Joe's Note: Not gonna lie, some of my favorite reviews that popped up after last chapter were the guest Leonineus fanboys. Notably, the two who seemed intent on tying review count to story quality… and then provided six separate reviews to boost my number higher? So I guess that if that's how you're going to compare our stories, you're doing your part to make mine 'better'? No idea. Eh, I'm happy because I've got 54% the reviews of Lightning among the Stars at only 42% the word count. I'd be satisfied with statistical parity, so being ahead of the curve is great. Moving on… this chapter will continue roughly where the last one left off, and we get to watch Harry and Luna find out that they're not the only ones who the Sylléktries are trying to make an offer they can't refuse. Enjoy!
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.
By the time that dessert had been consumed and a nightcap enjoyed, Harry was considerably better informed about what a future among Luciana's people would be like and accordingly far more comfortable with the idea of becoming a Sylléktria himself. The matriarch had been almost refreshingly straightforward compared to previous authority figures in his life: as much as Harry desired to maintain something vaguely resembling a nuclear family - even if it would involve four parents instead of the standard two - she was frank about the fact that there would be pressure on both him and Luna to join with other asari. Epipsychidion had been quick to assure them that nobody would attempt to join with them without their consent, though; evidently rape was a crime that disgusted both humans and asari equally. But at the same time, absolutely no effort would be made to keep their fellow Sylléktries from propositioning Harry, Luna, or both.
How they would handle that attention was Harry's singular biggest remaining concern about the entire affair. After receiving assurances from both Luciana and Luna that he'd be able to pick his own companion among the Sylléktries and form a real relationship with her, the idea of being with someone other than his fiancée - someday wife - had become significantly easier for Harry to stomach. While yes, there would be more than just the two of them, they would hardly be that 'deviant' swinging couple from Number Fourteen who had horrified Vernon and Petunia so. They would be two couples who were also one… grouple… that loved each other very much. Or at the very worst, three interlocking couples built around two asari who tolerated each other well enough. There was nothing weird or tawdry about that… right?
Others, though… especially others who would come and go from their bed and their lives once they had what they wanted? Harry really wasn't sure what to make of that. He knew what Luna would make of it: she'd be thrilled at the idea of getting to sample the charms of more 'space babes'. Conversely, he was pretty sure that he'd still see it as cheating even after he was well and truly comfortable with the idea of a four adult family. But even if he didn't? It wasn't the sort of simple, casual sex that he'd indulged in with a few fangirls after both of his divorces. These asari would be joining with him wholly for the purpose of getting pregnant, creating children that he would likely never meet. Never help raise. Never know. As someone who valued family as highly as he did? That didn't sit well.
Then Harry realized that he was inventing problems where none really existed. Neither he nor Luna would be forced to join with anyone and while Luna would obviously be intrigued by the offers, she was loyal. If he wasn't comfortable with it, she wouldn't do it. Otherwise, their bed would be full of Aria's underlings by now. And besides, for all he knew? With a little work, they'd be able to locate hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions of other witches and wizards scattered among the worlds of the Systems Alliance or the wildcat colonies, 'flooding the market' so to speak and thoroughly destroying their value to the Sylléktries. Which, Harry realized, was a powerful motivator for them to formally negotiate an offer and then agree to it: while he doubted it would happen literally overnight, if the Sylléktries did somehow manage to use him and Luna as a baseline to locate other magicals? Their value would immediately plummet, making it harder if not impossible to get what they needed much less wanted from the asari. "So… I know your people normally name storm cruisers after famous priestesses, but would you be willing to make an exception for us? I was thinking the Marauder."
"You're quite fixated on the idea of owning a storm cruiser, aren't you? I suppose it would be an effective way to protect our investment. Expensive, but effective." Activating her omni-tool, Luciana called up an image of a bustling shipyard situated in the middle of an asteroid belt and then zoomed in on the incomplete forms of what were clearly a pair of asari cruisers. "We actually do have a few cruisers under construction at the moment, including a pair of storm cruisers. They were destined for the First Fleet; one as a replacement for an aging ship and the other to expand the fleet. I suppose the latter could be retasked to become your… Marauder. I must admit, though, I'm surprised that you're asking for one of our ships instead of perhaps the money to-"
"Would the Asari Republics sell us a storm cruiser?"
