Chapter 54 – Eve Of The Leviathan War

Year 2204 CE
Armali, Thessia

"Mmm, 'Thyta, that was quite wonderful," the purple skinned asari matriarch stretched on the bed, purring happily at her lover. "Every time we do this saying farewells becomes more and more difficult."

Matriarch Aethyta only chuckled at that, easing herself off the bed and picking up a light see-through robe to cover her body, partly to ward herself from the light chill enveloping her rapidly cooling body, partly to also tease her lover of many centuries back. "Well, Liddy, it's not every day you fly off to fight some strange Reaper-like creatures that frankly scare the hell out of me," Aethyta confessed. "I thought I'd better give you a spectacular sendoff. The kind that will convince you to come back in one piece."

"Oh, I certainly feel very motivated to come back," Lidanya smiled back, lying unashamedly naked atop the sheets, her eyes hungrily following Aethyta as she moved around the room. "I may be coming close to eleven centuries, but I feel I still have some fuel left in the tank. That said... if the choice ever came between me and some innocent maiden decades short of matronhood... I can't help but to think... better me than them. I've had a good life, 'Thyta. I've known love, joy, happiness... I survived the greatest crisis the Galaxy has ever faced. If this would be my last battle... I would be at peace with that."

"Bah, I grow tired of listening to these maudlin thoughts," Aethyta snapped, bristling with brief annoyance. "Looks like I'll have to think of some new ways to shut you up…"

"You will not hear me complaining about that," Lidanya chuckled, giving her fellow matriarch another inviting stare. "Aethyta… I meant to ask you. This commando leader of yours, the green skinned matron. Shiala, was it? Ever since I arrived on Armali two days ago… well, if looks could kill…"

Aethyta let out a brief chortle. "Yes, Shiala… she has grown very… fond of me over the years. I will need to reassure her that you are not a threat to the relationship I have built with her."

"Oh?" Lidanya suddenly looked curious. "I knew right away that was the reason. I'm not intruding upon something serious, am I?"

"No, no… she's just fiercely protective of me, and of the whole family," Aethyta shook her head. "I helped her with a… rare illness, or more like a mental condition, and she has been perhaps a little overly attached to me ever since. Do not worry, I will see to her little bout of jealousy after you've returned to your ship. Speaking of which…" Aethyta walked up to the window, stopping there as she looked outside, Liara, Shiala and Lita doing their biotic practices in the yard, Shepard watching them as she sat on the porch nearby. "Must you really leave tonight? It feels as if you've only just arrived."

"Even if haven't been doing much else than trying to break your bed and various other bits and pieces of furniture over the past day?" Lidanya laughed. "But yes, I'm sorry 'Thyta, the fleets begin their relay jumps to Sigurd's Cradle early next morning. Once there, we'll link up with our allies and move out against the Leviathan."

"You will remember my request regarding the Normandy, yes?"

"Of course, Aethyta," Lidanya nodded, looking serious and committed. "There is no reason for us to put the Normandy at the tip of the spear, so to speak. I don't care whether Shepard or Liara will protest about this, but they have been assigned to the asari fleets by the decision of the Council, and thus they fall under my command. And my orders will be to hold their ship back from the space battle and keep them in reserve for potential ground deployment."

"I hope that dangerous ground missions won't be necessary, but… if it becomes a necessity, that's where Shepard excels. If you need someone to make a quick, precision strike behind the enemy ranks… the Normandy will take care of it," Aethyta said confidently. "Especially since as I hear Shepard is gathering as many of her old team as possible back together on the Normandy. It's like she's trying to recreate the memories of the Reaper War."

"Perhaps it is wise of her," Lidanya agreed. "It could be a powerful emotional and motivation boost, great for overall morale. And… with all these important individuals on her ship, it becomes even more essential that they do not get destroyed by an errant weapons fire during the battle in space…"

"Precisely so, Liddy," Aethyta smiled, finally taking her eyes off her daughter and grandchild, turning back to her lover. "You have always been refreshingly reasonable compared to all the other matriarchs. If I had ever seriously considered bonding again after Nezzy… you'd be at the top of my shortlist, believe me."

