Unit for a hacking incident at the turian embassy on the Citadel. While I don’t cover this in the story, Saren knows for a fact that he’s well-respected enough that such a plot is unlikely to have been conducted by any of the special operations units he’s already cowed into submission. He suspects independent sabotage conducted by a group he’d already been watching in Zakera Ward, so he sends Nihlus to talk to Alleia while he does his own investigating.

Offscreen, Saren seizes a too-good-to-be-true ambush opportunity to catch the suspect and gets himself blown up in the process. Normal. His calculation is that, if he does end up seriously injured and/or overestimates his ability to shield, Nihlus will be inbound fast enough to handle the rest of the situation -- and it’ll be one less threat to galactic stability, since there will no longer be any questions about infighting between STG and SIU. Which he considers a waste of time and resources when he could be handling real problems.

It’s a MUCH bigger explosion and trap than Saren anticipated (who knew?), but he still walks away thanks to his crazy!strong biotic abilities.

What Saren didn’t anticipate is that Nihlus knows him well enough to intuit every step in his decision-making process and is also FURIOUS about it! 

Nihlus incorrectly interprets the situation as Saren not waiting for backup on a whim, at least until Saren matter-of-factly states that he chose to take the risk only because he had Nihlus inbound as backup:

Nihlus has had enough.

“What, precisely, was the point of calling for backup if you were going to break down the front door. Alone! And then walk into a trap before we arrived?”

He can’t help the fury in his voice. He wants to snarl, too, but lets six years of Hierarchy discipline confine him to glaring full in Saren’s face, instead.

Alleia says nothing in the silence.

“It was a calculated risk,” Saren answers evenly, meeting him stare for stare. “I knew you weren’t far behind.”

This is the first time Saren has expressed that level of trust to Nihlus in so many words! 

Right after this, I got to further reinforce Saren’s level of respect for Nihlus’s abilities and judgment by actually bringing in that first performance evaluation. ;) I had a lot of fun letting Nihlus realize that Saren’s seemingly arbitrary expectations for his assistance were ... very likely ... grounded in a more nuanced view of his abilities than he expected. 

Nihlus is still confused and exasperated, but he’s also never gotten a performance review that unambiguously positive in his career -- much less from someone who appears to be the galaxy’s least enthusiastic mentor. Nihlus was prepared to be reprimanded for yelling at Saren, even if he was right about the risks and there being better alternative plans, but he was totally unprepared for positive feedback. XD

The theme/purpose of this chapter is establishing that Saren and Nihlus both exist with a professional rapport that (until now) they have been building together without openly acknowledging.

I had a great time allowing Nihlus to be beyond frustrated with Saren’s (apparent) neglect in the opening scenes, then frantic and worried at getting a request for backup, then furious about Saren’s decision to walk into a trap, and then finally deflated in the face of Saren’s regard.

Hard for Nihlus to stay mad about Saren relying on him for backup, after all! LOL.

3. Preserving joint environment lethality and ingenuity.

These events take place 18 months into Nihlus’s training, approximately a year after the previous fic’s embassy incident.

You can thank my research for my First Contact War AU fic for the whole opening scene with Nihlus as a marksman and armorer -- it decided to wake up and choose violence! Nihlus as a competitive shooter is a bit of a change from my other mercenary background handcanon thoughts, but it fit this AU setting really well and gave me an excuse to elaborate a bit on where Nihlus might have more expertise than Saren.

Alternative options to embarrass Nihlus I’d originally considered instead of Armax Arsenal Arena: damaged power armor and the undressing trope (but with an undersuit, and having to pretend he’s not attracted to the person he’s helping ... lol); something more mission-fic oriented with Alleia and Thanas as deputies/on loan from their regular units; Nihlus doing something a bit ridiculous and a bit brave and then having Saren get him out of trouble.

I’m really glad I went with the Arena plot in the end! Sparring-as-flirting is a favorite trope of mine, and this setup delivered on all counts. I got to turn it into a roundabout double-date thanks to Alleia and Thanas, with Nihlus snarking about Saren’s problems with pistol technique (see, Nihlus cares!) and then ... getting to write Nihlus doing a surprise trust fall with Saren! And Saren catching him!

