"You may be wondering why we're down here," I start, standing in the Cargo Bay with the rest of the team, including Benezia (I mean Aelida) and Tela. Behind me is large crate that was just picked up the last time we swung by the Citadel. I knew we'd eventually be facing off against a heavily armed compound of some sort, since bad guys always have some sort of Doom Fortress, and while we have many ways of taking one down, we don't have the funnest way. "That's because I have some party favors for everyone."

Cracking open the crate and stepping back, I get the best view of their faces as their eyes widen. "Saul, are these…?" Ashley asks in awe and surprise.

Reaching inside, I pull out a tubular weapon and hand it to the Gunny. "This is an ML-75 Rocket Launcher," then, I grab another weapon, this one more rectangular except for a wide cylinder on the side, which I toss to Nihlus. "And this is a M-99 Grenade launcher. I got one for everyone, except me and Wrex, because, as I said, party favors."

Nihlus, Tara, Garrus and Liara get Grenade Launchers, while Zaira, Ashley, Kaidan and Tali get Rocket launchers. Tela and Aelida don't get anything, because how was I supposed to know they would be coming?

At Tela's arched eyebrow, I explain, "I got these for the team as it was a few weeks ago. I didn't know that I'd find you on Illium or that you'd wake up, Aelida."

Benezia (Aelida) nods agreeably. "That is fine, Saul. I am capable of Biotic Artillery Strikes, so there is no need for me to carry a heavy weapon." At her proclamation, Kaidan throws his hands up at another person being able to do something that should take at least three people working in concert, because he's a salty little L2.

"Are you, though?" I ask, remembering the way she was able to lock our entire party in place with Stasis, then overpower Liara and I at the same time. But, that was in her body, which was a lot older than the one she inhabits now.

The former Matriarch frowns, holding her hand out as swirling ball of energy manifests in her palm. It's all bright and shit, but it doesn't make her look happy. "I am still capable of artillery strikes, just not at the same efficiency as before." She relays grumpily. "I will have to find time to practice."

Tela shrugs, leaning against a wall carelessly. "Heavy weapons have never been my style," she points out, her body flickering with biotic energy. "I've got my biotics if I need to unleash some ass-kicking."

"You can't just Charge about the place all willy-nilly, though," I reply, leaning against the crate carelessly. "The Geth learn fast; our original tactic for dealing with their Armatures and Colossi was to ram them, then shoot them while they were down. After doing that a bunch, we tried it on another Armature that self-destructed as soon as we hit it."

My former mentor lifts a shoulder then drops it, as if to say 'meh'.

Zaira rubs her weapon in a way that makes me a little hot under the collar for reasons I don't want to explain, before looking at me with a curious expression. "Why didn't you get some for you and Wrex?" She asks curiously. "I mean, you like explosions as much as I do, and Wrex would want easier ways to kill our enemies."

"I didn't get a Heavy Weapon because I am a Heavy Weapon," I reply dryly, and I'm not even joking. Wrex fixes me with a blank stare and I quickly amend, "And so is Wrex. But seriously, I developed my Wrist-Launchers so that I could have the firepower without weighing myself down with a rocket launcher, and Wrex's Prime Rifle is a rocket launcher, he doesn't need another one. That'd be superfluous, and he's all about efficiency."

"Oh, right," My commander mutters, still caressing her new launcher sexily. "Well, we've hit the relay and are en route to Virmire. From what Joker's told me, it'll be about 22 hours to get there. Your orders are to do whatever you feel comfortable doing, like tinkering with your weapons or armor or the Mako. Then, at dinner, we will all sit together and enjoy our food before we get eight hours of sleep, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Everyone replies, with all of us actually saluting. It's kind of hard not to just do what she says when she uses that commanding tone, since she only uses it when she really means it.

"Before we do that, though," I speak up, gesturing to the workbench across the room. "Jade and I finished testing and refining the new equipment. It's all ready to go."

The first piece is the heavy, blue and black Turian armor. "Is that for Nihlus?" Garrus asks, poking the chest piece. "I don't generally wear heavy armor, you know. Kinda gets in the way of all the aiming and the shooting. We can't all just spray bullets everywhere, like Ash and Shepard do."

"It's bulky, true, but feel for yourself," I reply, easily scooping up the arm armor and tossing it to him. He grunts from the impact, but it's mostly from surprise. He bounces it in his arms with a surprised expression, because despite the size, the armor is very light. It's not feather-light, but it weighs far less than it should. "It's classified as heavy armor, and the materials it's made of give the same amount of protection, but it weighs as much as medium armor. The added bulk is offset by the addition of increased microprocessors dedicated to speeding up the cooldown on tech usage and enhancing target acquisition by communicating with the on-board computer in your weapons."

Garrus pauses and arches an eyebrow. "That would definitely be helpful, and I'm not a lay-down kind of sniper, anyway. Sure you don't want this, Nihlus?"