"Not a chance."
"Well there you go." Far more clumsily than the asari, Harry activated his omni-tool and called up a video he'd found on the extranet, watching intently as a storm cruiser took several hits from a krogan analog before brutally ramming its opponent out of the way, unleashing a punishing barrage of missiles into the listing ship before continuing onward. "Overly heavy shielding, redundant Silaris armor, shock absorbing struts between the outer and inner hulls… it's practically indestructible and that's before I get a chance to try layering the hull with Unbreakable Charms and the like. From the moment I discovered them, I knew that if I was going to own a ship or even just live aboard one, it would have to be a storm cruiser. Forget any sort of civilian ship; I'd probably get the poor thing blown out from under me in less than a month. Military ships… the humans don't make anything quite like your storm cruisers. Salarian corvettes and turian assault cruisers are close, but I can't even imagine how much work it would take to turn one of those into something humans could live comfortably in. Assuming you could even get me one; Merlin knows it'd have to be through you because there's no way I could acquire one in a remotely legitimate way. The less said about the batarians the better, and the volus and hanar are the worst of both worlds: they don't make a comparable ship and they'd be nightmares to convert for human use."
Nodding along as he spoke, Luciana waited for a few seconds to ensure he was done before responding. "I suppose I'm mostly surprised that you're not asking for a battle or torpedo cruiser if you're dead set on taking one of our ships as your own. Despite your uncanny resemblance to asari, your kind tends to have a very turian mindset when it comes to shipbuilding: the more weapons a ship has, the more you like it."
Harry shook his head in amusement, sipping from the cup of tea that he'd been nursing since they left the dining table as he collected his thoughts. "I won't deny that a big stick has an occasional appeal, but it's not for me. Most of my friends would tell you that I have a savior complex, and they're probably right. I hate seeing innocent people suffer; I'll risk my own safety to protect someone else. But for better or worse, that's who I am and so I'm going to need a ship that will stand up to what I'll ask of it. Jumping in between pirates and their victims, that sort of thing. The only thing that can survive more abuse than a storm cruiser is a dreadnought, and I know you're not going to give me one of those."
A peal of laughter escaped Luciana at that, the asari shaking her head in amusement. "Not even if you agreed to personally join with every last member of its crew. Which is roughly a thousand asari, if you're curious." Fingers dancing over the controls of her omni-tool, Luciana ended with a flicking motion that sent the image of the storm cruiser under construction jumping to Harry's omni-tool. "That's another reason I'm surprised you're not asking for money to buy your own ship, hardiness of our storm cruisers aside. A storm cruiser has a crew of two hundred and seventy-five, meaning-"
"Meaning that even if literally every asari aboard finds me or Luna interesting enough to try and seduce, it's far less asari than I'd have to deal with on Óasi or one of your other worlds. The cruiser creates a bottleneck for that particular problem." Harry grinned as Luciana's jaw dropped, reaching up to tap his right index finger against his temple. "I'm no Luna or Hermione, but I'm not an idiot either. Until the novelty wears off, we find other magicals, or both? I'm going to do my best to minimize my exposure to my fellow Sylléktries for the sake of my sanity. And my virtue."
Having remained fairly quiet since they relocated to the living room, Epipsychidion's return to the conversation made Harry jerk in surprise. "This one is wondering why you've repeatedly implied that you're willing to become a Sylléktrion citizen if you're so uncomfortable with how our society operates?"
