Reckoning

by Lividity Jones

Behind every revolution, there is a person. Behind every person, there is a story. Before she was an Admiral, Daro'Xen was a pilgrim. This is her story, the chronicles of a pilgrimage that began with the promise of hope, and ended in tragedy.

7. Depraved

Daro growled in frustration as she slammed a fist into the concrete walls of her cell. Looking down at the small sliver of metal held between her fingers, Daro took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She had been trying for nearly a week to dig at the automatic intravenous needle insertion device installed in her new mockery of a suit. Quarian suits came standard with intravenous suits to allow for injection of antibiotics, medicines, and nutrients when necessary, without the need to remove them. A small device in the arm automatically scans the limb for a proper insertion point, then imbeds the needle into the tissue where it can administer the necessary supplements.. Daro had been trying without success to damage this small device, in the hopes that by breaking it, she would be able to render the sedative injections her captors were so fond of using ineffective. The sedatives were enough to slow her reflexes and weaken her muscles without wearing her out entirely for the customer's pleasure. It made any coordinated movements extremely frustrating. Even her current task was made infinitely more difficult because of it. Keeping them from administering the drugs to her at all was the first step. She'd be able to finally fight back.

Unfortunately, her plan was also a double edged sword. Breaking the port meant that she wouldn't be able to take in any antibiotics administered, and her lifespan would be shortened considerably. Slowly lifting her gaze, Daro set her eyes on the small form huddled into a ball in the corner of the room. Kyta was sound asleep, oblivious to Daro's explosive outbursts and rage. Gently setting the small scrap of metal down on the floor where she wouldn't lose it, Daro decided it might be prudent to wait before trying again, giving her a moment to recollect herself. Sitting down instead by Kyta's prone form, Daro ran a gentle finger down her shackled arms, a fresh pang of disgust and hate settling in her gut. Soon, they would be free of this, and Kyta could leave this atrocity behind. Settling a sore hand weary of it's ceaseless grasping for freedom on Kyta's atrophied shoulder, Daro allowed herself a brief moment to dream of a better place, with clear blue skies and the green shades of nature and peace spreading for miles. No more hurt. No more pain. Never again.

It still made her reel to think that places like this existed at all. Pilgrimage training had a section on the things that happened to wayward Pilgrims, but like any young adult, Daro had thought herself invincible. Stronger than those who had let such a horrific fate befall them. She had been so utterly foolish. It made her sick to think that there were other people who had to endure this. Other quarians who went through this same experience. People who just dropped off the grid to labor in mines or brothels, and the fleet didn't even seem to care. It was worth the losses if it those successful got a few more scant resources. All in the name of prolonging a dying species extinction. Daro had to wonder how the krogan had lasted as long as they had in the face of their own annihilation.

Kyta shifted under Daro's slight touch, rolling over groggily to look up at the elder quarian.

"Hey," she said quietly, pulling Daro from her thoughts.

Daro looked into her visor and smiled weakly despite herself. "Hey," she replied. Kyta was the one good thing she had. Despite everything, being with her was enough to wind her down from her fits and temper.

Sitting up as best she could, Kyta sat with her back against the wall beside Daro. Resting a weary head on her companion's shoulder, she asked the same question she asked after any length of time away from Daro.

"Any luck yet?"

Daro couldn't bring herself to speak. Every added moment they stayed in this place was one more failure on her part. Hanging her masked helmet low, Daro shook her head. Kyta looked down at the gray slab that served as the bottom of their cell for a moment, before nuzzling closer into Daro's slumped shoulders.

"It's okay. You'll get it. I know you will."

Daro rested her head on Kyta's, letting herself lean on the smaller quarian for support, trying to forget the throbbing in her arm from the needle having to be mechanically reinserted dozens of times over the past week; a result of her attempts to break it. If she could just find a way to cut or smash the gears that inserted the needle, she would be able to set her plan in motion. It was proving easier said than done. Letting herself steal a glance at the young girl nestled up against her, Daro sighed almost contently at the contact. It was a welcome change from the brutal abuse sustained at the hands of the guards and the clients. Reaching over, Daro picked up the sealed bottle of water the guards had casually tossed into the cell the night prior. Uncoupling the tube from her companion's mask, Daro fit it onto the seal of the bottle. Daro had already had her fill, leaving more than three fourths of the clean liquid for Kyta.

"Drink," she whispered, stifling a wet coughing fit.

The bound girl gingerly sipped at the fresh liquid. She had long since learned not to argue with Daro about their rationing. She was incessantly stubborn in her belief that Kyta get the most of everything, and even threatened to eat nothing at all unless Kyta ate however much Daro had allotted her. It was always the majority share.

After Kyta was done draining the small container, Daro clipped the feeding tube back into place, and wrapped her arms around Kyta's small shoulders, both of them leaning on one another for support. Contact with Kyta had become the only comfort Daro had left in her new prison. The food was tasteless, the drink often stale or dirty, and every other sensation was a painful one in some capacity. But resting beside the only friend she had left was perhaps the most comforting thing Daro had ever felt. A sense of having someone who cared about her, and her having something to protect, to fight for, was a more alien notion to Daro than most. The constant torture of the brothel had only served to heighten the impact of her feelings. Tender moments with Kyta had become the highlights of her life. She truly didn't have anything else.

"When we get home… do you think we'll be able to do this again…?" Kyta asked after a long silence, her head resting against Daro, her eyes closed.

"Do what?" Daro asked, soaking up as much of Kyta's warmth as she could, holding her as close as she could without hurting her.

Kyta nuzzled into Daro's arms, a warm feeling of safety and protection growing in her chest. "This," she said. "Just us… being together like this. Maybe staying up and watching a movie… or playing a vid game together or something…"

Daro ran a hand through the mock veil attached to the back of Kyta's helmet, gently letting her fingers run through the cheap fabric. "Yes," Daro whispered. Kyta shifted her weight, trying to edge herself even closer. "Definitely." Kyta and Daro often talked about the things they'd do if they ever managed to get out. The dreams of happier days on the horizon helped keep the nightmares at bay.

Kyta smiled under her helmet.

"I've always wanted to see Vaenia. I heard it's won all kinds of awards. An instant classic."

Daro had the image of watching a vid with Kyta in a cubical on the Moreh, the lights off and a blanket wrapped around them both, warm, delicious food paste fresh from the live ships in one hand, and Kyta in the other. Daro reached for the metal sliver she had been fortunate to find on the floor several days and began digging away at her wrist.

"I promise, Kyta. We'll be home soon. I'm trying."

Kyta remained seated beside Daro, leaning on her contently while she worked at picking apart the suit.

"I know, Daro. I trust you."

No matter how much she tried, Daro couldn't get over how strange it was hearing someone say that to her. On the Khalos, no one had ever trusted her. Shen, maybe, and her parents. It was still strange, talking with someone else about movies and vid games. Daro cursed as the metal sliver slipped and scratched her suit.

"You ever play Geth of War? Or Grand Theft Flotilla?" Daro asked. Talking with Kyta generally helped improve her ability to think clearly.

"I've got the high score for Grand Theft Flotilla on the Qwib-Qwib." Kyta chuckled lightly. The sweet sound warmed Daro's heart. Such an ordinary action anywhere else was almost sacred to her amidst the misery here.

"My friend on the Khalos, he always used to get mad at me for playing it. Said it stereotyped quarians as thieves," Daro said, the sliver missing once again, the jerking motion causing the needle to retract and once more dig itself into her arm with a sore twinge.

"Shen?"

Daro smiled under her helmet. "Yeah." She had told Kyta all about her childhood guardian. He was a bright light in a sea of darkness, a single beacon against the blackness of space that had always seemed to guide her through the void. She missed him.

Kyta looked down at her shackled feet. A single toe silently rubbed a small circle into the dirty concrete floor. After a moment, she looked sideways at Daro.

"Were you two really, close? I mean, have you ever kissed anyone before…? Not like… here…"

Daro's hand stopped. She stared at her wrist with the radiating intensity of a blue giant.

"No."

Kyta slumped her shoulders. "Me either."

Daro's mind turned more fully to Shen. She had never really seen him in that light, never really thought about it, either. He was more like her big brother. That would have just been strange.

There was an awkward silence. After a moment, Kyta looked up into Daro's mask.

"I've always wondered… if it's different than… here… when it's someone you care about… or if it feels the same…"

Daro lowered both of her hands slowly, and returned Kyta's gaze, unsure of what to say. The best response was always the honest one.

"I… I don't know…"

Kyta shuffled nervously, playing with a loose piece of concrete with her foot, watching the little rock slide around on the floor.

"I hate it… when they… they…" Kyta closed her eyes. She wasn't able to take her suit off from the neck down when seeing a client. Unlike a proper quarian suit, these did not have section seals. They were not segmented. That only left so many options for the clients, and for Kyta. Some individuals preferred it with the suit left on anyway. A sick fetish they were forced to play out. She looked back to Daro. "I just… I want to know if it feels…" Kyta choked on whatever she was about to say next. Daro felt a pang of disgust well up inside of her. She couldn't count the number of times Kyta had been gagged, her jaws forced open, unable to do anything to prevent what always came next. The indignation was enough to cause her fists to shake in rage. The image of pouring molten metal down the throats of everyone who had ever hurt Kyta came to mind. It was a pleasant fantasy.

Daro set the sliver back down as the needle once more reinserted itself into a bruised vein.

"I never really thought about it… and the one time I did…" Daro felt a fresh wave of hate burn inside her chest at the thought of Jason, probably huddled up in his apartment with sand coursing through his arteries. "… I ended up here…"

Kyta felt herself sink lower against the wall.

"Oh… right… I… I didn't… "

Daro interjected, "It's okay. It's not your fault. It's mine."

For a while, the two quarians just stared at the blank wall opposite of them. After an awkward silence, Kyta once more scooted close to Daro, looking into her silver eyes.

"I… I know… I-if we ever got out of here… I mean… I know you probably… but… " Kyta closed her eyes, trying to work up the nerve to continue. Daro stared into her visor, unsure of what she was trying to tell her.

"I-I… I know you… and… but…" Kyta braced herself. "When we get home… would you want to… you know… sh-show me… your… uh… you know…" Kyta quickly began tripping over her words. "I mean… I know you probably don't want… and… but it's just… you're…" Kyta slowly brought her gaze back up to Daro's. "You're my friend. I… I don't know what I would do if you weren't here."

Daro felt numb. She didn't know what to say. She had been through a lot with Kyta. She was as close as she'd ever gotten to anyone in her entire life. The things they had endured together had been enough to cement a bond that was unlike anything Daro had ever experienced.

But the last time she had wanted to show her face to someone, it had ended with her current predicament. It was a sickening feeling. Something innocent and pure, that was meant to be about trust, would forever be associated with betrayal for the last of the Xen family. Daro stared long and hard into Kyta's eyes, silver almonds that sparkled in the dark room where they had found solace in each other.

"Kyta… I'm not... I don't know if..."

Daro's mind was in conflict, leaving her confused. Trying to speak was a mistake. She didn't know what it was exactly she wanted to stay.

Kyta's silver eyes shut tight, leaving Daro agonizingly without those radiant eyes that brought her the only measure of peace she had left as she shrugged herself free of Daro's grasp.

"It's alright... I knew you wouldn't want to... With me... I don't know why I asked..."

