As Kelly woke up she had to admit that the smell of the lube actually did smell amazingly like chocolate covered strawberries, "Mmmm it smells nice in here," she whispered, getting an affirmative grunt from both Shepard and Ashley.
"Sorry to disturb you Commander but Liara's on the line trying to get ahold of you." Joker's voice said over the intercom.
"Shepard, if you wish I can connect the call to your room so you can talk to her from your current position." EDI said.
"Sure, patch her through," Shepard said.
A second later Liara's voice came over the line, "Shepard?"
"I'm here," Shepard said.
"I'm sorry, were you sleeping?"
"Yeah we were. I take it you're calling about Kaidan."
"Yes, did he make it off Horizon?"
"Yes he did."
"Thank the Goddess, I was worried."
"Hey, we were the ones getting shot at, where's the worry for us?" Ashley asked.
"Hm, come to Illium and meet me at a place called Azure and I'll let you know just how worried I always am about the two of you," Liara said seductively.
"Just so you know Liara, I'm in here too." Kelly said.
"Hm, well then the offer extends to you as well if you're interested."
"You do remember that we're going to be doing that orgy right?"
"Huh," Shepard said, "To tell the truth, all the worrying about if Kaidan was safe made me forget about that."
"Well I did some checking and Azure seems like the best place to do it since they have extra-large beds meant for such parties." Liara said.
"Sounds like a fun place, just make sure to remind me to go shopping for extra supplies."
"Got it, when do you think you'll be here?"
"In about a week or so."
"Ok, see you then." And with that Liara ended the call.
A few days later, to say that Shepard was anxious to see Liara again was an understatement, and it wasn't because of the orgy. She genuinely missed her.
She was currently sitting in the mess hall listening to one of the crewmen telling Rupert that they thought his cooking had improved when Ashley sat down next to her, "What'ya thinking about Shepard?"
"Mostly about Liara."
"About how you're missing her?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"No. I've been thinking about the same thing. I was stuck on Horizon and unable to see her remember."
"Wanna put off the party for a night for a private one with Liara up in our cabin?"
"I'm sure that Jack and Miranda would get over it quickly."
"Mmm, what do you miss most about her?" Shepard asked.
Ashley thought about it for a few seconds before saying, "Her smile, the one she got whenever we found some big discovery of anything Prothian."
"Like we did on Ilos." Shepard stated.
"Exactly, but what about you?"
"Mostly, that youthful aura she had even though she's over a hundred."
"Considering that she, in Asari terms, is just reaching adulthood it's understandable."
"Yeah," Shepard said, imagining Liara's smile.
"Well I'm going to go make sure all of my gear is in order. Joker said we should be at Illium tomorrow."
"Then let's make sure to get a good night sleep in preparation." Shepard said with a smile.
As the Normandy landed Liara watched from the windows of the landing area. She waited as the doors opened and both Shepard and Ashley came bounding out, looking like two puppies running to their master whom they hadn't seen in days.
When they reached Liara they both grabbed her and pulled her into a group hug.
Kelly stood a short distance away watching them and she realized that she hadn't seen Allison as happy as she was seeing her right now.
Liara was the first to pull back, "It's great to see both of you," She said before noticing Kelly looking out of place in a suit of basic armor, "And it is good to see you again as well Kelly."
"You to Liara," Kelly said respectfully.
"Well Liara, since you've lived here for a while, why don't you show us around," Allison said, looping her arm through Liara's, "Then we can all go someplace for dinner."
Ashly looped her arm through Liara's remaining arm, "I'm good with that. How about you Kelly?"
"I'm just going wherever you are, but dinner sounds good."
As they walked to the shuttle pot to call a taxi Shepard spotted what she thought was one of the clones of an Asari she had met on Theros that had been created by the Thorian, "Hold on a second, I'm going to check something out," she said moving towards the green Asari.
