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Chapter 3: Blue-Eyed Girl
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Commander Lakota Shepard and Dr. Liara T'Soni, on the run from doggedly persistent media reporters, stood together surveying their predicament- an escape route hampered by a dead-end ledge that dropped off into the Presidium Lake. The platform bridge which normally connected to the other side had been retracted and in its place was a ten meter gap of empty space. Empty space that ended in a big splash. Since the bridge controls were damaged, the pair needed an alternative escape route. The commander had scanned the area and spotted the solution a few meters away: a metal beam thirty centimeters wide that crossed the expanse. The beam was strong enough to hold their combined weight and wide enough not to roll or twist as they walked across- if they walked across. The general consensus agreed that Liara's sprained ankle was not going to cooperate. As an undeterred master strategist with a playful attitude, it didn't take long for Lakota to think of a resolution to their problem.
Holding her right hand out toward the asari, Lakota flashed a roguish grin and asked, "Trust me?"
Returning the smile, Liara sportingly took the proffered hand. "Always, Commander."
Lakota's head motioned to her back and she directed, "Hop on."
Baffled by the request, Liara questioned, "What?"
The commander stepped in front of the confounded asari and grabbed her other hand. She spun around, so her back faced Liara, and then she placed both of the doctor's hands around her neck. Turning her head, an impish twinkle sparkling in her eyes, she repeated, "Hop on."
"Shepard, we do not…"
Interrupting, Lakota explained, "It's a piggyback ride, Liara." She flashed the doctor her most bewitching smile, then saucily urged, "Come on. You said you trusted me."
In a momentary glance, Liara took in the precarious fall, the dubious beam and her lover's devilishly adorable grin. Donning her own mischievous smirk she impulsively jumped on the commander's back. The slits in her dress, kindly made earlier in the evening by the commander's knife, allowed her legs to wrap around Lakota's waist. Her arms encircled Lakota's neck and shoulders while her lover's hands tucked underneath her knees, supporting her weight. Leaning her face in close to her lover's ear, she whispered, "Like this, Commander?" Then she captured the lobe within her teeth and began to gently nibble and suckle the soft, pliant flesh.
"Ahhhh…yeah. Perfect, Doctor." Lakota felt the delightful reverberations from Liara's murmur ripple down her spine while the electricity from her lover's playful nibbling sent agonizingly pleasurable shivers to the primeval place where arousal was born. The Spectre shifted her stance in a vain attempt to alleviate the growing heat between her legs, but when that proved ineffectual she switched her focus to gauging the newly added weight on her back. In mock retaliation to the provocative ministrations of her lover, Lakota bent her knees and shrugged the doctor a little higher upon her back making sure she tightened her hold upon the asari's shapely legs. The intended goal of the sly maneuver was to bestow an arousing jolt upon Liara. It worked.
The doctor laughed at her lover's feisty action and then with her right hand, playfully swatted the Spectre's chest. "Focus, Commander."
"As you wish, Doctor."
Taking a few cautious steps toward the ledge, Lakota procured enough information about weight, counterweight, and balance to confidently step upon the beam and recommence their journey to freedom. Keeping her center of gravity low and her hips and shoulders square to the beam, Lakota cautiously traversed the chasm with her lover upon her back.
For her part, Liara couldn't stop giggling which only brought a comical focus to the absurdity of their situation. Lakota did her best to concentrate on the task at foot, but couldn't help being swept up in her lover's infectious laughter.
The Spectre's attention was split between positioning her center of mass directly over the base of her support which helped maintain her balance, and keeping her base of support as wide as possible to reduce the chances of swaying or tipping. She also kept her footsteps slow and close together granting her greater stability, especially as she neared the middle of the beam, where the drop to the water below seemed most perilous.
"I did this all the time when I was a kid." Never losing stride and keeping her gaze adamantly locked on the beam, Lakota continued her unsolicited admission. "Of course in those days, I was running and jumping across rooftops, but still…"
"This is my first piggyback ride," admitted the doctor.
Lakota remained silent until she reached the end of the impromptu bridge, upon which she let Liara slide down gently, being mindful of her tender ankle. "Really? That surprises me, Doctor."
"Why, Commander? Just because you like the taste of danger…?"
"No, it's not that." Lakota walked away from the chasm, passed a small pile of tangled metal, and then stopped in front of the bridge's platform control. The panel was located on the wall a few meters away from the drop-off and had a small dagger protruding from its center. Before venturing across the beam, the Spectre had attempted to override the bridge controls by adeptly lodging her knife in the consol. The throw was deadly accurate, but had done nothing to improve their somewhat amusing situation. Lakota used her omni-tool to verify there was no active voltage and then pulled the dagger out of the electronic mess. "It just never occurred to me that asari children wouldn't have experienced such a thing."