Daro felt her heart sink a Kyta broke away from her. She should have kept her mouth shut. It was her own fault that she had no way of knowing how to respond. She had never been very skilled when dealing with people of any species or persuasion, much less someone who was asking for something so... personal. It was confusing to her, on top of being such an emotional ordeal to begin with. A quarian's face was obscured for a reason. It gave the smallest measure of privacy they could hope for in a life as communal and sharing as their own. To share your face with someone, to share the very air you breathe. It was no small gesture. To share that with Kyta, for Kyta to ask that from Daro, it was something unfamiliar to her, and worse, something associated with very bad memories and feelings. Daro shook her head, shuffling closer to Kyta.

"No, Kyta. It's alright. I just... I'm not sure what to say..." Again, honesty was always the best way to approach things.

Kyta slowly turned to face Daro, the younger quarian huddled against the wall of the cell as her voice muttered out meekly.

"It's just… you mean a lot to me Daro… I want you to know that… and I understand if you…" Kyta trailed off, unable to finish.

Daro shuffled closer to the huddled quarian, laying a reassuring hand on Kyta's shoulder before hooking her arm around her and letting Kyta rest against her in a tender embrace.

"It's alright, Kyta... I..." Daro's vocabulary seemed to be in a constant state of deterioration.

Kyta crooned her head to meet Daro's gaze, curling her legs closer to her body to draw as much warmth from Daro's embrace as she could. Small droplets of starlight formed in beads at the edges of her eyes, tears running down Kyta's obscured cheeks.

Daro hated that she couldn't wipe them away.

"I just... I… you're special, Daro," she whispered, her voice soft and wispy in Daro's audio receptors. "You're kind… and strong… the strongest person I've ever met…" Kyta brought her visor closer to Daro's, their eyes never breaking contact.

Daro was suddenly very aware of how warm Kyta felt. Likely a result of their seemingly perpetual fever. Even though the suits, she felt radiant.

"And you're caring… I…" Kyta blinked before burying herself in Daro's chest. Almost instinctually, Daro held the small quarian closer, her arms wrapped around her in an all encompassing embrace. "And this… this is the best feeling in the world… when you're just holding me…" Kyta's voice was beginning to crack. "When you hold me just like this… and it feels warm… and… it doesn't hurt as much…" Kyta's voice was breaking entirely. "And I just wish I could hold you back…"

Daro gently held Kyta's head in her hand, holding her possessively to her. "It's okay Kyta." The young woman in her arms was often an emotional wreck when with Daro. She'd kick, scream, thrash, and do everything she could to fight everyone else. But in here, she was soft, and hurt, and broken, and it was something only Daro ever saw. She had grown accustomed to being Kyta's pillar, the one last thing still standing she had to lean on.

Sniffling, Kyta wrapped herself as closely to Daro as she could. "It's not okay. You've been so good to me. And… I can't even hold you… The same way you've held me… I need to hold you… I need…" Kyta winced visibly.

There was a pause, Daro nudging her reassuringly.

"I need to see you… you… you're more than my friend… we're family… and…. And I c-care about you…" Kyta went rigid in Daro's arms. "I care about you… so much…"

There was a long silence. For the longest time, neither Daro nor Kyta moved from their embrace. Daro could feel her heart pounding inside her chest. Letting a single finger trace along the base of Kyta's skull and down her neck, she stared at a spot on the floor, her mind racing.

"I… I care about you too, Kyta." Daro's voice was wet as she momentarily suffered another coughing fit. Settling down and looking back at the smaller quarian, she felt Kyta nestle against her. "I… I want to see your face, too… I trust you."

It was true. Daro wasn't sure about much of anything anymore. But Kyta understood more about her than anyone. She knew Daro. She'd never hurt her. The bond they had forged in the cold and the darkness was unbreakable.

Kyta looked up at Daro.

"Really…? You mean…?"

Daro held her gingerly, bringing her visor to rest softly against Kyta's.

"Yes. I would be honored to show you my face, Kyta," came the reply. It was spoken with sincerity, a solemn promise laced into the words.

They stayed like that for a moment, before Kyta quickly nuzzled into Daro affectionately.

"Thank you… You don't know how much that… thank you. I didn't think you'd want to… with me…"

Daro slid her hands over Kyta's suit, letting her snuggle into her embrace. For how long they stayed like that, Daro had no idea. Her fingers ran over the straps around Kyta's arms, as she often did, trying to alleviate at least some of the discomfort.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Kyta broke from Daro's embrace, shuffling on her knees to face Daro.

"I... I need you to remove mine. I can't... My arms..."

Daro looked over Kyta's mask.

"N-now?" she said suddenly, realization dawning on her like a Tuchankan sunrise.

Looking up at her, Kyta nodded. "Please…? I… they all get to… to see you… and… I…"

Daro felt her heart breaking. Showing one's face was sacred to the quarians, and she had been forced to whore that, and much more to the brothel's clientele.

This was the first time she would ever get a say in the matter.

"Kyta… I…" This was hardly ceremonious. Looking down into Kyta's pleading eyes, a very apparent thing made itself known to Daro.

She wanted to see Kyta's face, too.

"Okay…" she said, hesitation slowly crawling away from her heart. "Okay. Are… are you sure?"

Kyta shifted in Daro's hold, bringing her knees closer to her chest, and by extension, Daro's, curling into a ball in her arms.

"I want this… Daro. You're my best friend. The greatest friend I've ever had. The greatest friend I will ever have. I will never have endured as much with someone else as I have with you…" Kyta's relationship with Daro was unique. She was her pillar, her fortress, the final spark that kept her flame burning.

"Thank you, Kyta." Daro meant it. Showing her face to Kyta would never have the same meaning as it would showing it to her without having had to endure what they had here. But that was okay, in a way.

Daro knew it didn't need to have that to be meaningful. Not in that sense. Their connection, friendship, and dependence on one another was what made it beautiful.

Daro's hands cautiously reached for Kyta's mask, examining the locks of the visor with practiced motions. The locks were of similar design to the ones built in their real suits, only opening after a specific line of code was sent from an omni-tool to allow for a manual release switch to disengage the mechanism entirely. Tidanya and Kiron was the only ones who had the necessary code for their masks, opening the manual release before sending them to a client. Unfortunately, the locks binding Kyta's arms were of completely different make. No brute force could remove them without seriously injuring Kyta in the process. Daro's hands left Kyta's mask, looking around the room in search for a solution. Her eyes fell upon the small sliver of jagged metal she had been attempting to use to damage the intravenous system in their suits, an idea forming in her head.

Daro reached for the sliver of metal, taking a soft grip on Kyta's visor as she brought it closer to the underside of her mask.

"Don't move."

It was not a command or an order, but a whispered request as Daro pressed the sliver of metal into the hollow space were the manual release was hidden. Metal scrapped along metal, Daro jostling the jagged sliver against the release in an attempt to force it free. These helmets weren't nearly as well-designed as the real ones. There was bound to be a way to force the visor free.

Daro pressed the sliver of metal deep into the crook of the mask, hearing a soft chime and a sharp pneumatic hiss as the pane of glass nearly fell free of it's place. Daro set the metal scrap to the side, one hand holding the pane of obscuring glass over Kyta's face as their eyes met.

"Are you sure this is what you want...?"

Daro saw the corners of Kyta's lips curve into a gentle smile, the new perspective of the opaque glass giving her a more clear view of Kyta's face.

"Yes, Daro. More than anything in the world."

Daro held her breath as she slowly moved the mask away from Kyta's face, gently laying the pane of glass onto the floor beside them. Kyta had her eyes closed, slowly opening them as she felt the stale air of the cell on her bare skin. Daro's eyes never left hers, smiling beneath her own mask at Kyta. One clear tear fell from the corner of Kyta's eye, leaving a wet trail in it's path. Daro's gloved hand slowly reached out, gently gliding along Kyta's cheek as her thumb wiped away the warm droplet from her smooth flesh. Kyta nestled her cheek in Daro's palm, nuzzling against her three fingers as best she could, smiling up at Daro.
Daro's hand slowly left Kyta's cheek, one finger gliding along the silken smooth skin before she reached for the jagged sliver of metal once more. Freeing her own mask was easier without having to worry about harming Kyta, a sharp hiss and the feel of the weight shifting in Daro's hand alerting her. Daro felt her hand shaking as she laid down the scrap of metal, feeling suddenly self-conscious of what she was doing.

What if Kyta found her hideous?

Kyta's silver starry eyes gazed up at Daro worriedly, the elder quarian temporarily mesmerized by the movement of her lips as she spoke.

"It's okay if you don't want to, Daro... I... I understand... If you're scared, I don't blame you... You don't have to do anything you don't want to... I promise... It's okay..."

Daro felt tears of her own welling up in her eyes, her hand shaking but refusing to bring the mask away from her face. Overwhelming shame forced a muted sob from Daro's lips, ashamed that Kyta had placed such trust in her to show Daro her face, while fear kept Daro rooted where she was.

"I... I'm sorry... I just... I want to... I do... Keelah, I do... I just... I just…"

She saw Jason. This should have been them. He should have been the one she was holding. He should have been holding her. She had wanted to share this with him. He had hurt her. Destroyed her.

"J-Jason…" she whispered, her voice a hollowed out twist in the windless air.

Kyta shuffled closer to Daro, knees bumping up against hers as she leaned forward to sooth her friend's sobbing.

"He isn't here, Daro. He can't hurt you. It's just us. Just you and me."

Daro felt warm tears roll down her cheeks as she let her eyes meet Kyta's, again. She thought about all those cold nights they spent huddled together, finding warmth in each other's embrace. She thought about all the times they had cried together, finding solace and comfort in each other's words. She thought about all the memories they shared together, all the things they missed about their home on the Flotilla. She thought about the promise they made together, about the beautiful home they would build on Rannoch one day. A dream, maybe.

But one worth living for.

She thought about their love for one another. What else could it be called? The bond that was theirs was so far transcendent from anything else Daro had experienced, she didn't have any other word for it. This was all she had left.

Daro slowly lowered her mask.

The cerulean pane of glass vanished from Daro's vision, meeting Kyta's silver eyes unobstructed for the first time. Kyta's lips slowly curved into a gentle smile, Daro's heart racing at the loving gesture. Small tears ran in rivulets from her eyes, Daro overcome with emotion at Kyta's acceptance of her.

Everything felt right. Daro's eyes danced over Kyta's face, hers doing the same. Daro wasn't sure how long they stayed there, just looking at one another, cherishing one another, looking at one another without masks. Daro felt something warm crawl into her heart at the notion that no matter what anyone did to them here, they would never have this. This was theirs. They could take their masks, their dignity, their freedom, and anything else they wanted.

Not this.

Taking in Kyta's face for everything it was, Daro knew she was the only to have ever seen it and to appreciate it. That was hers. She owned that, and nothing would take that from her. Nothing.

Eventually, her gaze found Kyta's and she lost herself again. Her eyes were hypnotic, and Daro felt the entire universe melt away. There was only Kyta's eyes, moist and soft, the lids half closed, looking at her gently, warmly, her lips small and opened just slightly.

Daro became so lost in Kyta's eyes, she barely even noticed that the smaller woman's face was slowly edging itself closer to hers. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. There was no thought, no awareness. Just those eyes caressing her a few inches away.