They’re both surprised about this, by the way:

A barrel presses up beneath his jaw, and all at once he’s not alone.

“Surrender,” Saren says.

At point-blank, getting shot is gonna sting. He only has one chance to escape.

“Never,” he growls, going deadweight and fully expecting to hit the deck. In a real fight? Nope, not happening. But hitting a target on his back from prone isn't the craziest thing he's ever done.

Which is not what happens. A flare of dark energy catches him in the back, and then recedes until it’s just Saren’s hands between him and a hard landing on the floor.

“Really, Nihlus?” Saren asks, somewhere between amused and exasperated, still out of breath from the snap biotics.

Fuck, he may have miscalculated. Nihlus is warm from his neck to his toes. He’d give anything to see Saren’s face, but he doesn’t dare look.

This was so FUN to write! I didn’t even start knowing how or what was going to happen in this scenario, but the minute the whole ‘Saren catches Nihlus’ idea occurred to me, I knew it was the right direction to take.

Nihlus is expecting Saren’s reflex here to be totally different! He’s expecting to be shot, not caught! Everything happens so fast that there’s no hiding from either of them: Nihlus is personally invested enough to do free armory work for Saren on his off-time, and Saren’s actual instinct here is to keep Nihlus from falling.

Honestly, this was also my first real opportunity to hint that Saren is not as indifferent to Nihlus as he might have been at first. Wherever they started in relation to each other, I wanted to hint that the relationship dynamic and grown and changed in the intervening months even though both of them would still be reluctant to try to define or put any labels on each other.

Joke’s on Saren, too -- he thought he wanted things to stay professional, turns out he actually does kinda like Nihlus personally, as well. Oops! Didn’t see that one coming. ;)

While it’s not explicitly stated, Saren doesn’t have the consistent manual dexterity required to be an accurate shot without additional stabilizer mods or other aids. He prefers to rely on his biotics to do damage instead, though he still carries other armaments as options.

It wasn’t easy to keep this one true to the funny/snarky formula of the others while figuring out how to set up the emotional revelation in the end, but with tweaking it eventually fell into place.

4. Adapt doctrine to circumstance.

This was an absolute bear to write. While I knew that I wanted to at least give Alleia some screentime, and I suspected that was going to be at a promotion ceremony that turned into a larger event than Nihlus anticipated -- the intermediate transitions remained a challenge.

While my FCW AU fic has Saren as a Blackwatch recruit, for this scenario I chose to stick with a biotic Cabal background. 

I knew I also wanted Nihlus to not expect Saren to commit to attending whatever ceremonies were taking place -- so that he could be pleasantly surprised. ;)

The formality of this occasion also let me take a little creative license with what a dress Cabal uniform might look like, as well as setting up Saren’s complex (implied) relationship with his military honors and infamy. I was NOT expecting any of that background to make it into the story, and there’s plenty that is still missing.

For instance: this is the first time Saren’s worn his Star of Palaven in public, too! He received it shortly before he rejected Anderson for Spectre candidacy in this timeline (the paperwork took a little more than seven years), but also not long before he met Nihlus, and there was no graceful way to get used to the protocols since he was already a Spectre when he was officially decorated.

Nihlus has no idea that Saren has already made a number of complicated choices in attending Fleet promotion ceremonies, while also arranging for Nihlus’s surprise promotion ... in a way that all of his Navy peers will respect:

“Not even a whisper of a warning,” she sighs. “If I’d known, I’d have been ready to take vids. Then I could show you what your face looked like when he decided you merited a rank-pinning honor that dates back to before the Unification, delivered by a Recipient of the Star of Palaven.”

Nihlus puts his head in his hands. “Don’t remind me.”

Saren pinning Nihlus with his own rank insignia is one of the few Navy gestures that still has all the old meanings. In front of a Fleet audience? Not a single turian will have missed the significance of that trust being given to someone merc-born.

If he thinks about it too long it still makes him dizzy.

“It was also romantic, if you believe in that sort of thing,” Alleia teases.

He wishes he didn’t.

Again, I had SO MUCH FUN with figuring out how else Saren might potentially choose to make Nihlus’s promotion an occasion.

