I don't own the Mass Effect.

Chapter 5: The Armorers

"All right," Setting my glass of tea on the table, I glanced around at my friends. "Our council of war is hereby called to order. First thing on our to do list is for you Jarick. Go find your girlfriend and occupy yourself for a few hours."

The kid had been about to take the seat opposite me, and paused midmotion to stare in confusion. "But I though I was going to help."

"You can help with things like data analaysis, it's safe enough. This shit," One of my fingers tapped the tablet in front of me, "Can literally get you killed just for knowing it. That's not a decision I'm going to make for you."

He blinked a few times. "I don't understand sir."

"What my Reyja'krem is saying, Jarick, is that your time to decide if you are going to remain with us has come faster than he might have preferred." Rane spoke tactfully. "He had hoped that you would have more experience in running your own life, but circumstances have changed."

I grimaced and nodded. "Here's the deal Jarick. If we tell you the stuff we're about to go over, you're stuck with us. For our own safety we wouldn't be able to let you walk away, because if anyone decided to interrogate and-or torture you they'd be able to find out shit that would make our lives very unpleasant in a hurry."

Jarick paled, swallowing heavily before he jerked his chin to show he understood.

"So you have a choice. You can either stay with, and be stuck with, us, or you can stay here and join the Talons as a cook full time. You'd see us around the base, but you wouldn't be staying with us anymore." His mouth moved to open, and I cut him off before he could say anything. "Don't make it right now because I'm not going to accept it. You have the luxury of time."

"How..." He had to swallow again, averting his eyes from the three of us. "How long do I have?"

"Until we leave. So weeks to months."

"If... if I stay, will you t-tell me what's going on?"

"Yeah."

"I..."

"Jarick." Rane spoke again, her voice firm but not unkind. "Go find Alicia. Watch a vid or cook her food. As the Reyja'krem said, you have time."

The kid bit his lip, exhaled, nodded, and then politely excused himself. My lover rose to follow him to the door, murmuring quiet words of encouragement before he vanished through the airlock. Once it was done cycling, she locked it before coming back to the table.

Perhaps a bit too blunt with him Cieran. He's still nearly a child.

"I know." A long sip from my tea didn't make me feel much better. "But... shit. It's like Rane said, I didn't want this to happen now but..."

A three fingered hand shifted to pat my arm gently. I understand. Now to business?

"Yeah." Blowing out a heavy breath, I nodded firmly. "Right. Council of War, second point of order. Voya, you're staying with us?"

Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be here would I?

"Fair point." I admitted, trying not to slump in my chair. "Moving on, we've got... a lot of goddess-damned crap to wade through."

My lover winced slightly, "Reyja'krem, we don't have to do this now. You haven't slept since you and Voya got back five shifts ago."

"I'm all right Rane, I can sleep after this."

Trisren is picking up those helmets she needed fixed in four hours. Voya reminded me. If you wanted to talk with her you should get some sleep now.

"I'll be fine." I glowered at both of them. "Once she and I are done I'll got to bed."

The two alien women exchanged a glance. "Reyja'krem, the skin beneath your eyes is dark, you're barely staying upright, and I believe you're slightly hungover."

"Rane, I'm-"

Voya's glare shut me up before I could continue, her fingers typing on her tablet. Rane, you're too nice to him. I can handle this.

I felt my eyes narrow. "Voya."

The Quarian ignored my warning tone, slowly standing up and rolling her neck, her curtained mane of hair swirling slightly with the motion. Flicking my glance to the right, I winced as Rane pointedly leaned back in her own seat, her lower eyes firmly on her tablet while the upper set wouldn't meet mine.

Which meant I wasn't going to get any help from her.

Now, I was a lot larger than Voya. She barely cracked five feet, and even if Quarian bodies were denser than human ones, I still had a sizeable weight advantage. Of course, that didn't change the fact that I only rarely won our little brawls. I didn't have much of a sense of fair play, but I still had a few lines I wouldn't cross with friends.

Voya didn't.

