When she first felt the warmth around her cock, Shepard thought she must still be back in Alliance detention sleeping. As her green eyes slowly fluttered open though, she realized that the reality was so much better than any dream. Looking between her legs, she saw Liara, still naked from the night before, her dark lips wrapped around Shepard's hardening shaft. The asari bobbed her head down a little further, taking her deeper into her wonderful mouth and the Spectre jerked up in the bed, moaning with pleasure.

Liara looked up at the commander, a satisfied expression on her lovely face. Slowly, she drew her mouth off of the human's cock, replacing it with her hand, which she ran slowly over the spit-slicked member. "Ah good, Shepard," she smiled, "You're awake."

"Hard not to be," she groaned, "When you're doing that."

"Do you mean this?" Liara dipped her head down, running her tongue along the length of Shepard's cock.

"That would, ah, be it. How did I get to be so lucky this morning?"

Liara turned her gaze back to Shepard, mischief shining in her bright blue eyes. "I decided to remind you how much I love waking up next to you." The Shadow Broker's thumb ran along the crown of Shepard's cock and the commander bit her lip, trying to maintain some semblance of her self-control. "And besides," Liara added, "You have a very important meeting with the Council later today and I intend to make sure you are in a good mood for it."

"I'm very pleasant," Shepard choked out. Liara's hand was teasing her, stroking just quickly enough to make the Spectre crazy, but not fast enough to bring her close to the edge of release.

"With me, certainly." Liara ran her free hand lovingly along the curve of her commander's hip. "But sometimes, when dealing with politicians, you can become irritable."

"I see," Shepard sighed, laying back onto the pillows. She wasn't about to argue, not when Liara was both right and doing such delicious things to her. "By all means then, continue."

Satisfied that her point had been made, Liara returned to what she had been doing, planting small, wet kisses along Shepard's opening before making her way up her cock. A low growl escaped from the back of her lover's throat, and Liara was reminded of how much she had missed the ability to bring pleasure to the woman she cared for more than any other.

The extra-net readings she had done when she first discovered Shepard's change suggested that this was an inherently submissive act, but as her lips closed around the head of the Spectre's cock, Liara couldn't help but disagree. Perhaps that other opinion related to some conception of gender that was foreign to the asari, but suckling on the sensitive tip in her mouth made her feel very much in control, able to coax the most delightful sounds from her commander. She could feel the strain in the thick shaft, and she relished the fact that she could both induce such need and take care of it.

Shepard reached down, stroking her fingers over Liara's cheek and crest, marveling at how sexy her lover looked doing this. What had started out as a delightful way to wake up was rapidly building towards intense craving. Their first night together after her change, Liara's inexperience hadn't mattered in light of the Spectre's desperate need, but the asari had taken advantage of their times together since then to become impressively skilled. Even as she tongue swirled around the head of her cock, her nimble fingers kept pumping its length, moving her towards a climax that the commander could already feel building.

Liara started taking Shepard deeper, relaxing her throat so that she could get more of the Spectre inside her. Her lover's shaft was throbbing now, drops of clear fluid gathering at the tip, and the thought of sending the commander over the edge made the Shadow Broker's own clit pulse with desire. She pulled her mouth almost all of the way off of Shepard's cock before dropping back down and taking it deeper once more.

Shepard's nearly broke at the feeling of the asari's latest trick, and she mumbled out, "Jesus, sweetheart. I'm… fuck, I'm so close." Liara withdrew her mouth again, but this time she replaced it with her hand, stroking the commander's length swiftly while she replied.

"Good," she purred, her voice silky, "I want to feel you come, love. Feel you hot in my mouth." As she said the provocative words, her thumb pressed against the swollen head of her lover's cock and the combination was too much for the Spectre. She exploded, the first spurts of her release leaping out to coat Liara's hand and leave wet streaks along the asari's lovely breasts.

Not wanting to lose any more, Liara lowered her mouth once again, covering the pulsing head. Further bursts of warmth splashed onto her tongue and she swallowed them down eagerly. Shepard's hand was stroking the side of her head, the Spectre gasping endearments as she came, telling Liara how beautiful she looked and how good she made the commander feel.