"Such a flatterer, 'Thyta," Matriarch Lidanya grinned. "I wondered if there was a shortlist… but I have always been more than content with what we have…" she added, teasingly running her hand along her voluptuous curves, grinning with satisfaction at how Aethyta's eyes seemed to light up immediately.

"Well, then…" Aethyta cleared her throat, walking over to a small wall cabinet and starting to rummage through it, until finally withdrawing the object she was looking for. "Let's see if we can make some more unforgettable memories before you have to leave…"

"You and your toys, 'Thyta," Lidanya chuckled, but from the way her hands began to roam over her body more insistently, the other matriarch appeared very much intrigued by Aethyta's proposal.

"Oh… shall I put it away?" Aethyta asked playfully, unable to take her eyes away from Lidanya's shape, every little hint of the other asari's body language begging Aethyta to come and conquer her lover.

"Of course not… I always enjoy it, especially when it is used by someone as skilled as you, my lovely 'Thyta," Lidanya spoke huskily, watching Aethyta's robe slipping down and landing on the floor, revealing her enchantingly voluptuous curves. "Mmm… you make me feel like a young, eager maiden, about to explore this delicious pleasure for the first time, 'Thyta…"

"That's lovely, Liddy…" Aethyta clicked her tongue teasingly, climbing into the bed again and sliding closer to cover her lover's body with her own, seeking Lidanya's lips for a few teasing, stolen kisses, just to help stoke the rapidly rising heat of their bodies. "But now it's time to put your mouth to doing something far more enjoyable than talking…"


"Shepard! Shepard, it is almost time! Come, we must say farewells to Lita!" Liara's excited voice interrupted Morgan as she was sitting in one of the downstairs living rooms, eating her breakfast cereal while watching some of the galactic news reports from the Citadel.

"Just a moment, love," Morgan called out, stopping Liara when the asari grabbed her hand and attempted to almost forcefully pull her away from watching the news broadcast. "Take a look at that," she pointed at the screen. "Report from Palaven."

"What is happening… oh… by the goddess," Liara gasped, looking at the footage, staring at a barely recognizable, badly beaten and bloodied human corpse strung on a piece of rope in front of some dilapidated municipal building on Cipritine. "Is… is that?"

"Yeah. Former Councilor Katherine Hock," Shepard swallowed heavily. "Damn… I almost feel sorry for her."

"I do feel sorry for her," Liara argued. "She was not to blame for what happened with the Leviathan and the turian fleet, she was a victim of indoctrination... like my own mother! That the turians would do this… it's barbaric!"

"Hmm… I suppose you're right," Shepard eventually nodded, won over by her bondmate's genuinely upset reaction and the reminder of Benezia. "I mean, she probably was a complete bitch to begin with, even before she was indoctrinated, but… it had nothing to do with this. This was basically a mock trial, mob justice to improve the morale of the troops leaving to fight the Leviathan."

"I don't suppose Garrus could have stopped this from happening," Liara muttered, still looking unhappy. The news that Katherine Hock had been taken from her C-Sec cell on the Citadel had come out a few months ago, the turian loyalists boastfully revealing that the former human councilor would be put on a trial on Palaven for her crimes against the Turian Hierarchy. There had been some unhappiness amongst the Council and the galactic community, but since nobody really represented the humans on the galactic scene anymore, the turians ignored all protests and proceeded with this mockery of justice, trying to get a confession from a woman whose mind clearly had atrophied so much that she did not even understood the charges pressed against her. It had robbed the turians of some of the satisfaction they hoped that this trail would provide, but in the end they had beaten, tortured and finally executed the former councilor anyway.

"Not unless he wanted to risk getting torn apart by the mob himself," Morgan shrugged. "Besides, I haven't discussed it with Garrus… I really can't ask anything else from him, he's barely speaking with me as it is. I'm just glad he agreed to join us on the Normandy."

"Yes, it will be good to see all our friends on the Normandy again," Liara smiled, looking a little happier. "But now we must really go," she added, using her omni-tool to switch off the news feeds, pulling Shepard up to her feet. "Shiala has finished loading all our gear into the shuttle. She is waiting for us outside and we still have not said farewells to Lita!"

