I don't own the Mass Effect.

Saga III: Return to Sender

...The Storm Arrives

Date: 05-27-2184

Location: Nos Astra, Illium

Aethyta snarled as she reeled, her back slamming into the bar before her arms snapped up to catch my follow-up strike that was aimed at breaking her jaw. Light flickered around her forarms as she used her biotics to compensate for the muscle she'd lost over the last year, her mouth set in a snarl. "You fucking lied to my face!"

"Yes!" I snapped, surging forwards and using my trapped arm to shove her harder against the counter behind her. "You would have fucking tried to meld with me to confirm it, and I would have fucking died!"

"And Nezzy," Her entire body seemed to twist, and suddenly I was the one with my back to the bar, barely getting a hand between my throat and her free hand. "Might have survived!"

"Might!" I growled the key word in her phrasing, tucking my right leg up and back until my foot was pressed against the wood. A hard shove was enough to push us both back into the open, the pair of us circling one another as we broke apart.

"Benezia." My opponent growled as she paced just outside of my reach, my own legs carrying me in a similar motion. "Would have done more to save the galaxy than you ever fucking could."

"Benezia." I parroted back. "Was a fucking racist old bitch who would have given the galaxy to the fucking Reapers to try and save the Asari."

Blue lips pulled back a heartbeat before she rushed me again. I tried to avoid the rush, but the dust covered tables didn't give me any real room to maneuver, and she hit me in a high tackle that took us both to the ground. Chairs clattered as we hit them, both of us cursing the other as we wrestled and fought to end up on top.

I was stronger, but she had experience and biotics, and ended up straddling my chest as she threw punches at my face, each blow hammering at my armored forearms as I jerked them up to protect my eyes and mouth.

Her attempt to shove them aside gave me a chance to seize a wrist, twisting her forearm hard enough to make her growl as I tried to lever her off of me. Unfortunately I missed my grab at her other arm, letting her get a solid hit onto my left eye before I could buck her off of me.

Curling my lips in pained fury, I surged after her, rolling to a crouch and slamming a fist into her gut as she tried to recover. The blow was enough to double her over, her hands hitting the ground to catch her... and leaving her own face wide open.

"You got Twelve fucking killed!" I snapped as I grabbed the back of her crest with one hand, breaking her nose with my other fist. "Nearly got us killed! Would have fucking murdered us without even talking about it!"

It was her turn to snarl, purple blood running from her nose and a cracked lip before she jerked a hand up, her biotics flinging me into the wall a good two meters behind me. Even with my armor protecting most of my body, that hurt rather significantly. As did bonelessly hitting the ground when gravity did its usual thing.

Then it was my turn to be ranted at as an armored boot slammed into my side, driving me sideways as Aethyta ranted. "I could have planned shit! Protected Liara! Had more shit in place to stop that fucker from getting off of Noveria!"

I managed to catch the third kick, twisting and pulling to make her fall to the floor as well. Unfortunately she elected to drop on top of me rather than beside me, and we again began shoving and grappling on the floor.

"You would have fucking killed me." I growled, briefly managing to get a grip on her throat before she slammed my arms away. "I wanted to survive. You're not denying that you would have killed me."

"I wanted to protect my daughter." She snapped back, trying to grab my hair, probably so that she could slam my head into the ground. "You're not denying that you should have found a way to tell me."

We both managed to get proper grips on our targets at about the same time, her fingers seizing my hair near my scalp, my own wrapping around her throat. I was squeezing and she was hauling my head up when two more sets of arms appeared, grabbing us both and locking us in place.

"That's enough." Tela Vasir drawled casually, as if she wasn't holding back a furious Matriarch as Illyan pried my fingers off of the old bitch's throat. "Come on, you've been punching each other for ten minutes and now you're just repeating yourselves. Let's calm the fuck down."

I could only glare and grimace as we were forcibly separated and hauled to our feet, Illyan cautiously keeping her hands on my shoulders as if she expected me to throw myself forwards once again.

