A Difference Written In the Stars
By The Acromantula
Chapter One
Therum was quiet in between the volcanic eruptions. It would almost have been hospitable if the air was toxic or the surface temperature was hotter than Thessia. She missed her home world. The matriarchal government decided that her existence needed the highest level of classification to be due to an extremely rare genetic mutation. She always told herself that things could have been worse. She could have been a demon of the night winds. According to her mother and several top Asari doctors, Liara T'Soni was one of a kind.
She had been exploring the Prothean ruins on Therum for a month. Normal archeological digs consisted of a team of researchers and assistants. Liara preferred the solitude of working on her own. She was not only a xenoarchologist but a budding computer scientist. Liara had created her own VI interface that acted as her assistant. The Protheans had fascinated her from a very early age. Many of her mother's contemporaries thought that any daughter of Lady Benezia T'Soni would have followed in her mother's footsteps. However, Liara knew that while Benezia publically disapproved of Liara's choice of study, she was the one who got Liara into the University of Serrice. She earned her degree in xeno-archeology. Her dissertation was a codex of the theories on Prothean extinction which was rejected by the leading protean experts.
Liara didn't care that her research wasn't accepted she knew deep inside that her theory was right. She theorized that the galactic history was cyclical. She noted that there were traces of races before the Protheans. It wasn't a leap in thought to see that galactic history could be repeating itself. What she discovered in the ruins on Kopis and Eletania led her to Therum. She told her VI to compile all of the day's notes for review as she shed her day's outfit. The snug yet unappealing one piece outfit fell to the floor leaving Liara in her favorite purple bra. She really loved how the synthetic lace teased her large blue nipples. Yet even her favorite bra made her feel that she had on too many pieces of clothing. She unhooked her bra and tossed it on to her bed.
She walked into the ship's en-suite bathroom and set the shower to just below boiling. As the shower was heating up, she walked back out to the ship's small galley. She picked out her favorite bottle of Thessian Red and poured a glass. Whatever disagreements she had with Benezia, her mother knew how to outfit her daughter for any expedition. The D'nasir is small Armali class ship was perfect for Liara's exploration. Since she was going to uncharted world, her mother had upgraded the ships weapons and defensives and made them all automated. With a few key strokes on her omni-tool, Liara could plot courses throughout the galaxy and even pilot the ship. Yet ninety nine percent of the time, she let the ship's onboard computers do the work. Her omni-tool chimed alerting her that her shower was ready. Liara took her glass of wine back into the bathroom and left it on the sink counter.
The door to the shower opened automatically when Liara got close enough. The hot water felt like a divine luxury a lonely scientist wasn't worthy of having. The muscles that controlled her crest relaxed. She picked up a tube of her favorite body wash and squeezed out a handful. The aroma of Armali lavender and lilac filled the shower stall. Her soapy hands started massaging her large breasts making sure that they were nice and clean. A feeling of pure glee came over her as she pinched her large and very sensitive nipples. Even in the shower, her azure felt even wetter than she ever thought possible.
Though Liara was an Asari, she wasn't attracted to her own race like her mother and father had been. Mating and procreating within one's own race wasn't forbidden. It was just frowned upon because of how their species procreated. The Asari believed in genetic diversity and interspecies breeding. Genetic defects were more precedent in pure blooded children. Not one Asari doctor could tell her what the cause of her extra appendage which was standing tall right above her azure. Her mother was always tight lipped when Liara tried to bring up her parentage and her mutation. She theorized that her mother wouldn't tell her the full truth and probably never will.
Nevertheless, she wasn't at all ashamed of her appendage. When stroked slowly at the same time as her azure, she achieved a level of pleasure that had been never documented by any Asari researcher that she could find. Showers were her favorite place to find inner nirvana through sexual stimulation. She wasn't a huge fan of cleaning up her messes afterwards.
When she was younger, she had bypassed her mother's parental controls on the family extranet connection. She didn't need to search the net long. She found out that her phallus compared closely to the ones sported by the male human. Except for the head, Liara's was more shaped like an arrowhead. Another difference was that male humans also had a sac directly under their penis. Since Asari didn't breed the same way that humans did, the sac was missing from Liara's body.
According to her doctors, her reproduction organs were all internal located. If she were to compare her to a human male, her azure would be where a male's sac would be. Her ovaries were larger than normal Asari. Essentially, she could impregnate another asari just like a human male would have. Liara always felt that the doctors and scientists whom all worked for her mother never told her the whole truth. If Liara thought that her mother's treatment of her was bad it didn't compare to what Benezia did to Liara's father. Benezia ran away from her bond mate when Liara was still in the womb. Liara knew that her father still tried to make contact but her mother forbade Liara from replying.