Harry offered a faint shrug in reply, taking several sips from his cup as he gathered his thoughts. "I'm not passing judgement on you lot, Epee, I'm just saying that certain aspects of your culture aren't for me. Not right now, possibly not ever, although I'm willing to admit that my opinion could change once I get settled in. That said? We'll save my unabridged history for another day, but to make a long story short? I never really felt at home on Earth, either in the wizarding world or among muggles… err, non-magical humans. Maybe they've changed. Maybe we'd be a better fit now. I'm not sure that I'm willing to risk it. That's why I'm taking the long view here, planning citizenship instead of just walking away with very specific compensation. I'm going to spend a few years, maybe even a decade or two exploring the galaxy… and then I'll want to go home. I'll need somewhere to call home. After everything I've been through, I'm willing to try something new. Why not Óasi?"
"Why not Óasi indeed? Very well. This sort of thing usually takes considerably longer, but since you seem very set on what you're looking for out of this arrangement and I knew what I was going to ask for in return before my ship even docked with Omega? Let's make this official." Luciana pulled up another file on her omni-tool and repeated her flicking motion, sending a copy over to Harry for his perusal. "To sum up the mountain of legalese you're now staring at? The Sylléktrion Collective will complete, provision, and crew the storm cruiser Marauder and place it on indefinite 'detached duty' from the First Fleet under your informal control in exchange for a minimum of four children. One of the children must be Luna's daughter by Epipsychidion, while another must be your daughter by the Sylléktria of your choice. Two additional children must be conceived by either you, Luna, or a combination thereof with the asari of your choice; I'll assume that to be Epipsychidion and your eventual bondmate, but I'll hardly be upset if you take a liking to other asari. Additionally…" Luciana paused and drew herself up, obviously steeling herself for an argument. "If you can't locate others of your kind, you must have an additional daughter by one of the Mánteis."
Glancing over at where Luna looked rather comfy on Epipsychidion's lap, Harry mouthed the word 'Mánteis' and received a shrug in return. Good, so he hadn't missed something important at some point… or if he had, so had Luna. Hopefully the former, otherwise they were both really slipping. "If you want Harry to have a daughter by a… whatever a Mánteis is, you'd better hope that he falls for one and picks her as his bondmate. Because you're not going to get him to agree otherwise."
"Considering he hopes to live aboard a ship and explore the galaxy, it would be… incredibly unwise for him to take a Mánteis as a bondmate." Raising her free hand, Luciana tapped at a spot just to the right of her rightmost eye. "The Mánteis are my people: Sylléktrion asari descended from protheans. We rarely leave our enclave on Óasi and so-"
Colors danced past Harry's face as he buried his face in his hands, sighing deeply. "I would either be tied to the planet or forced to abandon my bondmate and daughter to use the very ship that I'd be bonding and having a daughter to pay for. If I ever introduce you to traditional wizarding garb, I'll make sure it's green and silver; you're Slytherin to the core, Luciana." Not that he couldn't understand where she was coming from, because he could. They were the leaders of a people, and magic was something new and fascinating to them. Of course they would want to incorporate it into their ruling class, study it, spread it amongst themselves. But while he understood her reasoning, that didn't make the position he was being put in any less shitty. He rolled the idea around in his head for several minutes, examining it from every possible angle. He liked these people and their goals, he really did. The obsession with shagging and breeding was a bit annoying, but they seemed like good people other than that. He wanted to work with them, but he wasn't going to be an absentee father. And then suddenly he remembered their other, original benefactor. "Aria." Looking up, he met Luciana's gaze before jerking his head upward and to the left in the vague direction of Afterlife and Aria's throne. "If this came to pass, I would want an agreement like Aria's."
All four of Luciana's eyes went wide at that. "Absolutely not. Every daughter of a Mántis is a Mántis; I thought we'd addressed this back when you were making jokes about your theoretical daughter Dahlia?"
