Notes:

A Grá - My Love (Gaelic)

CGC - Center for Galactic Cooperation

Grá mo chroí - love of my heart (Gaelic)

Gráim thú - I love you (Gaelic)

Ionúin Álainn - beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

Kaffe - equatorial Thessian vine, the seeds of which are used to produce a non-alcoholic beverage of the same name, the taste described as a mix of coffee and chocolate (Thessian/Source: CDN)

Siame - "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian/Source: CDN)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

Some Assembly Required

T'Soni Country Estate, Armali Republic, Thessia – 23 Jun 2188

Shepard glanced around, realizing the garden lights were beginning to turn off, and rose from the bench. "Come on, Li. It's way past our bedtime and if we wait too much longer, we'll still be standing out here when the sun rises."

"I would be okay with us watching the sun rise, actually..." Liara laughed quietly. "But I guarantee the commandos know exactly where we are and I would venture a guess that a very tired Riana isn't far away... nor is Livos. We've likely kept them up all night with us." Looking around, she shrugged. "They are simply respecting our privacy while staying close enough to aid or protect us... should either become necessary. All part of being a key member of the family of a great house, Samantha."

"Be that as it may, I really think we should head in and let them get to bed. Don't you?"

The Asari responded by wrapping a loving hand around the back of her neck to pull her close, accompanied by a long, passionate kiss, followed by a whisper meant for Shepard's ears alone. "I think you simply want me to make good on my promise from earlier... unless, of course, you're no longer interested."

Shepard stood in stunned silence for a moment, eyes closed as she ran her tongue around, still tasting the Asari on her lips. She shook herself back to reality and opened her eyes to stare directly into the exhausted blue orbs of her lover, mere centimeters from her own. The Spectre suddenly remembered one particular night on the Normandy, when Liara had asked her to make love to her for the first time. It made her recognize Liara's need to feel connected; it was the way she chose to deal with loss and Shepard could not... would not... intentionally deny her that union, no matter how exhausted she may be. "I, uhm... yeah. Yes! Let there be no misunderstanding; I am most definitely interested, Doctor T'Soni."

Thinking both of them were much too tired to honestly do anything but sleep, Shepard was pleasantly surprised when Liara smiled and then spoke into the air, knowing someone was listening, even if they couldn't be positive who it was. "Please leave a note for Steward Raptos to postpone our morning appointments until later today. The captain and I have... some things to attend to... and we need a good night's sleep before attacking tomorrow... or today, as is honestly the case."

Hidden in the early morning shadows of the hedges, Riana smiled sadly, her own heart aching as memories of the once benevolent matriarch's life and death passed through her mind, inseparable from certain other memories... particularly of Ryati. She trailed the couple until they were safely within the house... then, Riana sent a quick message to Lyessa advising her of the late night's events before returning to her own room, to finally slip into bed to softly embrace a soundly sleeping Samantha Traynor. It is good to let go of the past... so that all of us may look to the future.

That afternoon, Shepard was using Liara's office when a welcome call came in. "I've found someone for you, Sam – a 42 year old doctor with extensive war experience… he should be the perfect trauma surgeon for your team." Karin smiled at the woman over the vid chat. "His name is Derek Yandle and before the war, he worked with a company called Global Disaster Response; once the Reapers hit, he operated a mobile trauma facility for the Resistance..." Her smile faded as she continued, "He frequently worked with Admiral Anderson, Sam; he and David became good friends."

Shepard stared at the screen as an unexpected rock materialized painfully in the middle of her chest, making it difficult to breathe – never mind being able to speak. The startling surge of sorrow forced her to look away from the screen for a moment in order to draw a deep breath and settle her emotions. Despite her best efforts to the contrary, her eyes misted over, making her blink to clear her vision; even though the man had been gone for over a year, it seemed like things kept popping up to keep the painful memory of his passing fresh in her mind. Looking back to the screen, she responded quietly, "I still miss him, Aunt Karin. A day doesn't go by that I don't expect him to call me and ask what the Hell I've been up to and why I haven't stayed in touch with him."

"I know, Sam… We all do. David was a good man." Karin paused for several moments before continuing. "Have you talked to Kahlee at all?"

