First of all I just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you for all the awesome reviews! I really have no words for how much they really motivate me. Second of all, enjoy the chapter. It's slightly smaller but the next is already in the works!
Saren sat alone in the gloom of the ship, turning the small metal tag between the pads of his fingers. The metal shone brightly each time he turned it, reflecting off of the few light sources that adorned Sovereign's interior. Each time it caught the light, he could make out the name that had been etched into its flat surface. Shepard. Sometimes when he thought about the human who owned that name, he felt free; free from Sovereign's voice and influence.
"I'm not sure why you obsess over the human," a deep feminine voice came from the darkness. "Commander Shepard is a threat to your cause. She hunts you down to kill you, yet you brood over her, hoping that she'll soon catch up to you." Benezia emerged from the shadows behind him. She moved in close, her hand floating down to lightly caress from his fringe to his mandible. "The human is of no use to you," she said softly.
This woman's interruption and unwanted closeness caused rage to well up inside him. She was a pawn to his plan. That she had the audacity to presume anything more was infuriating. He grabbed her arm in his claws; giving no care as to if he drew blood from her flesh. He pulled her down to face him, and she smiled, her eyes filled with unfulfilled desire. She was captivated by him, that much was obvious. However, he wanted nothing from her except her raw biotic power and influence as a Matriarch. He also wanted the knowledge her daughter possessed of the Protheans, but she was now in the hands of Shepard.
"I have no need for your advice, asari," he snarled. "You just do your job, and maybe I can convince Sovereign to make a place for you when this is over." He released the hold on her arm, pushing her backward forcefully. Scowling, she stormed from the room, leaving Saren to his own thoughts once again.
Turning the piece of metal between his fingers once more, his whispered voice echoed softly in the vast dimness of the room. "Shepard…"
Shepard shot a right hook at her assailant but his biotic barrier had absorbed the damage. He backed away, but she persisted, coming at him with consistent blows to whittle down the barrier. Hitting her with a Push, he knocked her back but she remained on her feet. "Come on Kaidan, I know your biotics are stronger than that."
Indeed they were, but he couldn't help but hold back despite her instructing him not to. He couldn't bring himself to hit her with any full-force biotics, even if she kicked his ass for it, which he knew she would. She wasn't at her full potential as her foot was still a bit injured from the mission on Therum; however, she was still not to be taken lightly.
She charged at him, throwing another punch that finally broke through his biotic barrier, however, he had managed to block it with his forearm. She shot him a challenging smile. "Your hand-to-hand has improved."
"I learned from the best," he stated with a smirk. However, his expression suddenly changed to shock when he felt a strong blow to his face and, almost simultaneously, his feet kicked out from under him, causing him to land on his back. As his vision attempted to correct itself, he could feel a pressure on his chest and two slender but strong hands gripping his arms to pin them above his head. When the grey haze finally dissipated he could see an amused Shepard staring down at him. She was straddling him high on his chest with his arms immobilized; a perfect pinning move. "Looks like you need more training, Lieutenant," she teased.
He glanced down at her positioning on his chest, her strong lean legs restricting him from any upper body movement. He could glimpse her breasts rise and fall with each breath, perfectly outlined by her fitted tank top. The way she had him restrained caused his mind to swim with stimulating thoughts. "If you don't get off of me, I may need more than just training, Commander," he said huskily. His words seemed to take Shepard off guard, because her pale green eyes widened as she considered him.
She couldn't help but chuckle at this rather uncharacteristic declaration. Kaidan was the least of all people she had ever expected to make such a teasing statement. She released his arms and raised herself up to her feet. Extending her arm down to him, she helped him up as well. "Seems like a cold shower is in order, Lieutenant," she said, more for herself as she was now a bit flustered.
"Hey Shepard! How about you spar the turian?" Wrex called out to her. Turing to Garrus who was at his usual post at the mako, the krogan shouted. "Hey Garrus! Shepard needs a sparring partner!"
"Wrex…" Shepard warned with a glare. She knew what the krogan was up to and she didn't approve.
