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Chapter 8
"Did you say you were a Doctor?" Shepard asked the next morning as she began pulling on her pants. Liara, who was still deliciously naked, was leaning back on the bed with her weight held easily on her arms as she watched Shepard with interest. Since their conversation the night before, Shepard had realized with some guilt that she knew almost nothing about her slave, aside from a few pertinent facts about how her body worked. Since Liara would hopefully be staying with her for a while, Shepard wanted to learn some facts about her – personal things.
"What?"
"The first time I asked you your name. You said you were Dr. Liara T'Soni..."
"Not a medical doctor," Liara said. "As you have probably guessed..." Although Shepard had done much to educate her in the past two days, Liara was still slightly embarrassed that she had been so ignorant about her own body and its sexual response.
Shepard walked over to the bed, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on Liara's forehead. "You know you have nothing to be embarrassed about," she murmured, her lips whispering over Liara's soft skin as she talked. "I kind of like knowing I'm the first one you've explored your sexual side with." The thought that Liara would one day move on to another lover was something that Shepard couldn't even think about without feeling sick to her stomach. Shaking those thoughts away, Shepard refocused on learning more about the woman who was sharing her bed. "So, what are you a doctor of?" she asked, sitting down next to the asari as she pulled her shirt over her head.
"Archaeology," Liara said. "I've spent my life studying the Protheans. They're a fascinating race. So far-reaching, so powerful, and then they disappeared from the universe for no apparent reason. So much of our current technology is based upon what they left behind, and yet we know so very little about them." The excitement that Liara always felt when talking about her work came bubbling to the surface, but she quickly realized that her words had run away from her. "Sorry. I forget that most people don't find the past as fascinating as I do. Most of my time before those Batarians captured me was spent alone on remote dig sites. I guess I'm more comfortable with artifacts from the past than with people." Until this moment as she was vocalizing that truth, Liara hadn't realized how sad it really was.
"No need to apologize. I like your enthusiasm. It's good to love what you do." That had certainly been Shepard's driving motto for the past several years since she had broken with the only life she'd known as an Alliance officer. But when she'd realized that she hated what she'd become, working for an organization that no longer cared about the people it was supposed to protect, Shepard had broken all ties in a very inadvisable way. Now, she didn't answer to anyone but herself, and at least the things that ate away at her conscience were because of her own misdeeds instead of someone else's.
"I did - I do..." Liara said, correcting herself. Shepard had agreed to free her eventually, and once she was no longer a slave, she assumed she would go back to her old career. For some reason, the thought didn't bring her the joy and relief she expected. "I was actually exploring a potential excavation site when the slavers abducted me... in retrospect, it was probably foolish to go alone. But I had never encountered a situation before that my biotics could not handle."
Shepard studied Liara intently, looking at her in a new way. Perhaps this maiden wasn't as helpless as she had appeared at first glance. Liara was still wearing a biotic dampening collar around her neck, and Shepard briefly wondered if it was uncomfortable. "Does this bother you?" Shepard asked, reaching out and stroking Liara's throat before touching the collar. She couldn't help being slightly pleased with herself when she noticed Liara shudder.
"It is... very uncomfortable," Liara admitted. "Not the collar itself, but... it hurts me whenever my biotics flare."
Shepard frowned and shook her head, and Liara admired the beauty and strength of muscle shifting beneath skin as the Captain stood. "Then we need to get it off you."
"I won't run away," Liara said quietly, hoping that Shepard heard the sincerity in her voice. Despite being with her for only three days, Liara felt drawn to this woman in a way she didn't understand. The connection frightened her, but she couldn't deny it, either. Besides, Saren was still out there, with a sore ego and a point to prove. It would be unwise to leave Shepard's protection before he was dealt with.
Shepard didn't respond to Liara's statement, but she did reach out to caress the asari's cheek. "Come on, little one. I don't want that thing to shock you again." A sudden thought struck her, and she felt a moment of stomach-churning worry. "It didn't hurt you when I was touching you, right?"
Liara shook her head. She had felt her biotics pushing from beneath the surface during her encounters with Shepard, but she'd been able to hold them back. Her time with the batarians had taught her all too well that giving them free rein would only cause her pain.
Even though Liara had indicated that she hadn't been shocked during sex, Shepard still wasn't happy that she hadn't considered before how painful it could be. She had enough past experience with other asari to know that it was common for their natural biotics to flare up when they felt pleasure, or pain. Shepard didn't like to think that she had been so inconsiderate – then again, forcing herself on Liara the first night had been the exact opposite of considerate, even though the asari seemed to be responding positively to her touch now.