So long as I was still breathing, she considered anything she did perfectly acceptable. It was a minor miracle that I hadn't lost an eye or teeth over the past few months.

Grimacing, I quickly pushed my own chair back, rising to my feet but making sure to keep the furniture in between myself and her. "Voya, seriously. We've got things to do, and lots of shit we have to go over. I can sleep in a few hours."

"I don't know a language where five is the definition of a 'few', my Reyja'krem."

"Rane, serious-fuck!" The moment I half turned to address Rane's dry remark, Voya had moved. The petite Quarian planted a single foot on my chair and vaulted it, a small fist snapping towards my face as she flew through the air.

Jerking backwards, I managed to avoid the punch, but that still left her entire body to slam into me as momentum carried her the rest of the way. I yelped in pain as I hit the hard floor, barely avoiding smashing the back of my head on it. In comparison Voya seemed to have no problems using me as a cushion, and quickly scrambled to her knees so that she could pull an arm back for another punch.

Snapping my arms up to protect my face, more grunts escaped my throat as she tried to batter her way past them, probably hoping to get me to sleep by way of knocking me out.

"Fine!" Tensing my right leg, I yanked it up and back, driving my knee right into the small of her back. Her lips twisted in a silent yell of pain, the crazed look in her eye growing. Thighs tightened around my waist, and then she threw herself over, dragging me right along with her.

I reflexively snapped my hands out as she continued to roll all the way to her back, planting them on either side of her head. Before I could even start to flush at the position we'd ended up in, she took advantage of the complete lack of a guard to grab my throat.

Choking, I nearly collapsed on her as she didn't let up her grip, easily fending off my attempts to get her to let go with one hand. After a few moments I let me other arm drop my full weight onto her, which didn't do anything. Trying to grab for her arm with both of mine only saw her free hand grab a wrist, easily controlling my limb with the leverage.

"Voya, that's enough." Rane spoke up when my vision started to darken at the edges, her voice sharp. "Let him go."

The pressure eased, my lungs swelling as I gasped for air. I didn't have time to enjoy the oxygen, groaning in pain when the Quarian negligently shoved me off of her, my head promptly smacking into a chair.

"Fucking... ow..."

There was a sigh, followed by footsteps. A shadow fell over me as my lover knelt beside my head, her warm fingers carefully inspecting my skin. "And to think that I once believed that my Reyja'krem and Trena were difficult to live with."

Voya must have signed something at her, because she spoke again a few moments later. "I know that he needs to sleep, but did you really have to go so far? Pillars... Cieran, are you all right?"

I managed to focus my eyes enough to glower at her.

"Will you allow me to help you to bed? We will wake you up when Trisren arrives." She promised. "Voya and I will continue to research what we can about Matriarch T'Ravt and your fellow Reyja'krem while you rest."

Groaning again, I cleared my throat with a few coughs before I let my head loll back to rest on the cool floor. "Doesn't seem like I have a choice."

"If my Reyja'krem had wished for an obedient lover, perhaps he should not have encouraged her to become the person I am now. You should have gone to sleep twelve or more hours ago and you know it." I winced a little, turning my head left in mild shame. Above me, there was a slow intake of breath before fingers slowly touched my chin, gently turning my head back to the neutral position. "You're exhausted, and badly stressed. Go to sleep."

Closing my eyes, I nodded as best I could, not really trusting myself to say anything.

Rane helped me get up and relocate to our bedroom, inspecting my throat for bruises before she helped me take my shirt off. I remembered her kissing me softly, the earthy flavor of her mouth distracting my from my new aches and pains... and then I more or less collapsed into sleep.

It was dreamless, for once. Which made me all the more irritated when someone shoved the door open a few minutes later, light assaulting my eyes from the hallway.

"Oh. Shit." Trisren had the decency to sound rather taken aback. "You didn't fucking tell me he was sleeping."

"Yes, I did." My lover's voice carried down the hall. "You simply ignored me."

"Athame's ass, you didn't-"

"Tris!" I snapped, keeping an arm over my face to block the light. "Stop. Shouting. And either get in here or close the door and wait for me to get up."