Liara was letting her past ruin her personal time. She cleared her thoughts as her left hand gently wrapped around her large blue cock as two of her fingers on her right hand were slowly circling her azure. She wasn't sure where the images came from but she had no way of stopping them. She didn't want to stop the images of a beautiful human female with long flowing red hair and sparkling emerald green eyes. She couldn't define it but there had to be an unknown connection to this female. The Goddess Athame wouldn't have sent her these visions of a beautiful human female that Liara had never met without some reason.
The woman in Liara's dreams danced seductively. Her lips also moved but no sound came out. The mystery woman's large breasts slightly jiggled with each sway or her hips. Miss Mystery had a large yet neatly trimmed bush of bright red hair nestled between her legs. When the light hit her hair, it shimmered. Miss Mystery was just as aroused as Liara.
Liara couldn't stand her horniness any longer. She turned her hands on to their afterburner setting. She channeled her biotic power to her help alleviate the strain of her speedy hands. Her eyes shot to black as she muttered something about embracing eternity. Her mind felt like it was transported through a mass relay to a bright beautiful new world. Her orgasm hit with a massive wave of pleasure. Her azure and cock shot out a sticky light blue fluid. Her legs gave way as slid down the wall she was leaning against. Her last image that ran though her mind as she collapsed was a pair of bright green eyes with a voice saying that somebody was coming.
Liara awoke to sirens. Someone or something had tripped the ship's early warning detection system which was capable of detecting any type of synthetic atmospheric disturbance. The ship's computer tagged the disturbance as a ship on a reentry trajectory. Liara was positive that nobody knew where she was heading after her last re-up for supplies. However there was betrayal written on the walls. Somebody had somehow figured out her location. The computer estimated this unknown ships arrival in mere minutes. She was naked and in no mind to defend herself against an unknown number of potential attackers.
She quickly threw on her skin tight one piece body suit. Undergarments be damned. The large bulge in her pants could be seen at fifty yards. There was no time to get her ship into orbit. Her computer just alerted her that the unknown ship had just launched a small landing shuttle. The maze within the Prothean ruins was her first and last choice for a hiding spot. As soon as her boots hit the red dirt of Therum, she activated her ship's active skin cloaking device via her omni-tool. She ran up the ramp to the mine's entrance as a small shuttle touched down. She could see a Krogan battle master and a squad of some sort of synthetic automated warriors exiting the shuttle as she was disengaging the mine door's complex locking mechanism. She could hear the Krogan giving orders to the geth units. Their orders were to either capture or kill her. Whoever hired these mercenaries wanted her either under their control or at least silenced forever. With a few last key commands, the mine door finally opened up.
She ran down the ramps that led deeper into the mine. She punched the button for the elevator as a few rounds from a floating drone struck the elevator support beams. She instantly raised her biotic barrier as the door to the elevator opened. She launched a powerful sabotage attack from her omni-tool. The drone's internal circuitry exploded from the attack. She got on the elevator. As the rickety lift started to descend into the mine, Liara's omni-tool chirped out an alert. She wouldn't be alone in the mine for long. Those mercenaries just opened up the main door.
The elevator finally reached the bottom of the mineshaft. She quickly made her way over to the central mine shaft designed by the Protheans. She had set up a terminal which was able to tap into the inner working of the prothean ruin. She punched in a few commands and activated a prothean security protocol. The way she came in was how shielded by a large blue light. It was truly impenetrable. While she was now safe behind the shield, there was no way out that she knew of.
There was a sound of sparking coming from her terminal. As she turned her head to investigate that sound, an unknown force pulled and levitated her towards the center of the room. This force had her completely immobilized. She tried calling upon her biotic powers to break free but this force field somehow blocked all movement. Any powerful biotic move needed a movement of the body to channel the dark energy. She even tried to bring up her personal barrier with no success. She was truly stuck. Only a miracle could save her now.
The Normandy was truly a beautiful sight while it was docked at the Citadel. She couldn't believe that the ship was now under her command. Was her title now captain as opposed to her current rank of commander? Commander Zoe Shepard couldn't believe that her mentor and father figure Captain Anderson had just stepped aside from one of the most prestigious postings the Systems Alliance Navy had to offer. The Normandy was the most advanced warship based on a dual human-turian design built for stealth reconnaissance. The stealth systems were powered by the billion credit Tantalus drive core. The Normandy might have been the crown jewel in the navy's fleet but there was criticism on the overall project costs as well as sharing and adopting the turians' design for the combat information center which was where the galaxy map was located.
Zoe had just ordered Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau to follow the course she just plotted to the Artemis Tau star cluster. She decided against heading first to either Noveria or Feros. Zoe was sure that Saren would have sent mercenaries after Lady Benezia's daughter. She wasn't sure of Saren's reasoning but she knew that this Liara T'Soni didn't have much time. Academics rarely had the talents to stand up to fully armed mercenaries. Joker had announced that it would take the ship about twelve hours to reach Artemis Tau. She saw her executive officer Charles Pressly standing off to the left side of the CIC. An instant wave of exhaustion had hit her. She told Pressly to take the helm and monitor their progress.