Still thinking that she would need to make it up to her pet somehow, Shepard walked over to her clothing trunk – a holdover from her days in the Alliance military – and pulled out clothes for Liara, making a mental note to find something more suitable for the asari wherever they next made port. Her hips were a bit slimmer than Liara's, and her chest and shoulders broader, so her clothes would be ill-fitting on Liara to say the least.
When Liara looked questioningly at the clothes the Captain had dropped in her lap, Shepard realized that this was the first time in two days that her pet would be wearing anything. "It's all right, little one. The stipulation was that you couldn't wear anything unless I told you to, and I'm telling you that it's okay now. Actually, whenever you're not in this cabin, I'd prefer that you wear something. I don't want my crew to get any ideas."
What Shepard had meant as a half-hearted joke stirred something in Liara, and she actually looked a little worried as she slowly pulled on the offered clothes. "Mistress," Liara began, only to be interrupted by the human once again.
"You don't need to call me that outside of my cabin either, little one. You should probably just call me Shepard, especially in front of the crew." While Shepard wouldn't mind if Liara kept referring to her as Mistress, she knew it was unnecessary to force that dynamic when they were in public, or especially when they were with her crew.
"Shepard," Liara said slowly, not out of any awkwardness with the change, but because she was still trying to figure out how to ask what she needed to ask. She decided that it was better to just get it over with. "One of the vids I watched showed the asari's Mistress sharing her with others. You – you won't share me with your crew, will you?"
The Captain was slightly taken aback by Liara's question, mostly because she couldn't imagine sharing Liara with anyone right now. The fact that her pet didn't seem interested in the idea only reaffirmed her decision.
"No," she said, reaching out to straighten Liara's shirt. Even though her ample chest strained against the front, the sleeves were too large. The pants were slightly long for her, and they hugged the curves of her hips too tightly. Still, Shepard couldn't deny that Liara looked surprisingly appealing in her clothes. She blinked, remembering Liara's question and her own feelings of guilt. "No, I won't share you with the crew. Until I let you go, you only need to service me."
Liara felt an irrational burst of happiness at that proclaimation, although she wasn't sure why. It seemed impossible that she had formed such a strong attachment to someone who had purchased her as a sex slave. But aside from their first encounter - and even in flashes during it - Shepard had been kind to her. She had been attentive to Liara's needs. And Liara had the feeling that, although Shepard expected to continue their strange sexual relationship, the human wouldn't threaten or force her if she refused.
"I - thank you..." Liara said, not sure how else to respond. To her surprise, Shepard's large hands settled on her waist, caressing the swell of her hips and pulling her close to give her a brief kiss.
"Come on, little one. Let's get that collar off you." Then, in a much more characteristic gesture, Shepard turned her towards the door and slapped her ass. It didn't really sting through the fabric of the borrowed pants, but Liara blushed anyway.
When Liara stepped through the door, she realized that Shepard's cabin was closer to the main thoroughfare than she remembered. She sincerely hoped that the Captain's cabin was soundproof, because the mess was located almost directly outside the door. Several human men and women were milling around, and it seemed as if all of them stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Liara's stomach dropped as she realized what they must be thinking. Surely word had spread that the Captain had bought a sex slave and brought her onto the ship. She felt her cheeks flush. At first, she had not wanted to be confined to Shepard's cabin. Now, part of her wished that she had stayed inside.
Shepard didn't appear to notice her crew's curiosity. Instead, she took Liara's hand and guided her across the hall, past a few weapons lockers and a cabin filled with what looked like sleeping pods. When they arrived at the medical bay a few seconds later, Liara sighed with relief - it had to offer more privacy than the deck, where all eyes seemed to be upon her.
Dr. Chakwas was the only one in the med bay, and Liara was grateful. The kind human doctor had made her feel as comfortable as possible the last time she had been here, and Liara gave her a shy smile. Now, she just hoped that the good doctor knew how to get her collar off without shocking her again.
If Dr. Chakwas was surprised to see Liara out and about so soon after Shepard had brought her on board, the medic didn't let it show. She did, however, notice the possessive way Shepard's hand cupped the asari's hip, and a small smile fought its way onto her lips. Had she not known Shepard for many years now, Chakwas might have misinterpreted the gesture, but she could tell that the Captain was already attached to her new charge.
"What can I do for you today, Captain?" Chakwas asked as the unlikely pair made their way up to the exam table she had just finished cleaning.