Aethyta let out a ragged breath, waving Vasir off as she glanced around the old bar. Nearly everyone else was seated in the booths, largely to avoid the chaotic flailing that we'd been engaged in, and were watching with various degrees of interest or speaking with each other. Shyeel and Voya had largely ignored everything else in favor of speaking with one another as they drank, while Metheri and Joa had grudgingly sat together to speak about their mutual loss.

"Fine." The Old Matriarch exhaled, turning to head towards the bar. Vasir let her go, shrugging before turning to walk back to the table she'd been sitting at.

"Go on." I spoke quietly to Illyan, moving to follow the elder Asari. "She and I need to talk."

"No shit." She replied, giving my armored shoulder a single pat with her hand before moving back to sit next to our companions once again.

Reaching up, I rubbed at the bruising I could feel beginning across my face, grimacing as my own legs carried me up to the bar and into the stool beside my old employer. She was dabbing at her bleeding face with a towel with one hand, her other grabbing a bottle from behind the counter and settling it in front of her.

I took it before she could try and drink directly from it, reaching over and feeling around until my hand returned with a pair of glasses. Pouring a measured amount of liquor into each, I shifted one of them in front of her while taking the other for myself. "To a shit year."

Aethyta grunted, clacking her cup against mine before we through the bitter rum back. "Shit year. How did you work it out?"

"Joa mentioned you had another daughter." I exhaled, grabbing the bottle again. "After that it was just putting crap together. Your desperation when you called her names, why you sent us after her in the first place, how fucked up you looked when I saw you... figured you lost someone close to you, probably in a less than pleasant fashion. Since I'm pretty sure Liara is still alive, it seemed like a good guess."

Her single eye seemed to half close as she shook her head, "You always were good at putting pieces together."

I shrugged before lowering my voice. "How did it happen?"

"Abducted her while she was on leave." Blue fingers tightened around her glass as I refilled it, "Right off of fucking Thessia, all so that they could turn her into one of those fucking things and send her after me."

"Dammit." I could only sigh. I still didn't like Aethyta, not like I once had, but... that put some of her actions into a different context. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah." She threw more rum back. "The fact that you actually mean that just annoys me even more."

"I seem to have that effect on people." I admitted, thinking of Shepard as I poured myself another drink as well. "So... where is this going? Are we going to progress beyond a fist-fight and try to kill each other, or are we going to cooperate against that bitch?"

"Cooperate." Aethyta leaned back in her seat, pointedly not looking at much of anything. "As much as I still want to kill you for what you did, I can admit your points... and the more people pointed at Cynthi T'Ravt, the better."

Sighing, I nodded slightly as I took a measured sip of rum. "I'm still furious with you about this entire affair, but... shit. You're in position to help save the fucking galaxy, and that's more important than a personal grudge. I won't take orders from you, but I'll work with you."

"I won't ever trust you." She replied evenly, "But I'll work with you. Now refill my fucking glass."

Rolling my eyes, I did so, followed it with mine, and then we clicked them together once again to seal the tentative agreement. We worked our way through those drinks more slowly, both of us waiting for the other to start talking first.

I gave in first, perhaps five or six minutes later. "What can you tell me about what you've been doing? I'm going to assume that you already know everything we've been up to."

"Of course I do." She rolled a shoulder in a shrug, "I also know that you set Cerberus against her, which has been alternatively annoying and helpful. I'm currently engaged in a quiet war against T'Ravt and her agents, we're fighting over the remains of the Broker network."

I lifted my eyebrows. "Who killed the yahg?"

"I did." Her head dipped over to where Vasir was sitting, "I showed her your will, convinced her to take me and a few of my old girls to his base. We dropped him, but T'Ravt must have had someone in his network because she showed up less than a week later with a small fleet and good sized army. Had to blow the ship and bolt, and that gave her a chance to make inroads."

"Shit." I swore quietly, my initial amusement that Aethyta was the Broker instead of Liara quickly vanishing as I realized that she didn't have the full network under her control. "How much did she get?"

"Most of the agents in the Republics, the Protectorate, and the Hierarchy." A hand rose to shift left to right, "STG realized something was up and evicted nearly all of them from the Union, so neither of us has many eyes there anymore."

Grimacing, I clambered out of my chair and moved around her, letting my legs carry me behind the bar. My hands got to work automatically, grabbing everything I'd need to start mixing proper drinks together. "What do you know about her?"