Millimeter by millimeter, that distance slowly closed, until there was nothing between them

Their lips met and Daro felt the universe melt away. Everything slowed and blurred, feeling the warm pressure of Kyta's soft lips on hers. It was nothing like the harsh treatment Daro had received in the brothel. Warm water ran down her cheeks, awakening Daro from her reverence, breaking the kiss from Kyta awkwardly, suddenly self-conscious of her actions.

Kyta slowly opened her heavy-lidded eyes, lips still pursed and awaiting Daro's. A worried look crossed Kyta's bare face as she looked into Daro's weeping eyes, nuzzling into Daro's chest and cooing softly to the elder quarian.

"Was... Was that okay...? Did I do something wrong? I…"

Daro felt her breath catching in her throat as Kyta spoke.

"I…" she stammered, "that… I just wanted to…" She looked shamefully at the floor. "J-just wanted to know if it was different… when… when…" Silver shards of crystal burned up into Daro's gaze. "S-someone you care about. I…" She closed her eyes, a look of despair working it's way into the smooth contours of her face. "I'm sorry… I should have…"

Daro's mind was reeling. Kyta had wanted to take of her mask with her. She wanted to see her face. She wanted to share her air.

She had kissed her.

Daro didn't know what to think. Everything felt blurred. She was confused. Was it simple curiosity that had brought Kyta's lips to her own? Had this meant as much as much as a fleeting feeling of longing and comfort?

Or was it something else?

"K-Kyta…?" she toned softly, holding the small girl in her arms as she overcame her initial shock.

Those small discs of silver radiance shone in the dark, beacons of light that drew Daro in. Her small lips only moved slightly when she spoke.

"You're very special to me, Daro…"

Daro felt her toe twitch. "Y-you mean…?"

Kyta stared into her, finally nodding slowly.

A small, fresh stream of water slid down her cheek, Daro catching it and wiping it away with her thumb. Kyta nuzzled into the embrace, her whole upper body cradled in Daro's arms as she curled under her chin.

"So very special…"

Resting her hand on Kyta's head, she let the digits run through the cheap fabrics, her finger tracing over Kyta's cheek gently. Daro's mind was alight with activity, her thoughts a wild, unorganized mess.

What had Kyta implied? She cared about her a great deal. She was affectionate. She also cared about Kyta. She had not expected this.

Daro had always entertained the idea of finding someone after Pilgrimage, a dashing captain or a roguish scoundrel to contest her wits with. Kyta was certainly not the image she had gotten when entertaining such fantasies.

Daro stared down at Kyta's bound form. She truly was something special. She was strong, like herself. She didn't show weakness to the guards. To Daro, yes, but never to the people who abused her.

There was something in that.

Daro felt uncertain. She cared about Kyta greatly. They had endured horrors together. Regardless, her confession was still a lot to take in. Daro had never given much thought to a same-sex partnership, but it wasn't something that was entirely alien to her. Many species since meeting the asari invariably grew more and more open in their sexuality over time, as everyone found the asari attractive. It served to break down a great many social barriers, and the quarians had been no exception. Daro had never really thought about it, but she had never been opposed to the idea. As the popular asari saying went, "character matters, not race or gender."

That wasn't her main concern, anyway. Daro felt Kyta in her arms. She cared about the small girl more than anyone else alive, but the fact of the matter was, the last time she had opened up to someone, it had ended in disaster. Oddly, the knowledge of that wasn't doing much to curb Daro's train of though. Kyta was different. Their entire relationship was different. They had endured together. The sight of seeing each other in pain was unbearable to both of them. Kyta had never done anything to hurt Daro. She was also a quarian. She understood the importance behind quarian relationships in a way no human could. She was willing to share that with Daro. She wanted to.

Daro ran her eyes over the numerous straps and cloths attached to Kyta's suit. She'd have given anything for them to not be there. To be able to feel skin on hers. Kyta cared about her, and Daro cared about her. That much was fact. Daro hadn't said it, but she had wondered the same thing Kyta had. If it felt different when it was with someone you cared about. She wished there were no suits. No veils or chains. Just them. Just two people who needed each other.

Two people who loved each other.

Daro stammered, not wanting to break the silence..

"It's okay, Kyta. You're special to me, too."

Kyta looked up at her, her face lit with a warming smile that sent shivers down Daro's spine. It wasn't small or weak. It was a hopeful grin. Bright and radiant. Daro held one of Kyta's cheeks in her hand, the other supporting her by her back, cradling her.

"You mean…?" Kyta trailed off. Her hopelessly bright face sending waves of warmth across Daro's bruised and battered skin. She nodded to her, a soft smile slowly sliding it's way across her own face. After a moment, it slowly faded as she diverted her gaze.

"I just... I'm... afraid, Kyta…"

Kyta nudged Daro's cheek with her own, meeting her tearful gaze, smiling reassuringly up at the quarian. Her voice was warm. It was how she had always envisioned Rannoch's sun on her bare skin would have felt.

"It's okay, Daro. I'm right here. You don't need to be afraid around me. You know that."

Daro choked back a sob, wiping away the tears streaming from her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I know, Kyta... I know... The only person... The only person I ever wanted to... to do this with…" Daro felt herself choking. Jason's rugged features mocked her in the dark of her own mind. "I... I'm just scared... What if we never get out of this place? What if... something happens to you...? What if-"

She couldn't lose so much, again. Never again.

Kyta leaned forward, bringing her lips against Daro's once more, silencing the elder quarian instantly. Kyta's lips moved passionately, locked with Daro's in a sublime dance of passion. Gently, Kyta's lips closed around Daro's lower lip, suckling on the soft flesh lightly, her warm breath caressing Daro's bare skin as she exhaled. Slowly, Daro moved her lips with Kyta's. The feeling of her bare, sensitive flesh coming together with Kyta's warm, tender lips sending her heart into a ecstatic, furious rhythm. Her breath was warm against her skin, air passing between them through contented sighs and muffled moans.

Slowly, they pulled apart. Looking down at the woman cradled in her arms, Daro rocked her back and forth, holding her to her own chest, her eyes not leaving Kyta's, even to blink. "Okay, Kyta. Okay…" She ran a finger down Kyta's cheek.

"I... I just... I want you to know... I'm just so scared, Kyta... I thought he... he loved me... I thought I could help him... I... thought we could be happy together and... and... It was all t-taken from me... I don't want that to h-happen again... I c-can't..."

Daro's babbling slowly devolved into sobbing. With a creak from her overly tight suit, Daro's head fell onto Kyta's shoulder, burying her tears away from Kyta in shame as she continued her broken rambling.

"I... I... c-can't... I'm not... s-strong enough... I can't lose you..."

Daro felt Kyta shift her weight, leaning her head to rest her cheek on top of Daro's head, whispering softly.

"I can't lose you either, Daro. You've given me so much. You... You kept me alive. You gave me something to hope for. Something to believe in. I... I wanted you to kill me that night..."

Daro raised her head, two sets of weeping silver stars meeting each other in the darkness. She tried not to think of that night.

"Kyta, don't-"

"No, Daro. It's alright. I... I wanted to die. I felt so... empty. Like there was nothing left to live for. No hope of ever truly living again. But you, Daro, you gave me that. You gave my something to hold on to. You gave me you."

Kyta leaned forward, a soft smile filled with contentment and warmth crossed her face.

"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. No matter what happens, they can't take that away from me. They can't take away... this."

Kyta pressed her lips against Daro's once more, Daro slowly bringing her hands along Kyta's suited form in a loving caress. Daro felt Kyta's tongue slowly brush against her lips, seeking entry, Kyta wordlessly asking for permission. The gesture caused a warmth bloom in Daro's breast, letting a tear fall from her eye as she gently matched each of Kyta's loving movements. After weeks of abuse and being used with no way to stop it, something as simple as kissing was an intimate act that was almost overpowering in it's purity. For Kyta to have the compassion to ask before acting on her own desires made Daro swell with passion towards Kyta. Slowly bringing the tip of her own to greet Kyta's tongue, they slowly slid past one another and embraced in each other's mouths in a long, sweet kiss.

Warm breath passed between the embracing quarians, forgetting the pain and suffering beyond the four stone walls. The rest of the galaxy seemed to melt away as though the warmth of their passionate kiss had banished all the cold and harshness from existence. One set of three-fingered hands gently massaged the bound and atrophied arms of the other, soothing the pain there until it was barely present. Their hearts raced in harmony with the other, beating only for each other.

Slowly, their lips parted, heavy-lidded eyes opening and viewing each other as though for the first time. Daro slowly reached up to Kyta's face and wiped away her tears, smiling at the bound quarian with genuine joy and warmth.

"Thank you, Kyta."

Kyta's eyes never left Daro's, nuzzling against Daro's three-fingered hand and placing a chaste kiss on her wrist.

"Thank you, Daro. For everything you've done for me. For not giving up. For letting me be with you. For being you..."

For a long time, there was only their embrace, their breath hot on each other's lips, sharing their air with one another in the only way they had open to them.

After long silence, Daro leaned forward to meet Kyta's lips with her own once more, reaching for the small pane of viridian glass that made up Kyta's mask as the kiss broke, resting her forehead against Kyta's and gently nuzzling their noses against each other's.

"Kyta... I need to put your mask back on..."

Kyta tensed in Daro's arms.

"No. Daro… I don't want this to-"

Bringing her finger up to Kyta's lips, Daro silenced her. "Kyta," she began, "we have to. You're sick enough as it is…"

Kyta squirmed in Daro's grip, her shackled feet kicking out wildly, her arms straining against her suit. "No! Daro, don't! Please…"

Daro felt her heart breaking in her chest. "Kyta, we have to. We can't get out of here if we both die from being out of our suits for too long. And you've been sicker than usual." Daro felt her voice crack. "I can't risk you. I'm sorry."

Kyta's eyes glistened in the dark. "I know, Daro. I just don't want this to end…"

One warm drop of water slid down Kyta's cheek as she placed another gentle kiss on Daro's lips.

"Promise me we'll do this again, Daro... When we get home... Promise..."

Daro brought her gloved hands to either side of Kyta's head, holding her gently as she brought Kyta's eyes to meet hers.

"I promise, Kyta."

Daro sneaked another kiss as she brought the mask closer to obscure Kyta's face, the younger quarian almost whimpering as Daro broke from gently sucking on Kyta's lower lip. Daro carefully replaced the opaque mask into it's fixture on Kyta's visor, a soft hiss whispering as the locks clamped shut and the airtight seals engaged. With another his, Daro could hear the suit purifying itself, pumping cleansing mist and purified air into the suit. One of the few quality functions their mockeries of skin actually held.

Daro could see Kyta's silver eyes staring back at her from beneath her visor, visibly saddened to be once again trapped as a faceless prisoner to the suit that kept her alive long enough to suffer for the amusement of others. Daro placed one gloved finger on her soft lips, kissing the small digit before letting it trace around the circular light of her voice modulator, smiling at Kyta as she replaced her own obscuring cerulean mask.

Their faces obscured once more, Kyta suffered another coughing fit, more prolonged than normal. Daro rocked Kyta back and forth, holding her head to her chest and resting her chin on the top of her helmet as Kyta hacked. Her breathing returning to normal, both women stayed like that for a time, eyes closed, resting in each other's warmth.