Garrus stepped up to the makeshift sparring ring, his expression inquisitive. Over the past few weeks Shepard had been trickling small amounts of strength equipment into this area, much to the dissatisfaction of the Requisitions Officer. In response to this, the rest of the crew had been gathering bits and pieces of gym equipment, one of which, had been the infamous sparring mat. Shepard regularly encouraged her team to make use of it, to keep their skills sharp. As her leg began to heal, she had been finding herself down here more often, to engage in training and sparring sessions. It had been a great motivator for the rest of the team.
Garrus gave Shepard a questioning look. "You challenging me, Shepard?"
Shepard crossed her arms over her chest, and considered him with an unreadable expression. "I suppose I'm up for kicking some turian ass," she said with a friendly smirk.
"Well… I don't know about that," Garrus replied in a suave tone. Already she and Garrus were becoming good friends, often getting their kicks off of teasing one another. It seemed to be becoming their favorite pastime as of late.
Garrus stepped onto the mat and Kaidan took this as his queue to find his way off, which he reluctantly did. Moving to the sidelines, he was soon joined by an interested Ashley, and soon Wrex, who decided to move in closer for a better view of the event.
"I won't take it easy on you, Shepard," Garrus told her. He had no intention of letting her win. To do so would be an insult to her skills. She was strong and an impressive fighter. He respected her too much to not give her a real challenge.
"Good," she said with an imposing grin. She hunched down before him, her stance predatory, like that of a wild creature. Her eyes were filled with anticipation and determination, regarding him much like a potential tasty meal.
They began to circle one another, each one waiting for an opening. Without warning, she lunged forth, rushing past him so she could come around from behind. Agile, like a wild cat, she leapt onto his back. Wrapping her arms around his throat in a choke hold, she encircled his waist with her legs. The sensation around his waist caught him by surprise and, for a brief moment, he questioned if he should fight back. The smooth skin on her legs brushed against the sensitive area, sending shockwaves through his body, and he wondered if she was familiar with this part of turian anatomy enough to use it to her advantage.
She leaned in close to whisper in his ear tauntingly, "What's wrong Vakarian? Did I touch a sweet spot?"
At that moment, he realized she knew perfectly well. He clenched his teeth, forcing his mind back to the fight at hand. Gripping her arms, he managed to pry them free of his neck. He hunched down slightly and pulled her arms forward, flipping her down onto the mat on her back. He could hear a burst of air being forced from her lungs when she hit. It only stunned her for a fraction of a second before he could see the fire flare up in her eyes.
Rolling to the side before Garrus could commence another attack, she made it back onto her feet and into a fighting stance. Garrus immediately charged at her, throwing a punch that made contact with her stomach, and countered it with another to her face. The blows landed hard and she knew that her stomach would suffer a hefty bruise and that her nose would probably start bleeding shortly. Despite the pain that coursed through her body she managed to take advantage of his close proximity and thrust her elbow into him, making contact with his cheek plating and knocking him a few inches backward. She used this opportunity to land a kick to his waist, being careful to use her good leg. He growled as her leg made contact with his sensitive area, but didn't move in for another attack just yet; instead he seemed to be waiting for her to make the next move. She threw a fake punch at his side with the back of one hand, and when he went to block it tossed another at his face, which he successfully blocked as well. His hand clasped around the arm that missed his face, and he yanked her toward him, her back against his chest plating. He held her tightly in a choke hold, one of her arms pinned in front of her.
"Come on, Skipper!" Ashley cheered her on from the sidelines.
She attempted to struggle, however the only thing this accomplished was to grind his hard plates into her back. He was decidedly strong and was able to restrain her securely with seemingly little effort. She still had one arm free, however, which she was quick to use to her advantage. Jabbing her elbow back with all her strength, she could feel it dig into the unplated area of his stomach. This blow caught him off guard and he loosened his grip enough for her to slip from his hold. She used her good foot again to land a kick to his chest.
"Good move Commander!" Kaidan shouted in approval.
"Yeah! Kick that turian's ass!" she heard Ashley cheer again.
The forceful contact her foot had with his chest plating had jarred her a bit, but it had enough impact on Garrus to cause him to stumble back. It gave her the advantage to overpower the turian and she charged, knocking him to the mat, on his back. She made a dive onto him, pinning him to the mat with her body, her feral green eyes regarding him like captured prey. She held her index and middle fingers to his throat menacingly. Blood poured from her nose and the cut on her lip stung like a bitch, but a victorious smile still managed to spread over her lips. He was skilled, but she had still bested him this time. She knew, that in future sparring sessions, they could learn much from one another. They were so evenly matched that she would expect to lose some of the time, but for now, she would allow her competitiveness to take over and enjoy her victory. She applied pressure to his vulnerable neck, digging her fingers into the soft leathery skin there. "If this was a knife, Vakarian, you'd be a goner."
