Joe's Note: I'm trying to keep this story down to neatly digestible chunks, especially since our hosts have seen fit to eliminate pretty much every method of easily saving out stories for mass or offline consumption. Sigh. Accordingly, I took advantage of a natural breakpoint in the discussion to bring things to a sudden halt at the end of last chapter… and now we're going to pick things right back up and finish that discussion. I actually went through more drafts of Chapters 5 and 6 than I care to count because it took me time to realize that this isn't a traditional Mass Effect or Harry Potter story; I can't just assume you guys are familiar with canon and skip exposition. I've created an entire shadow civilization that I need to shine a light on, or else you'll never know what's floating around in my head…
Dedications & Thanks: To Nicholas, Alexander, Howard, MJ, Daniel, Christopher, Jason, Chris, George, Koby, Judedeath, Ken, Thyatira, William, Wil, Thomas, Jack, Pat, Chris, 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 their plans that involve flattery and bribery and shagging. I'm guessing that it's flattery and bribery which then in turn lead to shagging… that's not shagging for the sake of shagging. They'll be, err, melding. With us. So they can make little magical asari for when their enemy finally comes."
Straightening up, Luna nodded enthusiastically. "Little green-eyed magical asari! And Lunasari! Obviously Calia doesn't know everything; she has no reason to. But between what I pulled from her mind and the fact that Aria had never heard of people like us? It's a pretty good guess that the International Statute of Secrecy is now an interstellar one. We might as well be the only witch and wizard in existence; if there's anyone left out there like us, nobody knows about them. That makes us an incredibly valuable commodity to the Sylléktries. And the more valuable you are, the more you can ask for during the flattery and bribery phase in return for donating to their gene pool. Forget us doing them a favor in exchange for a ride to a human colony, Harry, we're in a position where we could probably get an entire ship from them. Granted they'd probably make it conditional on us knocking up the entire crew, but… well, I suppose we'd just have to grin and bear it for the Greater Good?"
"First of all, for the love of all things holy, never make a reference to Albus Dumbledore during a discussion about sex ever again. Or Grindelwald. Whatever that was. Never ever again." Harry shuddered; those sorts of mental images about the closest thing he had to a grandfather figure were quite possibly the one thing more traumatic than the idea of his parents being intimate. "Second of all, I'm not exactly keen on the idea of getting pimped out to alien women in exchange for… well, anything. Especially since all we need to do is get to a human world, and then-"
"If not for the fact that you seem to enjoy shagging me several times a day, I'd swear you were bent or something." Circling back around from behind the couch, Luna closed the distance between them and flopped down on his lap with a huff. "And I'm not pimping you out to alien women in exchange for something, Harry. I'm pimping you out to mono-gendered aliens with strongly feminine traits."
Groaning, Harry buried his face in Luna's shoulder even as Aria enjoyed a hearty laugh at his expense. And why not? Luna was just a mild irritant to the asari, one that she could peel off and leave behind whenever Aria got tired of dealing with the blonde. Harry, on the other hand, was engaged to her. Which wasn't to say that he didn't love her, because he did. With an intensity that put his past two relationships to shame. But now and then, situations popped up that reminded him that Luna was a very… unique… young woman. Like now, for instance. Both Ginny and Daphne had gotten irate whenever he'd looked at another woman for too long. Luna delighted in it. She'd follow his line of sight, compliment him on his taste, and even point out attractive women for them to admire together. Then ask what Harry thought of bringing said woman home to their bed.
Likewise, Harry was pretty sure that having a baby with another woman - especially intentionally, but even accidentally - would get most men kicked to the curb. Luna, on the other hand, was trying to not only get him to do just that but was hoping to do so herself. Having copious amounts of sex with other women along the way. It left him feeling like he was staring at a conjured bear trap: was Luna just saying stuff like this to test him, and their relationship would implode if he was ever dumb enough to take her up on one of those offers that seemed far too good to be true? Or was she being genuine, and it was just something that appeared to be a trap but really wasn't? In which case… how long would he survive with both Luna and another woman - or two or three, as seemed to sometimes be her wont - in his life?
The chair shifted slightly as someone perched on the right arm and then a hand patted at the top of his head awkwardly. Rather than look up, Harry glanced to the side and found a pair of blue knees. Liselle? "Lovegood's got the broad strokes right but at the same time, she's definitely oversimplifying things. Coming to an agreement with my people can be as personal or as business-like as you want it to be. And no matter what path you choose to walk, you surrendering nothing of yourself but your DNA. They don't own you or control you. I mean, look at my aithntar. I dare you to say anyone tells her what to do."
Harry instinctively raised his head at that, gulping as he met Aria's narrowed blue eyes. Liselle had a point there. While he hadn't known her long, he could quite confidently say that Aria was no one's woman but her own. Or… no one's mono-gendered alien but her own. Was her still the right pronoun there? Hmm. No one's mono-gendered alien but its own? Merlin. He really needed to get in touch with some other humans and fast; his grasp of English didn't seem sufficient for life in the twenty-second century. "As long as I've got you feeling talkative, can you explain the difference? Personal and business agreements?"