There was a startled pause, then footsteps were followed by the cheap door closing to shelter us from the demonic invention known as lights.

"Sorry Cieran." The Asari spoke again, her voice noticeably lower in volume. "I was... in a bit of a rush, must have missed her saying that."

"It's fine." Shifting my arm down, I used that hand to cover a yawn. "What time is it?"

"Two hours into shift three. You dressed under those blankets?"

"Mostly." Grimacing, I squinted my eyes before flicking my omni-tool to life. A few button presses later had the single bulb in the ceiling set to dim, letting me see where she was leaning against the door.

From the look of her, she'd just come from a fight and hadn't bothered to change. Her navy and white armor was battered and scorched, though she at least didn't seem to be as banged up. "You all right?"

Tris waved an armored hand. "I'm as exhausted as you look, apart from that I'm all right. We didn't lose anyone or have any major casualties, so we still have the wind at our backs. Hopefully it'll last."

Grunting, I shifted myself upright, wincing as my back protested the move. Stupid Voya. Stupid floor. "I'd drink to that if we had drinks. Here for the helmets?"

"And to talk to you." She seemed to hesitate. "You doing all right Cie? You and Voya vanished before we could talk at T'Ravt's briefing, but I heard you hit the bar pretty hard. And Rane said you more or less kicked Jarick out until he decides something."

"Yeah..." Looking away from her, I stared at nothing in particular. "I'm... shit. No, I'm not all right."

"Is it something you can talk about? Trena won't tell me crap until I'm back on Illium."

I nodded slightly. "Makes sense. She wouldn't trust the Intelligence servers."

"Is.." Her voice hitched. "...this about the Nightwind raid?"

"Yeah. Sederis... owed me a minor favor for what happened in Nos Astra. She came through with who sent them."

There was a slow groan as her head dropped. "If your and Trena's reactions are anything to go by, it's not good news. Does it also go along with why I can't get a hold of our boss anymore?"

"Yeah."

"Athame's... shit. And you two are compartmentalizing the information to protect the rest of us. And yourselves I suppose." She waited for me to nod before she swore again. "Fuck. If you tell me, I'm going to be stuck with whatever plan you lot have come up with, aren't I? Something that involves the Eclipse, can't think of another reason you'd get drunk right after meeting with that crazy bitch."

I winced. "You'd... probably be in for the long haul, yeah. And the odds of survival aren't exactly good."

The tall Asari grimaced, looked at the floor, shook her head once, then exhaled and nodded. "You poured medigel inside of me when I was doing my overcooked fish impression. And despite the fact that we don't always get along, you're still a friend. Don't think I'd like myself much if I walked out on you right now."

"Fifty credits say you regret saying all that." Something like a smile appeared and then vanished. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

It took about twenty minutes to get the entire story out, minus my actual past as always. She interrupted me almost constantly, but her questions were always rather pertinent. By the time I was done, Tris was sprawled across the narrow width of the bed just below where I sat cross-legged, and a fifty-credit chit was sitting on the nightstand.

"I can't tell Dorvahn about this." She muttered to herself, staring at the ceiling. "His sense of honor would demand we do something about it."

"Running and hiding is doing something."

Her blue nose flared as she snorted. "Not to a Turian. And this is... goddess. A member of the Thirty, one of the most revered Matriarchs on Thessia... who spends her free time mind-raping humans, and she's using the Nightwind as her personal clean-up team."

I tried not to wince. "I'm guessing you won't be fleeing to Sederis's place then."

"No. I don't blame you for doing it, it's practical and will keep you alive." She let out a slow exhale. "But even if I wasn't with Dorvahn I don't think I could tolerate being there. Besides, I can do more for you and Trena if I'm free to move around."

Resting my elbows on my knees, I leaned forwards to frown at her. "Like what? I'd rather you didn't commit suicide by doing something stupid."

"I... don't know." Tris admitted, shifting a bit so she could look up at me. "No, wait. I could look for who you were."

I blinked. "What?"

