I don't own the Mass Effect.

Act I: Consolidation

Chapter 6: Jade

Date: 02-09-2185

Location: Ferris Fields, Attican Traverse

The ludicrous stand-off only got worse once we broke atmosphere, our shuttle drifting towards deep space while the Imminent Death and Vladivostok shadowed us. The two warships were keeping each other at point-blank range, and both Captains were distinctly unhappy at being told to shut up and hold on while we tried to resolve shit without killing everyone.

Shockingly, that wasn't exactly a smooth operation either.

It had taken better than twenty minutes of arguing, bitching, threats, and negotiation to get to the point where everyone but Anders and I were pushed up against the bulkhead with their weapons lowered, though not put away, with one Corsair up front with Vessian to make sure he didn't try and fling us into the Death's waiting shuttle bay while the main debate was going on.

"She's a murderer." The Butcher growled once he and I were standing across from each other, his hands clenched into fists. "I'm willing to allow the rest of you to leave in light of our cooperation on planet, and despite the fact that you're personally an asshole, your corporation doesn't have any black marks on it's record yet... but she is going with us to answer for what she did."

"No, she isn't." I countered, "She was setup by the Matriarch and you fucking know it. She wouldn't have even been here if it wasn't for that bitch."

"Then she should have been more intelligent," He snapped back, "And actually checked her information before skipping ahead to the part where she murdered undercover agents and endangered hundreds of bystanders."

There wasn't much I could say to counter that, since it was entirely correct. She really should have double-checked her information more thoroughly than she had, or at least reached out to me or any of her other old allies in the Terminus for help instead of going solo. So instead, I shifted directions, "What authority do you have to arrest her anyway?"

"She killed Alliance citizens!" He all but shouted the words, his accent growing with his anger.

I cocked my head to the right in disdain, "Did she do it in the Alliance?"

"Irrelevant." Anders' expression was hidden by his helmet, but he sounded like he was about to start foaming at the mouth. "She is beholden to Alliance law."

My arms crossed high on my chest as I went full, annoying-Highborn, even switching to that language as I glared down at him through my visor. "Since when? She isn't a citizen and she didn't kill them on an Alliance world, and if you tell me that all humans are bound to fucking Earth's rules and regulations, we might as well start shooting right now."

"Fine, call it a personal fucking act of war. Or terrorism." He spat. "Either way, Alliance citizens are dead because of her, and she surrendered herself to colonial authority to accept judgment. We had an agreement with that colony that allowed us to-"

I snorted and interrupted him, "We aren't on that colony, and you currently don't have her in custody, and she's currently too out of it to indicate what she wants personally. She's still a member of the Silver Blades Corporation, as registered on Illium, and I know for a fact that the Alliance doesn't have any extradition agreements with the Board of Directors."

Armor actually creaked a little as he clenched his fists more tightly. "Meaning what, exactly?"

"Meaning that she's technically a corporate citizen of Illium, just as I am, and thanks to the fucked up treaties between the Citadel and my home, the worst you can do is demand that I hand her over." My right shoulder rolled, "And I suppose you could take me to court in Nos Astra if I refuse."

"Goddamned lawyer pirate." One of the other Corsairs growled, his voice something close to furious. "Hiding behind fucking laws you break all the time."

Trena let out a vicious, barking laugh. "This is coming from the asshole who's part of an organization that routinely executes people without bothering to check if they fucking did shit first."

"Scales." I snapped, "You and... whoever the fuck you are, be quiet. We agreed on just this asshole and I do the talking."

My friend threw her helmet back to make her eye roll obvious, but she subsided. The Corsair's own body language made it clear that he wasn't about to obey anything I ordered, but a tight nod from the Butcher saw him keep his mouth shut.

"You still broke her out of an Alliance facility." Anders spoke once he was sure his subordinate wasn't going to speak.

"No, I broke my subordinate out of an independent colony's detention facility after determining that they had no cause to hold her." I continued bullshitting without any real sense of shame, "Or did the Alliance formally recognize that the Corsairs exist and make public treaties with deep Traverse colonies sometime in the last day?"