Daro spent a few moments trying to reconstruct Kyta's face in her head, burning the image into her head. She wanted to see it again.

She had to get them out of here.

Slowly, almost gingerly, Daro's arm reached out to grasp at the sliver of jagged metal she had been using to dig at the intravenous system in her arm, stopping as she felt Kyta nestle herself deeper into Daro's embrace.

"Don't... Please... Can we stay like this just a little longer...?"

Daro's hand slowly returned to the warmth enveloping them both, letting her hand absently rub and massage at Kyta's bound arms. Through the comforting warmth, Daro could almost feel Kyta's heart beating against her own, the deep drumming drowning out all other vile filth and riotous noise they were surrounded by. Slowly, Daro remembered how to speak through the blissful haze.

"When we go home... Will you come with me...? To the Moreh...?"

Kyta slowly crooned her neck up, silver shards of stars gleaming with love staring up at her through a pane of jade, her voice so tender and loving it made Daro's heart rush to hear it.

"Of course... I'm yours, Daro... I promise..."

Daro felt warm tears well up in her eyes at Kyta's words, her acceptance of Daro touching the quarian at her very core. Kyta meant everything to her. She gave her drive beyond cold-blooded sadistic vengeance, something beautiful, bright, and warm that radiated and pulsed like a small sun and banished the darkness that threatened to consume her. If that was not something worth fighting for, Daro did not believe anything was. Daro's embrace tightened, hoping to absorb even the slightest fraction more warmth from Kyta as possible.

"We'll have our own cubicle... Just us... I'll work in the labs and you can go back to dancing... Or helping me with my work. We'll stay up every night-shift and watch vids and play games, and your parents can come over for dinner, and... and... I'm babbling, again..."

Kyta giggled lightly as she nestled her helmeted head in Daro's chest, a warm and melodic sound.

"It sounds wonderful, Daro."

Blissful silence washed over them as they curled against each other's embrace, forgetting the pain and suffering surrounding them for at least a short while longer. Daro's eyes shut as she let herself be bathed in Kyta's warmth, her mind wandering to the ecstatic joy she still felt lingering in her body, her heart surging at the thought that it was the girl she had her arms wrapped around who gave her that. For the first time Daro could remember since her losing her parents, she felt loved. Truly and unconditionally loved. It wasn't the same with Jason. Daro had been working towards that love with him. Hoping to truly find it when his love for Red Sand was no more. With Kyta, she already had it. Daro dimly felt the weight of Kyta's head leave her chest, the girl looking up past the cerulean visor Daro wore.

"Daro...?"

"Yes...?"

"I... I just want you to know... I... I lo-" Kyta cut herself short, hesitating for a moment.
"You know what...? No... Not here... I'll tell you when we get home... You'll have to get us home of you want to hear it. You have to keep your promise."

Daro shifted to meet the brilliant stars of Kyta's eyes, her own chips of ice melting at Kyta's words.

"It's okay, Kyta... I know... Keelah... believe me... I know... but not here... not like this... when we're home... you can tell me... I'll get us there."

Kyta curled back into Daro's embrace, a contented sigh slipping past her voice modulator.

"You promise?"

Daro's hand went to Kyta's head dress, idly massaging the tender limbs bound behind her back as Kyta's eyes slowly drifted shut.

"I promise."

Kyta's lids stayed shut, silence bathing them in the afterglow before Kyta murmured, sleep softening her tone.

"Kyta'Xen..."

Daro tilted her head downwards, unsure she had heard what she thought she had heard.

"What's that?"

Tight fabric creaked and stretched as Kyta crooned her neck to gaze into Daro's eyes, the slight tug of the visible muscles of her face suggesting a smile.

"Kyta'Xen."

Daro sputtered, unsure of what to say. It was customary for the woman to take the clan name of the man in a bonding ceremony. For Kyta to wish to take her name, to imply for them to bond one day, sent warm shivers down Daro's spine.

"...Kyta?"

Kyta nestled her head in Daro's chest, nuzzling closer as she spoke, her voice muffled in Daro's embrace.

"Something to think about."

Daro's hand glided along the mock head dress Kyta wore, looking worriedly down at the girl nestled in her arms.

"A-Are you sure...? I mean... It's just... It's..."

Kyta nuzzled against Daro, attempting to reassure her in the only way her bound form could.

"Yes. I'm sure."

Daro's arms wrapped tighter around the one thing in life she had left, shutting her eyes tight, swearing to herself and all her ancestors that she would never let Kyta go, no matter what came. They would have their home together and nothing would stand in her way.

"What... What about your parents? I don't... Would they... approve of me...? Us?"

Kyta lifted her head, shuffling to bring their visors closer to each other.

"Listen to me, Daro. I know what happened to your parents. I know you... you haven't had a family in... a long time. I want to give that to you. We'll have our home and our family. I promise. They'll understand. You are the only Xen left. I can't take that from you. I won't."

Kyta smiled up at Daro through her jade mask, eyes full of gentle love and compassion.

"I think they'll like you. You're strong. You fought for me. You protected me. Right now, you're the whole world to me. I can't think of anyone else I could ever want to be with."

Daro blinked, feeling warm tears running down her cheeks as Kyta nestled back into her embrace, her head resting just beneath her neck. Daro squeezed Kyta closer to her, whispering to her as Kyta's eyes slowly drifted shut.

"Thank you, Kyta."

Daro's hand went to the mock veil Kyta wore, gently playing with the soft fabric as the girl rested her weary body in Daro's embrace. Kyta's voice was soft, like a loving whisper escaping through a band of silk.

"You're beautiful."

A bead of warm water ran down Daro's cheek as she turned her eyes to the girl she held in her arms. Kyta nuzzled into Daro's chest, cooing as she slowly drifted to blissful sleep.

"You're beautiful where it matters... Here..."

Daro bit her lip to fight back her sobbing, tears welling in her silver eyes. Kyta slept undisturbed and serene in Daro's arms, the elder woman gripping onto her and using her own body as a cushion for her lover. Tear-swollen eyes surveyed the darkness of the cell, silently cursing the stone as she looked down at the curled soft body in her arms. Tomorrow, they would both walk free of this place, unbound together. The thought brought a soft smile to Daro's lips, slowly closing her eyes as more tears forced themselves down her cheeks.

Reaching for the sliver of metal, Daro began slowly digging it into her suit again, trying her best no to disturb Kyta. She tore at the fabric, tears dripping from her eyes as more and more time went on with no success. She picked at it desperately, stabbing at her own arm in her attempts to get it out. If she could just remove it, the drugs the suit kept pumping into her blood would be stopped. She'd have coordination, be able to focus and see properly. She'd have the element of surprise this time. She would not fail. If she did, it would be because she was dead.

She refused to let that happen.

Several hours later, Daro eventually joined Kyta in blissful sleep, exhausted from her efforts. She was not even aware that she had drifted off. The darkness had overtaken her, the small sliver clattering to the floor as she dozed against Kyta.

For the first time in what felt like eternity, Daro had beautiful dreams. Dreams of coming home after a long day at the labs and meeting Kyta's warm embrace. Dreams of prying her mask free, their lips joining in a fiery and passionate union, sweet and luscious in it's carnal delight. Kyta's tongue dancing with hers, battling for control of her mouth before Kyta pushes her onto the bed, giggling and whispering honeyed words into Daro's ear as her suit is slowly and sensually stripped from her body. Dreams of warm flesh joining hers, feeling smooth skin joined in ecstatic passion and joy, warmth and love becoming part of every atom of her being.

She saw Kyta dancing, long strips of viridian cloth whispering in the air along with her movements, the soft chime of bells hanging on her wrists and ankles from jeweled bangles, silver stars gazing at her from beyond her jade veil. A long sash flowing with the gyrations of her hips, Daro's eyes met hers, sharing a knowing glance with her lover. The crowds would cheer for the beauty of Kyta's performance, the drums beating out a deep rhythm around her, but it was nothing compared to the dances they shared together in their home. Dances Kyta had taught her when they were alone together.

She saw a beautiful home, alive with the sound of music and the smell of cooking food. She saw them laughing together in their cubicle, the light of the vid screen illuminating them as they held each other, loving and content. She saw Kyta's parents visiting, laughing as they showed Daro holos from when Kyta was still in her bubble. They accepted her, smiling as they watched Daro and Kyta embrace, treating Daro as their own. She had a family again.

She saw her people's triumphant return to the home world, Kyta dancing in the streets with the jubilant crowds, everyone hailing them as heroes. She had done it. Working tireless shift after shift in the labs with Kyta at her side, she had found a way to bring them home. She never had to be alone again. Kyta was safe. Her people were safe. All because of her.

Harsh groaning of metal banished happiness and beauty, crimson light spilling into the cell over the embracing quarians. Daro blinked sleep from her eyes as Kyta was torn from her arms with a painful yelp, the turian gripping her wrenching her twisted limbs. Kiron's familiar skull-faced grin met Daro's gaze, a swift backhand from a second guard sending her sprawling onto the ground before she could resist. The lingering softness and warmth left Daro's body all too soon, replaced with harsh stone and cold hatred.

Daro slowly crooned her head up at Kiron, eyes of white hot fire boring into his black orbs, the turian giving her a slight nod.

"Morning, ladies."

Kiron twisted Kyta's bound arms, the sharp and sickening snap of broken bone resounding in the dark cell before Kyta screamed. Daro was on her feet faster than the eyes could follow, lunging at Kiron before another blow smashed against her visor. Daro tasted blood in her mouth as she shook the ringing impact from her head, screaming at the skull-faced turian.

"You bastard! Let her go! I'll kill you! I swear on all of my ancestors, I'll-"

A cool voice split the air like steel, feminine and commanding.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic..."

The hollow sound of heeled toes echoed in the cell, Kiron and the other two guards quickly silencing themselves as an asari slowly made her way past the threshold of the cell. A suit of commando leathers reflected the crimson light in iridescent patterns designed to draw the eye to her voluptuous form as she slowly glided into the cell, reveling in every sashaying movement of her own hips. One gloved hand glided along the jade surface of Kyta's mask, letting out a soft purr from painted black lips as she traced around the circular light of her voice modulator. Faint blue eyes stared back at Daro, ice-cold orbs mocking her with the intimacy of the gesture. Her right eye was decorated in a swirling pattern of black ink against her blue flesh, as twisted and sinister as the woman it marked. Tidanya smirked as venomous mockery spilled from her succulent lips like poison.

"She wasn't using them anyway."

Daro clenched her teeth as she slowly rose to her feet, shaking the pain of the blow and the weariness of sleep from her body. Tidanya's tongue slowly dragged along the surface of her black lips at Daro's defiant gesture, biting her lower lip as she motioned to the other two guards. The human and the turian flanked Daro, restraining her as she kicked and thrashed against them, screaming and cursing. Tidanya smirked with smug satisfaction at Daro's feeble attempts at escape, her hands slowly reaching for either side of Kyta's visor.

Daro stared with wide-eyed shock, realization of Tidanya's intentions sending a nauseating current of dread through her body, her tone laced with ice-cold hate as she thrashed against the guard.

"No! Let her go! You whore! Let her go!"

Tidanya brought her cerulean face to Kyta's visor, her black lips ghosting along the jade surface as she stared into the brilliant stars of her eyes, weeping silver streams of tears through muted sobs.

