Nos Astra, Ilium (10/06/2184)

"Well, this is certainly unexpected." Shepard's voice had an undertone of wry humor, as he motioned for Miranda to precede him into Liara's apartment. The Spectre whistled appreciatively as his eyes roamed over the various archeological artifacts in stasis, the paintings and the handful of tomes. Miranda forced herself not to glare at the man when that appreciative gaze also took in the young asari, especially since she herself could objectively acknowledge both Liara's allure and grudgingly accept that the asari had proven herself a worthy ally to her. And unfortunately, those were in ever-shortening supply. "A very welcome change compared to the usual drab military debriefings - or the typical clandestine discussions in shadowy corners."

"I thought that for once I might as well act like a typical asari maiden and invite my friends to a nice, relaxing evening." She blushed slightly, and flashed a brief, faint smile. "And if the watching eyes conclude that I finally cracked under the pressure, or Miranda did, well, who could blame them?" She grinned at the ONI sorceress, and the human couldn't miss the flash of pain and sympathy in the blue eyes, then the asari turned around, motioning them to follow further inside, her hips swaying just a bit more than necessary. Liara spoke over her shoulder, her voice changing to a throaty, sensual purr. "I mean both of us have a lot on our plates lately, and I think most females of all races would agree that Solomon Gunn's definitely worth the attention - and is good for stress relief."

Miranda couldn't suppress a vindictive chuckle at the Spectre's sputtering.

"All things considered, you're not entirely wrong, my dear." Her tone was laced with just a bit of smug satisfaction. "I do excellent work, as you both can attest to it."

Shepard stood stock-still, then turned with cautious slowness towards the smugly smirking human, then to the blushing asari.

"Liara? Something I should know?"

"Yes. No! I mean… That's… " The asari swallowed, glared at Miranda for a second, then huffed. "Fine, this was not one of my greatest ideas."

"I think inviting us here was actually not such a bad idea." Miranda replied, her tone level, professional, then she smirked. "The teasing, on the other hand..."

"I thought it might help distract all of us a bit." There was pain and fatigue in Liara's voice. "With all that happened recently, we could use a bit of levity. At least I thought so."

"Honestly, you were not wrong there." Shepard weighed in, and Miranda nodded. "Still, you know us humans: business before pleasure." And he smirked at the two women with an exaggerated leer.

The archeologist and the ONI sorceress traded a look before they both fixed him with aristocratic disdain in their eyes.

"Keep dreaming, Solomon."

"You couldn't handle even one of us, nevermind both."

For a moment, there was silence, then Shepard chuckled, which set off both women as well.

"Yeah, we did need that."

The asari motioned for them to make themselves comfortable, and headed towards the kitchen. Miranda closed her eyes for a moment, as her mind focused on the wards set up around the apartment, checking their integrity. Her eyes opened, and she started working on her omnitool, continuing the check on the cybernetic defenses, and found everything to her satisfaction. She nodded towards Shepard, and the two human relaxed a fraction.

"Seems all clear." For a second, she tensed as she felt an incoming, active biotic field, then she grinned and shook her head.

"Thanks for double-checking." Liara arrived, carrying plates of food with her biotics. "I did try to copy the sigils exactly, but my impression is that it never hurts to be cautious with these matters."

She floated over a bottle of wine, and after a nod of assent, poured for all. Miranda took a sip, and hummed appreciatively.

"Give me a moment longer to enjoy it. I'm afraid it'll feel rather more bitter once we start." Truthfully, a part of her wanted to drag it out even longer, trying to bury her head in the sand, instead of facing the rather bleak reality.

"That bad, huh?" Shepard's tone was laced with bitter knowledge.

"In seriousness, what the hell did you expect, Shepard? It's not every day the SA Fleet Master disappears following an apparent assassination attempt - which, by the way, was seemingly instigated by pro-Council officers in the Fifth Fleet." Miranda flashed a brief vindictive smile. "Too bad that with the help of the Illusive Man's files and the ONI-endorsed info brokerage on Ilium, that claim fell very flat within hours."

"Still, I suspect it did create some doubt - as was probably intended." Liara spoke calmly. "I do not believe even the most rabid Terra Firma fanatic would believe that Council sympathizers within the SA would and could try to kill the Fleet Master at Arcturus." She smiled with dark amusement. "Now, if the attempt took place while he was touring the colonies or fleet bases..."

"Yeah, let's not even go there. At any rate, the Fleet Command is in turmoil, and rumors say that Admiral Singh will be the next Fleet Master within days - and thanks to the abysmal failure of ONI to prevent or indicate any signs of the attempt on the Fleet Master, we will be folded into Paranormal Intelligence and Research." Miranda's mouth twisted into a bitter snarl as she took an aggressive gulp. "That insane old bastard managed to outplay us somehow. I cannot prove it, but I feel that Ungern-Sternberg is somehow behind this, I just cannot see why he would do it. Sure, he's crazy, greedy and powerhungry, but not one to risk the whole SA like this."

