Flight of the Phoenix

by Elizabeth Carter

Book two: Sovereign is dead, the citadel once ruins is beginning to rebuild, the Council is saved and now Shepard is faced with a new enemy, one held over from ancient days:The Collectors. She must race against time, Cerberus and the shadows of a war yet to come. This is part two of my Ashes world: a retelling of ME2. Many game elements are changed because Shepard wasn't spaced.

5. Exposition of a New Direction

Chapter Five: Exposition of a New Direction

"I hear from my guards you were shouting to see me," said Shepard as she sauntered into the brig.

"That was two days ago," Miranda all but snapped. How accustomed she had grown to the fear and cold respect she had installed in the Cerberus subordinates. To be relegated to near unimportance was more frustrating than being caged.

"I've been busy. Funny how that happens on a ship," Shepard smiled casually. "A captain's time is generally not her own. Like now for instance. But I'm here, nevertheless. The guards say you have information you wish to trade to me."

"Yes. I…"

Shepard held her hand up silencing her prisoner. "Trade implies you believe you have something of value I want and thus desire something of its equivalence back. Now I can't imagine what I have other than the key to your freedom that you could possibly want." Shepard cocked her head and looked up through her forelock "Unless of course it entails your sister. Now having already promised her safe conduct what do you want me to do for her?"

"Very perceptive," Miranda said.

"Sorry to disappoint your perceptions of me. I know you like to think marines have very little up here," The Spectre tapped her head. "Or is it just spacers with no elite education you look down on?"

"No. It's not that," Miranda answered too quickly. "At first maybe. I mean look at you. A kid growing up in space, no real foundation for a family life, no roots, no true formal education only computer terminals. And you've done more than I could despite everything my father did to make me perfect you're the best humanity has to offer."

"You always bring up your genetic tailoring. It really bothers you doesn't it?"

"This is what I am Shepard. It is what Oriana is. Neither of us can hide it. The intelligence, the looks, even the biotics…he paid for all of that. Every one of your accomplishments is due to your skill the only thing I can take credit for are my mistakes."

"Pft. You give your father far too much credit. Yeah he gave you and your sister gifts but you can be proud with what you've done with them. Oriana can be proud. If you want to see yourself as a genetic mutt TIMmy put in charge then that's the way you see yourself. And apparently you do."

"This isn't a competition," Miranda retorted hotly. "Besides based on your combat record you're practically a bloody perfect human specimen."

"Perfect ehe?" Shepard crossed her arms under her chest in a relaxed stance and smirked.

"What are you smiling for?" Confusion washed over Miranda like a riptide. Her hand absentmindedly scratched a spot below her collarbone. "What is so funny?"

"Oh I don't know. My mind…the beta waves are forever altered because of the beacon and cipher, so much so that now anything I encounter that is remotely prothean thinks I am prothean and responds to me. I'm bounded body and soul to my wife who happens to be an asari. In fact we are so deeply bonded-a gestalt forever changed my physiology. And not more than a week ago you questioned my humanity now you say I'm a perfect specimen of humanity." Shepard sported her cockiest grin. "Oh I find it extremely hilarious."

Any retort the Cerberus operative might have offered died a premature death on her lips. She found herself looping in the unpleasant cycle of undervaluing and underestimating the Spectre's mind and abilities. Perhaps there was something of the Illusive Man's faith in Shepard after all. But the N7 would never willingly cooperate with Cerberus, never work with them. All of The Illusive Man's incentives, motivations and plans had failed-miserably.

"So." the younger woman said drawing Miranda's attention back to her. "What is so dire that has you barking at my guards?"

"Barking? Is that supposed to be funny? First it was that bloody song 'Who let the dogs out', then the crack about being a genetic mutt, now you say I bark."

"Honestly the pun wasn't intentional and I actually never ordered the message to be transmitted to you in that way. Liara however believed it was more than appropriate. Give her a little credit, she's still learning about the human concept of humour."

"Wait. Liara sent it?" This utterly flabbergasted Lawson. She had thought perhaps the quarian had done it, but certainly not the refined socially awkward almost painfully shy Dr. T'Soni. "I didn't think she had it in her to do something like that."

Shepard's lip curled into a wicked grin. "Tsk tsk Lawson. I would have thought TIMmy would have mentored you better, or at the very least your very expensive education should have taught you never devalue an enemy's will. Yes Liara has teeth and quite the bite when she wants to. She is a T'Soni, born of a pure line going back several generations. She carries her mother's strength and courage."

How odd it was that Shepard's words mirrored Miranda's thoughts so completely not seconds ago. "I meant the use of an old Earth song in a juvenile prank."

"It got your attention, pissed you off and made you believe what we wanted you to about us, me in particular. It served its purpose. Speaking of which…"

"You were right. I want something for my sister. More than safe conduct back to Illium. By taking her you called attention to her, my father will now know where to look. He will come for her. I went AWOL when I chased you to Omega. Cerberus…The Illusive Man may forgive me but I doubt very much he will sanction Oriana's transfer. Going to the Alliance is out of the question. I need you to arrange a way to get Oriana to safety, her and her family. You brought danger to her I need to do your hero bit, your duty and get her out of it."

"And in trade you'll what give me what information of Cerberus actions in this sector? No deal. You're an ardent loyalist. Do you actually expect me to believe for one moment your information will be significant or honest? TIMmy believes the only fit punishment for treason is death. I doubt you'll cross that line anytime soon. We've already traced some of your people's actions here. Your missing operative? Dead. Not by my crew, by Eclipse. They're dead too." Shepard delivered coldly "I'd offer my condolences on the loss of your thug but I don't think it's appropriate."

Miranda seemed to be caught completely off guard by the Spectre's words. "The—the operative have a name?"

"Garrus checked. Tyrone Rawlings. Apparently he had data on him that conclusively proves Cerberus's involvement in rachni experiments. The Eclipse were more than positive that he possessed a cipher to decrypt the data he had on him. According to logs Garrus found your man proved to be difficult to capture."

Lawson smiled at this. "I'm not surprised. Cerberus trains us well."

"Hmm… yes. I can see that. You're good at deception as well. I can appreciate those skills in spies. According to the logs Garrus found, Rawlings insinuated himself on a ship bound for the Attican Traverse, and won over the loyalty of the ship's crew who believed him to be a human dignitary on a mission of discovery. The Eclipse agents managed to disable the ship and hobble its defenses long enough to extract Agent Rawlings."

Lawson nodded. "I bet Rawlings and the crew didn't make it easy for the mercs."

"Indeed not. Eclipse lost a lot of men to obtain the asset. They thought it was worth it."

"As you thought when you captured me."

"I didn't lose anyone."

"You nearly did." Lawson flippantly pointed out. "Would my capture still have been worth it had you lost your turian?"

Shepard didn't answer.

Lawson allowed a slippery grin to slide onto her perfect lips. "That's what I thought. What of Rawlings' body…"

"Left alongside his killers. I'm not in the habit of collecting the corpses of my enemy. Why looking for a bunkmate?" The snarky comment was retaliation for what was said about Garrus. Shepard knew it but her anger was gaining a foothold over her better judgement.

Again Miranda was at a loss for words. The acidic tone and ice unsettled her. "Not everyone who works for Cerberus is evil! He was a man and he deserved a decent burial."

"I'm sure the families or at least friends of the deceased Eclipse members feel the same. They were men and woman too. Or when you called him a man did you really mean human?"

The operative looked away for a split second. The action that caught N7's eye was Miranda scratching her collarbone. A signal Shepard had picked up when Lawson was struggling with an uncomfortable moral dilemma.

"Oh! You did. You meant he deserved a burial because he was human." Shepard jumped on Miranda's tell. "As far as the evil of Cerberus is concerned did you forget I saw your bases, your experiments? Your people assassinated Rear Admiral Kahoku because was trying to find his missing men, trying to find answers as to why they were deliberately lured into a thresher nest. TIMmy wanted to recreate what happened with Akuze. I saw the aftermath of that first hand. Corporal Tombs…will never be the same after what your people did to him.

"Armistan Banes was one of your men, a man who tried to blackmail Dr. Michelle and sent a krogan merc to either enforce the extortion or kill her if she didn't comply. But he also had a hand in what happened to Kahoku's men. Of course when Banes didn't get his end of the job done you killed your own man. And I have yet to find one your people who doesn't want to put a bullet in mine and Liara's skulls. Including you."