Silence and more fist clenching was his answer, and I sighed. "Look Butcher, you're not going to win the technicality argument here, and honestly we both know that the laws we operate under don't really matter to the situation either way, so let's just move the fuck on."

The Butcher seemed to regard me flatly, his voice coming out low when he responded, "Murder is murder, regardless of whatever legal technicality you draw up to justify keeping her away from justice... but fine, we'll leave that aside for the moment. What do you think actually matters to our situation?"

Uncrossing my arms, I waved a hand at each side of the shuttle in turn. "We have two ships ready to blast the crap out of each other, and my ship is more powerful and better armored. Even if you kill all of us and take over the shuttle, the Death would vaporize you before you got anywhere, and would probably destroy your ship after."

There was a ragged exhale, "I see where you're going. I can either give up Jack to you, and we all walk away alive... or all of us die right here, right now."

I rolled a shoulder, "More or less."

"What exactly is stopping me from making the same threat?" He asked quietly. "If you let us take her, everyone lives, we go our separate ways. You really prepared to die for her?"

I didn't want to, now that he mentioned it... but I owed her, and I didn't want to see her executed, imprisoned, or given over to Cerberus to fuck with. "Make your choice, Commander."

It was probably a sign of just how much the asshole apparently hated me, and maybe Jacqueline, that he seemed to actually have to think about the decision. Or maybe he just had that much of a loathing for pirates and murderers... we might not have been the former, but we all probably qualified as the latter.

I frowned a little in the tense silence as that thought flowed through my mental currents. It... didn't really bother me. Not nearly as much as it probably should have. But then again, it was pretty rare for me to kill someone who wasn't actively attempting to kill me in return... wasn't it? And I had legitimate reasons when I had to take that step... didn't I?

"The Vlad could take them sir." The only female Corsair growled when we both remained silent for nearly a minute, me lost in memories as I checked and rechecked my justifications for the people I'd killed in cold blood, him lost in... whatever the fuck he was thinking about. "Whatever Eclipse bitch is on that ship would know she was in a fight. If we let them go, who the hell knows what they might do, how many more innocents might end up dead."

I shifted my posture to show upper-crust disdain at the woman's interruption of my thoughts, "The only thing we're doing after this is going to Omega and getting back to work. We have contracts to fulfill... and at least we won't fucking abandon them just because a few politicians don't like the fucking optics of working on the same side as a Terminus PMC."

Guns snapped up as she took a step towards me, everyone but me and Anders once again pointing weapons at each other.

The Butcher let out a furious sound, "Fucking Christ but Kaya was really right about how much of an ass you are. Everyone, put your weapons down."

"But sir-"

"Weapons. Down." He snarled, his composure breaking, "Dying here... would be a waste, and we have no guarantee these assholes would even die with us. We'll live today, and find her tomorrow."

His subordinates shifted angrily, uncomfortably, but lowered their weapons. My own pointedly didn't, even as Anders took a step towards me.

"You fucking win, Kean, but I still have questions."

"I'm not inclined to answer them." I replied flatly, my patience having entirely expended itself. The self-righteous crap was combining with the day's stresses, and all I wanted was to have a drink and make sure that Jacqueline was all right. "Whatever. We'll dock with the Death and get everyone off. You all will take an escape pod back to your own vessel, you have my word that we won't kill or harm any of you provided none of you do anything insanely stupid."

Anders' helmet remained locked on mine, and it seemed to physically pain him to mutter. "Agreed. Hank, let the Turian get us to their ship, and relay the deal to the Vladivostok."

The man up front grunted, putting his weapon away and bringing his omni-tool up. Apart from the sound of his voice, the shuttle remained utterly silent as we all listened to him relay the exact words, and my friends only lowered their own weapons after he had signed off without saying anything moronic.