"Have you considered that he may have grabbed ONI to ensure that it stays in business and does not fall apart under some kind of Senate-mandated witchhunt courtesy of Terra Firma?"

Miranda glared at the Spectre.

"That's the only reason we have not tried to off him yet. It would make a disturbing amount of sense, and I honestly hope that's at least a part of his motivation."

Shepard grinned and nodded, acknowledging her point.

"And what about Cerberus and the Illusive Man's network? How are things there?"

"Not good. The Lawson-thing's minions managed to take over a number of important cells and projects" here she looked at Liara who nodded "and we are currently compiling intelligence on them for when we strike in the near future." She shook her head at Shepard's questioning look. "I know, losses will be heavier and we won't manage to neutralize all of them either. Still, I do not want to give them more time to vanish or entrench themselves."

"How soon?"

"Depending on what our analysts can dig up, the briefing data will be ready within a week, and I'd prefer to have strike teams ready by then." She saw the Spectre open his mouth, and held up a hand. "No, we are not planning to rely on SA forces, at least not primarily. I have some trustworthy contacts, there's also a list I got from Major Pieterzoon after Korlus, and Liara's been helping hiring mercs and establishing covers." She chuckled ruefully. "I'm also fairly certain that at least some Spectres and STG agents will be involved, as Jondum Bau had reached out to us."

"Now that'd be a welcome development." The Spectre's grin was feral.

"In the short run, definitely." Liara's voice was pensive. "Long-term, especially when it comes to light? Your Terra Firma will see it as a blatant act of aggression and alien meddling - and they will be partially right."

Miranda conceded the point with a nod.

"Still, if we do not act, we might not be around for long-term." She took a deep breath. "Especially if one of Hackett's TF Aurora cells is right." She shook her head at the questioning glances. "Don't have enough information yet, they are investigating mass relays, trying to date and categorize them - and they are focused near, or inside batarian space. I do not really want to contact them and risk blowing whatever cover they may have just for an update; their preliminary findings are in the Illusive Man's files."

"Just what we needed, another Sword of Damocles hanging over our neck." Shepard drained his glass, moved to refill it. "Have either of you had any news from Kathmandu?" The brief flicker of hesitant pondering on the two women's faces was all the confirmation he needed. "Damn, if it can make even you two hesitate to recall it..."

"It's not just people's memories, Shepard. I could barely dig out the records for a couple of digs the University of Serrice undertook along with researchers from there. The files and data were there, but fully removed from any indexing and metadata … or so it seems." She gestured helplessly with her glass. "I must admit this occult field is rather beyond my experience, and while I'd like to learn more, I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"As long as you know that it's hell you're about to walk into..." Shepard's voice carried sympathy and sadness. "I'm sorry that you had to be exposed to the darker part of history like this. For people like Miranda and me, it was an informed choice, but I'm afraid I'd given you little of either."

The asari smiled faintly.

"Nevertheless, I chose to pursue that knowledge beyond what you absolutely had to tell me. And Miranda had to provide help and guidance for us to bring you back." Neither human commented on her slightly trembling voice or the minute shaking of her hands. "And while I may occasionally wish I did not know certain things, I chose to follow you on this path." The asari shook her head, took a deep breath, and continued. "But let's not dwell on my issues too long - after all, we do have to get rid of the ritual laid on Kathmandu. Considering that both the Lawson-thing and the Shadow Broker put in a lot of effort into depriving us from the resources of the scholars there, I'd recommend this as the highest priority."

"Agreed." The Spectre's tone was grim. "Especially since even people like you and Miranda are starting to need a reminder to recall the University. If we leave the ritual in place for too long, it will be completely hidden from our minds." He chuckled mirthlessly at the two women. "Yes, in a week or two, three at best, even us N7 Deltas won't be able to rely on the passive wards to counteract the ritual's effects. When that happens, ordinary people will be fully unable to recall anyone at Kathmandu, talents like you two will need constant reminders, information about the institute will vanish into thin air. After that, us Deltas may have a week longer to act, but that'll be a very tall order." His eyes burned. "We have to act much, much sooner."

"I thought so. What I'm not sure is how to go about breaking the ritual." Liara fiddled with her omnitool, and a complex array of arcane sigils and notes shimmered into existence. "I've been studying some of the tomes you two left with me, and a few I received from Taskforce Aurora, but there were barely any hints to rituals on this scale."

"No offense Liara, but that's not the type of information we would just hand out in any written format." Miranda's tone was level, cold. "Those tomes are kept under watch in the Hall of Leng beneath Kathmandu, behind the most powerful and complex wards we could create. And as far as I'm aware, not even N7 Deltas are allowed to remove those books."

