Crossing Rough

From Pablo Neruda's Entrance of the Rivers

Beloved …
azure …
goddess …
awakening …
to be tattoed …

You are made of wellsprings…
crossing rough, dilated …
all ...

Aethyta pushed the asari in front of her, taking her by surprise and knocking her off balance, so that she caught herself on a nearby table. Before the beautiful asari could get back up, Aethya slid a hand down her back to her neck, forcing her to stay bent over the table. "I can show you something else I'm passionate about." They were near the center of a large banquet hall whose circular tables glistened with plate settings and full water glasses on white tablecloths, and whose mirrored walls created the illusion that the vases and vases of flowers stretched on and on unendingly."You've been on my mind since we last met, and I think our business together has just begun."

Aethyta's assistant knocked on the door, then entered. "Afendra, please pardon my interruption. There's an investor here who's asked to meet with you."

"Too bad," Aethyta didn't look up, continuing her work on the amp design she was drafting, her back to the door. "I'm busy. Let the board handle it." The challenge of boosting power without creating more heat absorbed her as she sat at the holographic drafting table in her large glass office. Turian physiology was not as robust as krogan, and it wouldn't do to roast brains.

The assistant stood her ground, datapad in hand. "She's already met the board, and she insists."

"Well la-di-fricking-dah, schedule her for another time. I've almost figured this out!" Just a few more tweaks…

"It's a rather large investment." The assistant's voice grated on her nerves, interfering with her concentration.

"I don't care! Go away!" Aethyta turned and threw the misfiring prototype at her assistant, who nimbly dodged it, revealing an asari standing in the doorway behind her. Aethyta stopped short at the sight. The newcomer was tall and teal-skinned, with a glint of mischief in her deep blue eyes, a stunning yellow dress, and an absolutely amazing….

"It would practically make us business partners." The beautiful asari smiled, unperturbed. "So perhaps you can understand why I must speak with you to be sure this is a wise decision."

"You!" Project forgotten, Aethyta stood.

"May I present…" Her assistant started.

"I know who she is." Aethyta waved her assistant's attempt aside. "Set up lunch for us in one of the private rooms."

"Ahem," the assistant coughed softly. "She has a bit of a … retinue."

"Put them someplace else." Aethyta strode toward her visitor.

"Let me up." Her captive had braced herself on the table, hands on either side of her face. She pushed against Aethyta's grip.

Aethyta strengthened her hold on her captive's neck, "Can you handle surprises?" Her other hand gathered the asari's skirts at the back and pulled them up above her waist. "Business ventures involve risk, going outside one's comfort zone." Her exploring hand slid over her captive's exposed buttocks as Aethyta stepped closer, pressing lightly against her captive. "Being open to new possibilities." Her fingers followed firm contours to where they met and traced that silk-clad crevice while her captive squirmed at her touch.

"Would you like a private tour?" Aethyta held out an arm. "I'm quite proud of my company."

Benezia took the offered arm. "I didn't know you were an engineer, as well as the founder."

"I like the problem-solving part of the process. I let real techies handle the rest." Aethyta led Benezia down a long glass and tile hall toward the elevator to the labs, suppressing an eye roll at the group of asari following them. "Thanks to your speech, and the legislation that passed, we are now in a position to expand substantially. It's a good time to invest." They passed where Binary Helix and the company's delicate twisting lattice logo had been acid etched into the glass. "What do you know about what we do?"

"This is marvelous." Benezia looked around admiringly as they walked. The offices had been built in a park and all the walls were one-way mirrored glass that gave occupants the illusion of working in a garden or forest, depending on which part of the building they were in but didn't allow those outside to see in. Aethyta's office had perched over the side of a lake, and the hallway had woods surrounding it. "I only know what's available to the public and from background checks. Your firm performs cutting-edge biotechnology research and manufactures bioamps and omnitools. They outsell and often outperform your competitors'. You have a reputation for being reliable, resourceful, shrewd and fair." Benezia's scent, a spice Aethyta couldn't identify, wafted over Aethyta as they walked, the smell stirring powerful sense memories. "The range of species you create bioamps for particularly caught my attention."

With a groan, Aethyta stopped and faced her, Benezia's arm sliding off hers as she did. "Don't tell me you're one of the 'biotics are only for asari' crowd."

Benezia tilted her head to the side. "After the same speech about how every species deserves the right to learn how to harness biotics for their betterment." She touched Aethyta's arm and asked lightly, "Weren't you there?"