I’d read somewhere that military officers who were being promoted themselves occasionally gave their old rank insignia to the officers who were coming up behind them, to fill their old position, as a mark of esteem -- and I chose to alter that symbolism a bit for the Hierarchy Navy. 

While I only hint at this in the text: Saren pinning Nihlus with his rank insignia is one of those culturally Hierachy Navy touchstones that mixes the professional and the personal, and it’s also a gesture that, by its nature and by tradition, can only be done once in a career.

Alleia is correct that there are also romantic epics that feature this traditional gesture as a trope! XD

Finally, I knew from the very start that, since Saren was the one to draw the boundaries, he’d also have to be the one to instigate a discussion or an adjustment in the limits he’d set between him and Nihlus.

I considered a number of other scenarios where Saren left a note afterward, or put off that conversation, or did something else other than what happened here: immediately stating his intentions.

It was also hugely fun to work out how Saren might plausibly arrange to make Nihlus’s Spectre promotion as “by-the-book” Navy respectful as possible. I think you’ll agree that he outdid himself. ;)

-

PHEW. Now that I’m finished with the series, I’m also open to other asks. Either about this AU, different background details, turian headcanons, or other curiosities.

If you’re reading this: I have a tentative plan for a longer fanfic featuring these two characters, though with a more traditional POV structure. I’m not a terribly fast writer, so that’s about as much as I can say at this point...

[sparatus]

wip wednesday

HAHAHA PRESSED POST TOO SOON OOPS

anyway tagged by @korblez thanks bb!!

had to rewrite the intro to kryterius murder mystery cause i got stuck on a transition point and couldnt figure out how to push things along without sounding rushed, so take 2, now saren gets to be goth AND gay good for him

Fic: To Catch A Rabbit, chapter 1 Pairing: Saren Arterius/Nihlus Kryik Current WC: 862

--

The turian embassy was a relaxed part of the Tower, most days. They were a practical, work-focused species; if you buckled down and got your work taken care of right away, then you’d have more time later to hang around and socialize at the end of the day. Diplomats tucked themselves away in their offices to take calls and prep for meetings, lawyers gathered around their favorite set of couches in the corner with their notes and kava, secretaries kept up a steady hum of answering the comm and chatting as they typed. Music at a respectful volume slid out from cracks in doors left ajar to mark who was open for a walk-in. A board by the very well-stocked snack area tracked the clawball standings for the season, with a list of names and championship bets scrawled on one side in Ambassador Itatumus’s looping handwriting. Nobody shouted, nobody sprinted across the lobby, nobody made their own argument with an idiot in authority back home everyone else’s problem. It was calm, quiet, peaceful even.

It was one of the better places in the Tower to have to wait for someone. Saren’s chosen spot of on the floor with his back against the councilor’s secretary’s desk wasn’t most people’s first choice, but Ierian had left a box of marrow cakes on the corner and Frozen Vengeance’s new album quietly playing as an apology, so he was perfectly fine.

If anything, it was amusing, really. Ierian had called him while he was stuck in relay traffic coming back to the Citadel, asking him to swing by the office when he got back to the station. He’d requested he at least try to be punctual, to which Saren had argued he was always punctual and the old drake was thinking of his unfortunate choice in students, and then Ierian himself had been delayed by a surprise call from Din Korlack. No matter. Now Saren got free marrow cakes.

He’d let his head lean back against the desk and his eyes fall shut while he enjoyed the music, one long foot idly tapping along to the beat while his imagination directed dramatic music videos. Frozen Vengeance were a powerhouse of turian heavy metal from the homeworld, carving out a niche for themselves making music about the War for Palaven. While Saren was more fond of Galactic Cannibals, he’d still happily place Frozen Vengeance in his top six bands, especially given how well their heavy industrial sound lent itself to vivid mental images of the horrors of planet-wide war. This particular album was about espionage and political intrigue before the start of the war, when the Cipritinian queen and empress-to-be was still trying to gain power subtly and getting thwarted at every turn. Probably not the greatest music to play in an embassy out of context, but then, Ierian liked finding passive-aggressive ways to tell his political rivals to go away.