"Embrace eternity."

Tidanya's eyes turned to orbs of black, an all-consuming abyss existing where there was once only cruel ice. Kyta's body spasmed, as though some horrifying force had gripped her body and tore into her mind, her voice screeching off the walls in violent screams. Kiron laughed as the bound quarian squirmed in his grip, his mandibles flared in a cruel sneer. Daro screamed, desperately kicking and thrashing as she cried out Kyta's name. Tidanya moaned as her fingers caressed Kyta's helmeted head, bringing her black lips to her audio enhancers, whispering mockery of all the things she found within the quarian's mind.

Tidanya released Kyta from the foul embrace, the weeping girl's knees buckling under her and mangling her arms further in Kiron's vice-like grip. Tidanya let one gloved hand glide along her breasts, licking her lips with a sleek dark blue tongue before bringing her hand along the painted plates of Kiron's face.

"It seems you were right. Very astute of you."

Daro felt tears well up in her eyes at Kyta's limp form, clenching her teeth through hateful sobs.

"Kyta... Please... Get up... Get up!"

Tidanya languidly turned to regard Daro, ice-blue eyes slowly drinking in every curve of Daro's body. Her lips pursed as she slowly made her way over to Daro.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... So defiant. Oh... So defiant..."

Tidanya's eyes glanced at the small sliver of metal Daro had used to dig at her arm gleaming in the faint light, picking it up and examining it with feline disdain before handing it to one of the guards.

"You won't be needing that anymore, pet. Neither of you are going anywhere unless I demand it."

Daro seethed as Tidanya slowly circled her, the click of her heeled boots and the faint sound of Kyta's whimpering echoing within Daro's helmeted skull as her mind raced with sadistic urges against everything around her.

"Although, I can't say I didn't expect it from you. You are so deliciously defiant... So unlike these slobbering mutts I find myself wasting credits on."

Tidanya quickly made her way around to face Daro, bringing her black lips to the sleek material covering Daro's neck, planting devouring kisses and letting her dark blue tongue drag along her body before bringing their eyes to meet.

"I could see it in your eyes. You are a rare breed. Strong. Powerful. It is... intoxicating..."

Daro's eyes were white-hot fury as she thrashed against the asari's molestation, her voice cold and clear in it's icy promise of violence.

"I will kill you for touching Kyta, you filthy asari-" Daro was cut off as Tidanya licked her lips as she let one gloved hand slowly glide along the suited curves of Daro's body, groping one of her breasts and dragging her tongue along the encased mound of flesh.

"Yes... That's it... That spark... So very few in this galaxy have it..." Daro felt her body go rigid at the asari's ministrations, her silver eyes staring past the foul creature to watch Kyta, dimly aware of Tidanya's words as the asari ran her hands over her body possessively.

"Such a rare gift, that strength... That will... I had to have it. I needed to own it. To break it. But... You... My pet... You have stayed oh so very resiliant... And I think I know how."

Tidanya turned, gesturing to the guards to release Daro while she slowly circled around the cell until she came to Kyta.

"I know your kind. Quarians. You are a communal people by instinct. I knew you and the little suited bitch would make fine friends..."

Tidanya let her hand reach out to pull up on Kyta's visor, looking from one quarian to the other, laughter like honey laced with poison spilled from her lips.

"...But even I could not have predicted you would resort to copulating in the dirt like varren bitches caught in heat."

Daro's eyes darted from Tidanya to Kyta, every single muscle in her body screaming to be released into a killing frenzy, screaming that Daro ignored, knowing that to do so would put Kyta's life at forfeit. The asari was trying to goad her, and Daro knew it. It made her sick. Tidanya slowly took step after step towards Daro, relishing at the sight of her malicious stare and every slight quiver of rage building in her body.

"I must say... It is... enticing to think you would debase yourself in such a way... I find the thought... irresistible..."

Daro glared as Tidanya let her tongue drag slowly across her black lips, the asari smiling with ivory teeth that resembled fangs.

"But I'm getting ahead of myself. We'll have all the time in the world for that later, pet."

"Stop calling me that!" Daro yelled. Tidanya's constant inference that she was her pet only served to further incite her.

Ignoring the outburst, Tidanya slowly came behind Daro, pulling the quarian to her feet as she nuzzled the back of her neck, kissing and sucking and biting at the concealed flesh there. Tidanya's voice was a whisper over her painted lips dragging along Daro's neck.

"Look at her, pet," mocked Tidanya.

Daro watched as Kiron pulled on Kyta's mangled arms, forcing the bound quarian to her feet.

"Everything that has happened to her... Everything she has endured... Is your fault."

Daro felt rage grip her, moving to perform whatever horrifying dismemberment to Tidanya that first came to mind before feeling steely fingers come around her chest and grip her throat while a hand slowly crept along her inner thigh. Tidanya laughed into her audio enhancers, suckling and biting at Daro's neck as she spoke.

"I knew you could not be broken. Even after being handed to client after client... You... You remained defiant... So... I turned to your friend. I lowered her price, you see. I could console my records, if you'd like. I could tell you just how many virile clients of mine have used that mouth of hers..." Daro felt her sharp breaths coming through her nose, her lungs burning with fiery rage at Tidanya's words. The asari's iron grip on her throat kept Daro from moving, knowing that with a flick of her wrist and a slight concentration of biotic power, Tidanya could have Daro bleeding to death on the floor.

"You might be asking yourself why... Why would I do something like that? Why hurt poor little Kyta to hurt you, pet? It's very simple... This..."

Tidanya's other hand slowly drifted between Daro's legs, her five slender digits teasingly gliding along the sensitive flesh covered there.

"...Is mine."

Daro's breath caught in her throat as Tidanya's fingers probed and massaged between her legs, rage overtaking her and causing her to squirm and pull at the asari's arms fruitlessly.

"That's right... You're enjoying this, aren't you? I most certainly am. Look, your bitch is watching... How do think she would like it if I made you scream my name?"

Daro slowly raised her head to meet Kyta's weeping diamonds, feeling ice course through her veins at this indignity. She would not break. Neither of them would. Daro's glacial eyes met Tidanya's predatory smile, clenching her teeth to ignore the heat building in her abdomen.

"I'd rather choke on my own suit, bosh't-"

Daro felt two fingers press against the tight fabric and dig into her sensitive folds, her breath catching in her throat as Tidanya let out a laugh slick with venomous scorn.

"Such a mouth on you, pet. I can't wait to see what it can do. Waiting for this has been such agony, you know."

Tidanya's fingers slowly leave the gap between Daro's legs, her hand resting on the quarian's flushed abdomen, purring at the intense heat radiating there.

"Mmm... You must be soaked under that suit, pet. Maybe I'll make you clean it when we get home... With your tongue."

Daro seethed at the thought of performing such a debased act, wanting nothing more than to slaughter Tidanya and her guards and bathe the halls of this filthy pit with their blood. Tidanya slowly strutted over to Kyta, the bound quarian held up by the mangled mess of her broken arms, one hand tracing along the circular light of her voice modulator and pursing her lips. Daro stayed her hand, knowing full well she would be easily overpowered by the three in the room, and Tidanya's proximity to Kyta made her a viable target.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Such a shame that you had to suffer for your friend. Maybe I can see to it you receive a more agreeable client next time, if you'd like. Which anatomy do you prefer sliding down your throat, I wonder?"

Daro screamed, her hands clenched in fists quivering in impotent rage as she stared the asari down with eyes of silver fire.

"Leave her alone!"

Tidanya turned her icy gaze to meet Daro's silver flames, the navy organ of her tongue sliding along her black lips, leaving the soft flesh glistening with a predatory smile.

"Oooh... That's right, my little pet. Let it out. Scream. Soon, you'll be singing a much more pleasing aria. When I'm done breaking you, you'll be begging for more. I promise you that."

Tidanya left Kyta's side, once again prowling in a circle around the cell's inhabitants, that sinister predatory smile constantly spread across her black lips.

"As I said before, you are very special, my pet. It is so rare to find someone with that spark of greatness in them. That will. That strength. There is something truly sublime in watching that break. Watching the proud and the defiant crawling on their hands and knees, eager and obedient to my... desires. So rare. And yet, here it is, right in front of me."

Tidanya eventually circled to face Daro, one hand tracing along the metal edges of her visor before toying with the circular light of her voice modulator.

"And that is what I have planned for you, my sweet little pet. I will take you from this place and bring you into my home. You will be fed and given everything you need. It need not be an unpleasant life for you. I can think of many, many worse fates to befall your... delicious form. Provided, of course, that you serve me in every capacity you are capable of."

One finger touched Daro's shoulder, the digit languidly sliding along her shoulder blades as Tidanya circled her.

"And I promise, those capacities will be... tested. Thoroughly."

Tidanya was once again at Daro's front, her five-fingered alien hands raking along Daro's entire body, cupping her rear, sliding along the gap between her legs, fondling every inch she could get her slimy fingers on.

"Oh, yes... I daresay I am at a loss where to start..."

Daro felt her lips curl over her teeth as her gaze burned against Tidanya's, wishing Tidanya could see the teeth bared against her.

"Never. I am not your pet!"

Tidanya smiled that predatory grin, sending the very edges of her sinister painted face twisting.

"But you already are, pet. You already are..."

Tidanya let one finger drag along the underside of Daro's jaw, her black lips slowly parting as she watched the material wrinkle and creek with her movements.

"You see... You will submit to me and of your own volition."

Daro shook off Tidanya's finger, the asari slowly licking her lips as her hands clasped behind her back.

"I'm giving you a very simple choice, pet. Accept your place at last... Or..."

Tidanya prowled to Kyta's side, the quarian mewling in pain as Kiron forced her to stand up straight, her hand gripping the edges of her mask before turning to Daro.

"Your friend will have her suit stripped off of her, and I will drag her body from this place and watch as the vorcha use her as a chew toy."

Daro's eyes widened as panicked fear crash against her like a tidal wave. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that Tidanya would make good on her promise. Daro felt tears welling up in her eyes as she shook her head.

"No... No, please... She didn't... Please! She's innocent! She doesn't... Don't..."

Tidanya's black lips curled upwards ever so slightly as she paced around Daro, reveling in the choking sobs coming through her voice modulator.

"Why...?" Daro didn't understand the universe anymore. Her lot in life had always been difficult, but the cruelty she had endured over the past few weeks, and here, with Tidanya, was something she just couldn't fathom. "Look at her... She doesn't deserve this... Me... Do whatever you want to me... Not her..."

The asari let out a rich laugh at Daro's pleading voice, circling over to Kyta.

"Of course she doesn't. She doesn't deserve anything. She's nothing but a common whore. She is worthless to me. Just another figure in my records."

Tidanya quickly slithered to face Daro, holding her leather-clad form against the quarian so close that Daro can make out the scent of sweat and asari honey wine of only the finest make, a sweet, yet somehow sickly air as poisonous and rancid in it's undertone as it was succulent and enticing. Daro quietly cursed her inability to turn off her current suit's olfactory sensors.

"But you, my pet. You are a prize worth more than any of these common breed bitches."

Tidanya crooned downwards, her navy tongue sliding past her luscious black lips to drag along the tightly encased, sleek curves of Daro's form, a wet trail left along her curvaceous legs and supple thighs and heaving breasts.

"And I will make that prize mine."