"Okay, now you're the one who's oversimplifying things on us. You don't… show up at an office somewhere and then get sorted into one of two lines or something." Liselle frowned, nibbling on her lower lip gently for a few seconds before continuing. "I meant more that you can either treat it like you're bartering in the markets here for a new gun, omni-tool, or other material belonging… or treat it more like an arranged marriage that requires you to have at least one child. You can even treat it like a… goddess, what's it called? I heard a human talking about it with the Patriarch just last week. A… sperm bank? You come to an agreement with the Sylléktries, they pair you with a matron they think is compatible with your genes, you meld, you leave with your payment, and they raise your daughter without you ever being a part of her life. Then you come back again a few more times as agreed upon, and the process repeats."
Given that his desire for children was part of the reason that he and Ginny hadn't worked out, Harry didn't find that option particularly palatable. "And since you're here on Omega with your, err, aithntar instead of wherever the rest of the Sylléktries live, I'm guessing there are other options."
Liselle nodded, gesturing to Aria. "My mother visits for two weeks every other month but I'm staying with Aria until I enter my matron years. Then I'll return to Óasi and become a productive member of society, whatever form that may take. If Aria wasn't who she was? She could have chosen to come live on Óasi or one of the colony worlds with my mother. Considering you don't really have a place anywhere, that might be something for you two to think about." Pausing, she looked back and forth between Harry and Luna uncertainly. "Although the fact that you're a couple might complicate that. I've never heard of an entire couple being recruited, but I'm sure they have procedures for it. Maybe they match you with prospective mothers who already live near each other? Or one or both of them are forced to pack up and move for the good of the community? Not sure, but I'm sure they'd find a way to make it work if you wanted to become Sylléktries. If you do? Ask to live on Óasi. There are enclaves for positively everything there, including a few species that you won't find anywhere else in Council space." Leaning in, she lowered her voice. "I've never seen them, but my mother claims there are even rachni living in the southern mountains…"
While her tone made it clear that her revelation was supposed to be significant, Harry had no clue why and so he added it to the top of his 'things he should research since Hermione wasn't here to do it for him' list. "Well when you put things like that, they doesn't sound nearly as bad." Harry shifted in his seat, one hand shooting up to rest on the small of Liselle's back as he noticed her tipping slightly to her right from his actions. Then Luna's hands shot out to capture one of the Sylléktria's, and Harry found himself wondering if it would have been better to risk the young asari falling off onto the floor. The soft growl from Aria's direction certainly made him think so.
To be honest, Liselle had actually managed to address the majority of his non-relationship related worries with her answers. After discovering the full extent of Dumbledore's machinations, Harry had no desire to be under anyone's thumb to that degree ever again. Knowing that his life wouldn't be reduced to stud service for random asari or indentured servitude in exchange for a short-term boon was a relief. Especially given that he'd been in this new time for all of a day so far; the idea of having options taken away before he even knew what they were rankled.
It was also good to know that he would have freedom of choice regarding any daughters he had. Given that he couldn't see himself cutting the mother of his child - whoever or whatever she may be - out of his child's life even if the Sylléktries would allow such a thing, there would probably be some relationship problems in his future… or maybe not. If Luna was indeed genuine about her desire to welcome other women into her life, the worst he might have to deal with is bickering over right side versus left and sleeping on the inside versus the outside of a bed big enough for four. Because if he did agree to this, the odds of Luna voluntarily giving up her 'space babe' were somewhere around the Cannons' chance of winning the League Cup… and it would be awfully rude to allow Luna's asari to sleep with them while banishing his Sylléktria to a separate room…
That was his story and he was sticking to it.
"I still have a lot of questions that I'm going to want answers to, and the fact that you lot are some sort of… galactic boogeyman? No, you're not really feared. Galactic legend? Myth? Whatever you want to call it, the fact that you're hidden from the rest of the galaxy means that it'll be really hard for me to find an unbiased source that verifies any answers you give me. Which in turn makes it difficult for me to trust you. Everyone always tries to cast themselves in the best possible light; even if you're being completely truthful, I have no way of knowing." Harry's gaze swept from Liselle past the still glowering Aria and onward to Calia. Liselle and Aria might actually be useful in that regard but at the end of the day, both had ties to the group and so they would have to be taken with a grain of salt just as much as Calia herself. Then something occurred to Harry and he found his eyes gravitating back over to Aria. "That, and you can't be the only game in town. There might be someone else willing to make me an equally tempting offer. Or a better one."
After a few seconds, Aria raised an eyebrow and then chuckled incredulously. "You'd better not be hoping I'm one of them, Potter. If it was just you… maybe. But I'm not letting Lovegood stay on my station a second longer than necessary. The only reason I've been this nice so far is because I don't need you getting swept up and indoctrinated by one of the people who wants to unseat me."
