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Interlude V: The Lady

Date: 01-27-2183

Location: Battlecruiser Dark Tide, Orbiting Kirkwall, Eastern Terminus

I didn't want to move. Or think. Or do much of anything really.

A hand reached down, almost gently brushing through my hair as the woman whose lap was holding my head absently stroked the long strands. If I'd less out of it I might have been annoyed at the touch. There was a slow huff of vanilla scented smoke, the familiar flavor of chehala on the air as Ayle smoked above me.

We were alone in one of the observation decks on T'Ravt's flagship, which had apparently showed up shortly after the battle had more or less ended. Neither of us was sure what it, or the Warlord herself, was doing here, or why they'd already shifted our belongings back on board, but we didn't really care.

I, at least, was too busy brooding and staring at the stars to care.

Jack was gone. Officially she was missing, presumed dead, because no one had been able to find her body yet. Intellectually I knew that the woman was a survivor, who'd clung to life through shit that I could barely even imagine, but... shit. She'd been exhausted when she'd lost her mind and raced out there. Even if she had initially survived she wouldn't have been in any shape to do more than crawl a bit before passing out, and that was assuming that her own biotic power hadn't simply immolated her as it had her enemies.

Of course, even if she was alive I couldn't imagine her staying with us at this point. Not even for the promise of Krom's bounty. We'd know in a few days either way, once the locals got done picking through the dozen or so buildings she'd collapsed on top of herself. If they found her... then I'd fucked with the future even more. If they didn't... I'd have to assume she got out somehow, and that she probably wouldn't be happy to see me at any point in the future.

And Marcus... shit. I hadn't known the bounty hunter all that well. He'd never exactly been comfortable around me, with my predilection for speaking in the Asari tongue and holding myself as if I were a Batarian. Jack hadn't either, but she'd at least occasionally joined in the card games my squad had played, or gone with when Shyeel and I had set out to fleece unsuspecting idiots of their credits. In comparison, her lover had all but actively avoided me.

But he'd still been one of us. So had Jack. And that wasn't even going into the shit we'd been forced to do immediately before.

"They hated child slavers." Ayle spoke around her pipe, her deep voice absent. "They'd made a pact together, when they first met. Kill them wherever they found them."

"You know why?" I murmured, adjusting myself a little. My right arm was stuck in a sling, slathered in medigel and bandages to repair the damage and leave me with a whole new collection of scars. I didn't actually need the thing, but it helped keep the white wrappings in place.

"No. Something in their pasts."

I knew Jack's, but Marcus... I guess this is what I got for never talking to him. "Must have been bad, for him to run out there like that."

"For her too... Pillar of Heart," I felt her shudder. "I've never even seen Asari do anything like that."

"I have... sort of." Aethyta could pull off the localized storm thing, but she'd been in control of it, not letting it lash out like Jack had. Somehow I doubted that the human biotic had even been aware of it in the end. "A Matriarch, but... even by that standard..."

Fingers continued to absently move through my hair. I had no idea why she liked doing that, anymore than I knew why Nynsi and Rane had so often done the same thing, but it seemed to relax her slightly. And besides, she was letting me use her legs as a pillow, so I didn't really have room to bitch.

Besides... I'd been bitched at enough in the last twenty-four hours to not want to disturb the water over anything that wasn't a life or death matter right now.

Most of that, unsurprisingly, had been Voya. The tiny Quarian had all but exploded at us when she'd found out everything that had happened. Her cursing was diverse enough that I had no idea if she'd been furious at what we'd done, or what Jack ha done to me, or if both were equally enraging. She'd managed to calm herself for about a ten minutes stretch while the medic reported on my injuries, then exploded at the Blood Pack, her tirade going on until she'd all but collapsed.

The others hadn't been as vocal, at least. Illyan would have been comatose if Shyeel and Thul hadn't dragged her along with the still belligerent Voya into one of the ship's lounges to drink as soon as we arrived. For his part, Jarick had elected to tag along without really saying anything, just trailing along next to Illyan with a blank look on his face. The kid was a bit young to get drunk out of his mind, but given the circumstances I wasn't going to stop him. Hesh and Ullak had vanished to their room, probably to try forget the crap that had happened with copious amounts of sex.

