-1.5
SSV Normandy SR-3, Perseus Veil
the next day, Mon, Jul 2, 2187
-1.5
Cortez looked up from his datapad's readout on Shuttle #1's thruster diagnostic at Shepard, Moore, Deacon, Herman and Imperatus jogging laps around the hangar deck- the commander had stayed behind again to participate in one of the ground team's more elite workouts after the general PT session. He was still preoccupied with the mental picture that had flashed before his mind's eye while the three had been dancing four days earlier. The subtler exchange of affectionate feelings and thoughts that had been going on just prior had left him confused about where the idea had originated- had it been his? Or received from one of the other two? He'd been attracted to Shepard as soon as they'd met during the flight from Earth, and Alenko was a looker too but he hadn't really started to appreciate the former major until they'd been stranded together on the planet they'd named Hadrian and spent quite a bit of time in close proximity, mourning together and leading the other exiles in building a community there.
But the two had found their way back to each other. And now they were married. Like he had been once.
Robert had had a fair bit in common with both of the men he was friends with now- he had Shepard's ability to precisely channel a kind of ferocious, reckless energy; Alenko's moral fortitude; Hadrian's wicked side that could come out in subtle notes or a delightful torrent depending on the company he was in; and Kaidan's sensitive, earnest nature. And Rob had been an exemplary soldier, but was never content with that as his identity- he'd led a cooking class for his peers in his last three assignments before he'd died at Ferris Fields, and he had committed two hundred credits from every pay to a charity for war orphans. But he'd never let Steve feel like he fell short.
During the Reaper war Shepard had extended him so much kindness and confidence, and afterwards Kaidan- once he'd made some small amount of peace with his own loss- had been a bastion of understanding and trust. Was it any wonder he'd come to harbour feelings for them both? And try as he had to keep those feelings contained where they wouldn't interfere with his professional relationships with them, he supposed that with everyone learning to more openly share their thoughts, eventually they were bound to find out those feelings existed.
Shepard passed by again in his tanktop and form-fitting grey fleece shorts, with a complicated look on his face- it was part cocky smile, as he was cruising along comfortably even while the rest of the marine detail was starting to drag ass, but also part steely determination. Now that they had an enemy again, and a dangerous one, he was pushing himself to make sure he was in top form. He caught Cortez's eyes on him as he jogged past, but gave no outward reaction.
A minute later, when Moore called a stop to the squad's run, Shepard did one more lap for good measure. When he finished he patted the other vanguard on the shoulder as he walked past the marines, then ambled over toward Steve at his work bench.
"You really are a bit of a show-off, you know," Cortez chided teasingly. "You're always doing just a little bit more than the rest of them." He tried, unsuccessfully, to restrain his eyes from cruising up and down the commander's body- his mostly-bare legs, the corners of his pecs and sweaty flanks and chest that shone out the openings in his tanktop, his neck.
"Burden of command," Hadrian grinned, "I need to be just a little bit better. Gives 'em something to aspire to."
"Well, you are an aspirational figure, Commander," Steve conceded, but then dipped into a slightly awkward silence when he realized all the ways Shepard could have taken the statement. The commander chuckled and looked down at the floor, rubbing the back of his neck with his towel.
"Ah... thanks. So, Lieutenant, about that thing the other day-"
Cortez felt his cheeks heat up and he thanked centuries of demographics for his toasty complexion and how, in the right lighting, it could cover up his blushing somewhat. "Ah. Right. Look, Commander, if that was me I'm sorry if it caused any... embarrassment, or discomfort, or problems... honestly, I'm not even sure where it came from. I'd never want to meddle in your marriage, you and the major are two of my closest friends."
Hadrian raised his hands in a gentle, friendly display. "It's okay, Steve, I didn't- I mean, I don't suspect you of wanting to 'meddle.' I'm not upset by what happened. But I know Kaidan feels a bit strange about things, and you've seemed a little withdrawn since then, and I just want the three of us to all be good again."
Cortez smiled, feeling a wave of relief. He set down his pad, joined his hands and leaned forward in his seat, elbows on his knees. "Whew... okay. That's better than I... I was a bit anxious that you were going to say I needed to make myself scarce."
"No, no way. I mean I figure friends have lived with these little... situations... for as long as there have been people, right?" Hade shrugged and gave a soft, affectionate kick to Steve's boot.