Aethyta remembered only the start of what Benezia had said that day. There had been so many speeches, but so few tits like hers.

"Aethyta." Benezia's voice softly drew Aethyta's attention back to what Benezia had been saying.

Because the room seemed to spin a little when Benezia so breathily spoke her name, Aethyta responded roughly by way of overcompensation. "I never know how much stock to place in the words of politicians." Aethyta shrugged and resumed leading Benezia down the hall.

Benezia's face flushed. "I can't talk business like this." Aethyta wondered if it was because the position Benezia found herself in was uncomfortable, undignified, or undeniably arousing.

"Talking is overrated." Aethyta's fingernails lightly raked Benezia from where the swell and curve of her buttocks began up to the sensitive area at their top, Benezia's warm, soft skin quivering then jerking under her touch. "It's actions that matter." Aethyta traced circles and figure eights over the most responsive areas.

"Aethyta," Benezia struggled to regain her composure. "Your company is doing what I think the whole industry should, and I want to support principled growth in this sector. I came to see if we could do business, after what happened between us. Can you manage a professional relationship with me?"

"Your company's intergalactic marketing philosophy is a big part of its appeal. Your competitors think more narrowly." Benezia's blue eyes met Aethyta's brown ones in a sidelong, appraising glance. "Speaking of which, maybe it's you who should be vetting me, if you think so little of politicians." They had reached the elevator and stepped on, turning together to face the door again as the others filed in to stand behind them.

"Oh, I plan to," Aethyta assured her. "I don't get in bed with just anybody." She swiped her id bracelet over the sensor and pressed the button for the labs.

The elevator doors closed. Benezia smiled. "You mean your company doesn't."

The bell dinged to let them know they'd reached the subterranean network of labs. Aethyta held up a hand. "For proprietary reasons, I can only take you to see the work on this floor. The others will have to stay. I'm sure you understand."

Benezia nodded. "I understand."

"Just you." Aethyta stepped off the elevator and waited.

With a look, Benezia silenced the protests of most of her bodyguards, attendants and assistants. "Wait for me upstairs. I'll be fine."

When the rest had fallen silent, one lifted her head, her eyes shining. "I won't leave you."

"Shiala…." Benezia reproved softly.

"I swear by Athame not to reveal anything I see during this visit." The asari did not break eye contact with Benezia.

After a long moment, Benezia bowed her head, and turned back to Aethyta.

"After what happened?" Aethyta found it hard to hold back as she caressed Benezia's backside now avoiding where the silk concealed so little. She wanted to savor this. It had been over too quickly last time, and she hadn't been able to stop thinking about Benezia since.

Benezia ceased struggling and summoning her biotics. The purple glow around her faded. "You know."

"Can't you say it?" Goddess, her ass was magnificent. Aethyta licked her lips. She wanted to bite it, slap it, squeeze it. Her eyes darkened with the thought. The anticipation was delicious.

"After we were intimate." Benezia squirmed again. "Let me up."

Aethyta scowled. "Fine."

The two stepped off the elevator and joined her.

Heading to the left, Aethyta did not offer Benezia her arm again. "Our portfolio of biotechnology is fairly well known, but some lines are more exclusive than others." On their right, glass windows punctuated the stainless steel walls, etched with the words WEAPONS DIVISION. Through the windows, long tables laden with equipment could be seen in the left part of the room, sectioned off by a metal half-wall. The inside of the lab flashed as a red-armored turian, krogan and batarian wired into computer ports on the far wall threw biotic attacks at one another as they maneuvered in and out of cover in the larger area. Black rubber padded the floor and multiple sensors could be seen recording energy usage and impacts. Yellow and black-checkered cautionary signs on the doors read TESTS IN PROGRESS and a flashing red light warned that no entry was allowed.

Feeling piqued, Aethyta looked back at her two guests, the one elegant, proud and incredibly attractive, the other, an obstacle. A not entirely friendly grin crinkled the corner of her eyes and lips as she swiped her bracelet at the door. They didn't trust her or think she could keep them safe? That's how that was? Fine. Loud buzzers sounded as the red light flashed yellow and the doors opened. Shiala's shoulders stiffened. Benezia followed Aethyta without hesitation, Shiala staying close.

The batarian looked behind him at the buzzer, only to be thrown through a pile of plasticrete cases and against a side wall a moment later by the turian.

"Rookie move, Stricc," the turian gloated.

