Title: Twin Phantoms
Universe: Mass Effect (ME3)
Major Characters: Kaelis Terrilian Shepard, Liara T'soni
Minor Characters: EDI
Author: Akernis
"The Commanding Officer is aboard. XO Vakarian stands relieved" EDI's voice rang out across the vessel as Kaelis stepped back in through the airlock.
Once again he smiled slightly at the thought of Garrus being considered the ship's executive officer but as his second-in-command Garrus needed a rank that the alliance personal aboard took seriously. His position was not official but for all intents and purposes it might as well have been.
Though the thought of an alien serving in a commanding position aboard an alliance vessel would have made many a proud alliance member bristle only the greenest or most conservative crew members had questioned the right of the turian in such a position, and the few who had claimed that the presence of aliens aboard a "proud human ship" should not be tolerated had quickly found themselves replaced and reassigned, the Commander would not stand for that.
By far the majority of the crew had wholeheartedly accepted the presence of Garrus and Liara, and now Wrex, Eve, Mordin and even the turian Primarch amongst them.
He could hardly blame them for the fact that they had however been considerably more cautious in their welcome of their still comparatively new Prothean crew member. No one really knew enough about Javik to risk anything trying to talk to him. Only Liara seemed to make any attempts to converse and as far as Kaelis was any judge her attempts was not exactly being appreciated.
Despite flying in Alliance colours the Normandy was technically now a Citadel vessel as its Captain was a Spectre before his loyalties to the human navy and military, and like the original Normandy many things had quickly deviated from standard protocols, mostly due to his sometimes rather unorthodox way of command.
Though both his parents and mentor were firm believers in discipline Kaelis allowed his crew considerably more leniency than most officers would as long as it did not affect their performance. Despite this he still held them all to the highest standards and they seemed more than eager to please in that regard.
With the aliens aboard the authority was more fluid and in flux than the ironclad chain of command that most were used to, none of the alien crew members answered to anyone but Shepard. This had of course been the case with all the Normandy crews he had now commanded and in all three cases they had proven quick to adapt and accept that things was just different when the vessel was under Spectre command. It had not taken the crew long to realise that the alliance regulations were considerably malleable if Kaelis wanted something a different way than normal, though they had been equally quick to realise that this did in no way impede on their respective responsibilities and the duties of every member was taking as seriously as on any other warship.
"I want us on course for Utukku to rendezvous with the Krogan scouts as soon as Cortez is finished finding and loading the supplies aboard" he told Joker as he passed the cockpit.
"Aye aye sir" his pilot responded, eager to flex his flight muscles after the three-day pause in their journey on the Citadel to refit, resupply and relax.
"Anything I should be aware of EDI?" as Kaelis turned around and left EDI's synthesised voice followed him along the way, constantly shifting from speaker to speaker to match his progress.
He walked slightly stiffer than usually; even despite his cybernetically enhanced body doing its best to heal him he was still sore after the fight with Cerberus on Tuchanka just over a week before.
"Mordin reports that though he has yet to make any tangible progress with the Genophage he believes he might be nearing a breakthrough.
There are apparently some problems with getting the cyclonic barriers back to operational efficiency after the last battle, though Chief-Engineer Adams estimates that they will have it functioning correctly again well before we reach Utukku.
Also Miss Allers has asked about any new Intel regarding known Cerberus activities" EDI reported eloquently.
The two first issues needed no direct input from him though he made a mental note not to let the Normandy into any combat before the shields were confirmed to be fully operational again. Only the last matter needed any contribution from his side.
"Have Traynor provide her with any Intel she wants that is not related to any current or ongoing anti-Cerberus operations or being analysed for usable data, but remind her that I want the finished report on her work well before she airs it" he responded.
He jokingly wondered to himself whether the extra workload he had to deal with by the war-journalist's presence was worth the morale boost, but at least Allers seemed to respect the way things worked on the Normandy and that any instructions she was given by him or the crew members was final.
"Anything else?" He asked
"Yes, a personal delivery arrived for you while you were away from "a couple of old friends", I performed a cursory scanning and believe that it is the one you asked me to notify you of when it arrived" EDI said
That got his interest, he had been looking forward to that for quite a long time and remembered the message he had recently received telling that it was now complete.
