Joe's Note: Technically Luna being a fan of The Hunger Games is an anachronism because the first novel wasn't published until two years after they left for the future, but hey. Work with me here. It makes for a witty quip to bring things out of a tense section and into a lighter portion of the story. Also, I just realized that in the original Lightning among the Stars, all of Chapter 3 through the second scene of this chapter was condensed into less than seven hundred words. While sometimes I can have problems with decompression and being a bit verbose, I'd like to think that this is a better - and more interesting - way of handling Harry and Luna's first encounter with such an interesting, noteworthy, and powerful individual in the Mass Effect universe…
Dedications & Thanks: Nicolas, Alexander, Howard, MJ, Daniel, Christopher, mpop, Riley, bloodylord, Luke, Zachary, Marc, Ziryo, Elliot, Crusifikz70, Timothy, Leigh, Jason, Chris, George, Koby, Ken, Thyatira, William, Invernos, Paul, Pat, Warren, Mitch, and Jess for sponsoring me on , and making it easier for me to spend more of my time writing. Additional thanks go to the incomparable LogicalPremise for his amazing set of references covering many untouched facets of the Mass Effect universe, as well as listening to me ramble about ideas for the future of this story.

"So I'm going to give you two choices: one of you melds with me so that I can see your memories and decide whether or not you're telling the truth… or I have my people shoot you and toss the remains out an airlock just to be safe. What's it going to be?"

Given that he'd already told her that he would be reasonably open about his secrets, the threat seemed patently unnecessary in Harry's book. Not to mention that whether or not she was actually capable of making good on that threat, it would likely involve a lot of people on her side dying along the way. He wasn't going to assume they were good people, given they served Aria and she wasn't exactly sunshine and daisies… but people all the same. There was just one question. "Not that we have much of a choice, but… what's 'melding'?"

Aria sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "So much for my hope that your people met the Senshelis's crew back in the 1580s and already knew something about asari." What? "To make a long story short, an asari can temporarily join her nervous system to another's. As you can probably guess, it makes sex a lot more interesting and it's also how asari reproduce. But in the hands of an asari who knows what she's doing? It can be used to save someone who's critically injured, share knowledge, or in our case? I'll be able to determine if you're telling the truth because I'll be able to look through your memories."

Out of all the things Harry had been expecting to hear, he could honestly say that was not one of them. Also, he finally had a name to go with Aria's race: asari. It was… pretty. And far less uncouth then constantly referring to them as 'space babes' in his head. "So you want to read mine or Luna's mind… by mating with one of us?"

"I volunteer!" Luna thrust her right arm up in the air, waving it back and forth enthusiastically. "I volunteer as tribute!"

That actually worked out rather well, Harry realized, once he squashed his protective instincts. And got done cringing at the reference to that truly deplorable book that Luna loved so much. If Aria was telling the truth and melding operated on a base, neurological level? His occlumency would keep her at bay about as well as it kept him from getting infected by dragon pox. Luna, on the other hand, had a very… unique way of thinking… that actually stood a chance of slowing Aria down. The asari seemed to realize that as well, or perhaps she was still unnerved by Luna's earlier treatment of her. Whatever the reason, Aria eyed Luna warily as the blonde stepped forward, closing the distance between them. "When I said 'one of you', I actually meant Harry. I don't want to be within ten feet of you, girl, much less in your head."

Even as Luna crossed her arms over her chest and pouted in response, Harry raised his hands in surrender. "I spent the better part of sixteen years with someone else lodged in my brain. With all due respect, I'm not in a big hurry to let anyone else back in there anytime soon."

"And now we've added to the list of things I want to know about you. Fantastic. Fine. We'll do it your way… for now." Aria shook her head in resignation before rising to her feet and closing the distance between herself and Luna. Bringing her hands up on either side of the blonde's head, she pressed her fingers against Luna's pale skin. "This is going to be strictly business, girl. We're not 'mating', I'm interrogating you using the fastest, safest, and least painful method available to me. So don't you dare try anything funny when we… embrace eternity!"