"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to be so pushy about it," Morgan laughed, then stopping again to admire her bondmate's enchanting, sleek frame, wrapped in her form fitting light blue combat suit. It was of a similar design as the old armor that Liara had worn during the Reaper War, but it had been enhanced using the Spectre resources in preparation for the upcoming mission, adding additional overlays and greatly increasing protection that it provided for Liara. "I must say, Dr. T'Soni… you are looking very fetching today."

"I'm glad you think so, Spectre," Liara drawled slowly, giving Morgan an equally appreciative stare, obviously finding her new armor particularly attractive. "I must say… you are looking very… alluring yourself." Morgan had received this prototype armor only a few weeks ago, a gift from Tevos, the councilor obviously wanting to make sure that she and Liara had the best protection available to them. This particular armor was a combination of the best commando leathers available on the market, outfitted with stealth cloaking of an infiltration suit. Despite being so thin and form fitting that it made Morgan feel almost as if she were walking around stark naked, it provided incredibly powerful protection, as well as kinetic barriers of a brand new design made by the geth. Even more importantly, the looks of the armor drove Liara absolutely wild, and perhaps even if it had not quite been the intention of the thoughtful Councilor Tevos, it had also found practical applications in Morgan and Liara's bedroom activities.

"Ahem!" someone coughed loudly next to them both, Liara and Shepard jumping, startled, having been too busy undressing each other with their eyes to notice Aethyta appearing in the hallway, Lita following obediently, looking serious as always, but not saddened as such. If there was one thing that Morgan dreaded, it was for the farewells to turn too teary, she did not want for it to become even harder for them all than it already was. Fortunately, Lita seemed composed, and their daughter was not really the overly emotional type, after all she had taken the news well when they had first broached the topic of having to once again go to war against yet another threat to the galactic peace.

"Oh," Shepard managed a deeply intelligent reply. "We were just on our way to look for you. Looks like it's time for us to get going."

"Yup, Greenie-Meanie is starting to get impatient at the shuttle," Lita giggled.

"Lita!" Liara shook her head reproachfully. "I told you many times already not to call Shiala like that!"

"Sorry, mom," Lita smiled, not looking too apologetic. In truth, she did like Shiala a great deal, but sometimes the commando leader did push her training rather relentlessly, so Lita had come up with a few less than flattering nicknames for Shiala when she felt the older asari was being too harsh on her.

"Come here and give mommy a hug," Liara urged, bending down a little and Lita didn't waste any time to throw her arms around her mother, the two sharing a long embrace. "You'll be a good child and behave while we're gone, yes?" Lita nodded mutely, looking a little overwhelmed, but still not crying. "You will listen to grandma, and you'll be a good friend when playing with Rila and Falere. And you most certainly will not shirk from your school assignments."

"Course not, mom... you don't need to tell me that..." Lita actually sounded a little annoyed. "Never done stupid things like that, anyway."

"You are absolutely correct, poppet," Liara smiled broadly, placing a tender kiss upon Lita's crests. "You are my big, wonderful and responsible daughter, and I know that you will always do your parents proud. Now," she gently pushed Lita a little towards Shepard. "Go give daddy a hug as well."

"Yes, come here, Little Varren," Morgan chuckled, hugging her daughter, silently uttering a quiet prayer to whoever was listening, Athame, or whatever higher power, in hopes that this would not be the last time that she was holding her beloved daughter in her arms. "And try not to worry about mommy and daddy, okay? We'll be back home before you know it, we promise."

"Yeah, I know," Lita replied in a muffled voice, pressed tightly against Morgan's chest. "Not worried. You're going to kick those... Levi-something guys."

"That's the spirit," Morgan smiled, brushing her cheek against the top of Lita's crests. Wish I was so certain of success, though. But I'm glad that she believes in us so firmly. Now we have to come back alive because we simply can't break this kind of trust.