"Perform an in-depth scanning and send the results to my private terminal when you are done" He said
"Affirmative Commander, was there anything else?" She responded
"No, thank you EDI"
He strode with excited steps towards the elevator, acknowledging the salutes and nods of greetings from the crew as he passed them on the way.
When he reached his cabin after stepping out of the elevator he performed his usual routines. He fed the fish and skimmed through his messages, saving the one EDI had already sent with the results of her scanning for later.
Most of them were general information from various sources regarding the war effort or personal messages from old or recent acquaintances. These were saved for when he had the time to go through them without other matters occupying his thought.
A few caught his interest by their subject or sender.
One from Admiral Hackett game him the newest and most reliable, or least unreliable, Intel on the war, particularly what little was known from Earth and Palavan. There was nothing new he had not really expected except that the death toll rose even sharper than he had anticipated, he hoped they would be able to hold out.
Another was from Alliance command and detailed the ever growing casualty list of any vessel or unit known to be lost in service doing the relatively short time since the war began. Fast-reading through the list for any names he recognised he breathed a sigh of relief when he did not find any he had not seen there before. He knew every loss was tragic and a dear loss to someone but it was impossible to equate unknown names with known faces.
Strangely enough there was even one from the self-styled ("temporarily-ex") queen of Omega, Aria, sending the information needed on the gangs Kaelis had managed to rally to her cause written in her usual causally dismissive and ever so slightly superior style. He sent that one on to Hackett immediately so he could use them as he saw fit.
The last was from an operative by the name of Lorin to the Shadow Broker that Liara had sent on to him. It detailed the location of a centuries-old crashed starship containing a Prothean data-cache believed long lost that one of the scientists working on the Crucible had asked for to greatly help with her work, and which Liara had subsequently had operative Lorin attempting to uncover. Kaelis sent the coordinates to Joker so they could investigate once they had finished their business on Utukku.
There was also all the messages from his crew about whatever issues he needed to be aware of, making sure that there was nothing that demanded his immediate attention before they left the Citadel he shut his terminal down.
With his routines taken care of he turned his attention to the matter that he had been looking forward to.
As he moved down to the lower part of his cabin he took off his asirilis necklace that Liara had given him for his birthday and placed it carefully on the small table besides his bed. Despite the deep nearly dark colour of the blue crystal it had such clarity that it appeared almost translucent. As the light caught the pendant it shone with several hues of the blue spectrum while vibrant glows of brilliant rainbow-bright sapphire played in its depths.
When he had asked her Liara had told him that the symbol the pendant was shaped into was called an asirilis, an icon that symbolised the concept of the connection said to be shared by two individuals joined by an asari union, similar to the way the concept of love was usually represented by a heart shape in some human cultures.
The asari word asirilis itself translated literally into "soul-bond" and was derived from a combination of the word for soul: asiri – which was also the original root for asari, literally "daughter of the soul" – and the word ailis meaning "connection" or "bond".
He quickly found the delivery that EDI had had sent to his room. Spending a couple of minutes to thoroughly scrutinise it he was even more pleased than he had anticipated.
He copied EDI's analysis and downloaded it to the datapad that followed the delivery and contained the schematics as well as details. He spent the followed few moments reading through it, his expectations proving to be more than met and surpassed with each further sentence read.
He was about two-thirds through when he was momentarily interrupted by Joker's take-off report that they were now leaving the Citadel.
While the feel was gentle and subtle he was long since attuned to the feel of a starship in motion and he could feel the soft vibrations through the hull signifying that the Normandy was now accelerating away from the citadel.
As he finished reading the datapad he could barely wait to share what he had planned.
He crossed the room with purposeful strides to access his terminal once again. Calling up the list of the ship's crew he instantly found the name of the one whose quarters he wanted and activated the ship's comm-link.
"Liara? Do you have a moment to spare to come up here?"
The small amber glow of the receiver changed to emerald barely a few seconds later in tune with her voice answering him.
"I have a few things I would like to sort out, it will just be a moment" Liara answered.
"Very well" The voice of her bondmate and commander sounded over the comm-link.
