Stoking the Fire.
Saturday 4th June 2185.
With the Cerberus Yeoman now among her lovers, Cassie found a renewed energy towards her mission against the Collectors. And three days after seducing Miss Chambers, they finally reached Haestrom, and Cassie was eager to recruit her Quarian lover to her mission.
"Shepard, I must warn you to avoid prolonged exposure to Haestrom's sun," EDI warned.
"Thanks for the reminder," Cassie said as she approached the shuttle. "Miranda, Garrus, gear up!"
"Yes Commander!" The selected crewmembers said in unison.
'Hold on Tali, I'm coming for you,' Cassie thought, checking that her M-920 Cain was ready to be fired. 'Goddess protect me if I have to use this.'
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Their progress was quick and brutally efficient, gunning down most of the Geth before it could fire a shot at them, as clearly they had not anticipated outside help. But just as they reached the final courtyard, they were held back by a Geth Colossus, a squad of Geth, and an injured Quarian.
"Is he going to make it?" Cassie asked, pulling out her Cain much to Garrus' surprise.
"You're seriously going to use that?" he asked. "It's completely untested."
"We don't have the time to take that Colossus down any other way," Cassie said quickly. "Garrus, I want you back here keeping Reegar alive, pick off any Geth that come your way."
"What about me Commander?" Miranda asked, peering over. "We don't have long, there are several Geth incoming."
"Move up the left, I'll move up the right, with any luck the Colossus won't know where to shoot," Cassie said quickly, hearing her Cain powering up. "Remember to stay out of the sun!"
"Let me help you!" Reegar wheezed.
"Stay still, you're only going to get yourself killed like this," Cassie ordered. "When we've cleared the courtyard you can follow."
"Alright, just promise me you'll save her," he begged, clutching her arm.
"I will Reegar, you're not the only one who cares about Tali's safety," Cassie said, glancing at Garrus. "Move out!"
With that Miranda and Cassie moved in opposite directions, both firing their Locust sub-machine guns at the Geth between them and the Colossus. As the Colossus turned its attention to Miranda, Cassie knelt down and aimed her M-920 Cain, feeling it whirring louder and louder as its single charge prepared to fire.
"Shepard!" Miranda yelled, Cassie looked over and saw that her crewmate had been gut-shot by a Geth shotgun, the offending Geth had been immediately sniped by Garrus.
"Cover her!" Cassie yelled, before any further commands were drowned out by the loudest bang she'd heard since the Normandy exploded around her.
The force of the Cain firing propelled Cassie backwards into a metal crate, and before she could recover, the round hit the Colossus and detonated; the shockwave from that further pulverised her against the crate. Everything that wasn't nailed down was blasted away from the disintegrated Colossus; in its place was a small mushroom cloud, followed by a searing heatwave that radiated outward.
"Everyone okay?" Cassie groaned over the radio.
"No bones broken, and I think Reegar passed out from the shock," Garrus grunted, poking his head over the wall he and Reegar were hiding behind. "Miranda's bleeding, but I am not leaving Reegar now!"
"Moving! Take out the remaining Geth!" Cassie ordered, changing her radio channel to the one she'd been using to talk to Tali. "Tali, its all clear out here! Come out when you're done, I've got two injured people to take care of out here!"
"What was that bang?" Tali asked fearfully.
"An experimental weapon designed by Cerberus, I'll let you examine it later!" Cassie breathed as she reached Miranda, who was propped up against a wall, holding her bleeding stomach. "How bad is it?"
"I stopped the shotgun blast from ripping me in half with my biotics, but some buckshot still punctured me." She gasped. "But as your second-in-command, might I recommend you don't use that weapon again at such close range."
"Duly noted," she chuckled. "Shepard to Normandy Shuttle, we're in dire need of pick-up, Operative Lawson and a Quarian, Kal'Reegar, are injured, in need of serious medical attention."
"Understood Commander, we are inbound to your position now!" the shuttle pilot replied.
"I don't... I feel..." Miranda said slowly; clearly woozy from blood loss.
"Stay with me Miranda, the shuttle's on its way!" Cassie said quickly putting her hands on her crewmember's stomach, trying to stem the bleeding. "Embrace the goddess!" she whispered, knowing full well what it would do.
She immediately endured an onslaught of the pain Miranda was in, and felt a modicum of respect for the Cerberus agent for not screaming. She focused her mind on soothing Miranda's pain, while keeping her XO among the living.