With that out of the way, Vessian got us moving, fluttering the thrusters to casually bring us back to our ship. His own strong voice echoed at my insistence, relaying the terms to Heshen. She was less than thrilled to be losing a lifeboat, even after I joined the channel and told her that it would be compensated for once we got back to Omega. But at least she agreed to stand by the terms, to the point where she cleared a path between the shuttle bay and the nearest evacuation craft to make sure none of her crew got any bad ideas of their own.

"Kean. You knew about the attacks on the Citadel." The Butcher spoke in the utter silence that followed. "That that bitch was behind them, who she's pretending to be, and you didn't react when I name-dropped Cerberus."

I crossed my arms again. "So?"

"...where are Liara and Nikita?"

"They haven't contacted you?" I snorted, "I'm stunned, I really am. After all, you have such a winning personality on top of arresting one of their friends and wanting her executed or put in a cell that Cerberus would steal her out of in five seconds."

He sucked in a slow breath, the sound audible through his helmet. "Are they alive?"

"Probably." I shrugged in the Asari way. "I'll tell them you said hi the next time we meet for drinks... well, before we actually drink. Don't want them to waste good alcohol when they hear the bad news of your continued survival."

A definite twitch in his right hand made his fingers curl towards his pistol before he forced them to be still. "I... would dearly love to see you brought to Geneva, to have everything you've done brought in the open so that justice can be done."

Athame's ass, what the fuck was it with these people and justice? He'd fit right in with that Justicar from Beinhi... shit, maybe they were a long-distance couple. "Whatever. Did you have any other questions to bother me with?"

"No." His voice was as warm as liquid nitrogen. "The next time we meet, it will be my very great pleasure to kill you."

I merely grunted, not feeling terribly threatened. There wasn't any more discussion between either party after that point, to my general lack of surprise. We settled into the Imminent Death's hangar a few minutes later, with everyone piling out in short order. Washana had to use her biotics to move a now-unconscious Jacqueline, taking her to the nearest medbay while the rest of us escorted our temporary frenemies. The Corsairs exuded sullen anger as they stomped through the Asari warship and piled into the escape pod, and Anders seemed to regret his choice not to avoid mutual death with every step he took.

His reaction to Shepard being revived by Cerberus would probably be priceless, maybe Aethyta would be calm enough by then to find a way to record it for me.

"Heshen, they're in the pod." I reported as the heavy airlock shut behind them, "Fling them out and then hit FTL as soon as they're clear."

"No shit." The Captain growled back, "And you are replacing that thing, and telling me what the fuck happened down there."

"Let me make sure Jacqueline is fine, then you can bitch us out all you want." I promised as a low thud rang through the compartment, the status icons on the bulkhead indicating that the escape pod had just been jettisoned. A few breaths later, the entire ship shuddered as its engines flung us faster than the speed of light, probably taking us back towards the system's relay.

"Right." Trena grunted, collapsing her pistol and hanging it on her belt before yanking her headgear off. "Chek, Vessian, you guys can go relax. Illyan, you and I might as well go with them. Figure the ape should probably talk to the girl alone for now."

Illyan finished pulling her helmet off, grimacing as she glanced between us, "You sure Cie?"

"For starters." I exhaled as I fully realized that my day was far from over. "Knowing her, she's probably going to be less than thrilled about being rescued, might be better to keep the number of people she tries to punch down."

My lover snorted, nodding but still flicking her eyes up and down me just to make sure I was all right before speaking again, "All right, we'll talk with Heshen and tell her what happened for you."

Trena made a face, "Not what I meant when I said relax."

"Perks of being in command." Illyan informed her cheerfully, "You asked for the job, enjoy the consequences."

Scales muttered darkly to herself even as she turned away, her short legs stomping as Chek boomed out a laugh. Illyan grinned at her back, clapping me on the shoulder before trotting after her as the males followed in turn. I watched them go, then turned and got moving in the opposite direction.

It took me a few minutes to remember where the medical facilities were on this ship against where they would be on the Reliant, and I had to double-back twice before finding where I was trying to go.