She made a detour once she hit the crew deck towards the med bay to have a conversation with Dr. Karin Chakwas. It was no surprise that Captain Anderson staffed the Normandy with the best. Dr. Chakwas was Zoe's godmother. She and Zoe's mother graduated from the same high school and officers training program. Karin was also Gabriella's maid of honor when she married William Shepard. Karin became Zoe's guardian after both of her parents were killed when batarian slavers attacked her home of Mindoir when she was a teenager. There was no one alive who knew the commander better than Karin. The sliding door opened automatically when she approached the door. The good doctor looked surprised to see Zoe wearing such a pained look on her face. Karin locked down the med bay.
"Are you feeling alright commander? You don't look well." Dr. Chakwas asked.
"No Aunt Karin. I feel like a krogan is sitting on my head not to mention that I haven't gotten a decent night's rest since before we took Eden Prime. My mind isn't letting me stop trying to interpret the visions sent by the protean beacon. I also believe these visions are turning into nightmares. If it weren't for those sleeping tablets you proscribed me, I doubt I would have been able sleep at all."
"Damn it Zoe. Your body while is in peak physical condition still needs at least six to seven hours of restful sleep. The med bay is locked down. I want you strip and hop up on the examination table." Karin said as she started up the diagnostic tools. Karin smirked at how fast Zoe was able to get out of her clothes. "If I didn't know any better Commander, I would say that you eagerness to get undress is a sign of affection towards me. While I'm quite flattered, I'd rather get frisky with Lieutenant Alenko or Captain Anderson." Zoe hopped up on to the exam table as Karin started running cans with her omni-tool. Shepard's medical information started to appear on the screen above the table.
Alliance Military Health Network
Internist: Dr. Julianna Xi
Patient Name: Shepard, Zoe Maria
Service No.: 5923-AM-2826
Status: Active Duty
Date of Birth: 04-11-2154
Age: 32
Species: Human
Sex: Female
Height: 5'10" (177.8cm)
Weight: 145 lbs (65.8kg)
Bust: 34D (Natural)
Waist: 24"
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Auburn (Natural)
Brief Patient History
At age sixteen, patient has displayed signs of Post Traumatic stress disorder after the Batarian slavers lead the massacre on Mindoir. Patient saw her parents murdered in front of her. This traumatic event serves as her motivation to push past normal limitations. Shepard has been battle tested time and time again. She proved herself on Elysium not to mention being one of the youngest recruits to ever graduate from the N7 program.
Recommendation
Shepard is a remarkably talented infiltrator: a true ghost. She is driven to accomplish her goals in hopes of one day avenging the murders of her parents. She is the penultimate soldier with a moral streak which can both help as well as hinder. Even still, she finds a way to get the job done. I still have my reservations on her mental stress load. Shepard's luck seems to be a pendulum. She rises to the occasion and heeds the call but how long will she be able to keep her mental acuity before a severe fracture. This doctor believes that regular counseling by somebody Shepard trusts implicitly is the best course of action.
"I still miss Julianna's laugh even after five years. I guess I should read your file more clearly. She rarely laughed and for good reason. A hissing angry cat is a more welcome sound than Julianna's laugh. We went through medical school and basic together. It was a shame the ship she was stationed on was ambushed. Look at me, I am caught in my own memories when I should be helping you with yours." Karin said with a smile.
"The only thing I could remember about Dr. Xi was thinking that how was she able to get into the military when she was under five feet tall."
"She was one of the few officers who had a true brilliance for medicine. She spent less than an half an hour with you and she deduced everything wrong with you and the best treatment for you which you haven't had the best success with if I'm not mistaken."
"You know my life almost better than I do. I am not sure if I am running out of time, steam or patience. The nightmares are getting worse. I can't make any sense of them which is half the problem. I also saw them again." Karin didn't have to guess who else Zoe was talking about. Since sixteen, Zoe often had nightmares about the day her parents died.
"Zoe, do you feel comfortable enough to have this conversation with me. It's the one that you've been putting off? You didn't get those perfect shoulders by physical conditioning. I know how much stress you are carrying upon your shoulders."
"Karin, I need to at the very least allow these visions settle otherwise I will never get a night's rest. I know your diagnostic scans have confirmed it. If I wasn't in peak fitness, I would have fallen apart by now. Apparently one side effect of interfacing with the beacon dug up the visions of that night. The one thing that keeps me going is this hunch that Dr. Liara T'Soni may be the cure to cracking these visions. I ran a few extranet searches as soon as the lead came up. Although she is young, she has two doctorates from the University of Serrice as is toted to be an expert on the Protheans. I also know of the Asari have that melding of the minds. I hope she can help me sort this out. Is there something you can give me so I can at least get a few hours of dreamless sleep? I need to at least be mentally functional for this rescue mission."