With that question, Shepard's mood brightened considerably. "Yes, I have... and she's getting leave time to come to the bonding, so she'll be flying in the day before. I think she's hoping to hitch a ride with you guys aboard the Normandy..." The captain chuckled quietly. "Seeing as Ashley intends to bring the whole damned ship."

"I'm afraid Kahlee will end up taking a shuttle, Sam… we're on duty out on the Rim and have limited time to get there and back, so I seriously doubt we can afford any additional detours... However, you know none of us would miss your and Liara's bonding ceremony for anything! Did you honestly expect anything else? The crew on this ship are devoted to you, Samantha; you and Liara, both! You guided us through the war and pulled us along with you out this side of Hell." Karin's face held an expression of doting admiration. "We're all proud of you."

"Yeah, yeah," Shepard smirked as she blushed slightly. "Enough of that. Save it for the annual Victory Celebrations." Shepard shook her head and smiled, refocusing on the subject at hand. "So... Tell me about this trauma surgeon of yours."

After the call from Karin, Shepard sat down at her message terminal, her inbox overflowing with new messages. Grumbling at the volume, she glanced down the list of senders; her brow wrinkled at an unexpected message from Matriarch Lidanya, commanding officer of the Destiny Ascension. Knowing Lyessa's bondmate served as an engineer aboard the super-dreadnaught, Shepard opened it immediately... fervently hoping nothing untoward had happened. She couldn't imagine why Lidanya would be contacting her instead of Liara, or better yet Lyessa, directly. She breathed a welcome sigh of relief as she read the contents.

- MESSAGE TEXT -

Captain Shepard. I know this message will likely come as a surprise, but I heard from Selina T'Rori, my lead engineer and bondmate of Lyessa Raptos, that you are looking for a Combat Systems Operator. I will waste neither my words nor your time. We all owe you our lives and, as such, I would like to offer you one of my best. Ellia Stegos is due to rotate back to the Asari Fleet next month, and it would be my distinct honor to release her early if you would accept her as crew aboard the Knight Shade. She is thrilled at being given this opportunity and, if you say yes, she will have her bags packed and ride out on the next available shuttle after we receive your affirmative reply. Her credentials and résumé are attached.

Respectfully, Matriarch Lidanya, Commander, Destiny Ascension.

- END MESSAGE -

Eyebrows arched in pleasant surprise at such an offer, Shepard opened the attachments and reviewed them, quickly checking off yet another position aboard the new Spectre vessel as having been filled. She responded to Lidanya, thanking her for the services of Stegos, and continued through her message queue. She was astonished to find a number of similar messages from various acquaintances; Councilor Valern offered her Salaeto Le'edi, a highly qualified Defensive Systems Operator, and a Quarian Marine by the name of Len'Dazza had also applied. He claimed to have worked with Kal'Reegar, so Shepard placed a quick call to Tali, who was currently working aboard the ship to fine tune the Knight Shade's thruster performance.

"Absolutely, Shepard. Len is a superb operator and a solid Marine; as good in a melee as he is behind a control panel. I'd trust him with my life on any given day. Keelah! It would be good to have him at my side... but I have to wonder why he would leave the Marines. Be sure to ask him that before you accept him for the position."

"I'll do that Tali. Thanks." Shepard terminated the omnitool call and opened her desktop comm system for a second time, using the rather obscure contact routing information included in Dazza's application. The call was answered immediately by a voice full of challenge.

"Len'Dazza vas Neema... Your origin identifier is veiled." His tone changed to one of suspicion as he queried, "Who is this?"

"Spectre Shepard." The hackles on the back of Shepard's neck had risen when she heard the ship assignment. "I'm responding to your application... vas Neema?"

"Thank the ancestors!" he exclaimed, his voice suddenly full of relief. "Yes, unfortunately; vas Neema... And, I assume, that is reason enough to explain both why I want out of my current assignment and why your voice sounds as suspicious to me as mine likely did to you."

"Yes; that ship name carries implications that do concern me. Where are you?" Shepard wondered about the relief in his voice and why he sounded so free to speak as he did.