His mentor shakes his head. "It would be better suited for you, Garrus. I prefer to move more while in combat; that being said, I would like a sample of that material to fabricate a suit of my own." He adds, directing a look at me.

I jack my thumb over my shoulder at his locker. "Already done. All you need to do is transfer your jetpack." I reply. I knew Nihlus would want some for his own armor, even though it's top of the line medium armor, weighing the same as light armor with the microprocessors would make him even faster and a better shot with his shotgun. He told me uses a Smart Choke, but I can't find one that keeps the pellets together as well as his does. Moving on. "Next up, this is for Tara."

Her new armor is a tan color, with thin, interlocking scale-like plates covering the body and several small ports in the shoulders, back and the knees. The armor layer was thin, but there were multiples and it was surprisingly tough. I think they based it on snake scales.

"This is it?" Tara asks with a disappointed frown, holding the armor up.

"Yup, but it comes very handy features," I reply, tapping the scales. "These scales are pretty strong when it comes to armor, and their shape gives increased flexibility and comfort. It has similar tech as Garrus', which should link up with your helmet and rifle nicely. But, the biggest feature is this: you know how you wear a sealed bodysuit underneath your armor so that the outside atmosphere doesn't affect you if it slips in?"

"Yes…" The blonde sniper says, rolling her hand for me to get to the point.

"Well, this one comes with an extra layer built into the armor. The ports you see acclimatize the space between layers to the atmosphere around it, making it so that you appear as part of the scenery." I explain, pointing out the holes.

Tara's eyes go wide, as do a few others. Adding that to her invisi-tech, her Golden Eagle helmet and her Reach sniper, she could be one of the most effective snipers in the Alliance, possibly the Galaxy. It's kind of a scary thought. "Wow…" She whispers, touching the armor in a far more reverential manner than before. I'm definitely slipping a few sensors on her. I don't want Cerberus to get their hands on this, it would make their black-ops harder to detect and I don't want to give them any advantages. I know they're capable of brainwashing people, and I'm not letting her end up like that.

Seeing that Tara is so fixated on her new gear, I go on to the next piece, which is a matte-black affair. "This is for Kaidan. It has an increased amount of microprocessors dedicated to renewing tech processes quickly, and the inside was bombarded with Eezo radiation during creation, which should make it easier for you to throw out biotics and make them a bit more powerful as well." Gods, I am going to need a big glass of water when this is done.

Kaidan grabs the chest piece and flips it over, examining the inside. "That would really increase my battlefield effectiveness. Are you sure it works, though?" He asks skeptically.

I give him a dry look. Did he forget why I got the prototypes in the first place? "K-K, we ran about a thousand simulations for each version. What you're holding is version eight. It works. Now," I hold up my hand and point to it, "are going to give me a high-five or not?"

He shakes his miraculous hair and chuckles, slapping my hand. "There you go."

"Awesome. Now, for Liara, I have this." It looks a lot like Kaidan's armor, but that's a given since it hasn't been painted. "It's pretty much like Kaidan's, but without the extra tech. Instead, the whole thing was bombarded with massive levels of Eezo radiation, high enough that it would be dangerous for a human to wear it. Like, it would give them space-cancer. The worst kind of cancer."

"I wonder if it would empower my Biotics enough that I, too, could be capable of Biotic Strikes." She wonders aloud, her mother perking up behind her, as does Kaidan since that hadn't occurred to him, the dozy fuck. "Or Biotic Charges." Tela perks up too, which is ruined when Liara turns to me with her big blue eyes pleading and shyly asks, "Can you teach me, Saul?"

I'm genuinely touched by the way she immediately looks to me for teaching, though I can sort of understand it. I have taught Zaira how to swordfight and Tali how to knife fight…better. Zaira smirks and throws an arm around Liara's shoulders, "Aww, does our cute little scientist want some alone time with Saul?" She teases, poking the asari's cheek.

Liara clears her throat, even as her cheeks darken. "Ahem. While I would not mind some time alone, broadening my combat capabilities is more important; especially with our upcoming mission." She replies evenly, the beginning of her statement getting a pair of odd looks from the new asari on the block.

"That's a good idea, though I know you're not a 'charge in' kind of person and Charge works better if you are." I say, leaning against the workbench. "You're more of a stand in the back and support person. That being said, I'd love to teach you Biotic Strike, though I do have an idea for something that I'll tell you about later. Now, the next thing is for Tali."

Her new suit is off-white and seems to glitter somewhat, which she picks up on quickly. "Really, Saul? Glitter?" She crosses her arms and narrows her eyes at me.

I shrug. "Thought it matched your sparkling personality." I say with a grin, before getting serious, "But seriously, there's a reason for that. You know how the invisibility tech works, it deploys a net of flash-forged crystals that bend the light around your body. It takes a second to activate and create the crystals, and makes a hissing sound before fully deploying. Well, I took the material from Garrus' armor and the tech enhancement from Kaidan's and merged into a set of armor that's lightweight, comfortable and increases your abilities."