He was in the middle of a biting ballad about the failed assassination attempt on the last Speaker of Tiirtias when something nudged his foot. He clicked his mandibles at it. “Hold on, he's almost to the bridge, it's the best part.”

A deep, amused chuff rolled over his cowl. “I don't know, I think ‘No Way Out’ is better.”

Saren paused, the familiar baritone sliding under his crest to scratch the base of his brain and wrap his neurons in warmth. His eyes popped open, and he sat forward almost too fast. “Nihlus?”

The maroon mountain in front of him lifted his mandibles. Nihlus had been visiting his mother, evidently – his crest and mandibles sported more piercings than the last time Saren had seen him, and his favorite beat-up leather jacket was slung over one shoulder. He only came back like that from Surdak Outpost, specifically, nowhere else in Terminus. From his place on the floor, Saren had to crane his neck almost all the way back to look at his face, which hurt too much, so he dropped his gaze back down to his keel, draped in a Supermassive Black Hole muscle shirt.

He had to force his eyes to stay there, safely on the artwork of the universe being sucked into the endless void at the center of the galaxy, instead of the rippling biceps on display to either side of it.

If Nihlus could tell he was struggling, he didn't acknowledge it. He never had seemed to understand the effect he had on people. He just folded his arms and cocked one hip, making it that much harder not to look at his muscles. Damn him. “Don't tell me he wants to talk to you, too.”

Saren lifted one brow plate, fluttering his mandibles and forcing himself to exhale slowly through his nose. Ah. Business, then. “He does,” he agreed, reaching behind him to use the desk to haul himself to his feet. “Though if you're here, I suppose that answers the question of what I did to draw his ire. I haven't turned in my latest apology letter yet. Sorry, reparations report.”

Nihlus snorted. “Yeah, yeah, it’s all my fault. The walking dark energy nuke is innocent of all war crimes.”

[forlornmelody]

Double The Trouble Chapter 9 -- Justified

Rating: Explicit (other chapters are NSFW)

Ship: FemShep x Femshep Clone // Shenko, eventual OT3

AO3 Links: Chapter 1 // This Chapter

Summary: Shep had planned to spend another night alone. Instead she has a surprise visitor–one she had never expected to see again.Unapologetic consensual clone smut.

Note: This is a sequel to Spare Parts, but obviously you can read this without reading the other fic.

This chapter, and all future chapters are in present tense. No reason other than I fell in love with writing this way while working on the prequel, and now I can’t stop.

Jane Shepard eyes her therapist critically. Kaidan’s words at breakfast have been weighing on her mind all morning. “You’re not like...some neo-Cerberus spy, are you?”

Her therapist quirks her head in that way that tends to rankle Shepard, at least in this room full of acid-trip paintings, fake plants, mood lighting, and plush pillows. It all screams at her Shouldn’t you be happy? “You worried I’ll tell sensitive information, Shepard? I would be a terrible therapist if broke your confidence.”

You’re a terrible therapist already, Susan, Shepard thinks to herself, but doesn’t dare say it out loud. She wants her damn biotic amp back, so she needs to behave. That, and Susan never seems to take her seriously. So Shepard says nothing, eyeing the window, skimming the book titles on the shelf, and the patterns of Susan’s blouse while she gathers her thoughts.

 “Hey, Shepard.” Shepard always knows how Kadian’s feeling by the way he says “hey.” This time he’s on edge, and Shepard reaches over the table and their pancake breakfast to grab his shoulder.

“What’s up?”

“Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Shepard pulls her hand back. In hindsight, they went straight to sleep last night. She didn’t think much of it, then--too exhausted for a romp after dinner. Setting her fork down, Shepard replies “Out with it.”

Kaidan takes a deep breath like he’s about to go under. “Jane wants to see Maya.”

“Oh.” Shepard sits back. She should have seen this coming, with their conversation last week.

“She said you told her I knew where she was.”

Shepard rubs her face, taking a big gulp of coffee. “Sorry. I was kind of distracted when she brought it up.”

Kaidan raises an eyebrow.

“Not that.” Shepard rolls her eyes. “It’s when we were arguing at the Reds’ headquarters.”

Both his eyes went wide. “You went to the Red’s territory?”

“She wasn’t returning my calls!”