"Who you were before that bitch broke you. Doc Sayran and Xerol Shaaryak's old doctor both said you didn't have the usual immunizations and gene work that Alliance citizens get. Your age means you must have been born right after the Relay 314 fiasco. Logically, you put those two together... your parents must have been some of the first out humans to head into the Traverse or Terminus."

All of that would have made sense if not for the little fact that I wasn't even from this reality. "So, what, you track them down and then... hope to figure out why I was targeted in the first place?"

"Pretty much."

Nodding, I tried to make a show of thinking that was a good plan. "That could be something. The Hegemony is still an issue too though."

"I'm not the Batarian expert that you are, or even at Trena's level of familiarity."

"You wouldn't have to be. Remember the thing about the Reyja'krem? Ayle and I might need someone to pass messages that the SIU can't track. You think you could handle that plus your investigation?" And with any luck, we'd keep her too busy with the former to waste her time on the latter. Or if things got too dangerous I could let her go off on her destination-less voyage.

"That could be doable." She spoke slowly, nodding as she appeared to mull it over. "I could set up dead drops for you, maybe work with Captain Vasir. I'm assuming you plan on telling her?"

"About the bit with the Hegemony, yeah. The T'Ravt thing... I'd rather not put her in the position you're stuck in. Even if you did ask for it."

"I did, and you're up fifty credits because of it."

"That's a tiny patch of sunlight." I agreed. "You still want to head back to Illium with us before you head out again?"

"I will. Will also need an excuse to resign my commission... maybe Sayran can fake a pregnancy test for me."

I couldn't stop from snorting. "Really? That's the first thing you go for?"

"You'd be surprised at how hard it is to quit. Then again maybe you wouldn't be." Tris shook her head and sighed. "We should probably go let Rane know we're alive and not having sex."

"As if. You can't stand the hair."

"Ugh, no." She made a face. "It bristles. And moves. Why Illyan wanted to end up with you so badly I still don't know."

"I'm half convinced she mostly just wanted Rane." Turning, I unfolded my legs and tried not to moan as the muscles stretched. "I was just something exotic on the side."

"Turians are exotic. Humans and Quarians are just... weird. No offense."

"None taken." Grabbing my shirt off the floor, I yanked it up and over my head. "Ready to see if we actually know anything about anything?"

"Besides the small matter that we'll be lucky to survive the year?"

"Besides that, yeah."

Groaning, she hauled herself upright, and the pair of us exited the cell turned room. Shuffling down the hall and into the kitchen found Rane and Voya more or less where they'd been before they'd insisted on my nap. There was even a cup of tea in front of my usual seat, and a bottle of the disgusting beer that Tris drank in front of the other open spot.

"Feeling better, my Reyja'krem?" The lowborn spoke quietly as I sat, her lower eyes nervously on her tablet while the upper set flicked my way.

"A bit." I admitted. "It was... a good idea."

Copper toned lips curled a little, the only sign of satisfaction that she allowed herself before she returned her attention to the text in front of her.

Would have been more fun if she'd let me handle it entirely. Voya sniffed while still managing to look a little smug. And we told you so.

"Yeah yeah." Taking a sip from my tea, I took a few moments to appreciate the rich flavor before pushing on. "Council of surviving the next few years is called back into session. We want to start with Hegemony or Republics?"

"The latter." Rane replied, "We have less information there, but also a firmer course of action."

Tris took a pull from her beer before she cut in, "What did you find out about Cynthi T'Ravt?"

The lowborn's lower eyes flicked to her tablet, while the upper set stayed on Tris. "A lot yet very little at the same time. For the basics; she is eight hundred and twelve years old, is a member of the Thirty, and is an extreme recluse. Images of her are rare to non-existent, which is a nearly impossible feat by itself, and by all accounts she hasn't left Thessia in over a century."

"All accounts are apparently wrong."

She dipped her head in my direction. "Indeed, my Reyja'krem. The T'Ravt clan is up there in political power, though not so much as they once were. Their alliance with the Vasir and T'Voth hurt them badly when the Militant party broke apart with Aethyta T'Voth's self-exile a century ago. Their, and by extension her, politics are essentially as both Shaaryak and Sederis described."