Like the others, this seems to surprise her that I would upgrade her armor more than I already have. It shouldn't, because I've been doing this the whole time we've known each other, but it does. She reaches and touches the material gently, as if afraid it'll break. "That doesn't explain the glittering, though." There's no real heat behind the statement.

"I'm getting to that. I didn't just make it more efficient, I also fully integrated the invisibility tech into the armor." I reach out and tap the armor, "The glittering is the crystals. Instead of being flash-forged and taking that second and making that noise, it activates instantly and silently. The crystals themselves are made of treated carbon, so they aren't that delicate."

Tara looks down at her armor, before frowning. "Not to sound ungrateful, but why didn't you do that to my armor as well?"

Partially because I didn't want to give her yet another stealth advantage, and also because I couldn't. "Adding the crystals to your armor would've compromised the integrity. The scales that make it up need to be touching each other, or the whole 'sensor cloaking' part of the deal doesn't work." Not a lie, though it would be a believable one.

"Oh," She mutters, mollified.

I turn back to Tali to finish up, but get an armful of excited quarian instead. Not that I mind. "This is amazing, Saul! Thank you!" She squeals excitedly, almost headbutting me with her faceplate.

I pat her on the back and step back. "The effectiveness of the crystals won't be affected by paint, so you can color it as you want, and I also have an armored face-plate to protect your face. That's an add-on, though, so you can take it off and put it back on when you want." I finish, turning to the bench again. "Now, I already integrated some of that metal into Wrex's armor, so he's all good; and last but certainly not least, Ash and Zaira."

What goes unsaid is that after Wrex added the material, he added more and more to the point that it weighed as much as his original heavy armor, because Krogans don't do things halfway, bitch!

"Since neither of you are biotics and you don't use tech all the time, I just made you both some heavy armor with microprocessors dedicated to increasing your accuracy, since you definitely need it." I start with a bit of smirk. Not to say that they're actually inaccurate, just that between all of us, they use assault rifles the most. "And as a bit of blanket statement for all of the armor: I added a layer of Impact Gel and an Omni-Shield module, just in case."

Though, that's not all I did. The metal the prototype of Garrus' armor was really light for the protection it gave, but it was also really brittle when exposed to higher or lower temperatures, as in standard colonization temperatures, which is why I assume it was just a prototype. That was not acceptable, since we get exposed to high and low temperatures all the damn time. To fix that gigantic fucking weakness, I made a composite of that metal and my metal, which took on the better properties of both. Not to say that it's the perfect metal; it's not as light as the former and doesn't offer as much protection as the latter, but it's about on the same level as the highest-end armors.

With that out of the way, the others try on their new armor to see how it feels, with the exception of Tali and Wrex, since the former ran off to the med bay to get her new suit on and Wrex is already wearing his. While they're doing that, Tela saunters up and takes a place next to me on the workbench. "So, is this something that happens a lot? You make a bunch of upgrades for everyone, then stand around and tell them all about it while they react with shock and awe?" She asks sarcastically.

"Yeah, actually. I think it's like, the third time." I think so. It might be more, maybe less.

Tela hums to herself. "So…can we fabricate some of that miraculous metal for me? I like my armor, but it's a getting a bit old. Could use an upgrade." She somewhat asks.

I jack a thumb over my shoulder. "I'm fabricating a set for you and B-Aelida. It should take about twelve hours to finish it up. You're going to have to get it biotically treated on your own, though."

"You knew I was going ask." She says knowingly.

"Yup." We fall silent, watching the others put their armor on. I'm proud to see it fits like a glove, especially the glove parts. Quietly, Aelida sidles up to my other side, opening her mouth to speak as Tela does the same.

"Can we have a private talk?" Aelida asks.

"Can we chat privately?" Tela asks at the same time, the two older asari looking at each other in annoyance.

I shrug and wave Zaira and Liara over. "Sure. We can use Zaira's cabin to talk. How do they fit?" I ask the ladies.

Zaira laces her fingers and pushes out, cracking her knuckles. "Fits like a glove, especially the actual gloves." She replies with a smile, before noticing the somewhat serious air. "What's up?"

"We need to chat in a private place," I reply, nodding to Aelida and Tela.

"Alright, let's go up to my cabin," She says, beginning to strip her armor off.

Tela interjects, "You know, when someone asks for a private conversation, they generally don't mean for other people to be there." This is directed both at Zaria and Aelida, as well as Liara who is also getting back into her casual clothes.

"Yeah, but it's my cabin on my ship with my man, so I'm going to be there." Zaira replies easily, pulling her shirt back on. "Is this the kind of 'private chat' that needs alcohol or the kind that needs soda? Or punching?"