Tidanya's words came in a soft tone, mocking the intimate and loving whispers of Kyta as she place a soft kiss on the light of Daro's voice modulator.

"And if I must break your friend to make you mine, pet, I will."

Tidanya twirled on one heeled boot, looking back to Kyta, that predatory smile flashing ivory teeth.

"But it doesn't have to be that way."

Tidanya turned back to Daro, gesturing to the open cell door.

"She can go free from here. She can go back to your filthy collection of derelict starships and live what remains of her worthless life."

Daro could feel her heart racing at the asari's words, madly ignoring the dread coursing through her as her lips sputtered out pleadingly.

"Y-You're lying..."

Tidanya let out a rich laugh, smooth like warm oil poured over well-worn leather.

"I would never lie to you, pet. Only truth between us. However, whether or not she goes free is indeed conditional. It is entirely up to you."

Tidanya let her tongue languidly slather her painted lips in saliva, her depraved lust evident in her tone.

"Beg. Beg to be my pet, my slave. Beg for me to take you and own you in every way. Beg to service me whenever I desire it. Beg, pet, and your friend will go free."

Daro stared up at the asari, her smile sending shivers down her spine. Everything about her was venomous and toxic, threatening to swallow the darkness of the room and devour it in her shadowed lips. It was maddening.

"You... y-you're crazy!" Daro sputtered, her words sounding weak even to herself.

Her tongue dancing over a barely concealed fang, Tidanya turned her gaze to Kiron, who still held Kyta by her oddly bent limbs, occasionally twitching in his grasp. Letting a mandible fall into a sick smile, he reached down for one of Kyta's fingers and slowly began pulling it back, eliciting another fit of hysteric screaming from her as more bones were strained to their snapping point.

"Stop! Stop hurting her!" Daro felt herself go limp, tears dropping down against her faceplate. Her eyes stung from the constant rain of tears she had experienced in the past few days. She had never felt more of a need to wipe them away.

"Please..."

Kiron slowly released the small digit clutched between his talons, Tidanya gazing over Daro triumphantly.

"I'll... I-I'll do anything... you want... just, please..." Daro's eyes stayed on the floor, unable to meet Kyta's gaze. "Don't hurt her anymore... please..."

Sliding her hands down Daro's arm, Tidanya snaked her way behind her once more, her hand never leaving Daro's suited body. Pressing her heeled sole against the back of Daro's knee, she forced the young quarian to kneel. Knowing the price of resistance, Daro didn't fight back, forcefully biting her own tongue to prevent herself from screaming out at the indignity she was resigning herself to. Looking at Kyta in her peripheral vision, unable to lay her eyes on her, the quarian reminded herself that it was for her. She couldn't bare to watch them hurt Kyta any more.

Pressing her thigh against Daro's helmet, Tidanya's slick tongue danced hungrily around her blackened lips, holding Daro's head in her hand, forcing it against her leg lustfully.

"Beg."

Daro stared at her visor as she was forcefully nestled into the asari's thigh, clenching her teeth as warm tears flowed down her cheeks. In spite of Tidanya's demand, Daro couldn't call the words to her lips, leaving her sputtering before Kyta shouted, her own choked, sobbing voice cutting through the cell.

"No! Daro! Please... You promised! You... You promised!"

Tidanya snarled, a primal sound that spoke of animalistic possessiveness, her hand flaring outwards with a nimbus of biotic witch light. Raw physical force collided with Kyta's helmeted head, the impact snapping her head to the side. Hardly a killing blow, just enough to get Kyta's attention. The asari's teeth were bared in a fierce glare that promised pain and agony for the bound quarian. Daro forced her head from Tidanya's grip, her tear-filled gaze shifting from Kyta to Tidanya. Three-fingered hands pawed at Tidanya, Daro begging and pleading with the asari.

"No, no, no! Please! Stop! Don't hurt her! I-I'll do what you want... Please... Stop!"

Tidanya looked down at the quarian kneeling at her feet, her breasts heaving with deep, luxurious breaths as her tongue slithered past her lacquered lips. The very sight of the silver stream of tears leaving Daro's eyes enough to ignite a depraved fire in her.

"Beg. Now."

Daro felt her lips quivering, as though the very muscles of her lips knew what indignity they would be forced to commit and defied it. Slowly, Daro forced her mouth open, forgetting how to breath for a brief moment as she felt Tidanya's ice-cold gaze stare into her soul. After what felt like an agonizing eternity, Daro felt the words slowly form on her lips.

"I-I... Please... I..."

Tidanya crooned her head to the side, as though straining to hear the quarian's words.

"What's that, pet? I'm not sure I can hear you. Pity. I thought migrant insects like yourself made fine beggars. It seems I was mistaken. Ah well, I hope your friend enjoys her dinner with the vorcha. Who knows? I might even let her stay the night in the varren pit. I wonder how long she'd last?"

Daro's eyes widened in dread as Tidanya practically shivered with delight.

"Oooh... I'm going to enjoy watching them rut her all night long..."

Daro felt her body heaving with sobs, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating long enough to speak clearly.

"Please... Please..."

"Lady Tidanya," whispered the asari, her words hanging in the air like noxious fumes.

Daro slowly rose her head to look up at the asari, blackened lips smiling at her tears.

"L-Lady Tidanya..."

Tidanya took a sharp inhale through her nose, letting her gloved hands slide up and down her leather-encased form as she let her words spill out in a husky breath.

"Say it again."

Daro felt her throat tighten as she swallowed before speaking.

"Lady Tidanya..."

Tidanya let out a sound that was something between a purr and a growl as her fingers came to the encased mounds of her breasts, toying with them as her tongue came free from her painted lips, the navy organ waving in the air, sleek with saliva.

"Say it. Feel it. Taste it. It is a flavor you will come to know well on your tongue, pet."

Daro felt her stomach twist in a not, the thought of Tidanya pleasuring herself at every second of her humiliation and suffering too much for the quarian pilgrim to bear. Steely resolve forced her to straighten her shoulders, staring Tidanya down from behind her visor. For Kyta. Anything for Kyta.

"Lady Tidanya."

Tidanya's barely concealed fang came down on her lower lip as she squeezed against her own sleek mounds, her eyelids slowly drifting shut as she let out a wanton moan. Heavy-lidded orbs of ice met Daro's silver stare, smiling with a grin Daro would expect from a thresher maw that just ensnared it's meal were they capable of it.

"Say it... as though you were speaking to her. As though I was your lover."

Daro felt her teeth clench in rage before her heart sunk. She couldn't fight. Not anymore. Not with Kyta's life at stake. As horrifying and shameful as it was, setting Kyta free was worth any price. Daro closed her eyes, calling that beautiful memory of their tender love into her voice, warping and perverting it with the name of the asari who now claimed her.

"Lady Tidanya..."

Tidanya's eyes seemed to radiate a cold light in the harsh crimson light of the cell, slowly taking step after step towards Daro until the quarian's covered face was level with the swell of her waist. One hand forced Daro's helmeted head to croon upwards, the defiant glare gone from her silver eyes.

"Beg me to give you the honor of servicing me. Beg me to let you sup from my body. Beg your Lady to let you serve as you were meant to."

"Please, Lady Tidanya... Let me have the honor of servicing you in whatever way my body can. I live only to please you and your desires."

Daro felt as though someone else had stepped inside her body and spoke with her tongue. She would never submit to this alien whore pretending at power. She would fight tooth and nail against this depraved insanity. She would strangle every one them with scraps of her suit is she had to.

One glance in Kyta's direction brought those thoughts crashing down. If she didn't submit, Kyta would suffer and die enduring more pain and horror than she deserved. Kyta was innocent. She didn't deserve any of this. Daro was a fool. She failed at everything her training had prepared her for. She was never worth anything. Her people didn't want her. She had no family. She had nothing. Always an outcast among the outcasts. This was all she deserved. If she had to finally accept that to see an innocent girl go free, then so be it.

Holding Daro's head to her thigh, Tidanya's eyes almost seemed to roll into the back of her head as she spoke, as if the words were a sweet drug causing her unimaginable ecstasy. "See?" she purred, her tongue almost hanging in the air, "You are a natural, pet."

Daro felt she should have been blind with rage. She felt she should feel the need to resist, to fight, to murder and slaughter. The only thought in her head was Kyta. Unable to meet her gaze, Daro glared at the floor, disgusted with herself, feeling utterly unworthy of every kind word the small girl had ever uttered to her. She felt utterly defeated. Kyta's heated sobs off to the side only brought more warm water cascading down her eyes. Her mind went blank, everything that was Daro'Xen gone from it, replaced by whatever perversion Tidanya had ordained her to become.

The asari's lips dripped with saliva as her smooth voice almost sang above Daro, "I will so enjoy taking you home tonight, pet. I've already made all the arrangements." Daro instantly felt sick to her stomach. This had always been Tidanya's intention. Turning her into a groveling animal. An object to be played with and used. Her chest heaved painfully, her sobs diminished to sickly choking. She didn't have the tears left to continue crying.

"First thing to be done, will be removing that atrocity on your skin, of course." Tidanya stroked Daro's helmeted head, forcing it to rest against her thigh like a varren begging for it's treat, petting her as though she had just performed an award winning routine. "And you'll be bathed and groomed. You'll want to look your best for me, won't you?" Daro's voice caught in her throat, Kyta's sobbing sending violent spasms down her spine.

Daro felt her heart sinking to somewhere even lower in her chest than it already felt. Was she really worth only this? A sick asari's personal plaything to be put on display for nothing more than amusement? Closing her eyes, she could still hear Kyta's broken breathing. It seemed to scratch into her skull, driving her mad as Tidanya went on.

"My estate has been prepared with clean rooms. You won't be needing a suit there, once you've adapted to me." Her speech was laced with sadistic longing. Her stroking of Daro's helmet seemed to become more enthusiastic. "You'll be well taken care of. Kept in only the cleanest condition. Fed adequately." She grabbed Daro's helmet and forced her to look at Kyta. "And she'll go home."

Daro's eyes darted over Kyta's collapsed form, her arms bent into odd angles behind her back, her chest heaving madly. Daro felt screaming murder in her head. Kyta was probably in shock, or going into it. She wasn't even sure if she was still conscious.

"H-how do I know you're telling the truth?" Daro's voice was hoarse, the sound of a course wind tearing through sand blasted plains, withered and hollow. She looked back up at the woman standing domineeringly over her. "You c-could just… just…" Daro didn't want to finish the sentence.

Tidanya ran a finger down Daro's mask, the nail etching against it audibly. "You know about biology, don't you?" Daro winced. If she'd been crawling around inside Kyta's skull, she knew everything she had ever said to her. It was a truly disturbing notion. "You know how the immuno-boosters we use work." The asari's oily gaze turned to Kyta. "Her immune system is going to give out soon enough. I can either dump her into the furnace…" Her gaze returned to Daro, her glistening lips curling into a smile that could give death pause.

"Or I use her as leverage. Either way, I have no further use for her."

Daro's eyes flicked back and forth between the smiling asari and the quarian woman twitching feebly in Kiron's vice-like grip. "A-and what about when she's h-home…? Then you don't have…" Daro's sentence once again never fully made it's way out of her throat, instead catching somewhere, unable to finish.

Tidanya grinned down at her knowingly, the corners of her mouth every bit as twisted as the sadist who wore them. "By then, I won't need it."

