Chora's Den

Overview

Chora's Den is located in the wards of The Citadel, near the markets. To get to the entrance of Chora's Den after exiting the station for the club visitors must make their way along a set of walkways to the entrance, in this area there are two large, backlit silhouettes of Asari in a reclining position on the walls.

The inside of the club is cyclical in shape and in the centre of the club is a large platform with a column leading from the center of the platform to the ceiling, this platform functions as a stage for a number of the clubs erotic dancers.

Around the central platform there are a series of lights hanging down from the ceiling as well as additional red lighting, this is the area in which the bartenders work. Outside of this area is a counter with chairs around it and further tables and bar stools can be found around the edges of the club. There are also a number of red-lit alcoves in which there are chairs, tables and small raised platforms where erotic dancers can perform closer to the guests. When Shepard visits he or she can view an Asari dancing and during the performance can sit forward, placing the camera behind the dancer or relax, placing the camera in front of the dancer. There is also a small wing off to one side of the club which is usually guarded by Krogans and leads to the back room.

The owner of the club is a man named Fist who is known to have committed criminal acts upon The Citadel. The patrons of the club upon Shepard's visit appear to all be male Humans, Turians and Salarians. The clientèle of the club have a reputation for generally being unsavory individuals, apart from the exception of a regular customer by the name of Septimus. The club almost entirely employs Asari, although when Shepard visits there are a few female Humans working there and even a male Human bartender. All women working at Chora's Den wear a black skin-tight garment made of a latex-like material which covers their arms, torso, legs and neck, with a gap leaving the crotch, thighs and buttocks exposed as well as another gap exposing the cleavage. The uniform also includes a thong, high heeled shoes and gloves, all of which are also in black. Besides offering music, drinks and erotic dance the club also seems to offer the service of the female employees sitting on customers laps and there also seem to be situations where the customers can converse with the women.

The club was forced to shut down after the attack on The Citadel and did not reopen, although a slightly similar establishment exists on the Citadel in Mass Effect 2 called Dark Star Lounge and a gentlemen's club called Afterlife where the dancers are primarily Asari and wear the same uniforms can be found in Mass Effect 2. In the same game Kelly Chambers wears a red version of the Chora's Den/Afterlife outfit in Shepard's romance sequence with her. Before the club was taken over by Fist it was apparently called 'Archos'.

Plot

Shepard's first visit to Chora's Den within the mission structure of the game is as a visit to find Harkin, a disreputable C-Sec officer with knowledge of the whereabouts of Garrus Vakarian. Harkin is uncivil to Shepard and makes him/her listen to a false story about Anderson being discharged from the spectres but eventually gives them the information on Garrus. The second mission which directs Shepard to the club is one to talk to Fist who was said to have been in contact with a Quarian who had evidence of rogue spectre Saren Arterius' illegal actions. When Shepard arrives there, there are no customers or employees to be found in the club and instead it is filled with armed gunmen. Shepard and his/her squad fight their way through the gunmen and eventually force Fist to surrender in the back room and reveal everything he knows. If Shepard chooses to return to the club after this it will have returned to normal.

In the assignment 'Citadel: Asari Consort' Shepard visits the club for Sha'ira, a well-known Asari consort and speaks to retired Turian general Septimus to stop him from spreading any further lies about Sha'ira. In the assignment 'Citadel: Rita's Sister' Shepard visits the club to convince Jenna, a C-Sec officer, to stop working undercover as a bartender there as her sister Rita believes it is too dangerous.