Chapter 19
Zoe woke a few hours later feeling restless. She looked over and saw Liara had latched her lips on to Karin's nipple earlier. She sneaked out of bed and just watched as Liara and Karin curled into each other as Zoe pulled on a pair of underwear and a fresh uniform. The night shift crew would still be around but it was up to her if she wanted fresh coffee or not. She didn't bother to put on any footwear. Her soles didn't mind the feel of cold metal. She was also the captain of this ship. Other than the bag of old saggy dicks that made up the Admiralty Board whom she rarely listened to anyways, no one was going tell how to act aboard her own ship.
The door silently slid open right after she deactivated the lock. Zoe decided to make a tour of the ship and check in with the secondary crew. First however, she needed coffee even if it was that instant crap that Alliance galleys carried. It would have to do for now. Zoe wasn't normally annoyed but something was bugging her and she had no idea what it was. The fact that even in the twenty first century, it took more than an instant to make instant coffee. A few annoying minutes later, Zoe filled her mug with coffee. She didn't need to add anything else. She turned around and saw Wrex leaning up against the wall outside the med bay.
"I'm not really surprised to see out and about with only two hours of rest." Wrex's gravelly voice carried all the way across the ship.
"Let's just say I've got a lot on my mind Wrex. One of my team mates is laid up in the med bay after being abducted and tortured. Another could very well be paralyzed from an attack caused by another one of my crew mates. All of that on top of trying to chase down a rogue Council Spectre whose ship has the ability to control the minds of its inhabitants. One could say that I have plate piled high with shit." Zoe said as she walked over to her krogan battle master.
"No matter how many times you humans shower, my krogan nose can smell the sweet scent of T'Soni all over you Shepard." Zoe smiled at the Krogan. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him the secret that she was becoming an asari herself. She looked down and saw that Wrex was fully erect. His damn cock was almost as long as her shotgun. "I ruined the toy you got me and we aren't due to hit up the Citadel or Omega. I need to release some pent up tension. I think you are the only person on board who could handle someone as big as me without me ripping them in two."
"I do owe you for saving my ass back there on Virmire but I am quite faithful to my ladies. I will offer you a blowjob because I gave Garrus the same offer and that offer still stands for him. However Wrex, my nose works just well. There is no way I am touching you without you hitting the showers first."
"You could join me Shepard. I am after all one the most prime example of what a krogan should be." Wrex said as he led the way to the crew bathroom nearby. Wrex was a surprising gentleman and let her enter the bathroom first before he locked the door behind him.
"How hot can you take it Shepard? I know your skin is more sensitive to mine."
"Nothing higher than forty degrees C for me please. I don't want my skin and hair to match." Zoe said as she shrugged off her clothes. She hear Wrex's gear crash up on the floor. Zoe's nostrils were inundated with a very putrid smell. She had to center herself as she dove underneath her own showerhead. She was seconds away from emptying her stomach. She forgot her favorite soap and loofah. She reached over to the wall where the generic soap dispenser was and took a few handfuls of the liquid soap. She didn't waste time. She was slowly starting to regret accepting Wrex's offer.
She glanced over at Wrex. He wasn't being subtle in trying to catch her eye. He was gyrating his hips around which caused his thick yet soft cock to flop around. That bloody thing was a monster and would probably break her jaw if he was fully erect. HE then grabbed his bloody yellow python in his hand and started stroking it. The damn thing nearly double in size. His quad also was clearly visible.
LI! Zoe screamed her head hoping it was strong enough wake up her love. Zoe felt a groggy Liara wake up from a deep peaceful sleep.
Wha... wha… what… By the Goddess. He's entered into a bloodlust. You'll either have to relief his pressure somehow or one or either will not be walking out that bathroom.
The fucking things I get myself into. You might want to wake Karin up and have her prep the med-bay. Is there any ancient asari trick for loosing or adding a ton more lubrication to one's azure?
Yes there is but it only works if you're a full blooded asari. It could have disastrous results if you're not. I'll teach ito you once your transformation is complete. Until then hopefully you are able to sate his lust with a hand job or at works a blowjob.
I don't think a wank or a suck is going to cure Wrex this time. I had to pacify him earlier during the mission when he found out that Saren had found a work around to the genophage. What didn't I didn't tell him was that Saren was very close to actually and perhaps he and his team here actually did find a cure. Saren however didn't want a cure. He wanted high powered cannon fodder so he started cloning instead. Will you still love me if he tears me apart.
You never have to ask a question when you already know the answer. To soothe your fragile ego, I will always love you till the end of the universe. I will also stand by and help Karin put you back together. Some strange feeling in me though is telling me that you might enjoy this. I will be there shortly to share the burden. My grandfather was krogan after all. My grandparents made a few videos I could show you of how amorous they were. Karin is quite beautiful but one always need to have hot coffee ready.
Zoe placed her hand up against the wall of the bathroom. She pushed out her rear. She muttered let's get this off with to herself. "Come on big boy, slide that massive fucking spear into me." She felt every step Wrex made as he made his way over. She felt a hand on her hip as something massive pushed against her slick lips. "You're fucking huge Wrex just go slowly!"
Zoe felt every millimeter of Wrex's tree trunk as he slowly pushed it up inside her. She could not stop the scream from ripping past her lips as Wrex tried to bottom out his cock inside her. She was used to Liara's length and girth and she thought that he was a little bit bigger than Liara but she was very wrong. She was on the verge of actual pain as his scaled cock pierced her. Zoe pleaded with any God that was accepting calls at this late hour. To her surprise, someone answered her plea.