"Wait a minute. You brought your omni-tool on our date?"
"Ahhhh… NOW you admit it's a date…"
"Shepard… you do not get to change the subject." In that moment, all of Liara's mannerisms seemed to jovially scoff the commander's actions: her hands placed defiantly upon her hips, an eyebrow raised in disbelief, and even her voice carried a skeptical tone. "Your omni-tool…? What? You thought hacking into something would be romantic?"
"If you must know, I never leave the Normandy without it." Grinning shrewdly, Lakota lifted her hand up, brandishing her dagger. "Just like this little asset. Her name is Chaos." She placed a quick kiss upon the pommel, and then promptly inserted the dagger into its concealed sheath within the leg of her right boot. The Spectre winked affectionately at her lover and then proceeded to survey their new vicinity.
The area was much the same as when they first entered the Presidium- a broken landscape of metal, wiring and flora. This section appeared more severely damaged than the others they had journeyed though. No buildings or statues were left standing; instead most of the landing was covered in various types of dismal wreckage. Inspecting possible escape routes- taking Liara's swollen ankle into account- Lakota finally decided upon a direction that had the least amount of obstructions.
The path she chose had only on major hindrance- a three meter drop to the lower level. Leaving out any explanation, Lakota stepped forward as if to jump, but before she moved from her spot, Liara promptly grabbed her arm and halted her progress.
"It should not surprise you, Commander, to hear that the piggyback ride across the beam was my first." Liara smiled auspiciously and then wrapped her arms seductively around Lakota's waist. "Trust me?"
Scrutinizing her lover, the Spectre confirmed without hesitation, "Always, Doctor."
Not waiting for provocation, Liara's lips captured Lakota's in sensuous, demanding salutation- tender yet bold, reverent yet lustful, a hungry kiss that ravaged every bit of their souls. "Now it is my turn to carry you." Liara nudged her lover off the ledge and they were immediately woven in blue tendrils of biotic energy which kept them suspended above the intimidating drop. Slowly they were guided down and gently deposited onto the floor below.
A realization gradually dawned upon Lakota. "I see why you never had to worry about falling."
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The following stage of their entertaining getaway took on a more relaxed pace. Between crossing the beam, the three meter drop and journeying upon an unmarked path, Lakota was positive they had shed their media pursuers. From the ramshackle state of the area around them, it appeared that no keepers had recently been to this vicinity, either. Torn bulkheads still showed signs of plasma damage while fragments of ripped metal were littered across the path before them. Although Liara was unsure of their exact location on the Presidium, Lakota's focus and surety of step made it clear that she was familiar with the direction in which they headed.
As a testament to the asari's recuperative abilities, Liara was now able to step upon her foot with minimal discomfort. Because she was still carrying her precious, albeit dangerous, footwear, Lakota walked in front of her lover scanning the area before them and kept the path clear of sharp objects. Their laggardly stroll ended abruptly when the Spectre stopped and surveyed the sight before them.
With her hands on her hips, Lakota disgustedly groused, "Well, hellfire…"
"Commander?" Liara, who had been a few strides behind, caught up to her lover and saw the hindrance upon their route.
"We need to get through that…" Lakota pointed to a two meter high pile of debris that blocked the pathway. There was no way around it and from what the Spectre could garner from her vantage point; it would take hours to move the obstruction by hand. "I don't suppose you could…" The commander stretched out her right hand toward the wreckage and pretended to simulate her lover's biotic mannerisms by twiddling her fingers in the open air.
"For you, Commander," the asari smiled coquettishly, "anything."
"Anything? Well, Doctor, you make that sound so…," Lakota hesitated as if trying to find the correct words, "well… like I should take a shower."
A smirk gracing her lips, Liara parried, "As it was intended."
Lakota's hands reached up, gently cupping each side of her lover's face in a reverential denotation of tenderness and unspoken devotion. As fiery green eyes enmeshed with blue sapphire, the commander's mouth descended and placed a fierce, uncompromising kiss upon her lover's lips. The lingering caress took the asari's breath away in its ferocity, but just as easily coaxed her unrelenting appetite for more as her senses were overwhelmed by the paradoxical feeling of drowning in desire and yet being consumed by blazing passion.
Liara's fingers wove into the stray tresses of her lover's raven black hair, pulling her closer and deepening the amorous pursuit of their pleasure. Soft lips were firmly planted upon each other, holding each other captive within a scalding embrace of quiet intensity before beginning to ardently tug and press in a sultry dance of primal origin- hypnotic and intoxicating in form. When their lips – swollen by their wanton ministrations, opened slightly and their moist, inquisitive tongues met, a fervid rhythm of lustful bliss ignited and carried the lovers away. Each caress stirred the fierce tempest within their bellies and each stroke tantalized the wild storm within their cores.