"I wouldn't even call it a 'situation,' Sir, it was just... a thought, you know? I'm not even sure it was mine, we were all kind of dabbling in each other's... but I don't want to imply that it was the major! Or, uh, that it was-"
"It was me," Hadrian confessed. Steve stumbled over his words; no, not stumbled- fell flat on his face.
"It was... Sir?"
"Yeah." Shepard patted under his arms with his towel and cocked his head a bit to one side, now blushing a little himself. "There was this... moment... on Eden Prime, where Kaidan thought about you."
"He did?"
"As in, you with us, and I don't know, maybe it planted a seed that 'sprouted' during our... ah... dance lesson. So when we were all pressed up against each other, I had a thought, and now it's..." Hadrian fidgeted a little. "I don't know, I should probably tell him, because now he feels all guilty about it, but if I do I'm afraid it'll make him jealous instead."
Cortez started mulling over the revelation, feeling... humbled? Embarrassed? He hadn't meant to encroach on his friends' relationship, but if this 'viral' idea had started with one of them then he shouldn't feel guilty about it, right? "I see... well, that's... um... a little complicated. Sir."
Shepard stifled a laugh and looked cautiously over his shoulder to make sure the marine squad was out of earshot. "Yeah, well, I'm 'Shepard two point oh,' so... what isn't complicated?"
"Right... well for what it's worth, Commander, I kinda' miss the major, too, he has sort of been shy of me since we left Eden Prime. But I'd like for things to be good between the three of us. I meant it, after all we've been through, I think of you two like-"
"Please don't say brothers, that would just take those thoughts he and I had to a weird, incestuous place," Hadrian interrupted. Steve blurted out a laugh and Shepard joined in, smiling.
"No, it's different, Commander. I adore both of you. I mean if you weren't... or rather, I mean, if both of you were putting yourselves out there, I'd be hard pressed to..."
"Is smoke about to start coming out of your ears?" Shepard asked. They both laughed again, and as Cortez recovered he shook his head, smiling.
"There would be, if I were in a position to choose," he sighed. "But when I saw how happy you two were together from the start, I just wanted to see you happy together. Don't get me wrong- I still wanted to find someone for myself! Ha ha! But until then, I guess I felt like at least I could be around you guys and sort of bask..."
"Well, I've been glad we had you around," Hadrian said. "Maybe I'm... I don't know, but I feel like there's something... different... about our relationships. Just because guys are different together. Most folks still lean strict-ish, and I like having colleagues- friends- that I can talk to and trust that they know what it's like."
"You know Herman and Deacon are an item, right?" Steve asked, nodding at the pair of marines that stood across the room listening to Moore. Hadrian looked over his shoulder at the ground team's tall, lean dark-haired 2IC, Gunnery Sergeant Erik Deacon, standing with his hands on his hips, and the blond brick-shit-house Cpl. Benjamin Herman, who was flashing some of his smooth hard stomach as he stretched his arm behind his head, the pair listening to Moore, and cracked a crooked smile.
"Really? Damn." He tilted his head a little, giving the sergeant and corporal a second look. "Damn, that's... nice." Shepard's eyes shot back to Steve, narrowed slightly. "No reading my no-good mind, that's an order. Get your own ideas."
Steve chuckled. "So... what do we do about the 'thing?'" he asked. "I mean how do we keep things from getting more awkward and get back to normal?"
"That, I don't know," Hadrian sighed. "I wish I did. I don't feel like there's a problem, I love Kaidan. I trust him. I can't think of anything that would change that now. He risked everything to bring me back after..." He shook his head, dismissing the thought. "I don't know. But I don't think there's anything wrong with our thoughts. His, or mine. I don't judge them. I love him and he loves me. Whatever else may be true, that is."
"You should just go tear him up," Cortez smiled. "Drag him to your quarters and show him how crazy you are about him." His eyes wandered to the bulge in the front of Shepard's shorts, just a few couple feet from his eye level, and he swallowed hard. "Just, do your meditation thing with him as the object, hold him in your mind, focus on him- no stray thinking about... ah... you know. And don't let up until he's forgotten all about whatever doubts are muddling up his pretty little head."
