Chapter Text
Amara the Tiger of Partali sits comfortably in a sky-high revolving restaurant on Promethea enjoying the trappings of fame, a healthy bowl of roasted Rakk steak with all the trimmings on the house, when one the downsides approaches. Sadly, a popular spot like this crawls with the vulture like journalists who endlessly snap pics, pester her for interviews or record her but the food is to die for!
Ok I normally love the attention she admits to herself, but I would like to eat in peace today! A quiet meal alone would be useful to mull over the complexities of her new and secretive single status. She also hoped to escape the symbiotic leash of the paparazzi for just a little while. Fame is a drug, and she is hooked. She's born for it; what Siren isn't? But it's a balancing act. Meditating nightly only keeps the stresses at bay, though the perks speak for themselves. The curving restaurant is wider than half the buildings she knew growing up. Velour seating and a live band playing complex instruments that Amara couldn't even name. The view easily a mile up shows endless neon towers. Vast sleek columns with dull colouring, corporate offices as far as the eye could see. Attempting to make you crane your neck to look up at the rings of lights where their head offices were. The rubble strewn streets and this morning battle feel a world away. Rising above all the grim piping ducts and infrastructure that makes the city work smoggy clouds of pollution falling away beneath them like they have ascended to some heaven.
The club itself is filled with various aromas from shisha and cigarettes. The guests include suited execs, their cyborg bodyguards and various ECHOnet stars dressed in trendy ostentatious fashion that is even more fleeting than their careers, Big lurid hairdos, and jewelled gowns. Amara is alone surrounded by empty tables sitting under a chandelier. Candlelit yet she's never felt less romantic. Of all the celebrities here, he has to scuttle over to my table. I suppose I should be flattered but tread carefully Amara.
“Hi there Elan wanting another autograph?” She offers with a bright smile. Toying with him ever so slightly, like a loose thread of yarn. Beating him to the first move.
“Miss Gadhavi got time for me to grab a quick interview?” He ignores her opening remark asks pulling up a chair, slinking into it before she can say no.
Amara winces at her now ex-husband's surname. “Sure, but call me Amara or The Tiger please.” she reminds him, touching her chest in an act of humility. Hoping to sound humble and calm. The ongoing divorce proceedings are still secret alongside her maiden name as both her siblings don't need pestering. Privacy is important for Amara, and the divorce will bring unwanted attention to her life, her public persona is all that they need to know about. Plus, Ravi and my siblings are not war heroes. Nor is this one for Amara knows he is Elan Zolent with the Promethean HighLines Network.
Facing the little man dressed in a dusty trilby and shabby suit, clearly underdressed for the restaurant, just like herself. The two visibly stick out, not looking or feeling as though they belong here. At heart Amara’s still just a thrill seeker and adrenaline junkie from the Partali slums. Yet she is an honoured guest here after dealing with that rampaging local monocycle gang, the only guest here in jeans and casual wear. Eating far more than anyone else too.
Elan filches a lump of Rakk steak off her plate so brazenly she silently endures it. Amara could eat the twitchy little man for breakfast. Him being shorter than her like most women were too. Elan’s stubbly face, twitchy nose and grubby hands make him look like a slippery repulsive rodent who could escape the Tigers wrath. No physical threat, but his words had cut reputations to shreds. No choice but to tolerate him and the buzzing camera drone that follows orbiting Amaras head, snapping from a dozen angles. Wishing she’d put her boots up on the table before the pestering creep could sit down with her. Is it too much to ask for one meal alone? Without a guy harassing me! I gave a press conference a couple hours ago! Smiling while fuming.