"I'm ready to leave Cassie, I... Keelah!" Tali said quickly, having run to her lover, before realising the situation. "Is she okay?"
Tali knelt down and did her best to help Cassie.
"She took a shotgun blast to the stomach Tali, she's lucky to still be alive," Cassie said, ending the bonding to see Miranda lying unconscious before her. "She's passed out; I did what I could to make sure she didn't die."
"I know this is not the right time, but it's really good to see you again," Tali said quickly.
"Same here," Cassie smiled, as she saw the shuttle approaching over Tali's shoulder. "We can talk more in my personal quarters on the Normandy."
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Sunday 5th June 2185.
With Miranda and Kal'Reegar confined to the med-bay, Cassie charted the Normandy's next destination before reconnecting with Tali without getting intimate; Tali feared her immune system was in a weakened state following the stress of surviving a Geth ambush. Bizarrely they got from the Dholen system to the Athena Nebula within a day, though Cassie suspected her mother was helping where she could, especially as she knew one of her lovers awaited her on Ilium.
Cassie, Tali and Kasumi climbed the stairs to Liara's office on Ilium, and were immediately met by her receptionist.
"Ah Commander Shepard, Doctor T'soni has been eagerly expecting your arrival," the receptionist said happily. "If you would wait a moment, she is currently in the middle of an important..."
"Nyxeris, please send them in," Liara's voice said over the intercom.
Nyxeris bowed before returning to her desk, leaving Cassie to open the door and lead her crewmembers into her lover's office.
"Cassie!" Liara breathed, throwing herself into Cassie's arms, eagerly kissing her Spectre lover with as much passion as she could muster. "I'm so happy to see you again."
"So am I Liara, it's been far too long," Cassie whispered, planting a small kiss on Liara's neck, before they parted from the other's embrace.
"I presume this is one of your new crewmembers?" Liara purred as she laid eyes on Kasumi. "Tali... glad to see you're at Cassie's side again."
"I wouldn't be anywhere else," Tali said resolutely.
"Liara, this is Kasumi Goto, skilled hacker and thief extraordinaire," Cassie introduced the two women, who shared a brief hug, before Liara moved to hug and kiss Tali's visor. "Kasumi, this is Doctor Liara T'Soni, a very, very good friend of mine."
"Are you okay Cassie?" Liara said cautiously.
"Kasumi, could you do what you do best please," Cassie said as they sat around Liara's desk.
Kasumi gave her commander a bright smile, before getting to her feet and slowly moving around the room, her omni-tool glowing brightly every so often.
"Might I ask what you're doing?" Liara chuckled.
Kasumi only replied once she'd completed a lap of the room, and retaken her seat beside Cassie.
"All clear Cass," she reported happily, before Cassie thanked her favourite thief with a kiss on the cheek.
"She just took out..." Cassie explained, pausing to let Kasumi give the exact number.
"Twelve,"
"… Twelve bugs in your office, and if you want us to truly have privacy, might I suggest dimming the windows and locking the door," Cassie continued, Liara tapped a few buttons on her terminal, before the door locked and the windows became darker. "Thank you Liara, as I said it's very good to see you again, I really missed you."
"And I missed you too, I hoped that those despicable people would at least deliver on their promise to bring you back, and I'd say my prayers were answered." Liara beamed.
"You have no idea how appropriate that statement was," Cassie chuckled.
Liara raised an eyebrow.
"Mind telling me what you're dancing around please," Liara asked.
"When I died, I learnt who my Asari mother is, and well... she was as unique as me." Cassie replied. "She said that my lovers were continuing my legacy, and that I'd have a family once I returned to this world."
"How?" Liara stammered.
"Karin told me," Cassie smiled. "I'm very happy that we're a family now."
"So am I," Liara smiled, before regaining her calm, measured demeanour. "I presume you're not just here for a social call, you and your Cerberus associates have business with me, correct?"
"You're certainly well informed," Cassie smirked, as they all took a seat in front of Liara's desk, with their host sitting behind it.
"I'm an information broker Cassie, I wouldn't be very good at my job if I couldn't keep track of my... my beloved." Liara smiled, hesitating before saying who Cassie was to her.
It had been a long time since she'd thought of Cassie as her love, and not her dearly departed.