Hadrian grinned and adjusted himself slightly, the thought causing him to stir a bit. "Liking the way you think, Lieutenant," he said. He raised his hand to grip the lip of the ceiling of the work area alcove, then sniffed under his arm and made a face. "Might want to drag him into the shower, first, though."
Steve laughed a little, nervously, as he tried to hold back the mental picture that produced so that Shepard wouldn't inadvertently pick it up. "The squeakier the clean, the freakier you can get," he encouraged.
"Cute. Carry on, Steve. And thanks. We'll try and get things back to... whatever 'normal' is- past the tension, anyway- I promise." Hadrian smiled and ruffled his hand on top of Cortez's close-cropped head before turning to leave. Cortez snagged another look at the vanguard's shapely round glutes as he walked away, then blushed again and returned to his work.
So they'd both though of it. He didn't want to meddle or impose, but... But no, they were possibly on the cusp of a new war. Everybody needed to focus, without distraction.
Yeah. Good luck with that, he thought to himself.
-X
Deck 1
-X
Shepard stepped into his cabin to the sound of the shower running in the head that separated the bedroom from the lounge area. He shook his head and grinned- 'Great minds...' Peeling his tanktop off and stepping out of his sneakers he descended the steps between the office and kitchenette and rounded the corner into the bathroom.
Inside, the plexiglass of the shower was fogged up with steam, but the shape of Alenko's naked body within was still visible. Hadrian leaned back on the edge of the sink, watching a moment, until Kaidan called out over the loud spray of the shower "you know I know you're out there. Get in here, pervert."
Hade smirked and shook his head, then slid his shorts and boxer-briefs down. When he opened the shower door, steam spilled out like a pyroclastic cloud. Kaidan turned and looked at him expectantly, water trickling down his body that looked simply perfect to Shepard.
"Done playing with the other boys?" he asked.
"My body's had enough of a workout for today- I thought I'd come and work on yours for a bit," Hadrian grinned.
"Oh yeah?" Kaidan smirked, and turned his back to his husband.
"You almost done?" Hade asked.
"Yeah, you should have come up sooner, we could have-"
'Almost done' meant he'd washed everything twice and just had his hair to rinse out, which meant he was clean everywhere, and the sight of his back suddenly inflamed Hadrian. Pouncing into the shower, he dropped to his knees, grabbed Alenko's hips, and buried his face in his ass. Kaidan's hands shot out against the wall and his legs spread automatically, groaning loudly with delighted surprise as he felt Shepard's tongue attack the sensitive skin between his mounds.
His crack was licked up and down, and Hadrian's tongue flicked over his hole hungrily for a moment before Shepard had to back off and catch his breath- the water pouring down Kaidan's back and between his glutes, like a river flowing through a canyon, threatening to drown him.
"Ohhh God," Kaidan shuddered, resting his forehead against the wall and hardening immediately. Hade's right hand gravitated around his hip and wrapped around his hard-on, stroking it firmly and using his grip to pull Kaidan's pelvis back again into his face to resume his manic rim-job. The sentinel's legs quivered as ripples of sensation shot through his body.
'Careful,' he pleaded wordlessly, 'I already- I'm sensitive right now!'
"Mmmmm," Hadrian hummed eagerly, giving Kaidan an ecstatic jolt with a jab of his tongue. 'Good, then you'll last longer when you take up me.'
Kaidan grinned and his erection throbbed at the idea. 'Oh, so you want me inside you, hm?'
'After,' Shepard thought, and then projected a wet, hot gush of images detailing his hoped-for itinerary: bending Kaidan over the sink to continue eating out his ass; then fucking him in the same spot so they could watch themselves in the mirror; then fellating him while he stood spread-eagle in the doorway; before finally moving to the bed and having Alenko pound him senseless.
The flood of mental pictures made Kaidan feel dizzy and hot, and triggered a font of precum that oozed down over Hadrian's hand. With another squeeze and pull, Hade made Kaidan bend over further, back arching and fingers clutching at the wall in front of him for a handhold as Shepard dug deeper with his tongue, his chin bobbing against Kaidan's balls from behind.
'Wow, something's gotten into you!' Kaidan thought, gasping and panting as water streamed down over his open lips and dribbled off his chin.
'Not yet,' Hade thought with a pause in rimming to grin wickedly, 'but in about half an hour...'