Fear not child while you are in pain now, you are helping a friend in true need. Had his bloodlust been sated with actual bloodshed, you and all of your crew would be dead. Your love is just outside the bathroom. She almost has the bypass on the lock finished. Zoe heard door slide open. Wrex quickly pulled out his pike. It was smeared with Zoe's blood. Zoe tried to balance herself but the pain was mounting. Liara dashed in front of Wrex with both of her hands glowing blue. She didn't want to send Wrex into the metal bulkhead but desperate times called for desperate measures. Suddenly a flash of inspiration came to her. She brought her hands up and she channeled a blue ring formed around his cock. This ring was in actuality a weak pull field. She was going to manipulate the ring back and forth hopefully bringing Wrex to a climax.
This action caused Wrex to stop for a second. Liara moved her hands back and forth which caused the blue ring around his cock to slide up and down his cock. The old krogan looked down and was surprised to see a blue ring slowly sliding up and down his shaft. It felt strange at first but as the ring moved faster. His cock bounced up and down as Liara biotically masturbated him. After a few minutes, Liara didn't have to move her hands any more. Wrex continued to thrust his hips forwards. Liara was impressed with Wrex's stamina. She would have expected him to blow his load already. Well, he was over a thousand years old. Wrex let out a grunt like scream before he painted the wall of the bathroom with a smelly green liquid.
"I had no idea krogan semen had such a pungent odor. It's really getting quite foul in here." Liara said as she picked up one of the handheld shower wands. She aimed the spray of water at the wall and watched the green semen flow down the wall and into the drain.
"It's been quite a long time since I flew off the handle like that. I should have noticed the signs sooner but we were in the middle of the mission. I was able to put it off until after the mission. I'm sorry Shepard. It's something most Krogan would rejoice. I am in the minority. What can we Krogan gain in order to improve our situation by causing more destruction due to a genetic trait? That was quite a trick you did with your biotics. Only a Krogan female can handle a krogan cock when we are in a blood raid. Where is…"
. The door whooshed open and in ran Karin with a medical bag slung over her shoulder. Nobody said anything at the current state of her outfit. She didn't need a gun to drop some snot nosed punk even if it was a thousand year old krogan. She turned around and glared at Wrex. Liara swore she saw old Wrex flinch. "You are the reason she's in the state. The least you could do is gently carry her to the med bay. Liara and I could do it but the jostling would do more harm internally." Wrex nodded and walked over to where Zoe was lying on the floor. Somehow the lumbering krogan gracefully swooped in and picked up his battered commander.
The quartet made their way back to the med bay where Wrex placed Zoe on the closest exam tables. He silently exited the med bay. He knew when he wasn't needed. He then made his way back down to the cargo bay. He was heading for his makeshift cot on the other side of the Mako when a busty Chief Williams decided to start stretching in a very tight workout outfit. Just because his bloodlust was somewhat sated, Wrex could not stop his cock from rising up from its dormant state. He tried his best to avoid eye contact but he was naked after all. He was also sporting quite a large erection one which his hands nor anything else could hide.
"All I wanted was some peace and quiet to relax and stretch out my aching muscles and I am bombarded a horse sized cock attached to a naked krogan. My god Wrex can you at least point that thing in another direction?" Ashley shifted from one yoga pose to another.
"I was trying to avoid you and everybody else on this expensive tin can. I was just trying to go to bed after a shower. I've been on this ship for a while now and one would think that we could keep Krogan sized towels in stock. I don't really care if you see my big stick. I was just trying to be nice." Wrex stomped off towards his makeshift bed muttering all the way.
"How bad are the internal injuries Karin?"
"She's been through worse on the battle field but this savagery is usually only seen in cases of the most brutal rape. I saw something close to this once during my residency. She will recover but I'm afraid she will be sexually out of commission for some time. When is anyone's guess. I would be surprised if she doesn't have scarring inside her vaginal tract. Medi-gel only goes so far. I know why she did it but still she only has so much she can give. I implore you Liara to reign her in otherwise we will be burying her soon." Karin walked over to her work terminal and started to log in.
"Karin, I would never ask you to forge Zoe's medical…"
"Relax, Liara, I only am updating my own notes which I keep heavily encrypted. Any injuries that happen on the battlefield go into my official records. I will say that her unofficial medical record is nearly twice the size as her official medical field. I would probably brought up on charges if the Alliance Brass ever found out. It also goes against every instinct doctors acquire trough years of schooling and training. Where is my bottle of Serrice ice brandy? This girl has caused me to seriously deplete my stores of this very expensive beverage."
"I can let you raid the T'Soni wine basement as a consolation prize. I am pretty sure we have some priceless bottles of the first batch of ice brandy not to mention the countless bottles of Thessian Red. I don't know why my family collected them. Neither my mother or father really liked the taste of alcohol. I do not like it very much either. I wish I could stop Zoe from her love of bourbon but that will only come with time and love. Thank you for doing everything you can with her Karin. I don't think we say that enough but you really are the glue that keeps this most motley of crews together." Liara walked over and hugged the good doctor. Her big blue cock pressed up against Karin's barely covered lower half.