Looking dissatisfied and not at all pouting, her fellow Spectre shrugs. "I don't know about the Maiden over there, but I just wanted to catch up with my student. I checked in on you a few times when I thought it was safe and read about some of your exploits, but I want to hear about it from you." She directs at me, nudging my shoulder.

"I wish to discuss our relationship," Benezia mutters, glancing away shyly in a manner directly copied from Liara. Or the other way around. It's funny to see someone else do that. "I suppose if you are, as the Commander says, 'her man', then she should be there as well."

What relationship, though? Something to ask when we chat, I guess. "Alright, let's go then. Guys, when you're done playing around with your new toys, make sure you calibrate them properly. Or, if you want to do something nice, make Garrus do it." With that said, we walk off towards the lift and take it up. It's a little crowded with me, Zaira, Liara, Tela and Ben-Aelida, damn it, in here. Normally I wouldn't mind, but there's still a tense atmosphere, mostly stemming from Aelida.

When it reaches the second floor, our little group walks towards Zaira's cabin while Liara splits off to grab drinks. Inside, I sit on the bed with my back against the wall with Zaira scootching in next to me, while Tela takes the chair at the desk and Aelida sits delicately on the edge of the mattress. Once Liara returns, she hands out bottles of soda or juice, then crawls up on my other side and sits there.

"So, who wants to go first?" I ask, looking between the two older asari. My former mentor waves in Aelida's direction carelessly in answer. "So, Aelida, what aspect of our relationship do you want to talk about?"

"Well…" She glances at Tela, Liara and Zaira. "If there is one, still. It has been a long time since we've seen each other last, and our parting wasn't…on the best of terms."

"You mean when I begged you to stay with me and you left anyway?" I reply, trying to keep any emotion out of my voice. A year later, and it still stings, even when she's right on front of me. I can feel the surprised looks coming from the other ladies, which I'm not surprised about. I rarely beg, if ever, mostly because one of the few times I did, didn't work.

Benezia glances away, her cheeks darkening with what I can assume is shame. "Yes, well…by that time, I had already been aboard Sovereign for a month. I didn't realise until a week after I…left you, that the Reapers were capable of Indoctrination and that I had been exposed to it long enough to affect how I thought. It was then that I separated myself from my body, locking myself in my own mind."

Huh. That changes things, somewhat. It doesn't change how I felt the morning after or since. I thought I was being abandoned to let her to feel all solemn, noble and sacrificial, and that really irritated me after I thought about it. And I don't know if that's fair, since we've only had sex a few times. Sure, there's a spark, but I don't really know Benezia (Aelida, dammit!). All I know is that she likes yellow, she has a daughter that I've been sleeping with and that she still feels something for me, which I reciprocate.

"There is nothing about this situation that's normal," I complain lowly, "because why would any of this be easy?"

"They say anything worth getting is hard to get, right?" Tela volunteers cautiously.

"Right, because they meant that about a situation where a guy had a one-night stand with a woman who left, then came back a few years later for another, left again because she was being mentally subverted by a mecha-cuttlefish from outside of known space, came back brainwashed and tried to kill the guy and her daughter, was knocked out, surviving only by doing something thought mythical that also got rid of her brainwashing, and are now discussing that relationship in the cabin of the woman I love, while sitting on the bed of the woman I love with her sitting right next to me, while the first woman's daughter, who I've also been sleeping with and care for very much is also sitting next to me." Wow, that came out much more bitter and annoyed than I thought it would.

Sometimes, I really just want a normal relationship. As normal as a relationship can be between two people who love blowing things up and being awesome together.

Aelida gives a sideways glance at Liara, who looks completely unbothered by the admittance. "You are…sleeping with Saul?" She asks, and I swear I can hear jealousy in her tone.

"Actually sleeping, not 'sleeping'," I reply, making air-quotes with my fingers. "We haven't done that."

"-Yet." Liara adds with a defiant tilt of her chin at our surprised looks. "What? Did you assume I would be fine with simple kisses and cuddling? While I have no wish to usurp the relationship between you two, I still desire to express my affection for you physically, if only to Saul."

Zaira looks off into space. "Huh. Well, you have my permission, but only if I'm there. Can't have you being all 'usurping' and whatever." She noticed the strange looks being given to her by Aelida and Tela. "What?"

"Nothing," Tela replies quickly, "it's just a little odd to see a human fine with a relationship like this. Usually they get a lot more shouty."

Shepard shrugs and crosses her arms. "Well, I'm not like other humans."

My former mentor snorts quietly. "That's obvious." She mutters to herself.

Liara glances at her mother. "How do you feel about that, mother?" She asks carefully.

Aelida gives a small, rueful smile. "While I can't say I saw this coming, I'm glad you are happy, Liara. Though, I had thought you would be in your Matron stage before being in a three-way relationship." She shakes her head. "You've grown up so fast."