The krogan neither lowered his guard nor took his eyes off the other two. "Hey, Aethyta. You here to play? There's a Z23 on the back table we haven't tried out yet."

"I've brought an investor," Aethyta swiped an amp from the table and threw it at Benezia, "who wants to know how we do things."

Benezia caught it and turned it over in her hands. Shiala clenched her fists.

The batarian got to his feet, eyeing Benezia and Shiala. "Are you sure? She looks too fancy to be down here. She's even got a bodyguard."

"You mean after I fucked you senseless in a bathroom stall, and you liked it so much you came looking for me, talking about partnership." Aethyta laughed.

"Do you have to … Oh!" Benezia jerked as Aethyta's fingers brushed her sex through the silk, then slowly pushed the silk aside and grazed it.

"Do you know what you really want from me?" Aethyta's smile was wolfish as she continued her ... ministrations, but her captive couldn't turn her head enough to see it. Aethyta's voice deepened. "We can't be partners if you can't be honest. I want you to say it."

Benezia twitched and trembled, her cheeks purple. "I ... It's…."

"Partnership requires trust." Aethyta smacked Benezia's left cheek and enjoyed watching her jump at the unexpected contact. "This is not just about business for you. Admit it!" When Benezia remained silent, Aethyta released her and stepped away.

Benezia met Aethyta's amused glance. "I think you'll find I'm not just another pretty face."

Aethyta's grin broadened as Shiala frowned. "Then you'll want to …" She reached over to show Benezia how to put on the amp, set up for external wear around the neck on a thin metal harness.

Before she could, Benezia wrapped it around her neck. "I'm familiar with the concept."

"Your funeral." The krogan shrugged and the three shifted positions as Benezia stepped through the divider.

Benezia walked to the middle of the testing area and turned and made eye contact with Aethyta.

Aethyta frowned. "Are you familiar with the concept of cover? These guys are good. You're going to get creamed." Before she could finish, five flashes lit the room so brightly that for a minute, it blinded everyone. Hanar balls, that had been a stupid thing to do. If Benezia was hurt….

When her vision had cleared, Aethyta could see big red lights strobing around the room, the air full of dust, and Benezia still standing where she had been, a shield shimmering around her. Relief flooded Aethyta. She had meant to do that herself, put up a shield around Benezia, but it had all happened too fast. Looking over at Shiala, whose extended arm glowed, Aethyta let out the breath she'd been holding. She was glad Shiala had been there, and blinked at her apologetically.

The shield fizzled and dropped as Benezia walked toward them, taking the amp off as she did and placing it in Aethyta's hand when she got close enough. "Interesting device."

"How would you know, you didn't even …. Ow!" Aethyta juggled the amp to keep it from burning her hands and dropped it back on the table. Bending down she could see it had been fried. The center had a black corona around it.

"I hope you make them more robust," Benezia said softly, "before you release them on the market."

"Well I'll be a dress-wearing elcor…." Aethyta mumbled as she noticed her testers sprawled in various corners of the room among the knocked over plasticrete cases. Not a single bit of cover remained. She pressed a button on the wall and spoke into the mic there. "Green team to lab 3. We need medical assistance and cleanup." The sensors whirred away, their needles spiking and their screens scrolling rapidly. A glance at the data made Aethyta whistle. She gave Benezia a genuine smile and gestured for her and Shiala to precede her through the doorway. "There's a lot more down here. Was there anything in particular that you wanted to see?"

Benezia didn't move. "Aethyta…"

Aethyta crossed her arms and waited.

Benezia looked back over her shoulder at her, eyes pitch black. "Shut up and fuck me."

With a grin, Aethyta stepped forward, pushed Benezia's head back down, skimmed her fingers over and down past the thin strip of silk and pushed inside her.

Benezia gently took her arm. "I'd like to see the things you work on. The things that matter to you. The things you are passionate about."

The two exchanged a long glance. Aethyta fought the desire to push her against the wall then and there, Shiala or no. Time to speed up the tour so that they could get to their private lunch. "I'm most excited about our future." She led them down the hallway and around a couple of turns before she slowed. On the left, through the windows, white-coated asari and salarians could be seen peering into different sized scopes and using centrifuges to mix vials. "Our logical next step is into genetic engineering." Her eyes shone. "We have already begun to acquire assets and to achieve results in our efforts to build super soldiers and fight disease. This lab has begun work on a project I value above all the rest." The stenciling on the glass read PATHOGEN R&D. "I give you the lab that will cure the genophage!"