“I’m not mad. I mean. Are you okay?” He says it carefully, as if he’s walking in zero gravity.

Shepard nearly says she’s fine but she bites her lip instead. “It sucked. I’m not going to lie. But I’m still here, aren’t I?”

Kaidan squeezes her hand. “Of course. I’m just surprised you didn’t tell me.”

“Are you?” Shepard takes a gulp, ignoring her half-eaten pancakes.

“So what are we going to do about Maya?”

“And you’re still not sure?”

Shepard hasn’t told Susan about the nature of her relationship with Jane. She already feels like she’s under a lot of scrutiny. Susan is an Alliance-appointed therapist, after all. Honestly, she probably shouldn’t even tell her about this situation. If something goes wrong, Shepard will go straight to court martial, and no reaper invasion will save her this time. “I’m not going to do anything rash.”

“But what are you going to do?”

“What’s the harm of letting them visit? If we’re really worried, we can always take her amp away.” Oops. She probably shouldn’t have brought it up like that.

Susan eyes her. “Is this about your clone, or about you?”

Shepard breathes in through her nose and out through her mouth. She can’t afford to lose her temper right now. “I’m getting sensation back in my left arm. Pins and needles--that sort of thing.”

“And this relates to your amp how?”

To make things easier, Shepard tries imagining Udina in Susan’s place, but that just makes her blood boil more. Tevos? Christ. Her chest tightens up. No, no, no. 

“What are you thinking right now?”

Tears spring in her eyes before she can stop them. “I hate having to fucking justify myself to you. To anyone.” She hates how she’s making a scene. She hates that she can’t breathe.

Susan taps away on her Haptic Adaptive Interface. “And why do you feel the need to justify yourself to me?”

Shepard puts her head in her hands, squeezing her hair until it pulls at her scalp. 

“You just don’t get it.” Shepard glares at her blurry shape, breathing in sharply. “I feel twice as paralyzed without it.”

Susan nods slowly. Fuck. Can she even move without looking down her nose at her? “Does it remind you of a time before?”

Talking about it hurts too much. “Yeah,” she manages to say.

“Mm. I see. Shepard, if you’re feeling up to it, I would like to try something new with you.”

Shepard rubs her eyes, blinking at her. “Will I get my amp back if I say yes?”

“I want to see how you do with it first.” Typical. “What are you feeling in your body right now?”

“Not much. That’s kind of the problem, Susan.”

Susan shakes her head ever so slightly. “Close your eyes first. Of what you do feel, how would you describe it?”

Shepard takes a breath. She must behave. She must work with her. Or she really will lose her mind. “Like someone dropped concrete on my chest. Filled my lungs with it too. And my shoulder hurts like hell.”

Susan asks, “And when have you felt like that before?”

Another breath. “Horizon.”

“The first or the second time?”

“The first.” Shepard sniffs, wiping her nose.

Susan hands her a box of tissues. “And is the pain the same, or has it moved?”

“It’s in my, fists too.”

“And before that?”

“When I updated the Council on Saren...and asked to go to Illos.”

They repeat the cycle a few more times, until they get to one memory Shepard really doesn’t want to talk about. “When I was with the Reds.”

“Ah. I wondered when we would get here.” Susan hands Shepard two buzzers. “Are you familiar with EMDR?”

“Yeah.” Shepard swallows. She remembers doing it before. She remembers it not being pleasant.

“I want you to describe this memory. And while you describe this memory and what happened, and how it made you feel, I’m going to activate the buzzers like this.” She flips a switch, and each buzzer vibrates in turn. It’s an odd, if not distracting sensation, but it doesn’t hurt.

Shepard remembers the moment vividly, but when she tries to describe it, no words come.

“Shepard. Feel your feet on the floor, and your thighs and back touching your chair. Note any tension in your body and release it. If it helps, imagine a green light touching those parts of you and healing your body.”

It sounds cooky, but Shepard complies, and when her therapist says nothing, she continues onto her memory.

She ducks inside the door, soaked from the rain. Just as she removes her coat, she hears Ice’s voice behind her.

“You’re home late.”

She spins around blurting the excuse she rehearsed the whole way back to headquarters. “Some narc was tailing me. Had to lose them.”