-X
An hour later
-X
"Oh my God!" Kaidan gasped, collapsing forward onto Shepard's back. Wet with perspiration, his hair a mess, legs quivering with exhaustion, he breathed hot against the back of the commander's neck, who groaned pleasantly and 'clenched' to squeeze another excited moan out of the sweaty sentinel. Kaidan's hands snapped to place- one on Hadrian's hip and the other to his opposite shoulder- and he grunted as he withdrew from Shepard's body, flopping to the side and rolling onto his back, eyes wide and gazing out the ceiling vista roof.
"Wow... What did I do to deserve that?" Alenko asked, turning to look at the sliver of Hade's face visible behind his outstretched arm and against the bed. Shepard's eye smiled and he let out a long, slow breath.
"You were you," he murmured, then chuckled a little. "And how. That was marathon."
"Well, Moore's workouts... my energy level's up a bit," Kaidan grinned. He looked to the head of the bed and reached up for the towel they'd set out, wiping down his chest and draping it over his softening manhood, giving it a squeeze to catch some of his post-climax 'leakage.' Eyes still closed and smiling, Hade reached over and tugged the towel away, exposing Kaidan fully again, and shimmied it under his own pelvis where he was bent over the edge of the bed. "Did you...?"
"We'll change them before we turn in."
"What were you- I mean... the whole time it felt like you were... I got these glimpses of 'me' through you and it was..." Kaidan's eyes welled up a little at the memory of the feelings. "You keep thinking like that about me and it's gonna' go to my head."
'You're my sun. I just wanted to remind you how much I adore you.'
"Well, after we have another shower I might have to give you a little something in retur-"
"Commander," EDI piped in over the comm, "priority QEC hail from Hunter."
"Tell him I'm coming," Hadrian said, suddenly alert and pushing his torso up to kneel at the foot of the bed. He grabbed the towel and started wiping his midsection off and Kaidan snorted out a laugh.
"Actually EDI tell him he already-"
"Hey, never mind. I'll be down to the comm lab in two minutes, EDI," Shepard retorted, giving Kaidan a feigned dirty look.
"Acknowledged," EDI said.
Hadrian rose to his feet and hurriedly started to get dressed, skipping socks and underwear.
"Good to know that he's still in one piece," Kaidan said, sitting up and reaching for his own pants. Hade shrugged as he pulled on his t-shirt.
"Might not be- Legion was missing a few back in the day. Good to know he's able to report in, anyway."
"You want me to come along?"
"Always." Hadrian leaned over and kissed Kaidan again, and the two finished dressing to hurry to the deck below. When they arrived in the communications centre Shepard keyed up the Rannoch QEC and the hologram of their geth scout flickered to life. It had removed the transcrypting and signalling components from the holo-scanning and projecting array for portability, but being- essentially- data itself, the digital crewmember was projecting the likeness of its platform to make the check-in... what? More personal? It was a reminder how as their personalities evolved, some of the geth had seemed to adopt more 'organic' sensibilities than others.
"Shepard-Commander. Alenko-Major," it acknowledged.
"Hunter. Glad that I don't see any holes. What's your status?"
"We successfully infiltrated enemy perimeter around Naryleah and conducted surveillance for twelve point five hours. We also recovered memory log recorders from several disabled geth platforms-"
"I thought a geth's memory buffer hardware auto-destructed when they were disabled?" Kaidan interrupted.
"That failsafe was determined to be unnecessary, and its functionality discontinued following the cessation of hostilities with creators," Hunter explained.
"Oh. News to me. Sorry."
"Continue, Hunter. What did you learn?"
The status display on the QEC's control panel indicated an upload in progress. "The intruders have neutralized all geth platforms active on Rannoch, though we observed server infrastructure intact. Upon interfacing with one we received first-hand accounts of the invasion by geth programs that witnessed the attack and uploaded from their platforms, escaping destruction."
An inset holographic image from the data upload appeared, depicting one of the invader's 'ground troops.' They weren't even vaguely humanoid- more like tops, about two meters high, with a tall conical dome supported by a tapered, spindly 'leg.' Three flexible metallic-looking tentacles protruded from the ventral surface. It almost looked like an armoured version of a hanar, but the shape was also clearly reminiscent of the 'bullet' fighter craft.