The Spectre nodded in confirmation. For a moment, Liara looked worried, then her eyes narrowed speculatively, as she contemplated her companions.

"Based on what you say, the easiest and most logical way of breaking the ritual would be from Kathmandu, using the personnel and arcane resources in there." She raised her hand to forestall comments. "I know, that's likely one of the reasons the University was removed from the equation." She took a deep breath. "I can hazard a guess that the counter-ritual might have been performed at Anadius, but with the death of the Illusive Man and the destruction of Kronos Station, that's no longer an option."

"Correct." Miranda's eyes flashed with rage and pain, and the two humans shared a glance. "We cannot rely on location as symbolic links - we have to make do with people instead."

"You can't mean to..."

"Yes she can." Shepard's tone was coldly furious. "She's the inheritor of the Illusive Man, carries his order's sigil, and she is more than qualified." He flashed a feral grin. "All in all, she's the perfect candidate to sacrifice either of the architects of the ritual to counter it."

"Shepard, you can't … wait, what?" Liara trailed off, horror and worry morphing into confusion on her face. The Spectre grinned.

"What, you thought that we'd have to sacrifice Miranda Lawson?" He barked a short, vicious laugh. "That would not work - she'd need more time and power to act as a proper sacrifice." His eyes burned with malicious fire. "No, we just need either Henry Lawson; or the thing wearing his skin - or the Shadow Broker." A look from Liara made him chuckle again, with more genuine humor. "We were planning to go after them anyway, right?"

The Spectre furrowed his brows, as he looked at the suddenly very smug asari.

"So, care to share why that put you in such a fine mood?"

"We did manage to crack the data we got from the Observer's cell." The asari's brief smile could have belonged to a hungry aquatic predator. "My contacts have managed to get an approximate location on the Broker's base."

"How approximate? Quadrant? Cluster?"

Liara flashed a faint smirk, as her omnitool lit up, displaying a galactic map, before it started scrolling to display a part of the Terminus.

"The Sowilo system, in the Hourglass Nebula."

"Well now, that's certainly a huge help." The Spectre bared his teeth in a wolfish grin. "I think we should..."

A faint, barely audible crack from the window. The shimmer of a kinetic barrier engaging.

"Down!"

Agent Callus Stranianus had been working for the Shadow Broker close to thirty years, rising through the ranks from lowly grunt to one of the captains of the Broker's private wetworks squads. He was rather familiar with the occasionally required ruthless violence, and has always managed to complete his objectives, well within the acceptable casualty margins. His people knew he'd not hesitate to sacrifice them if absolutely needed - but they also knew that he'd ensure that the deck was stacked in their favor as much as possible, and he'd be there himself in the firefight. During his career, he planned and conducted operations within the territory of all Council races, went up against operatives from basically every secret and elite service - and survived with relatively few injuries. Thus, when he got the assignment to support a highly-placed Broker agent on Ilium, he was not particularly surprised - even if the identity of said agent shocked him for a minute.

While he was not that happy with the very tight schedule, the rather detailed dossiers on his marks, as well as their likely itinerary mostly made up for it. The suggested venue of the attack was also an acceptable location; while the building's security was excellent, as expected from the asari, it was nevertheless not exactly on a military level. Plus, the Broker Network came through for him as usual, and with the blueprints, security codes, and necessary bribes well handled, he felt confident in their chances.

Sure, the targets would not be pushovers, and he made sure to pound that into the head of his people. Taking on three biotics in close quarters, even when they were not armored, likely carrying nothing more heavy than handguns, and were hopefully surprised for the first few critical seconds - well, it was not going to be without risks. In fact, even with the sniper support and the trio of asari biotics he had, Callus reckoned that at least half his team would be killed or near-permanently put out of action. Of course that was the worst-case scenario, but one had to prepare for that, especially against opponents like veteran N7 Deltas who had an irritating tendency to not know when to stay dead. And while T'Soni clearly lacked sufficient commando training, her raw power made her a danger. As for the ONI operative, well, one did not reach her rank and track record by collecting bottle caps; she may well be more comfortable as an analyst, but she had survived several engagements alongside Shepard, which made her also dangerous.

That said, he personally checked on all three snipers and their spotters, made sure that the Broker's heavy support operative was close and available, and that the equipment of his team was in top shape.

The infiltration went off without a hitch, and as his breaching squad got into position, Callus sent the signal to the snipers to open fire - then nodded at his tech, who switched on the jamming device. It would not do for their prey to call assistance, after all. Biotic coronas lit up around his asari operatives, as they prepared for the assault.

And of course it all went spectacularly wrong. The fucking windows held out for that vital few heartbeats it took for the second shot from an anti-material rifle to cross the distance - and that was more than enough warning that the breaching squad met three live biotics, instead of wounded or killed ones.