It’s then she realizes Ice and her aren’t alone. All the other enforcers of 10th Street, named ones--Greenie, Finch, and Caine--and the other Johns and Janes who’ve yet to make their first kill. This is bad. Really bad. She looks across and makes eye contact with her girlfriend, Jane--who’s rattling like a leaf in the fall. If she doesn’t cool it, she’s going to get them both in trouble.

“Wouldn’t be the first time a narc has seen you, right, Jane?” Ice stares at her with steel eyes, and she shivers despite the heat of their house.

“I don’t talk to narcs!” She snaps. She knows better. Her girlfriend, though?

Ice pats her shoulder. “I know you wouldn’t rat out your family, Jane.” Then Ice squeezes her shoulder so hard it hurts. “Just tell me who got Ace arrested and we’re good.”

Greenie shoves her girlfriend into the middle of the circle that has formed around them. Shit. They already know Jane told the cops. A cold feeling settles in her stomach. Damnit. Why couldn’t Jane keep her fucking mouth shut?

“Cat got your tongue?” Ice smiles. “Maybe you'd rather show me.” She presses a pistol into her hands. “Go ahead. Take care of it and we can all move on.” Squeezing her shoulder, Ice whispers into her ear. “You can finally get your name.”

She raises her gun, wanting to run. Her girlfriend sobs hysterically, begging her not to do it. If she doesn’t---

“You can be one of us.”

It’s what she’s wanted for years--to be a full-fledged member of the Tenth Street Reds with her own name and rep. It’s what she wanted until she fell in love with another Jane--a Jane who found a way out. The narc promised them a new life: witness protection--everything. They were so close.

“No, please! It won’t happen again.”

“One of us! One of us!” The other enforcers start chanting. Her hands are slippery with sweat. She feels the static on her skin and smells the tang of eezo in the air and she tries to shove it down. Freaks never stick around the Reds for long.

Ice laughs. “You’re right. It won’t. Do it, Jane.”

Hesitating with her finger sliding on the trigger, she shakes her head and lowers it. “No.”

The gun shot leaves her ear ringing, and her girlfriend’s blood splatters across her face before her body falls to the floor.

“I’m disappointed in you, Jane.”

“Breathe, Shepard. Breathe.”

Shepard’s eyes snap open, and she feels the tears on her cheeks. How long had she been crying? She gasps for air, trying desperately not to think of dying and how it feels like she’s dying again above a frozen planet beneath an exploding ship. Her therapist counts her breaths for her until the hyperventilating stops.

“I think that’s enough for today.” Susan looks at her placidly, turning the buzzers off.

“Do I get my amp back?” Shepard hands her the buzzers, feeling like she’s outside her skin.

“I’ll let you know.” Susan opens the door to let her out. “See you Friday.”

Typical. Shepard shuts the door behind her.

[territorymob-blog]

5 perfect daytrips for first time Bali visitors.

A simple itinerary for first time visitors to Bali with 5 perfect daytrips featuring fun filled activities taking you off the beaten track to explore places least traveled in Bali.

Bali’s natural attractions are many. The mountainous north-central part of the island, with Mount Batur and Mount Agung can be explored taking visitors past fast rivers, crater lakes and deep rain forests.

Beaches perfect for doing nothing, or active water sports … whatever you choose.  Diving is popular on the coral reefs off the northeast coast of Bali, while surfers head to the south western coast seeking good surfing waves.

Here are my suggested itineraries for 5 great daytrips when visiting Bali.

Daytrip 1:  Southern Bali – Pandawa, Dreamland and Uluwatu

If you’re in the mood for a lazy beach day, and a visit to some beautiful beaches and Uluwatu to take in a magical sunset and to spot a monkey or two … this is the itinerary for you!

Pandawa Beach:  Once known as Secret Beach, this beautiful white sand beach is laden with beach chairs & umbrellas which are offered for rent and serviced by nearby stall holders offering the obligatory Bintang beer for sale.  It’s also a great place to test your kayaking skills, but be careful of waves and ocean rips in the area!