"I'm proud of you Zoe. I think you are finally ready to start the healing process. As for your current dilemma, the scientists in Alliance R&D have come up with this new serum that was developed for people with symptoms of PSTD. Don't fight this diagnosis Zoe. It will only destroy your life faster. Anyways this serum gives the patient at least eight hours yet. It hasn't been fully approved thanks to miles of governmental red tape but it is showing some real scientific results. I was able to get my hands on a few doses just for you. Don't ask me how. You can have this treatment if you agree to allow me to monitor you while you slumber."
"Anything Doc. I'm at the point where I will try just about anything. We are about ten hours from arriving in the Artemis Tau cluster. I hope you be to wake me up in time. Do you want me her in the med bay or can we do this in my cabin?"
"As much as I would like to claim that my med bay beds are the best in the galaxy, your cabin may be a tad more comfortable. It just means that I have to move one or two monitoring tools from the med bay to your cabin. Fear not they are quite small and they allow me to remotely monitor your sleep. You can get dressed again and I'll meet you in your cabin in about fifteen minutes. I recommend a quick hot shower but there is no such thing as a quick hot shower." Karin said as she started grabbing the necessary equipment she said trying not to laugh.
Zoe dressed in under a minute and back into her cabin in under another. As soon as she was dressed she was naked once again. She really loved the Navy's standard issue clothes what they lacked in style department made up in the support department. Yet if she had her choice it would always be her favorite black lacy N7 bra and matching black thong. There was something about the feel of lace on her skin that was a simple luxury. It was her way to celebrate her graduation instead of getting the traditional tattoo or two.
Zoe started the tiny shower stall in her tiny private bathroom. One press of the button and the shower started to automatically clean her. She was tired enough to just allow the machine to run its cycle otherwise she would have needed more than an hour and a second shower. A knock came from outside her bathroom. Karin was the only other person who was automatically keyed into the security of her cabin door. She turned off the shower, grabbed a towel and started to dry herself. She then grabbed her favorite bra and thong set which was hanging on the towel rack. A comforting sigh escaped her mouth when she felt the lacy material on her breasts. The lace teased her nipples just enough that then evidence was clear to see from Earth. She pulled up her thong up and over her fiery red heart shaped bush. She exited the bathroom to see Karin setting up her monitoring equipment.
"I swear you make me question my sexual preferences even if I was your guardian. You will make somebody very happy someday. I would place my money on some brainy Asari." Karin said followed by a saucy smile.
Zoe tried not to blush but she couldn't stop it. Karin was the one who picked Zoe off of the bathroom floor after some young brainy Asari maiden broke Zoe's heart. Zoe had met this young asari on her first trip to the Citadel right after she graduated from basic training. She wanted to blame that asari for leading her on but she knew she would be lying to herself. She knew what she was getting into by hooking up with the asari. Karin looked over at Zoe and saw that Zoe had zoned out. Karin felt like an idiot for even mentioning Zoe's miserable luck and the lack of a love life. She quickly walked over to Zoe and apologized for misspeaking.
"The serum is fast asking by way of a simple injection to the forearm. My contact in R&D said that within five minutes you will be a state of deep dreamless sleep. The chemical compound bypasses the stage of falling asleep. It also allows the tester to wake up on their own feeling like they had the best night of sleep in recent memory." Karin instructed as she helped Zoe into the cabin's tiny birth. "Just a slight pinch Zoe there's nothing to it." Karin said as she rubbed an alcohol swab across Zoe's right bicep right before she picked up the syringe. "Whether you want to believe it or not, you were destined for greatness." She said as she applied the serum.
Her eyes were sluggish to open when they did there was nothing but a thick gray haze. She tried to move her body but her body was somehow frozen and suspended in some unknown dimension. Despite the fact that she was completely immobilized, her mind was racing. She could hear a familiar voice that was calling out it was ever so quiet. This voice was so familiar but she couldn't place it.
"Hello? Can you hear me? Is there anybody there? I seem to be stuck."
The voice got closer to her. This voice wasn't the only one who was trapped. Her mind wanted to speak back but her lips couldn't move. She remembered Karin giving her that powerful sedative but that was it. Zoe had no idea if she was alive or dead but she was damn sure that she was hearing voices. She wanted to answer this familiar voice but couldn't. There has to be a simple way there always is. She just thought about what she would have said and her mind did the rest.
"I can hear you. Your voice is remarkably familiar and yet I cannot place it." Zoe said.
"Yes I can say your voice is quite similar familiar even. My name is Dr. Liara T'Soni but I do not know yours." The mysterious voice said.
"My name is Commander Zoe Shepard of the Systems Alliance Navy." Zoe said.
"Aren't you forgetting the fact that you are also the first human SPECTRE?" Liara inquired.
"How could you possibly know that? The Council begrudgingly granted me SPECTRE status but decided not to tell anybody about it. This happened less than one solar day ago. My question how could you possibly know about it? Nobody but the highest officials of the Council and the Alliance knew about my status change." Zoe said.
