Date night

{Date Night occurs soon after Family ~ Love and revenge in the Shadows of Seattle. Sometimes things go according to plan. Or, almost according to plan.}
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'No plan survives first contact with the enemy" ~ Helmuth van Moltke


February 2059

I was twenty years old.

I had faked my own death, again, and was starting over under a new identity.  I bought the house I had previously lived in.  I liked the house, the neighborhood was nice, and there was a source of magical energy in the basement. Sometimes astral entities would drop by uninvited, but I took that as part of the place's charm (of note, it was a pain in the ass at times).

A lot of work went into my new identity. I was a registered and licensed magician, a UCAS citizen, and had a tax and credit history.  The electronic records showed I was a freelance magician.  It was a great identity that didn't require me to remember a lot of odd facts, and was a life I could live in comfortably.  Staying 'in character' wouldn't be hard.

It took some time to become accustomed to being taller and a slightly broader elf. I also had much lighter skin, and with the platinum blonde hair I had a somewhat idealized appearance. I picked up a new wardrobe, with several business appropriate suits. I also had to buy new body armor, but those are the little things that sneak up on you anytime you start a new life that involves a shapechange spell to alter your appearance.

I had made dinner reservations for Valentine's Day. I had a date with Aria.


February 12th, 2059

1235 hours (local Seattle time):  What do you get a lady for Valentine's day?  I had some problems shopping for a good gift.  It was unseasonably cold and very windy, which didn't help my shopping efforts. I left a jewelry shop, that had done its best to devour me, and walked in to a nearby lore store. They were doing a brisk business is selling fake 'love' potions which were little more than herbal libido enhancers.  There were a lot of teenage boys in the lore shop. (Many of you reading this are likely surprised by this nonsense. Don't be, it happens every year since lore shops became 'legitimate' after the awakening.)  I was looking for nothing in particular, taking a break from thinking about Valentine's Day and gifts. 

I avoided the "love potion" and "male enhancement" crowd and skirted over to the selection of books in print.  There weren't any books on display that I wanted.  I wandered about the shop, taking in the magic themed products, and drifting over to look at the real treasures kept behind the locked ballistic glass.  Expensive reagents, folios of spell formula, treaties on astral theory, and books on awakened pets shared space with minor spell foci. There was a beautiful ring with a seventy-five thousand nuyen price tag, "That would certainly send the wrong signals," I told myself. 

I left the lore store before one of the clerks could corner me.  Outside the cold and the damp drove me into the next store with a Valentine's Day themed advert. As it happens, none of the stores had anything I thought Aria might like.  I managed to pick up a bottle of champagne and a box of organic chocolate caramels.  It was a start.

1634 hours: my car service dropped me off at my house.  I waved to my neighbor as I made my way inside.  I locked my door up behind me and checked the security system. I walked through the house, taking in the new furniture for what must have been the tenth time since I "moved in".  The place looked a bit different, but it was still home. 

I ate and sent a text message to Aria "I've confirmed our reservations. I'll pick you up at 1700. Still good for then?"

Aria:  "Sounds perfect, where are we going again?" she had been fishing for information on where we were going and what we were doing for a week.  I kept her in the dark but I did recommend that she bring a warm coat, and dress as if we were going to the Space Needle. 

"Oh, we're going somewhere I haven't told you of yet.  Don't worry I think you'll like the surprise"


February 13th, 2059

I had an epiphany as I ate breakfast. I hit the car service app and scheduled a pick up just before noon. My trip downtown was uneventful, but I found and picked up a pair of gifts for Aria.  I had them wrapped in a white gift box and tied with a red ribbon (its traditional I'm told).  It was a good feeling, having the gifts covered. I called and confirmed my reservations, verified my car service data, and went over the plan for the evening.  Everything seemed to be in order, and I was beginning to feel a bit excited about pulling off a happy Valentine's Day holiday.


February 14th, 2059

I spent the morning cleaning my house, and the afternoon cleaning up for my evening.  This was my first date with Aria since her ordeal and I wanted everything to be perfect.  My car arrived five minutes early. I shrugged into my suit jacket, donned my cape, then headed to the car with the Aria's gift in hand. I was half-way across town when I realized I had left the chocolates and champagne at home.

I sent a text from the car, "See you soon"

"Almost ready" she replied.