"I was working out the Leviathan angle about the same time as you were." Her lips twisted. "I don't know if the bitch is worshiping them or just trying to use them, but it doesn't really matter. She's got access to a lot of crap as a result, and she's probably using it to influence politics on Thessia, but that's on my end of things. Did you find anything out from Zero-One before your girl killed her?"

"From her, no." I shook my head, "From the banshee and its puppet master, a little bit. I think the one that I killed was one of T'Ravt's daughters. She... it said that they punished her for fucking up her analysis of me."

Aethyta frowned a little at that, visibly processing that. "Interesting."

When she didn't elaborate, I forced out a breath and clenched my teeth a bit. "Anything on the Reapers?"

"Plenty, nothing you need to care about." Her voice turned a bit flat. "With all the shit you're doing, it's a possibility that you'll end up taken, just like Neshivi was. I'm making sure information gets to Shepard and the Council, that's all you need to know."

My lips twisted, but since that was a very real concern of my own, I couldn't exactly dismiss it. "Fine. On the note of Shepard, I'm sure you're aware of Garrus? What the fuck is he doing on Omega?"

"He went back to C-Sec after Noveria, applied for Spectre candidacy with Shepard's backing." She replied, apparently feeling the topic safe enough to speak on. "He had some kind of altercation with the Executor and several of the other Turian candidates and vanished for a month before showing up on Omega."

So the same as my implanted memories, more or less, just with the wrinkle of Shepard not being dead. "You know he was going after the Talons?"

Her mouth pressed into a thin line. "No. Not exactly his usual targets... I'll make inquiries."

"And make sure he survives." I added, glancing down as I finished mixing everything, watching as I poured the white liquid into tall glasses. "Omega is on a war footing, if he keeps going after the larger groups... he'll get caught sooner or later."

"I'll put people in place." A hand rose to accept the drink when I passed it to her, her eye widening a bit at the first sip. "You've gotten better at this."

"Plenty of practice." I took a sip from my own Moonrise. "So. Information exchange complete?"

"Essentially."

My head dipped. "Now what?"

"We go our separate ways." Aethyta replied. "And continue disliking one another, but we share information when it becomes relevant."

"What kind of information?" I asked in return, "I'd rather not have a repeat of this shit just because I didn't think you needed to know something."

Her voice lowered in irritation. "Then you'd better just fucking tell me everything, shouldn't you?"

"Because I can trust you to do the same in return." I retorted, setting my drink down with a heavy clatter. "So let's actually be fucking realistic here."

An upper lip twitched away from teeth, a bit more blood welling up as she cracked the scabbing. "If I find anything about the bitch that involves you, or the Terminus, you'll be told."

Fingers drummed on the counter as I considered that. It was probably as good as I was going to get... and it wasn't much of anything. I couldn't trust her to tell me even that much, even if she gave me her word. Athame's ass, especially if she tried to give me her word. Really, all I could assume was that she wasn't going to be directly trying to kill me anymore. A definite victory, to be sure, but as far as gathering more information about what the Matriarch was up to... I wouldn't get much of anything.

But on the same measure, could I afford to not give her whatever I found in return? She was a cantankerous, conniving, untrustworthy old bitch... but she would fight the Reapers, and the Leviathans I supposed, with everything she had. For Liara's sake, even if not for her own.

"Fine." I sighed, suddenly feeling the exhaustion welling up as I shook my head. "I'll let you know if I find anything on her, the Leviathans, or the Reapers while I'm hunting Krom. Maybe he'll have some answers, or at least a few leads."

Her weathered features pulled into a scowl. "Your word on that?"

"Yes." I muttered the word, and she sat back with an openly satisfied expression. "Turn down the gloating would you? We both know I'm going to give you data and you aren't going to give me shit in return, you don't have to advertise it."

"I will give you what I think necessary, especially if it means that your little company can help me kill the bitch that murdered my daughter." Aethyta all but snarled the words, "And I will do whatever it takes to make sure this fucked up galaxy keeps spinning, so that what family I've got left will have better lives than I have."