"No you don't have to remind me, you documented that quite well in that little monster flick of yours. But that's the problem. That's all you see Shepard. Monsters. Some of us are good people, honest people, people looking a chance to be more than they are, or for a place to belong. Not all of us are xenophobic zealots. Back in the Twentieth do you think all Germans were Nazis or every Muslim was a part of the Jihad or were many of them caught up and in-between the shit-storm? Some were only striving to survive in a world torn by war and had nothing at all to do with the atrocities committed by the SS or the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

"I know your view of us is tainted by what you've seen, what happened to your wife and child. But know the Illusive Man never ordered it. How many times do I have to repeat it? It was Udina. Acting alone. He is the one who hired all those bounty hunters and mercenaries. If my boss wanted that, he would have sent someone more discreet, a professional assassin and it would have made to look like an accident not a hit that puts you on the defensive. Think about it for one moment.

"Yes Udina is affiliated with us but that revenge thing was his own agenda not ours. Cerberus isn't the big bad boogieman you believe us to be. Not all are within Cerberus are guilty of those…actions. And you got my number wrong. I don't want you or your wife dead, Shepard. Work with us Spectre. You don't have to join us, but realize the potential here, what we can offer you. We want the same thing you do; we need to stop the collectors and we need your help to do so."

"Is this the part where I take a bite of the apple?" Shepard took a step towards the cage, her face implacable. "If you want to tempt me Operative Lawson you're going to have to do a lot better than toss my sense of duty back at me. If you claim to know me, read me as you say you do then you know I won't jump into bed with you with offers of resources. You already know I'd never leave an innocent to suffer a fate I introduced to her, even if she is the sister of an enemy agent. Do you have any other things on the table, something I can actually use?"

Miranda was silent for a time. The Illusive Man had placed her in charge of recruiting Shepard by any means necessary. He had placed his full trust in her capabilities to get the job done. If Shepard walks then the mission has failed and she wasn't going to allow that to happen. By any means necessary.

"I have a list of names," she said after several heartbeats. "Not Cerberus operatives, people we were hoping to recruit to battle the collectors. They're professionals in fact you already have two on the list: Professor Mordin Solus and Zaeed Massani. Of the others: one is a professional thief, Kasumi Goto, one of the best if not the best entrymen and tech experts. Another is an assassin, a drell named Than Krios. Hunting and tracking down the tiniest mote of leads to lead him to his prey are one of his finer points and you should know he did not show for Udina's little soirée. Another is an asari Justicar named Samara. And there are two who are little on the outside…of well everything, really. A krogan scientist named Dr. Okeer and a….ex-convict called Jack. Okeer is working with a bunch of mercs though we don't know if he is doing so willingly. And Jack is the most powerful biotic humanity has ever produced – apart from you of course.

"I can get their dossiers to you and you can see for yourself how usable they can be to your mission. Whether you recruit them or not is up to you. I know you already have a fine crew, a trusted squad but Cerberus will actively seek these individuals out and request their aid. If they knew you were in charge it would be easier."

"Cerberus is actively seeking outside humanity for help? I thought TIMmy wanted human domination, human advancement and independence from alien influence and yet your group will go hat-in-hand to aliens for help? I don't see them turning a blind eye to the Cerberus doctrine. The only one that might have is Massani but he's on my crew now."

"True they would never follow us," Miranda conceded. "But you…you are another matter. They will follow you."

"You get me and I tag them is that it?" Shepard sneered. "The Alliance is already using my face as a recruiting poster, sorry I'm already committed elsewhere. The Brass gets a bit tetchy if you spread yourself out like that. Sends the wrong message." Shepard unfolded her arms and placed her hands on her hips. "Why is TIMmy so interested in these people, besides being professionals?"

"You already know what Professor Solus brings to the table. And you wouldn't have pressed Massani into your crew if you didn't believe he has skills you need."

"Wrex and Aleena's idea not mine, but I value their opinions."

"But not mine."

"I don't trust you."

"And if you did?"

At first it didn't seem that the Spectre was going to answer. She studied the older woman for a moment before drawing a breath then said. "Hypothetically speaking lets pretend your little press gang meets with up with these professionals and they don't want to join. Will you do to them what you did to that boy Veetor'Nara nar Neema?" Shepard's blue eyes narrowed into ice cubes. "In case the name doesn't ring a bell I'll remind you. He was the quarian kid back at Freedom's Progress; your interrogation team kidnapped him to get information about the collectors. Cerberus ripped off his fingernails with a pair of pliers as well as his eyelids. These professionals might give you more of a challenge considering they are not terrified children."

There was little Miranda had to argue the point into her favour, Shepard wasn't only playing with a stacked deck, Miranda didn't even have any card to play a hand. Even she was appalled at the lengths Kia Leng had gone to harvest information from their captive. Pel had been the same before he was killed in his action in his mission to recover the Asset from the Flotilla.

There were too many in the Organization that believed ardently that aliens were nothing but freaks to be dealt with like their fantasy counterparts in sci-fi vids—eradicated, eviscerated and vivisected and not necessarily in that order. All because apparently it was human's God-given-right to rule the universe. The Illusive Man found their zealotry a useful tool when needed, hell many of them now made up the bulk of the neo-troopers. And he wasn't exactly opposed to vivisecting aliens if it led to the Cerberus doctrine of human advancement: nothing more, nothing less. Unfortunately these zealots along with Terra Firma also made the news in a very negative light and turned many against Cerberus. Many who might have joined the Cause were repulsed by the sycophantic xenophobic zeal. The Illusive Man did not see these as a deterrent however. And he used them as they were meant as pawns. But for many more saw the truth and the necessity of Cerberus its true purpose and what it could mean for humanity.

"Cerberus has a mission to stop the collectors. It's the same as yours. We can either do it or talk about it." Miranda found her voice at last, tired of the arguments.

"Way to influence people Lawson. I can see you're a real motivator. But I'll concede this. It is time for action."

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME MEMEMEMEMEME

Shepard left the brig feeling less confident than when she entered. So far the Council had not sanctioned any action to protect the colonies in the Terminus Systems. Granted it was out of Council space jurisdiction. The Council wasn't taking the Reaper threat seriously, they we not convinced that the raids on human colonies was anything but raiders despite the fact there was no structural collateral damage that would surely follow such a raid. Even presenting them with the data from Freedom's Progress wouldn't move the Council. Simply put the colony was in the Terminus System. They could not become involved. Humanity knew the risks.

The conversations Shepard had had with the Council replayed over and over in her mind. Human colonies forfeited the right of protection when they left Council Space. When objections were raised that the plight of Freedom's Progress was ignored because it was a human colony and that the Council would interfere if were one of their worlds, an asari world like Illium for an example you could bet your last credit chit the Council would intervene.

Of course it was pointed out coldly by Tevos that while Illium was a border world between the Terminus Systems and the Asari Republics it was still just within Council Space. Most of the Crescent Nebula Illium's system called home was actually Terminus controlled. Illium served as an important entry point between the two. Earth had no such colony, or at least no colony as illustrious as Illium. Most were frontier worlds with more prefab buildings tenements than testaments to modern or classical architectural engineering like Illium.

Devil indeed.

Shepard reflected back to her days in high school one of the few times she had a flesh and blood teacher and not a computer. The class was Philosophy. Her professor who had a more Socratic outlook to life once said:

'In normal times, evil should be fought by good, but in times unimaginable warfare, many military leaders believe that it should be fought by another kind of evil. Thus, evil has been overcome by another kind of evil. But how can the masses accept this? Can we morally justify the means to achieve an end? How does this make us any different? The enemy has their codes, their laws, their moral justifications and their own philosophies. Their adherence to it is no different than our own to our own beliefs, creeds and ethics.

'Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. Pacification is not the answer, never was, never can be. But is retaliation?

'In times of warfare and the utter darkness that it brings it is easy to lose our faith in the power of good to overcome evil. When confronted by acts of terror, for example, we don't even consider turning the other cheek. Instead, we respond with "a different kind of terror." Although we often use the same means as the terrorists to achieve our goals—they bomb our colonies, we bomb their worlds. We feel such means are warranted, because our cause is just... But if all we are doing is adding to the body count, I question how much good is really accomplished.'

'Do I fight evil with another kind of evil?' Shepard's mind went on a philosophical walkabout. Accept Cerberus help; use their resources to stop the collectors? They killed my daughter. Well no Udina did, but TIMmy allowed it. Taking their help will have a lot of strings attached. It's treason! But damn it they are the only ones willing to help. The goddessdamned Council always dragging their feet, always denying our pleas for aid. Okay okay granted they're dealing with the crises of the Kingu comet on Belan and a new war.