Which had just left Ayle and I. She'd risked entering the room she shared with her cadre to grab some casual clothes, accepting my offer of my cabin to change in. Once we were both changed, and moderately clean, we'd wandered into the lounge and taken turns chain-smoking our pipes and brooding.

I exhaled slowly, turning my gaze from the stars to the ceiling. Logic and planning usually worked to keep my mind off of things, so I sucked in a long breath, let it out, and forced my drowned brain to process the aftermath and the decisions we would have to make. "Losing them is a problem, beyond just the numbers of it. Jack was our only real biotic with Shyeel's damage."

A billow smoke curled down to tickle my nose as she let out a slow breath. "Yes. One of our squads will be without a biotic, that makes things difficult."

"Still planning on dividing into three?"

"Yes... yes." The hand in my hair started to play with a few strands as her mind engaged on a problem. "Reyja'krem Weshan and her additional should be joining us soon. I will keep my cadre, you will keep Shyeel and Voya. Thul will command the new arrivals."

I grunted quietly. "Do you want me to talk with Illyan? Her biotics aren't terribly strong but she has them."

There was a thoughtful pause. "If she can be convinced, then I would have her join your team and move Shyeel to my own."

I had no idea if she could be convinced or not. The shit that had just happened on Kirkwall might have doomed that particular idea to the deeps forever, or maybe it made her hate the Krogan as much as I did right now. Either way it couldn't hurt to ask, and at least she'd be in my unit. "I'll ask."

"There is also the gap of a medical specialist." Ayle murmured, her lower eyes flicking pointedly at my bound arm. "I know you don't wish to, but a message to Sederis would be appreciated. If the young officer you often message with can be spared..."

"I'll ask." I repeated, though that one was more likely. Sederis, for whatever reason, still wanted me alive, and having one of her people loaned to us would only give her more power over our actions. "But..."

"I am aware of the imperfect nature of the solution, but medical matters aren't something I am comfortable entrusting to a freelancer."

"Fair." My eyes closed as I sighed. I was running out of readily available topics. "My armor shouldn't take long to repair, when's our next mission?"

"Whenever the One-Twenty-First finishes their mop-up operations and is loaded." Her body moved slightly, probably a small shrug. "We are contracted to assist in their next assignment. I believe it is clearing out a nest of pirates in the Traverse."

Which didn't sound so bad, except for the part about the Traverse. "Ayle..."

"Even your luck should not be so bad as to encounter a Spectre again."

I slumped a little. "You just had to say that."

She chuckled quietly, her calloused fingers sliding up my hair to rest on my forehead. "And you continue to evade."

Something in my chest twitched a little. "Ayle..."

"I did leave the door open for you to join me when I changed, you can't have missed that even with only two eyes." There was a little pause. "Or did I mistake the glances you have been giving me for the past month? Are they for a reason other than physical interest?"

"They... were." I admitted quietly. "But... shit, it's complicated."

She sighed through her teeth, a quiet, whistling sound. "You still mourn Rane'li."

"Yes."

Ayle didn't say anything for several moments, then she sighed again. "You really are a noble idiot Cieran Kean, with just enough... human-ness to be annoying when you wish to be."

"I don't wish to be annoying, I just... I... shit." Reaching up with my only free hand, I rubbed furiously at my face. "Even without Rane, I... we're friends Ayle, but I don't like you in the same way I did her."

"You don't love me, you mean." She stated succinctly. "I fail to see the problem considering that I don't love you either. I simply find you attractive and believe I would enjoy an evening of activity with you. Am I wrong in believing that at least a part of you doesn't feel the same way?"

She wasn't. She wasn't as overtly attractive as Rane'li or Nynsi, her face was too angled, too harsh to truly be beautiful. But she assuredly wasn't ugly either, and the rest of her was... she was far more built than either of my previous lovers, with a warrior's strong physique that I couldn't help but admire and want to see more of.

"If you didn't want to spend time with me," Ayle continued, her rough voice growing quiet. "You would have gone with your companions to the bar."

Another point, damn her.