I had upgraded for the evening. My car service had provided a Euro Westwind and I have to admit, I liked it.  It was a comfortable ride, immaculately clean, and had a faint scent of old leather.  I rang the door on Aria's building at 1700, precisely, and was met with "Come on in, I'll be ready in a minute." from the speaker.  Aria's voice held an excitement to it that made me smile.  The door was new, and opened easily when Aria buzzed me in.  I had never been in her building before.  There was an elevator to my left and a stairway on my right.  Aria lived on the first floor, so I walked down the wide, clean hall and found her number.  I knocked, and Sheila X opened the door.

Uh-oh. For some reason I had not expected to see Sheila that night.  She opened the door and I walked in.  I stood there for an oddly uncomfortable moment, when Sheila let me off the hook saying "She's going to be a minute. Where are you taking her?"

I didn't like the idea of trying to tell Sheila X that it was "a surprise". I thought, given recent events, that would have been unwise. I glanced around, then leaned in and said "The Gray Line, lower floor reservations and a great table.  Think she'll like it?"

Sheila X nodded.  "Good choice, she won't expect it and its really nice. I took her there for her birthday last year and she loved it." It was at that moment that I realized I had no idea how old Aria was or when her birthday was. I made a mental note to ask, but on another day.

"Sub-zero. I asked her to bring a good coat too.  I summoned up a pair of air spirits and I thought I would take her for a flight around the city after dinner." It was really weird to be talking to Sheila X, while waiting for her daughter to finish getting ready. She may have been preparing to respond, but Aria interrupted.

"Sorry, I'm ready now" Aria had walked in quietly. I turned, and she was simply stunning. She wore a red dress, with a gold chain that held a small opal pendant.  Her long coat was black with silver accents.  She had her hair worn up in an elaborate pattern of woven locks and a pair of opal studs adorned her ears.  I may have stared for a moment.

"Have fun honey." Sheila said. "I'm going to work." 

*****

Aria and I talked the entire way to the restaurant. She asked about my haircut and I asked how long it took to get her hair done. We both laughed when I told her about the folks at the lore store buying "love potions", and she confessed she changed outfits twice before I got there. I told her she looked beautiful and she told me she liked my new ears. 

When we arrived at The Gray Line, I opened the door, produced an umbrella, and we walked in fifteen minutes early for our reservation.  We had champagne at the bar, and she laughed as I tried to tell her a joke in Sperethiel. {In all honesty, she laughed at my terrible Sperethiel, not the joke. I botched it up terribly ~T}

We had one of the best tables in the place.  The lower level is always below the waterline and you can see the marine life through the glass.  A violinist came, right on time, and played for us through our salad course.  A pair of otters swam by and looked at us as our steaks came.  I waved to the little critters and Aria laughed at me. The otters swam about for a moment, beautiful little furry creatures at home in the water.  It was peaceful, fun, and a bit romantic.

We ordered desert and were enjoying more champagne when a man shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you would remain seated.  My associates will be moving through the room momentarily, please keep your hands where we can see them. This is a robbery."  I turned to see six men in suits walking toward us, a young human man, the speaker, was holding a gun. "We'll be taking your valuables, then we'll leave you to your dinner."

"You have got to be fraggin' kidding me," I swore in a low voice. I had left my own gun at home.

The thieves moved through the restaurant calmly and smoothly.  That told me it was a bad idea to do anything, particularly given the circumstances. Aria was completely quiet, her hands on the table.  I saw her shiver and noticed her hand closing around her steak knife.  I laid my hand on hers, smiled, and said. "Don't worry."

One of the thieves came to our table, he grabbed Aria's purse, I gave him the credstick I brought with me, and my pocket watch.  He had me stand up, then he patted me down and found the small gift box.  I felt a moment of indignation and saw fear in Aria's eyes. 

"There's nothing there." I said. My spell snaked its way into the thief's mind and he passed over the box. "The lady's purse isn't worth anything. You should leave it behind." He set the purse back down and moved away to the next table.  I sat down and kept one hand on the table and the other on Aria's hand. 

"Keep quiet and don't argue folks.  We'll just take a few minutes of your time and then we'll be done for the evening." The one doing the talking seemed quite calm. I opened my astral sight and saw that he was very comfortable.  He was alert, calm, and wasn't at all afraid. The other thieves were likewise very confident in their actions.  There wasn't any fear, or anger on that team, just a job they were doing.  I noted their auras, and decided it just wasn't smart to start a fight. 

Unfortunately, not everyone was of the same mind.  I noticed a couple, two tables away, both magically active.  The woman appeared to be some manner of physical adept.  The local mana infused her aura, flowing into her body and she practically hummed with power.  The man was a magician. His aura was strong, though not as strong as mine or Creep's.  He didn't appear to have any spells working at the time, but he was clearly very agitated.  When one of the thieves came to his table he made a terrible decision.