Dreamland Beach:  A unique private beach tucked away at the northern end of Uluwatu near the New Kuta Golf Course.  Recently famous as the beach where Julia Roberts filmed the movie Eat, Pray, Love.  This beach was pumping great surf shore-breaks on the day of our visit which we watched from the bar cut into the side of the cliff above with an ice cold Mojito.

Our lunch stop was at a traditional Balinese restaurant called Warung Cikgo.  A quaint traditional Balinese open plan dining area with antique furnishings and a wall of carved Indonesian doors.  We were served one of the best Massaman beef curries ever and a perfect Nasi Goreng!  Put this place on your ‘must visit’ list.

Uluwatu Temple:  Uluwatu, is one of the best places to go to for sunset whilst you’re in Bali, with endless views overlooking the beautiful Indian Ocean and daily Kecak dance performances.  A small forest lies at the front which is home to hundreds of monkeys who are notorious for snatching visitors’ belongings. They can usually be persuaded into trading the items for fruit, although this only encourages them to steal more.

As we were staying in Tanjung Benoa, we decided to try one of our favourite local restaurants for dinner.  Meads offers a convenient pick up and drop off service in their multi-seat golf buggy.

Meads Bali:   Meads has a great menu with steak and seafood options.   We chose a whole fish with a Balinese flavoured sauce and a perfectly cooked lobster – both spectacular. We’ve been to Meads a number of times previously when visiting Bali and it remains one of our favourite restaurants!

Daytrip 2:  Bali Safari Park & Sanur Beach

I wanted to take some photos of native wildlife whilst in Bali and where better to capture all species in one stop!

Bali Safari & Marine Park:  Great near natural environments for the animals, rare and endangered species such as the Javanese Leopard, Sumatran Tigers and the White Tigers.  We enjoyed the Safari experience however would have liked that to have been a longer experience.  There were plenty of exhibits to fill the day including a mythical dance extravaganza and an elephant pantomime featuring the Sumatran elephants.

Lunch overlooking the lions .. or were the lions overlooking us?  Lions perched on rocky citadels high above the restaurant separated by plate glass windows from diners.  A unique place to lunch!   See our earlier post Zoos are for Big Kids Too.

Sanur:  Enjoy sunset at Sanur where fisherman run their nets in the shallows of an outgoing tide.  Chic boutique shopping and trendy restaurants are in abundance in this relaxed part of Bali.  We’ve decided to spend more time in this region next time we visit.

Kampung Bule:   A restaurant suggested by our driver Irun, which was a mix of traditional Balinese and Western style menu serving their popular Balinese Herb & Spice BBQ, great Seafood selections and for those who want western style – some old favourites as well.

Moscow Mule:   Mix Vodka with Lime Juice, muddle some fresh mint leaves and add a splash of Ginger Ale and dress with a slice of lime.  You must try it!

We were impressed by the seafood choices and started with a shared serving of Prawn Spring Rolls followed with Lobster Thermidor for our mains … just because!

The seafood was delicious although the lobster was a little expensive, however for a special night it was well worth the expense!

Daytrip 3:  Garuda Cultural Centre, Bali Bird Park & Tegallalang Rice Terraces

Garuda Cultural Centre:  Touted to be the tallest statue in the world once complete, this statue has been under construction for about 20 years but is now under instruction from the President to complete by the end of 2018 in time for the world conference in Bali.  Extraordinary views right across Bali, including smoking Mt Agung in the distance.  Magnificent statues and vantage points throughout and I look forward to seeing the completed project.

Bali Bird Park:   A unique and educational attraction for the whole family. With nearly a thousand exotic birds from the Indonesian archipelago and around the world, the Bali Bird Park is a fun park for bird lovers.  Hundreds of different bird species can be found throughout the park grounds in aviaries and individual enclosures.  We just loved this Plain-pouched Hornbill from Myanmar’s Mergui Archipelago in the Malay Peninsula.

Tegallalang Rice Terraces:  Ubud is famous for its beautiful scenes of rice paddies involving the subak which is the traditional Balinese cooperative irrigation system, which according to history, was passed down by a revered holy man named Rsi Markandeya in the eighth century.  The Tegallalang rice terraces are a spectacular sight on the slopes across the valley.

Treat yourself to a great lunch or afternoon tea overlooking the spectacular views of these rice terraces.