She knew that he was worried over how much she worked. Her position as the Shadow Broker did not leave much time for spare time or relaxation, even the three-day rest here at the Citadel had been used primarily to take care of calls and organise the data retrieval from her sources and operatives. She had to admit that even if she had been sincere when she told him that this position was a dream job the downsides were getting less and less appealing each time she sat down in front of her monitors. Garrus had once joked that the only time she could actually relax was when Kaelis took her down on ground missions and in fire fights, she did not have the heart to tell him that sometimes that nearly felt true.
Currently she was trying to get medical supplies delivered to Palavan through illicit channels as much of the logistical supply chain had already broken down. At the same time she was constantly going through status updates from operatives responsibly for reporting Reaper activities and sending any relevant data on to Hackett or any of the other military leaders who needed the Intel.
When the others from time to time asked her how she was doing in regards to her work she downplayed the stress that it coursed her to avoid causing more worry. Only when Kaelis asked her was she completely honest. Even if it was he she wanted to protect most from more worry she knew that not only did he know her well enough to be able tell the truth but both of them wanted everything between them to be open and sincere.
"ETA to the Serpent Relay three minutes" Joker announced over the Ship inter-comm.
Liara shut down her work for now, as soon as they hit the relay all external communication except for the QEC would be down until the Normandy could be linked into a comm-buoy, and she knew that since most of the journey would be in FTL-flight that could take a long time.
As she rose from her chair her body ached slightly from having been sitting in the same position for hours on end. Though not as much as that of salarians the asari body was both very limber and adaptive and the discomfort was gone as soon as she stretched a bit.
"EDI?" She asked out in the room.
"Yes Liara?" The voice of the artificial intelligence answered without delay. She was generally inactive in all quarters with her awareness retracted until called or consciously seeking them out to pass on needed information, she respected the privacy of the crew enough not spy on any of them.
"Would you inform me as soon as Joker links us back into the communication network?"
"Of course, are you leaving for something important?"
"I am going up to see Shepard... and you are getting very inquisitive of my personal business as of late" She responded, her words came out more annoyed than they were intended, she hoped EDI knew how it was meant.
EDI's next statement caught her by surprise.
"I am intrigued by the courtship behaviour displayed between you and the Commander and would like to observe it more closely in detail for optimal learning experience"
Liara was no stranger to speaking candidly, but this took it a step beyond that.
Unsure how to respond to this less than welcoming news she paused before EDI's catchphrase that followed a few seconds later made her breathe out in relief.
"That was a joke" There was just the faintest hint of a snicker in the synthesised voice.
Liara had a hard enough time catching wit and sarcasm from even the individuals she knew well, never mind an AI who was still new to using her tone of voice to signify her intent.
"Well, I am glad you are enjoying yourself, but that is private" She said somewhat dryly though not unfriendly.
"Of course" EDI said as Liara stepped out of her quarters.
She had just reached the elevator when their pilot's voice could again be heard.
"Hitting the relay in... 3... 2... 1... mark!"
At the last word Liara braced lightly against the wall as the entire vessel shook in response to the force of being throw several hundreds or thousands of light-years in an instant. Despite the incomprehensible power of the force involved it was nowhere near as bad as many who were not used to it believed, due to it happening within a completely stable mass effect corridor and that the vessel's artificial gravity remained in effect; it would probably not even knock over a cup of water and was over almost instantaneously.
The next relay was several systems away and would take a couple of days to reach in conventional FTL-flight and considering that Utukku was practically on the other side of the galaxy this was going to be a long trip. Even if the Normandy was the fasted ship in the galaxy, save for the Reapers themselves, it would still take a good couple of weeks at the least to get there.
She wondered whether she might have time to finish her personal project now that only the last few entries including Kaelis' own were missing.
As she took the elevator up to the Captain's Cabin she wondered what he wanted, he usually came down to her quarters to talk if he had something on his mind and he had sounded like he was excited over something on the link.
She entered the Captain's Cabin to find Kaelis standing in the middle of the room waiting for her; he looked to be in a surprisingly good mood.
Walking down to join him she saw that on the table next to him lay a suit of armour she had not seen before.
