Chapter 1: A Red Crest in an Unexpected Place

I was sitting in my office checking some routine reports, having more time for such in the last month as my staff has finally been been organized properly with the crooks in jail, incompetents moved to positions where they can do only little harm and the competent one in proper places, when I came upon a strange report.

According to some police reports a red crest has been seen frequently in a workers bar in the sector.

I frowned a bit and called the police chief.

“Chief Grouda, what more can you tell me about report Gre-2025-3-43443-a?”

“Sector commander Aida, Let me check.”

A few seconds later she looks up from the report and frowns, “A red crest here? I had not noticed this report before. Do you want me to send someone to find out more?”

I sigh. “No, I guess I should go introduce myself personally as the highest authority in the sector”

Grouda nods. “Better you than me, at least you are turning into a green crest.”

We say goodbyes and I shake my head and mutter to myself, “like being a green crest matters to a red crest.”

So I shut down my pc, grab my iPhone and head out telling my assistant that I will be out of office the afternoon.

I then call a Tesla and ride to the mall where the bar is located. It is in a small strip mall between a McDonalds and a Tesco.

I enter the bar and look around. The place is kind of normal workers bar, decorated in human “1950s” style with about 20 tables 3 of them lower for humans, 2 really low for Quarians and the rest normal height. Currently there are no no Quarians, only a lone human doing something on his iPad and about a dozen of us. Most people are clearly workers, being grey crest with only one blue crest and then the totally out of place red crest.

On looking at the red crest, it is clear that she is a real red crest and not some fake dye job that happens from time to time. She is at one and half time my height, more than double my mass and of martial bearing, but clearly aging.

When I step in there is a general hush, as I guess green crests are rare here, but the people seem to take the red crest for granted, so she must be here quite often for them to not react. But after a while most go back to their discussions and drinking, only the red crest looking at me with a look that seems to say “What are you doing here?”

So I straighten my back and walk towards her as there is really no use in pretending to be there for any other reason than her. When I get closer I suddenly almost stumble as recognize her. She is General Fealia of Deya, one of the most decorated veterans of the Crey war.

I must notice that I have stopped and must have been staring as the General seems to get a small twitch of amusement and she gestures towards the empty sitting pillow by the table and says “ Sector commander Aida I presume, so you decided to come and check if the reports are true.” There is another twitch of amusement and she says, “Why do you not get a drink, sit down and keep the old general some company for a while?”

I reply something, head towards the bar desk and get a Heineken, returning to the general and sitting down on the pillow.

The general is sitting and waiting patiently, so I guess I need to open the conversation. So I say, “What brings a famous general like you to an insignificant bar in a boring industrial sector?”