"I suppose I'll just have to trust that." I spoke slowly, cautiously, trying not to stare at the dark motes of light appearing and vanishing along her forearms.

Her single eye narrowed, something dangerous appearing in it as she leaned towards me... then faded as she clenched her scarred fists, her aged body slumping somewhat as her chest heaved. I had no idea what the fuck that was about, and even less of an idea of what to say in response, so I settled for cautiously taking another sip of my drink and trying to think calm thoughts as she worked through her shit.

"You... all there?" I finally asked once she'd opened her eye again, a slightly shaking hand grabbing for her own drink.

"Sometimes." She replied quietly, "Turns out fighting your old bondmate, her new lover, a giant Yahg, and then having to kill your own husked daughter does a lot of shit to someone."

"I can believe that." I murmured. "Shit, here I thought I was the most fucked up person I knew."

Aethyta gave me a wan smile, though it was a pale shadow of what it had once been. "That remains debatable."

I snorted, not really agreeing but not about to state that aloud and start another argument. So instead I asked another set of questions, hoping that her shift in emotion would see her give me something useful. "Did you have anything else? Any evidence that anything is getting past Aria's new anti-Leviathan measures?"

"I know she's executed at least five people who tried to get an orb on station, and my people on her colonies haven't reported any unusual behavior." Her glass tipped back as she took a long drink before speaking again, "None of the other Warlords have seriously been affected, so far as I know. I believe that they were over-focused on taking Omega."

I opened my mouth, but she continued before I could ask, "No, I don't know where they were sending those husks in from, and I haven't found anything that says she's working with Ganar."

"All right." Finishing off my drink, I set the empty glass aside, trying not to show my pleasure at the fact that we were having something like an actual conversation. "Has Cerberus found anything?"

"They demolished one of the bitch's compounds, but it was a minor facility. Nothing major, and no prisoners who knew anything."

I grunted. "Damn."

"Your turn," She replied, leaning in. "What did Aria setup during that briefing?"

Blowing out a breath, I took our empty glasses and got to work refilling them as I talked. Relaying Aria's plan to sic the lesser Warlords on Ganar didn't take long, but going into the additional details that Leska had given me did.

Long story made short, Aria and die Waffe were increasingly becoming aware of the fact that Sederis and T'Ravt were using the war to massively expand their influence and control... to the point where Aria's control of Omega meant far less than it had before the conflict had begun. Worse; everyone liked a winner, and it was entirely possible that some of Aria's subordinates would start shifting their loyalties around if they didn't think that she was the biggest shark in the sea.

Most of them likely wouldn't side with T'Ravt, her preference towards some semblance of order would grate against the kind of people that Aria attracted, but it was entirely possible that some of the Ha'diq gaining strength in vacuum of Zaen's death might attract a few... or that Sederis might decide that her partnership with Aria had run its course.

Just what the fuck her plans were to reverse her fortunes, Leska didn't know, but that she had them went without saying.

"Right now it seems like Sederis is still sticking with Aria," I sighed as I set my half-finished drink down, "At least, according to Leska. T'Ravt probably doesn't want to, but since the bulk of her strength is still died down in sieges in the eastern Terminus, she's not in any position to try anything right now."

Aethyta grunted, fingers slowly tapping as she narrowed her eye in thought. "What about Waffe?"

"He seemed annoyed at her theatrics, but that might have just been an act." I shrugged, "Gormack looked like shit though, and I have no idea why Cessa was involved at all."

"Terminus politics." The matriarch growled, shaking her head irritably. "Dammit. The fallout from this fucking war could take decades to settle into a new round of greater Warlords, and we don't have that fucking kind of time. You'll have to work on that."

I blinked. Repeatedly. "What?"

"You cannot be that oblivious... wait, Athame's ass, of course you fucking can." Air seethed between her teeth. "Everything you've done since the war has started has built on itself, especially with Shaaryak's old efforts, and now with Wong's little documentary starting up. As far as the Terminus cares, you are a warlord kid. A lesser one, yeah, but a fucking warlord all the same."