Only when the last drops of Shepard's release had been coaxed out did Liara let the Spectre's cock leave her lips, favoring it with a final suck that made her lover tremble at the pressure on her hyper-sensitive skin. Shepard lay back on the bed, panting with satisfaction while the asari licked the fluid off of her hand before falling into the commander's waiting arms.

"So," the asari said playfully, "I take it you missed waking up with me too."

"You think so?", Shepard laughed. "You're incredible. The best girlfriend I could hope to have."

"I am glad," Liara purred, kissing the base of the human's neck. "I would hate to think you found someone else to replace me during all those months we spent apart."

"Never," Shepard insisted in response to her teasing, guiding Liara's mouth to her own for a long kiss before she repeated, "Never." The asari curled up against her chest and the commander added mischievously, "You know, Liara, you're going to have to come with me and talk to the Council too. Somebody has to explain this device you found to them."

Liara grinned. "What is your point?"

"Perhaps," Shepard answered, kissing one of the tips of Liara's crest and eliciting a pleased murmur from her lover, "I should make sure you're in a good mood too."

Liara smile broadened at the thought but when she looked over at Shepard's clock, she groaned in mild disappointment. "We will have to be quick. It's getting late and we both need to shower."

"Well then why don't we shower together?"

Liara couldn't jump out of bed fast enough, practically dragging the Spectre along with her. Laughing at her lover's enthusiasm, Shepard headed into the tub and as Liara turned on the hot water, the commander wrapped her arms around her waist, whispering, "I love you, Liara T'Soni."

Liara bent her neck to kiss the human's arm. "I love you too, Shepard."

"I love the feel of your skin." The water started to wash over them and the Spectre began kissing her way along Liara's crest while her hands moved up to cup her breasts. She massaged them gently, her fingers playing over stiff blue nipples, as she continued, "I love how you respond to me." Liara's back arched and Shepard could feel her cock stiffening again, pressing against the soft swell of her lover's ass. "And I love that whatever happens, I can always depend on you to take care of me, to bring out the best in me, and," she added with a laugh, "To find prothean super-weapons to pull my ass out of the fire."

The human's fingers dropped between her legs, stroking along the edges of her sex and Liara whimpered at her touch. She had only planned on a blowjob for Shepard, but she forgot just how much pleasuring her commander excited her as well. Shepard seemed to remember though, her finger probing inside Liara's azure, her voice whispering huskily to her.

"God, Liara," she breathed, "I've barely touched you and you're already so wet for me." Her hand moved up to Liara's clit and stroked her, the mixture of the asari's own arousal and the water of the shower heavenly on her needy bud. "I still can't believe how much going down on me turns you on."

The asari cocked her head, letting Shepard kiss along her neck. "It's you, Shepard. I love every inch of you. I love making you feel that way."

Her cock twitched against Liara's ass at the asari's words. She had wanted to stretch this out a little longer, but her lover was right about the time, and besides, she could feel the Shadow Broker aching for her. Placing her hands on Liara's hips, she lifted the asari up slightly, groaning when her tip made contact with the wet entrance to her azure. She lowed her gently onto her shaft, but as soon as she was sheathed inside her beloved, Liara started rocking her hips back into her body, wanting all that Shepard could give.

Shepard took her hard and fast, keeping her strong arms wrapped firmly around the asari's waist for support as she thrust into her. They'd made love like this the last time they were together, but though her memories of that night had helped keep her going during those long months in detention, they couldn't compare to the real thing. Liara's azure gripped her so tightly and Shepard's every thrust provided heavenly friction along her length.

As Shepard fucked her, the asari's hand dropped between their legs, allowing her to rub both her own clit and the base of her lover's cock. "Goddess, Shepard," she managed in-between moans, "More." She loved the Spectre's power, her confidence. Even before Shepard's change, she had enjoyed it when her lover used a strap-on to take her, but knowing that the commander was feeling as much pleasure as she was made this even better. She angled her hips slightly, helping Shepard to hit the right spots inside of her, and when her cock dragged along the wall of Liara's azure, the asari felt the urge to meld start overtaking her. The human noticed it too, the pressure against her mind deeply familiar, and when Liara sensed the relaxing of Shepard's barriers, she knew she had permission.