The weight on Harry's legs abruptly disappeared as Luna apparated across the room, reappearing on Aria's lap even as Liselle let out a squeal and tipped over to fill the space that had been vacated by the blonde. Aria stared at her new lap ornament for a few seconds before narrowing her eyes and thrusting her hand upward, only to be stymied as Luna grabbed her wrist and redirected her blast of blue energy up into the ceiling. "Are you sure that nobody is allowed to fuck with Aria? You really do need to relax a bit…"
"You really do need to get off my lap."
"You really do need to get off." Luna let out a tinkling little laugh as Aria tried to use her other hand to attack her, slapping harshly at the inside of the asari's forearm to redirect that blast before grabbing her hand and interlacing their fingers. "Nuh uh uh. We always set a safeword before things get rough. Safe, sane, and consensual is how things work in this house."
"I do believe that's the first sensible thing that I've heard come out of you." Aria gave her left arm a few experimental shakes before apparently realizing that she wouldn't be dislodging Luna anytime soon… at least not without- "For the record, the only reason I haven't peeled you off me yet with a biotic flare is because I'm not stupid enough to damage goods that the Sylléktries are after. Otherwise you'd be a smear on the far wall by now." Grumbling under her breath, Aria rearranged the blonde so that Luna was sitting with her back to Aria's chest instead of across her thighs. Then she leaned in closer, pressing herself against Luna before bumping her cheek against the smaller woman's. "Hmm. You're as annoying as a hanar on red sand… but at least you're a warm annoyance. Still going to get revenge for this someday, though. You should probably sleep with your wand under your pillow. And before you even say it, no, you cannot sleep with your wand under my pillow."
Harry bit his lip to avoiding laughing both at Aria's irritated expression and the thoughtful one that her words evoked from Luna. "But if I end up sleeping with my head on your chest, wouldn't sleeping with my wand under my pillow be rather uncomfortable for you?"
Mouth opening and closing several times, Aria eventually just let out a sigh and stared up at the ceiling in despair. "I'm walking into these things worse than that two-eyed batarian I saw last week. Any chance we can get this discussion back on topic? I do have places to go, a station to run… might go shoot a random blonde human for cathartic reasons…"
Doing his level best to ignore the last bit, Harry nodded and then turned his attention back to Calia. "Just for the record… say I do agree to this. Was Luna being serious when she said we could ask for an entire ship from your people?"
"No, I was being Luna. Sirius was your godfather."
"…that's your one time for the day. Remember what the penalty is for doing it again." Luna's eyes went wide and she pantomimed zipping her lips, making Harry smirk faintly before returning to his conversation with Calia. "The question stands, though. What sorts of things do people ask for in terms of payment? Compensation? Is there a way to phrase that so I don't feel like I'm being studded out to you?"
Calia let out something more giggle than laugh at that and then shook her head. "After what I saw of you and Luna, I think stud is about right in your case. As for the ship? In your case, it's possible. I don't remember anyone ever getting that much of a… reward for services rendered… in the past, at least for a single child agreement. Then again, I've never heard of both halves of a couple being targeted for recruitment together either, much less a couple that represents an entire new subspecies of a race. The more I think about it, though, the less outrageous it seems. My father was just a smarter than average salarian, and the Sylléktries hollowed out an asteroid for him and outfitted it with everything he needed to keep running his experiments for the remaining fifteen years of his life. Mind you, he melded with different asari over his time amongst the Sylléktries to pay that off but again, average salarian versus only two specimens of a new subspecies of humanity. I think you've got the advantage going into negotiations. Especially considering who they're sending." Leaning forward, Calia looked both ways before grinning conspiratorially. "You've attracted so much attention that Matriarch Luciana herself is coming to Omega to meet with you two."
That revelation elicited a gasp from Liselle and a string of curses from Aria that Harry's omni-tool either couldn't or was too polite to translate. He looked from one asari to the next, and then finally vocalized his question when it became clear that nobody was going to volunteer an answer. "What? Is that bad? Good? I don't know who she is."
"That makes at least four of us, Potter, probably five. Matriarch Luciana is a ghost among ghosts, even to someone with my resources. Except for the fact that she exists, nobody can tell me anything about her… including Pelesa. It's not that she won't. She can't. Even her own people know next to nothing about her. But all of a sudden, she's willing to come out of hiding. To talk to you. Here, on my station. Fucking wonderful. Get off me. Now." For once realizing that discretion was the better part of valor, Luna obediently apparated over to sit next to Calia on the couch, allowing Aria to rise to her feet. Glancing over at Harry, she quickly thrust her hand out to stop Liselle when she likewise made to stand. "No. I need to do some thinking. Get some of my advisors together. You're safer here than anywhere else for right now, since I'm going to have to put some extra protection on Potter and Lovegood." Turning, Aria stormed out of the apartment, the door quietly sliding shut behind her.
Silence reigned for a few seconds and then Luna drew her wand, summoning a deck of cards from one of the open trunks resting against the wall of the bedroom area. Plucking it out of the air, she grinned widely. "So, seeing as how we're all essentially under house arrest together for the moment… Strip Exploding Snap, anyone?"