"Then you'd better pray to Merlin that we can find you another wizard and that you can convince him to have a daughter with a Mántis. Or a witch, obviously. Because an arrangement like Aria's is the only way I'll agree." Harry shrugged before leaning back into the couch and eyeing Luciana speculatively. "We're going to need some time to settle in. Meet a nice Sylléktria in my case. Have our daughters. There's no way this extra daughter of yours will be born for… say four or five years at a minimum. Use that time to come up with a… I don't know, some sort of holographic disguise. You can turn Calia invisible, why can't you Mánteis make yourselves look like normal asari? Or have the Mánteis come out to your people; I'd agree to keep… Dahlia… away from outsiders if she could live normally among the Sylléktries. Or just sit back and pray that it never comes to pass; that you find another magical willing to live on Óasi and father a daughter with a Mántis. The choice is yours. But that's my counteroffer: I'll give you the magical Mántis that you so desperately want, but only if I can raise her. Mostly because given that she'll be magical, Luna and I are the only ones who can properly raise her. Modify that clause to include what I'm asking for or strip it out of the agreement entirely, the choice is yours."
Luciana narrowed her eyes, staring at Harry intently for almost a minute before eventually nodding in concession, looking away and draining what remained of her glass of brandy in one long pull. "You drive a hard bargain, Harry Potter… but very well. I will need to confer with my fellow matriarchs, but I will find a way to alter things to your liking. I will forward a new copy of the agreement to you as soon as it's ready. In the mean time, I'll notify the shipyards to pause construction on the Marauder after the inner hull is completed; you can meet with the shipwrights to lay out what you'd like them to do with your ship. Try to avoid doing anything too extravagant; it will remain an active warship long after you've grown bored with it."
A bit surprised at how easily she'd conceded, Harry nodded dumbly. He'd grown up in a cupboard, then shared a room with four other boys when he wasn't living in the smallest bedroom at Number Four Privet Drive. Even after spending a good amount of time living at Number Twelve, extravagance wasn't exactly Harry's style. "That shouldn't be hard. We'll just need to rearrange things a little bit so there's a living space that appears big enough for a family of four… or rather six, since the kids will need to go somewhere too." Extension Charms could do the bulk of the heavy lifting when it came to providing them with a truly suitable lifting space, but they'd have to at least maintain the most basic of appearances in case the ship ever had any visitors. And if magic and spaceships didn't mix directly, he'd still be okay as long as the room was big enough to pitch a tent in. "But okay. You need to talk to the others, then you'll get back to us with something to sign. Or however contracts work here in the future. Where does that leave us for the time being?"
"Wherever you'd like to be… as long as it doesn't get you killed, that is. That would be problematic for obvious reasons." Setting her empty glass down on the coffee table, Luciana rose to her feet. "As for me? I'll be taking my leave of you for the time being. This trip was supposed to be both business and pleasure for me, and I could do with a bit of relaxation and fun right about now. Enjoy the remainder of your evening, and Epipsychidion…" As she walked toward the door, Luciana raised a glowing hand and made a pulling motion, summoning her cloak and slipping it on. Pausing at the doorway, she glanced back over her shoulder and offered a faint smirk. "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do." Then the door open and she was gone.
The remaining trio sat in silence for several moments, each lost in their own thoughts, and then Luna giggled softly. Looking up at her, Harry raised an eyebrow and the blonde nodded in the direction of the door. "I used passive legilimency on her a few times over the course of the night. She's lying about the one daughter per Mántis thing, by the way; she's just not that interested in you. She's off to seduce someone named Miranda and try to have her daughter. And judging by what was floating through her mind…" Reaching up, she brushed her fingers over Epipsychidion's cheek gently. "There aren't too many things that Epee isn't allowed to do tonight."
Epipsychidion's eyes went wide as she looked from Luna to Harry and back several times. "Oh dear. All flirtation and innuendo aside, would you perhaps be interested in getting to know this one better first? While this seemed easy in theory, this one is finding that in practice, she is very aware that she hasn't been intimate with someone in nearly five centuries. This is all far, far more daunting than this one anticipated…"
"Bloody hell. Five hundred years?" Harry let out a low whistle before shaking his head incredulously. "And here I used to make fun of Neville for how long he'd been stuck in a dry streak…" Not that he was opposed to taking things slow, far from it. But… damn.