The mental argument really gathered the wind, right about then. My mental cave-man was screaming at me to stop being a whiny weakling, to get up and bite the woman on the right side of her neck and claim her and take her right here in the lounge and fuck feelings and guilt. Opposite was another voice that was aghast at the very idea, and was flinging images of memory at me, of everything I'd known and loved about Rane and what she'd meant to me.

"What would you do," I asked softly, buying time to think. "If I said yes?"

"If you said yes, this couch is more than comfortable enough." A wave of heat ran through me at the low growl in her words. "And I do believe that the door locks."

My tongue licked my lips as I asked my next question. "And if I said no?"

The hand on my forehead stilled, then shifted back to stroke my hair again. "I would continue to smoke, to play with your hair, and to speak on whatever topic aids us in avoiding thinking about what happened on Kirkwall." I was going to relax, then the same, rumbling sound came back into her voice. "I may also push you against a wall later, to take payment for inciting me."

Athame's azure... what was with me and Batarian females? Just the mental picture of her biting my neck or kissing me and commanding me was...

I forced myself not to twitch as another wave of arousal was throttled down.

You don't love Ayle, you would be betraying Rane's memory, and it would make your working relationship complicated. I told my instincts as firmly as I could. It... well, it was only technically the truth.

My mouth opened, then closed before I could say no. It opened again, but I honestly couldn't have told you what I was about to say before a melodic voice spoke from the other side of the couch.

"If you would please avoid having sex in here, I would appreciate it. The couches are terribly difficult to clean."

It just about gave me a heart attack, and from Ayle's startled breath she wasn't far off either. I tried to shoot upright and draw my gun in the same motion, but I'd been sitting in place for nearly four hours and my fucking legs were numb. Ayle's attempt to suddenly stand didn't help either, so instead of snapping into a sitting position I more or less went into a full-body convulsion that left me sprawled on the floor and groaning in pain, and left Ayle dropping back into the couch with a groan and a thudding sound.

The same voice laughed merrily, the sound something like bells tingling daintily against one another. "That was most graceful, Reyja'krem."

"Thank you." I groaned as I belatedly recognized who had snuck into the room with me, turning my voice to the stilted formal tones I rarely used anymore. "And my apologies."

"None are needed." There was no sound to accompany her movements, but a few breaths later found a pair of slipper-covered feet beside my head, just barely visible in the corner of my vision. "You were sharing a rather private conversation, but I felt the need to announce myself before it could go farther."

For which most of me was incredibly thankful. Sucking in a breath, I slowly rolled onto my back in preparation for the long act of getting up, only for a spasm of pain in my back to make me freeze and carefully stay still.

Yan T'Ravt, Lady Warlord, stood next to me. It was the first time I'd seen her not wearing armor, and I found myself taking in the sight of her. She was wearing a plain white dress that complemented her thin frame, though in defiance of typical Asari fashion it covered her chest up to her neck. Something like opera gloves covered her hands and forearms up to her elbows, also white, and I watched as she crossed her arms, the motion drawing my gaze back up to her face.

Her dark navy features stared back down at me, one corner of her delicate mouth quirked in amusement. "Do you intend to rise, Reyja'krem Kean, or do you simply enjoy laying in such and undignified fashion?"

"I can't say that I enjoy laying here, the floor is rather uncomfortable." I admitted politely, restraining a hiss of pain as the cramp in my back tightened to something closer to agonizing. "But I find myself rather locked in place at the moment."

"Then I shall assist you." To my surprise, she gracefully lowered herself to a kneeling position beside me. Before I could demure, there was a gloved arm beneath my neck and hauling me to a seated position. This time I did let out a tiny sound of pain before I forced my breathing to even. "Now stretch."

I did, slowly, with a heavy dose of help from her. First leaning backwards, then to one side as I found the stupid muscle that was locked tight. It took a few minutes before it relaxed, and I fought not to slump in relief as the pain receded. Ayle watched silently from her place on the couch, shifting to the other end to leave that space open for the Warlord should she choose to take it.

"Thank you." I murmured quietly, the pair of us still sitting on the damned floor. "I find myself rather embarrassed."

The Warlord seemed amused by that. "Because I am a Warlord of the Terminus?"

"Because you are you." My left shoulder twitched as I politely dipped my head in that direction. "Sederis would have howled with laughter and then spoken to me as I was."