Benezia's mouth opened in a surprised "oh."

Benezia's head arched back, her mouth opened and her shoulder blades pulled back, as Aethyta thrust into her. The angle heightened her pleasure, Aethyta knew.

Aethyta grunted as Benezia clenched around her. Yes, this was what she hadn't been able to forget, the grip of that mind, the kaleidoscope of thoughts and emotions and the stunning, compelling depth. Aethyta wanted to push deeper, but instead she slowly pulled back.

Benezia tried to follow.

Aethyta wouldn't let her. She slid almost out slowly, feeling Benezia ache then thrust again deeper, filling her before the frustration became too much. She could feel Benezia's arousal, her receptivity, her … ripeness. The tug as their wills clashed and interpenetrated intoxicated her. "Yes," she whispered before she pulled back again. This time, she spread her fingers as she did.

Benezia arched back more against Aethyta and moaned.

Aethyta grinned at the reaction. "We're in the earliest stages, but this is the project I'm most passionate about."

"You…. How…." Benezia looked between Aethyta and the lab, at an uncharacteristic loss for words. "Is it even possible?"

"Our people and the krogan are the longest lived. What's a long lifespan for if not to make a difference that really counts?" Aethyta looked earnestly into Benezia's blue eyes. "What do you think?" It surprised Aethyta that suddenly she really, really cared.

"The implications are … staggering. I can't wrap my mind around it." Benezia admitted, shaking her head. "The krogan…" She stepped forward and touched the window of the lab. "…back in full force. It would change everything."

"Yeah," Aethyta chortled. "It might even knock the matriarchs off their smug superiority complexes!"

Benezia looked askance at Aethyta. "Yes, but why? Why is that important to you?"

"My father was a krogan." Aethyta lifted her head proudly. "He fought the rachni and survived the Rebellions."

The look in Benezia's eyes softened. "Was?"

"Yeah." Aethyta shrugged. "When I was 100, my parents decided to re-enact the Rebellions, and that was the end of that."

"Your mother killed him?" Benezia frowned.

"Neither of them survived." Aethyta shook her head. "Neither of them did anything half way. The stories I could tell about them could make a hetera blush."

Benezia raised one of her eye markings.

"I'll tell you about it over lunch." Aethyta gestured for Benezia to turn and walk back the way they had come. "It wouldn't do to let you leave hungry." She sent a sidelong glance at Benezia and thought she saw a slight smile curl the corner of her mouth.

The moan inflamed Aethyta. She wanted to hear all the sounds Benezia could make in the throes of passion. She began a slow, steady fuck, plunging in and pulling out, Benezia's body undulating to receive her. Letting go of Benezia's neck, she stroked Benezia's back, feeling her muscles flex, arching whenever she entered her.

As Aethyta thrust, and thrust, and thrust inside her, swaying her into the table, rattling cups and clattering silver, Benezia braced herself on her forearms. When Aethyta added her whole weight, covering her body, Benezia couldn't keep soft sounds, like the cooing of peristerah, from escaping every time Aethyta filled her. Aethyta slid deeper, deeper, deep, deep, pushing and stretching and pressing and surging and more and more and more.

Aethyta reveled in Benezia's body bucking beneath her, her sparking mind, the way she slid into her silken swelling, the sight of her tits taut against the tabletop. She thrust harder now, harder now, faster, faster, now, riding dizzyingly sweet sensations.

When Aethyta released Benezia's neck to grab her tits, Benezia tried to push up from the table. To stop her, Aethyta kneed her legs farther apart with her own, increasing her force and rhythm, banging Benezia's hips with her own, keeping her off balance. She wanted more, more, to take her, completely. She wrapped her arm around Benezia's tits and pulled her torso back against her. She slid in and in and in to wet heat, jumbled thoughts, jags of emotions. Benezia's vibrant will clenched around her and collided with hers as she surged deeper, swelled deeper, throbbing and stroking and aching and yes, yes! She matched her rhythm, yes! Plates, glasses and silverware jumped and bumped and thumped on the table, closer and closer and closer to its edge.

Moaning, Aethyta grunting, whimpering, Aethyta's "yes!" Again and again, Aethyta overwhelmed her with sensations so intense she could no longer control her body or biotics. She was, she was, she was…. Her palms stretched against the tabletop and slipped as the tablecloth rumpled and slid beneath her. "Unh … unh … ooh … oh ... I can't…."