"Take her collar off, if you would, doctor," Shepard said.
The smile that Chakwas had been trying to suppress made a shining appearance at Shepard's words. She had been wondering how long it would be until the young asari maiden convinced their fearless leader to release her from her physical bonds. It was quicker than she would have anticipated, but Chakwas had still guessed that it wouldn't be long, because Shepard wasn't suited to holding someone against their will unless it was for the good of whatever mission she had taken on.
Chakwas turned away and went to a cabinet in the corner. She pushed up on the tips of her toes and reached behind some medical paraphernalia before pulling her hand back out, with a metallic object clenched between her fingers. It was the small old-fasioned silver key that Ashley Williams had left with her after Liara's first examination.
"This shouldn't take more than a minute," Chakwas said as she walked back over to Shepard and Liara. She searched for the hidden latch on the collar, and finally found it at the very back, the hardest place for a slave to reach if they were trying to take the collar off themselves. After finding the lock, Chakwas made quick work of opening the collar and lifting it off Liara.
Liara's hand went immediately to rub against her neck, even though the collar hadn't been shut particularly tight. She resisted at first when the human doctor started tugging her towards an exam table, knowing that she hadn't suffered any permanent damage from the containment collar, but gave in when Shepard gently pushed her forward as well.
"Well, you have a little redness from irritation, but that should go away within the day, I would guess," Dr. Chakwas said when she finished a gentle exam of Liara's neck. "Can you give us a little demonstration of your biotics so I can rule out any lasting effects? Please." Since this collar hadn't been designed to chemically stunt biotics, Chakwas didn't think there would be any problems, but she wanted to be sure.
Liara gave Shepard an uncertain look, but the human nodded her head, giving the asari permission. "Go ahead."
It had been an entire week since Liara had been able to use her biotics, and she let them flare with relief and more than a little joy. Blue light shot with swimming threads of white energy surround her hands, making her skin glow. The release of power from within her was blissful, and she let it crawl up her arms, surrounding her head and torso.
"Damn," Shepard said, her eyes widening as she did a double take. Most humans could only flare their biotics briefly, and only a top of the line military implant, calorie heavy diet, and a harsh training regimen allowed Shepard to make the sustained forcefields that protected her in battle. But Liara had completely surrounded herself with raw biotic energy, and she didn't seem at all exhausted by the impressive display.
There was a sudden pulse of blue, and several pieces of medical equipment were pushed off the tray. One of Liara's hands extended, and a much more concentrated ball of energy shot towards the collar, which Dr. Chakwas had thankfully set down. The metal crumpled like paper, and Liara let out a satisfied sigh as it clattered to the ground, crushed into a twisted ball of scrap. Her biotics faded, and she turned towards the Captain.
"Thank you, Mistress," she said, forgetting that she was not supposed to call Shepard by that name in front of others.
For the first time, Shepard realized that there was more to Liara than she had expected. The asari had already surprised her once by being a nearly perfect match for her sexually, and again by revealing her strange academic background, but her amazing biotic powers were even more unexpected. Without the collar, Liara seemed much more relaxed and confident. Shepard decided that she liked it. "Do you have any combat experience?" she found herself asking, even though the thought of Liara fighting anyone sent an unpleasant twinge through her stomach.
"I suppose... I have honed my biotic skills for the majority of my life. Until the slavers captured me, my biotics were always enough to fend off the few mercenaries or privateers I came across. Unfortunately, I know little to nothing about hand to hand combat or weapons. Once they put the collar on me, I was completely helpless..." At the word helpless, Liara began to feel dizzy. She rested her elbows on her knees, leaning forward.
Dr. Chakwas looked at Liara with concern. "Are you all right, my dear?" she asked, gently touching the asari's arm.
"I feel... a little dizzy..." she said, closing her eyes.
"When was the last time you ate something?"
Shepard winced as she realized that she hadn't fed Liara at all. The maiden had been able to drink water from the washroom, but Shepard hadn't even considered that she might be hungry. Her constant demands for sex and Liara's short but impressive biotic display had probably burned up what little reserve she had left.
"Far too long ago," Shepard said before Liara could answer. She wasn't sure if it was a preemptive strike so that Liara didn't specify exactly how neglectful she had been or if she said it to take responsibility for her actions. "Let's get you something to eat, little one."
"I think that would be good," Liara said, lifting her head as the dizziness passed and her stomach settled. She really hadn't thought about food all that much in the past couple of days. At first, she had been more worried about what her new Mistress would expect of her. Then, she had been oddly concerned for her captor's safety when Shepard had left on that mission. Food hadn't been high up on her priority list, but now she realized she was famished.