A tidal wave of coruscating biotic power washed over Callus' team, sending those who did not have their maglocks engaged flying. A rapid burst of phasic rounds from an SMG tore into one of the biotics, turning her into a bloody rag. A shape wreathed in biotic flames hurtled out from the apartment, crashed into the second asari with a thunderous impact that pulped the woman's body. His team opened fire on the crazy human, who dodged just enough so his barrier held long enough, then the man again became a blue biotic comet, crashing into and obliterating a trio of mercs with the impact.

The turian agent snapped off a short burst, and the Spectre's shield and barrier went down, but before he could capitalize on it, he had to duck from a flying corpse flung at him by the human woman - who also grabbed the Spectre and yanked him towards cover, bullets chasing in his wake. A quick signal had two other squads moving in, the mercs providing disciplined overlapping fire to ensure that the targets could not leave cover. The survivors of the breacher squad were forming up, omnishields deploying to provide protection, their shotguns lighting up with the telltale glow of incendiary ammunition - perhaps a bit crude, but definitely effective. For a brief moment, Callus could almost feel victory in his grasp.

Then the asari wannabe infobroker shouted something, and the whole apartment lit up in a blue-white glow. With a howl of tortured metal and ceramics, a support girder wreathed in biotic aura was wrenched from below the apartment's balcony and flung at his team with tremendous speed - and the maglocks that prevented his team to be flung away by casual lift or pull fields were now working against them. Sure, not even a large girder like that could hit all of them, hell, it barely killed half a dozen of his team - but it was more than enough to make the survivors hesitate and gape for a second. And against opponents like this, that was way too long.

Again, a blue streak slammed into a handful of unlucky mercs, a coruscating nova of biotic force detonating at the impact, sending broken bits and pieces of dead mercs flying. The human woman's SMG fired short bursts that collapsed shields and barriers, leaving the mercs vulnerable - and the panting but clearly furious asari took full advantage, her hands moving in choppy, short control gestures, her biotic fields flinging screaming mercs out into the Nos Astra sky.

A ping from his omnitool distracted Callus for a moment, and he cursed - apparently someone cut through the jamming and had alerted the authorities, who were even now converging on his position, and…

For a moment, his mind clicked on empty, as his previous thoughts hit home. Then his eyes went wide, then wider still, as the shadows seemed to deepen, a very faint, cloying-sweet aroma wafted on the breeze - and he could just catch the fleeting, exultant, hungry smirk of his killer before the void-dark eyes drew his departing spirit howling into an eternally yawning, depthless maw.

His team's survivors joined him rather swiftly after that.

"Fancy meeting you here, Shepard."

Miranda had to suppress the urge to grind her teeth in frustration as Tela Vasir sauntered closer, shotgun still in hand, her eyes tracking for possible attackers. For a moment, she felt thankful that another Spectre was in Nos Astra, and close enough that she could assist them - then the ONI sorceress' eyes narrowed in thought, as the apartment's wards twinged. Of course, as a Spectre with a service record longer than their combined lifetime could have picked up a trick or two to elicit such reactions, or maybe it was something innate to asari combat matrons… she'd have to look into that later. If she survived, that is. For a heartbeat, she thought she felt the tang of an oncoming storm on her tongue and skin, and the shadows seemed to deepen in the shot-up apartment. Vasir's calm face seemed to twitch into an unnatural leer for a moment, and Miranda blinked - was there just the slightest bit of smug, arrogant preening in the asari's tone? Did her mouth shape the words with just a microsecond of delay? Did the temperature drop a bit suddenly? Though then again, the latter was likely due to the howling winds around them.

"Feeling's mutual, Tela." Shepard's voice carried an undertone of wry humor. "Especially since you also seem to have brought support."

Miranda's stomach dropped, and she tensed. Shepard's feeling it as well, something's not right, something does not add up. From the corner of her eye, she saw Liara shiver, and the asari's pupils went wide, then narrowed with an arctic glare at the female Spectre - even though Miranda could see the tightly controlled fear behind the archeologist-turned-infobroker's visage.

"Oh?" The question was just a bit too coy, and a microsecond too hesitant. "What makes you think so?"

"Well, the snipers had to be silenced, of course - should we wait for Nihlus to join us, or..."

There it was again, the same barely-perceivable ugly leer distorting the asari face, along with the microscopic discrepancy between how the asari's lips should have formed the words her voice said. Vasir's eyes fixated on something behind them, in the ruined apartment, and she relaxed, her shotgun collapsing as she maglocked it to her armor. For a vital second, the seemingly perfectly routine and innocent action confused both humans and Liara, none of them having expected it, all their instincts screaming about imminent combat, yet hoping that they all misread the signals.