"I mean... you promised that you're coming back," Lita said, once Morgan had released her and they all began to slowly walk towards the front door of the estate. "And a promise is just something you can't break, right? At least... I don't think you've ever done that..." the little asari continued as they walked.

"That's right," Morgan nodded, smiling at their daughter, then at Liara. "Promises between us are sacred and cannot be broken. That's how you will know that we're always coming back to you."

"Fortunately you two have never gone back on your word to Lita, not that I can remember," Aethyta nodded approvingly. "That sort of thing helps. I must say, you're not completely useless at all this parenting business."

"Perhaps because we have you to help us?" Liara smiled at her father before embracing Aethyta once they had all stepped out in the yard, Shiala walking towards them from the nearby parked shuttle.

"Yes, I probably deserve most of the credit," Aethyta nodded with her customary humility... or rather, lack of it.

"Mistress Liara, Mistress Shepard, are you ready to go?" Shiala asked politely. "Joker is messaging me every two minutes... and it is slowly starting to drive me insane."

"Yes, I believe we are ready," Liara nodded. "Stay safe, Little Varren," she told Lita one more time, Morgan smiling broadly at Liara's first public use of Lita's nickname. "We will send messages often, as long as we have access to the comm buoys."

"Grandma can take you to the City Council building and we can link in to that new QEC that Auntie Tevos made sure to set up with the Normandy, then we can talk face to face. Would you like that?" Morgan asked, Lita nodding excitedly. "Alright, then..." she was about to turn around, then looking at Shiala. "You said your farewells too, Shiala?" she asked quickly.

Shiala looked a little hesitant at that, stepping closer to Lita and bending down on one knee, looking in the eyes of her often stubborn biotic and martial arts student. "Hey, kiddo... you're now the protector of the household, okay? Take care of things here while your parents and I are away," Lita nodded with a serious expression on her face. "And maybe I'll learn some new moves to teach you, would you like that?" Lita nodded again, more eagerly this time.

"Not a word for me, then?" Aethyta asked, hands crossed on her ample bosom as Shiala quietly stepped away.

"Umm... farewell, Matriarch... I hope to find you in good health when I ret-"

"What the fuck is that?" Aethyta barked harshly, glaring at the green skinned commando.

"I... -what?" Shiala blinked, Liara and Shepard looking equally surprised. Aethyta simply stepped forward, grabbing Shiala by the shoulders and pulling the younger asari against her. Shiala went completely slack with surprise when Aethyta kissed her deeply, continuing to hold her, until Shiala finally began to kiss her back, passionately embracing the matriarch in turn.

"Eww, grandma, that's gross!" Lita giggled, making exaggerated gestures of feeling sick from the spectacle before her.

"Now that's a more proper way to say farewells," Aethyta smiled, releasing the still stunned Shiala.

"But... but I thought that..." the green skinned commando stuttered.

"You thought wrong, you goddess damned idiot," Aethyta hissed, stabbing Shiala's chest with an elegant finger. "Never forget that you are important to me, so make sure to come back in one piece, and bring my kids back safe as well, do you hear me?"

"Uh... yes, Matriarch!" Shiala saluted, smiling now. "I... apologize for being a... complete idiot, Matriarch."

"You're forgiven... for now. And now, off with you all!" Aethyta spoke, urgently hurrying Shiala, Shepard and Liara towards the shuttle. "Get going for once, or the Leviathan will surely conquer the galaxy while we stand here and talk nonsense!"


SSV Normandy, Orbit Above Thessia

Twenty minutes of shuttle flight from Armali to the Normandy high in the skies above Thessia gave Morgan the opportunity to quietly reflect on everything that had gone on in the past few months while the galactic militaries, as well as civilian populations had been slowly and meticulously preparing for another war that despite not being the same as facing entire fleets made of Reaper capital ships and destroyers, could still very well turn out extremely bloody, and success was far from guaranteed.

The militaries had been working very hard, hand in hand with science teams in charge of R&D, picking apart every bit of information gained on the Leviathan, their thralls and their combat capabilities, designing counter measures to give the Council fleets all the advantages they could manufacture in a timely fashion. Ship armor and shielding was rapidly improved, especially after the geth consensus was allowed to participate in the research alongside asari and salarian teams. Of course, outfitting every ship in the Council fleets with these new upgrades would have taken several years which they did not have, so for now the upgrades went to all dreadnaughts and as many cruisers and frigates that they could manage in this short timeframe.