"I'm on a solo reconnaissance mission; there is no one with me to overhear anything we say... but if anyone from the Neema figures out what I'm doing, I'm as good as dead. I'm currently parked on an asteroid orbiting Ammut in the Ma-at System and the SILC are well aware of my presence. They actually helped me send my application to you in such a way that the Neema would be unaware." He paused only briefly before blurting out, "Gerrel and Xen are scheming to re-enslave the Geth, Shepard. If that happens, they will destroy everything the Quarians have achieved since you found us during the war... and I refuse to be a part of it!"

"How much do you know about their plans?" Shepard was sure her voice reflected the surprise she felt at the Quarian's unexpected outburst.

"Not much, I'm afraid. Gerrel and Xen lock themselves away and when they emerge? They simply hand out orders to unfortunate soldiers like me who happened to be assigned to one of their ships when they defected... and we are expected to simply follow their orders; no questions asked, no talking to anyone about our particular assignments, and no chatting about what we did or what we found once we get back. Those who do open their mouths to complain or compare notes seem to be sent off on their next assignment just like everyone else... only they never return. These two Admirals are very successfully instilling obedience through fear."

Getting their first break on the mysterious disappearance of the two admirals, Shepard couldn't refrain from asking, "So, where are they hiding?"

"The Neema?" Dazza was caught off-guard by the question, but just as quickly realized that he shouldn't have been and answered promptly. "She and the Moreh are parked on Sidacha, one of a trio of moons surrounding Trigestis in the Chomos System. The smaller ships who left with them are scattered throughout the system, either parked on the other moons or circling the planet, disguised within the debris of its surrounding ring. Xen has devised some sort of scrambler shield, making it almost impossible to find them by accident. You have to be running a pretty tight scan to pick up any of their signatures."

"Damn it." Shepard blew out a frustrated breath before continuing, "So I assume you have a plan of your own to defect if I agree to take you on?"

"If you say yes, it's not a defection, Spectre Shepard. It's an escape from a ship controlled by traitors to the Quarian people, after which I will happily subject myself to any type of questioning you, the other admirals, or the Council deems necessary so that I may be free to join your crew... assuming you'll have me. Either way... I want out of the mess I've found myself in. Honestly, I would rather spend the rest of my life in prison than continue to aid in their mad schemes."

"Once you get away from the Neema, you could simply return to the Fleet... You must have other reasons for wanting to join my crew, other than to get yourself out of a bad situation."

"Yes, I do, Captain... personal reasons which I am happy to share with you, under the circumstances. Kal'Reegar was a very good friend of mine and he once asked me if I would watch over Tali should anything befall him during the war. With her joining your crew, that task has actually become unnecessary... as I don't believe Tali could be any more secure than she is while working with you, Spectre Shepard. But... in honor of Kal, I still wish to fulfill the obligation I took on that day." He sighed heavily. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy was the love of his life and I was like a brother to Kal. I... I really need to be at her side to make sure she remains safe... and, perhaps, to ease her isolation from the Fleet by having another Quarian by her side."

"Tali vouched for you, so I believe you have yourself a deal, Dazza… which brings me back to my earlier question. Do you have a plan for your escape?"

"Absolutely. The SILC will 'discover' and destroy my scout ship, presumably killing or capturing me in the process. I will be smuggled aboard a cargo ship delivering the last of the materials required for the completion of the housing units aboard the CGC. Gerrel will figure out the truth soon enough, but not before I am already well on my way to the Serpent Nebula and it is impossible for him to intercept me without putting their own plans at risk."

"In that case, House T'Soni will have a shuttle there, awaiting your arrival. Send me the details and you'll never have to leave the docks; you'll transfer quickly and quietly to the T'Soni ship to be brought to Thessia... where you'll rendezvous with us at the Estate." Shepard pursed her lips and, after a moment of thought, continued, "Adding you, we'll have at least four dextro-based crew so, if you need to limit what you carry, you don't need to bring any dextro supplies with you. Otherwise, feel free to bring what you have to supplement our stores. Sound good?"

"Sounds excellent, Captain. You have no idea what this means to me." Pure relief flooded through Len's tone as he answered. "While Tali'Zorah may have vouched for me, she also spoke very highly of you when we were together with Kal. I very much look forward to finally meeting you in person, Spectre."