"He is out there, but I don't think we need to wait for him." Vasir's lips quirked in a perfectly synchronized, vicious smirk.

The temperature dropped. Hoarfrost spiralled from under Vasir's feet, eyes swirling to pools of inviting, warmly suffocating darkness, her mind caressing the consciousness of the three others, whispering sweet threats, cruel suggestions, sensual promises. Something shot out from the ruined apartment into the asari's hand, and Miranda's eyes went wide as she heard the first grating, unhuman syllables fall from Liara's lips - then debris and armorglass exploded around them in blue-white biotic light, and the asari's voice choked as a piece of wreckage hit her in the throat.

"You ignorant, spoiled pureblood bitch, how can you think to match me?"

Wings of shadows and whispering voices unfurled from the Vasir-thing's back, pulsing to the beat of an unnatural heart, tendrils of the nightmarish stuff scenting the air, questing for prey, for pleasure, their worming, tempting whispers urging Miranda to simply lay down and quit fighting. The sensual siren song called for her to submit to the other, to open her mind, heart and body for the asari to use. Chains of futility and dread attempted to weigh her down. Tendrils of doubt and jealousy aimed to pierce her mind, to distort her memories into hateful caricatures.

For a heartbeat, Miranda accorded a measure of respect to the unnatural monster - if she were asari, or an untrained human, she might very well have succumbed. But being who and what she was, her answer was not surprising, as she spat the first syllables of a banishing incantation, actinic glare suffusing her aura. A small part of her mind noted Liara hurling biotic attacks at their foe, the rapid concussions of multiple detonating fields providing cover and distraction for the ONI sorceress.

A blue streak of light exploded into the floating Vasir-thing, and the two Spectres went over the edge, the unreal wings on the asari's back lazily beating to keep it hovering as it turned a mocking smirk on Shepard as they grappled in the air.

"Pitiful wretch, do you really think your primitive kind can soar in the air and aether, little thief?"

The mocking smirk vanished as Shepard flashed a defiant grin at it, while Miranda's voice rose to a crescendo, her invocation battering the Vasir-thing's psyche, its wings lighting up in howling anguish and exultant pain.

"Let's see you do better without the wings or your skinriding parasite, you ignorant bitch."

The human's omniblade lit up in the freezing cold storm, and with a short, choppy motion he stabbed into the gut of the shrieking asari. The resulting explosion of biotic and aetheric energies flung Shepard back, and he crashed hard against the remnants of the balcony - if not for Liara's timely intervention, he would have followed the Vasir-thing into the yawning gulf between the skyscrapers.

Miranda's eyes narrowed, as she gazed after the tumbling asari, before her omnitool lit up, as she frantically worked on it.

"She's getting away!" Liara's cry was equally furious and surprised, as the fake Spectre landed on a yellow aircar that carefully maneuvered to pick her up.

"No she isn't. Get in." The ONI sorceress gestured towards the oncoming vehicle. The trio piled in, and Liara noted with a queasy moan that Shepard took the controls. With a few flicks of his fingers, he sent their aircar in Vasir's wake, the acceleration pressing them into their seats.

"There she is!" Liara cried out as she spotted their quarry weaving through the Nos Astra traffic.

"Got her." Shepard noted with calm, before gunning the engines again, beyond their civilian limits.

The two cars danced across the traffic lanes, dodging oncoming vehicles - but as Miranda gleefully noted, they were catching up. Then Vasir's car took a sharp turn, and both women's eyes widened.

"We are not going through a construction site…. Oh, Goddess!"

Girders and support pylons flashed away on both sides with scant space to spare, and Miranda's treacherous mind calculated the odds of actually surviving long enough to catch Vasir.

The yellow aircar flashed towards a tunnel, aiming for a closing rift between two large transports.

"Go, go, go, go, go!" Liara's eyes were wide as she urged their pilot, and Miranda bit her lips to refrain from joining her.

"I'm going."

They cleared the transports with meters to spare, and seemed to gain on Vasir, but…

"Traffic! Incoming traffic!" Liara noted frantically, as they sped after the fleeing Spectre in the wrong lane, barely passing the approaching aircars.

"We'll be fine."

A minute of frantic weaving through traffic, flashing across another tunnel, and random turns later, Vasir's car stabilized in a relatively empty lane, and held course for a few moments.

"She's dropping proximity charges!" Miranda shouted.

"I noticed." Shepard coaxed a bit more from the straining engines of the aircar, dodged the first two mines, jinked away from the third, and barely managed to dodge the fourth.

Miranda's eyes widened as she noted a trio of mid-sized flatbed transport crafts closing in on them, their opening salvo of grenades fortunately exploding in relative safely away.

"We've got company!"

"I noticed." Shepard's voice was still infuriatingly calm as he scanned the control panel, before raising an eyebrow. "What kind of weapons does this thing have?"