"I'll not give you fraggers a thing," the magician proclaimed. "I'll curse the lot of you if you don't get out!"

The thief punched him between the eyes, knocking him off his chair to laying bleeding on the floor.  The woman jumped up, moving with alarming speed, and punched a hole in the thief's chest.  I saw the auras of the remaining thieves become agitated as they reacted.

The thief with the gun, the one doing the talking, fired and hit the woman in the gut.  The bullet blew through her body and hit the reinforced glass behind her.  The glass cracked ominously.  "Now I am very certain I told everyone that this is a robbery." He waved his gun to emphasize his point. He started walking toward the table. "This is NOT a fist fight, or a spell duel, or whatever else you may think.  This is US robbing YOU, and You being damn quiet about it."

The woman was laying on the floor, bleeding from her gut wound. One of the thieves ran over to check on their fallen companion. "Rip is dead." he stated, looking up at the thief with the gun. "She's killed him."

The thief with the gun took on a grim expression and leveled his weapon at the woman lying on the floor.  "You fragged up lady."

Fighting during a dinner date is generally frowned upon.  The last thing I wanted was another body on the floor, and I was a lot faster than the gunman.  I sent out a mental call into astral space, and quickly wove my invisibility spell around Aria and I.  I was pulling her up and away from our table when my earth elemental manifested and engulfed the gunman.  I heard the muffled sound of his gun discharging. The bullet hit the floor and ricocheted up into the ceiling.  I pulled Aria in close to me.

The five remaining thieves drew light pistols from under their jackets.  My little sleep spell wound its way into the aura of the nearest, and he fell in a heap on the floor.  The remaining four brought their weapons to bear over his crumpled form but found no targets.  A quick mental command brought a water elemental, which engulfed the thief on the far side of the room.  His comrades brought their guns about, saw the elemental and checked their fire. The thief near the corpse, the engulfed gunman, and the injured couple called out "Time to leave!".  He crumpled to the floor under the force of a sleep spell, and then there were three.

My earth elemental released the spokesperson for this band, who fell in a heap to the floor with satisfying 'thud'.  The woman he had shot, snatched his gun out of his hands and trained it on the remaining thieves.  "Lone Star police services! Drop the weapons!  Drop them now!" she called out.

Oh fun, a police contractor.

The magician pushed himself up from the ground, an aura of energy pouring out from him, a defensive enchantment of some kind I supposed.  He saw the spirits, the thieves, and raised his hands toward the three men. "Don't make me kill you!" he threatened.  I took advantage of the sudden reversal and ordered my spirits back into the astral plane.  I guided Aria back to her seat, sat down next to her, and let the invisibility spell unravel.  My spirits vanished, and a pair of earth elementals manifested near the magician.  One of the patrons, a distinguished looking orc gentleman at a table with three young children and an orc woman, started clapping.

"Nicely done 'Star!" he said. Applause broke out around the room.

I called 911 and reported that an officer had been shot.  Aria squeezed my arm, and I kissed her on the forehead. "Happy Valentine's Day." I told her.  She smiled back at me.

The management at The Gray Line comped our dinner for us, given the rude disruption.  I thought that was rather kind of them and gave my compliments to the manager.  Additional Lone Star personnel, uniformed officers, showed up as did an emergency medical transport to pick up the wounded officer.  Of the thieves, only one was dead upon arrival, the poor schmuck who got his heart punched out was dead on the floor.  Aria and I were interviewed by another detective who took our statements, checked our identification (mine held up, thank you Angel!) ... {You're welcome ~ Angel} Aria's ID was real and the officer never gave her ID a second glance.  We left the restaurant an hour later than I expected, calmly ignoring a scream sheet reporter that had shown up to get the scoop.  The EuroWestwind rolled up, I opened the door and Aria slid in effortlessly.  I joined her, the door closing behind us, and we were off to our next destination.

{The Lone Star officers made no mention of any other magicians being involved in taking down the robbery suspects.  Which was simply fantastic. The case was pretty much open and shut, with the thieves getting terribly long sentences related to the assault on two police contractors. Bad luck for them really.}

*****

Kelsy Park closes at sundown but there is plenty of parking available just outside of the park itself.  The car pulled up to a stop, parked, and my door opened.  It was cold outside, and Aria had a quizzical look on her face. "Tommy, what are we doing?" she asked.