The asari sauntered over to where Kiron stood over Kyta, the leather shadows she wrapped herself in reflecting the harsh red light spilling in from the hallway.

"I will not need her, once you have learned a very important lesson." Tidanya casually rubbed her boot against Kyta's suited chest, wiping off a small smudge from her otherwise immaculate attire. She looked down at the small girl, her chest heaving as she lay crumpled in the dirt, giving no other indication that she was alive.

"Every creature has it's place. Every animal knows it." Tidanya looked back over to Daro, her lips still twisted into a revolting curve that sent chills down her spine. "The difference with sentient beings, is that they are not always accepting of their place. Some need to be…" Her boot rested lightly on Kyta's helmeted head. "…reminded, of their natural place in the order of things." She rolled her foot around, rubbing the small girl's mask in the dirt. "You want to serve me, pet. And your bitch wants to service every patron that enters this parlor." Tidanya's eyes narrowed, her gaze dangerous. "You just do not want to come to terms with it." Blue ice stabbed into Daro's heart, burning it with cold. "I will make you do so."

Daro couldn't breathe. Every gasp strained against the straps that wrapped around her chest. She was hyperventilating, wheezing from the need for air. She had no words. Her mind was utterly blank. She wanted the asari to understand she was wrong. She was wrong about everything. She was more than this. Kyta was certainly more than this. She wanted to scream. She wanted to reason. She wanted to kill. She wanted to weep.

She wanted to die.

Tidanya stared down at Kyta's heaving form, calmly playing with her helmeted head as if it were a ball. "You want to be my slave," Tidanya whispered, hushed honey laced with cyanide spewing from her lips. "You will do anything I tell you, and you will love it." She glanced sideways at Daro, her tongue licking a fang dangerously. Slowly, the violet proprietor of the brothel slide guilefully over to Daro, running her hand over her helmet.

"I hate you," Daro slowly rasped out, barely an audible whisper. She didn't know why she said it. Maybe it was because it was the only thing she could do, the only freedom she had left.

Until Tidanya found a way to take even that.

The asari calmly stroked the back of her helmet, running her hand over the back of her neck. "You don't hate me, pet," she whispered, her slithering tongue lathered in saliva as it hung in the air. "An animal can not comprehend such a thing."

Daro slowly curled into a ball, her arms wrapping around herself, unable to even move away from the constant petting for fear of Kyta's life.

"St-stop… calling me that!" Daro choked out, her throat feeling like she had swallowed razor blades. "I'm n-not an animal… I-I am… qu-quarian"

Tidanya's dripping tongue danced across the small receptors in Daro's helmet, her voice as soft as fresh sheets wrapped around serrated blades.

"You are whatever I say you are, because I am the one who holds power, pet."

Daro shivered uncontrollably. The asari was right. Daro couldn't do anything without Kyta coming to harm. If she gave Tidanya what she wanted, at least Kyta would have a chance. It was the best she could do.

It was all she could do.

Daro looked up at the cerulean shadow smiling grimly down at her. Silver drops slid down her face behind her mask, the shaking in every muscle making it hard to breathe.

"Wh-whatever you want…" Her fingers clawed, her throat tensed, and her eyes slammed shut. Despite the strain, she managed to sputter the remainder of her sentence, her voice grating against her swollen trachea.

"Just l-let Kyta g-go home… please…"

Tidanya ran her finger down Daro's mask sensually, eventually cupping her chin.

"I've made all the necessary arrangements. She will be home tonight, as will you."

The asari's hand trailed down to Daro's shoulder, and grabbing it, almost tenderly rolled the convulsing woman onto her back. Moving with deft guile, Tidanya slide her shadowy form over Daro's, straddling her and pinning her arms to the floor. Looking over to the two guards standing to the side, she nodded and motioned for them to take their places. Kneeling down, each guard took a firm grasp of Daro's shaking wrists, holding her down.

"Until then, however, a taste…" Tidanya crawled up to be level with Daro's mask, her hands reaching for either side of her helmet, "…of the rest of your life."

Daro's eyes widened as realization hit her like a cargo freighter. Gathering what strength she had left, she pulled against the strong hands holding her to the floor. "Wait," she choked, "don-"

"Embrace Eternity!"

Daro'Xen disappeared. There was no thought. No personality. No reaction. There was nothing against the cascading tidal wave of pain that burned itself into every single nerve in her body. Every neuron fired, every synapse burned. Images danced in Daro's head, smells and sounds long forgotten, feelings and emotions and thoughts she never thought she might experience again. Everything burned with oily shadows, a smoky haze obscuring every image, the pain from resisting the mental bonding overwhelming her in a flood of feeling that could only be described as unbridled agony.

She was a child, being pushed to the ground by an older boy.

She was a teenager, downloading music to her suit's audio receptors.

She was training for Pilgrimage, her combat instructor on the ground after a successful sweeping kick.

The images became more intense, more focused. They seemed to sicken and darken despite the added clarity.

Daro was wrapped in her cloths, leaning against the wall in her cubicle lazily. Shen was sleeping on the floor, a vid game controller laying loosely in his hand. A leather boot came crashing down on his head, shattering it like glass.

Reaching for the outstretched rifle, Daro took it from her captain's hands. It had belonged to her father. He had modded it with tender love and care for the day his daughter embarked on her Pilgrimage. It would keep her safe, be the sword that brought her home to him, safe and sound. She shed a tear, wishing it was him giving it to her. The weapon turned to dust in her hands, slick, sadistic laughter ringing in her ears.

Daro undid the crate's clasps, the small box opening with a hiss. Gently, she pulled out her mother's armor, passed through the generations. Running a gloved hand over the smooth metal, she felt a sense of longing well in her chest. This metal had been forged on the home world. The inner components had been upgraded and replaced for nearly three hundred and fifty years, and it was finally hers. Feeling a hand rest on her shoulder, Daro turned to see Shen standing there, looking into her mask. With a nod, he helped her clasp the ornate metal to her suit. The last piece locking into place, the suit burst into flames, the cinders choking Daro as cerulean eyes stared mockingly at her amidst a sea of orange fire.

"STOP!"

Daro felt the connection sever, every part of her body feeling utterly dead to her. She was sobbing hysterically, only now aware she had been screaming in agony. Lady Tidanya looked down at her, panting, but smiling with intoxication. "So resilient…" she uttered. "So… strong…"

Her hands reached up once more for Daro's mask.

"No!" Daro shouted amidst the heaving sobs. "Please… don't…" Her chest pushed against the bindings, making it difficult to breathe. She pulled desperately in an attempt to break free from the hands holding her down, but found no purchase. Tidanya pressed a finger to her mouthpiece, whispering hungrily, hushing the thrashing quarian.

"Don't worry, pet…" Her eyes seemed to burn into Daro, empty black taking them once more. "…soon, every memory, every thought will be mine. I will own every part of you." Her fingers reached for the approximation of Daro's temples.

"No! Stop!" Daro tried to pull away, screeching in the last tool of defense she had left. "Y-you're killing me!"

Tidanya smiled, her tongue lashing out at Daro's mouthpiece.

"You'll learn to love the pain…"

Daro could feel the asari creeping into her nerves, beginning to crawl into her skull once more.

"…you won't have a choice."

Daro shook her head violently, trying to edge away. "No. No! NO!"

"Embrace Eternity!"

White hot fire scorched into Daro'Xen's nervous system like a star going supernova. Once more, every part of her was alive with pain, images passing in a rapid burst through her brain, most too fast to keep up with, some lingering longer.

Her hands moved deftly over the stuffed animal's anatomy, peeling away at it. Daro smiled inside as she thought of showing her parents. They would be so proud of her. She wanted to be just like them. She loved them so much. The small object turned to ash in her hands.

Daro tossed the practice knife in the air with a flourish. Bringing it down effortlessly, she slid it harmlessly against Shen's neck armor. His stance showed annoyed amusement. He chuckled, a smile in his laughter that brought a grin to her lips. She laughed playfully as his own knife burrowed into her chest, slicing into her heart and digging all the way to her spine.

Laying in the dunes, Daro hugged Jason from behind, staring up into the stars as he shook in her arms. Soon. Soon they would leave, and they'd travel those stars. It would be just them, going to new places, meeting new people, taking on the world and whatever it threw at them together. The sands turning to smoke, Jason slid from her grasp, a sense of perpetual falling added to the intense scorching of her nerves. Somewhere in the darkness, an asari was smiling down at her.

"KILL ME!"

Daro once more came to what was left of her senses. Again, she was only barely aware she was screaming. Shaking, her entire body heaved with pained sobs as Tidanya retreated from her assault. Reaching down, the asari grabbed Daro by the straps holding her suit to her, pulling her up to her. With the other hand, she brutally slammed her fist into the helmet, sending Daro back to the floor.

"Your life is mine to do with as I please." Again, she slammed a fist into Daro's helmeted head, sending her barely conscious mind reeling. "Do not assume to demand what I do with it." Tidanya's cool demeanor was replaced by a panting, disheveled one, her teeth shining in the crimson lighting.

Daro tugged instinctually at the grips holding her arms down. She looked over at Kiron and Kyta, still on the floor, unmoving.

"Please… I can't take any m-more…"

There was no pride. Daro was no longer a proud daughter of the fleet. She was no longer a quarian or a person. She was not strong or in control. She was in pain. She was lost.

She was whatever Tidanya demanded she be.

"P-please… I'll do anything you want… Just… n-no more… I'm g-going to die…"

The asari grinned down at her sadistically, her eyes wide, fangs bared.

"You will do anything I want. I already know this. And if you die serving my desires…" She licked Daro's face plate hungrily. "…then you will have died for a cause more worthy than you. This is your life, pet. This is your meaning. I will have you. All of you. Every thought. Every memory. I will make your mind my own. I will have you for my own." She reached for the sides of Daro's mask once more, her arbitrarily coherent rambling scratching at Daro's ears like knives.

"You do not have a choice."

Daro looked up to the human and turian holding her down, staring them in the eyes in turn.

"Stop… please…"

Daro's broken voice held nothing in it. She was exhausted. She had endured past her limit. Whatever broken mess of flesh lying on the floor of the brothel was not Daro'Xen. This was a shell that feigned a proud Migrant warrior's face. Whatever neurons in her brain that fired in the manner appropriate to let her continue speaking were likely doing so purely out of instinct. Daro had no indication of where she was or how she got there.

The only thing she knew was that she wanted the pain to stop.

Cerulean orbs burned into her like blue fire. It took only one look to see the truth. Tidanya wouldn't stop. She'd never stop. She was telling the truth.

This would be Daro'Xen's future. Forever.

Daro stared into her eyes, doing everything she could to try and make her understand with a simple look that she was in pain, to make her see what she was doing was wrong. A desperate final hope of a dying woman. Daro slowly let her head fall to the side to see Kyta, still barely moving. Tidanya grabbed her helmet in her hands once more. Daro wanted to protest and scream, but she had nothing left. Warm water fell down her cheeks as the tingling in her nerves once more turned to white hot agony.

"Please… s-someone… h-help me… d-don't… c-c-can't… " Tidanya's eyes turned black. "NO!"

"Embrace eternity!"

Pain.

Cerulean eyes stared into her, ice cold and deadly.