"Liara, your appendage is very close to me. Your condition intrigues me but my curiosity would want me become an asari just as our young commander here. I am not sure it would work as well as it's working for Zoe. I think the bond you two share is helping far more than any of us realize. However the scientist in me wants to experiment. I…"
Liara laughed. Karin had the same mannerism as Zoe. "I am not laughing at you Karin but you tend to ramble on just like Zoe does when she's nervous about something. I know it's really bad if she starts wringing her hands. We shall only start down that road if you are one hundred percent committed otherwise the results could be disastrous."
"I'll let you know my decision soon. This is quite a change if I followed in Zoe's footsteps. I will have to confer with Zoe first. She may not be my biological daughter but she should know before I start anything." Karin leaned in and hugged the asari. She rubbed her soaked lower half against Liara's hard cock. Karin shuddered as a wave of pleasure. Karin quickly pulled back from the intoxicating alien. "Zoe is under a mild sedative. Hopefully she gets some rest but with her luck, Zoe will probably wake up in the next half hour. I am heading for a sleeping pod. I won't be able to resist myself if I join you back in the captain's cabin." Karin then left Liara standing next to Zoe. Liara turned towards her love and sighed. Karin was right about Zoe. Her lover chose a very dangerous path. It didn't help that Zoe was quite a risk taker on top of everything else. Liara didn't know what she was going do as she looked down at her lover.
He wasn't infallible as his doctors all claimed. They all told him to cut back on his smoking and drinking. He wasn't an asari or krogan. He wasn't going to live for over a thousand years. He knew that. He told his doctors to stuff it. He was in the prime of his life and was healthier than men half his age. His assistant had taken away his latest conquest. He had just crossed quarians off of his sexual conquest list. Female drell were his favorite. He walked into his office and sat down at his console. He paged for one of his assistants to bring his usual.
Shepard was starting to become quite the nuisance however her chasing after this rogue spectre was good. She had only come across a few of remote test facilities. Those labs he had already ordered to be completely purged of any connection to him or his main organization. The Citadel Council could become a thorn in his side. He had plenty of plants within the Alliance Military who could divert any attention that may come his way. He pursued his data feeds. He no longer had a direct connection to the Normandy. He wouldn't mind having another source on Shepard's flying palace of pro. He was toying with activating one of his most dangerous assets. If not controlled properly, this asset could be deadly and turn against him and his organization.
The door to his office slid open. A very busty blonde with a very short cropped haircut walked in carrying a shimmering silver tray. She made her way over to where her boss was seated and leaned over and placed his drink down on his side table. He reached over and took one of his cigarettes off of the tray. She was quick to lean over and light up the cigarette.
"Thank you Cora, you have been with me the longest and I never truly thanked you for your service. You know I can be difficult to work for which is why you have earned a promotion. One with no stipulations or strings attached. I want you to become my second in command. Frankly, I should have promoted you over anyone else. You have shown your loyalty to me in ways no one else has ever done in the past not even that deranged agent Leng." He took a long drag from his cigarette.
"I will not be able to continue on leading the organization forever. We are in good hands for the next twenty five years at least. However it is something that's been on my mind and I cannot avoid for much longer. Lawson could have been very useful but decided to betray me. She will pay for that. You can put the tray down my dear and assume your proper place." Cora placed the tray down onto the floor before she walked over and sat down on his lap. She was happy he didn't have an erection. She would never turn down such an opportunity but his chair was very uncomfortable even if she was on top.
His warm hands made quick work of her flimsy uniform. "You will soon have access to everything I see. You will have permission to run your own projects and missions so long as they further Cerberus's goals. You will only answer to me. If anyone questions that you have the authority to shoot them on sight as long as they work for us fully or by contract. Be extremely discreet if you have to take out someone not linked to the organization. I would like you take on Zoe Shepard. Once she eliminates the threat that Saren potentially poses to the galaxy, she will undoubtedly set her sights on another target. It had better not be us. You may speak freely."
Cora took her time before she responded. "She already knows about us. It was a mistake to even get involved with Admiral Kahoku. He was one of Shepard's mentors. Shepard is very loyal but not always to either the Alliance or the Council. She is however very loyal to those who serve with or under her. This is a person whom we must treat with extreme caution. She is very deadly with years of training and experience. She has several weaknesses we can exploit if we need to. I would recommend though to try and appeal to Shepard's sense of duty and the greater good. Just avoid the mention of Cerberus and she will fall in our trap. That is the better play rather than to foolishly keep sending pissant agents trying to take her out." Cora felt his tip pressing up against her folds. She lifted herself up slightly and shifted her body which made it easier for her to slide down his hard length.
"I would also recommend against another plant on the Normandy. They were able to pinpoint and remove our piss poorly trained plant. One of our top agents would have not been so easily detected. We should have pulled our contact out before he was detected. It is one of my predecessor's oversights but I shall fix it. I will have our cyber division look into it." Cora continued to ride up and down upon his shaft. Strangely she did her best thinking while being filled up with a nice cock. Not even Miranda Lawson could ever get this close to the head of Cerberus. She gasped out loud as he roughly grabbed her full breasts. She felt every twitch of his cock right before he unloaded a large deposit of baby batter inside her. He probably knew that she was ovulating and she was hoping to bear him a child. It could be dangerous to not only her but her baby should she fall pregnant. She would never betray Cerberus even if she needed to kill herself and her baby she would never turn traitor.