T'Soni Country Estate, Armali Republic, Thessia – 25 Jun 2188

It was obvious the word had gotten out that Shepard was putting together a new Spectre crew and over the next few days a number of offers rolled in from various sources, providing her with many qualified personnel to choose from. Her next addition to the crew was a Salarian Engineer recommended by Major Kirrahe. Captain Daeto Telas had been in the STG for seven years and had advanced to become a level 5 Operative. On a small squad, the ability to draw fire from the main force with the use of a decoy was a bonus, as the Spectre had witnessed on numerous occasions with Edi. Telas' skill set and battle experience were also rather impressive, so Shepard was happy to add the Salarian to the team.

Next, she received a surprise call from Bray and Nyreen, telling her about an Enforcer... a rare Batarian Adept... who was a brother to Anto, one of Aria's most trusted bodyguards. With his usual gruff approach, Bray growled out, "His name is Bek Korragan and his talents are almost completely wasted with all the Asari swarming this place." Bray then chuckled, "Not that you don't have the same advantage there on Thessia, but he's good with a warp and has that damned biotic lash down to an art."

Nyreen cut in abruptly to add, "The truth of the matter is that Aria still feels obligated to you for some reason. I've never seen her act like this toward anyone ever before, but if she's willing to part with Bek, I'd take her up on the offer before she changes her mind, Shepard."

"I trust the judgment of both of you enough that I'm willing to give him a chance." Shepard shook her head in disbelief. "Honestly, I never would have considered selecting a Batarian for my squad, but you two... along with all your troops on Omega... proved to be both capable and loyal, so I'll take you up on the offer. My thanks to both of you." She grinned at Bray and Nyreen as she concluded, "Please convey my gratitude to Aria as well."

Harley Creath walked into her office as Nyreen replied that she'd pass the Spectre's thanks on to Aria and terminated the call. He respectfully waited until the screen went completely dark and Shepard indicated he could sit. "We're a lot less formal than the Alliance, Harley. What do you need?"

He casually tossed a datapad onto her desk before unceremoniously dropping down into the chair Shepard had indicated. "I've been looking for this woman for quite some time in order to bring her onto myN7 squad. Last known location was on a security team out in the Terminus... New Canton. Not too far from Ferris Fields, actually. She was a paid mercenary when I knew her, and she is one Hell of a shot with that sniper rifle of hers. She uses a charged Batarian Kishock Harpoon Gun... and she's quite deadly."

Shepard looked the data over. "And just how am I supposed to locate this... Minda Tilghman... if you've been looking and haven't been able to find her?"

Harley shrugged and smiled knowingly. "Because you've got Spectre access and the best Information Broker in the galaxy at your disposal. If anyone can find her, you can... and I promise that once you do, she'll be worth whatever effort you have to put into the search."

The Spectre nodded. "Alright. I'll give it to Liara and see what she turns up... but we've only got a few days before the full crew roster is due to the Council, so we'll need a backup, just in case."

Harley got up from his chair as he replied, "Understood, Captain. If Dr T'Soni can't find her right away I can always bring over my old N7 team sniper, Louis Brazile, as a temporary fill until we find her. He's good... but she's better."

It was the day before the ship's roster was supposed to be finalized and Shepard was still short an infiltrator for Jatok's team. She was prepared to fill the position with one of the commandos from the Estate when her solution came from a most unlikely source – a female Drell simply showed up at the gates, stating that she absolutely had to speak with Spectre Shepard. "Please inform her that Kolyat Krios sends his regards."

Upon hearing the familiar name, Shepard asked that she be brought to her office immediately, under guard until her intentions were known. {Liara? Are you listening to this?}

{I am, Love. I am contacting Kolyat as we speak. Stay on your guard, please, until I can confirm whether she is friend or foe.}

The Drell was escorted to Shepard's office by both Livos and Jatok, the latter giving a sharp rap on the door frame to indicate they had arrived. Shepard stood from her chair, remaining behind her desk to greet her unexpected visitor, who bowed to the Human immediately upon entering the room.

"Kolyat sends good tidings, Spectre, and congratulates you on your... independence... from the Systems Alliance."

"Why has Kolyat sent you instead of contacting me himself?" asked Shepard. "Has something happened to him? Does he require assistance of some kind?"