Jacqueline was the only patient present, her lips pressed together as she tersely answered Washana's questions as the young maiden checked her vitals and ran quick scans over her bare chest. I lingered near the door, leaning against the wall and taking my helmet off. Leaving it on a nearby desk, I settled in to patiently wait for her to finish the checkup. It took about ten minutes before the medic wrapped up, raising a privacy screen after pulling out a basic shirt and pants for her to get dressed in.

"She's going to be weak for a while sir." Washana reported as she strode over to me, shaking her head, "But there doesn't seem to be any long term damage. I think it would still be best for her to check in with the ship's doctor at least once before we get back, and then again with whatever professionals you have at your enclave."

I grunted, "I'll make sure she does. Thanks Washana, you can get going... wait, no one on your team was injured?"

"No sir." Her red markings shifted as she grinned, "We managed to sneak in without much of a fight, the Corsairs and Militia kept arguing about who was supposed to be watching what area, made it easy. After that we mostly just held off the attacks... I don't think they expected us at all, they were really cautious."

Made sense. "Good. You sure you want to come with, now that you're in a relationship?"

"They're transferring to the Omega detachment," One of her shoulders rolled as her cheeks darkened, "So... it won't be like I can't see Captain Heshen, unless you forbid it sir."

I snorted, "Why would I? Get going, she probably won't believe Trena or Illyan until she sees you alive."

"True." She almost giggled, giving me a very casual salute before leaving.

Washana barely done so before the privacy screen fell back into the floor, showing me Jacqueline standing awkwardly in a gray shirt and pants, her tattooed toes curling a little as she stood barefoot. Brown eyes narrowed as she saw me still standing near the door, her throat working as she swallowed.

"Cieran." She tried to keep her voice flat, but I could still hear emotion trembling beneath the surface. A lot of anger... and something more desperate.

"Jacqueline." I replied quietly, my mood rapidly diving towards serious. "You want me to start with the apology, or did you want to hit me a few times first?"

Her knuckles cracked as she brought her hands together, rolling her bald head around to loosen her neck. "Guess."

I sighed, closed my eyes, and braced myself. Bare feet lightly struck metal decking, then a fist slammed into my face. She evidently used a little of her latent power to increase the power of the hit, a probable necessity given her small size, and I stumbled back several steps with a breathy curse.

"You fucking left me there!" She actually spat before backhanding me with her other hand, adding a bruise to my other cheek. "Buried in fucking rubble!"

Hit number three was a biotic throw that was mostly held at bay by my armor's shields, but she had enough raw power to still send me back a step to hit the wall again.

"They fucking used me! Drugged me so I'd been a better fucking lay! Sold me like a fucking cow when they got bored of it!" Another punch hit my ear, then another slap made it ring. "Then... then..."

She hissed for a moment, then grabbed my head with both hands and stood on her toes to shove our mouths together. Her lips were fever hot, almost desperate. I smacked the back of my head on the wall in surprise as her mouth moved, then the kiss ended as abruptly as it began as she broke away and almost staggered backwards. I barely caught her thin wrists before she fell, holding her upright as she visibly hyperventilated.

"Then you... you fucking sent the queen of the girl scouts..." Her eyes squeezed shut as I blinked at her, trying to gather my wits. "You fucking sold yourself to a goddamned Spectre, just to get me back."

"You're one of us." I managed to remind her, carefully letting go only when I was sure she wasn't going to tip over. "You.. really thought we'd abandoned you on purpose?"

"Yeah." She admitted, blinking as I visibly flinched at the accusation. "Shit... it's happened before, with other groups I ran with. Maybe... should have known better I guess, but... shit."

"I'm sorry." I offered quietly, continuing on before she could speak. "Shit, Jacqueline... we fucked up. I fucked up. I thought you were dead for sure, and T'Ravt told us where Krom was right after. By the time we realized that you weren't... sending Shepard was all I could think of with the timing of shit."

Jacqueline closed her eyes, "That crap apology supposed to make me forgive you?"

"No." Brown orbs snapped open again almost at once, "I'm not that fucking naïve. I owe you for that, massively. Breaking you out of a Corsair prison seemed like a good start, especially since I'm pretty sure that bitch of a Matriarch or Cerberus would have been experimenting on you the moment they could pay someone off on Earth."