Cora stood up turned around and then got back down her knees. Her master's cock needed to be cleaned. Her lips wrapped around the large soft member. She kept her ministrations to a minimum. He was already working away on his datapad. After a few short minutes, she let his cock slip out from her lips. She stood up and made her way to the exit of his private quarters when she heard, "I hope you are successful with your endeavor. You will do the right thing if things don't work out." He didn't look back as she exited. Cora wasn't sure what to make of his last words to her. She had to put it from her mind for she had difficult tasks to complete.
Dr. Karin Chawkas was the biggest of decisions of her life. She would never let Zoe know that if it weren't for the enchanting redhead, Karin would have chucked herself out of an airlock years ago. Just mere months before Zoe was born, Karin was battling a bout of depression after the murder of her only long term lover. As much as she loved medicine and patching up Zoe and her crew, it wasn't enough to deter her thinking. She needed a drastic change in her life. It was this change that found herself standing outside of the Captain's quarters nervously twitching her hands.
Her omni-tool chirped with an alert. Karin brought the screen to life as soon as she flicked he wrist. Her system was telling her that Zoe was starting to stir from being sedated. Karin immediately turned back from the captain's cabin. She was at Zoe's bedside with a few moments. Karen ran several diagnostic scans over Zoe's body still unconscious body. Each scan was more detailed than the rest. Each result was more baffling that the one before. Zoe had somehow nearly mended all of the damage Wrex had inflicted on the busty redhead.
Zoe slowly started to wake up. She was surprised to find herself laid up in the infirmary once again. They hadn't been on a mission in recent memory. Zoe tried to move but felt a severe stinging sensation coming from between her legs. Her arms had been loosely restrained to the bed. The door to the Med bay slid open. Karin was by her bedside in mere seconds. Zoe looked up at Karin with a confused look.
"You were restrained because you started flailing your arms just after you were brought in. You suffered quite a bit of internal damage Zoe. I didn't want you to move and either rupture the work I did to stitch you up or even worse cause any more internal damage. Lay still for the next few minutes. I want to see what the latest scans show me about your recovery. I am restricting you to extreme light duty for the next few days. Then you'll be on modified light duty after that." Karin walked over to her work station and turned on all the surveillance countermeasures. "With you and Miranda effectively out of action, do you have a full squad that you trust to field a full team for the next mission?"
"I don't know. Right now Virmire was pretty much our last lead on Saren. I think it would be wiser to head back to the Citadel to see if there is any information at all we can scrounge up on our next mission. But we lack one crucial element and that is time. We can survive with what we have right now. We are still dumping all of the information from every bit of evidence we collected from Saren. I believe we should strike now but that would waste time we do not have. Could you ask…" The door to the med bay again. All Zoe could see was vision of beautiful blue skin.
"Zoe, I am politely demanding to lead the next mission and I will not be taking no for an answer. I will be taking Tali and Garrus with me to fill up my squad. I have prepped every bit of info I could find even through my own network. It was Mother again who came to our aide. She sent me all of my earliest research information I had collected on the Protheans. The vision from the beacon even unscrambled would make no sense to you but it makes sense to me. It wa one of my first dig sites I visited when I was an apprentice for Dr. Mary Ann Jones. It was my first posting after graduation. She came from a long line of famed archeologists. Their family has a museum named for them back on Earth. I haven't been yet. I hear they have quite the collection. Any ways, the beacon was a galactic warning message sent out by the Protheans. It was probably sent from the high seat of Prothean command. That location is the planet Ilos. We have to get to the Refuge system of the Pangaea Expanse star cluster. It would be impossible to find unless we have the precise coordinates. I forwarded them to your helmsman early this morning after I quickly reviewed my old notes. How my old professor obtained those coordinates, I will never know. Officially the relay that gets a ship to Ilos has been lost for over four thousand years. We are just about…"
"Commander, we have a priority one message from Captain Anderson." Joker's voice rang out of the ship's speakers.
"Is it a live feed?" Zoe asked.
"Negative. Right before we made that last relay jump, I tapped into the local comm. buoy. Our filters didn't recognize it as a P-1 message because it was send through an unsecure channel. We analyzed it and it feels authentic. This will probably end Anderson's career. Playing the message now." The next voice Zoe heard was her unofficial commanding officer. "Shepard…I pray that this message finds you before it's too late. Somehow somebody we believe is working for Saren was able to convince not only Sparatus and Valern but the majority of the Alliance Brass to ground you the next time you reach the Citadel or any other Alliance controlled port. Stay away child for your own good."
"Thank you for that. What is our ETA for Ilos?
"Six hours with the engines at three quarter power. We are running low on quality fuel. We could have been there sooner but we would have been running on reserves. They don't last long when you need to make a quick relay jump."
"Reduce power on the engines to two thirds. I'm sure our resident mechanical savant has a few tips and tricks on how to save fuel. Ask Tali for some help. Shepard out." Zoe looked over at Karin. "Am I stable enough to be discharged to my own quarters. My own bed is calling out for me."
"Your scans show that you are healing at an accelerated rate. Faster than even the miracles I saw while I was working on Miss Wannos. You are not clear for this mission. I can say that you are merely relegated to light duty. That might even change eight hours from now if you take it very easy. I am restricting you to your cabin with no amount of sexual activity. You really did take a beating. Your body is taking care of yourself but it focused on the concussion you suffered first. The wounds you received from Wrex's massive member will take more time but I think I can clear you for mission work if your concussion clears up." Karin removed the soft rubber restraints from Zoe's wrists and ankles.