Harry shook his head and turned to Gavorn, raising his left hand and extending all five fingers. As the turian stared at him uncomprehendingly, Harry slowly counted down to zero and then nodded in Aria and Luna's direction. Sure enough, the blonde had reached around to grab the asari's arse with both hands, pulling Aria forward into a kiss. Luna's left hand slowly slid outward to rest on the asari's hip before migrating upward toward Aria's breast, but her quest came to an abrupt end as Aria yanked herself backward. Undeterred, Luna crossed her arms behind her back and bounced on her toes. "Ooh, that was fun! Can you interrogate me some more? You only stayed in my mind long enough to see if we were telling the truth. If you dig deeper, you can find all sorts of interesting things, like-"

"For some reason, Potter, I want to threaten to fuck start her head if you don't shut her up and I don't even know what that means." Ah yes, The Way of the Gun. God bless Sky Cinema, and Luna's ability to 'convince' him - read: bribe him with promises of even more adventuresome bedroom fun - to watch truly atrocious American films with her. "Athame's tits, that girl's got to be the most irritating thing I've ever met and I used to fuck a hanar." Groaning, Aria wandered back over to the couch before throwing herself down on it, rubbing her temples as her eyes slowly faded from black to their normal blue. "Next time I need something from you two? I don't care about this Voldemort character, I'm going into your brain and you're going to like it."

Before Harry could respond to that - chances were slim that she'd be coming near his mind anytime soon and if it did happen, he certainly wouldn't be happy about it - Luna cut him off. "So, when do we get to meet Pelesa? She's pretty. Pointy, but pretty. And you two look quite lovely together, especially when you're both all bruised and bitten."

Head snapping up, Aria stared at Luna with wide, disbelieving eyes. "How..?"

"You connected our minds. You went into mine. Did you really expect me not to go into yours?" Luna's lips quirked upward into a smirk that Harry rarely got to see; his fiancée was rarely the gloating type but every so often, even she could be insufferably pleased with herself. "Don't worry, I only looked for your memories related to shagging. You know, the important things."

Aria's mouth worked soundlessly for a few seconds and then she groaned loudly, flopping back against her couch and staring up at the ceiling. "Gavorn, put them in one of the apartments next to Her's. I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet, but I saw enough to know that they're telling the truth. And then some, evidently. Goddess, I'm going to be purging like a dancer after Janiris tonight. Unless… Bray!" The four-eyed being that had been doing its best to avoid notice the entire time came to attention. Bray. Name? Species? Probably name. Aria didn't call Gavorn 'turian', after all, or Harry and Luna 'human'. "Round me up something cute to play with. Maybe if I meld with someone else, I can bury Lovegood's crap until I'm ready to deal with it."

As 'Bray' hurried off to handle her request, Gavorn sketched a bow and then turned away, making his way down the stairs without waiting to see if Harry and Luna were following. Lunging forward, Harry wrapped his fingers around Luna's wrist and then apparated them down to the base of the first staircase, allowing them to easily catch up with the turian. "So, how was it?"

Giggling, Luna intertwined her fingers with Harry and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked. "You could bounce a galleon off that arse."

While not quite what he'd been after, the answer almost had Harry wishing that he'd volunteered to have his mind invaded.

Almost.

Leaning back against the bar, a woman in a dark blue robe tracked the trio with her yellow eyes as Gavorn led the two newcomers out of Afterlife. While her network was nowhere near as expansive as Aria's or the Shadow Broker's, she knew that the male was responsible for the death of a half-dozen vorcha… possibly using a personal-sized directed energy weapon. That alone would have made them worthy of investigation, and then she'd seen the female's eyes turn white and glow while she melded with Aria.

Fascinating.

Her fellow Sylléktries would want to know more, though, and there was no data like firsthand observation. Dropping a few credits next to her empty glass, she rose to her feet and melted into the crowd. As she closed in on the trio, she reached down to tap at her omni-tool and faded out of sight.