"It's quite simple Shepard. You told me." Liara said with a hint of mirth.
"While I have been sent to rescue you from your current state of captivity, you and I have never met face to face." Zoe said.
"You are both right and wrong. You are correct that we have never met in person but then how can you explain the facts that I knew about your status change or that fact that you knew I am very close to being captured. I believe we are somehow connected by a mental link of some sort. I happened to have either fallen asleep or more likely passed out do to dehydration while being trapped inside a prothean ruin located within a mine. There were mercenaries chasing me at the time. I escaped for the time being behind some sort of Prothean shield. I believe…" Liara started to explain before she was interrupted.
"That still doesn't explain this connection. How are we communicating?" Zoe said angrily.
"I was getting to that. Humans, I see where the lack of patience is common for a species who is rather short lived." Liara said calmly. "We are currently experiencing what the Asari call a mind meld. However it's not the type that you were familiar with. That one just deals with the emotions of love or in your unfortunate case lust. That asari who seduced you was one of my mother's acolytes. I recognized her from when I was young. That story I will share with you later in a safe location. What we are experiencing right now isn't normally possible without being face to face. If you were Asari, you would have been able to view my memories too. Asari can do this naturally." Liara explained.
"You said this connection normally needs to happen in person." Zoe asked.
"I knew that rather large brain inside that head of yours worked when you forced it too." Liara shot back. Shepard laughed. She couldn't help it. That was what Karin used to say when she taught Shepard a lesson.
"Of all the things you saw in my memories you had to use that one against me. Karin was always one step ahead of me when I went to live with her. I'd swear she either had bionic hearing or was trained in mind control. Well doc, I think I can even surprise you. I believe that we are connected through our interactions with Prothean artifacts. You are caught in some sort of Prothean ruin which apparently has some sort of broadcasting capabilities and I was blasted in the membrane by a damaged Prothean beacon. Somehow we are talking. I don't know long we have before this connection breaks but help is on the way. We should be outside Therum's atmosphere in a few hours." Shepard explained.
"Nobody knows my exact location. I didn't tell a…" Liara said stunned.
"Hate to break it to you Doc but you did tell somebody. You told me" Shepard heard a loud gasp right before she awoke in her cabin drenched in sweat.
"Shepard! Are you alright? My monitoring equipment exploded just before you woke up. Look at you! You are a mess. How are you feeling? I should have never given you that experimental sedative." Karin said alarmed.
"Karin… slow down. I have one question for you. Have we reached Therum yet?"
"Therum? What are you talking about?" Karin asked concerned.
"Therum it's a planet in the Knossos system of the Artemis Tau cluster. It's where Dr. Liara T'Soni is located. She is in need of immediate rescue." Zoe said strongly.
"We are still nine hours from the Artemis Tau cluster. You have only been asleep about an hour. How could you possibly know Dr. T'Soni's location? It wasn't in any of the information Captain Anderson passed along to you." Karin said with a shocked look on her face.
"I think I will hold off my explanation until we rescue Liara. I could only give you my side of this crazy explanation. I think she can put it into terms even Joker could understand." Shepard said with a smirk. I have just one question. I feel incredible. How is that possible? You said that this serum would put me down for at least eight hours." Zoe said.
"That serum's formula and its parameters were set for a 250 pound male. It should have kept you down for almost twelve hours. The fact that you are awake in less than an hour means that either that the serum doesn't work at all or there really is something extraordinary about you. Is this perhaps just like a sugar rush, which you feel great right now but you will soon crash. Do you feel like tired at all?"
"I don't feel tired at all. I have had sugar highs and a few other types of highs before. This feels like a great night of sleep. I think that intense dream I had gave me hope. Yes I know Doc, more visions but these weren't nightmarish or hellish. These were more of a connection. I know you would find it hard to believe but I believe I was contacted by Dr. T'Soni." Zoe said while Karin gave her a look of disbelief.
"I know it's crazy but she posited that was a connection between us. I was essentially touched by Prothean technology even if the beacon was damaged. She is currently trapped in a Prothean ruin of some kind. She posited that the ruin was broadcasting her presence I know it doesn't make sense to me either but I figure the three of us can hash it out after we rescue her. If you can clear me for the mission, I would like to start prepping for the mission." Zoe said.
"Physically, the scanners and monitoring equipment are telling me that you are fit for the mission. I know you as well as anybody but such a quick turnaround worries me. It just isn't natural even with your superior fitness level. I will judge hold off my final judgment for your official medical file until after the Therum mission. Off the record, there are still things that our advanced medical knowledge and instruments cannot explain. I wish I had some answers to what is happening to you and if that bit of knowledge ever gets out you will find yourself not cleared for any sort of active duty." Karin said rather harshly.
"Your secret is safe with me Doc. I think my theory has some merit. The prothean aspect is interesting but I think there is something deeper. There was this feeling of this serene calmness that I have never felt before. Not even my parents or any of my ex partners could ever provide that feeling." Zoe said with a bout of giddiness.