The drones lens scans her outfit, a casually rebellious ensemble. Firstly, a pair of dark torn jeans that weren’t fit attire even before she got them covered in dust from sliding and kicking in action this morning. Spreading those legs under the table so he can't get comfy using her heavy hard wearing military boots to keep Elan’s brogues away. Those spiked steel toe caps better fit for cruising the streets with the bikers she’d just killed than on these plush carpets. The only concession to table manners was to place her knuckle duster in her jeans pocket till she's done eating. Both the Sirens ears are heavy with rings and one a purple disc. that colour seems to surround her giving her a rich air of mystery. (In truth it's her brand focus group tested endlessly by her agent)
A purple tee is casually tied around her firm waist as a sarong reminiscent of home. Outfit completed with a spiked leather jacket with the sleeves torn off by her hand, open to show her ragged purple tee shirt cropped to bear her Olympians midriff. it's a bold statement only a Siren could pull off saying I don't need armour so why wear any? She delights in that sense of fun in this boring place! Even the waiters are clad in full black-tie. Yet here she is showing off a better body than any of the galaxy's so-called elite. It must get up their noses to see a lower caste mercenary stride in with her and six pack and navel visible.
Amara never asked to be an automatic trendsetter for her fans though it is flattering; but if young girls will aspire to her as a role model, then she prefers they buy casual clothes rather than the expensive nonsense surrounding her. Not wasting their meagre earnings on things never have afforded in her youth like the Promethean fashion all lurid pinks and exotic furs and glittering fabrics. Only a local hero could bypass the strict dress code and standards of the restaurant all of which begs the question.
“How did you get in here, Elan?”
“Distracted the bouncer” He leers shamelessly snickering alone, then swiftly moves on tapping his ECHO on the table.
“Well, you’ve won the Miss Promethea contest once, got the trophy for woman of the year on Partali 3 times over! Been declared one to watch for the Galaxy’s next top model, been on the cover of Missiles, Mortars & Merchandise and killed the head of the largest drug cartel on Eden 6… and just this morning you just neutralised the Skull Grinder gang so what's next for the Tiger now? "
Amara tilts her head, and smiles, not wanting to commit to anything. Thinking until she can whip up a deflection on the spot. Resisting the urge to fiddle with her hair after her stylist worked so hard on it for the earlier photoshoot. She could call the bouncer over but that would be admission of weakness. I can handle him.
“Oh, you’ll have to wait and see.” having no idea herself except wherever the latest bout of violence has broken out.
“Not sticking around to help Mayor Grodam with the rebuilding?”
“I get bored easily,” she laughs. Plus, I won't do a politician's dirty work for him. “I'm better at breaking things.” She jokes with a wave of her hands.
“So, I hear you have a new spaceship?” He says checking his ECHO notes.
Relaxing in her seat and answering with “Yes, a gift from the Torque corporation as long as I keep using their guns. “And I will,'' she adds remembering “Torque combines heavy firepower and high fire rate and reliability into one lethal package!” Rushing through their slogan in a rushed monotone. “I’m not one to be chauffeured anywhere, so a new ship suits me just fine.”
“So, what do you think of the events on Pandora?” He adds.
“Huh?” Confused, caught off stride as she avoids watching the news at all costs.
“A rogue Siren has murdered Jack the CEO of Hyperion! And declared the planet a free state!”
“Hmm” Amara rubs her chin, mind racing, deep in thought. Another Siren putting her face out there. My sister in arms.
“Would you happen to know the mystery renegade known as Lilith?” He leans in thirsting for any hint about the Sirens.
“I might…” She shrugs half the mystique is in acting like she knows more about Sirens than she does a few scrolls in an old Eridian temple on Partali and a tablet in a museum that's all she knows beyond what she can do. This Lilith most likely won't know either. She drums her fingers on the table, already impatient with him.
He flips his ECHO round to show her a fierce redheaded woman brandishing a gun in one blue tattooed hand and flipping off the photographer with the other. She’s so my type. Those tattoos are hot!
“Reckon you could take her down?” Elan asks eagerly. Like some hungry warmonger.
“I reckon.” She brags sprawling in her chair but why the mal would I want to? “She reasons internally before adding truthfully “It would be a damned good brawl that's for sure.”
“Oh, think you could win?” He raises his eyebrows and leans in personally on the scent of something juicy, something salacious! Fingers poised over his ECHO keypad.
“Doubtless I haven't lost yet!” she declares proudly with her chin up.
“That would be a sight to see two Sirens facing off! Think what Lilith's head is worth! The bounty is astronomical!”