"It's a taxi, Shepard!" Miranda could barely contain the sudden bout of incredulous fury in her voice. "It has a damn fare meter!"

"Wonderful." The Spectre nudged the controls, following Vasir's breakneck turns, flashing into another tunnel. The fleeing yellow car managed the sharp turns well enough, but one of the flatbeds was not so lucky or talented, and slammed directly into…

"Truck!"

The force of the collision sent even the larger vehicle into a tumble, its cargo container swatted half a dozen civilian aircars from the air. Explosions bloomed in the enclosed space as power cores and fuel cells ruptured.

"Truck!" Liara's voice rose as the taxi and the tumbling transport closed. Miranda grabbed for the restraints, primed her biotics, ready for collision.

Somehow, Shepard managed to evade with handspans to spare, and their car flashed through the curtain of flames.

"There we go." Both women shared a disbelieving glance, then Liara voiced their mutual accusation.

"You're enjoying this!"

The answering wild grin the Spectre flashed at them sent both Miranda and Liara sputtering.

Ahead, Vasir made just a tiny mistake, and her car grazed a transport. The fleeing Spectre's aircar swayed left, trailing smoke. Shepard gunned the engines, their whine a clear indication that they were close to breaking down. The taxi pulled up to Vasir's side. The two Spectres shared a glance across the short distance, before Vasir's visage contorted with fury, and she pulled to the right, directly towards the taxi. Shepard went with the maneuver, then pulled up, as a third car flashed towards them, slamming almost directly into Vasir's. The asari barely managed to avoid a direct head-on collision, but the damage was enough to send her car into a brief spin. Shepard's eyes narrowed, calculating trajectories, likely reactions, possible crash zones.

"Hang tight." A short command, a heartbeat of time to obey, and then he crashed directly into the limping yellow aircar, and sent it spiralling down towards a large, open balcony of an exotic hotel. Miranda had to note that the impostor at least was competent and tough enough to survive - she managed to limp away from the crash site in the bare minute or so which Shepard needed to get their taxi under control and land.

The false Spectre's car was a smoking, half-compacted wreck on one of the balconies jutting from the skyscraper. A cursory examination found no trace of the OSD the Vasir-thing grabbed from Liara's place, or any useful navigation data - but at least there were rather easily traced patches of blood indicating that their quarry did not walk away unscathed. Miranda allowed herself a wolfish smile as she passed her omnitool over the small purple pool nearest the car, taking a sample before flash-manufacturing a drone for the tracking.

The trail led to a closed apartment door, that proved scant challenge to Miranda's hacking abilities. The trio stepped inside, and almost immediately they instinctively went back-to-back. The spacious, luxuriously furnished apartment felt strangely cold, and the ONI sorceress could feel a strange, cloying odor of something vaguely familiar in the air.

"Do you hear something?" There was just a hint of a tremble in Liara's whisper. Shepard nodded towards the closed bedroom.

"From there."

He moved towards the door, looked back, noted that both women prepared to unleash their power on whatever lurked inside, then reached towards the control panel. The door irised open, and the torrent of musky, sensual perfume mingling with an atonal, hysteric humming poured out. Within, a lithe, scantily-clad asari tore into the still-twitching, moaning body of a human male, her torn, clawed face a mask of ecstasy, her black eyes drowning in terror. Faint traces of hoarfrost patterned the floor, pulsing in time with the wordless, pained hymn of gibberish forcing itself from her lips. The noises tried to worm their way into the trio's minds, delusions, desires, doubts attempting to drown their consciousness.

A roar from Shepard's pistol, and the unfortunate asari's head ceased to exist, aetheric energy frothing along with the spattering blood.

Miranda murmured a short invocation, scanning the room for any unwelcome surprises, her mouth turning into a small, involuntary grin as she took in the images playing on the wall-screen. For a moment, she considered teasing the similarly-watching Shepard, then she saw the other operative's eyes widen. A moment later, her mind supplied her with the reasoning, and she swallowed.

"Liara, just what kind of place is this?"

"It's called Azure. It's a luxury resort hotel with an exotic edge." The asari's voice held a trace of uncertainty and confusion.

"Shit." At Shepard's voice, Liara shivered. She did remember hearing a similar tone from him once, back when she still believed the universe to be sane, before a short code phrase and its consequences started to turn her world upside down. The operative looked at her, and she could see the grim determination in his eyes. "Miranda, contact the Normandy, my authority. Invite and warning about a possible colorful night at the opera. Send along our present findings."

Liara paled, especially when she saw Miranda raise no objection.

"Shepard, surely the situation's not that bad, you surely can't mean to..." Her voice trailed off as she looked into his eyes. "You are serious."