With the turians finally reaching tentative peace between Palaven and Digeris, the Hierarchy had somehow managed to scramble together the necessary amount of ships to contribute to the Council Fleet, and at the final count, Matriarch Lidanya had a force of four thousand ships under her command, one fourth of what had taken part in the Battle for Earth, but at least theoretically, this time the opposing force was not quite as fearsome. The majority of the Council fleets were made up by the geth and the salarians, a change from the usual sight of the turian or human fleets forming the backbone of such force. The minor species had also contributed ships, hanar and elcor, and even the batarians from Anhur and Lorek, which was particularly surprising since nobody had even asked them. However, the volus held their small fleet back, still smarting from the Council's stalling to finally throw them a bone, sensing a way to express another protest.

The salarians had also made some progress working on the Leviathan control orb recovered from the headquarters of Task Force Aurora, but the research took time, and they had not managed to deliver a solution to detect indoctrination when the news of humans being the possibly unwilling allies of the Leviathan finally broke loose. It was inevitable that the overall attitude towards humans on alien-centric worlds and the Citadel turned very sour and suspicious, but at least on the Citadel, given how many humans were a part of the security force, the C-Sec took many steps to prevent outright persecution and harassing of the human part of the population. Certainly, many had become wary of the suddenly cold atmosphere and sought to leave the station, at least for the time being, and the C-Sec made certain that these people were directed away from Earth and another potential Leviathan trap, instead sending them to temporary refuges on the Traverse colonies, who in turn were very grateful for the influx of more colonists, trying to recover from the devastating Alliance raids.

While there were isolated cases of humans getting killed over the whole matter, especially in the hands of some turian extremists, Morgan was relieved that the backlash hadn't been quite as bad as she had at first feared it might be. The human-turian relations had certainly become extremely volatile since the truth had come out about the fate of Victus' fleet, many on both sides being reminded of Shanxi and the First Contact War all over again, and plenty of violent clashes had followed in the more lawless parts of the galaxy, also including the lower wards of the Citadel, where C-Sec presence was particularly thin. But overall, Morgan was quietly encouraged by the reaction of the galactic population, especially in the face of the Council's carefully worded explanations about this new threat that the galaxy was facing. Tevos in particular was excellent at this, able to deliver these bad news with such poise, calm and assuredness that most of those people watching her speaking on the news vids had actually went away feeling confident that as long as they just put in some extra effort, doing what they were asked and keeping level heads, that things would work out just fine and that the threat of these Leviathan would never materialize in anything too serious.

"And there we go... back on the Normandy... back to fighting Reapers, or possibly their creators," Liara spoke softly, alerting Morgan from her thoughts, Shepard noticing with surprise and slight embarrassment that Shiala was already in the process of landing the shuttle inside the Normandy's docking bay. "Some things just never change, do they?" her bondmate smiled softly, giving Morgan an encouraging peck on the cheek as the shuttle's cargo hold doors opened and they were finally free to jump out and face the greeting committee, consisting of Joker, Cortez, Harrot, the elcor merchant and 'procurement specialist', suggesting that they were also stuck with some of Aria's selected crew, and not only them...

"Ahoy, grunts, we have captain on deck, so look sharp!" came the familiar voice of a certain irritating and violent but otherwise lovable asari friend of theirs, Aria T'Loak herself strolling towards them, looking appreciatively over them both. "Shepard, Liara," she grinned broadly, her eyes darting from Morgan to Liara, as if being unable to settle upon which of the images she found more enchanting. "Damn it, when you two dress up like this, I can no longer decide which one of you I want to devour most." Joker let out something resembling a snicker at that, shutting up promptly as Aria turned around to glare at him.

"Hey, Aria," Morgan smiled at their friend. "I had a feeling that you would be onboard as well, so this doesn't quite come as a surprise."