“Hmm Two Sirens locked in combat, burning each other with Eridium fire, grappling at each other, oceans of power behind them, only the one with supreme willpower making it out alive!” Rolling all that spiel out enjoying how he hangs off her every word frozen in rapt attention. They both picture different things.
“Haha anyway-” she tries to defuse the man before he explodes.” I'm rich enough already,” she boasts calmly, checking her polished black nails.
Teasing him with the prospect of such a scoop then breaking the spell amuses her until he asks.
“How's your husband? Thinking of children yet? No known Siren has ever settled down before…” he hits her with that double blow, then follows up with that cheeky line as if she's some lab rat with the whole galaxy waiting to see what comes of a Sirens offspring. The sheer nerve of that aside as if he knows her family! Makes her grit her teeth into a forced smile”
This chutiya likes to probe, doesn't he? She never reads the rag he comes from; she assumes it's another schlocky tabloid only for wiping mud off her boots like all the others. In the slums that kinda line would have his teeth scattered pretty quick.
“He’s fine. We’re fine.” She swiftly dismisses lying through her teeth “No plans for kids. I’m not going to raise children on tour.” she states with total honesty. Not ready to share this with the world or even take off the ring and this creep certainly will not be the one to break the news she has broken up with her man!
She twists her gold ring uncomfortably and changes the subject to-
“Pandora’s the one with all those Eridian vaults? I could move my schedule if you tell me, what's the action like?” She leans in and asks him with a whisper. Starstruck, by her sudden closeness he gives it up easily. Forgetting who the interviewer is.
“Awful! All the locals are either psychotic cannibals or thuggish bandits oh and there's a new cult running rampant while the towns are the exact same filthy shacks built by the first settlers there! The giant fauna is all man eating and the flora is only bigger and hungrier. Anything goes on Pandora” Elan says with a shudder “civilization never reached them.”
“Well, I have a scoop for you, I’m heading there next.” with that she leaps up. Pays, tips, and leaves him in her dust. She has no time to waste and anyway she's lost her appetite. He can't afford to chase after her and make a scene.
Talking to a vulture like Elan made dealing with her artful dodger of an agent fun! At least Todd respects my talents! He's still sore about my divorce though bad optics for him! He'll just to have suck it up, that's what I pay him for. Sometimes it felt like she worked for him not the other way around. The thought of the divorce saps her energy, A quarrel of hired lawyers keep most of it away from her, proceedings almost done she doesn’t need a house she barely lived in and will keep most of the fortune, she's earned. She has no wish to hurt Ravi anymore. So, things have moved swiftly in the last month since she ended things. Dark mood lifting when she recalls Pandora! She had thought it beneath her not worth her interest . Yet Elan had sold her on it! sounding like the most violent place in the universe with a bounty worth her time!
Strides onto the overhanging spaceport landing pad where she is parked. Amara looks over the edge of the extension down to the city streets. There were a million places down there to meet women, but she can't risk it.
She's known here how could she trust an escort or drunken clubgoer? It would make the news even if she was single! She passes the updates all the time. Some singer's latest partner! Is this starlet cheating! ECHOnet influence caught with...! Etc
Amara won't throw things away now. She sighs and looks up.
Only a real fight will distract her from the one raging within. Pretending her hunger is for battle and not something else. That’s why she's excited for Pandora! A chance to make her name not merely spread it. A chance to meet and begin to understand a fellow Siren who may have a piece of the puzzle of their lives.
Since all that Eridian architecture and Eridium was discovered, it holds more than anywhere else in the galaxy. Freed from law and order under the boot of the mega corps it's at last worth a visit! All Amara and anyone knows is that her tattoos have a link to the ancient Eridians. Her past and her destiny are tied to the vaults somehow. Only her and five others in the universe can unlock the eldritch secrets of the fallen ancients. The careful nature of archaeology is not her passion, but she has no excuse not to visit now. She had no idea the backwater rim world planet was so interesting! Hopefully, the media will be put off if it's as exciting as Elan claimed!
She almost runs to her spaceship but won't give any lurking media a taste of her urgency. She is forever paranoid but then the labyrinthian streets of Partali teach you to always look over your shoulder for cutpurses, cutthroats and worse.