"Ayle is the-"

"No one apart from you actually thinks that she runs the Blades." Aethyta cut me off with a scoff. "She's probably flattered to shit that you act the way you do, but you are the one who routinely hangs out with Sederis and T'Ravt. You are the one who killed Ganar Iraz, brawled with fucking Balak and won, lead the bloody charge on Redcliffe, and a dozen other missions that impressed some powerful people. Shit, the fact that no one knows what happened in Omega's mines is even working for you, since people are just making shit up."

I flinched a little at each sentence, "That doesn't mean that-"

"It doesn't mean you want it." She exhaled raggedly. "Goddess but I know you've got no desire for that kind of crap, all you want is to kill Krom and then vanish until the Reapers force you to do crap. But that doesn't change the fact that you're in a place where you've got leverage, and you're going to have to fucking use it. A fractured Terminus won't do anyone any fucking good when those machines show up."

It wouldn't, but... "I don't know how to play politics."

"Oh for fuck's..." One of her hands rose to actually slap at her face as she groaned, "Just when I think you couldn't be more in denial. Athame's fucking ass kid, what the fuck do you think you do every time you speak with a warlord? The fact that you're still breathing proves you can play Terminus politics."

"I..." My head shook as I sighed, very much wanting to disagree but being utterly unable to find any arguments that would win against what she was saying. Something else I'd have to talk with Illyan about, and probably Amy when I called her tonight. I knew I was becoming famous against my will, but this was... a bit beyond that.

"Shit." I grimaced, forcing the words out just to get her off my back for now. "If things don't look good, I'll see what I can do."

"Good." She grunted, bringing her omni-tool to life as she checked it. "Right, I have to get moving. You mind if I borrow my daughter for a while?"

"I don't own her." My left hand waved in her direction, "So it's up to her. We can step outside if you just want to talk privately."

Aethyta nodded slightly, stepping off of her stool and walking away without another word. I watched as she approached her two daughters, the pair of them glancing up from the drinks they'd been occasionally sipping from. Joa scowled a little, but forced herself to listen as the matriarch spoke to her. After a few breaths, she gave a grudging nod, and her mother nodded in return before turning back in my direction.

"Privacy." She spoke, loudly enough to make the the muted conversation between my friends go quiet. "Kid, keep me updated. I'll do the same."

I grunted, stepping around the bar as I nodded. I still wasn't sure how much I believed her, especially given her slightly unstable mental state, but at least she was off of my back for now. After the Reaper war... or whatever happened with them, things might change, but for now...

For now I had something like another ally against the Matriarch, one that I trusted slightly more than Cerberus.

My friends rose from their own table, heading towards the door as I moved to follow. I slowed just enough to nod to Joa, and tell her that we'd be just outside, before accelerating again. I was just reaching for the door when Aethyta spoke up again, her voice tinged with an emotion I couldn't place.

"Kean." She waited until I'd turned to glance at her before continuing, "Good job with Wong. Congratulations on that."

I blinked, entirely confused. "You mean with the documentary? That was all Amy."

"No," Her lips curled, her expression becoming almost vicious. "And I'm sure it was. Get out of here, my daughter will be out in a few minutes."

Shaking my head in irritation, I turned back and strode out into the afternoon light, trying to puzzle out just what the fuck she'd been talking about.

"So." Voya drawled, her petite frame leaning against the building. "We aren't killing her then?"

"No." I murmured distractedly. "We're allied. Kind of. I was right, T'Ravt killed her other daughter... husked her, actually."

Several oaths came from my companions, Shyeel speaking up. "Guessing that's why she was so desperate to get Metheri and Joa back... still, why send us?"

"Her people were occupied." Gravel crunched as I started pacing, my brain unable to let go of her final remarks... and the expression she'd spoken them with. She knew something, and it was something I wasn't going to like. Something that she was taking satisfaction in, probably because she'd decided she couldn't afford to kill me. "I'll explain when we aren't out in public... probably not even with the Eclipse."

Illyan grunted, "That bad? And why are you pacing? She piss you off?"

"Yes, because, and something like that." I muttered distractedly. "Voya, I need an extranet lookup. Emily Wong, anything related to the documentary she's doing, or anything related to us."

"All right..." The Quarian asked cautiously, her omni-tool flicking to life. "Can I get a reason?"