"YES!" Aethyta moaned, frenzied, her hips slamming Benezia's as her fingers pumped inside her. "YES!" There was no stopping now. Her skin glowed, every sensation magnified many times until everything that separated them blurred. Benezia was hers, hers, hers, her. She was drunk with passion, her body on fire, she was, she was, oh, Goddess, she was!

Glasses tipped, water spilled, plates crashed to the floor. Their heads arched back, Benezia's legs lifting on either side of Aethyta, their backs and necks going rigid, Aethyta still pumping, as from deep inside they released a loud, long, "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The exhalation did not stop until they had finally subsided several minutes later, Benezia on the now-cleared table, Aethyta on the now-collapsed Benezia.

"Why so quiet?" Aethyta gently took Benezia's arm again as they walked back the way they'd come. Their footfalls echoed down the hallways.

Benezia shook her head as if to shake off her reverie. "You've given me much to think about." Her hand was light and warm on Aethyta's arm.

"Are you reconsidering your desire to invest because of the genophage cure research?" A tinge of concern crept into Aethyta's voice. "It won't be popular with everyone."

"No, although I do want to think more about the ramifications if you succeed. It's no small thing, either the vision or the endeavor. I can understand why you'd want to do it, given your heritage." Benezia did indeed look thoughtful.

"Your father wasn't a rachni or anything like that?" Aethyta tried to make light of her own unexpected discomfort. "Was she?"

Benezia made a face. "Very funny…."

"I want to know more about you." Aethyta realized this was true.

"I don't have stories like yours." Benezia's expression seemed a little sad. "I never knew my parents. My mother died when I was born, and I grew up in a group home until I was old enough to inherit."

"Really? I had imagined something very different." They had reached the elevator again, and Aethyta swiped her id bracelet and pressed the button to summon it.

Benezia looked over at her and smiled. "Most people do."

Their minds whirled in the ebb and flow of raw sensation, erratic sharp pulses of pleasure sending bursts of bright aching from their centers to the soles of their feet and the tips of their crests. They stayed in one another, twitching and tingling. As the sweat on their bodies cooled, Aethyta rasped hoarsely, "… Imagine … what we could do … on a bed…."

Benezia took a long time to answer. "Bed ... was ... business talk." Her voice sounded breathy, soft and deep.

Aethyta kissed Benezia's neck then slowly lifted her weight off her. Her legs felt loose as she tried to stand, and she had to prop herself against the table to remain upright. "Bed ... could be the best part... " Her hands stroked the curves of Benezia's exposed ass before she reluctantly pulled her skirt down again. "...of our business. Come on, let's move somewhere more comfortable." Her legs seemed to lack bone and muscle, but that was probably confusion from the prolonged partial joining. She'd help Benezia sit before she fell.

"I'm ... fine ... here," Benezia protested weakly. Without Aethyta on top of her, however, the weight of her legs hanging off the table dragged her torso toward its edge. "I don't … think I can … move." She rolled on her side to keep from sliding off the table.

"You can." Aethyta took and wrapped one of Benezia's arms around her shoulders. "There are some soft cushy benches right over …. Oup!"

The two tumbled to the carpet, laughing. "I told you," Benezia said faintly and smugly, her darkened eyes heavy-lidded, her hand against Aethyta's chest. "You should … listen to me."

They lay for a while side-by-side on the floor, catching their breaths and eddying in the afterglow together. Propping herself up on an elbow with a hand under her head, Aethyta used the fingertips of her free hand to explore and lightly trace the curves of Benezia's cheeks and lips, memorizing them.

Benezia's head lolled as she drifted. "'Thyta?"

"Yes?" Aethyta smiled.

"My head aches," Benezia admitted.

Aethyta frowned. With effort, she could sense the pain, but only slightly. "Did you hit it when we fell?" With one hand, she gently stroked Benezia's crests.

"I don't think so." Benezia's head wobbled as she shook it, still not able to keep her eyes open for long yet. "Our connection, I'm sorry. I have to ... I can't maintain it any longer."

"Yeah, okay." Aethyta reluctantly withdrew from Benezia's mind and waited, but nothing changed. She could still feel Benezia, ghost-like, around her.

"I can't." Benezia's eyes, still black, opened. "It hurts!" Panic tinged her voice. "Something's wrong!"

Aethyta didn't answer. She ushered the other two aboard and pressed the button for the seventh floor. When they stepped off, Aethyta's assistant and the rest of Benezia's retinue were waiting, the latter with concerned expressions.