'Yeah bet the hanar are pissed about the scientists saying it was harmless. Pft. Probably the same damn panel of scientists that looked at Sovereign's remains and said 'Oh yeah that's nothing to worry about. It's geth. Has to be. Geth are incredibly advanced self-evolving AIs. Retrofitting a derelict ship is only a trivial concern for them. No need to worry about "theoretical enemies."' Even as her mind ranted her fingers actually made the air-quotes which turned more than a few heads of passing marines to look a little oddly at their CO.

Shepard paid no heed as her internalizing continued its AWOL fling with airing out her frustrations. 'Their fracking ancestors were probably the same guys who opened the front gates and said "Sure park that giant wooden horse in the town square, it will be swell. What a nice parting gift," fracking idiots. Their genepool doesn't just need lifeguards it needs a thorough dosing of chlorine.

'Same goes for the Council. "Help human colonies absolutely not, why should we?" But hell an attack on Taetrus and everybody responds. And why not? It's a turian world so of course there'll be an intervention. Taetrus actually has a Primarch. Idus Valen former Minister of Agriculture gets the bloody job by succession…he cries out "This is an act of war" and the damned Council steps up to the plate. Human colonies have governors, guess it's not an important enough title to warrant respect from the Higher-ups.

'Even the goddessdamned Vol Protectorate gets involved with Taetrus. '"This is an attack against all civilized colonies of the galaxy."' Her internal voice mocked the volus' speech pattern complete with the hiss of environmental suit's respirator. Her face pulled into a heavy scowl. 'But hell Freedom's Progress-all life gone! Gone and it's pirates and we can't help because it's in the Terminus Systems?! And they treat it like it was nothing. Who cares, right?

'Taetrus gets millions of turians in dozens of cities to march in solidarity with the victims of the Vallum Blast. But what did Eden Prime get? Terra Nova get? Nothing! How many humans have to die to have the Council look our way? Yeah sure okay the death toll of the Vallum Blast was hundred and fifty thousand. But the collectors are systematically harvesting humans from our worlds. And nobody gives a shit.'

The scowl deepened. 'That isn't true, the ones that do….Shit! Shit! SHIT!'

'Melethril, you have worked yourself into a rather deep lather.' Liara's words were like a bucket of cold water thrown in the blaze of anger combusting in the Spectre's soul. Hearing the asarian word 'lover' had the effect of pulling Shepard out of her sulks and brooding with even greater effectiveness. 'What vexes you so?'

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to hear all of that.' Shepard sent. 'I'm frustrated.'

'That is putting it mildly.' there was a lingering worried tone to the asari's telepathic words. 'So tell me.'

'It's…I'm just blowing off steam, Babe. That's all don't worry about it. I'm fine.'

''Are you sure?'

'Yeah.' Which meant of course meant she wasn't fine. Liara knew whenever that particular word escaped her bondmate's mouth it meant Samantha really wasn't fine at all. But if the archeologist pushed her human would close down tighter than a geth colossus in repair mode.

'Very well. Perhaps you could vent that frustration out on the gym floor with me. What do you say about playing doubles at an echo game?'

'I don't know...' a pause of breath. 'You know what? Actually yeah. Let's do it. Meet me in five.'

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME

"Stand up." Naga'sadow ordered Miranda as the young huntress entered the brig.

"Why? Am I going somewhere." the human said as she remained seated on her bunk.

"The Spectre has ordered PT for you. Now get up." the order would not be disobeyed again.

Miranda half expected to be man-handled as she stepped past the threshold of her cell. But the asari guards made no more aggressive move than to flank her, two at her immediate right and left and two directly behind. They weren't even carrying side arms not that the huntresses needed such to subdue their captive should Lawson be daringly stupid enough to make an escape attempt.

Lawson almost asked why she was given this 'privilege' when it dawned on her; it was within the Council bye-laws concerning the welfare and care of POWS. If not imprisoned in an interment camp where there was a limited amount of freedom for inmates in the yards, all POWs were give one carefully monitored hour of exercise privileges outside their cells. Such privileges were given once a week, bi-weekly if said inmate was a trustee. Of course Shepard would not renege on standard procedure of Lawson's imprisonment. Even the interrogations had not technically stepped over the line, even with the monster-flick and her sister dangling before her like a carrot on a stick.

Miranda elected to keep any further comments to herself. With nothing to look at over the past week but four walls and sour-faced asari, the change of scenery was more than welcome. She had a dread feeling if she said something, anything her guards would undoubtedly view it as a breach of good behavior and put her right back into her cell.

Over the past few days the Cerberus agent started to put names to faces. Of the nine that were on her guard rotation two stood out more than any of the others. There was Nual and Naga'sadow.

Both had very distinctive face tattoos though that was not uncommon amongst asari commandos. Miranda highly suspected that before meeting with the turians, asari huntresses did not as a rule permanently mark their faces or back to signify they were commandos and not just into ink.

From what Lawson had seen many asari opted for more subtle ink-work such as a single line of colour going down the middle of their lower lip as the Consort Sha'ira possessed. Others like T'Soni had opted for 'eyebrows'.

Naga'sadow's face markings were not so dissimilar to those of T'Loak's. The huntresses had a single line of deep purple going from her lower lip to her chin and had similar 'arched eyebrows' that swept back along the lower tendril of her crest that curved back around to under her eyes. The design half reminded Lawson of a priestess's headdress, the sort that T'Soni's mother wore. Or perhaps they were more akin to the jeweled adornments the operative recalled seeing on Justicar's Samara's face in the picture within her dossier.

Nual's markings much more resembled those of Councilor Tevos, though she had opted for a pale lilac rather than white.

It was this latter huntress that drew Lawson's attention and perhaps she found far more disturbing than the frozen contempt on the other's face. Nual seemed far more intent on watching the operative closely than her chilly partner. It was almost as if the maiden was half expecting Lawson to sprout horns and a forked tail at any moment.

Miranda could accept and appreciate Naga'sadow's pragmatic demeanour as it was similar to her own. The huntress wasn't any different from any another guard holding watch over a high profile criminal. There was distain but also pitiless professionalism. Naga'sadow was doing her job because it was required of her. No more, no less. It was the quiet hate police officials held for those who trespass malevolently against innocent lives.

Miranda surmised that Naga'sadow was the sort of guard that would have called out 'short-eyes coming through' as she placed a pedophile into the general populace of a prison. And be momentarily distracted for a certain period of time until she extracted 'victim of inmate justice' and placed him in solitary for his own protection.

Nual on the other hand was the type of guard that could not fathom what motivated someone to do such grievous harm to another. It boggled her mind. She watched over her charges and performed her duty because she swore an oath and believed in it.

Strange that both these woman Miranda fixated upon fit the nature and demeanour of Spectre Samantha Shepard so perfectly.

Upon arriving at the gym Miranda pulled her attention away form her guards to her environment.

The gym was fairly typical of those found on larger starships. A couple of treadmills, bench presses, cross-trainers and exercise bikes, power systems and multi-gyms, all utilized by humans and a few salarians and a couple of asari. There were two sparring rings which were currently being used by turians. But the thing that drew Miranda's attention was the area cordoned off by forcefields; obviously the space was set aside for biotic training. It reminded the Cerberus operative of a gym franchise designed and built by asari engineers called the Cube for the sole purpose of exercising biotics outside an official dojo.

Within the cordoned off area a line of taiko and kodo drums lined one of the walls. It might have drawn a curious look from the brunette had she not already been familiar with echo game. She actually seen a variant of it performed at Cirque du Soleil on the Citadel a few years back.

'Cirque' as most have come to call it was self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus acts and street entertainment which started back in the late twenty century by a Canadian entertainment company. It was still going strong centuries later; the only difference was that it now contained talents not only from Earth but from several races within Council space. It wasn't actually all that surprising that the asari took a shine to it, indeed they were quite the acrobats.

To see the echo game being performed in its true martial setting would have been a real treat. Apparently however today was not going to be that day. Today it was melee training with a combination of traditional katana (though the ones being utilized were of the wooden practice variety) and new OMNI-blades. It was practical to hone these skills for more reasons than one.

The innovation of kinetic shields and biotic barriers led many military agencies galaxy wide to reintroduce melee combat back into their regimens for one simple reason. Most shield technology reacts proportionally to the amount of kinetic energy of incoming matter, blocking fast-moving objects like bullets but not slower objects such as one thrown by hand such as a combat knife or even swords.