Liara gave Zoe a helping hand getting her love standing upright once again. Zoe stumbled a little as she regained her sea legs. She was happy to lean against her curvaceous lover. Zoe slipped her hand underneath Liara's loose shirt and cupped one of her big blue breasts. Liara gave her quite the look. "What I needed something nice and firm to hold on to… to you know steady myself." Karin chuckled to herself as she was typing up her notes into Zoe's unofficial medical file.
The dup slowly made their way the short distance from the med bay back to Zoe's cabin. Liara locked down the cabin and removed most of her clothes. She kept on one of her latest purchases. Somehow Liara was able to acquire an black N7 thong. She spun around. The thin bit of material disappeared between the two large butt cheeks. Liara helped Zoe down on to the bed. "Right now love… I'd just for you to hold me before we meld together." Liara nodded. She helped Zoe out of the flimsiest hospital gown known in the galaxy and leaned her down onto the bed before she snuggled up next to her love. Liara peppered Zoe's neck and upper chest with kisses. She then looked up in those amazing emerald eyes. Zoe nodded and watched Liara's eyes shift from their normal sapphires to pitch black spheres.
Zoe looked around as her mind was inundated with the pure feeling of love from Liara. She felt something large and fleshly poking into her backside. Zoe parted her legs and let that big blue torpedo rub up against her sweet sticky lips. The glowing ball of purple light had gotten bigger in size since the last time they melded.
Li… I think it's time we started thinking about names for our baby to be. I have a feeling when we finally catch up and put down Saren… my transformation is already half way there now. I don't leave the cabin without being fully dressed. Almost the entire backside of my body has shifted from fleshy tan skin to light blue scale. I think it's speeding up and I don't know what could have cause it. As for baby names I was think of either Tremena T'Soni or Sa'phira Shepard.
Those are beautiful names. I've seen you've been doing your research. Tremena is from an asari dialect from an ancient asari settlement on the planet of Lucia. It loosely translates to one who is strong willed. Sa'phira has two meanings. One is from the same dialect I just referenced and means warrior. The modern meaning beautiful. Perhaps love our child will be a beautiful warrior like her parents.
I hope she turns into the galaxy's most revered researcher. I would hope she finds love just like I did but under better circumstances than I did. I hope she has children. I don't want her to have to live under the threat of imminent and total annihilation committed by some entity we will fully never understand.
How about Sa'phira Tremena Shepard. I want our first to have your name. The T'Soni name will live on in our second daughter.
You want more than one? I always put off having them until I was retired from military life and married.
I would prefer a little blue army all with big bouncing breasts like their parents matched with the parents intelligence, bravery, and courage. Liara took a long deep breath. She was able to keep an eye on the world outside of their meld. I am afraid love that we are orbiting over Ilos. Joker has been trying to alert us for the past five minutes. According to him, we have beaten Saren here. According to the relay logs, the last ship to past through her was the research vessel Sallah Of The Seas. That was over eighty years ago.
Liara ended the meld. Eight hours had passed in the blink of an eye. Days could pass between two powerful beings. Liara was one of the more powerful asari even though she rarely used her powers. Zoe on the other hand was unknown in her abilities with true biotics. Liara started pulling on her compression pants and shirt. Zoe dashed completely naked across the width of the ship. She leapt onto the closest exam bed as soon as the door slid open. Zoe had no idea that Karin was catching up on her sleep. That the buxom silver fox nearly felt off the other exam bed from the sheer shock of Zoe landing on the other bed.
"You are lucky I do not keep my sidearm by my side Miss Shepard. You are lucky that I don't put you over my knee and spank you. I assume you are here for another check up. If I don't like what your scans show me, I have no qualms what so ever about grounding your overtly cheeky ass with a medical hold." Karin grumbled as she fired up the medical scanner. Zoe had used her captain's code to override Karin's simple lockdown. Had she been doing a medical procedure, the med bay would not allow any one in to the possibility of contamination. Karin didn't even bother to get dressed as she started the scanner.
The full scan took several minutes to finish and Karin was completely flabbergasted with the results. It was by some miracle that Zoe was completely healed. Zoe's healing progress went against all known standards for human healing. Karin knew that Zoe was transforming into an asari. However she showed traits of human, asari, and even quarian antibodies. Zoe was really becoming a hybrid. "My scans are showing that every one of your injuries you received from Wrex have healed completely. How? What did you and Liara do when I discharged you over eight hours ago?"
"Liara and I stripped down. She helped me into bed. She snuggled up to my back and we slipped into a meld. Apparently we held that meld for a solid eight hours which stunned my bond mate. We really didn't do much other than cuddle through the bond and talk about name for our baby. We decided on Sa'phira Tremena Shepard. Once I complete my transformation, she will start to grow inside me. I finally found something that gives me that gave me that incredible shot of hope. Sure the love Liara and I share is great fuel but the thought of carrying our child. There is no comparison." Zoe sat up on the bed, swung her legs over the edge and stood back up. "The only thing I will miss will be my bush. Little Red and I have crawled through hell and come back without some much a scratch. I hopefully will make it through this next few days without a scratch too."
Zoe left the med bay unaware that she basically walked in front of most of her crew without a stitch of clothing on exposing her nearly entire blue backside of her body. Luckily her new second in command Ashley put a halt to any of her subordinates talking out of turn. Liara was ready and wearing her battle armor when Zoe walked back into the captain's quarters.
Liara couldn't stop a chuckle that slipped passed her usually stoic defenses. "You do realize that you just exposed not only yourself but your secret almost the entire crew who happened to be at their morning meal."