"Yes. I do not know if you asari have a name for what's using the creature masquerading as Vasir, but we do know them." His voice was bleak. "They are creatures of desire, Liara. And this is a place that caters to and empowers desires, ensures that all inhibitions are lowered. A perfect smorgasbord for a daemon like that parasite. And while Miranda and I can deal with it permanently, I do not want to take chances." He glanced at the ONI sorceress who was frantically typing at her omnitool. "One more minute Miranda, then we have to be off." Shepard turned back towards Liara, flashed her a bitter smile. "Just imagine what havoc an asari could cause if her melding ability were supercharged to the point of causing death and insanity by simple prolonged eye contact - and the sensations of her victims would cause her a rush that makes red sand or Minagen-X seem tame."

Liara swayed.

"Ardath-yakshi..."

"So you know these creatures. Or at least have some legends about them."

"Apparently they do. And Liara, we will later compare notes on that name, because it opens a rather nasty kind of worms." Miranda cut in. "But now, we should move on." The raven-haired woman chuckled with fatalistic mirth. "Never thought I'd go up against a daemon in anything but full combat gear and with a squad or two of N operatives along for the ride."

"Well, I'll be sure to have words with this fake Vasir about her rudeness in trampling over your expectations and evening plans."

The trio moved forward, crossing the apartment to another balcony, past a trio of broken LOKI mechs, and another scantily clad asari, who died with a smile on her face - and with black infinity swirling in her unseeing eyes. There was a faint, lingering trace of the familiar, cloying musk, and for a moment, Liara could have sworn something moved within the shadows.

"So, I've got to ask. Why Azure?"

"Azure is Illium slang for a part of the asari body." Liara's answer was automatic, unthinking. Then her eyes widened and she blushed.

"Really. Where?" There was a hint of teasing amusement in the Spectre's voice. A choked sound came from Miranda's direction.

"Down in the lower reaches, near the bottom."

Shepard smirked.

"I meant where on the asari body."

A scream, followed by the roar of a shotgun, saved Liara from further embarrassment. More screaming followed, and a wave of cold rushed to meet them. The trio broke into a run.

A minute later, they reached a deep terrace with planters and shallow pools, the upper levels occupied by a number of humans and asari previously seated at round tables. It appeared to be an open-air dining area, managed by one of Azure's fine restaurants. At least, that's what it was previously.

The Vasir-thing was staggering forward, hoarfrost and whispering shadows pulsing around her, battering the minds of the guests with alien images, obliterating inhibitions, unleashing frenzied emotions, sending them into the frothing pits of madness. The bleeding fake Spectre shivered in ecstasy as she inhaled the cocktail of unbridled emotions bathing the terrace.

"On my mark, we hit it with everything we got."

Something alerted the Vasir-thing to their presence - and before they could strike, the shadowy tendrils on the fake Spectre's back unfurled and grabbed a young woman, pressing her close to the asari to serve as human shield.

"Now, now, Shepard. You certainly wouldn't want to shoot, would you?" The ardat-yakshi's voice was a silky, seductive crooning. Fathomless, black lust swirled in her eyes, as the woman in her arms moaned, her body shivering, her eyes going wide and turning black as well. "It would be just horrible if her … son would grow up without parents, right? You know how painful that is, don't you?"

"I am going to end you, Vasir, or whatever you are." Liara was practically seething.

Shepard relaxed fractionally, and shook his head.

"That's it, little daemon?" He smiled. "You want to appeal to my humanity? My mercy?" He lowered his pistol, and threw back his head as he laughed, deep and loud.

"Of course." Her voice was still a sensual purr. "That is what you are fighting for. That's what you tell yourself. That is what keeps you going forward." The ardat-yakshi smiled, flashing fangs. "You believe that you sacrifice yourself so others don't have to."

The chuckling Spectre's gaze turned toward Miranda, then to Liara, his body language clearly communicating his disbelief. His gaze, on the other hand…

Liara fought very hard to control her face and emotions at that gaze; even so, she thought she had an idea what the Spectre planned - and she hoped that he could read her in return. Her mind raced through the practices of the biotic feat she would have to perform, gathering power, not allowing any outward sign to form. She was sure Miranda was also preparing - especially since from the corner of her eyes, she caught the telltale, minuscule signs of the ONI sorceress subvocalizing something, likely an invocation of some kind.

Shepard, still grinning, turned back towards the ardat-yakshi.

"You forgot who you're dealing with, little daemon." The Spectre's voice dripped scorn. "This is not my first night at the opera. You are not the first of your kind that I had to tear apart." He laughed again, a cold, grim sound. "Hell, you don't even rate in the top ten, honestly."

He took a step forward, body still relaxed, pistol pointing to the ground.