"Knowing that now, Aelida, what do you want to do?" I cut in, wanting to get to the heart of the matter.

She shrugs lightly. "I don't truly know. The times we were together…I've never felt as intensely as I did those times, and I know there is still a connection between us, I can feel it." One of her hands rests on her chest pensively, "Part of me sincerely wishes to pursue a relationship with you, to see where we could take these feelings. But, I also do not wish to intrude upon something that makes my daughter happy. It is really your decision, Saul. If you want to include me in what you have with Commander Shepard and Liara, then I would be glad to. But, if you only desire my companionship as a friend, then I will be happy as simply that."

"Dammit, don't leave it to me, I'm just going to put it up to Zaira." I reply with a grumble. I hate choosing.

"Oh no, I am not touching this," Zaira denies quickly, waving her hand. "This is between you and her. And if you decide, her and all of us."

Geh. But I don't want to! I doubt I could keep up with Zaira and Liara tag-teaming me, let alone with the addition of an older, experienced asari. And our bed barely fits the three of us comfortably. It's like they say: it takes two to tango, three's a party, and four's too fucking much, dipshit.

Aha! I know exactly what to do!

"I have a better idea," I start, "See, the times we've been together have been wonderful and intense, but good sex does not a relationship make. It can be a good foundation for one, but to build something lasting and worthwhile, there's got to be more to it than just passionate sex. Instead of making any sort of commitment now, let's, instead, take it slow, get to know one another beyond the times we've spent naked and see if a relationship can be built, or if we're better off as friends, okay?"

Aelida frowns slightly, looking dissatisfied at the answer. Bitch, you put me on the spot, you aren't getting any sympathy from me! "I can see your point, though I'm not happy that you're stalling." She answers with a mild glare, before her dark teal eyes soften. "But, I agree to your proposal. How should we go about it, though?"

"I, uh, I don't really know." I answer honestly, shrugging. "I mean, we're on our way to Saren's compound right now, and I don't see shit slowing down afterwards. I guess we can just take a few moments and chat between running around and killing shit on different planets. That's what Zaira does and it seems to work for her."

"That is acceptable." The former Matriarch nods, before settling in her spot comfortably.

Tela claps her hands. "Alright, now that all the awkward relationship crap is out of the way, let's talk about what I want to talk about." She fixes me with a curious gaze. "So, what did you do all these years?"

"Well, after I woke up all alone," Her face is schooled, but I can still see the flinch, "I followed the note to that hangar and found the ship there. Thanks for that, by the way. I named it the Ardat and took it to the Citadel, where I found that address…"

…

"Then, Nelon shocked the guy and I kicked him into oncoming traffic. Luckily, it was a slow day, so I only had to pay for damages to one car."

…

"Her name is Mission. We met when she tried to pickpocket me while I was standing in line to get some coffee. She actually picked my chit, but I felt it and I tripped her by biotically yanking on one of her shoes, which, incidentally, gave me the idea for Tether. Then, I got picked up and came face-to-face with the biggest krogan I've ever seen, including Wrex."

…

"Luckily, we became friends after I helped him find a job and I remained uneaten. I may have also given her a few tips."

…

"And then Garrus and I had to fight through three waves of increasingly tougher enemies, only getting about ten seconds of reprieve in between. It was difficult, but we triumphed in the end. Of course, it was only after we won, we found out the the leader had known all along who we were."

…

"I told him to take his offer and shove it up his ass. He didn't like that, and pinned me to the wall with a pair of railroad spikes. But, while he was doing that, Garrus jumped on his back and Nelon reached into one of the open crates and grabbed a rubber chicken…"

…

"...I know it put a hostage in danger, but I wasn't about to let that bastard just leave like that. I ended up being pretty much blacklisted, which sucked, but I then I met this woman named Elizabeth…"

…

"You wanna know how I got these scars?"

…

"And then there were pirates."

…

"I also met Zaira for the first time, but she wasn't as warm and cuddly as she is now. She was actually pretty bitchy. Don't give me that look, you know it's true."

…

"Then I kind of went crazy and killed a bunch of them. Including their leader and his two lackeys. Of course, taking that much adrenaline at a time nearly killed me…"

…

"And this idiot programmed a jump while we were in the middle of a jump, which led to us crashing. The chick I was fighting got knocked out, so I saved her life to interrogate her later."

…

"...and I found out she worked for a certain black-ops group called 'Cerberus'."

Zaira holds her hands up. "Wait, wait, you mean the Cerberus that ran those unethical and nightmarish experiments that all inevitably went sideways and killed everyone? That Cerberus?"

I shrug. "It's not like I knew about those, I just needed a bit of help figuring out the whole conspiracy and they had the best leads. I didn't do any real work for them, I actually made them pay me and spent a couple of months living on their dime in a stupidly fancy luxury yacht. Just thinking about the ship makes me want to sneer about the sheer needless excess of that damn thing." True to form, I can't stop my lips from curling into a disgusted sneer. "I called it the Space Whale."