Biotically created barriers tended to differ as they were organically created by the user and not outside tech, still the principles were the same. Kinetic barriers aside if a biotic added the shockwave to a swords cutting motion the action tore through the air like the ripples upon the surface of water as a stone is skipped across it. The impact alone was enough to strike even the most stalwart of foes off their feet if not out right kill them.

The OMNI-blade was more akin to a combat knife or even the more archaic bayonet. Training in its proper use and effectiveness was no less crucial. One could say duck behind a low wall pull over an unsuspecting target and plunge the blade into the chest cavity or throat. The life of the enemy was snuffed out almost without detection from other hostiles.

"Look I don't care if you spend your hour just standing around but if you are going to use the gym, just get to it." the sharp voice of Naga'sadow pulled Miranda back from her musings.

The operative simply nodded her head and went for the treadmill. It was stationed just at the right angle for her to watch the biotic practice area. She set the speed at a leisurely pace which would allow her to study the scene before her without having to concentrate on what she was doing.

Her interests lay in her captor Samantha Shepard. To be sure she had earned both title and ranks of the Spectres and before that the N7. Yes Lawson was a Cerberus woman through and through but as just a woman, a human she was proud of the N7s. They were a match for any STG operative. Was it any wonder that the Council went headhunting for their first human candidate into the Spectres amongst the N7s?

There was something to be said about those who had earned that rank. Shepard was the best of the best. The N7s had their own classifications for the skills their operatives possessed – Destroyers, Demolishers, Paladins, Slayers, Shadows and Furies. Kai Lang was an N7 Shadow before he was court-martialed and imprisoned. His infiltration skills were highly prized by TIMmy (damn and blast Shepard! Now she had Miranda referring to her boss with that infantile nickname). Shepard herself was undoubtedly a Fury, an N7 adept with implant-aided biotics and guerilla warfare skills.

But to look at the younger woman's skills with the blade, Miranda wondered despite Shepard's prowess with biotics even before the changes brought on by the prothean tech and gestalt if she hadn't been tagged or even requested to be trained as a vanguard when in basic and thus when she became an N7 was inducted as a Slayer.

The power of a biotic was incredible and many feared it, calling it unnatural and shunned those that possessed it. Physically biotics tended to be stronger than mundanes. They could sprint at full speed for five kilometers before they even began breathing heavily. Their reflexes were quicker, their minds and senses were sharper than most could imagine.

When necessary a biotic could channel the dark energy though their bodies, giving them bursts of energy that allowed them to do seemingly impossible feats, performing full flips from a standing position, survive falls from incredible heights uninjured; leap vertically ten meters or more.

A biotic was competently aware of their surroundings at all times, sensing the presence of others. Sometimes they could even sense their intentions. This of course lead to the belief that a biotic could read minds. So far the only race capable of that were the asari but that didn't stop the rumor mongers from raving that a biotic could steal your thoughts and control your mind.

Turians and humans tended to have the same distrust of biotics of their own kind but paradoxically accepted the asari as is. Perhaps because for the asari it was a natural state as much as it was for some species to possess bioluminescence. Some things were meant to glow other things not so much.

A biotic herself the dark haired woman appreciated true mastery when she saw it. And there were none better at commanding dark energy than an asari, though some humans came awfully close. Yes her father made sure she had incredible biotic prowess, but perhaps Shepard was right. It was Miranda's own will that allowed her to do what she did, accomplish what she did with the gifts given to her. Her father had nothing to do with it.

And there was that bloody 'thing' again. Back in full force making Miranda question long held beliefs and concepts this time not about Cerberus but about herself. Damn and blast Shepard again!

Lawson watched as the Spectre threw a stasis field on her target on the second tier catwalk above their heads before 'blinking' out of sight and reappearing in a biotic change next to the asari with her sword at the exposed blue throat. She lowered the wooden blade immediately and kissed said asari on the lips.

"Commander!" XO Shiala chastised her student. "We do not kiss the enemy."

"We do if she's cute." Shepard flashed her most charming lopsided grin.

"I do not think 'she's cute' qualifies as a way to overcome your enemy." Liara said trying to sound firm but the corners of her lips belied her amusement. "Besides I'd be very put out should you kiss any one other than me, Melethril."

"Don't worry Angel Eyes I won't be kissing Reapers, collectors or TIMmy anytime soon."

"I should sincerely hope not." Liara tossed back.

Shiala frowned and blew out a long measured sigh, she knew outside meditations and confronting others in sparring the two maidens should never be paired in classes. They both took a few too many liberties with each other. It was to be expected of newly bonded couples to be sure but frankly it was a pain in the ass to have to teach around such hormonal distractions.

On the plus side the matron had to admit it was good to see them strengthening their bond after the incident on Omega. A few days past Liara had come to Shiala and spoke to her at length about her concerns over the undue influence Aleena had over her bondmate. There were more than a few times when Liara's heated frustrations and chilling anger toward the bounty hunter reminded Shiala of her Lady Benezia when they were onboard Sovereign during those last days.

For now it seemed serenity had settled over the maidens, their bond fortified. And so the huntresses put up with their playfulness. Shiala admitted seeing them both dance in the choreography of battle was something to behold. Each anticipated the others movements as if they were their own. Each was extensions of the others body. No words passed between them, no hand signals just sublime unification—a synthesis of mind, body and biotics.

While one threw a stasis the other used a warp-throw, a barrier bubble to protect whilst the other sent out shockwaves at the target. It took years for huntress on the same squad to form such perfection with each other, Sam and Liara did it without even trying. Occasionally one of them would call out 'Now!' and the other answered with one sort of attack or another that melded seamlessly with the others spontaneous move. Together Shepard-T'Soni pair was a force to be reckoned with.

Shiala wasn't the only one to be a bit disgruntled by the commander's playfulness with her display of affection for her sparing partner. Miranda while impressed with the ten meter leap from the ground to the second story cat-walk practically scoffed for the scene that had followed. She couldn't pin Shepard down. One moment the Spectre was the conquering hero the next the dark haired woman acted like a teenager. Had she not seen at first hand Shepard in battle with the united merc army on Omega and a victim of the shadow-strike Lawson would have doubted Shepard's combat prowess.

It was as if the Spectre deliberately wanted others to always underestimate her. There was a clear strategy to this tactic. The enemy always overconfident was sent reeling when they realized just what a powerful force Shepard truly was. The Spectre did not strut about roaring like a lion or chest pound like a marine gorilla. Rather she slipped in like the shadow of the ghost and struck. Like a viper. Like an asari huntress. The more Miranda thought about the more she started to think of another animal the Spectre reminded her of. If the N7 officer wanted others to fear her she allowed just a glimpse of her strength via reputation, simply saying her name aloud. Like the fin of a shark rising above the waves, the very mention of her name gave many pause.

Only the foolish tempt the shark needlessly. Unless of course you mean to capture it. And the Illusive Man meant to land this 'fish'. Lawson felt her mind going back to when she had gone AWOL in order to free her sister. No one had been dispatched to stop her. She almost feared that either Jacob Taylor or Kai Lang might have been sent to either bring her in or slay her. But there had been no one. Even if an attempt had been made Shepard would have informed the operative. Shepard would have boasted that the rescue attempt had been thwarted or gloated that she was right about The Illusive Man's darker motives if she had stopped an assassination attempt. Lawson was sure of it. So was she chum? She was!

'I'm the bait to catch the shark.' Miranda mumbled to herself.

"Time's up." Naga'sadow said drawing the Cerberus loyalist back to the reality of her present condition and where she was. "Time to hit the showers then back to your cell."

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME MEME

The Phoenix project was thus far a success and the Illusive Man was well pleased. The Project lead Dr Henrico Vorschslagg had developed several classes of warriors who were far superior to their Alliance counterparts, and more than a match for any alien.

There were four classes of neo-soldiers developed by Vorschslagg: Phantoms, Centurions, Nemeses, and Dragoons.

Phantoms had been described by other Cerberus troopers as 'goddamn ninjas on speed'. A more than apt description considering they were agile with a wide array of offensive and defensive capabilities, including particular specialization in evasive maneuvers and firing from cover. Like their N7 and asari counterparts, Phantoms were able to create a personal barrier for greater protection.