"Shepard, I am no expert when it comes to matters of the heart after I lost my Jake to Batarian Slavers but even I can see that you are seriously smitten with a being that you haven't even met yet. I can see that determination in your eyes and that none of my words can stop you from saving another damsel in distress. Just make sure you are able to dodge the enemy's bullets being laid up in a ship's sickbay is not the best way to make a first impression. For right now Shepard, I am temporarily clearing you for duty with one string attached." Karin
"Ok, Doc, I'll bite what is your one stipulation?" Zoe said curiously.
"I have two dear friends who work at Huerta Memorial. One is an expert in the field in multispecies neurology and the other is my personal shrink. You know me well enough to know that I would only trust the best with my mental health Zoe, I want nothing but the best for you but what you have faced has me worried for the future. These two friends are the two who helped me pick up the pieces of my life after Jake was taken. You are the only other one I trust to even talk about my personal life with. Allow me to set up an off the record visit with my friends for the next time we dock at the Citadel. I think having a Prothean expert along might explain something as well." Karin said.
"I will temporary agree to this meeting. Put out some feelers Doc but I don't know exactly when we will be heading back to the Citadel. The Council and I don't exactly see things in the same light. Is it possible for them to meet us here in the medbay on the Normandy? I can see they get clearance but somebody might look into that." Zoe said sadly.
"I can't say that Naela will want meet any else outside of her private laboratory. Her scanning and diagnostic equipment are light-years ahead of what the Alliance would ever spend the taxpayers' dollars over. But with me asking Shelley would be able to meet you wherever and whenever you needed. She is that exclusive that she can pick her own schedule."
"You are friends with Naela Vestra? She is a visionary in her field." Zoe asked.
"Not only is she a dear friend but she was my maid of honor for my bonding ceremony with Jake. I didn't know you followed her career Zoe." Karin said rather surprised.
"I'm sure you noted in my file that I was both recruited by both the N special operations program and the Alliance Medical Corp. My aptitude scores pretty much narrowed down where the Navy wanted me to go. The N program doesn't take no for an answer. That didn't stop my interest in medicine. I've tasked my omni-tool to search and store any news or articles Naela is involved in. IT's better psychologically better for me to follow her work than just always cleaning my guns like I guess Garrus probably does when he thinks nobody is looking." Zoe said with a chuckle.
"I will get in contact with them and see if they would be willing to see a friend of mine. I have no more reasons to keep you locked away in this medbay. I would recommend that you take it easy before we get to Therum. A shower and a nice cup of tea always work for me." Karin said with a smile.
Zoe decided to take her advice. It had felt like ages since she had a nice strong cup of tea and a long hot shower. Being captain of her own ship had its perks. She had the override code for the shower time limitation protocol. She always liked the nightshift duty. Most of the crew was off duty and in their births or sleeping pod. The ship's VI pretty much controlled the entire ship even the autopilot because even Joker needed rest. She made her way to the galley and started to brew a cup of tea. She would trade a year of her salary for a pot of real Earl Grey but she would have to make do with synthetic tea leaves. One saving grace was that the water took less time to boil.
She took her fresh cup of tea and walked into her private cabin. She placed the cup of tea down on her workstation. She brought up a command prompt up on her computer screen and overrode the shower's time management software by reducing the water pressure to her cabin. She didn't need a deep powerful cleanse but the warmth a hot shower could provide. She could hear the shower starting its warming cycle. She pulled off her alliance issues and even her favorite undies. The door was locked and she wasn't expecting any visitors tonight.
She knew Chakwas too well. A shower and a cup of tea was a code phrase the good doctor used when Shepard was growing up. One night years ago, a curious teenage Shepard hacked the door lock to Karin's private bedroom the Chief Medical officer's quarters. The doctor told the teenager that she wanted an early evening and had turned in early. It had been a difficult day for the crew of the SSV Katmandu. They had lost six marines to an uncharted thresher maw nest. The doctor lost two of those marines on her table. Zoe could see the pain and loss in Karin's eye. She told the teenager that her nerves would only settle after a hot shower and hot cup of tea.
Zoe was in that phase to teenage discovery. She was curious not only of her own body but of those around her. She couldn't figure out why she liked girls over boys. She just left it up to how she was wired. After the day Karin had, Zoe wanted to cheer her up but Karin never gave her the opportunity. Hacking a door lock was far quieter than picking an old fashioned pin and tumbler deadbolt. Her self designed code had a script that allowed the door to silently unlock but the door had to be manually slid open. The program unlocked the door in less than twenty seconds. Zoe then pocketed her palm sized datapad. She rested her hands on the door and slowly and silently slid the door open.