He grinned up at her, his blue eyes filled with mischief. She could feel his hands move to her waist. His fingers dug into her toned sides, drawing a hitched inward breath from her. He chuckled softly at her reaction. "And if not for these gloves, Shepard, you'd be a goner," he said, referring to the ones he often wore to pad his claws.
Her smug smile faded to one of amused surprise. She hadn't won; it was a tie. This turian had skills, perhaps enough to be considered for the Spectres. Maybe, when this was all over, she'd put his name forward to the Council. "So I guess it's a draw then?" she asked with a smirk.
"Seems so," he replied in his deep enticing tone. "You know Shepard… the last time I had a draw with a female, we held the tiebreaker in her quarters." He chuckled.
She arched her eyebrow and grinned at him wickedly. "Is that so?" His flirty tone was getting the better of her, especially in her current position. She could still feel his hands at her waist, gripping onto her tightly. She stared into his stormy blue eyes, searching for any signs of genuine interest. In those few moments the thought of inviting him to her quarters for a "tiebreaker" had crossed her mind more than once.
"Commander," Kaidan's angry voiced called out, breaking her from her wayward thoughts. She realized then, that they still had an audience. She quickly pushed herself off of Garrus and onto to her feet. Reaching down, she helped the turian up as well, and they both stood side-by-side grinning sheepishly.
"I guess I should get some work done," Shepard said before sprinting to the elevator.
Wrex threw his elbow out sideways, making a brutal connection with Kaidan's side. The Lieutenant let out a pained grunt and scowled at the krogan. "What was that for?"
"Interrupting," Wrex grunted.
He pushed her up against the wall with a needy force. Her hand found the soft skin under his fringe and dug her nails in, bringing a purr from him. He nuzzled her neck, letting his sharp teeth brush over her teasingly. Gripping her rear tightly, he thrust himself against her, grinding his arousal into her forcefully. A pleasured cry escaped her as she hooked her legs over his hips and felt his rock-hard member brush against her nether regions.
He looked into her eyes as he entered her, the deep blue and grey of his seemed to pierce her soul. She couldn't tear her eyes away from those blue orbs. The deep blue markings that contrasted his metallic grey plating matched those eyes beautifully. He began moving within her roughly, his desire and need made obvious. She wrapped her arms around his cowl, holding onto him tightly as he pumped his hard cock into her. She could feel herself being pinned between he and the wall forcefully as if he had no intention of letting her take any sort of control over the situation. He wanted to ensure his dominance over her, and win this "tiebreaker". The way he aggressively thrust into her made her head spin. His pleasured growl echoed through her ears as he tightened his grip on her rear, causing an erotic pain to course through her. He moved his head forward and she could feel his teeth clamp down tightly onto her shoulder, holding her in place as he took her aggressively.
"Garrus," she whimpered his name as she felt her peak come extremely close. Her breath suddenly caught in her throat as his grip on her loosened and she felt herself fall unexpectedly. Rather than hitting the floor, as she expected, she almost seemed to not land at all but rather jerk herself into steadiness. Breathing heavily, she glanced around in an almost panic, searching for her lover. Her panic turned to disappointment as she realized that she had been alone in the darkness of her quarters. "A dream..." she sighed.
After a while of tossing and turning, Shepard was finding herself unable to get back to sleep, so she decided to trek over to the mess hall for some coffee or tea. As she stepped into the area she saw Ashley sifting around through the cabinets until she pulled out what she was searching for.
"Hey Skipper, want some tea?" she asked her, shaking a box that she held in her hand. "I was hoping to have some coffee but looks like there's only the instant crap."
"Sure, I'll have some," Shepard replied.
Ashley nabbed a second cup and pulled out two teabags from the box. After tossing them in the cups and filling them with hot water, she set one down in front of each of them.
"Thanks," Shepard said.
The other woman studied her curiously. "What's wrong Skipper? Can't sleep?"