The Illusive Man wanted more than swift adepts, he wanted warriors who were blademasters. A biotic charge whilst dealing a blade was just as deadly if not more so in some cases than gunfire. It was why each phantom was armed with a monomolecular blade and biotic shielding allowing them to engage in close-quarters combat. Likewise they could briefly cloak in order to recover from injuries. No doubt if one were ever to be put down, their deaths would have to be personally verified.

The Dragoons were heavy hitters and were equipped with the M-25 Hornet SMG and biotic lashes, which they used to lunge toward the enemy or slam the ground with them for a circular melee attack. They could instantly kill downed opponents with a stomp execution. While they possessed powerful armour, Dragoons were devoid of any shields or barriers whatsoever.

Given their nature as an armored enemy, Dragoons could not be grabbed over-cover for instant-kills. However they were still highly susceptible to headshots. This did not concern The Illusive Man; he wanted strength and power in the dragoons just as their ancestral namesakes who were mounted infantry with training in both regular infantry fighting skills as well as in horseback riding.

Centurions were the true tanks. They represented Cerberus's front-line tacticians. They were meant to enact The Illusive Man's strategic goals, although they had leeway to adapt as an encounter develops. Each centurion carried an M-96 Mattock heavy rifle modified to launch smoke grenades leaving enemies vulnerable to crossfire. Finally, they could attack their enemies in melee with electrified batons, which were far more powerful than ones given to simple regular Cerberus assault troopers.

Taking a note from both krogan and vorcha regen capabilities, Centurions were implanted with bio-synthetic tech. They were indeed tanks, able to take great amount of damage before falling in battle.

The last of the neo-soldiers were the Nemesis. They were Cerberus' sniper specialists. Customized implants allowed the nemesis to withstand the crippling kickback of the M-98 Widow antimateriel rifle, turning a redoubtable opponent into a force capable of inflicting instant death. A suite of high-tech scanning equipment made the sniper adept at maintaining cover, meaning a nemesis was usually spotted only after opening fire-assuming the target survived the first round.

The Illusive Man ensured that enemy forces be it Alliance or alien could never gain an example of nemesis augmentation technology by implementing self-destruct mechanisms that activated upon the sniper's death. This fact, combined with Cerberus forces' penchant for suicide when faced with capture, had made scientific study of their implants impossible.

Dr Vorschslagg was more than confident that Phoenix operatives were fully deployable when the Reapers finally came. The only problem currently was that there was only a handful of each class of warrior. If the neo-soldiers were to be as effective as the Illusive Man wanted, they would need more bodies. Recruitment wasn't nearly as high as it should be.

Using the clandestine press gangs was not a tactic that could be utilized given the collectors were absconding whole human colonies. The rumor mill was already flooded with accusations that it was Cerberus who was responsible for the disappearances.

It was a concern but not one of the larger issues the Illusive Man was currently handling. Lawson's abrupt departure needed to be handled swiftly. Taylor was already suspicious that she had in fact defected and not gone undercover as was reported. If he was entertaining similar ideas, he would be silenced-KIA during a mission. It would be good field test for one of the three Nemeses operatives should it come to that.

The Illusive Man had been ready to spread rumors of his own, saying that N7 operative Commander Samantha Shepard—Council Spectre had joined Cerberus. However he was holding fire for now as he highly suspected the Council would drive her towards him very soon. In no small thanks to the Taetrus war with separatists and of course the hanar's little problem with Kingu comet fallout.

The Illusive Man was more than confident that his protégé had been hard at work planting seeds of doubt in the Alliance and Council's loyalty to Shepard's agenda against the Reapers. Their combined inaction against the collectors played perfectly in the young N7's inevitable defection or at the very least alliance with Cerberus.

While he had not leaked rumors that Shepard was already his he had in fact ensured the Alliance remained dark about the truth of the collectors in the Terminus Systems. Operative Messner dispatched to Fehl Prime while undercover as a traveling merchant who selling hardware around the galaxy only recently reported in. The Alliance sent in a brash Lieutenant named James Vega and a Delta Squad. Vega's main agenda however seemed to be the overseeing the installation of new defenses, mainly guns and barriers to a spate of colony disappearances in the Terminus Systems.

Messner's reports mentioned an asari anthropologist named Dr. Treeya Nuwani who had a severe dislike for Alliance personnel. When Messner, Vega and Nuwani were barred from entering a particular location her dislike was revealed to Vega: the Alliance was interfering with her research ever since they stepped in. She angrily rebuffed Vega's offers of assistance; citing "grunts" like him were incapable of understanding her work. Messner caught that the name T'Soni had been dropped.

This bit of information The Illusive Man found intriguing. Insofar he wanted to know just what kind of connection there was. If T'soni became involved then Shepard became involved. Messner was not to interfere but to continue to ingratiate his services to the colonists and see if he could further the gulf between this anthropologist and the Alliance via Vega.

The Alliance had operatives on Horizon as well. They like Vega were there to install new guns batteries and barriers. And just like Fehl Prime the colonists were not exactly overjoyed to have them interfering with their life. After all they left Alliance Space to live free and independent lives. This too needed closer scrutiny; perhaps there was a way to bait the collectors and lure Shepard there as well. If the mission to stop them which meant going through the Omega Four relay then all viable information must be gathered.

But what the Illusive Man needed most was Shepard. For whatever reason the collectors wanted her and the Reapers feared her. The illusive Man wanted that power she wielded under his dominion.

Cybernetic eyes looked to the multitude of screens before him. He needed something to pull Shepard in, something she would find irresistible. Something she might perceive as a weapon to use against her enemies and this included Cerberus.

He needed a Pandora's Box.

He needed EDI.

But how to get the AI into her ship? The Illusive Man stared at the readouts streaming on the monitors before him. Shepard had to think it was her idea, that she had one-upped him. It couldn't come from Miranda the Spectre would never trust that. There were exceedingly few Shepard trusted without question or hesitation: her wife Liara T'Soni, her mother Admiral Hannah Shepard, Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett, Garrus Vakarian and the little quarian girl Tali'Zorah vas Normandy and the last who was her father figure Councilor David Anderson. Of the six there was only one viable name that could be used.

Lips curled at the irony of it. Now all he had to do was set the plan into motion the rest would see itself played out exactly as he needed it to.

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME MEME

"This is Diana Allers with Battlespace giving you the most up-to-date reports on galactic events.

"Galactic Organizations Pledge to Aid Belan. The Kingu comet's wake of destruction continues to dominate the news cycle. New video shows meteor showers caused by hot gasses breaking giant chunks of ice off the comet. No population centers were struck by the impacts, which left craters up to 180m in diameter. Meanwhile, the Intergalactic Red Cross, the turian Lifebearer Brigade, the hanar organization Healing Waters, and hundreds of other charities galaxy-wide have pledged their support to housing and feeding the uncountable refugees of the planet."

"In related news a video of the separatist group Facinus celebrating the Vallum Blast surfaced today. Footage shows noted separatist Kihilix Tanus praising pilot Vamire Squaron for his successful aiming of a private vessel and ejecting from it before it accelerated to its hyperlethal speed. The conversation implies that Squaron bypassed the ship's safety protocols by installing an improvised FTL plotter, using an archaic design no longer in service throughout Citadel space. The vid also shows Tanus criticizing the Turian Hierarchy for failing to respond to the humanitarian crisis on the planet Belan. "They are old xemna [herd animals], only responding when they themselves are jabbed". He then threatened a storm of lightspeed vessels, one for every week that Taetrus remains "subject to the human-appeasing lackeys that run imperialist space," referring to the Hierarchy and Citadel species."

Shepard turned off the vid-feed and chucked the remote on to the coffee table in front of the sofas with a snort of disgust. Battlespace was one of the few news shows the Spectre actually watched despite the fact she wasn't a big news fan. And she liked Allers' work as much as she did Wong's, but sometimes you could have a little too much news. Especially the bad kind.

"Samantha, I was listening to that." Liara said her voice carrying a hint of disapproval from behind a computer screen in the office area of their quarters.

"Sorry Babe." Shepard put her bare feet down onto the floor and reached for the remote. "I'll turn it back on."

It was late in the evening and both women were dressed casually, Shepard in a pair of black N7 board shorts and a matching sleeveless midriff athletic vest tee-shirt. It was simple but Liara once remarked she looked downright sexy in the outfit not only did it show off her bondmate's finely toned body the asari found it provocative and could not explain why sports apparel did this to her. Shepard was more than happy to parade around in the ensemble.