"I walked the Hall of Leng beneath Kathmandu. I survived the hell that was Torfan with my sanity intact. I burned Feros just to get rid of a threat much older and greater than you." His smile turned predatory, his voice colder than the void. "And for some reason, you seem to believe that I'd hesitate to kill a hostage?"

Something flickered in the ardat-yakshi's eyes, and Liara almost lost control. The daemon within might not believe Shepard, but the thing was at least part-asari...

"You're bluffing."

"And you are a moron to think that a brain-fried hostage is worth anything but a mercy kill."

Liara's corona flared in a blinding light, and the ardat-yakshi froze, the stasis bubble pushing it outside the normal flow of time.

"Hurry!" The asari hissed through clenched teeth. "I cannot hold this for long."

Miranda's voice rose and fell in a grating, guttural chant, her hands wove intricate symbols in the air. Hoarfrost traced faint patterns around Shepard as he closed on the ardat-yakshi, his omniblade carving symbols into the floor around the thing.

"Just … a few seconds … more..." Liara barely recognized her own voice.

The stasis field cracked, then burst. The ardat-yakshi within howled in fury, as its shadowy wings unfurled once again, the crooning, seductive purr transforming into a grating, dissonant buzz of grinding blades, the cloying sensual musk giving way to the charnelhouse stench of fresh blood. The beast's swirling black eyes lit up with brass radiance, as its breath huffed in spurts of reeking, sulphurous steam.

Urged by the rising, echoing chant of Miranda, arcane symbols light up around the creature, seeking to chain and drain it of its power and freedom, her invocation lashing the daemon with aetheric fury - only to rebound with a screeching howl of metal on metal that echoes both in their ears and minds. The sigils drawn by the sorceress flare up with murderous fury, only to be snuffed out by the unrestrained heat of fury radiating from the ardat-yakshi, the backlash sending Miranda tottering black, her face a bloody mask of ruptured veins, her voice a gurgling, choking sob as she begins another invocation.

Shepard's omniblade flashes with actinic light, the smell of ozone overpowering the charnelhouse stench, as the plasma-coated omniblade finds its mark in the daemon's breast and discharges its electric payload.

For a heartbeat, the flash of lightning impedes Liara's vision, and she can only thank her goddess that she's far enough that the monster can't immediately reach her - because unlike the Spectre, she could not have dodged the stabbing claw with its elongated talons.

"Did you think that would be enough, ignorant ape?" The voice drips venom and arrogant superiority, the droplets falling from the thing's maw hissing on the ground. "Consider yourself fortunate - it has been a long time since I have been so pressed." The ardat-yakshi grins, fangs flashing. "But without your little tricks, you have no chance - and I will enjoy drowning you in your own blood."

One talon flashed out, and Liara's throat constricted as Shepard barely danced away from the slash, blood staining his torn jacket. Sure, she has seen him take more serious hits, but he was wearing armor at those times. Her hands lit up with biotic fury, as she hurled singularity after warp after raw force at the monster circling the wounded Spectre. Miranda's voice rose to an inhuman screech, more fitting for a bird of prey, as coruscating energy poured from the sigils burning in front of her, aimed at the daemon - only to be snuffed out by the beat of those blood-dripping shadowy wings. The ardat-yakshi glared at the ONI sorceress, who fell, choking in her own blood.

"Do not meddle in my fight, little witch. Your pathetic powers will not work on me any longer." Its grin widened impossibly, the stench of blood and burned brass strong in the air. "I am the Queen of Night, the bloody hand of the goddess, and..."

"You talk too much."

Liara's singularity howled into existence a half-second before Shepard's warp field hit - and the resulting explosion sent the daemon reeling. As if in slow motion, Liara saw the Spectre's blue eyes close - and then a gaze of molten gold focused on the ardat-yakshi. Hoarfrost spiderwebbed from Shepard, the temperature dropped, as the operative moved.

A hand wreathed in biotic flames grabbed onto the daemon's left wing, and with a flash of lightning, tore. The beast howled, its talons and tendrils lashing out, seeking the Spectre's blood - but the human danced through the flurry of strikes, his omniblade flashing with golden light as it bit into aetheric flesh again and again, driving the daemon further and further away from Liara and Miranda.

A biotic kick sent the thing reeling once more, and Liara screamed, focusing her power once again to just hold the creature still, to paralyze and bind it - and Miranda's voice rang out again, the grating, inhuman syllables falling from her lips in a fast chant, pale symbols scintillating in the air around the ardat-yakshi.

"Your victory is but a hollow mockery, apes. You cannot harm the true self; at best, you can scratch the flesh of the vessel." The creature dimmed, its outlines somehow fading, falling back into itself. "I am eternal! Death of the flesh is but a doorway, and time's nothing more than a window! I will..."

++You will PERISH, once and for ALL.++

Shepard's eyes shone with golden light, and the ardat-yakshi screamed.