It was black with a slightly reflective dark cobalt bluish sheen, the armoured glass of the lights were a deep green meaning that they would glow a bright emerald when the hardsuit was powered. It was obviously a suit of light armour though even sleeker and more streamlined than usually for light military armours. The suit was sleek enough to be practically form-fitting, even more so than the Predator L. Armour he used to wear, rather than the more bulky ones typically worn by alliance marines. It also appeared to be of non-standard design and while there was something faintly familiar about the design that currently escaped her it did not look like any alliance issue hardsuit she had ever seen. The shoulder guards were elongated and small enough to appear to be seamlessly integrated into the shoulder armour itself instead of the larger armoured pads that humans seemed to favour. The arms and legs were long and slender, unadorned by protrusions or larger protective plates but elegantly curved to best possibly be able to deflect incoming attacks. The abdomen resembled the standard N7 armour with its flat simple design while the chest piece had a segmented appearance that with the lines running outwards from the sternum made it looks almost like an armoured ribcage or the carapace of an insect or turtle. The helmet which lay besides it was not much different from most standard issue ones, though it was somewhat slimmer and less bulky.
The spectre icon was faintly visible on the left shoulder.
"Is this what you wanted to show me?" She asked curious, gesticulating toward the hardsuit.
Her bondmate nodded before taking a seat besides the table. She followed the example, sitting down beside him with her back to the glass wall with his ship collection.
"Do you remember when we were hunting Cerberus back when Saren was still our priority?" He asked.
Liara nodded.
"Yes, after they killed admiral Kahoku, you hunted them down and destroyed their base of operations on Nepheron" She felt sadness at the memory, both at the death of the admiral and how that mission had affected her beloved. She saw his eyes darken at the recollection as well and realised that though it was the mission he had meant it was apparently not exactly that he had been referring to. She knew he would lay no blame on her for mentioning that unpleasant memory but she felt a little guilty nonetheless.
She tried defusing the mild tension building up with a little wit.
"Oh, thank you for delivering the information on Cerberus to the Shadow Broker by the way; it has certainly come in handy"
Humour had never been Liara's strong side and the joke was a weak one, but it did the trick, Kaelis smiled at the attempt and the tension evaporated like mists in the sun.
Now on the subject Liara was reminded of the peculiarity of the relations between them, the Shadow Broker and Cerberus had been. In their hunt for Saren the Shadow Broker had been an ally against Cerberus. In the hunt for the Collectors the roles had been reversed with the Shadow Broker the enemy and Cerberus the unlikely ally. Now in the war against the Reapers themselves they were back to where they began, Cerberus an antagonistic foe to be stopped but the relationship between Spectre and Shadow Broker this time around was so much more than simply an alliance of convenience she thought warmly.
Liara was brought back out of her thoughts as Kaelis took up the story once again.
"When we destroyed Cerberus' primary base, or what we thought was their primary base anyway, you recall that we recovered the armour of one of the dead phantoms and sent it back to the alliance for study?"
Liara nodded once again and looked back at the armour lying in front of them, now remembering the likeness that had trigged a vague recollection. While this was obviously designed for a male the likeness to the armour worn by Cerberus phantoms was striking now that she knew what to look for.
She looked back at him, her eyes silently telling him to go on.
"Though the Alliance gave up on the project of recreating functional versions due to it not being cost effective I still thought that there was potential in it. Ironically inspired by Saren using his Spectre status to have Binary Helix further his own interests on Noveria I called a few people I knew from the Alliance and some of the humans I knew from elsewhere as well as a few friends amongst the salarians, turians and asari I met during my N7 missions and asked them for help with this. With Spectre authority I got access to the phantom armour that the alliance had little use for any longer and started the project"
"How was the project financed?" She asked, knowing that developing experimental technology was exceedingly expensive.
"Personal funds, all that planetary scanning, salvaging and exploration finally paid off" He smiled at her, she knew he was aware that even if he was too skilled to ever having crashed his adventurous driving had not been kind on her nerves, even if she had learnt to appreciate that his evasive driving style had saved their lives more than once.
"I also sent back a lot of research and discoveries we made doing the fights against both Saren's Geth and the Collectors, this apparently helped immensely. The Project was still running after the Collector attack on the original Normandy despite my death being taken as fact at that point..."