Liara was equally dressed down in a lime-colored spaghetti-strapped silk tank top and green tie-die sarong tied about her right hip which allowed for her thigh to be practically fully exposed. Sam rated the whole get-up with a drool-factor of nine (in comparison to the wedding dress which was a plus ten). Like her bondmate, Liara was bare-of-foot.

"You need not bother." the asari shook her head. "I have news feed streaming on the secondary monitor." she pointed to smaller of the three scenes she had on-line.

"How you can watch all those monitors and not get motion sickness is beyond me." Sam said coming up behind her bondmate and placing a kiss on the windswept curves of her crest. She grinned wolfishly as her vantage point gave her a tantalizing glimpse of Liara's cleavage.

Liara indulgently smiled knowing full well her wife was enjoying the view. "You know I've worked with far more. It is easier than scrolling through window after window on one monitor. Motion sickness isn't an issue. Keeping everything streamlined is a much larger issue." she deliberately took a deeper breath which caused a very satisfying hitch in Sam's breathing.

"Humph, you should get yourself a VI aid or an info-drone. Have Tali create you one. She's very good at it. She always has Chikkitika and whatever she calls the other one buzzing around her whenever we hit ground side." Fingers began to gently stroke the underside of the asari's crest where it was most sensitive, giving as good as she got.

"Or I could use your VI copy." A devilish smirk appeared on purple lips.

"Don't you dare! That bloody thing is a menace. I do not sound like that." the Spectre frowned though in reality it was far more than a sulk, a childish pouty-face wasn't too far off the mark either. "Do I?"

Liara's grin deepened. She indulged in this more playful side of her bondmate. Of late Samantha had been in a spiraling smoldering funk. She feared it was only going to get worse as time progressed. "I believe that Mouse fellow exaggerated your personality just a teensy bit." Liara pinched the air with her forefinger and thumb. "I for one know you do not 'hit on' every asari that crosses your path."

"Oh come on! What about the rest of that crap. 'Justice, duty and the Spectre way?!"

"Well…." Liara smiled and tossed her wife a wink. "You can be a little forthright at times, Shepard. But I still love you."

"Cha'yeah. Whatever T'Soni," Sam remarked feigning hurt.

Liara reached up placed her hand on the back of Samantha's neck and gently urged her human to bend down so she might kiss her properly. "I followed up on some leads that will benefit the mission." the prothean expert said in a more professional tone after the kiss.

"You're an archaeologist Angel Eyes. I don't need leads on ancient prothean tombs or artifacts. I need a bit of dirt." Sam returned the kiss with interest, biting the prothean expert's lower lip.

Liara giggled despite the arousal going straight to her core. "Digging in the dirt is what archaeologists do, Samantha. And my sources are not all librarians and curators. Some of them are more than a little…shadier than others. I would wager they are the same type that deals with…what is the term you humans use…tomb raiders? Yes, tomb raiders."

"You have sources now?" Sam was quick to pounce on the little revelation. It appeared that ever since her bondmate decided to pursue the new career of information broker Liara was swathing herself in shadows and secrets.

"A few. Sources, contacts. I've always had them Melethril. I am simply utilizing some of their other skill sets and pointing them in other directions. In this case trailing any Intel on the list of names you acquired from Miss Lawson. Miss Goto I find very intriguing. More so if Cerberus has painted her as a target for recruitment to confront the collectors."

"And you think this Kasumi is a tomb raider?" Shepard poised, her face contorted into a mask of confusion. "I thought she was supposed to be some sort of cat-burglar and hacker, not some buxom, scantily clad, bullwhip-cracking, dual pistol toting adventurer in a dusty beat-up fedora and hiking boots."

"You watch too many vids my love. I believe she is a bit of both burglar and hacker and yes maybe a bit of tomb robbing. However my best guess is that the majority of tombs Miss Goto steals from are the vaults of private collectors perhaps even museums to sell to other collectors." Liara looked definitely uncomfortable. "I have good authority that many asari are ardently appreciative of Earth's ancient Egyptian artifacts and some do not care how exactly they are acquired."

Sam did not say anything but she put real money on it that maybe big bad Mama T'Soni had a few of those artifacts in the family home.

Liara continued, "Some of my contacts have had dealings with her. Trying to pull anything about her on the net will only give us hyperbole and conjecture. She operates totally off the grid. Kasumi Goto trained in the arts of stealth and infiltration. She has "acquired" artifacts and information from all over the galaxy and yet maintains a completely clean criminal record."

"I can see why Cerberus would want her skills then. Hacking collector data bases will test even Tali's skills. Okay that's her figured out." Shepard leaned most of her weight on the back of Liara's chair while resting her arm on the asari's shoulder. Again her fingers strayed to the delicate curves of blue flesh. "So my Miss Shadow Broker in the making what else do you have on the other names?"

Liara's lips retained their coy grin at the reference to Shadow Broker.

"Of the Battlemaster Okeer not a great deal more than Miss Goto. He is a militant radical who is so ruthless and fanatical that even his own people turned on him. Okeer believes the ancient krogan philosophy that only the strongest survive and reproduce.

"He sees the survival of the weak and the integration of their genetics into the krogan gene pool as proof that krogan are growing weaker with each generation, becoming shadows of those who fought in the Rebellions. To that end he experimented with genetics and sold a great number of his kind to the collectors for the technology he required, earning himself a vile reputation amongst the krogan and forcing him off Tuchanka."

"So that's why TIMmy wants him. That old turtle made deals with the collectors not to cure to the genophage but to strengthen the krogan race. Make them superior."

"It would appear so."

"Sounds like he and TIMmy have very similar goals. Has me wondering if Ol' TIMmy wouldn't sell out the human race to make a select few uber-humans in his image." Shepard said coolly, for a moment the fingers stopped their idle play. "Not so sure I want a guy like this Okeer on my ship. But it might behoove us to investigate just what he knows about the collectors, their movements—anything really. Next name down?"

"Jack," Liara said academically "also known as Subject Zero is a notorious criminal whose crimes include piracy, kidnapping, vandalism and murder. I can safely say Jack is quite possibly one of the most powerful human biotics. She rivals you Samantha."

"She?" Sam's eyebrows formed a 'V' "Well I'm named Sam so I guess a woman can be called Jack."

"No Sam is your nickname Melethril; perhaps like you she utilizes a shortened version of her true name?"

"What like Jacqueline? I can see why she'd drop it to just Jack, I'm not particularly fond of Samantha. Neither is a particular tough sounding names. Kinda' pink frilly girly names really. Yeah not a big fan of Samantha."

"Are you not? You do not protest when I use it."

"Because it's you using Hon. I like the way you say Samantha. You pronounce it with such a soft lyrical lilt to it." Ruby lips kissed a blue cheek.

"Then I shall continue to do so." The kiss was returned though planted on Sam's lips rather than her cheek.

"Jack…hum? Yeah having a psychotic biotic on the crew isn't my idea of a good thing."

"And yet we had Wrex." Liara teased.

"Krogan. Not the same" argued Sam. "Subject Zero? That doesn't sound like a prison numeral designation."

"It isn't. At least none that I am familiar with. One could hypothesize that 'Subject Zero' was given to Jack as part of an experiment in a laboratory. Perhaps something happened to her similarly to Corporal Toombs. No doubt the Cerberus scientists did not call him by name but by dehumanizing designation like Subject Akuze. And further if Jack was Zero that means there were others-One and upwards. Despite her criminal record investing this Jack may be beneficial especially if she is inclined to go against Cerberus."

"But if she is their enemy why do they want to recruit her?"

"They want you." Liara said pointedly.

The dark headed woman nodded. "Yeah good point. Okay I'll look into it. Who's next? What about the drell assassin."

Liara didn't even activate the search profile on her computer. "Thane Krios. He's due to arrive on Illium in a few days. He may be targeting an asari executive, which isn't surprising given Illium's nature. He contacted a woman named Serena. She has an office in the cargo transfer levels. She can probably tell us where Krios will be once he arrives and perhaps even who his target is."

"That was all just off the top of your head?" Sam couldn't keep the surprise from her voice

A coquettish smirk curled purple lips into a prideful smirk. "I am a very good information broker, Samantha. The world of intrigue is not very different from a dig site except the dead bodies still smell."

Black eyebrows shot up into an unruly forelock. "You know you're starting to freak me a little here, Angel Eyes."

"You did not seem so off put when I recall prothean data from the top of my head the first time you questioned me about it. In fact as I recall you were rather grateful for it."