She heard strange noises coming from the private on suite bathroom. Zoe silently padded her way to the door and slid it open. A rush of steam escaped from the room. Those noises turned out to Karin moaning. The steam was rather thick but Zoe could make out Karin's hand buried deep within her flower. The other was grasping her small and perky breast. Zoe heard the name Jake being said along with a few things not even many marines would say. Zoe blushed like a red rose. Zoe surmised that Karin must have been working out her feelings. If it worked for her caregiver who was she to complain. Zoe quietly exited Karin's chambers and reapplied the locking mechanisms and never spoke about it ever again.
Zoe thought back to that one time she had so blatantly violated Karin's privacy. It was one reason she devised her own security for anywhere she was resting her head. Deep down, she thought that if the doctor really wanted to keep things private she wouldn't have said anything at all. Karin knew that Zoe was very adventurous and curious. It was how Karin taught Zoe without having to sit Zoe down and lecture her. Karin knew that Zoe was extremely intelligent but was even better at hiding that intelligence. Old Billy Shepard had a saying that a soldier's greatest weapon was his enemy's underestimation.
Zoe was drawn back out of her memories when the shower announced that it had reached optimum temperature. Her large pink nipples stood out in the cool air of her cabin as she walked over to the bathroom. Once again, she felt that wave of steam hit her skin. She kept her auburn hair in a short pixie style. Anything longer, any burst of humidity would make her hair go crazy. Her thick yet perfectly trimmed auburn bush nestled above her dark pink folds. She wasn't even in the shower and already needed a towel for her lower body.
The slow flow of hot water teased every inch of her skin. She tickled her bush which sent shivers throughout her body. A few of her hairs slightly grazed her clit. Shivers turned to shudders. She had to brace herself against the stall. She was never this sensitive. She couldn't stop herself. Her fingers dove into her slick folds. She dropped to her knees as the waves of pleasure hit. She swore she could hear the Normandy's VI attempt to make contact with her.
"Normandy VI to Doctor Chakwas! Normandy VI to Doctor Chakwas! Please respond." An automated synthetic voice chirped through the speakers in the Medbay. Karin had just settled in for the night. She almost wanted to take a sleep aide but decided against it. After Shepard left the Medbay, she went to her desk and updated her notes in Shepard's file. These updates would only be sent to Alliance Command when the Normandy linked into a communication buoy near most mass relays. This gave her time to review her notes and findings before her final report were transmitted.
She was hesitant to put her latest findings into her report. On the one hand, Shepard's mental status could be called into question by either the Alliance Brass or the Citadel Council . These findings were also extremely personal. There were some anomalies in Shepard's brain scans. Her second scan shared the same similarities to her first scan right after Ashley and Kaiden brought an unconscious Zoe back to the Normandy's medbay. Elevated Beta waves just like intense dreaming. She kept two separate sets of notes. One set was for her official file. The other was a far more detailed dossier she kept under heavy encryption partitioned and hidden within her own files. Captain Anderson suggested she do that with regards to Zoe. She and David became her unofficial parents the day after the raid on Mindoir.
Her eyes had just closed when she heard the synthetic voice of the ship's VI coming from the main area of the Medbay. She had logged out of the ship's system which signified the start of her downtime. The ship's VI would only interrupt an officer's downtime in times of emergency.
"Normandy VI to Doctor Chakwas! Normandy VI to Doctor Chakwas! Please respond."
Karin silently swore. The sailor who had a bit too much cheer for dinner was going to see her shoot lasers from her eye sockets. She quickly tore off her pajamas and threw on her back up standard issue uniform. She exited her private birth and into the medbay.
"Normandy, This is Doctor Chakwas. What is the situation? Karin said wearily.
"The Commander has collapsed within her cabin. The Normandy's Bionic health monitoring system detected a fall that emanated from the Commander's quarters. I tried to make contact with her but she was unresponsive." The ship's VI informed the concerned doctor.
"How long ago did the system detect this event? What about the Commander's vitals?" Karin said as she grabbed her portable scanning equipment.
"The system detected the collapse approximately 37.49 seconds ago. After 10 seconds of unresponsive hails, emergency protocol one was activated. The chief medical officer is notified."
She has only been out less than a minute Karin calculated as she raced out of the medbay with the emergency medical bag slung over her shoulder. She saw Ashley at the coffee maker in the galley out of the corner of her eye. She was sure that the gunnery chief would have either heard and or saw her running across the width of the ship. She didn't have to for anybody else but Zoe. It was a very bad omen for somebody in Zoe's peak physical fitness to collapse out of the blue. She was through the door to the Commander's quarters in less than a second. There were clothes strewn throughout the cabin. She saw the commander's favorite piece resting haphazardly upon the edge of the bed.
It only took three point five seconds from door to door. Karin was moving so fast that had the door not sense her movement she would have slammed her body into cold hard titanium. She saw Zoe naked on the floor. She was very wet. The VI must have shut off the shower. One of Zoe's hands was between her legs while the other cupped her breast. Karin set the bag down next to Zoe. Her omni-tool was already on and her scans were already running as she waved her hand over the commander's gorgeous body.