Shepard nodded to Chakwas as she ushered Liara out of the room, thanking her for the care she had given. "We don't have a very extensive menu, but the food tastes decent and it keeps everyone strong. I can try to get something more appealing to your particular palate when we next dock, but until then, this is all we've got."
"I am sure it will be fine, thank you," Liara replied. There were some dishes that she missed from her home world that she hadn't had for years, but she didn't expect Shepard to procure them for her. It touched Liara that Shepard had even thought to offer to buy something she would like better than the generic food aboard her ship, but she had spent years making do with food that traveled easily, and she didn't expect special treatment now.
Shepard considered sitting Liara down at the table and going to get trays for both of them, but realized that Liara needed to know how things worked around the ship, just in case she was gone for any prolonged amount of time. So the Captain led Liara through the chow line, noticing that the asari seemed to be unfamiliar with most of the available menu. She took a little bit of everything, and more of the things that Shepard favored herself.
After their trays were full, Shepard found them a couple of open spots at the table. For the first time, she noticed the crew's obvious interest in their new visitor, and Shepard didn't know whether to preen and show off her new pet, or growl at everyone to get back to work because Liara was not a spectacle to be gawked at. Her protective instincts won out, and Shepard made a terse comment about how there was work to be done, which got her crew moving. Some of them weren't really done with their meal, but decided it would be wise to go hungry rather than risk facing their Captain's formidable wrath.
Relieved that most of the crowd had dispersed, Liara turned her attention to her meal. There was a small cup of mixed fruit in one corner of her tray, and she started there, since it seemed the most familiar to her. As she sampled the different types of fruit – finding that she wasn't particularly fond of the sweet syrup they were covered in – she couldn't resist stealing a few glances at Shepard over the table. The human was tucking in to her own meal, and Liara was slightly impressed that she managed to eat so quickly and so neatly at the same time.
Shepard noticed the asari staring at her and caught her eye. She paused and winked, a bite of some sort of meat hanging off her fork. "Space pirates don't usually have time for long, leisurely meals."
"Space pirates?" Liara repeated, her eyes widening in confusion.
"Yeah, space pirates. I mean, technically we're mercs now that we've defected from the Alliance, but space pirates just sounds cooler." She grinned roguishly and continued eating.
"You used to be with the Alliance?" Liara asked. For some reason, this didn't surprise her. Shepard certainly didn't act like any mercenary leader that she had ever seen before. She was far too disciplined and somehow straight-edged to have just fallen into mercenary work. "What made you decide to leave?"
"Bad politics," Shepard said flippantly, although her tone made it clear that she was still bitter about it. "Let's just say the higher-ups wanted me to do some morally questionable things." Perhaps it was a bit silly now, since she still did morally questionable things to make a living as a mercenary, but at the time, she had followed her convictions. At least she was doing them for herself now instead of the brass. She would never again be the hands that did someone else's dirty work.
"Like owning a sex slave?" Liara asked before she could think better of it. For a moment, she froze, unable to believe what she had just said. Shepard hadn't shown much of a temper or physically harmed her, but Liara cringed anyway.
Shepard paused. "I'm not sure purchasing you was morally questionable. I mean, I was doing it to stop Saren from buying you instead," she said after a while. "But the first night? That was more than morally questionable. That was wrong. Even though I enjoyed it, I shouldn't have done it."
Liara stared down at her tray of food, unable to meet Shepard's eyes. "I enjoyed it, too," she confessed quietly. "I'm not sure why. Part of me feels guilty that I did, and wishes I hadn't. But part of me was relieved that it felt good instead of hurting."
To Liara's surprise, Shepard reached out across the table and took her hand. "It's not going to happen like that again, little one. I promise." Liara had already known that, but it was nice to hear the vow from Shepard's lips.
Suddenly, the shipwide intercom switched on. "Commander! Request your presence on the bridge!"
Shepard stood up automatically, letting go of Liara's hand. "We'll talk more about this later," she promised. "Stay here and finish your food. You've hardly touched it. I'll be back as soon as I find out what Joker wants."
"Joker?" Liara asked.
"My pilot," Shepard said with a grin. "Best one I've ever met. He left the Alliance with me. Anyway, I'll only be a few minutes. Hang tight." Before Liara could ask what that meant, Shepard was gone, swiftly striding away from the table and leaving her mostly alone.