A tongue slid over sharp, slick teeth.

Leathery shadows slowly slid off to reveal deep blue skin.

More pain.

Daro scratches at here new mask, the tears tickling her cheeks. Her father holds her hands, stopping her. He reaches for the clasps under his chin, and slowly removes the piece of glass with a hiss. His lips are a warm smile, and Daro can feel her heart melting. The room turns to oil as his face twists and contorts into the deathly visage of an asari, her lips slick with cold disdain.

Kyta screams in agony, her mouth dry from being unable to close her lips. She heaves against Daro's embrace before finally falling back into a convulsing slumber. Daro's rage turns to lust as her hands slide down the woman's chest, over her legs, and to the meeting of her thighs. Waking, Kyta looks up at her in terror and screams, kicking and flailing in her attempts to get away from Daro. Daro's hand is no longer three fingered, five blue digits dance at the end of her arm, reaching for the retreating quarian.

Screaming.

Kyta lays on the floor, bruised and beaten. Daro laughs sadistically as Kiron finishes putting the last lock into place, securing the small girl's arms behind her back. Despite being little more than a broken mess, she still manages to thrash wildly. Nodding in approval, Daro turns to leave. Halting half way to the door, she turns around and sends a final wave of biotic energy at the small girl, tossing her like a rag doll into the wall. Finally collapsing, Kyta doesn't get up. Daro and Kiron leave her to consider her disobedience and her punishment. Daro smiles, her tongue lashing playfully against her lips.

Louder screaming.

Images fly faster and faster around Daro's skull. Images burn into her psyche, not all of which seem to be hers. She doesn't understand. There is only confusion amidst the pain. She wants to scream. She needs to scream.

Daro couldn't feel her body. She was a ghost inside her own mind. Black lips grinned at her. Cerulean eyes went black with lust. Everything hurt.

Screaming.

White hot fire.

Louder screaming.

Daro felt herself rising, as though from being submerged in ice cold water for entirely too long.

Pained and frenzied screaming, accompanied by furious shouting.

Daro woke up.

Nothing was holding her down anymore.

There was commotion.

Finally finding the strength to move from some deep part of herself she never knew existed, Daro lifted her head. Her eyes went wide.

Kyta was on top of Tidanya, her arms a mangled mess, but it didn't seem to be slowing her down. She was beating her helmeted head into Tidanya's face, over and over again. Violet blood gushed in jets of gore against the walls. Kyta's assault was utterly relentless, the asari slaver screaming in agony beneath her, clearly not fully recovered from her own assaults into Daro's mind. The three other guards in the room worked desperately to get the thrashing quarian off of their employer, with varying degrees of success.

Her visor finally cracking and shattering under the merciless onslaught, Kyta flung the broken shards of glass from her mask with a snapping twist of her head. Screaming, she continued hammering away at the asari, shards of glass becoming visibly imbedded in the woman's face. Daro was horrified at what Kyta was doing to her own face to lash out at her attacker.

Daro forced her weary limbs to life as she stumbled towards Kyta, shakily trying to force the quarian off of Tidanya before being swatted to the side by a stray blow from one of the guards. Daro collapsed onto the ground, feeling pain suffusing itself into every inch of her body as she weakly held her hand out to Kyta.

"S-Stop... Kyta... Please..."

Daro's pleas fell on ears left deaf in their frenzy, Kyta beating Tidanya's face ceaselessly with her helmeted head. The silver stars of her eyes burned like supernovas made of pure white light, rage and hate fueling every screaming blow against the asari beneath her. Kyta's teeth were bared, screaming as she bit into the cerulean flesh of Tidanya's cheek. A wet tear was audible over the asari's agonized screams, violet gore gushing and frothing forth from the gap torn in her face. Kyta spat the glob of bloody flesh from her mouth, lips painted a deep violet in the asari's blood as she continued her unrelenting assault.

One guard finally managed to hook an arm around Kyta's neck, the other trying to twist her mangled arms as leverage while Kiron wrapped his arms her waist, their combined effort tearing the thrashing quarian off of their employer. Kyta screamed in furious rage, thrashing and kicking and biting at the guards while they beat her mercilessly. Kyta would not relent, diving back towards Tidanya and slipping from their grasp only to be grappled and wrestled back to the ground again.

"ENOUGH!"

The razor-sharp voice of the asari cracked as she let loose a wave of biotic power, the witch light blasting both Kyta and the guards to the ground with unbelievable force. Slowly, Tidanya crawled to her feet, spitting a jet of blood from her ragged lips along with a handful of teeth, the gaps visible through the torn hole in her cheek. Kyta recovered before the guards did, leaping to her feet and balancing on her two toes, snarling with rage as she pounced like the ancient jungle cats of Rannoch. Tidanya's hand came forward, a biotically-charged backhand smashing Kyta to the side.

Tidanya bared her teeth, ivory fangs cracked and streaked with blood as she screamed at Kyta's mangled and broken form.

"Whore! Slut! Bitch! Look at what you have done! I'll kill you! I will make you suffer in more ways than your feeble mind can understand! I'll put you down like the bitch you are!"

Tidanya screamed at the guards, beating Kiron with a quivering fist as she pointed to Kyta.

"Take her! Get her out of my sight! Get a doctor! Now! Take her to the room!"

The guards attempting to drag Kyta away, the quarian girl thrashing and screaming against their armor-clad grasp in a frenzy. Daro pulled herself up from the dirt, propping herself up on her hands before Tidanya brought her heel down on Daro's helmet, grinding the metal visor into the concrete floor.

"Your bitch has sealed her own fate. Pray her screams sate me."

Tidanya turned on her sharp heel, striding out of the cell in a vainglorious attempt to keep her composure. The guards struggled as they tried to drag Kyta from the cell, her silver eyes weeping as she turned to face Daro's prostrate form. Their eyes met for but a moment, but it was a moment that seemed to last an eternity. She was beautiful, even as they dragged her away screaming.

"I love you, Daro!"

The harsh groan of steel shut away the crimson light of the brothel, leaving Daro in the darkness, hearing Kyta's screams echo from the halls and into the fractured corners of her own mind. Every ounce of Daro's body felt numb as she heard the guards laughing at Kyta's pain. Tidanya barked muffled orders over the faint sound of tearing fabric. Love screamed her name, beaten and violated as it was dragged through the halls of a hell built by the mind of a creature so foul there were no words to describe it.

It was over. There was no hope left. Tidanya had taken from her everything. Her name. Her memories. Her being. Kyta. Even the jagged sliver of metal that Daro wished she could slice into her veins and end it all forever. The darkness around her seemed to draw closer, consuming and devouring all in it's path as it reached Daro, the broken quarian wishing it would swallow her as well.

Daro closed her eyes, waiting for oblivion.

Slowly, an image formed in her mind. Green fields stretched across a golden horizon. The windswept trees swaying in the distance. The crash of the shining sea on the white shores. A calm sky painted the myriad colors of dawn. An orange sun shining warmth and beauty over everything she surveyed. Daro felt a warm tear slide down her cheek before it was brushed away by another elegant three-fingered hand.

Daro turned to meet Kyta's brilliant starry eyes, even more radiant without the viridian mask keeping them apart.

Blood bathes planets, washing away entire species' in Daro's wake.

Kyta's soft lips smiled at Daro, her hand resting reassuringly on Daro's cheek.

Skies burn and rain atomic fire, scorching all life away until all that is left is ash.

Her thumb idly caressed Daro's cheek, bringing her lips closer to Daro's.

They scream her name, all the countless trillions begging for her mercy.

Kyta whispers something and Daro feels her heart melt as their lips on barely touch.

Daro stands triumphant over the mountains of dead, blood soaking her and fueling her undying hate.

Daro's lips meet Kyta's, soft and loving in their tenderness.

Daro sinks her blade deep into Tidanya's heart. Into Kiron's. Into Jason's. Into her own.

Daro'Xen awakens.

Her silver eyes slowly opened, feeling burning hate coursing through her veins, weary limbs and broken bones ignoring their pain as Daro dragged herself to her feet. Everything seemed sharper. More defined. She could hear Kyta's screams echoing through the halls. She could hear the slapping sound of flesh on flesh over her begging cries. She could hear Kyta calling her name.

Daro felt her fists clench, trembling with barely contained fury as a torrent of gore-strewn images flooded her mind. Pain. Death. Blood. White-hot hate forced Daro's heart to race, breathing heaving lungfuls of air before screaming. Daro's banshee wail echoed through the deep halls like a winter gale calling for the death of the world around it. She wanted them to hear her. She wanted them to know that death was waiting for them.

Daro paced within the confines of her cell, snarling and growling at invisible enemies as her mind raced with sadistic visions of painful death for the beasts holding Kyta. Her fist made contact with the concrete wall, rage blinding her to the pain. All at once, a flash of mad genius came upon Daro, laughing hysterically at her own foolishness of not attempting it sooner.

The intravenous system was a durable device in and of itself, but the arm it was connected to was not. If she could damage her arm in just the right way, the system might be jarred loose enough to render the needle useless.

Daro's silver eyes gleamed as she smiled at the unyielding concrete wall, letting her arm hang limp as she brought it smashing against the stone. There was no pain. Kyta had endured worse. What right did Daro have to cry? Her arm came smashing against the wall again, feeling nothing but rage as she heard Kyta's screams echo so far away from her. Again. Again. Again.

With one final crushing blow, Daro felt something snap in her arm. The quarian's other hand examined the battered limb with practiced motions, feeling the dislocation in her elbow. Daro stared at the rusted metal door of her cell with a gaze so full of hate and rage that it was a wonder the metal wasn't instantly reduced to it's composite atoms before pulling the limb loose from the joint with a sickening pop.

Raising her arm over her head, Daro gripped the limp wrist tightly, twisting her forearm at an unnatural angle that warped and stretched the muscles of her joints in ways they were never meant to. Daro pulled and twisted, closing her eyes and focusing on the small pinprick in her arm that she recognized as the needle stabbed into the sore flesh of her veins.

There. Daro felt something give in her arm, the small needle bending and breaking off into her flesh. Daro breathed a deep sigh as she let her arm hang loose to the side, her hand resting on her forearm, the limb twitching and spasming in signals of pain that never reached Daro's brain. Kyta's agonized scream pierced the air before it was suddenly muffled into a whimpering moan. Daro clenched her teeth as she stared at the door to her cell, pushing the wrenched limb back into it's joint and bending and twisting it to test it's dexterity. Stiff, but it would serve.

She was ready. The drugs that were automatically dispensed into her blood were potent, but fast acting and didn't last long. Soon, someone would come for her, and she'd be waiting. She wouldn't be slowed or weakened. In their hubris, they hadn't even left her bound. Daro's fingers clenched and unclenched in anticipation. She was going to make them all bleed and scream. They'd never know it was her. Letting her mind focus, she quietly went over every skill and fight she had ever been in, pooling it all together for this one moment. Unlike before with Jason, she would not be caught off guard. It would be them who weren't expecting it this time.

Daro paced in the shadows of her cell, watching the door with the same intensity one would expect from a predator examining the fresh bloodied meal it had captured. Daro stopped in the center of the cell, every single last atom of her body tensing like a coiled spring, ready to act with unparalleled violence towards even the slightest provocation. Daro's fists clenched, her eyes narrowed.

When that door opened, death would step through it.