"As I said, the alarm was nothing to worry about." The assistant reassured one of the asari and then glanced over her shoulder and gave Aethyta a look before continuing to address the small group. "If you'll come with me, your lunch has been set up in the Armali dining hall. They'll be right next door."

Benezia turned to her companion. "Shiala, please join them and reassure them that I'm in perfect health."

Shiala hesitated, then bowed and walked swiftly after the others.

Aethyta's omni flashed, and her assistant's voice came over the speaker. "Your meal has been set up in meeting room D, Afrenda."

"Thank you." Aethyta turned her omni off and gestured for Benezia to follow her in the opposite direction. "Come on, I'll take you the back way, through the ballroom. It's set up for a banquet we're having later." She led Benezia through a door into a large industrial catering kitchen, through the kitchen and into the ballroom itself, where everything had already been set up.

"Just relax. We'll figure this out." Aethyta sat up next to Benezia, concern coloring her consciousness.

Benezia clutched her arm. "I need you inside me." She hunched her shoulders and grimaced in pain, holding her breath.

"If I had an amp for every time I'd heard that..." Aethyta teased and stroked Benezia's cheek.

Benezia writhed with discomfort.

"Don't panic. Keep breathing." Aethyta eased deep into Benezia's dilated mind again. She shared Benezia's pain and fear, her sense of being stuck, and steadied her with presence and reassurance. "It's going to be fine."

The corona of pain in Benezia's head lessened with Aethyta's presence, and Benezia's breathing and shoulders became more relaxed as her panic faded. "Thank you." Her grip lessened on Aethyta's arm.

They needed help, fast. Aethyta looked around. The table, with its cloth and dishes scattered on the carpet and water dripping from it told too clear a story. Whomever's help they sought, when they found out the nature of the problem, would know what they had been doing, but some discretion seemed appropriate. Aethyta frowned at this prompting. She didn't give a varren's ass about circumspection. It must be coming from Benezia, but she nodded, understanding. She released a biotic pulse that pushed over the surrounding ring of tables. There was still time for her people to clean it all up before the evening's event, and even they wouldn't think she could have fucked anyone across eight tables. A twinge pulled her back to Benezia.

"One table was more than I could handle." Benezia placed her hands on either side of her head as if she was holding it together. "Aethyta!"

Sitting back down, Aethyta took one of Benezia's hands and held it. "I'll get us help."

Benezia closed her eyes. "Shiala will know what to do."

Aethyta could feel Benezia's pain intensifying, tightening through her temples. As Benezia focused on her breathing and on calming herself, Aethyta turned her omni back on, and called her assistant. She requested that Shiala be brought, discreetly, to the banquet hall. Signing off, she squeezed Benezia's hand. "It's going to be okay. Don't worry. Help is on the way. Do you want me to try to figure out…."

"No!" Anxiety flared in Benezia at the question, and her reply came instantaneously with an instinctive attempt to sever their connection. She pulled her hand away to clutch at her head with both hands again. "Aah!"

Aethyta grimaced at the slamming of barriers into their bond and as pain stabbed her head too, blindingly intense. She sucked in a breath. "Okay, okay, I won't." She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "I wouldn't without your permission." All the reassurance she could muster, she sent to her.

"Where is she?" Shiala's voice snapped Aethyta's eyes open, and she looked behind her to see her assistant ushering Shiala into the hall, and Shiala running for the downed tables and the prone Benezia. Shiala took one look at Benezia twisting her head back and forth on the floor, and started to glow. "What have you done to her?!"

Aethyta's assistant gaped at the scene.

"Don't just stand there," Aethyta ordered her assistant. "We need a car to pick us up at one of the service entrances. Now! We need to get her to the hospital, quietly."

Her assistant closed her mouth, nodded curtly, and turned away, typing busily on her omnitool.

Shiala knelt beside Benezia, restraining her as gently as possible. "She has to go to the Temple."

"Don't touch her!" Aethyta frowned at Shiala, slapping her hands away. "Have you been sniffing Vorcha droppings? She needs a doctor, not a priest!"

Shiala refused to look at Aethyta. "No, you festering and ignorant pustule," she growled, her biotics glowing even brighter. "We need to get her to the Temple because she's a priest, and you will answer for putting her in danger."

"She's a what?!" Aethyta recoiled back on her heels, eyes wide. "I what!?"

On the ground between them, Benezia moaned softly.