"Not really," she replied.
"Hey, if you're worried about the people back on Feros, don't. We did all we could. Some may have died, but more lived, thanks to us," Ashley assured her.
That did, of course, bother her even though it wasn't the reason she couldn't sleep tonight. "I know Ash."
Ashley thought for a moment, remembering the other planet they had hit up in Artemis Tau. She knew that must've hit close to home for Shepard after what had happened to her unit on Akuze. Both events were disturbingly similar. Beacons set up to lure marines into the clutches of thresher maws, the reasons unknown. Out of fifty marines, Shepard was miraculously the only survivor. Seeing Rear Admiral Kahoku's men lured to the same fate would have been hard on the Commander. "Is it what happened to those men on Edolus?"
"No Ash, I'm fine really," Shepard reassured her. "I just have a lot on my mind."
"Okay Skipper," Ashley replied, taking a gulp of her tea.
Shepard, in turn, took a sip from her cup, the taste of the beverage filling her to her core with a satisfied sensation. Earl Grey, it had been a while since she had it but she remembered it well. She looked up at the other woman with a raised brow. "So you can't sleep either?"
"I just got off a call with my sister," she said with a large smile. "She had just seen a news feed about us and had to tell me about it. She also seems to think LT is hot." She chuckled, giving Shepard a mischievous grin.
"Oh yeah?" Shepard looked at her thoughtfully. "And what do you think?"
"Doesn't matter what I think, Skipper," she replied. "Scuttlebutt says he's already sweet on someone."
This peaked Shepard's curiosity. She normally wasn't one for gossip, however, she had always found the Lieutenant difficult to read. "Who?" Shepard pressed.
Ashley smirked devilishly. "You mean you don't know?" Taking a hint from the blank stare she was receiving from the other woman, she continued. "The man's got the hots for you, Skipper."
Shepard simply continued to stare at her blankly, unsure of how to respond to her accusations. Kaidan had never seemed to show any interest in her other than a friend and colleague. IF she had a habit of reading too far into things, perhaps there could have been some small indications, but not enough for her to believe he had the "hots" for her.
"I'm not too sure about that, Ash," she said doubtfully.
"Come on! Have you seen the way he looks at you? The whole crew's been talking!" Ashley shot her a wicked grin. "So I'm guessing the part about him sneaking into your cabin at night is false?"
"Of course it's false!" Shepard raised her voice defensively.
"I think you should go for it, Skipper," Ashley urged.
"Go for what?" another female voice chimed in. Tali appeared from around the corner, behind Shepard, having just exited the elevator.
"Oh, we were just having a discussion about Shepard's sex life," Ashley informed the quarian.
"Shepard!" Tali exclaimed excitedly. "Are you sleeping with Garrus?"
Shepard's breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened in surprise at that question. Images from her erotic dream suddenly flashed into her mind and she quickly dismissed them as they came.
"No," Ashley snapped irritably. "We were talking about Alenko."
Tali glanced at the Commander questionably. "But Shepard, I thought you liked Garrus."
Ashley's mouth dropped open. "Garrus?" She turned her gaze to the woman seated across from her. "No way… right?"
"Uhh…" was the only response Shepard could utter at the moment, her usual tact having unexplainably dissipated. She could feel two sets of questionable eyes scrutinizing her, waiting for an answer.
"Commander." Joker's voice was a sweet interruption as it sounded over the mess hall comm system.
"Yes Joker?" Shepard responded almost too enthusiastically.
"Commander, you're needed in the cockpit," Joker informed her.
"Sorry, gotta go ladies," Shepard chirped. She quickly downed the rest of her cooling beverage before making her escape to the stairs. She was so glad to get away from that uncomfortable conversation and inquisitive stares that she nearly skipped to the cockpit.
Joker seemed to sense her presence almost immediately as she entered. "Hey Commander. Just wanted to let you know we'll be arriving at the Citadel in approximately two hours," he told her as he plugged away at his consol.
She waited for him to say something more, however, he did not. "Is that all you wanted me for?"
"Well that and I figured you needed rescuing," he replied with a shrug.
For once she wasn't going to scold him for his eavesdropping as it just saved her from extreme unpleasantness. "Thanks Joker," she murmured.
"Anytime Commander," the pilot said with a grin.