"I've been working on how to reveal that secret to them. I have been kicking around a few ideas on how I want to die. Nobody will accept Commander Zoe Shepard as an asari. Unfortunately love, we are going to have to kill me off. I might as well start wearing a red shirt." Zoe said as she pulled on her compression clothing. She next donned her new set of N7 armor Anderson had been able to procure for her straight from Alliance R&D.
"I don't fully understand. Your breasts always looked good in any color especially that lacy red bra I got for you."
Zoe laughed as she put the finishing touches on her new suit of armor. "Remind me to show you a two hundred year old human entertainment program about what my race thought about space travel. It was quite amusing the first time I saw a few of the episodes. Come love… are you hungry?" Zoe asked as they left their cabin together. Zoe and Liara made their way through the chow line before taking two seats in the small mess hall. Zoe could tell that the crew couldn't take their eyes off of her. She had to head this off before some of her crew got the wrong idea.
Zoe stood up and faced her crew. They instantly ended any conversation and gave their captain their attention. "When I make an ass of myself, I go all out and turn mine blue. Yes, what you all saw earlier was my actual backside. All of you were hand selected by me and approved by Captain Anderson for your loyalty and your discretion." Zoe looked at Liara and smiled. "Most of our human medical professionals would say I have some new unidentified condition which would require years of study. You all know that I neither have the time or the patience for any of their poking or prodding. This long story short is that I am turning into an asari. Liara and I aren't just normal bond mates. Our bond goes far deeper than any other known asari bond. I entered the bond willingly and very excited. Let's face it Commander Zoe Shepard isn't liked by the Alliance Brass. As of a day or two ago, I am now wanted for questioning by the Citadel Council. Any one is welcome to leave this ship after our current mission is complete. I have written you all glowing performance reviews that should get you any posting of your choosing if my reputation rises out of the shitter. I love Liara T'Soni with all of my heart and being. Now if any of you guys have questions please see me out later after the mission is over. We are flying blind once again but for once we are one step ahead. Thank you for hearing me out. Back to your duties. Crew dismissed."
Zoe sat back down and she received smiles from both Liara and Ash for her impromptu speech. The three enjoyed a quiet and enjoyable meal together before climbing the stairs up to the comm. room. Garrus, Tali, Wrex were waiting for the trio.
Zoe was the first to walk into the comm. room and saw a look of shock on Garrus's face. "When were you going to tell the rest of us that you were basically switching species?"
"Well I've been rather busy Mr. Vakarian. It was on my agenda but towards the very bottom of a very long list that continues to grow day by day." Zoe pinched the bridge of her nose trying to ward off an oncoming headache. "Besides you were really the last one of my squad to know Garrus. Wrex figured it out some time in the past and Tali is the little sister I never had. There isn't much she doesn't know about me but then again a girl has to have a few secrets in order to maintain an air of mystery about her." Wrex chuckled at the dumb face Garrus made at his lack of observational skills. Now on to Ilos."
Zoe brought up the 3D hologram representation of the planet. "Cities were spread out all over this planet but they were all wiped out an unknown force which was probably the reapers. Over the past fifty thousand years, the once vibrant planet has being taken back by the local vegetation. Our thermal scans show that there is an unknown large heat source that is not natural coming from here." Zoe pointed to a spot on the spinning image. "The largest area we would have to do an aerial drop of the Mako would put us nearly ten klicks away from this heat source. The Mako can take quite a beating but we are pressed for time. Luckily our Mako is down for repairs and back at the Alliance's Citadel Repair Depot. They loaned us a prototype drop shuttle. It's slightly bigger than a skycar due to its extra shielding capabilities. I can take three normal sized people with me or just a trio if Wrex wants to come."
"Are you calling me fat? I know I like Varren Taco Tuesdays more than I should but come on Shepard. Do you have to pick on the biggest guy in the room?" Wrex burst out laughing at his joke. It was good that Wrex could cut through most forms of tension with his strange sense of humor.
"We are entering the unknown here. The ground team will all be wearing the latest locating tech. Works even up to a mile underground. Tali here has linked this tech to our star map. I will be giving Joker specific instructions to pull back to the mass relay after dropping us off. My thinking is that why send anybody all the way out into the middle of nowhere. Whatever we are meant to find here will send us somewhere else in the galaxy. I have absolutely no proof. It's just my gut feeling on this but my gut has been generally right on these sorts of things. Does anyone else have anything else to add?"
"What about Wrex and I?" Garrus inquired. Her turian was getting more annoyed with each passing minute.
"If I had the Mako I'd bring you all. Since it got heavily damaged on Virmire, we were out a ground vehicle until I reached out to an old friend is in charge of the Alliance's Citadel Repair depot. He tried to get our tank fixed in time but the damage was too much for his team to fix in time. He owed me quite a big favor so he letting us test out a new prototype. called the Hammerhead. The cabin quarters are quite small if fact will be a squeeze getting four people in a space made for three. It has no defense system but it's nimble and can survive drops from high altitude. I wouldn't be using it otherwise but we have no choice." Zoe turned to Ash who looked like she had just come from a workout. "Ash suit up as quick as you can. Meet the us in the cargo bay ASAP." Ash nodded. "Crew dismissed." Zoe walked over to Ash and silently asked her to wait a moment.