"Yeah but back then you weren't talking about bodies still smelling. And you were cute."

"Cute?" Liara's eyebrow markings arched in a very human-like manner.

"You bet. All poised and dignified, squirming in your seat with carefully reined excitement as you told us about the cycle of extinction. You bet your sweet blue-ass you were cute. Especially the way your bright eyes twinkled as you spoke. I love it when you get like that." Sam trailed a caramel digit along the soft curve of Liara's jaw. "Very cute." The human's mouth descended on her lover's in a sensuous, bruising hungry kiss full of need.

It was a kiss brimming with boldly expressive passion and fervently returned in gusto. Liara snaked her right hand around the back of Samantha's neck, roughly tugging her bondmate further into the kiss. Soft swollen lips parted as an inquisitive tongue slipped out to tease, coax and taste.

The bond flared to life imbuing their ravenous caresses with heated, carnal tension in the wake of unquenchable desire. The bond became a tempestuous demanding storm. Soft moans echoed in voice and mind. Sam's hands held possession over Liara's hips pulling her to her feet.

Abruptly, Liara withdrew from the kiss, her blue face flushed slightly more indigo with her ravenous want. She paused momentarily in a vain attempt to bridle her thirst and then leaned forward – her breath still coming in irregular gasps, her thoughts mired in longing- until her forehead rested upon her beloved's.

"We—we have work to finish."

"I would much rather do this." Sam responded her own breath just as labored. "Work will still be there after we make love."

"Or we can get work out of the way now and fully indulge all night."

"Oohh! I like that idea much better! See there is a reason I married a genius." The Spectre grinned mischievously. "Let's do that."

Reluctantly Liara pulled away, swallowed hard and made a very poor attempt of smoothing out the creases in her sarong. "Okay…" she said in a soft undertone. "But um stand over there." she pointed towards the fish-tank.

Sam looked behind her and pouted at the command. This was definitely not agreeable. She made no secret of her dislike.

"You're less of a distraction" the asari said sheepishly, "and a temptation."

A long exasperated sigh escaped the human's lips. Then in perfect drama-queen fashion she took three large paces backwards so her back was pressed against the cool glass of the aquarium. "Good enough?"

Liara shook her head indulgently at Sam's theatrics. "Later my dearest I promise." for a brief second Sam could have sworn she saw cerulean eyes go solid black before they were their normal azure once more. "We have but one name to go through."

"The asari huntress."

"Samara. If she's planetside she would have to register with a tracking officer. We start there. Tracking officers are usually found at transportation hubs. We just have to figure out which planet she is currently on or if she is in transit. It should not be that difficult."

"Why would Samara have to register with a tracking officer? She some sort of criminal too?"

"No. In fact quite the opposite. Samara is a Justicar, one of an ancient sect of asari warriors. She hunts down corruption, criminals whenever and wherever they cross her path.

"They sound like Spectres." Sam said.

Liara nodded and then shook her head. "It is more than that. They uphold a very strict code of ethics and laws. In compliance with the Justicar Code, there are no morally grey actions: every deed done falls clearly into right or wrong categories. Thus a justicar will defend a village of farmers to her dying breath if they are being attacked by bandits, but she will kill every person in that village if they are found to be running a smuggling cartel.."

"Wow. That's hardcore. They slay dragons too?"

"You jest but in the context you meant it, yes they have been known to be slayers of monsters. Errant ardat-yakshi to be precise."

"Ardat-yakshi?" Sam frowned. The name wasn't at all familiar to her.

"It is from an old asari dialect. It means demon of the night winds," Liara's voice grew soft and distant. "The closest equivalent I can think of in human terms is… a vampire. Though it is not blood she takes from her victims but their life-force during Joining."

Shepard made a face. "Sounds more like a succubus. So what - there are asari out there that do this?"

"You know the exhilaration we feel during our full Joinings." the asari's voice was hesitant almost shame filled.

Sam nodded. Her hand touched Liara's arm to ease the building tension in her bondmate. She did not know why but the subject erected a wall of contention within Liara's heart. Nor had the Spectre actually been aware her body was propelled forward to her wife's side until she was touching her. The temporary tactile exile had evidently been rescinded.

"There are a few who…who have developed a darker craving for this feeling, they are mutations from true asari. They can not Join a mind without killing their partner in the process. It is why they must be-contained. It is an illness one they can not fully control. A compulsion drives them, like the madness that settles within the minds of serial killers for that is in truth what they are."

"And a Justicar is sent to bring them in?" Sam asked.

Liara nodded. "The ardat-yakshi are great shame amongst my people Samantha. One we do not speak about openly even amongst ourselves. And the…condition…only happens to purebloods."

Now Sam fully understood Liara's reluctance to speak of it. "So on which planet do we look for Samara, Babe? You do of course realize there are quite a few of them out there."

Liara could not help but smile at Samantha's rather transparent attempt to return the levity to the room. "Justicars rarely leave asari space. If she is anywhere outside the Asari Republics we should be able to track her movements. Within the Republic it is only a matter of contacting High Command and simply asking for her. The request alone will reach her ears and she will come to us, wanting to know why a Council Spectre is asking for her."

"Make it happen." for a moment Samantha had left the room in favor for the Commander of the Normandy. "I have to wonder, of all the names of assassins, bounty hunters, and outlaw battlemasters, thieves and psychotic biotics we have one law bringer that by her own code must either kill or apprehend the rest of them. Not to mention that code of Samara's compels her to confront any Cerberus operative and make red paste out of them. How on earth did TIMmy ever hope to enlist her aid?"

"I do not know. Perhaps this question is best brought before Miss Lawson. Though it is speculative that in the Code there is a pretext to stop the disappearances of so many human colonies that supersedes her need to confront Cerberus operatives or the criminal elements they intended to conscript so openly"

The Spectre nodded.

"However Melethril that can definitely wait until much later. I believe there is something we have to finish." Liara purred causing Sam to go all but weak in the knees.

"Much—much-much later." The blue eyed Spectre's voice deliberately dipped nearly an octave, her gaze became predatorily hungry. The bond once more flared with the lovers' desires.

Playfully Sam hoisted her prothean expert over her shoulder which earned her a very high-pitched squeal of surprised delight from the asari. In cave-woman like fashion Liara was promptly deposited on the bed with a deep throated primal growl from her human lover—who then began crawling on all fours over her 'claim.' Sam's body slowly nudged the asari's legs apart so she could lie between them while letting her hands came to rest provocatively upon luscious, azure thighs tantalizingly half-concealed by the silk cloth of the sarong.

Not to be outdone Liara trailed her hands along the strong shapely legs of the Spectre. The deft tips of her fingers trailed faint pulses of biotic energy directly into Sam's nervous system teasing the boundaries of their rapidly growing desire. Her reward was a low growling moan that sent shivers of delight down her spine and fluttered passionately in her belly.

When enraptured obsidian eyes locked onto smoldering blue the universe beyond them dimmed to nothingness, leaving only the ravenous zeal of their well-matched passion. Lips brushed together and embarked on a decadent journey of dominance and submission. Sam's thumbs began to lasciviously massage her lover's inner thighs, cautiously-sensually traveling upwards just far enough to make Liara crave more.

*Commander Shepard.* Joker's ill-timed voice crackled overhead like ice water. *There is a top-priority message for you. It's from the Council.*

"AHUUGG!" Shepard shouted, her entire weight gave way causing her to fall on her lover beneath her. "I swear to God I am going to kill that man. I'm going to march right up to that bridge and put his scrawny brittle boned ass right through the fucking hull!" her voice muffled by the pillow her face was planted in.

*Save a bit for me.* Liara grumbled. "Do you think slapping him with a singularity is going over the top?"

"Not by half." the Spectre huffed an exasperated sigh as she hoisted herself up off Liara. "Damn it…"

*Commander?*

*I copied the first time Lieutenant Monroe." the raven haired Spectre snarled. It was only sheer willpower that the Commander hadn't told the pilot to 'shut up and go fuck himself' which she very much wanted to do. Bounding off the bed leaving her wife, Shepard stomped to the door of the loft, each step indicative echoes of her growing pint-up frustration.

"Samantha. Wait. Wear your hoodie."

This froze the Spectre in mid-stride. She half turned giving the asari a puzzled look.

"You have um…perkiness issues." Liara said delicately and pointed with her head towards Sam's breasts. Her nipples were very much standing at attention.