"Aethyta congratulated me for a 'good job' with her, but I have no idea what that means." My lips twisted. "But something tells me I'm not going to like it."

Behind me, I heard my lover groan before she moved forwards to grab my pacing frame. "Cie, let it go. I really don't want anymore shit news before we go back to Xentha. If it's important and involves us, Amy will tell you tonight."

"I'd rather know so that I can-"

"Oh Keelah..." Voya's almost distressed gasp made me shut up, everyone turning to stare at her as she groaned. "That's... not good."

"Voya?" Shyeel asked cautiously.

She sucked in a ragged breath, shaking her head a bit. "It's... shit. Early searches brought up her journalist profile."

I blinked when she stopped, "And...?"

"And..." She seemed to uncharactersitically struggle with her words before groaning. "And there's a picture of her. She's... either letting herself go, or she's... you know."

"No... I don't know." I shook my head, "Voya what is it?"

The Quarian reached up to rub at her visor. "She's... fuck, she's pregnant."

Three sets of eyes exchanged confused glances, then Illyan spoke up. "So... what?"

"So..." Her shoulders seemed to slump in despair as she held her omni-tool up, then flipped the screen so that we could properly see...

See...

...

"Oh." Illyan's mouth moved a few times, but all she could do was repeat herself. "Oh."

Pillar of Strength

"I've been trying to tell you for a while." Amy Chang... no, Emily Wong sighed on the screen, looking more than a little tired. "I didn't know how you'd react, but I thought you deserved to hear it from me. In person I mean, not just by a recording or text."

Cieran could only rub at his face with a slightly shaking hand, "Yeah. I... shit. Sorry, I'm having... a hard time processing this."

"I can imagine." She replied softly, "Is that Illyan behind you?"

"Yes." I replied, shifting to better be in front of the camera, and cautiously placing my hands on Cie's shoulders to let him know I was there. "It's just the two of us."

"All right, but I think I'd like to talk with him al... oh." Her mouth stopped moving for a moment, "You're together now, aren't you?"

"Yes." I repeated once I realized that Cieran's mind was lost at sea once again. "For about a month now."

"Oh." She seemed to swallow. "That makes this a little more awkward."

Just a little bit. Goddess, this was already the longest serious relationship I'd ever had, and already... Athame's ass, I hadn't even realized that they'd ever slept together until Voya had admitted that she'd known about their two drunken nights together. "Yeah. Just a bit."

"Yeah." The reporter repeated. "Um... right. I'm... I'm keeping it, I made that decision already."

"All right." He managed to reply, "Do you... shit, this sounds terrible even in my head, but do you... what do you expect from me?"

"Cieran..." She sucked in a breath, then let it out. "I don't expect anything, and I kind of don't want anything."

I glowered at the screen, feeling a little nettled on his behalf. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that... you're mercenaries, assassins even." Her head shook, "I mean, I'd like to still consider you both friends, and I think you're as good of people as you can be given where you live and what you do..."

"But you don't really want them exposed to the kind of life we lead." Cieran murmured quietly, and shifted a little at the emotions his choice of words brought up.

We, not I.

"No." She admitted. "And your mission, your corporation, your friends, and... well, you, Illyan. It's all in the Terminus, and... no offense, but Redcliffe was more than enough exposure for one lifetime. I don't intend to go back, especially not with a child."

One of Cie's hands rose, as if he wanted to rub at his face again, then lowered as he forced himself to relax. "I can understand that."

"I'm not saying that I don't want you to stay away forever." She almost rushed to assure him, "Or that they can't know who their father is when they're old enough."

I winced a little. "You just don't want him involved all that much."

Wong closed her eyes as if preparing herself, then shook her head. "No... no, not really. Not on an everyday basis, or anything close to that. Like I said, when they're old enough to understand, maybe we could have some kind of sit down."

"You don't think I'd be a good parent?" Cieran asked quietly, his voice wavering between hurt and relieved.

"I don't think that you could stand staying in one place for that long." She replied honestly, though not unkindly. "I think living on the Citadel or Earth would drive you insane, and that wouldn't be good for anyone."