The Drell laughed softly. "On the contrary, Spectre. He has sent me to help you, in whatever capacity you may need. I am Kaddi Finnoa, an Assassin Infiltrator initially trained under the Compact, and Kolyat was led to believe you have such a vacancy on the crew roster of your new vessel, the Knight Shade. Like Kolyat's father before me, I am here to end your search, Captain Shepard, assuming the position is still available."

Shepard cocked her head in puzzlement. "First off, how does he know that... and second, why would he, or you for that matter, do such a thing?"

"As for how he was aware of your predicament, the knowledge of your search for people to crew your new vessel is not exactly a secret. As for the why, you would need to speak with him directly... I did not waste time questioning his motives." Kaddi closed her eyes momentarily before stating, "Kolyat guided my spirit through a time of great darkness for me; but the fact that I owe him for that is merely an excuse. No matter his reasons for sending me here, as a trained infiltrator, it would be my honor to serve with you aboard the Knight Shade, Spectre."

{She checks out, Samantha... I just finished my chat with Kolyat. He says we would be doing her a favor by giving purpose to her life, much as you did with Thane during his final days. He does warn us however, that Kaddi is not afflicted with Kepral's Syndrome and if we select her, we just may be stuck with her for a while, as she is extremely loyal... and relatively young.} Humor rolled through the link, accompanied by Liara's quiet chuckle. {I got the distinct impression that he is the one who needs her to have something else to occupy her time... He says she can become very doting and overprotective of those she cares for.}

"Alright." Shepard pushed a quick thanks through the link to Liara and held out her hand to the Drell. "I'm willing to give you a temporary position... for Kolyat and for Thane's memory... to see if you are a compatible addition to the team. But, you won't be working for me, directly; you'll be on Second Team, working for the Krogan Commander standing beside you, Hailot Jatok. Are you willing to do that?"

Kaddi reached out and gripped Shepard's hand in acceptance. "Of course, Captain." She turned to the Krogan and queried, "When do we start?"

Laughing, the Spectre shook her head. "Come on. We'll show you the ship and introduce you to the whole crew. Welcome aboard, Specialist Finnoa."

T'Soni Country Estate, Armali Republic, Thessia – 27 Jun 2188

On her final Friday morning of Spectre duty before her vacation break, Shepard woke slowly and stretched, Liara grumbling at the disturbance and attempting to still the moving form so she could continue to use the Human as her body pillow. Shepard relaxed and her lips curled into a loving smile as she ran her fingers softly across the Asari's pebbled skin, content to simply lie there and soothingly caress the body she held so dearly in her arms. After a bit, the sun started to peek in the window so Shepard tipped her head and brushed her lips across Liara's crest before whispering, "Time to get up, Blue. We still have a bit of work left to finish up today... then, I'm all yours for the duration."

Humming in satisfaction, Liara mumbled quietly, "You're mine for the duration no matter what, Captain Shepard; you promised."

Shepard's heart swelled as she felt the tickle of the Asari's smiling lips curl against her shoulder and she laughed lightly. "That I did, A Grá..." Shepard pushed herself up and kissed Liara's cheek before continuing, "... but that does not include staying in bed and missing breakfast, especially when I have my third session with your father this afternoon."

"Ugh." Liara groaned as she pushed her reluctant body into a sitting position as well. "That's right... Those are today, aren't they?" She swung her legs off the side of the bed and stood, stretching her arms toward the ceiling and placing her extremely attractive form on full display before Samantha.

"Damn, Liara... You finally wake up and then you do that... making me wish you were still in bed." Shepard climbed out to follow and wrapped her arms around her lover's waist; pulling their warm bodies together again somehow brought a sense that all was right in the world and that the day's challenges would be conquered with ease. While nestling into the comforting crook of a blue neck and shoulder, Shepard took a deep breath of eezo and Thessian Rose before whispering, "Gráim thú, Grá mo chroí."

In response, Liara slid her hands across the tops of Shepard's hips to wrap around her torso until they found the dimples of the Human's lower back, just above her rather shapely ass. Shepard groaned in pleasure as fingers glowing faintly with biotics spread across her back, reveling in her lover's impromptu massage. Liara slowly worked her way up Samantha's back muscles as Shepard mumbling contentedly into the Asari's neck. "Gods, Liara. Your fingers are pure magic... That feels absolutely wonderful."