There was a definite flinch as she stepped away from me, her hands finding the nearest bed. She hopped her small frame up onto it, sitting with her legs swinging freely as she swallowed. "Yeah... I figured that out after I gave myself up. Figured... dammit."

I narrowed my own eyes at her. "You figured what? That you deserved it?"

"I... don't fucking know. My thoughts are all fucked right now.." Pale hands rose and rubbed furiously at her face. "Not that I deserved crap, but Shepard... shit."

My lips pursed a little as I shook my head, lowering my voice slightly at her obvious distress. As much as I wanted to help her, I probably wasn't the best one for her to try and work things out with. "You don't have to talk about it with me if you don't want to. Voya is still around, and my new XO is a mind healer who can keep her mouth shut."

"I... shit." She managed as her hands dropped into her lap, "Yeah, maybe Voya. She might fucking understand without me actually... having to say some of this crap. She on board?"

"She's on Xentha right now." I told her, "We can get you a secure link from Omega to talk with her, or a ride if you want to go there."

"Maybe." Arms wrapped around her thin body as she hugged herself for a brief moment, then hurriedly shifted away as she realized she was showing me weakness. "Where's everyone else?"

I grimaced. "It's just me and Illyan, plus Washana and three others on board. Ayle's in the Hegemony, her branch has been hired on in the war. Her cadre-"

"I know who's all dead." She interrupted me, shaking her bald head. "I... kind of followed you guys, best I could. Where's Shyeel?"

"Xentha, with Voya." I supplied.

Teeth appeared as she bit her lip, then her small nose flared as she took in a long breath before letting it slide out. I couldn't blame her for the reaction... any reunion between the two of them was probably going to be both awkward and complicated given Jacqueline's role in getting Shyeel hooked on the drugs that had burned her nerve endings.

"All right," She managed after a few silent breaths of thought, "You said you owe me, which you really fucking do. What do you have in mind besides the whole breaking me out thing?"

"Backpay, for starters. All the time you were with Shepard through now at your old rate." I began, "A secure place to live in our enclave on Omega if you want it, or access to our base on Xentha if you'd rather go there."

"Oh yeah... you're a warlord and shit now. Heard about that." She muttered, glaring at the floor. "Rescue, cash, a place to live, letting me talk shit out with... What do you want from me?"

I sighed, old memories of working with her coming back. She always thought there was an ulterior motive even behind the most benign action, and the best way to get her to do anything had always been to make it seem like you got something as well. So long as she knew what your angle was, she thought she had some measure of control over the situation.

But this wasn't an ordinary situation, and something told me that playing that game would be a mistake. "I don't want anything from you, Jacqueline. I owe you. If you want to rejoin us, there's a spot on the new team for you. If you want to spend a few months in a drugged haze, I'll make sure you've got a safe home to sleep it off in. If you want to turn yourself in... I'll strenuously fucking argue with you about it, but I won't stop you."

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me. "You... Christ, but you're still a weird fucking asshole, you know that?"

I gave her a small grin, "Yeah."

She snorted, shaking herself a little as some of her usual cocky confidence flowed back into her body. "You did save me... again... and you're still you. Kind of an ass but your word is good... so I guess I can play along for a bit. Let me see this place you've got for me, and let me talk to Voya. I'll decide what I'm doin' long term after all of that."

"Fair enough. You want to meet the new team?"

"Not like I"m doing anything else." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the floor, then at her feet. "No fucking shoes."

I rolled a shoulder in a shrug, "Should be slippers around here somewhere, maybe boots."

"Nah... you said you owed me."

My arms were burning by the time we got back to the commando lounge-slash-quarters I was sharing with everyone else, Jacqueline grinning viciously as she kept messing with her natural fucking mass. The grin faded as I dropped her the moment we were through the doorway, a yelp coming out as her ass hit the padded decking.

"Asshole!"

"You said to carry you to the quarters." I reminded her, nimbly jumping over her and then dodging a kick aimed at my knee. "You didn't say to let you down easy when I got here."