Liara stifles a giggle next to me, "Really?" She laughed, "Why would you call it that?"

"'Cause it was a space whale!" I reply throwing my arms up and framing the ship with my hands. "Fucking huge but with smooth lines and a couple of fins. The damn thing didn't even have any guns on it! Not one single cannon!"

"But bitches love cannons!" Zaira protests, "And there had to have been at least one bitch designing the thing!"

"I know, right?" I give an incredulous and agreeing nod. "Seriously. Anyway…"

…

"...And that's how I killed him. After that, I got my hand put back on, we dumped his body in a nearby star, and I went on vacation to a nice, calm little colony called Eden Prime and, well, you know what happened after that." I finish, draining the last of my water, while also checking the time. "I've been talking for four hours. Jesus."

Tela chuckled as she stood from the chair, stretching her arms above her head. "Yeah, you can be a chatty bastard when you really get going," She sighed as her back popped, "But, it was interesting to hear all of that. You did a lot in a few years, it's kind of surprising."

"Hmm," Aelida nods, looking confused. "You kept mentioning someone, though; a woman named Jade. Is she aboard the Normandy, running intelligence?"

"Uh…" I forgot that they don't know who Jade is. "Okay, don't tell anyone, otherwise I will probably end up in a lot of trouble, but uh, Jade is…well, it would be a lot easier to show you."

I hold my hand out, my omni-tool lighting up before turning green. Jade's lithe green form coalesces in the palm of my hand, and she waves to the stunned asari briefly. "Hey." She greets, before turning around to face me. "We finished assembling every suit of armor about an hour ago. As far as that goes, we're all good; I've got one of the fabricators working on your enhanced Warp Mod, which should be done in about four hours."

I get the feeling Jade doesn't like Aelida or Tela very much. "Thanks, Jade." My AI companion nods and disappears in a shower of holographic sparks. "That was Jade."

"That…was an AI." Tela finally says matter-of-factly. "That is very, very illegal."

"And she's saved my life many times." I reply stoically. "Do not. Tell anyone. Ever. No one is taking Jade."

My former mentor throws her hands up in surrender. "I get it, I won't tell anyone about your little green friend."

Aelida simply nods. "I am capable of keeping secrets and if Jade is as useful as you say, then I have no problem with her." She says easily.

"Good." I clap my hands, "Now, I don't know about you ladies, but I'm starving. Who wants to help me make dinner?"

…

Dinner is a very simple affair. Going into a mission like this, where everyone surviving is not guaranteed, a simple meal seems like just the right thing. Even when I have a fridge full of steak and expensive food and drink, sometimes the thing that really hits the spot is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk and an apple.

That being said, I made everyone steak, potatoes and broccoli. And I mean, everyone. I had to cut the dextro-equivalent of meat and vegetables up and stuff them into a few vacuum-sealed tubes for Tali, but that was it. And also a bottle of beer each.

We try to keep the chat light-hearted, but there's an undercurrent of tension that everyone's painfully aware of. The beer helps on that front, if only for just a bit.

Once the last shred of meat is eaten and the last drop of weak alcohol is drunk, Zaira sighs and stands up. "Alright, everyone, I know tomorrow is going to be big, but don't let that stop you from getting a good night's rest. We all need to be at one hundred and ten percent tomorrow. It's just another mission, and we'll deal with it like we always do. Dismissed." She ends, taking up her plate.

Everyone separates for the night, heading to bunks or pods for a strict eight hours of shut-eye. As the door locks behind us, Liara turns to Zaira and I with a determined, though flushed, face. "About what I said earlier…" She coughs into her hand. "Well, I meant to bring it up tonight, though the conversation kind of forced my hand."

Zaira tilts her head at the scientist quizzically. "You want to have to sex with Saul?"

"Both of you, actually." She answers without hesitation. "This relationship is something I am happy to take part in. The affection you've shown me, the way you've cared for me when I felt that all was lost…you don't know how much it means to me. It is something I will cherish all my life."

Liara exhales deeply, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I know you don't desire me that way Zaira, and I accept that. But I still wish to show you the depths of my emotions; my feelings for both of you, if only for tonight."

She sounds a mixture of resigned and hopeful. "No one is going to die tomorrow, Liara." I state firmly, "I swear."

She smiles thinly, fiddling with her fingers. "I know you will do your best, but nothing is foretold." Liara gulps quietly. "I-I don't think words will make me believe."

Zaira sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Liara…" She breathes, "there is really nothing we can say, is there?"

Liara shakes her head slowly. "No." She answers simply. "Not to be said, only done."

Shepard shakes her cobalt hair out, running a hand through her short tresses, before crooking a finger at the scientist. Liara rises as Zaira steps forward, turning to look at me. "Are you alright with this?" My Commander asks quietly.