The spaceship is dark purple with gold stripes (her true favourite colour) currently unnamed. Todd hasn’t sold the chance to name it yet so for now it is all hers. Ravi can keep the mansion I'm happier here. Inside she checks her ECHO, another message from her agent Todd Barlos
Todd-Hey, Tiger, what are you doing? You missed another press conference. That’s not a good look for when you get interviewed on the Promethea Tonight show tomorrow.
The Tiger-Cancel it. I have got a better place to be. Pandora. You’re always saying how legend must keep being written. I have the mother of legends in my sights. Imagine the opportunities once I open the vault. I'll keep you busy.
She vows to call him properly he will fuss otherwise but once She’s convinced him that Pandora will be a goldmine he’ll calm down. Till she's busy on Pandora it will be best to ignore him. There's another message from her former husband
Ravi-Can we talk? I am having second thoughts. I want to make this work even if you don't.
She doesn’t know how to reply to that. The truth is not something to be spilled in one ECHO message.
Settling into her captain's chair lacking the stomach right now to deal with her husband. feeling a little guilty for having not been totally honest with him. It's true she loves chasing fame more than staying at home, just as it's true she likes him and desperately wanted it to work, but it's a lie that she wants to stay in touch. Sitting pondering for a while. She’s wrestled with this a long time even trying her hand at domestic stuff, but Amara is no housewife! It's true she liked him more than any other boy she grew up with. He'd always been nice to her even before her powers came in. but she never fell for him the way he fell for her. It's true that she never cheated on him, yet her gaze wanders more and more daily.
Because recently it finally and undeniably came to her that she's not even slightly bisexual she is and only ever has been attracted to women. This real reason was left unsaid; Amara assumes this will spare his feelings rather telling him the marriage always was hopeless. Yet even though she no longer feels like propping his feelings up, she can't break his heart anymore. He's ended up tangled up with her in not standing on his own for far too long. It was never a lie she had wished it could have been true.
She engages the engine levers with a huff. She knows who to blame! It would be so much easy to do as she wished but if she got caught…
One amateur photographer on their ECHO, one viral shot, one blabbermouth lover. And it would all be over. Blackmail would be the least of it. Her career would be over. Amara could not go back to being a Partali slum dog. Having worked too hard on everything from her CQC to her body. Growing up in poverty it’s forbidden to even dream of these prospects, never imagining she could matter this much or see such sights across the galaxy.
The only problem is her corporate sponsors. The scandal if her sexuality is leaked the agent explained to her in her cold and slimy detail. All the mega corps, the armouries, all the companies that sponsored her would all vanish if she wasn't the woman, they wanted her to be. She rolls her eyes.
Todd insisted she must conform and appear to be heterosexual. It’s what is popular and what people want to see and what sells at meta levels and in the realm of celebrity. “A higher echelon Amara baby! Old money is old school!” Homosexuality may have been legal on every world, but these corporate heirs and heiresses live privileged lives in palace moons and mansions in the stratosphere. They aren’t in touch with regular people. Old money has old views. He’d said they like people who go to plan. None of these men like women who say no. He assured her knowingly.
They’d had a real shouting match about that. He’d won, and he'd slapped these golden chains on her. For her siblings back home to live in comfort she signed mountains of contracts thinking to suppress her hearts desires. Only wishing to know a woman well enough for her to scream her name in a way the crowds never do. Anxious encounters where she’d been on alert the entire time and slipping her pants back on as soon as sex was over were not what she wanted either.
Hoping both her and her ex-husband can one day find a woman to make them both happy. She still can't get caught! But there was never a need to be a spinster. Having hoped she could fake it she made it, when she chose to marry Ravi it had pleased her agent greatly. She’d hoped for the best but… well the regular sex kept her sane at least. Thanks to that popularity boost from her televised wedding, she was popular enough to afford to travel from world to world, While Ravi could live in a palace the rest of the time
“Madarchod!”
She curses her agent once more, before setting her coordinates towards the Pandoran system. Its adventures calling to the Siren. Shooting into space all before her latest interview with Elan begins to play on the restaurants holo screens.