Kaelis' voice trailed off as he stopped suddenly and looked apologetically over at her, apparently mindful that he might have touched a deep wound. But she simply returned his look affectionately to show him that it was alright; the past could no longer hurt her.
"They send back reports and personal messages from time to time" He continued, noticeably relieved "during our hunt for Saren they said that it was a privilege to help a spectre and in some cases a friend. By the time I was alive again to try to stop the Collector raids on the colonies they had already begun calling in favours of their own amongst their colleagues. From the messages I got here when the war with the Reapers themselves began I got the impression that they now considered it their solemn duty to finish the project as well as possible as contribution to the war"
Though Kaelis obviously had been Liara was not surprised in the slightest, her bondmate had always been able to inspire devotion and dedication in those he met, sometimes without even realising it.
"I received a message two weeks ago that they had completed the project and would send it to the Normandy when possible"
As he finished his explanation he held out a datapad to her.
"I was wondering whether you would care to give me your opinion Liara?"
She took the datapad almost reflexively but was rather perplexed by the request.
"Kaelis I was an archaeologist and now an information-broker not an engineer, technician or another kind of technology-expert, would it not be better to ask EDI or perhaps Garrus about it?" She asked him.
"Not only do I know that you are fiercely intelligent and learnt a lot about combat technology during your time aboard the original Normandy but you must also have learnt a good deal during your time as an information-broker on Ilium. You did have your own armour custom built for you after all" He responded, gesturing to the white lightly armoured suit she was wearing even now.
"Yes, but this armour is not exclusively combat orientated, it is an all-purpose light suit that was built to be very comfortable so it can be used in day-to-day work and it is only lightly armoured so it can also work in lightweight combat. Rather than rely on the armour's barrier or its physical protection in heavier fighting I have to rely more on my own barrier" She answered, still not exactly sure where he was going with this.
"I know" He smiled lightly, as if he knew something else that she did not.
"Also, I have already had EDI run a diagnosis on it, but I value and would like your opinion as well" He looked at her with expectantly hopeful eyes.
Liara shook her head at her own behaviour before she smiled warmly to the most important person in her life, of course she would be happy to give her opinion.
As she raised the datapad to read Kaelis leaned back besides her and gave her the time she needed to go through it.
At the top of the pad was the name of the project, the suit was apparently named a Phantom Armour. Not particularly creative given its origin. Strange she thought, as humans were usually rather inventive when naming things, but she supposed that it made sense.
The first part of the text named the scientists, technicians and engineers that had been working on the project. She was surprised to realise that some of them was actually rather well-known; even if she did personally not know much about most of them she had seen some of the names before in relation to some of the larger and prestigious manufacturers or organisations including former STG operative technician Iduvas Allenei and Armax Arsenal Crafts-Specialist Velandrius Catoran.
One of the names made her pause; Dr. Valeria Xirani was one of the leading asari experts in biotic technology, her personal work was generally regarded as peerless. Liara was also aware that she was a friend of Matriarch Lidanya of the Destiny Ascension which explained why she had chosen to lend her help to this project; apparently she had joined it only a short while after the Battle of the Citadel. Dr. Xirani was most well known for her skills at seamlessly integrating biotic enhancing technology with military equipment or personal. Her speciality was the reinvigoration focus arrays that made the use of biotics less strenuous and also easier to recharge as well as creating exceptional personal barrier amplifiers.
Barrier amplifiers were an asari invention from all the way back to the rachni wars, with the technology being constantly improved and perfected, though they were not that often seen outside the asari military or Eclipse mercenaries due to lack of biotics in most races. They replaced the shield generators normally built into hardsuits. Instead of the more traditional kinetic shields when worn by a biotic they generated a biotic barrier by focusing and charging the practically undetectable excess dark energy constantly given off by all biotics. When in combat or other stress-inducing situations this excess energy that bleeds off the wearer is considerably more potent and strengthens the barrier proportionally. The wearer can also further augment this barrier by actively directing their biotic energy through the barrier amplifiers, skilled biotics like asari commandoes, but also both Kaelis and Liara, can even do this naturally and by subconscious reflex. This barrier frees the biotic from constantly having to maintain his or her own but they can create a further personal one to strengthen their defences even further when needed.