"True." T'Ravt tipped her head a few hairs to the right, wordlessly accepting the respect I offered. "She is a rather unpleasant individual, in that fashion."

She was rather unpleasant in more ways than that. "As you say, Lady Warlord."

That tiny grin reappeared on her face again. "You do not enjoy this kind of game, do you? The careful talk, the dance of words, the polite conversation?"

I considered my words carefully, glancing at Ayle and finding no help there. Swallowing, I spoke slowly and carefully. "I did rather enjoy such speech, not that long ago, but since my exile I have found my enthusiasm waning."

T'Ravt considered that for a long moment, "You are quite skilled at respecting my position. I would not consider it rude or untoward if you wish to speak as you would to Sederis, or to your companions."

I couldn't help but let out a tiny snort. "Are you quite sure?"

"Reyja'krem Kean, I have had to deal with Jona Sederis for longer than you have been alive, through the depths of her instability." Her amusement didn't falter. "You may do your best, but I am quite sure that I have heard worse than anything you might say."

"Fair point." She blinked as I let my voice return to normality, the formal tones than Nynsi had tutored me in fading into my usual clipped Illium accent. "Would you mind if I returned to the couch."

She agreed with me, and I rose as quickly as my sore body would allow, offering her my free hand once I'd done so. She accepted it, letting me help her to her feet and guide her to the couch. Her fingers gave the tiniest of approving squeezes around my wrist as I helped her to sit, her tiny grin not fading as she settled herself.

I started to move back and past Ayle, intending to let the pair of them have the couch to themselves while I stood behind my Commander. She apparently had other ideas, because a hand firmly grabbed the back of my shirt and hauled me down to sit between her and the end of the couch. Before I could say anything her heavy weight was leaned against my side in an entirely proprietary way that both excited and annoyed me.

Shit. This being of two minds about things was getting really old really fast.

The Warlord didn't say anything for a while, apparently content to watch the stars while Ayle smoked and I simply sat there. After a few minutes I pulled out my pipe as well, igniting the dry leaves after a few moments of work. It was a pain with just one hand, but I managed it.

"I didn't think that humans smoked chehala." T'Ravt glanced at us out of the corner of her eyes. "What are the effects?"

"A sleep aid." Ayle informed her, pulling her pipe out rather than speaking around it. "For a while, at least. Cieran has used it sufficiently to become addicted, now it simply calms his nerves and has a pleasant taste."

"I can only assume it does harm him, overmuch."

I shook my head slightly, pulling my own pipe out to reply. "No. The only withdrawal symptoms I suffer from are insomnia, nothing that would overly affect me. May I ask you a question in return?"

"Does it pertain to why I am sitting in an observation lounge with you, at this rather unusual hour?"

I resisted the urge to snort. "Yeah."

She leaned back into the couch, lifting and delicately tucking her legs in beside her as she took her time before replying. "Perhaps I wished to speak with you both, and was grateful to hear that you were away from your comrades."

Ayle and I exchanged a tiny glance of surprise at that, though she was the one who spoke. "To what do we owe the pleasure, Lady Warlord?"

T'Ravt's eyes, the same light blue of her bitch of a sister's, narrowed a little. "Because your male companion is a mystery."

I blinked. "A mystery?"

"Yes." She nodded minutely. "I know the official story, of course, such as it is. How my sister broke your mind, how Shaaryak gave you a home and a title. Your resultant exile thanks to the machinations of the Hegemony, what you did on Omega, who you lost, and now, who you hunt."

I stilled, not paying attention to Ayle's shocked glance, not moving so much as a millimeter as I stared at nothing for a few long moment before exhaling a billow of smoke along with a name. "Sederis."

Another tiny nod. "I wished to know more about you."

"So you've said." I made sure to dip my head a bit to the left to remove any annoyance that might have escaped into my voice. "But you haven't told me why."

"I cannot be curious about the celebrity mercenary in my employ?"

I scoffed. "I'm not a celebrity."

She eyed me with an amused glint in her eyes. "Are you or are you not the only human to ever be named a Harath'krem? To the only highborn outside of the Hegemony's borders at that, hardly a title given quietly."