"My friend at Huerta Memorial sent me an update on Miranda's condition. Our good friend with the big pink pistol has made what could only be called a miraculous recovery. Her injuries weren't as grave as Karin had thought and with her enhanced genetics she will make a full recovery with no lasting side effects. Hell, she's already up and undergoing some rehab training. My friend says that Miranda will be discharged some time by the end of the week. That was just over two days ago." Zoe leaned in and hugged Ash who started tearing up at the mention of such good news. Ash murmured her thanks and a quick prayer for Miranda's love and acceptance.
Zoe and Ash made their way down from the comm. room to the cargo bay where Ash scampered over to her makeshift home. Zoe watched with great delight as the busty brunette stripped naked in mere seconds flat and first donned her compression outfit before pulling on her combat armor. She then equipped her weapons before joining the others who were just starting climb into the new vehicle. Calling it a tight squeeze was a gross understatement. Liara had to lean her seat all the way back just to make room for her lanky body. Tali ended up in Ash's lap. If this was just after Eden Prime, Ash would have flipped out if an alien was sitting in her lap. The two had gotten closer over their time here on the Normandy.
Zoe radioed up to Joker that the ground crew was ready to depart. They were a minute out from the drop zone. The cargo bay door opened and Zoe flew the Hammerhead out of the Normandy. The Hammerhead's new propulsion system and aerodynamic body meant that the vehicle didn't fall to the ground like a massive brick only to be saved by jump jets at the last minute. Given a better vehicle with better controls, Zoe was a much better driver. She piloted the Hammerhead as close as the heat signature as she could. There was a split in the large stone wall where they would have to continue on foot.
Ash took point with Liara and Tali I the middle with Zoe completing their diamond formation. The group quickly moved towards large stone building. Tali was running scans with her omni-tool. She was able determine that this place still had power which after fifty thousand years. Tali couldn't stop gushing about what a feat of engineering the protheans achieved. They walked up a ramp that led to a second level of the large stone building. In the center of the floor was some form floating golden pink energy. It was flickering on and off. It was probably damaged but Zoe could make out a few bits and pieces of words. She asked the others and they couldn't hear anything. It must be the prothean cipher Shiala had gifted to her. Zoe told the others that it wasn't much of a VI but a message just set on repeat. It warned of an invading fleet of massive ships. There was a small panel next to the broken VI. Zoe pressed the large red button. She was surprised that there wasn't a label above the button that said 'Do Not Press'. Zoe rigged a grenade on the base of the panel. The quartet felt a large rumbling coming off in the direction they entered in from. They heard a small explosion from the room above.
Zoe took point as they made their way back to the Hammerhead. There was a large gap behind the hammerhead where a wall used to be. It wasn't a wall but a massive door. The gang climbed back to the Hammerhead as Zoe swung the hovercraft in the opposite direction. Just before they entered they entered the prothean underworld, they got a secure transmission from the Normandy. Joker reported that the relay had flared up with activity. The Normandy was still undetected while running in stealth mode. Zoe sent a quick message back that they were about descend below the surface.
Most of their trip down into the sub levels of Ilos was quite uneventful which was a first. They came upon a long stretch where there were thousands of circular bluish white shields all above them. Liara said that they were prothean stasis chambers for stasis pods. After several scans, there were no signs of life coming from any of the pods. Tali chimed in that here wasn't enough power left to keep a few of the pods on line let alone every stasis pod. Down another long ramp, their route was blocked by a massive white wall that looked like a waterfall. Zoe didn't attempt to drive through it. As soon as the Hammerhead got close enough to investigate the wall another wall appeared behind them. They were trapped. These force fields had to be Protean. They were far too elegant for anything any current species could have invented.
A scan of the immediate area showed there was a small door built into the wall in between the force fields. The gang climbed out of the Hammerhead armed and ready for an ambush. That ambush never came. Just beyond the door was an elevator. Liara, Tali, and Zoe boarded the elevator. Ash hung back to stand watch. The trio walked down yet another ramp. This one was suspended in mid air with metal cables. At the center and bottom of the suspended ramp looked like a working prothean VI. Liara brought up her omni-tool and started to record.
The VI must have sensed the trio's presence. "You are not prothean but you are also not machine either. This was but one of an infinite number of possibilities we had anticipated. We chose to use our beacons to send out a warning throughout the entire galaxy."
Zoe played her role as translator once again. "It's a prothean VI like the one we encountered before. This one however isn't as damaged as before."
"Love do you if I open a low level meld with you. I would love to hear what the VI has to day directly from the source."
"Sure I can allow letting out that sexy little archeologist side of yours every so often." Zoe leaned in and kiss her bond mate. "Especially after what you are still wearing my favorite letter and number." Liara's cheeks turned a darker shade of blue as she blushed when Zoe mentioned the thong she was still wearing. Zoe felt Liara open their bond a little wider to have a real time active connection. She could have looked through Zoe's eyes if she put enough power behind the meld.
The VI continued after a few moments "My scans show that you have no signs of indoctrination. Perhaps there is still hope for this cycle. We were created as a measure of last resort. Nobody but you four have entered the lower levels in over fifty thousand years."
Liara was in full on geek mode. "Holy Mother Goddess of Athame. An actual prothean VI and I can actually understand it."
"Ok Liara… take it easy." Zoe replied back trying to keep Liara on target.
"How come I can understand it too. I am not in the same meld as you two?" Tali asked.