Fingertips from both of Lakota's hands sensuously trailed down each side of Liara's blue hued and freckled cheeks as though memorizing every subtle nuance. They lazily slid along the soft, supple flesh of her neck, pausing momentarily to feel the rapid pulse of lifeblood, and then intrepidly mapped their way across her chest, over her stomach and finally finding their beguiling resting spot upon her hips. Lakota wrapped her arms around Liara's waist and hugged her tight which sumptuously reinforced the pressure between their bodies.
As the fevered synergy continued amidst the wild play of their lips, tongues and fingers, a tantalizing rhythm ignited between their riled bodies. A smoldering rhythm that was ravenous in nature and thirsty in need. The lover's basked in the exotic feel of their intermingled arousal and got drunk on the heady vibrations elicited from their mutual insatiable attentions.
Liara's hand slowly journeyed across the commander's shoulders, making a lascivious trail down the spine until reaching her lover's lower back. Fingertips quickly snuck underneath the restrictive shirt, touching upon the glorious treasure of soft skin at the base of the spine and then traced aimless patterns across highly sensitive flesh. Feeling the pleasurable sensations brought on by her lover's attentions, a low moan unexpected escaped from Lakota's lips and burrowed into their soul rendering kiss.
Smiling in satisfaction, Liara drew her lips away and murmured, "Watch this."
Stretching her arm and hand toward the debris, biotic tendrils the color of indigo flickered across Liara's azure skin mimicking an intimate caress then flaring out to envelope the wreckage. The purplish energy complimented the blue hues of the asari's flesh in a provocatively mesmerizing way, and as the alluring illumination emanated from the doctor's body, the energy seemed to electrify the very air which it occupied. Coiling around the metal pile, the biotic current lifted and then discarded its contents to the side which opened the path before them.
Admiring both her lover and her lover's handiwork, Lakota commented, "Damn…where have you been all of my life?"
"Around."
"You say that like it's a good thing."
"You have not complained yet, Commander."
"Good point, Doctor."
Lakota lured Liara back into a passionate kiss - nudging her pliant, silken lips within a deep, lingering kiss bound in adoration and love. As the salutation ended, the lovers reluctantly pulled away from each other, and then joining hand in hand, they recommenced their adventurous journey.
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Lakota was poised casually in front of a double-paneled sliding door. After failing to open the metal door with the keypad on the wall, the Spectre huffed and then started to furiously punch commands into her omni-tool.
While the commander focused on her task, Liara took a moment to gaze upon the immense structure around them. The human and asari were standing in what had formerly been a massive storage area on the Citadel. Their trek had taking them out of the Presidium and into an area the asari had never seen before. A long row of identical doorways lined the open-ceiling corridor and towering above were platforms with more identical doorways which seemed to stretch for kilometers on end. What Liara couldn't discern was how someone would gain access to the higher level platforms – there were no staircases or elevators within eyes view. Although the pathway leading to this mammoth storage area had been precarious and riddled with chaotic wreckage, this area was pristine- as though Sovereign's crash landing had never taken place. The asari surmised that after some prodigious clean-up and repairs to various passageways were completed, this section would be a viable resource once again. For now, it would remain an underutilized asset.
Curiosity getting the best of her, Liara questioned, "Shepard, what are you doing?"
"Reliving my childhood."
"You are breaking in!" That was a statement, not a question. "Commander…"
"No worries, Doctor. I've done this a million times. Nobody will be the wiser."
Liara stepped next to her lover and teasingly nudged her. "I do not know what is worse - the fact that you have done this before or the fact that I am not surprised." As a few more seconds ticked by, Liara looked around and then hesitantly stated, "Shepard, I am not so sure about this. I have never broken into someplace before."
Lakota playfully returned the nudge. "Hah…you lie."
Donning a slightly indignant tone, the asari retaliated, "What? I am not!"
With her eyebrow raised knowingly, Lakota challenged, "Oh REALLY, Miss 'I break into Prothean tombs every other weekend' ...?"
"That is different." Liara defiantly crossed her arms in front of her, as if punctuating the statement.
"Yeah, because no one was monitoring the system anymore, so you couldn't get arrested." Before the doctor could protest any further, Lakota stood and declared, "We're in. Come on." She held out her tanned hand which was immediately met by a blue one and as the two walked through the open threshold, the door closed behind them.
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The Next (final) chapter - Chapter 4: Prothean Blue