"So they shot down every geth on legs but they haven't taken out your servers? What about the quarians?" Hadrian asked, studying the images of their enemy.
"Creators who participated in the colony's defense with geth platforms were also neutralized. Once all defenders were subdued the creator population was forced to assemble at a number of public facilities commandeered by intruder forces. Direct observation of one such facility revealed the release of one hundred and fifty-one creators per hour."
"They were letting them go?" Kaidan asked, incredulous.
"Affirmative. We were subsequently able to make contact with three released creators who each reported similar experiences. After several days of detention they were subjected to an unidentified mode of processing- placed inside a device operated by intruders for approximately one minute- and then released with instructions to resume their normal activities. Barring an expansion of their processing capacity, at the current rate, the geth estimate processing of the entire captive population will be complete in approximately three thousand, eight hundred, twenty-one point five days."
Hadrian crossed his arms and shook his head, a confused expression dominating his face. "At least they aren't being rendered down into a paste. But what's the point? What's this 'processing?' Did you manage to take medical scans of these quarians you spoke to?"
"Affirmative. Creators appeared in normal health, excepting for elevated stress responses following captivity. The only self-reported changes in status was an inability to establish tele-empathic consensus, which they indicated was the case immediately upon intruders' arrival."
"We learned that their cyberwarfare tactics apparently includes jamming those signals as well," Kaidan said.
"Then the nature and effect of intruders' processing remains unknown. We can attempt to re-infiltrate to gather further intelligence."
"What did the other geth and the quarians tell you about the enemies' capabilities," Shepard enquired, leaning forward on the holo projector chamber's railing.
"Intruder infantry were deployed from the interceptor-type craft deployed from enemy capital ships. They possessed no ranged armament- only close-quarters capability. Defenses appear to omit kinetic barriers in favour of structural armour that proved resistant to geth and quarian small arms fire. Intruder infantry demonstrated no hesitation, apprehension or indecision and zero self-preservation motive. Analysis by escaped geth programs concluded that intruders' victory was virtually a statistical certainty due to attrition."
"Maybe they're VI- or AI-driven. Purely combat-oriented programming." Kaidan noticed the shift in Shepard's expression and touched his arm. "Hey? What is it?"
"Zero self-preservation," Hadrian repeated. He looked Kaidan in the eye, his face grim. "Reminds me of the Collector ground forces under Harbinger's control. They pressed the attack without any hesitation, or apprehension, or indecision."
"You think this might be Reapers after all? New play-book, new puppets? Catch and release doesn't seem like them."
"No, it really doesn't. It's just... if this is what that was- 'drone warfare' where the units doing the killing are being operated by some intelligence that's safe and sound somewhere far removed from the battlefield- then it seems... insidious. It's the only way left in an otherwise super-connected galaxy to 'de-humanize' the enemy. We've all stopped fighting because we hate to see and feel the suffering of the other guy. But where's that taboo for someone conducting their campaign... huh..." Hade grunted out a bitter, ironic laugh "'wirelessly?'"
"And it would kind of fit the theme, wouldn't it? Come in, wreck our communications with their jamming, cut us off from each other, and conquer us with remote-controlled forces. It would explain the 'how,' but not the 'why.'" Kaidan's hand drifted down the Hadrian's and squeezed it supportively. "But, maybe it gives us some idea of how to focus our counter-attack."
"Ideas such as?"
"If the capital ships aren't just carriers, but command and control stations- or even just relays from somewhere else- then we know we need to focus our attention on them. And if their ground forces are comparable to ours, and the main difference is their willingness to throw overwhelming numbers at us, then maybe a dagger can do what a sword can't. A covert team on the ground, if it could sneak in like Hunter did," Kaidan nodded to the geth's holographic avatar, "then maybe they could infiltrate the landed ship and take it out from the inside, while we test our reinforced fleet against the one in orbit."
"Enemy presence planet-side was relatively light, with most withdrawn upon the colony's subdual. The Normandy's ground team could potentially penetrate the vessel for the purpose of sabotage."
Shepard's face lit up just a little. "Well," he grinned, "at least I'll get to put all the exercise and re-training to some good use." He felt a shift in Kaidan's feelings through their clasped hands.