"Forgive me but I have been monitoring your interpersonal radio communications and have modified my speech so that you three can easily understand me. I am Vigil. You are safe here for the moment but that will likely change shortly. I will disable those barriers you encountered outside once we are done here. They were used as a security checkpoint along the main highway. I'd like to welcome you to Ilos our chief research facility. I am an advanced non organic analysis system designed by our founder Ksad Ishan."
"Why were we brought here?" Zoe asked.
"I was not the one who set you on the path you are now on but it is a path you must continue on. You must break the cycle that we protheans and the many species who came before us failed to stop. You must understand and not make the same mistakes we made otherwise you'd be doomed to fail just as we did. I know of your next stop. The Citadel is the heart of your cycle's civilization just as it has been for long before we first landed there. We were not its creator. We discovered that the Citadel is a trap. It is actually a massive mass relay that links our galaxy to dark space the empty space between galaxies. When the relay is activated from within by one who has been indoctrinated. It is the only way know of for the reapers to access our galaxy. Once they come there is no stopping them. And then all you know and cherish will be destroyed." Vigil explained.
"How did nobody figure out that the citadel is actually a massive relay? How did your kind figure it out?" Liara asked. She was bordering on slipping to her researcher persona.
"The Reapers are very cunning in their deception in keeping their biggest secret of the Citadel hidden. Their deception is aided by the creation of a subservient species of organics that are tasked with the upkeep of the station. It is the nature of all organics to never truly goes investigating when there isn't a problem to solve. The keepers main directive is to keep any who step foot on the Citadel completely oblivious to the station's true nature until the relay is activated. By then it will be too late to do anything to stop the reapers. What we know about the reapers is very little. They are a race of highly advanced sentient machine with immeasurable technology. We believe they lay dormant in dark space until the end of each cycle where they annihilate the most advanced species at the time. We happened to be their latest victim just as you shall be if you do not strike back against them."
Zoe came to the sobering thought. "This hidden relay allows the reapers to easily wipe out the council and any defenses the station might have with one easy surprise attack."
"That was our fate. Our high command was wiped out long before we realized we were even under attack. With the Citadel under reaper control that gives them complete control over the mass relays…"
"…and with control of the mass relays the reapers can wipe us out far easier than without them. All of our transportation and communication throughout the galaxy is dependent on the mass relays. Without any control over the mass relays each star system is essentially a sitting duck with a giant target painted on its back."
Vigil continued on. "What you don't realize that every bit of sensitive data any one of your species has ever collected has probably been stored on the Citadel. All of this information made it far easier to exterminate us over the next few decades. Your future either leads to extermination or enslavement if you don't break the cycle. Once your worlds are pillaged and plundered, the reapers will retreat back into dark space until it is time the next cycle to end."
"Why do the reapers do this? What possible motive could they have for causing galactic genocide?" Tali chipped in.
"The reapers are a true alien race. They are truly unknowable. Our best guess was that they are driven by motives and goals organic beings have chance in understanding. Then again what does it matter. Your survival depends on stopping the reapers not understanding them. You were brought here because you seek the conduit do you not? Just before the reapers attacked, we were on the cusp of unlocking the secrets behind the technology of the mass relays. The scientists here were working to create a small scale version of a mass relay. One that could be linked to the Citadel the hub of relay network."
"The conduit isn't a weapon but merely a back door on top the Citadel. How were you able to stay hidden through the past fifty millennia? Didn't you say that the reapers only left mere fragments of the previous civilization after the harvest. Wouldn't this place have earned the same treatment?" Liara asked.
"This place never truly existed in any of the records we made. Since this place never existed while our empire came crashing down all around us but we were spared. As soon as the reapers struck, Ilos went truly dark. You drove by everyone who worked here. It was the job of the network of VI's to monitor all of our stasis pods. However we had no true control to reactive them after the reapers retreated back to dark space. Little by little, our programming dictated for us to take pods off line to conserve power until there was only our top scientists remained. Those scientists knew that their numbers couldn't repopulate their races. So they devised a way to seal the reapers back into dark space for good. They invented a bit of code that closed off the reaper's easy access through the Citadel. I still have that bit of code." Vigil stated. "If you will open a port with your omni-tool, I will transfer the file over. Follow the road you are already on to the very end. It will lead you to a mini relay. That will take you to the presidium."
"That statue of a mass relay out on the large lake…" Tali couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Once on the presidium make your way to the tallest tower. The highest room there hides a digital panel which gives anyone access to the controls to the station. Use this program on the control panel . It will lock down access to that back door relay. You must hurry. Your cycle is coming closer to the end." The power that kept Vigil working finally gave out and the hologram disappeared.
Zoe looked over at Liara. She was already on her onmi-tool reviewing the program she had acquired from Vigil. "From what I can tell this program is so simple that it should work. I believe we should still proceed with caution. Introducing an unknown and untested bit of code could destroy the Citadel just as quickly it could save it from the reapers." Liara then went back and started reviewing the video she had recorded of their conversation hoping to glean any more information about either the reapers or the protheans. The trio regrouped with Ash before climbing back in the Hammerhead.
The hovercraft made great time as they reemerged from the underground. Off in the distance there was a small mass relay slowly starting to power up. Zoe sent Joker a message telling him to send a P-1 message to Councilor Tevos and only Councilor Tevos to enact Executive Protocol 42: Evacuation of the Citadel Council due to an Imminent Threat to The Council. When Joker messaged her back and asked her who was the threat. Zoe sent an one word message back: ME! Zoe then gunned the Hammerhead's engines as the hovercraft lurched forwards toward the spinning rings of the relay.