"Fucker." She snapped, but there was a slight grin to her mouth.. "Still on with that exact wording crap?"

"Always." Illyan provided from where she was lounging in the bed we shared. It, and the others, were sunken into small alcoves in the curved walls, surrounding an open space filled with comfortable furniture. It was all very Asari, everything setup in a communal, almost welcoming fashion... though the fact that all of the furniture was Eclipse yellow and black rather ruined the effect in my opinion. "Hey Jacqueline."

"Hey big sexy." The human woman heaved herself to her feet beside me, "Saw the fucking vid of you with the hammer, hitting Ganar. Nice moves for someone who was barely alive."

My lover snorted, "It wasn't exactly a fun day, but we got it done. And I got a Krogan warhammer out of it."

"No shit? Aria let you keep that thing?" Eyebrows went up before she shrugged and glanced around at the others, "Well at least you've got the body to use it. Who are the rest of you?"

"Call me Vessian." Said Turian piped up from where he was sitting beside Chek at the room's only table, his eyes running slowly over his chest plate as he checked it for damage. "Always a pleasure to meet an old Blade."

"Call me fucking old again and I'll rip those twitchy things off your face." She snorted, "Good to meet you too."

There was a low, deep chuckle as Chek's massive hands carefully prepared a new cup of tea for himself, his lips pulling back to show his approval. "I do adore human females, such fire and strength in their little bodies! I am called Raik Chek, Jacqueline Nought. I look forwards to slaughtering foes together."

That earned him a few blinks as Jacqueline just kind of stared at his bulk, "...is that fucking tea?"

"He's a weird old fuck." Trena grunted, her petite body having claimed the room's largest couch entirely for herself. Smoke curled from her pipe as she lowered it, "Trena T'Laria, Lancer Command since the ape is busy running shit these days."

Something dark and wickedly amused flicked through her eyes as she glanced at me, "Ape?"

The fingers on my left hand twitched as I reached up to start detaching pieces of my armor, "Ignore scales, she's probably already drunk on her chehala."

"Oh fuck off." My old friend glowered at me in between puffs, "You fucking sent me to deal with that bitch of a Captain, of course I need shit to take the edge off after."

I snorted as I left Jacqueline's side, walking towards Illyan even as she dutifully hauled herself out of the alcove and to her feet, reaching up to help me get the plating off. "How pathetic is it that Heshen and I don't have any problems getting along, yet you can't stand more than three minutes around her. Jacqueline? Feel free to claim one of the beds, and we have drinks over in that cabinet."

"No private rooms?" She asked even as she headed towards said cabinet, her mirth at our banter fading a little.

"Got rid of them in the last refit, but you can raise screens around the beds." Trena provided, "Lock them from the inside too. Good thing since I really don't need to see the ape fucking Illyan from behind."

Jacqueline actually stutter stepped, almost falling on her face, and she had to throw a hand out to stay upright. "What the shit? You two are... what the shit?"

I blinked at her, glanced up at Illyan as she gave me a confused shrug as she motioned for me to turn around so she could get my back-plate off. "We're together, yeah. That really that surprising?"

"Yes!" She kept staring, "What about fucking Voya? You two were inseparable! Shit, we had bets on when you'd stop pretending to not be together."

"She's got Shyeel tied up and fucked senseless." Illyan provided, "But honestly she and Cie are still in denial-fucking ow!"

I threw my elbow back into her gut again, twisting my head to the right to glare up at her. "Illyan."

"I'm just teasing you." She rolled her eyes as I glowered, leaning down to kiss me. I pointedly turned away, then hissed as she simply grabbed my hair and used that to jerk my head back around. My resistance lasted about a heartbeat against her skilled lips, her tongue sliding into my mouth to play with my own as she let out a pleased humming sound.

I sucked in breath when she pulled away an eternity later, my skin a little flushed as she went right back to work.

Jacqueline was still starting at me, then something like a cackle emerged from her throat, "Holy crap, she fucking wears the pants, doesn't she? That's fucking hilarious."