"You are rather well known, Cie." Ayle murmured from beside me, her tone contemplative. "Especially amongst my people. Even before we met on Omega I knew your name and what you looked like, I could well imagine most exiles do."

"Know him and of him." The Asari continued, her tone amused. "How he combines human nobility, a thing many did not know existed, along with Batarian nobility to be something unique. I do believe you may be the single most respected human in the galaxy in their collective eyes."

I glanced between them, not really sure where the Warlord was going with this. And the idea of being respected or looked up to was... disconcerting. "So... Batarians know who I am, which means I'm widely known, since they're what, thirty percent of the Terminus's population?"

"Thirty-five," T'Ravt idly corrected me, "Not including Vorcha."

Vorcha weren't people, so I hadn't been including them either way. I mulled on the numbers before nodding slightly. "Known is one thing, but celebrity?"

"Perhaps celebrity is the wrong term." Her head dipped a little to acknowledge her possible mistake. "Though you easily could be, if you wished it."

"I don't." I stated flatly.

She blinked once, then cocked her head to show polite confusion while her hands folded demurely in her lap. "Why not?"

"Why would I?" When I realized that was a stupid way to answer, I sighed, took a single pull from my pipe, and then spoke amidst another cloud of white smoke. "I don't have any interest in people gawking at me, or Athame send them to the deeps, in having fans just because I appreciate traditional Batarian culture. I've got enough money set away on Illium to leave me set for life even without the payment Aria will hand over in exchange for giving her Krom, so that doesn't appeal either."

"Something I appreciate." Ayle dipped her head politely, both of her right eyes watching me. "It makes our finances much simpler to manage."

"There is no appeal in Batarian men and women willing to lay with you simply for being who you are?"

I found myself almost glaring at the Warlord. "No."

The Asari flicked her gaze to Ayle, who stiffened with her own subdued irritation. "He is a friend, and attractive. We hold the same title, I have no lust for power I know he won't reach for."

Huh. That she knew I wouldn't... apparently she knew me better than I thought she did. Something to think about.

The Warlord let out a quiet humming noise before glancing away, looking out the view-port as if we had just told her something so monumental that she had to consider it in detail.

I didn't say anything for a while, letting my half-drowned brain pick the appropriate words before I did. "You avoided the question, Lady Warlord."

"Did I?" Her tone was guileless.

"You did." A slow exhale of smoke followed. "I also can't help but notice that, for this entire conversation, you have held yourself like a highborn Batarian rather than as an Asari."

"So I have."

No answers from her then, Ayle and I would have to work out what she was here for on our own. Dammit, this reminded me of just what I hated about high society crap like this. The pomp and ceremony and false politeness I could run with, but I hated dancing around need-to-know information... and not knowing things in general really.

Athame's ass, Sederis probably had picked up on that personality flaw and told her about it.

"I believe... you're questioning us about something that you aren't actually asking. Avoiding something that you want to know and trying to get Ayle or I to reveal something." I mused, not missing the tiny flicker of interest in her expression. "It could be about why your sister attacked me, but I doubt it. Too simple an explanation, and you'd know that neither Sederis nor I have any ideas on that."

"And I didn't even know the identity of your attacker until now." Ayle mused, turning away from me to stare entirely at the warlord, letting her strong back rest against my left side. I could feel the delicate ridges covering her spine through her shirt, and another conflicted wave of lust ran through my fucked up head. "That was most likely a simple statement to reveal the depths of her knowledge, rather than the actual direction of inquiry."

She didn't reply, continuing to gaze at the stars with a tiny smile on her dark lips.

"But all of the questions were directed to me, more or less. Not about the unit as a whole, which is odd. There's four of us with titles, with three more on the way." I took a slow puff on my pipe, letting the flavor fill my nose and mouth before exhaling. "Whatever she's interested in, it's about me instead of us."

My Commander let out an almost silent growl that let me know just how happy she was about that. "She wanted insight into your fur covered skull that Sederis didn't give her, or confirmation of something she did tell her. Something about your personality. A test, or a comparison."

The Warlord gave the tiniest of nods, the same damned smirk still in place. "A comparison."

I felt my eyes narrow. "With who? Krom?"