She must have seen Shepard coming because she waved and started calling her name, "It is good to see you again Shepard. I don't know if you remember me but I'm Shiala. You rescued me from the Thorian back on Theros."
"Yeah I remember you, but I also remember that the real Shiala was blue."
"Well a few months after the Thorian was killed all of the colonists started having health problems related to their exposure to it. My reaction as you mentioned was that the pigment of my skin changed. We had hired a company called Baria Frontiers to perform some tests to try and fix things, but we didn't read the fine print saying that they were going to be allowed to perform some… very invasive tests."
"Then just terminate the contract."
"We can't, they had offered their help for next to nothing. We were desperate enough to accept because we just didn't have the credits to hire anyone else. And if we refuse to be a part of their test they are threatening to make us pay the full price of the tests. We can't afford that. So I'm here to try and negotiate a new contract but so far I haven't gotten anywhere."
"What if I helped you?"
"That would be amazing Shepard. The Baria Frontiers representative is just over there. Her name is Erinya."
Shepard nodded and headed over to an Asari who was talking over a communicator but ended the communication as she approached, "I saw you talking to Zhu's hope's representative. I will tell you what I told her, and that is that they signed the contracts to allow us to do the procedures and if they break the contract they will pay for everything."
"Why are you doing this to them, haven't they suffered enough?"
"Huh you don't know suffering. It'd have been better if the Asari were the only ones to have crawled out of the primordial muck. We can't go a single thousand years without one of the other species causing the problems. Like the Salarians first releasing the Rachni on the galaxy then the Krogen to fix the problem, and we know how that ended up. Then there's the trigger happy Turians wanting to shot every problem in the galaxy, and you humans. I see you as the worst. You have bearly been a part of the galactic community for half a century and already you think that you should be in charge." She said, looking out over the balcony.
Shepard moved next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "This sounds more personal than a hatred of other species," she said calmly.
Erinya sighed, "My bondmate was on Ranock when the Geth rebelled. She was studying the Quarians, not their technology but their music. She always said that they had old souls. And our two daughters died on the Citadel. One was a greeter at the embassy, and the other was the greeter for the consort."
"Nelyna, I remember her," Ashley said as she walked up behind Shepard causing them both to turn towards her, "She was a very kind and considerate person. She actually told me that she had hoped that Sha'ira would train her in her ways so that she could help people with their problems just like she did."
Erinya sighed, "All their lives they had wanted to do nothing but help others. I've read about you Commander Shepard, and I think that you would have gotten along well."
"They sound like wonderful people. The galaxy is lesser for their loss."
"Yes… it is."
"You think they would want you to mourn them in this way? With nothing but hate for every other civilization?"
"No, you're right. I'm just acting selfish. I'll send an amended contract. No more test… and no fees. The Galaxy has enough suffering in it without me adding to it."
Shepard placed her hand back on Erinya's shoulder, "Hey, as long as you remember them, in here," she placed her hand over her heart, "They'll always be with you."
"Thank you."
As Shepard walked away Shiala waited expectantly for her, "Well?"
"Baria Frontiers should be sending a new contract soon."
"Thank you commander, you've saved Zhu's Hope again," She placed her hand on Shepard's arm, "Maybe some time when I'm not organizing the colony and you're not… doing whatever it is that you do…" she began with an awkward 'let's hook up' grin
"Hey," Ashley said stepping forward, "Sorry to disappoint you but she's ours," she said motioning between herself and Liara.
"Sorry I didn't mean to offend."
"Hey, I'm flattered that you're interested, but as Ashley said, I have commitments."
"Of course, enjoy your stay on Illium."
"I will, but if you're looking for someone, Erinya lost her daughters on the Citadel. She could use someone who knows her pain in some way."
Shiala smiled, "Ok, I'll see what happens," she said, before walking off towards Erinya.
"If they get together, I will let Jack AND Miranda with those weird strap-on things have their way with me at the same time," Ashley said.
"I'll take that bet," Jack said from several feet behind them.