I narrowed my eyes at her as she all but stumbled to the liquor cabinet, grabbing a bottle of whiskey for herself. "Oh shut it."

"Does make me wonder though," Illyan offered conversationally, "Who do you think runs things between Magnus and Haro?"

"Who the fuck are they?"

"The ape's half brother, and the little bitch's brother." Trena provided around more puffs of smoke. "They're apparently fucking too."

Jacqueline promptly began choking on the swig she'd just taken, and Vessian had to get up and pound her on the back to help her clear her lungs.

"Since when the fuck do you two have family?" She demanded once she could breathe, "How much shit did I miss?"

"A lot." I admitted, "Most of it isn't exactly public knowledge. Grab a bottle of rum and bring it over here, it's a long story and I'd rather not be entirely sober for all of it."

There was a few blinks, then a snort as she turned around and grabbed another bottle of booze before striding over. The next eight hours passed in an alcohol fueled haze of war stories and memories, pretty much all of it on our end. It was clear, at least to me, that she wasn't ready to talk about her time with Shepard, or what had happened before, and I wasn't about to force her.

Things didn't get complicated up until we got to our on-again/off-again involvement with Cerberus, with her reaction to that bit of news being fairly predictable. She'd all but lurched across the couch she and I had been sitting on, then started hitting me and trying to get her fingers around my throat.

"Easy there." Illyan snorted as she wrapped her arms around the small woman, hauling her back, "We got them in the end, his mother blew up most of their goddess-damned fleet."

Jacqueline blinked a few times as I checked my nose for blood, "She fucking what?"

"Ape figured they'd betray him." Trena provided, "So he paid off that ice bitch to show up with a Xenthan dreadnought at the rendezvous point. Those stupid fucks came in with most of a fleet to try and ambush them, and gave her some nice target practice."

"And then he... punished the Cerberus General responsible." Chek rumbled approvingly.

"Killed him?" The biotic asked, shrugging off Illyan with annoyed motions.

"Beat him within an inch of his fucking life." Scales snorted, "He gave his word he'd let him live before shit happened, didn't say shit about not putting him through pain first."

Jacqueline snickered at that, her approval evidently restored as she settled back with her drink. She tensed up further when we got to the part about recovering Shepard's body on Omega, and muttered darkly about not being surprised when informed of T'Soni's decision to let Cerberus try to revive her. I promised to get her contact information for her friend once we got back, which mollified her enough that she started pressing for more details about how the invasion of Omega had actually gone.

Eventually everyone but Trena and I was in bed, the pair of us cleaning up before turning in ourselves.

"You think she'll stick around?" Scales asked, glancing at the raised and locked wall that hid Jacqueline's bed.

"She'll either stay with us, or go and join T'Soni." I pursed my lips in thought, "Honestly it probably depends on how her talk with Voya goes. The pair of them were pretty close back in the day... way more than she and I were."

Trena grunted, as she accepted the now empty bottle of rum from me, setting it aside. "She seemed like you well enough ape, or that just because you've rescued her twice now?"

"Maybe." I bit my lip as I frowned, then shook my head a little. "Just don't pressure her, all right? She's earned the right to make her own decisions. She asks shit about your plans, tell her, but nothing more than that."

"I'm not a fucking idiot, I know." Her lips pursed a little as she frowned, "You think I should invite her along on the True Son hunt though? If we're back in time."

"We should be... shit, I don't know." I admitted, "Maybe don't ask, but let her know about it. If she volunteers, let her, just-"

"Make sure it's her damned decision, I hear you, stop fucking repeating yourself." Scales blew out a breath, "Shit though Cie, T'Ravt being involved in more shit like this..."

My body settled into one of the room's chairs as I sighed. "Yeah. Can't fault the bitch for ambition, or ruthless planning. Indoctrinating Shepard's people in advance of her waking up lets her replace Korolev pretty fucking easily."

"Assuming that poor bitch is free at all." Trena pointed out, "She might be acting like she is, but we've got no fucking idea how loaded up with subliminal shit she might be."