"Sometimes, you simply need to feel someone, take in their warmth. It's life-affirming," I say in way of reply. "I'm alright with this if you are, Zaira. If you're uncomfortable, simply say so."

Zaira breathes sharply, reaching out and putting her hand against Liara's sternum. "Let me just get this out of the way, Liara: I'm not going to have sex with you. It not how I am." Liara looks down, but not sadly. Shepard cups her chin and tilts it up so they can see eye-to-eye. "It's not because I don't care for you, I do. It's just not something I'm comfortable with. However…"

She reaches out, her hands framing Liara's face for a brief moment before she leans in, their lips pressing together. Liara is stunned for a second, before her body reacts and her arms wrap around Zaira's waist, pulling them closer. This kiss isn't wild or deep, but chaste, simple and beautiful for being so.

Holy shit. That's really all I can think right now. As I watch them kiss, something stirs within me. It's not what I expect. It's not jealousy. I don't see someone I love being stolen by someone I are about. I see two people who care about each other, expressing it in a way that is comfortable for them both. It's also really hot.

Zaira breaks away, her face scrunched in thought. "Odd." She comments, rubbing her lips with her thumb. At Liara's look, she adds, "Not bad, but odd. Kind of soft. Hm." Backing away, she turns to me and and kisses me passionately. I barely get a second to respond before she steps around me, pushing on my back. "Rock her world."

I trade a stunned glance with Liara before stepping toward her, taking one of her hands. "Are you-"

Her lips mesh with mine before I can finish the question, so I guess the answer is 'yes'. My arms wrap around her, one hand coming to rest just above her rear, the other on the back of her neck. Her fingers dig at the hem of my shirt and I step back and let her pull it up and off, reaching up to unzip her tight suit as Liara works on my pants. "How do you want to do this?" I ask, peeling the suit off of her chest, pushing it down her shoulders.

Her light blue skin is flushed, her eyes glimmering with the light of want. "How do you mean?" She asks in between kisses, my pants sliding to the floor.

"Well, I mean…" I can't call it 'full service', that makes it sound like I'm talking about a car. "Foreplay?" Liara steps out of her attire, leaving her entirely bare before me. I did not know she wasn't wearing underwear.

"I don't truly care," She murmurs, pressing herself against me, her lips meeting mine again. "I just want you."

I kiss her gently, wrapping her in my arms, my hands slowly descending down her shoulders across the silky expanse of her back, resting briefly on her full rear, before reaching her thighs. Carefully, I pick her up, her legs twining around my waist before she is set on the edge of the bed. With a little spin and a push, she lays down with my body hovering over her, our lips still locked.

Breaking away, I can see her eyes shining with a mix of happiness, acceptance and need. My lips descend on hers before moving down, pecking her chin, her throat, down to the junction of her shoulder. Her hands clench in my hair as she quietly moans, writhing underneath me. From the corner of my eye, I can make out Zaira shucking off her clothes and settling in the chair to watch.

I move down her body, giving every inch of her skin my attention before reaching her heaving breasts. As I take one of her nipples into my mouth, my hand reaches to the other to gently knead her tender flesh, but I don't stay for long, continuing my journey down until I reach her core.

Gently, I kiss and lick her deep blue folds, lightly probing her depths with my tongue. Liara's legs twitch as she gasps in pleasure, her thighs squeezing around my head and she moans my name. It only takes minutes and a gentle suck before she groans and spasms, her fluttering walls clenching on my tongue and my finger, her juices spilling forth.

Leaning back and wiping my face, I meet her eyes once more, and they're half-glazed with pleasure and desire, her face sweaty and flushed. Silently, pleadingly, she reaches out for me and I oblige, crawling up her body to meet her lips. "Please," Liara whispers into my ear, "make us complete."

Her hand traces a path down my chest, past my abdomen to my arousal, gripping it with a firm but gentle hand, guiding it against her center before grasping me by the waist and pulling me into her. I can't help but groan as I sink into her tight, wet warmth, her legs locking me into place.

Liara gives a satisfied smile, closing her eyes and going still to savor the experience. I kiss her softly, gently thrusting into her at a slow, steady pace. She pushes up to meet me, driving my length deeper into her and the pace increases, but never reaches a furious velocity.

"Please," she murmurs, her breath washing over my ear. "Please…"

I can feel myself nearing the edge, feel her legs and arms squeezing me as she races towards it. As I tilt my head and suckle her neck, my teeth not quite piercing her skin, Liara throws her head back into the pillow and cries out my name as her passage clenches me tightly, and I follow her soon after, spilling my essence inside of her.

Slumping a little, we pant as the afterglow washes over us, our sweat mingling on our skin. Liara exhales, her hands releasing my back, and kisses me softly, pushing on my shoulder. She rolls us over so that she's on top and reaches down to grasp my softening length, gently stroking it back to full strength before lining us up and sinking back down with a pleased and pleasured moan. She gasps as we move, turning to look at Zaira in her chair and reaching out.