Reading further on she found the armour schematics, details and capabilities listed.
While the armour was very light it was primarily constructed from an intricate composite weave of several ultra-lightweight but tough materials, making it far more durable than one would ordinary except. Rather than the usual ceramic padding some of the inflexible areas such as the chest and shins were even coated with a very thin sheen of silaris diamantine plating. It did not possess the raw protective quality of heavy armour but as a biotic like her she knew that for Kaelis agility was often more important than encumbering protection.
Like many military-grade armours it contained strength-enhancing systems that augmented the wearer's physical abilities though these were so fine that no visible mass had been added to contain them. Another common if improved feature was the cyber-attack suites that protected from viral or hacking attempts against the technology.
It also contained a series of cutting-edge barrier amplifiers that created a protective biotic aegis equivalent to those used by high-ranking asari commandoes.
Following these was listed and detailed a series of specialised features and upgrades incorporated in the design.
The most common of these was the medical exoskeleton; a system that monitored the vitals of the wearer and contained several miniaturized dispensers to distribute small doses of medi-gel to areas affected by wounds or trauma to stop bleeding and speed-up healing. While many soldiers prioritised heavier armour plating or similar Liara had learned that one could never completely avoid being wounded and in those cases these systems were invaluable. She knew that Kaelis had had a similar upgrade installed on his predator armour and probably requested it in this as well due to how effective it had proven to be and had saved him from small but debilitating injuries. Of course they could only do so much, but their presence could often make a real difference.
The creators had not been able to recreate the cloaking technology that gave the phantoms the armour had originated from their name without sacrificing other vital functions, but they had been able to create a lesser but still effective version of the systems. Though it was nowhere as effective as the stealth systems used by alliance infiltrators and salarian STG operatives the phantom suit included a sensor cloaking device that rendered it near-invisible to scanners and sensors, even if it did nothing to prevent it from being discovered by an actual visual, fairly similar to the way the Normandy Stealth System operated though on a much smaller scale. This optimised the wearer for covert and infiltration missions.
The next upgrade listed was probably the most important one of them all. A complex weave of synaptic neural focusers that was precisely tuned to Kaelis' nervous system to aid in the use of biotics, making it far less taxing for the wearer during long-term operations and combat. Since Dr. Xirani had been part of the creation process Liara did not doubt that the excellence of the focus array was unparalleled. Kaelis was a biotic warrior and the dark energy he wielded was easily his most important weapon of war, so these upgrades were doubtlessly the most essential of them all.
The final feature was experimental technology that she had only before encountered within the construction of EDI's new body. The armour was capable of limited self-repair and even though EDI had superficially explained the process to her before now Liara did not fully understand how it worked, she made mental note to investigate it when she had access to her resources again. This not only made the suit considerably easier to maintain and repair but allowed it to remain functional through punishing or long-term operations without easy access to field repair.
More than impressed with the creation Liara slowly lowered the datapad and looked at Kaelis who was sitting beside her with an obviously keen anticipation.
"This is an amazing piece of technology" She told him, her sincerity clear to see.
He felt himself beaming happily as she continued on.
"There is obviously no chance to reproduce something like this, as not only is it nowhere near cost effective but each would require being built specifically attuned to its wearer, it is a unique one-of-a-kind".
Kaelis fought to keep a playful smile from his face and was fairly sure he was only partially successful, though he hoped she would not notice it yet.
"It is probably the single most advanced piece of personal equipment I have ever had" he said before he touched his neck near the base of his skull.
"Followed closely by the Savant Amplifier you helped my get access to" He smiled warmly at her.
Liara returned his smile, at the same time her hand unconsciously moved to between her shoulder blades where an identical savant amp was implanted over her spine.
"I am glad you have this to protect you, you deserve the very best, it is comforting to know that this extraordinary creation has been made purely for the sole purpose of keeping you safe from harm" She said, the look in her eyes conveying to him just how important this was to her, the desire to see ones dearest loved one safe was an emotion he had become very familiar with.
"I am happy you approve of it" He said satisfied.
Kaelis rose to stand upright but rather than turn to face her he walked over to the panel on the wall where he stored his personal wargear. He heard Liara standing up behind him as well.