Feeling Samantha's body melt against her own, accompanied by warm sensations of affection and love filling her mind through the link, Liara answered with a soft sigh. "It does, doesn't it." She crossed her arms across the woman's upper back and hugged her tightly as the utter devotion she felt toward Samantha surged back through the link in response. "I love you too, Siame, more than I ever dreamed possible; thank you for giving me the courage to love so deeply. It is a rare gift to feel safe and secure enough that one can love so... unconditionally... as I do you."

As the Asari's grip on her heart tightened even more, Shepard pulled back to observe the contented expression dominating the Asari's features. She gently cupped Liara's face and used her thumb to caress a soft blue cheek, puffed full by a radiant smile that lit her passion afire. The woman placed her lips tenderly upon those of her Ionúin Álainn and they kissed, only briefly, before the captain pulled back and, in a voice edged with desire, asked, "Join me in the shower?"

Lyessa smiled knowingly when the couple finally made it downstairs for breakfast, seeing the contented glow in Liara's eyes and the relaxed satisfaction in the way Shepard carried herself. It immediately made her think of her own bondmate and she smiled longingly, knowing she would soon have Selina home for two weeks of vacation time, as she was returning to Thessia for Liara and Shepard's upcoming bonding. The House Steward was still smiling when she greeted them. "Good morning, you two. There is fresh Kaffe in the kitchen and Leyana will be more than happy to cook you something hot if you like... but, with it being so warm, most of us simply had toast and fruit this morning."

"Sounds okay to me," Shepard answered, a gentle smile on her face. "I think we're going to eat out on the veranda... because you're right; it's a beautiful morning."

As they strolled into the kitchen, Leyana welcomed them with a bit of a smirk. "Ah, there's my last two for breakfast." She picked up a medium sized tray from the counter and lifted the dome to reveal a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich on toast accompanied by a wide variety of fruits and dips. "I'll let you pour your own drinks... there is Kaffe and any number of juices to choose from. Do you simply want to eat at the kitchen bar or do you want to go to the dining room this morning?"

Shepard's eyes had lit with eagerness when she saw what was under the lid of the tray and she responded quickly, "Leyana? You are now my favorite chef in the galaxy!" Casting an accusatory glance at her Promised, Shepard asked, "How could you possibly know about my love for BLTs?"

Seeing the look between the two, Leyana laughed softly. "Yes, it was Lady Liara who told me it was one of your favorite breakfast foods... and that you were rarely able to get all the ingredients during your travels. I placed a special order and they arrived in yesterday's Terran shipment, so I thought I would surprise you. I can reheat it, if that would be better?"

"Nope!" Shepard's joyful expression didn't even begin to fade as she answered. "It will taste just as awesome... and to answer your question, we'd like to eat on the kitchen veranda so we can enjoy our crystal-clear morning, if that's alright?"

"Oh!" Leyana turned around and headed in the opposite direction. "What a wonderful choice! I agree! Why eat inside when you can enjoy the out of doors, particularly when it is so gorgeous outside?"

As they ate breakfast, Shepard and Liara reviewed the final listing of crew selections and saw no reason to change any of them. With her usual efficiency, Liara had managed to locate Minda Tilghman; the woman was currently on a security job and would be unavailable for the first month... but that didn't really matter, seeing as Shepard's leave period was longer than that... so they had welcomed her to the team, forwarded a contract to her and filled in the last blank on the roster.

Immediately following their morning meal, Shepard and Liara ambled to the ship together for the morning crew meeting. The announcement that the roster was complete was well received, even knowing Len'Dazza was at least two weeks out and their Team Two sniper was another two after that. "In the meantime, I want to run deployment drills." Shepard's eyes met those of Harley Creath as she continued, "We all know that time can mean lives in our business... so when we get a call, there is a very real probability that our target location needed us yesterday. For rapid deployment, we need to work efficiently as a team – which means no duplication of effort while, at the same time, we ensure no tasks are left undone and no essential equipment has been left behind."