Which at least proved that she had a pretty good handle on his personality. He nodded slightly, letting out a tight breath before speaking. "All right... so what do we do now?"

"I get to suffer through five more months of this." Wong replied, a weak smile on her face. "I'll keep you updated as to how that goes. After that... well, it isn't as if I'll need money or support."

"So..." He shook his head, "Just leave you to it, and work out when I can introduce myself when they're in their teens?"

"That's..." She seemed to struggle with her words before giving up and sighing, "More or less accurate. Maybe earlier, depending on how things go."

"All... right." Cie murmured, quietly enough to make me wince. "I'll... sorry, I'm still out of it. We'll talk about the documentary thing another time?"

"Yeah, that's... that's fine." Wong nodded slowly, "I'll plan on setting up a call at least once a month, if that's all right. To go over... both things."

"That's fine." He replied, following it up with a casual goodbye before the transmission was cut... leaving the two of us in a very awkward silence.

"Cieran..." I spoke quietly, keeping my hands on his tense shoulders. "You all right?"

"...no." The human admitted, his head bowing a bit. "No I'm not. This is... what do I do about this?"

"She said she doesn't want you involved." I kept my voice low, spacing out my words. "You don't have to do anything."

"I feel like I should. That I have to."

My lips curled a little bit, "That's because you're still a good person."

"I got her pregnant, and now I'm not even going to be involved in the kid's life." He replied. "And... shit, I'm an assassin, a mercenary, and apparently I qualify as a lower level warlord or some shit."

"I heard." It had been hard not to; Aethyta hadn't exactly kept her ranting quiet. "And yeah, you did, but it was her choice to sleep with you. It's not as if you forced her into it, and it's not as if you were the one saying you didn't want to be involved."

"But I don't." The words were barely a murmur. "I don't want children... at least, not with all this shit going on. And Amy... Emily Wong isn't exactly the person I'd have...oh fuck. The Reapers. What the fuck is going to happen when they show up?"

I flinched at the reminder. "Amy's smart, she'll find a way to keep them safe. And I know you don't want a child, but if she'd demanded you be involved, would you find a way?"

"I... don't know."

"You would have." I spoke confidently, tugging at his shoulders to try and get him to stand up. "You might have demanded she move here in return, but you would have tried. And you'd be a better parent than your mother was."

A sucked in breath at least confirmed that I'd found at least one of his concerns. "You think so?"

"You'd have taught them how to help you build things the moment they could understand you." I grinned a little as he finally got my message, shakily rising to his feet. "Maybe you'd make them a tiny suit of power armor to go to school in."

Something like a strangled snort came out as he turned around, followed by a surprised sound when I enveloped him in a tight hug, his face pressing into my neck as I held him. "Hm?"

"Just making sure you don't think I'm going to leave you over this." I murmured, shifting my chin a bit to avoid getting any of his fur in my mouth. "And that you know I think you're a good person."

"Even though part of me is massively relieved to not be involved in my own child's life?" He asked quietly.

It was my turn to snort softly, "And another part of you hates that part. I said you were a good person, not perfect..

Nobody was, least of all me, but now wasn't the time to talk about my own troubles with what I'd done, what we'd done, why we were doing it.

Even if all of that was murky as shit... the core of him was something that hadn't changed. He was still the same person who'd helped Erana and I settle in to life at the mansion, who'd protected and helped her. Who, even years after her death, was still determined to avenge Rane'li, to the point where he had a hard time caring about any other mission.

Who'd put up with my flirtations and teasing for years, grinning as he gave as good as he got. Who'd always given me a choice about what to do, never once demanding that I do anything... even after I'd sworn a bloody oath of submission.

I exhaled quietly as I continued, "And you can also occasionally be an asshole, but I kind of like that about you."

"As good of people as we can be, given where we live and what we do..." Cie exhaled as he repeated Amy... dammit, Emily's words. "And seriously? You like that about me?"

"Yeah." I breathed softly, feeling his warm frame pressed against me as I closed my eyes. I really did... especially when he started in on the vicious sarcasm, his lips curling as he mocked whatever idiot had annoyed him. It made his pale green eyes glint if I had the right angle, and threw his sharp features into flattering relief that always made me want to...