"No. That creature is broken, insane. Whatever my sister did to the pair of you, he did not take it as well, or else the process was not perfected during his time with her." She looked away from us, and slowly slid her feet to the ground before rising. "Now, I do believe that I shall depart for my own chambers. It is quite late."

Something in my head strained to near the breaking point, and I barely kept my voice civil. "What is with your family and mysterious questions and vague declarations!?"

The Warlord blinked, obviously startled at my vehemence. Then she actually chortled, giving me an almost wicked grin. "I blame my grandmother, personally. She adored such talk and insisted that we all learn to be as cryptic as she. It's something of an ingrained habit that I must admit to enjoying."

I exhaled irritably and bit down hard on my pipe to keep my mouth shut.

"I will say two things, one may soothe you, one will... likely annoy you." Something in my right cheek twitched a little at the latter. "When you have time for your expedition to my throneworld, I trust you will find the currents that will carry you to the one I compare you with. I ask that you do not kill them, however. They hold a rather vital position I would prefer not to have open at the moment."

Which... could fucking mean anything. Another of the Matriarch's pets? The person who'd given me to them? The one responsible for my knee-jerk reaction to slavery?

"Is that the one that was supposed to annoy me?" I asked around my pipe. Impolite? Yes. Necessary to reduce the irritation in my voice? Very much so.

"It was." She dipped her head to the left in a minor apology. "As for the other. Krom has been spotted by my agents... on Redcliffe."

I froze entirely in place, staring at her in something like shock as my brain abruptly cut its sails and drifted to a full halt.

"My fleet is preparing to engage the forces of Warlord Zaen in that system, and will then establish a blockade." She continued placidly. "Once the regiment you are attached to has completed its pirate hunt, they are scheduled to join the landing forces in early April, after the landing zones have been secured. I would prefer it if your team remained with them to maximize familiarity between both my people and yourselves."

Ayle, thankfully, was still able to communicate properly. "I will reach out to the usual channels for pay and contract details."

"That will be acceptable." With a final, demure grin and bow of her head, she was gone.

I barely even noticed, because Krom was on Redcliffe. I knew where that son of a bitch was now. And we were going there to hunt him. We were going to take that asshole, and drag his ass to Aria. And then he would die in horrific, screaming, mentally scarring agony, and I would have my vengeance.

I didn't remember standing, or moving to the window, but apparently I had. I leaned there, my left forearm against the glass as I stared at the stars.

"Redcliffe is Zaen's capital." Ayle spoke quietly, moving to stand beside me. "The heart of his industry. If they lose it the Blood Pack will be finished. Not immediately, but eventually. They'll fight to death to keep it."

"Good." I murmured in reply. "That means they won't let Krom flee. They'll need him there to fight, to hunt T'Ravt's generals and officers."

"And us."

"And us." My good fist clenched then relaxed, and I found myself taking off the annoying sling in a quick jerk of motion. It hurt, but not so badly as to prevent me from using the bandaged limb. Most of that was probably the anesthetic in the medigel, I was sure I'd be in something like agony come morning. "He's... goddess. I worried it would take years."

"As did I." Fingers brushed against my left arm. "How do you feel?"

How did I feel? I knew were Krom was. We were going there. His masters wouldn't let him flee, not from such a strategically important location.

I felt... I felt...

Entirely on impulse, I turned, seized Ayle by the shoulders and whirled her against the glass. She let out a startled hiss that chocked off when I suddenly kissed her and... by the goddess. It wasn't until her mouth started moving against mine that I realized how much I'd missed the deep, earthy flavors of Batarian lips, the feel of a strong body suddenly pressing against mine, the bone-vibrating growls of pleasure that emitted from her chest.

I broke the touch, gasping for air as I adjusted my head so that our foreheads rested against each other. My arms were trembling... my entire body was quivering like a taught rope in a headwind... I felt... Excited, aroused, furious, guilty, conflicted, ecstatic...

There weren't words in Thessian, Highborn, Lowborn, or English to describe how I felt.

Pain made it my turn to hiss as a hand jerked on my hair, letting her upper eyes glare into mine as she pulled. "Cieran Kean. You don't do that and then stop."

I had a split second to stare at her before she growled again, her other hand grabbing my shirt and shoving hard. I stumbled, and kept stumbling as she kept pushing until the back of my knees hit the couch and I collapsed onto it.