"For while that one is mine..." He said while reached into the locker.
"This one..." He withdrew another suit of armour before walking walked back over to her and placing next to the black one before he looked her in the eyes.
"Is yours"
Liara slowly lowered her gaze from his to this new phantom armour, wonder dancing in her blue eyes.
It was obviously a female version with even slimmer build and sleeker design and the individual parts accentuated the elegantly curved feminine form, though without losing any of its practicality.
Rather than the black of his own this one was coloured in deep blue and purple, with the later scintillating with a faint if vibrant violet sheen when catching the light.
While this one was instantly more noticeably built from the original Cerberus phantom armour template there were differences from the original design. Similarly as with his the straps that normally snaked around arms, legs and chest on the Cerberus equivalent had been removed, as had the guards that used to run over the collarbone between shoulder and neck on either side. Where the armour covered the abdomen, the lower body and the back it was smooth and curved to fit Liara's slender form rather than consisting of the interlocking plate sections on the phantom and nemesis Cerberus armours.
Liara looked stunned; she barely blinked as she lifted her head to look back at him.
"Built and fine-tuned specifically for you, I had the pair of them created together" he said happily, remembering that he had done so as he had grown to care deeply for her, even before they had shared their first union together, and never once regretted the decision to put so much money and resources into this as his love for her had grown consistently stronger.
Liara was speechless, an emotional between disbelief and wonder lighting up her face tenderly. As she sought to find her voice he smiled warmly at her.
"I never get to surprise you anymore; I thought I should make it count"
Liara's facial skin-colour began taking on a tint of indigo to purple as she began to blush, especially around the cheeks, as it was shaded by the increasingly vigorous flow of purple blood. Her head tilted towards the floor in a motion that looked almost sad but had nothing to do with sorrow.
"You didn't need to..." Her voice her voice was thick with emotion and sounded almost hoarse.
Kaelis interrupted her before should could finish.
"No, but I wanted to, you more than deserve it"
Liara moved forward and embraced him so suddenly that he barely realised what was happening before her arms were pinned tightly around him. He gently let his own arms enfold her and just held her there for a while.
"Thank you" the surprise in her voice had melted away to given way to gratitude; the words were low and soft but resonating with emotion and all the more potent for that.
He had a feeling that even more than the gift of the armour itself what really touched her was the fact that he had gone to such length to have something like this custom made for her, especially even before their relationship had become as deep as it was now.
Slowly, almost unwillingly, she untangled herself from him and stepped back, light gleaming in her moist eyes and the joy shinning there was clear to see.
A playful smile spread across Kaelis' features, and this time he made no attempt to hide it.
"Well" he said "let us see if it fits you" knowing full well that it did.
The eyes of his lover closed slowly in tune with her lips flowing into a soft smile.
He moved to start undoing the seals that held her armoured coat in place but was stopped as she gently took hold of his hands and with slow assertive movements guiding them elsewhere, his right hand being led to her waist and the left to her shoulder. Then her arms snaked fluidly around him, her hands coming to rest comfortably on his back and neck.
She began drawing them together, their heads instinctively angling towards each other, lips parted ever so slightly. He felt Liara's breath gently caress his face just before their lips met in an affectionate kiss that expressed her gratitude far more eloquently than any mere words ever would allow.
Kaelis hand moved up to the back of the young asari's head just beneath the extension of her crest, fingers finding hold along the sensitive folds at her neck, sending a shiver of delight through her at the touch. Her skin was smooth and felt warm to the touch as he tenderly put pressure there, pressing her mouth softly against his. The taste of her was unbelievable; he had no comparison or metaphor since everything else he could imagine would be like ash next to this.
As they parted Kaelis wondered how something could feel like an eternity yet be over far too soon.
He realised that a softly glowing layer of dark energy coiled around both of them before gradually fading away again.
Liara was practically radiating in that subtle blissful way he had so come to love and he knew was hardly the example of stoicism either.
Liara began undoing her armour seals before she looked expectantly at him, a teasing glint in her eyes.
"Well, I am not the only one who has gotten a new suit of armour that needs to be tested for size" She purred softly.
Divining his lover's meaning immediately he began preparing for what would no doubt be a very pleasant night.