Pro-Asari racist bosh'tets. Voya typed out irritably, a hand flicking up to brush some of her mane out of her face. Thank you so much for making me read their press releases.

"You're welcome." I blithely ignored both her sarcasm and the annoyed glare her wide eyes threw my way. "What else did you find Rane?"

"She ostensibly has the loyalty of three commando houses, and several other minor families that contribute everything from credits to servants." My lover gave a little shrug. "While her family does not have the obscene levels of wealth that some of the other members of the Thirty do, they are still high on Illium's list of wealthiest people in the Republics. And she apparently has the authority to dispatch Nightwind teams."

"Which is a blatant breach of the accords that saw the Republics created." Tris growled. "The Thirty shouldn't be able to assign that kind of thing without leaving evidence, achieving agreements with the relevant committees."

There aren't any. Nothing publicly accessible anyway.

"How far back did you go?"

Eight centuries. The Quarian gave a little shrug. That was the first time the word 'Nightwind' was publicly used in reference to commando teams.

"No paper trails is a problem," Exhaling, I rubbed my forehead with a hand. "Maybe if we get Aethyta back she'd have access to files that we don't. But that's too big of a goddess-damned if. Did you find anything about her on a personal level? More than just the PR shit that her family turns out?"

Rane's lips thinned slightly. "She arranged for her sister's exile several centuries back for eloping with a Szhoc'tinnan, back when my people still awarded that title appropriately."

"So she's always been a bitch. Nothing else?"

"As I said, she is frustratingly private. Excepting the odd press conference, usually run by one of her cousins, the entire family stays out of the public spotlight as much as possible."

Plenty of guards, apparently a total recluse... No real chance to assassinate her then.

Rane's lower eyes blinked. "Would we even have the resources to pay an assassin with the skills to do so?"

"No." I grunted. "If I pooled everything from the accounts I've got here, and if Trena fronted everything I left to her when I 'died', that's about a million and a half. We'd need five or six to even get the attention of anyone skilled enough to pull off a strike like that on Thessia. And it would probably just be a down payment."

I'm not sure if I should be concerned or proud that you already did that math. She paused melodramatically before continuing. I'm going with proud.

"I'm... Athame, can we not talk about assassinating a member of my government? Even if she might deserve it." Trisren took another long drink. "Is there anything else? Anything we didn't already know?"

Nothing that we've found in the last day and three quarters. We might have more luck on Illium, when we don't have to deal with Omega's makeshift networks.

"We'll certainly have plenty of time." I agreed. "Right, so. Bitch of a Matriarch, potentially illegal access to government assassins, but we still don't have a motive or even a guess at a motive."

"That is accurate, my Reyja'krem." Air whistled between Rane's teeth. "Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the Hegemony. Their motive is rather obvious."

Tris glanced between us, "More than him just being an alien with a title?"

The new Patriarch Balak put out a press release in the Hegemony's state news. Voya flicked an apologetic glance my way. Cieran's head is worth an estate, promotions, wealth, and considerations towards caste elevation to whichever SIU team or loyal Harath'krem that delivers it to him.

Even more or less having expected to hear something like that, I still flinched a little and held my glass of tea a bit tighter. It was one thing to be wanted because you were part of a group, but hearing that an asshole was offering the social equivalents of a massive fortune for my severed head was still... ugh.

Rane reached out, her fingers gently wrapping around my wrist. "There are... other Reyja'krem, mostly aliens, who have similar offers being put out by Highborn who hold grudges against them. Yours was merely the one with the greatest potential rewards."

All because I'd fallen for Nynsi Shaaryak. Fuck, that felt like a lifetime ago now. "We'll have to worry about the other Reyja'krem that we bring in. They aren't technically exiles, might tempt a few of them."

We already checked Ayle. The Quarian didn't have any problems anticipating the one I was most worried about. Her bounty is tied with an Asari named Shyeel for the next highest after yours.

"How do you measure value in social favors like those?" Tris frowned. "Or did they give credit values?"