Daytrip 4: Walking tour of Ubud

Ubud has a good selection of boutiques, jewelry manufacturing shops, woodcarvers and artists as well as local markets where you will find a range of clothing and exquisite jewelry and unique artifacts.

Don’t forget to use your bargaining skills!

Life in Bali rolls along at a slow pace most of the time and nothing will change that.  Ubud is a peaceful place where you will find yoga and relaxation classes, art and craft workshops and other creative opportunities.

Take the time to explore the shops in the lanes and alley ways that are tucked away out of the main traffic zones. You may find some unique bargains!

We found a great selection of restaurants and cafes to try along our walk so watch for our next post featuring our favourite food haunts in Ubud … coming soon.

Monsieur Spoon:  Start your morning off with a visit to Monsieur Spoon, a family-run French Bakery-Cafe started by two Parisian cousins based in Ubud.  This cafe was one of our most favourite holiday finds during our last visit to Ubud.  Monsieur Spoon serves handmade French pastries, cakes, artisan bread and savouries – to die for!

Sacred Monkey Forest:  One of my favourite places to visit in Ubud is the Sacred Monkey Forest.  The monkey’s fascinate me.  They are curious, cheeky, sneaky and always playful.  Make sure your glasses and hats are secured, and backpacks and purses zipped up – they will attempt to steal anything they think may be food!

Ubud’s Royal Palace:  Ubud Royal Palace (Puri Saren Agung Ubud), is one of Bali’s most interesting attractions located right in the centre of Ubud.  The royal family is in residence most of the time and most nights during the week the Royal Palace hosts  authentic Balinese dance performances, such as the Barong Ubud dance.

Stop in for lunch at Oops Bar and Cafe … What a great find.  Just an ordinary pub on the outside, but a delicious lunch with icy cold mojitos on the inside!

Check out all the antiques, wood carvings and shops full of unusual nic-nacks.

Daytrip 5:  Inner Bali – Temples and Terraces

An early 9 am pickup by our driver Irun who took us into the hinterland beyond Ubud to view some of the most significant temples in Bali and world heritage listed rice terraces.

Taman Ayun Temple:  Pura Taman Ayun as a beautifully appointed temple with it’s own surrounding moat, located in the village of Mengwi Bandung.  Historically the temple is associated with the King of Mengwi. This temple is where people come to worship the ancestors of the royal family of Mengwi.

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan:  On the shores of Lake Bratan this temple is the primary temple of the many temples and shrines which are vital to the subak irrigation system popular in Bali.  Built in 1633, this temple is used for offerings ceremony to the Balinese water, lake and river goddess Dewi Danu.  Lake Bratan is the main source of irrigation in central Bali.  Lake Bratan is known as the Lake of Holy Mountain due to the fertility of this area.

Lunch at Gong Jatiluwih in the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, Central Bali was a perfect Balinese lunch experience.  The restaurant has been around for many years and is a popular lunch stop for tourists visiting the inland regions of Bali with spectacular views over the rice terraces.

Goa Gajah:  Located just 10 minutes from Ubud, Goa Gajah is a significant Hindu archaeological site.  Known as the Elephant Cave because of its close proximity to the Elephant River, this mysterious cave is surrounded by a courtyard of rock-wall carvings, a central meditation cave, bathing pools and fountains.

Its a peaceful setting with Hindu guides who provide details of the history of this serene place.  A visit to Goa Gajah is definitely a ‘must see’ and well worth including on your itinerary.

These suggestions are totally flexible so you can pace yourself to be as busy or as slow-going as you want.  Pace out your holiday, enjoy your adventures and make sure you leave plenty of down time for relaxing … after all you are on holidays!!

Have you been to any of these places when you’ve visited Bali ?  Is there somewhere that made such an impact on you that you’d consider going back to?  Perhaps I’ve left out somewhere that you think should be included .. I’d love to know .. let me know in the comments below.

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Reference: Wikipedia

Bali Itinerary – 5 perfect daytrips for first time Bali visitors 5 perfect daytrips for first time Bali visitors. A simple itinerary for first time visitors to Bali with 5 perfect daytrips featuring fun filled activities taking you off the beaten track to explore places least traveled in Bali.