Liara felt that warm presence within her mind once again. Zoe was back.
"Zoe? Is that you?" Liara called mentally.
"Yes, Li, it's me. I don't know how I got back here. I also don't know how long I can stay. I collapsed in my private bathroom completely naked. The ship's monitoring systems will have detected my fall and notified the good doctor. She is going to be pissed at me." Zoe said shamefully.
"Zoe, you know why you are back here even if you aren't able to admit yet. Your thoughts turned to me as you stimulated yourself. I'm guessing that your reaction was far stronger than it ever has before. I know why this is but it's not a conversation we are ready to have right now. Please hurry Zoe. The mercenary group seems to be headed by a Krogan War Lord and some sort of synthetic automated warriors. They are having trouble trying to breach the protective barrier. Thank the Goddess for small miracles." Liara said.
"If I had to guess those synthetic units are geth. I too encountered the geth during my last mission. Somehow they have sided with the Turian and ex-Spectre Saren Arterius but my first concern is you and your safety." Zoe said concerned.
"I don't know how long it will take them to figure out a way through the barrier."
"From what I can remember, we are still en-route to Therum. I will get there in time. I'm guessing neither the krogan nor the geth units are fluent in Prothean or are a Prothean expert. We have some time so long as they don't decide to go through the rock itself. I think Karin has reached me Li. I can feel myself slowly starting to regain consciousness. I promise the next time we talk it will be face to face." Zoe said softly. She was not only trying to reassure Liara but also herself.
"Zoe… Zoe… can you hear me? Zoe!" Karin said as she gently shook the commander. Zoe didn't respond. Karin looked at her onmi-tool. Her monitoring software showed that Zoe's vitals looked good so there wasn't an immediate need to panic. She opened her supply bag and pulled out a few smelling salts packets. If these putrid smelling packets could roust the commander, she would be forced to bring Zoe back into the Medbay. That would require going back out to the galley and asking Ashley to help carry a very naked Zoe. The tall and muscular soldier was certainly physically capable of the job but even Karin who was usually isolated in the Medbay heard the ship's scuttlebutt. The scuttlebutt said that the young gunnery chief had a severe infatuation with Zoe. Whether it was just damsel in distress syndrome as Karin had come to call it or something deeper; allowing Ashley to help carry a naked Zoe back to the medbay would just being adding fuel to the fire.
She tore open one of the salt tablets and held it under Zoe's cute little nose. Karin had to breathe through her mouth otherwise she would have dry heaved. Rotting corpses, human excrement, cat urine, and other very foul smells didn't seem to bother her but those salt tablets got to her every time. However that was a story she would only tell while severely inebriated. The salt tablet seemed to be doing its job. Karin felt Zoe start to twitch back to consciousness.
"I blacked out again didn't I?" Zoe said.
"So far nobody but me knows you passed out naked in the shower but I can't speak about the Normandy's VI. Protocol is clear Zoe. Yes I am the first to be called but the ship's log will show this entry." Karin said. Zoe cursed. She hated the fact that pretty much every bit of data was recorded into the ship's log.
"Remind me when I wake up to hack into the ship's log and remove that entry. IT's for the betterment of the galaxy that nobody knows about the newest SPECTRE being found passed out naked in her shower from one hell of an orgasm. Could you help me to my bed?" Zoe asked unsurely.
"You saw her again didn't you?" Karin asked as she extended her hand. Zoe took hold of her hand and Karin assisted Zoe as Zoe got back on to her feet. Karin supported Zoe's weight. Zoe's legs were rather wobbly as Karin led her out of the bathroom and over to the bed. This felt strange and yet right to Karin. It felt like she was putting her young daughter back to bed after a nightmare.
"She sounded desperate and very scared 'Ren. She tried to hide it from me but I could hear it in her voice. She said she saw a Krogan War Lord was leading a platoon of geth. We need to get to her. I really believe she is the key to solving our problems." Zoe said as she stared up at the ceiling. Karin only heard her named shortened only by Zoe and only when Zoe was really scared. The day Zoe lost her parents was the last day Karin heard that nickname. That night Karin had to share a bed with Zoe because Zoe wouldn't stop shaking. Sure Karin could have prescribed a sedative but she had already used an experimental treatment already and it didn't have the prescribed effect on Zoe.
"I have decided after this mission is over our next port of call is the Citadel. Make those appointments for me please. I need answers. I believe that Liara should be with us for them. Can you stay with me tonight? I can't stop shaking. I think some of her emotions are feeding over to me because I felt onto of the world before I blacked out." Zoe said. Karin climbed on to the bed and under the covers. She pulled Zoe into a tight and warm hug. She started to softly sing an old Welsh lullaby Suo Gân that her mother sung to her. Karin got through the first verse before Zoe entered Morpheus's realm. Karin followed her next. It had been quite a draining day and she was exhausted.