They did. She tellingly didn't give them. We were going to confirm what's public with whatever Ayle can give us. Assuming her contacts will still respond to her after this.

"Assuming that. If they don't, we might have to talk to... someone."

My lover sucked in a slow, unhappy breath. "Shaaryak."

It was my turn to shift my hand, gently holding hers. "I'm not thrilled about it either, but they don't just let people in and out of the Hegemony. And she does hate the Balak family. Worse comes to worse we can always pay her for the information."

She still didn't look happy, but she nodded politely to accept the point.

"Did you find anything about the others that Ayle might try to bring in? What about that Asari you just mentioned?"

Shyeel. No clan name given, she was a Harath'krem in good standing until the heir of the house she served got a bit too touchy for her tastes. Voya's lips curled lazily in approval. So she removed his hands and another piece of his anatomy.

I shuddered reflexively at the very idea.

"We don't have much information on her beyond that, my Reyja'krem." Rane took over, focusing again on her notes. "A few indications that she hired herself out as a freelance sniper during the war, then nothing. Apart from that, none of the bounties covered their targets locations. I believe they were mostly intended to alarm and inspire fear in their targets."

"How very Batarian." Tris muttered. "No offense Rane."

"None taken."

The Asari spy sighed and finished off the last of her beer. "As much as I'd like to stay, I'm barely awake right now, and I've got equipment to get back to my own place. Obviously I don't want any of this in writing Cie, but if you could find a time in a couple of weeks to update me again I'd appreciate it."

"Of course." Flicking my eyes right, I caught my lover's upper set. "Rane, your armor's repainted in Talon colors isn't it? You think you could escort Tris back?"

"I would be happy to." The lowborn's lips curled a little. "I'm assuming you would also like me to get some things while I'm out?"

"If by things you mean food. And by food you mean steaks for Jarick to cook us." Good food wouldn't magically make everything better, but right now I'd take even a small win like being able to eat something delicious.

I had no way of knowing it at the time, but we had another two months filled with nothing but exhausting waiting ahead of us. At the time, I hated it, wishing that the Blood Pack would hurry up and abandon Gozu so that we could leave.

But with everything that happened after that... I should have appreciated the peace more than I did. I should have appreciated everything more than I did.

Next up is Chapter 6: A Morning Star

And here we have the final time skip of the story. From here on out, the remaining chapters and epilogue chapters are going to be more or less continuous.

Rane continues her growth of being able to actually speak what's on her mind, even in circumstances when Cieran disagrees with her. Voya remains Voya, and Tris has been brought into the group of people aware that Matriarch T'Ravt is very much up to something, even if she might regret wanting to know now that she does.

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:

elidan1012 → Yeah, that math is a little off. I thought I put in a part where Cieran corrects himself, he should be healed roughly midway between the SR-1's destruction and the start of ME-2, thus giving him and Ghai time to work with Sederis to prep.

Lfan8 → Thanks, that's something I always try to consider when I plot things out. For a bit of foreshadowing, the events of the rest of the act are largely a result of the Blue Suns no longer being around to help maintain the status quo. ;)

BJ Hanssen → There's a few more 'twists' planned. One I think a few people have guessed, others maybe less so.

KyuubiNoDachi → Glad you're liking it so far, :). The other Reyja'krem will be coming, this chapter saw the first one named but she won't be alone.

Mikle Silver → Sounds like you agree with Trena's theory, the one she and Ghai worked out when they got his will back in Terminus. And I'm glad you like Voya, she's honestly fun to write, if a tad difficult because of her muteness.

Griezz → Lol, there's a lot in your review and pretty much all of it is going to be touched on. T'Ravt is using humans for a reason, wants Cieran dead for a reason, initially left him alive for a reason, and Cieran and the Chosen One are definitely going to meet. And things will happen. Not sure if that all was vague enough, so I'll say things one more time. Things.

5 Coloured Walker → She's there for her own reasons, talking with Cieran in person was just a side-bonus.

Ranger Station Charlie → Oh god. I don't even want to think about that.