A small shock makes me twitch; I had completely forgotten Zaira was there. Quickly I turn to face her and find her naked on the chair, one hand between her legs, with the other tightly gripping an armrest. She arches an eyebrow at Liara, but sticks her leg out obligingly. The asari riding me grips it tightly, for a purpose that becomes clear as her pupils dilate rapidly.

Every sensation doubles, nearly triples at once. The feel of her skin against mine, the way her walls caress and embrace my arousal, her one hand planted on my chest for leverage, the sound of my heart thundering in my ears.

It seems to stretch on for an eternity, pleasure overriding every sense.

But it ends as we orgasm together, a strangled moan escaping my mouth as Liara bucks and shudders atop me, releasing Zaira's leg as she slumps on my chest.

I can barely think or move for minutes afterward, only holding Liara against me as the bliss begins to fade. Carefully, I reach down and push her leg up, sliding her off of me and against my side.

"Saul…" She whispers, her fingers caressing my cheek. "Thank you."

"Thank you," I murmur in reply, kissing her gently.

A rustle draws my attention as Zaira, her body twitching and clenching, pushes herself out of the chair and stumbles towards the bathroom on unsteady legs. There's a brief sound of rushing water before she emerges with a wet wash cloth, kneeling on the bed near my legs as she washes the evidence of our copulation away. When she finishes, Zaira chucks to dirty rag away before bending and taking my length into her mouth.

The sudden sensation makes me gasp and it takes no time before I am at full arousal once again. Satisfied, Zaira climbs atop me and easily sinks down on my arousal with a pleased sigh, before she leans down and our lips meet and mesh passionately.

She leans back and begins to move as a smooth hand cups my cheek and turns my face, with me kissing Liara as Zaira moans, and we begin again.

…

…

…

A/N: Hey guys, been awhile! I didn't mean to take so long, but a lot of things went down. Finals, other stories, then visiting my sister and playing a bunch of games, which gave a me a lot of ideas for possible stories, which include a Saul-Insert Dragon Age, a Katawa Shoujo fic, and a Naruto/Gamer type deal. And, also, reading other stories on this fine website we call home.

As for the fics, I'll say what I've said before: Not until one of my current stories is completed. This one is actually the closest to being done, but there is the sequel. Maybe this time, I won't publish the sequel three days later?

Anyway, on to the story: Just to reiterate, the metal Saul used to upgrade all of their armor isn't some magical substance like mithril, it was light for the protection it afforded, but that was mitigated by it being very brittle when exposed to above or below average temperatures.

It was also added to explain how Garrus went from being able to wear up to Medium armor in ME 1, but his default gear was Heavy armor from ME2. And it's not like I'm going to stop upgrading their gear. For Tara, maybe, since there's really nowhere farther that can go. It's Saul's way of showing that he doesn't want any of them to die.

And then there was the whole thing with Tela and Bene-Aelida, dammit! Man, that's going to take some getting used to. And with it came an explanation for why Benezia left, and Saul telling the stories of his years before the Normandy.

And, the big one, the scenes at the end. I can already hear some questions.

Why would Zaira kiss Liara after making it clear she's not a lesbian? I did say she wasn't a lesbian, but I also didn't say she wasn't a little bi. In my canon, without Saul, Zaira would've gotten with Liara. As it is, she's not sexually attracted to the sweet asari, the kiss was to acknowledge that she does care for and accept her, nothing more.

And she just didn't like Dahlia.

I tried to strike a balance during that scene, so hopefully it didn't come across as creepy or slutty.

Big thanks to Kurogane7 for editing and shit. Why not go check him out? Tell him Saul sent you.

Kurogane7: Thank-you Sol, but I think all the applause should be for you…in any case, do keep it classy ladies and gents, would you kindly?

Stay Awesome.

~Soleneus

P.S.: With Virmire being a big mission, I'm going to focus on this story and make sure the chapters come at an agreeable pace.

Also, since barely anyone got one of the Projects right, let alone all of them, here are a new series of hints:

Project ORBIT: It has nothing to do with Saul's eye or his hitherto unseen ship, but it has to with A ship, and the 'Orbit' part refers to a wide-scale orbit.

Project TITAN: Look back at the [Redacted] teaser from the last story and combine two different kinds of Titans that are referenced. Half of it is called Project GUARDIAN.

Project S. LEGION: People did actually get this one pretty often. It does have to do with an army of robots. Think Specters from Titanfall. Except they all look like HK-47.

Project VERDANCY: Think with the head.

And that's all you get. Again, if you get all of them right, I'll answer any questions you have, even if they're major spoilery, and only one person can get it. Good Luck.

And if no one gets it within a certain time limit, I'll just be all disappointed and shit. And sulky. And drinky.

Stay Awesome Some More.

~still Soleneus