Their new apartment definitely put anywhere he'd lived to shame in terms of comforts, Harry thought as he looked around the expansive space. Not quite as big as Grimmauld Place in terms of pure square meterage, but the amenities easily made up for that. The three large windows that looked out over a combination of space and glowing cityscape, for instance, and the furniture that was luxurious without being ostentatious. In a particular bit of good luck, their futuristic alien kitchen's appliances were all recognizable enough that Harry was reasonably certain he'd be able to cook for them without blowing the station up. And- "Your omni-tools contain basic information about the galaxy, a communicator, and dozens of other things. I've seen humans a third your age figure out how to use them. If you haven't figured out how to contact me by the time my shift starts tomorrow, I'll send someone down to make sure you're not dead."

The corner of Harry's mouth quirked upward at that even as he slung the baby carrier off his back and released Wednesday from her confinement, watching as the snorkack took a few experimental hops before spreading her wings and flying over to the nearest window. "How charitable of you."

"What do you want from me? I'm not paid to deal with this kind of stuff. I'm paid to kill things that piss Aria off, and I was supposed to be done with that and home with my mate a while ago." Shaking his head, Gavorn turned and stalked toward the door of the apartment. "If I've missed another dinner with Vincent, I'm going to come back down here and bury my talons in your-"

The door slid shut, cutting off the rest of Gavorn's muttered threat, and Harry turned his attention to where Luna was waving her wand back and forth over the palatial bed that occupied a goodly amount of the raised portion of the split-level apartment. Already it had been transformed from something sleek, modern, and primarily metal to a four-poster bed resembling the one that occupied the master bedroom of Grimmauld Place. Ascending the four stairs separating the two levels, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "Having fun?"

"Not as much fun as I'm about to have." Luna waved her wand back and forth, adding some Ravenclaw blue hangings to their bed before conjuring pillow after pillow along the head of the bed. Once she was satisfied with the state of their new bedroom, Luna turned her attention to Harry, looking him up and down slowly. "Right then. Pants off. This apartment isn't going to christen itself, you know."

Harry chuckled as he pulled away, emptying his pockets and enlarging each trunk before placing it against the nearby wall. He made sure to unlock and open the one containing their supply of potions; he wanted to have easy access to their stash of bruise balm and murtlap essence come morning. "Someone's feeling randy."

There was a soft growl and then Harry found himself flying through the air, landing in the center of the bed with a bounce. Luna stalked toward him, vanishing her clothes and then his before dropping her wand to the floor with a clatter. "No, someone was randy this morning when you got to work. You knew this was going to happen today; you should have gotten to work early so we could give your office a proper send-off before going to see Hermione. And that was before Aria and Afterlife." Even as Harry tried to push himself up on his elbows, Luna moved to straddle his waist and forced him back down onto the bed. "Less witty banter, more shagging."

"As you wish."

Thoroughly distracted by their fun, neither of them noticed the slight shimmering near the top of the stairs, or the wide yellow eyes that appeared for a moment before fading back out of existence.

"I'm still not terribly keen on the idea of carrying a gun."

"I know you don't, Harry, but if you want to be allowed out of this apartment on your own? Aria's going to make you carry one. Same goes for Luna."

Given the length and breadth of their activities when it came to thoroughly breaking in their new home, neither Harry nor Luna had risen early that morning. Accordingly, their vague deadline with Gavorn had come and gone without them making any breakthroughs with their omni-tools, forcing the turian to send someone to the apartment to check up on them. Much to Harry's surprise - given that Luna had made no secret of her proclivities - Gavorn had picked a svelte asari with teal skin to serve as their guide to the twenty-second century.

Krína had turned out to be a wonderfully adept teacher for a pair of pupils who weren't even familiar with twenty-first century computers, explaining things in simple and basic terms without coming off as condescending. In short order, she managed to walk them through the device's communication, encyclopedia, and extranet functions, and had shown Luna how to use an omni-tool to capture both still photos and videos. The latter had left Harry shaking his head; he wasn't sure how much storage space an omni-tool had, but he was reasonably certain that Luna would manage to completely fill it with homemade pornography in no time at all.