"Was there anything more to report, Hunter?" the other Spectre asked. Their geth spy shook its head.
"Negative, all data collected has been reported verbally or via our data upload. We are prepared to return to surveillance operations if debriefing is satisfactory."
"Yeah," Hadrian nodded, a bit distracted, "yeah, see what else you can find out and report in again in- let's say- three days."
"Acknowledged. Terminating communication." The hologram blinked out and the room's regular lighting came back up. Hadrian looked at Kaidan, who was giving him an un-impressed look.
"What?" he asked.
"You know very well what," Kaidan said. "Have you got your 'new' biotics down pat yet? Have you perfected even a pull? Let alone charging?" Hadrian narrowed his eyes and tensed up.
"You know very well that I'm still learning how my new 'wiring' works in terms of my biotics. But I'm still a soldier."
"I do know that," Alenko retorted, softening his voice, "you're one of the best alive. But. You aren't at your top form yet. The changes you've been through- some of those skills that make you one of the best are still in need of some more exercise and re-training. And you can't tell the ground team why your biotics aren't yet back to normal, and if they aren't prepared for that..." Kaidan reached out with his other hand and took Shepard's, stepping closer. "When you're back to your prime you're going to be better than ever, but until then I can't stand the thought of what might happen. I just got you back, again... I don't want to lose you because you jumped the gun getting into a new fight."
"I'm not useless," Shepard said bitterly. Kaidan started to feel the vanguard's need to be taken seriously over their link, and he 'pushed back' with his own feelings of concern, but also respect.
"Nowhere near useless," he said, reassuringly. "But under the circumstances, with the ground team isn't where you'll be most useful. You can do more good overseeing the battle from up here."
"I'm no admiral, I'm a ground-pounder. How am I going to be most useful coordinating a ship-to-ship fight?" Hadrian sighed.
"They'll have more confidence following your orders than anyone else's. They've put you in charge of the theatre, you should be here, not down there."
"Givin' me orders on my own ship... I'm the captain here, remember?"
"And I'm your husband, I'm exercising a marital veto. Or invoking Spectre powers. Take your pick."
"I was a Spectre first."
"And I was on top last. I can do this all day," Kaidan quipped, a grin creeping onto his lips. "Or do I need to 'out' you to the crew, tell them all about how you occasionally like to call me 'Sir.'"
"Not if you want to-"
"That's right, marines, by night your bad-ass, fearless, indomitable leader- every now and then, at least- likes to be called names, held down and smacked around into submission." Kaidan rehearsed his 'big reveal' to an imaginary audience. Hadrian's eyes widened and his face started to betray an embarrassed blush. "It's scandalous, really- I feel like a pervert but I only do it to please him."
"You wouldn't dare," Hade said.
"Complete submission," Kaidan emphasized. Shepard glared and ground his teeth for a moment, but ironically, Kaidan's hammering at the point made him feel his willpower erode slightly.
"Fine," Hadrian muttered sullenly. Kaidan pulled him a little closer, released his left hand, and gave him a curt slap on the seat of his pants.
"That didn't sound very complete," he smirked.
"Fine, Sir." Hade looked down at the floor with a sheepish smile, then chuckled to himself and slowly looked back up at his mischievous husband. "Just don't think that that's gonna' work every time."
"I know, you'd never fall for it if I weren't already making sense. But you know that I am. I can lead the marine team against the grounded ship- that was my original job aboard the Normandy, after all. While you be the boss up here."
"As soon as I've got my biotics nailed down again they're going to have to find someone else to play fleet commander. I'm still not convinced that I'm cut out for it." The pair relaxed, the disagreement behind them, and Kaidan slid his hand into Hadrian's back pocket, squeezing where he'd laid the swat a moment earlier.
"So, what now? Brief the crew? Step up the battle drills? Oh God- more pushups and running laps?"
"Aww, getting sore?" Shepard laughed. He slipped to the side and manoeuvred around behind his spouse, starting to rub his shoulders. Kaidan moaned his approval. "Anyway no, the briefing can wait until the daily tomorrow morning, the battle drill schedule is fine the way it is. Let's go back up, so I can remind you that I'm not your bitch."
"You're totally my bitch," Alenko smirked. "Even when you're on top I've got you wrapped around my little finger."
"Keep talking. I'll wrap you around my finger."