Harley grinned. "My N7 squad did the same... though there were only six of us instead of a whole damned ship... but we could be on the shuttle and taking off in less than five minutes from when the siren blew."

"That is not possible!" The primary pilot, Lusmeni Thoni, looked at Shepard in wide-eyed alarm. "At least not from a cold start! It takes almost twenty minutes to initiate the core and bring it up to flight readiness."

Her co-pilot, Daxa Rusim, simply shrugged. "So, we never shut it down all the way unless we're down for maintenance or a mandatory rest period. That way, we can adjust the standby power level to meet any response time you need or want, Spectre."

"Alright." Shepard nodded and glanced at both Lusmeni and Daxa. "Your job the next couple of weeks will be to run different scenarios and see what the Knight Shade can give us. I want you to be able to tell me exactly how long before we can get this ship in the air, whatever her idle state. Understood?" With a quick nod from both she glanced at the rest of the flight crew. "That, of course, means the rest of you need to do the same with respect to your own areas of responsibility. Over the next few days... and then any and every time we land, before we do anything else... all systems need to be checked for readiness, restocked and reloaded... from weapons and ammo to medical supplies and food stores. We won't have an acquisitions officer, so all of you will be responsible for maintaining your own inventories. If there's something you can't get on the Spectre account, send a request to Liara or me – one way or another, we'll take care of it at our earliest convenience."

Smiling softly, Liara reached over and took Shepard's hand for everyone to see. "Now. You all know the two of us will be a bit busy for the next couple of weeks between now and August fifteenth, but there are plenty of hours in a day and we'll make ourselves available to you should the need arise. Even though Shepard is technically on leave, we'll be expected to be fully up and operational come the first of September... and we certainly don't plan on doing anything during our honeymoon."

Shepard chuckled softly and finished with, "That means we need to have most of this figured out before the bonding... and then we'll be back in two weeks and have the last three days of August to fine tune the details. Questions?"

Jatok grumped, "So tell us something we didn't know, Shepard. What do you think Livos and I have been doing the past two weeks? Sitting around on our asses and drinking Ryncol?"

"She knows better." Livos smiled and looked at Shepard and Liara as she said, "It would be nice to have you for more than just the afternoon workout. In the early mornings, we've been making use of the Armali Armax. We leave here at 0515, run team drills from 0600 to 0800, and get back here by 0830 or so, before Armax ever opens to the public at 0900 hours. Can you join us tomorrow?"

Shepard shook her head with a chuckle. "Not tomorrow. We have our mentoring sessions in the morning... As for Sunday, I'd prefer to have some time off to spend with Liara. Monday?"

Livos and Jatok gave each other a knowing glance and Shepard began to wonder exactly what they had been planning for the first full session in Armax with her and Liara along for the ride.

"That sounds good, Captain. I'll inform Riana to make sure you are both up and ready for our 0515 departure on Monday morning."

As the two team leaders walked away, Liara cast the captain a concerned look. "Seriously? Five in the morning? What in the galaxy do they have planned?"

"I have no idea, but I think they believe we're in trouble." The Spectre laughed and wrapped an arm around Liara's waist. "We'll know come Monday morning... and I get the feeling they won't give us any clues between now and then, so there's no sense worrying about it." As she gave her Ionúin Álainn a quick squeeze, a wide smirk spread across her face. "And, whatever it is, I'm pretty sure the two of us together can kick their asses. So, how about we get back up to the office, enter our last weekly crew status report, and get it sent off so I can be a free woman?"

"That is a deal, Captain... and once we provide the Knight Shade's full crew roster to the Council, you will have met the levied requirements and will truly be on vacation." Liara smiled softly. "How shall we spend our first evening free of obligations?"

Warmth spread through the woman's body as she tightened her grip around Liara's waist. "Remember my first visit here, Li?" A playful smirk eked its way onto her lips as she continued, "If my memory serves me well, that was pretty damn close to five years ago... today." She turned and pulled the Asari tightly into her arms. "I would love to take another evening stroll with you... along the beach and under the positively entrancing Thessian moonlight."

"Goddess." With the reminder of that night that now seemed so long ago – like another lifetime – Liara felt the heat rush first to her face and then to other places and she whispered softly, "Yes, Siame. I believe that would be a most... welcome... excursion."