"Aw, right. Thanks." Sam turned back to the office area and snatched the N7 hoodie from the back of the chair Liara had previously been sitting on and shoved her arms into the jacket and zipped it half-way up.

By the time she reached the CIC she was a smoldering pillar of aggregated resentfulness towards Joker and the Council. Ash and Shiala who were both at their stations wisely kept silent. They had heard the sharp reply with which the Spectre had answered the hail. Both were pretty sure Joker had the ill-luck of interrupting a rather heated intimate moment between bondmates.

"Patch to the comm-room, Monroe." The Spectre snapped as soon as she neared the galaxy map. She was most definitely holding a grudge.

*Um…yes Ma'am.* Joker's normally cocky voice carried the unmistakable tones of fear. He must have figured it out as well. The Commander had never quite forgiven him for interrupting her first would-be-kiss from prothean-expert more than a year ago. Interrupting matrimonial-bliss-time was never going to be pardoned. *Patching it through now.*

As soon as Shepard disappeared into the comm-room, Williams hit the radio. A mischievous glint radiated in her dark chocolate eyes. "If I were you Joker I'd find a very big rock or a maybe a very very big krogan to hide behind. Shepard looked positively murderous."

*Yeah thanks for the support, Mom. Any other good advice?*

"Running might be encouraged rather than hiding." Shiala added just as playfully. "With the Commander in congress with the Council it gives you a good head-start. I would go now before Dr. T'Soni comes down; it is she I would be more concerned about. "

*Oh thank you. Thank you so much for caring the pair of you.* before he switched the radio off he heard the two women most definitely laughing at his expense. "Yeah so not funny, ladies." he mumbled forgetting for a moment the co-pilot chair was not vacant but held Lt. Naga'sadow.

Her purple lips curled into a grin. "Do not worry, Joker, the Normandy shall be in expert hands after your inhumation. My condolences on that by the way."

"Oh buzz off you evil woman. It's not my fault the Council decided to interrupt mommy-and-mommy-private-time. Some co-pilot you are. You know you're here in the support capacity."

Naga'sadow's only response was to laugh.

"I think it's time to get the Commander a yeoman. A girly-girl-into-girls yeoman, that way she can take the brunt of the messenger killing and I can just fly my baby." Joker groused.

"Yes and when she irrevocably makes eyes at her CO, especially at that ass of hers it will not be death by Spectre; it will be death by prothean expert cum information broker." Naga'sadow jested.

"Better her than me." Joker grumbled. "Maybe we should start headhunting. You want the job?"

"I fly this bird too, Jeff Monroe. Better than you I might add. Find another."

"Oh you so do not fly her better than I!" Joker protested hotly.

The asari huntress only grinned. "I call that a challenge. You will meet me in the flight-simulator next time on furlough fly-boy and we shall see just who the better pilot is."

"You're on. Oh and the loser has to be Shepard's new yeoman." The flight lieutenant boldly proclaimed.

"Then you had best polish up your leg braces, you will be standing for a very long time at your new post near the galaxy map."

There was silence, and then a frown fell on Joker's face. "Wait did you just say you eye Shepard's ass."

The asari didn't say a word.

"Oh you did! You did! You ogle Shepard's ass!"

"I do not ogle!"

"Liar."

"Oh shut up and fly."

More silence.

"She does have a very nice ass." Joker muttered softly fearful anyone but his co-pilot might hear.

Naga'sadow only nodded as they shared a secret smile.

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME

Still fuming that her night with Liara was in ruins the Spectre stood at parade-rest before the four most influential rulers of Council Space wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, a tight fitting tee-shirt and a hoodie.

"Dressed a little informally aren't we?" Anderson asked.

Grinding her teeth despite the fondness she had for the man the human Spectre barely managed to keep herself in check. "I don't know what time it is on the Citadel but its twenty-two thirty Normandy time. I was in the midst of-extracurricular nocturnal activities with my wife when the call came through. Being so very urgent there was no time to dress appropriately, Sir."

Anderson had the good graces to blush as any father might have after discovering he had interrupted an intimate moment between his grown daughter and her spouse. Tevos on the other hand had a bemused expression on her face. Velarn and Sparatus both coughed and shifted as mental images of their naked Spectre with her asari bondmate flooded their minds.

Anderson knew full well that Shepard could have been in full-kit in under a minute if needs be. This clearly was a full-on-protest for being so rudely interrupted.

"Commander," Tevos started diplomatically. "You will like this even less than you did being interrupted. But there is a necessity to it, especially now that your hunt is set for the Terminus Systems.

"My hunt? I'm not on any hunt! In case it slipped your minds I'm dealing with terrorists of my own! The collectors are harvesting entire human colonies. What about them? Where is their support?" Shepard snarled.

"It is not conclusively proven the collectors are involved." again it was turian's acidic words that cut across the Spectre's nerve endings.

"That's bullshit. Don't you dare pull that on me Councilor. You were sent the vidfeeds from Freedom's Progress. And don't you dare tell me the recording captured by one traumatized quarian doesn't amount to anything. You saw it, the Collectors were there!

"They were snatching bodies right out of their homes. It's the same story in colonies all across the Terminus Systems. Tell me if it were Illium that was attacked like Freedom's Progress would you still claim you couldn't act or would you send in entire fleets to hunt down the collectors wherever they fled?"

"It is a rather difficult situation," Tevos said "while we can not directly become involved something is being done. You'll remain active. Do what you feel is necessary, Spectre."

"What I feel is necessary? You haven't always approved of what I found necessary. That suddenly changes now that I'm going into the Terminus Systems?"

"Much will change." Velarn said. "Specters are the left hand of the Council. Often our agents are called upon to carry out acts that we can not openly acknowledge but are necessary."

Anderson was contrite as he looked upon his protégée. He had warned his counterparts that he should be the one to approach Shepard, to tell her of the plan. This was being handled poorly, they were treating her like a raw cadet. She deserved better. The former captain read the expression in her face, he knew what she felt—it was same as what he felt over twenty years ago when he had been blamed for Saren's actions at the refinery.

"Shepard…Sam I know you're frustrated, pissed off. Hell I am too." He gave a warning look to the others to keep silent. He wanted to do this his way from the start and by God he was going to finish his way. "The Council can't act in the Terminus Systems but you can. If you brought in the STG and Troops from Pavlon it will provoke a lot of unwanted attention right now. Attention we can't afford. Belan, the Taetrus war has done some serious damage and there are enemies of Council Space that are going to jump on this opportunity. Maybe it's why the collectors have chosen now to strike, and where."

"What about my asari commandos? You going to take them as well?" Shepard was fuming.

"Those commandos are-were sworn disciples of Matriarch Benezia not to the any of the city-states of the Asari Republics. They have since sworn fidelity to her daughter. As long as Dr. T'Soni is on your crew their presence isn't questionable." Tevos responded. "We can not support you openly as you continue your hunt in the Terminus Systems but we can give it to you peripherally."

The Spectre wanted to snarl out her frustrations but she kept her tongue stilled. Peripheral help was good as saying no help at all but on the other hand they wouldn't pull her from her mission either. Nor did they pull her human marines.

'Of course…the news feeds said it all. "The Council expresses its sympathies but can not become involved in a purely human matter." Pft. Least I should be grateful for that much.'

'Do not forget we also have the list from Miss Lawson.' Liara's mind touched hers. 'Let us play into this. Use the loss of our people to our advantage in taking the fight directly to the Illusive Man. We have debts to repay.'

'I didn't realize I was transmitting; Shepard sent, '…that loudly.' she added sheepishly. With bond reaffirmed and strengthened since the incident with Aria there was now an almost constant wave of communication betwixt the two lovers. The dampening of the bond seemed only admissible to stifle pain and other trauma from being directly transferred from one to the other.

The Councilors caught the slight distant look pass across the Spectre's eyes before her attention was drawn fully back to them.

"Actually you taking my troops helps me. In fact you're going to 'order' the redeployment of all but three of my science core. I'm retaining Dr. Chakwas, my wife and Professor Solus."

"What is this you're at?" Sparatus demanded vibrantly.

A coy smile spread across Shepard's face. "I have an idea. One that just might land us The Illusive Man. It's a long shot at best, and one of the best parts of this when implemented I will have the resources I need to fight the collectors without 'Council Space' becoming directly involved. You said you'll give me peripheral help, this is how you're going to give it to me."

Anderson grinned. If there was anything he trusted it was any idea cooked up in that young brain of his protégée.

"Let's hear it, Commander." the former alliance captain said.