She followed me, deceptively graceful as she straddled me, keeping my head tilted backwards before her lips found mine in an aggressive kiss of her own. My hands remembered what to do, sliding around her strong back, feeling the muscles flexing before pressing against the spots on her spine.

Ayle gasped into my mouth, and it was her turn to quiver as I touched her through her shirt.

Her hand abruptly let go of my hair, and I felt them moving between us, impatiently grabbing at my shirt... right when someone fucking cleared their throat.

We both stilled, then pulled apart. Her expression could have killed whoever it was, assuming they survived the frost in her voice. "Hesh."

The member of her cadre sounded like he wanted to either burst out laughing or to run for the hills. "Tarath'shan, we're... supposed to transition to another cruiser in preparation for our next assignment."

I felt the growl in the chest still pressing against mine. "Now?"

"Yes ma'am."

Lips peeled back in a furious expression. "Have Ullak get everyone from the bar, whichever lounge they went to. Personal items to the cargo bay." Dark lower eyes flicked to my face while her upper set stayed on Hesh. I hadn't stopped running my fingers up and down her spine, and I felt her hips roll once against me. "And lock the door behind you."

"I... yes ma'am."

I didn't hear the doors close, or lock, but she nodded once a few breaths later. "We won't be able to take our time, unfortunately."

My eyes half closed as I breathed. "Ayle, the more you talk the more likely I am to remember that I'm supposed to be horribly guilt-ridden and conflicted about-"

Her mouth shut me up before I could continue, her tongue pressing against mine while her hands resumed yanking at my shirt.

We weren't interrupted again.

Next up is Operation: The Burdens

We get a little bit of a glimpse at how Cieran is viewed, at least by the Batarian exiles in the Terminus. He also... ahem, gets some though how he's going to feel about what he did in the aftermath will be something examined in the next chapter. Oh, and T'Ravt is annoyingly mysterious simply because it amuses her to be, proving that she and her sister have something in common.

As I said on the top, the next chapter is completed and just waiting on the Blocked Writer's approval. Twelve reviews by this time tomorrow morning will see it post then, otherwise it will go out next Monday morning.

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."

Thanks, Kat

Review Responses:

Meatzman2 → Jack killed it along with just about everyone else.

5 Coloured Walker / FenrisulfrWotanbane → I would agree that humans are third behind Krogan and Vorcha in terms of absolute food/water/combat endurance. Batarians aren't as good at long-term endurance, their bodies are built more to deal and absorb damage in short bursts of time.

Gods-own → Slaves as exploding meat shields, airborne biotoxins... warfare in the Terminus is just getting going. The next phase is going to get pretty brutal with the campaign for Redcliffe (as in 3 operations and 3 interludes all taking place just on that planet).

Eliddan1012 → Answers to both questions can be found in this chapter, and... yeah, that was a depressing way to put it.

Tusken1602 → I watch a lot of Mythbusters, and if taught me anything it's that just because something doesn't look deadly doesn't mean it isn't (ie: Pressure waves & Heat), so I try to keep things like proximity to fire/explosions/biotics in mind when I do scenes like that.

Septim7 → My favorite to write... honestly I think the core four characters in Ronin; Cieran, Rane, Voya, and Illyan all together and dealing with life on Omega. If I had to do everything over again, I might have just had the four of them on that station for three or more stories of just adventures and life. Since that's a bit of a cop-out answer... I'll also say that Voya is probably my favorite to write because of her inherent instability. She keeps a good handle on it, largely because of Cie, but from time to time little bits come out that remind you that she's, well, more than a bit crazy.

Legendary Junk Mail → The kids didn't make it, sorry if that wasn't clear.

Griezz → A... break? What is this thing you speak of, I don't think they understand the word. In all seriousness, they'll be getting a rather long break but first there is work to be done and an assassin to hunt.

Envy34 → I'm horrible at self-promotion, I feel awkward and stupid trying to do things like that. I know I should but ugh. And posting chapters on forums would have been a great idea at the start, but now... I stare at how long the prior AR stories are and tremble at the very idea of trying to upload them. I still haven't even finished putting Ronin on AO3 because of how long it takes.