I grimaced at the very real point, and dipped my head as she leaned against the wall beside her bunk. "Yeah. Guess we have to hope that Aethyta's got a good mind healer who might be able to find any crap like that... shit, she's going to have to. If Korolev is the finished version, no way she doesn't have at least a few commands in the back of her head."

"Poor bitch..." My friend repeated quietly. "And there's still the matter of the twins that Krom tried to bust out, whoever the fuck they are. And the rest of the Spectre's crew. And that bitch screwing us over any other way she can."

"With the Butcher probably eager to help now." Reaching up, I ran a hand over my face. "We'll probably be blacklisted by the Alliance before we even get the chance to apply for a mercenary license, and I doubt our application will get past committee on the Citadel. Our only legal protection will be as Illium citizens, and that's..."

She grimaced, "Not going to go very fucking far. You sure we should be sending out people where that Athame damned bitch can try and get to them?"

"We have to pay their salaries somehow." I reminded her quietly, "And we have to get ready. I'll talk with Aria when we get back, see if her mad scientists have made any progress on an indoctrination test."

Trena grunted, then wrinkled her face as she let out a massive yawn. "Right... you do that shit, I'm going to sleep. Try and keep the sex quiet, all right?"

"You never do, why should we?"

Silver Blades Communication Log

Aethyta: You're a dead man Kean.

T'Soni, Liara: Please ignore her Commander.

Kean, Cieran: I usually do. You get my last message?

T'Soni, Liara: We did... the pattern is definitely concerning.

Aethyta: Liara, don't change the goddess-damned-

- link broken -

- link reestablished -

T'Soni, Liara: My apologies, she is still... rather emotional. Spectre Vasir tranquilized her for me.

Kean, Cieran: Tell her she's my new favorite Spectre, and there's a bottle of aged rum for her next time we meet.

T'Soni, Liara: ...returning to the matter at hand, the attempt on Commander Anders and Jack is concerning as it comes to soon after the attempt on our own lives. Once my father awakens, I will talk with her about putting protective watches in place around those who were close to Kaya in life.

Kean, Cieran: Logical, and smart. Williams and Vega are less of a concern to me than Anderson, the Citadel is probably that bitch's playground. Having the senior military adviser to the human councilor enthralled would be a massive boon for her, on top of the personal manipulation she could use him for against Shepard when she wakes up.

T'Soni, Liara: Agreed. About Jack, what do you intend to do with her?

Kean, Cieran: Nothing she doesn't approve of. I owe her, for Kirkwall and... after. We're going to put her up in a penthouse on Omega until she makes her own choice about what she wants to do. Give me a secure line she can contact you at, when she's ready.

T'Soni, Liara: Of course. About Commander Anders, how much did you interact with him during the situation?

Kean, Cieran: More than either of us was happy about. He looks forward to seeing me again so that he can kill me.

T'Soni, Liara: …I understand that I don't know you all that well, but is it safe to assume that you were less than polite?

Kean, Cieran: Probably, but I didn't really appreciate being called a war criminal. Repeatedly.

T'Soni, Liara: I see. I will be in touch with updates on our hunt for T'Ravt's agents, please do the same if you notice any further action.

Next up is Chapter 7: Politics

And Jack is back, and the Butcher and Cieran really don't get along, and everyone is starting to get concerned about what Matriarch T'Ravt is up to. The next chapter will feature a minor time skip of a couple of weeks, and will carry us to the first big meeting of the Warlords on Omega in response to the Leviathan/Reaper threat.

One more note, I'm trying to start a trend where I take the most interesting/conversation starting review and post it to the forums with a larger response than I usually give in chapter, so please feel free to head over and participate if you like. :)

Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."

P a treon Zach_K2V

Thanks, Kat

Review Responses:

MichaTheRehabLurker - They don't really like each other very much. Casually screwing with the other is pretty much going to be par for the course, especially after this.

BJ Hanssen - Oh I laughed pretty good at that review, considering the first half of this chapter was already done.

seabo76 - Glad to have you all caught up. :)