"I thought you might enjoy this."  Two air elementals responded to my mental summons and manifested before us. "I thought you might like an air tour.  I know its cold.  We can take it slow and fly around the city for a while."

"Tommy Gun, I could get used to this." Her smile banished the last of my tension from the robbery.  The elementals had taken the form of clouds shaped like the giant eagles of legend.  They were powerful spirits, and frankly this kind of thing was probably beneath their dignity.  But the spirits didn't complain at all, and I took that as a good sign.  We flew around Kelsey Park, then overland to the west and out over Puget Sound.  We skirted Council Island (no sense in getting shot at for violating air space) and skimmed the water until we approached the shore again.  We flew through downtown, about five stories up, following the roads and watching the people below.  We were moving slowly, the wind was slight, and the rain had stopped.  Aria laughed and smiled, pointing out sights as we soared around the town.  Below us, there were couples in their limos, or the occasional horse-drawn cart, but we were riding on air itself.  It was a magnificent experience.

{Magicians, take note.  This is a fun thing to do for a date.  Be nice to your spirits though, because some don't like doing this, while others don't mind a bit. ~ T}

We spent a little more than two hours aloft before we returned to the car.

"Tommy, I really loved that!" Aria exclaimed. "I hope we can do that again!"

"I think that can be arranged." I replied.  I bowed to the elementals and they vanished back into the astral plane, their service complete. "I love to fly. One day I should summon an ally spirit though, so I don't have to keep summoning up new spirits."

"I don't know about that, but its fantastic to fly with spirits."  She was smiling ear to ear. "Do you have anything else planned then?"

"Well I thought I would take you home, and I do have something for you." I responded.

We got in the car and took one of the longer routes to get back to her place.  I gave her the small gift box, which she opened with a grin.  There were two smaller boxes inside.  She opened the smaller of the two, revealing a gold locket on a fine gold chain. She opened the locket, revealing the digital photo frame within.  It cycled through photos of our first "date" at the Eye of the Needle, and an image of each our dates since.  The last image file, one I captured that night, showed Aria, floating in air, her arms wide as she soared over Seattle.  The larger box held a gold bracelet, the back of which was engraved in Sperethiel "for a lovely lady, from your beautiful idiot", in all honesty I had someone fluent design the script so that it was correct.

"I love it, thank you Tommy." Aria said.  She hugged me, and we shared our first 'real' kiss as I took her home. I walked Aria to her door and earned another kiss for my trouble.  It was nice.  She walked in, and down the hall to her door.  I waved and went back to the car.

The EuroWestwind took me home.  I had a peaceful trip.  Aria sent me a few text messages saying she had a good time. I invited her over to have lunch at my home the following day, and she agreed.  I was feeling pretty good, and a little proud, for a successful date night.  I wished Aria a good night, grabbed a bottle of root beer from the refrigeration unit (a guilty pleasure of mine), and put on some old flatvid cartoons. 

I was being a person, and it was nice.

*****

February 15th, 2059

0600 hours: Angel sent a message telling me that her systems had picked up an image capture of me leaving The Gray Line with Aria after the robbery.  I told her I was fine and thanked her for checking on me.  She asked if I could meet her downtown that evening.  I told her I had plans already, but I would be available the following day if that could work.  Something, "interesting" had come up and she thought I might be available for some freelance work. She said he could make tomorrow work, I thought about it a tick, and agreed to meet her.

We'll save that story for next time though.  For now, I feel like taking a trip downtown.  I need a few things and I feel like flying.

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From the Author:

Hello everyone!  Thank you for over 2000 views for my fan fiction.  I appreciate your time and I hope you have enjoyed the stories to date.

There are a lot of stories remaining for Tommy, and probably as many for Shade (another fan fiction series for Shadowrun I've started).  I want to thank you folks for your comments, +1s, and for sharing these stories with others.

I also write and develop role-playing game materials (not for Shadowrun, unfortunately) for other role-playing games.  You can find my work on drivethrurpg.com and you can help support my projects on KickStarter (look for a weapon resource book I'm bringing to KickStarter in a couple of months titled "The Steel Road" for 5th Edition Open Game License *cough*dnd*cough* and in a Pathfinder Compatible edition).

Please feel free to comment!

Tommy was a fun character to play.  He had some deep issues to deal with over his career, and wrestled with whether he was a person or a monster.  Through the course of play he did have moments, such as "Date Night" where he enjoyed a normal life, just being a person.  More stories to come will detail more daring adventures, tragic losses, and magnificent triumphs.

I hope to see you here soon.

W.S. Quinton