"Illyan..." He spoke almost hesitantly as a hand started to drift up and down his back, the other sliding up to tangle itself in his soft fur. "Seriously? That's what got me into this situation."

"I'm not human." I reminded him, feeling his breathing quicken as I pressed my body even closer to his. "And I'm not drunk, so you won't have to worry about that. Actually, you shouldn't be worrying about anything at all if I'm doing things properly."

"Illyan..." As usual, he tried to protest. "We've got things to do, and we should tell Voya and Shyeel-"

"We can do that later, once you're relaxed and not so stressed out." My fingers tightened in his fur, making his mouth open in a quiet sound of discomfort. "Now. I did grab some lube from my room, which means we can do this properly."

"Properly?" He asked, his entire body practically thrumming in my grasp. I don't think he'd ever admit it, but I was reasonably sure that he liked me taking the lead more. Not quite dominance games or anything, but he certainly seemed to respond to me simply informing him how it was going to happen.

"I'm going to throw you onto this bed," I murmured, shifting my chest a bit to make sure he could feel my breasts, "Then climb on top so that you can watch my abs flex and my tits bounce while I ride you."

I felt his arousal grow as I spoke, grinning at the effect just a few blunt words could have on him. "You... are impossible."

Pulling a bit, I smirked at him as I forced his head back enough for our eyes to meet. "Yeah, and you love that about me."

Any further protests or comments was cut off when I shoved my mouth against his, all of the crap we'd gone through disappearing beneath the heat of our bodies. It wasn't a permanent solution, or anything close to it... but for a while, he wasn't in pained, wasn't stressing over what Aethyta had told him, wasn't freaking over what Amy had.

For a while, it was just us.

Nos Astra News Tonight

In war news, the situation remains calm in the spinward Terminus, with the Eclipse and die Waffe's forces settling into something close to peace-time routines as the fighting continues to shift to the outer reaches of the Terminus.

The anti-spinward Terminus remains a combat zone, and we cannot recommend travel for any reason outside of the Maferath cluster. Lady Warlord T'Ravt maintains her sieges of nearly a dozen blood pack colonies, though she has successfully repulsed the assaults on four of her own worlds. We will continue to provide updates as systems become safe for travel and trade.

The situation in the rimward and coreward clusters remains confusing, with lower tiered warlords taking increasingly active roles in the fighting. Zadith Ban is believed to have been assaulted by no fewer than five separate Ha'diq, we are still waiting for confirmation on who is involved in that operation.

In other news, Volus investments rose once again...

End Saga III: Return to Sender

And here we are at the end of the act, with two long-held guesses confirmed about Amy Chang. We also get a few answers out of Aethyta, though Cieran at least doesn't quite believe that she's telling him everything for reasons both good and bad. Still, at least she won't be trying to kill him.. probably.

For those hoping for Joa to get more characterization, don't worry, this was merely her introduction. She will be getting far more screen time in Saga IV, and we'll finally start meeting some of the Silver Blades who aren't members of the old guard. (For a further tease, the name of interlude 8 should be a bit of a hint as to who might be involved in the next saga).

Speaking of interludes, we'll be heading into them now, of which there should be four. As I said, each will be from a different character's point of view (none of which will be Cieran). Also, yes, they will all be named in German (and mine is terribly rusty), so apologies in advance if I didn't quite get them correct.

Interlude V: Lieb Freunde (Scaled Perspectives)

Interlude VI: Mechanische Störung (Silent Witness)

Interlude VII: Gesellschaftstanz (Renegade Son)

Interlude VIII: Höllenhund (Branded Survivor)

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:

Thedarknesswithin96 → It's not especially good, but neither is it especially bad. As for his romantic life... the perks of fame lol, though he isn't the only silver blade who enjoys plenty of interest (more on that in interlude 7).

griezz → That does sound like something that he, and they, would do lol.

BJ Hanssen → The problem with having so much to material to cover is that a lot of things have to just be hinted at or referenced, especially with all of the plot lines going concurrently (and the 1st person POV limiting things). I'm glad you think that I'm managing everything all right so far. :)

Tusken1602 → Well... one less sister now, but Liara will be meeting the other two at some point.