With her task technically complete, Krína had made to leave… and then given in far too easily when Luna offered up her best puppy dog eyes and asked for a tour of the area. Not that Harry blamed Krína; dealing with him and Luna was probably more fun than whatever Aria usually had the asari doing. They'd ended up making a circuit of the immediate neighborhood as Krína pointed out where some of Aria's trusted lieutenants lived before moving outward into the nearby commercial district so she could show them what places were safe to eat at. Their final stop had been Omega Market, where Krína had surprised them by picking up a pair of pistols that Aria had purchased for them. Leading to their current discussion. "But I don't understand why. Aria of all people should know that we-"

"She does know what you're capable of, Harry, or at least some of what you can do. Thing is? She doesn't want everyone else knowing. From what she told me when Gavorn brought me to her for a briefing, the galaxy as a whole isn't that different from the Earth you left. While biotics are commonplace, your 'magic' isn't and so if you don't hide your powers, you'll attract attention. The wrong kind of attention. So as long as you're on the station, and living under Aria's hospitality?" Krína took the M-3 Phalanx from Harry and adjusted something, causing a blue beam of light to emerge from just above the barrel. "If you get in trouble, you're going to keep your stick holstered, point this light at what's after you, and pull the trigger until it stops moving."

Harry sighed and took the pistol back, slowly sweeping it across the room and watching as the laser sight traced a path along the windows' glass. Then his keen eyes noticed something and he doubled back, frowning as the blue light bent slightly to one side and then the other as it passed over a certain area. "Am I the only one seeing this, or-"

While he didn't know what to make of the phenomenon, Krína evidently did. Lunging forward, she pulled her shotgun from where it rested at the small of her back and pointed it toward the anomaly Harry had discovered. "Freeze! I don't know how you got in here, but you'll be leaving here in a few pieces if you don't show yourself now."

"You are aware that those two requests are mutually exclusive, right?" The words came rapidly at a high pitch; while the galaxy's heavy reliance on computerized translators meant that the speaker could have been anyone or anything, it was a sound that Harry associated with a woman who'd had a bit too much sugar or too big a dose of Pepper Up Potion. "If they make a tactical cloak that responds to voice commands, I haven't been provisioned with it. So I can either remain motionless… or deactivate my cloak so you can see me. Which is more important?"

After examining her own Phalanx for a few seconds, Luna figured out how to activate the laser sight and rose from the couch, sweeping inward from the right until she found the edge of the distortion created by their visitor's 'tactical cloak'. "Actually, I don't really care if you stay here all invisible for a while. It's not the first time we've had an unknown voyeur. Makes it a bit hotter, to be honest…"

The air shimmered as the woman brought the fingers of her right hand up to tap against her left forearm. Tendrils of blue energy rippled over the being, outlining her figure, and then she faded into view. Like Krína, their voyeur was an asari, but the two were as different from each other as Luna and Hermione. While Krína was almost uniformly a teal skin tone, the newcomer - so to speak, given that she'd been in their apartment for an unknown amount of time - had skin that was green near her core and radiated outward into blue tones, with dark blue markings over her brilliant yellow eyes that almost looked like a pair of footprints. And unlike Krína - and Aria, and every other asari he'd seen so far - her crests seemed to naturally split themselves into two distinctly horn-like bundles that rose upward into the air rather than possessing the slicked back appearance of a normal asari's crests. They were even dressed completely differently: Krína was wearing a black dress that was remarkably conservative compared to what Harry had seen other asari wearing while they were out touring Omega, while the newcomer was wearing sleek purple and gold armor with an 'O' in the center of the chestplate. "Technically, I'm not a voyeur. I'll admit to watching you two go at it and enjoying it, but I enjoyed it in a 'I wish I could get in on that' way. Not a 'oh goddess yes, I love spying on sex so much' way. I was just doing my duty to my people and then… well, moving on. My name is Óasi Cytherea Paralía Yaan Calia, and I may have a solution to your problems."