"I love you too Liara; and you are correct about my secondary reason for being here," Cassie beamed. "I'm looking for two unique individuals, a Drell assassin and an Asari Justicar, both of whom were last reported on Ilium."
"The Drell was on my watch list as well, he was last seen by my agents speaking to a woman named Seryna," Liara said, scrolling through several documents on her computer. "You can find her here on the cargo transfer level."
"And the Justicar?" Cassie inquired.
"One at a time my love, why would I give you everything and deny you more opportunities to see me," Liara smiled.
"If you're not going to play all your cards, then I'll hold back my ace," Cassie replied. "We'll go recruit Thane now, but when I return you better tell me where I can find the Justicar, Liara. The sooner I defeat the Collectors, the sooner I can return to the Alliance, and maybe spend quality time with my family, and lovers."
"I'd love that," Liara breathed, tears welling in her eyes before she wiped them away. "I shall wait with baited breath until that day, but for now the information on the Drell will be enough for you."
"Alrighty then," Cassie smiled, gesturing for Kasumi and Tali to move towards the door. "But one more thing," she moved around the desk and pulled Liara into a strong one-armed hug, the other massaging Liara's right breast. "Just remember that your new position won't stop me from bending you over your desk if the mood takes me."
She heard Liara let out a ragged breath, and felt her shudder slightly, before she released her Asari lover and moved towards the door, seeing it unlock as she approached.
"Oh, and I wouldn't tell your assistant about the bugs," Kasumi added before she left the room.
They walked down the stairs in silence, not wanting anyone else to know what was really going on between some of the female Normandy crew, but when Cassie went to load up the dossier on her omni-tool, she bumped into another old friend getting up from their table.
"Oh! Commander Shepard?"
"Gianna Parasini, it's been a while," Cassie smiled once she recognised the woman.
"Is there somewhere we can talk privately?" Gianna asked in a hushed tone.
"Follow me," Cassie sighed, suspecting that Gianna would want to speak to her.
They walked back to where the Normandy was docked, finding the area completely empty, and Cassie immediately asked Tali and Kasumi to keep an eye out.
"So how you been?" Cassie asked when she was certain they were alone.
"That's your first question, 'how you been'? Seriously?" Gianna exclaimed. "You suddenly reappear in my life after I thought you were dead, and the first thing you ask when we're alone is 'how you been?'"
"I'm sorry Gianna, I wasn't sure what else to say," Cassie sighed. "Are you okay? What happened to make you so upset?"
"You..." Gianna hesitated, and Cassie's heart sank slightly when she suspected what she was about to say. "You impregnated me."
"Wait... you two slept together?" Tali exclaimed as she re-joined the conversation.
"Not exactly slept, but we had sex," Cassie said quickly.
"Yes, sex without protection, and despite being on the rag, I found out I was pregnant shortly after you died," Gianna fumed.
"Why are you mad?"
"I'm not angry; I'm emotionally in turmoil over it!" Gianna exclaimed, and Kasumi used her omni-tool to seal off the gantry they were on so no one interrupted them. "I was overjoyed when I learnt I was pregnant, upset and angry when you died because I thought I'd be a single working mother, stressed from doing my job while pregnant, and... I'm distraught from the miscarriage."
"Oh Gianna I'm so sorry," Cassie breathed, holding her arms out to hug her, and Gianna welcomed it.
"Thank you Shepard, part of me was happy to hear you were alive, and I hoped we'd bump into each other again," Gianna said quickly, hugging Cassie tightly as if she didn't want Cassie to go.
"Were you hoping for a repeat performance?" Kasumi smiled.
"No, I just wanted to get everything off my chest, I never told anyone who the 'father' was," Gianna said taking a step back. "And that if you ever settle down with your little harem, please consider inviting me to join you, I had the best sex of my life with you, and I can't get you out of my head."
"There's another reason for that..." Kasumi began, but Tali silenced her.
"But I think you love her because you had a child, even if it miscarried," Tali interrupted.
"I won't forget you Gianna, and maybe after all this insanity is over, I will settle down with ALL my lovers, including you." Cassie said, realising they had an assassin to hunt down. "Here's my extranet contact information, I hope we can at least stay in touch."
"I hope so too, and I wish you luck with the Reapers," Gianna smiled, giving Cassie a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, before walking back towards the market.
"Alright ladies, let's go hunt down an assassin," Cassie said enthusiastically, leading them in the same direction as Gianna.