"Indeed, we did not think that you would want to miss a fight such as this," Liara nodded, the first to exchange their customary greetings with Aria, followed by Shepard and accompanied by Joker's quiet whistling as the trio exchanged kisses.

"Wouldn't miss it for anything, even if Tevos and the girls tried to talk me out of it," Aria chuckled, looking excited at the prospect of battle.

"So, does it mean that this time Liara and I can have our loft quarters?" Morgan asked, having shaken hands with Joker and Cortez. Oh, and Aria called me 'captain'... I wonder if that means she'll defer to my authority this time around? That'll be something...

"Feel free, Shepard," Aria nodded amiably. "You're in charge of this op, as I said. Waging a war like this... that's your thing, not mine. Besides, I understand that we'll be picking up some of your old friends. You know how to utilize them better than I would, so it only makes sense to have you in charge."

"That's very... generous of you, Aria," Liara nodded, looking impressed.

"Well, I figure that having Shepard in charge would increase our chances of survival," Aria shrugged. "I have no desire to get us all killed, I'm big enough to admit that I'm good at small scale ops, but wars of this range... never really cared to involve myself in something like that." Then her grin turned more wicked as she faced Liara again. "Or maybe I'm just being nice in hopes that you two will invite me to share your quarters later, hmm?"

"Uh... Aria, that plan would have had more chances to work if you had not revealed it to us beforehand," Liara pointed out, blushing lightly.

"So... you're actually conceding that it might have had a chance to succeed?" Aria laughed, watching Liara's face flushing deep purple. "Oh my, T'Soni, you're kinkier than you let on, I've always known it..."

"Err... Joker, shouldn't you be up on the bridge, flying the ship?" Morgan prodded the pilot, Joker's eyes having gone wide as saucers from listening and watching the exchange between Aria and Liara.

"Huh? What? Oh..." Joker blinked, looking very distracted. "Err... I suppose? Maybe? So... what's our destination, captain?" he finally recovered enough to ask.

"First stop, Citadel," Morgan declared with what she hoped was an air of authority. "We have some old friends there, waiting to be picked up... yes, you better believe it girls and boys... we're putting the old gang back together to kick the Leviathan's ass!"


Psi Tophet System, Sigurd's Cradle

'Mighty Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp. Our eyes report that the insignificant fleets of the puny organics are on the move.'

'It is of no concern, wise Hlunnvr'ogth'lobstrr. We are ready to crush them.'

'While they are insignificant, their numbers are great. And our hand has been tipped before we had finished our preparations. We do not believe it would be wise to meet the organic fleets head on.'

'I find your lack of faith disturbing, cowardly Twhillnt'lorn'prwnn. We will destroy the organic fleets with barely any effort.'

'No, you will not, impatient Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp. Twhillnt'lorn'prwnn and I are of one mind on this.'

'The lesser races have provided us with an opportunity, Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp. By sending their forces to engage us, they have left their homeworlds exposed. This is our chance to evade their fleets and swiftly attack and enslave their populations.'

'I... reluctantly agree. Which of these primitives should we target first?'

'It is our understanding that the other organics of the galaxy consider the species called the 'turians' as possessing the most powerful military. Perhaps this is no longer accurate after you destroyed one of their fleets, mighty Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp.'

'Their bold attack was a grave insult. I wish these turians to be the first that are crushed under the Leviathan war machine. Very well. While the organic fleets scurry looking for us, we will evade them and strike at the turian worlds. I would welcome your presence in this harvest, my brothers.'

'Savour this victory alone, Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp. Twhillnt'lorn'prwnn and I must continue our work in creating another, even more powerful fleet here in this paltry system they refer to as Sol. Once we are ready... the rest of the Leviathan will join you in this hunt.'

'Meanwhile, Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp, you will strike the worlds that the turians call 'Palaven' and 'Digeris'. Destroy their military forces. Cripple their infrastructure. Order your thralls to cull their leadership. Make them docile, Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp.'

'Yes, brother... make them the first providers of the tribute. But do not cull them completely... Xzzwilln'yrtx'schrmpp. Remember. Tribute does not flow from a dead race...'