Their thoughts merged, and instantly Shepard felt herself close to another climax. Knowing how much she turned the asari on was one thing, but feeling it for herself, sharing the aching need in Liara's body and the delight she took from each stroke was enough to drive her wild. She buried her face in Liara's shoulder, trying to stifle her own orgasm a little bit longer, but though it was a losing battle, there was no need. The meld was all that her beloved had required. The addition of Shepard's pleasure to her own coaxed a flood of wetness from her azure and when the human's pale hand joined her blue one on her clit, she came hard, squeezing again and again around the shaft deep inside of her.

Instants later, Shepard followed her, the pulsing of Liara's azure along with the sharing of her lover's climax more than enough to trigger her own. Only her exquisitely trained body kept her upright as she filled Liara with her release, holding the asari tight through their shared ecstasy.

The climax and meld ebbed swiftly together, Liara not trying to prolong it in light of the time, but as she felt Shepard slip out of her, she did groan slightly at the loss of fullness. Her regret didn't last long though as the Spectre spun her around and pressed a long kiss on her lips. "So," the asari asked her lover playfully, "Do you think we are ready to face the Council yet?"

"As long as we're together," Shepard purred, her hands sliding over skin made slick by the hot water, "I feel like we can face anything."

Epilogue Part 1

Samantha Traynor had seldom been less happy to have her brain return to the land of conscious thought than she was that morning. When she'd woken up yesterday she hadn't even been certain that the Reapers were real. The Collectors, sure; she'd been on Horizon when they attacked, but ancient machines that periodically exterminated all organic life in the galaxy sounded a little far-fetched to the communications specialist.

Now, not only had those "myths" come to life, Earth had fallen to them in a single day. She, meanwhile, had gone from working a nice, safe lab job to being stuck aboard a warship headed off God only knew where. Finally, just to add a little personal humiliation to the mix, she had learned that the VI whose voice she'd spent the last several weeks making inappropriate remarks about was really the ship's artificial intelligence, which meant that not only had she made a fool of herself, there was nowhere on the Normandy for her to hide.

Just as she was finishing up sinking into a sea of self-pity, a female voice sounded through the crew quarters where, in lieu of a better alternative, she had crashed the night before. Samantha looked up from her new bunk to see a tall brunette with a lieutenant commander's uniform and the most gorgeous dark eyes the specialist could remember standing in the doorway.

"Listen up, soldiers," the woman started, her voice firm and confidant, "My name is Lt Commander Ashley Williams, and whatever your previous postings might have been, you are now assigned to the SSV Normandy for the foreseeable future. I know a lot of you weren't combat personnel before this, but after what just happened back on Earth, we're all gonna have to be grunts for a while. Command Shepard will meet with you this afternoon to discuss your specific assignments in detail, but for now, if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them myself."

A short-haired blonde tech Sam knew from the Normandy retrofit sat up in her bunk and asked nervously, "So, where are we going now anyway, ma'am?"

"The Citadel," she replied. "You should use the opportunity to pick up any supplies you're going to need because after that, we'll probably be flying into some kind of a war zone. Anything else? No? Good."

Ashley turned to leave and the room buzzed with a mixture of confusion, excitement, and fear. Sam was scared too, but in spite of her anxiety, she couldn't stop watching the departing officer. The specialist knew she should feel a little guilty about having her eyes glued to the woman's fantastically firm backside at a time like this, but if the world really was coming to an end, was a little gawking such a big deal?

Epilogue Part 2

Though the Illusive Man was not one to dwell over-much on his failures, even he had to admit that this particular operation could scarcely have gone worse. One of his top operatives was dead, a second was now in Alliance custody, Dr. Eva had been destroyed, and only a small portion of the data on this prothean device had been uploaded to Cerberus… It was a nearly unmitigated disaster and now that the asari archeologist had been reunited with Shepard, any hope of bringing the commander back under his control had been lost, probably for good.

He shrugged, taking a deep drag on his cigarette. What was done was done and though Shepard might be out of reach, the stakes were far too high for him to consider giving up entirely. With a touch of his hand dismissed the screen containing the final report on the Mars mission. "Persephone," he said coolly, summoning up his VI assistant, "Send notification to the Chimera cell. It's time to activate Project Mirage."

And that's a wrap. Keep an eye out for the third and final installment in this series, Terminal Diagnosis, coming soon. It'll have more canon divergence, more smut, and a final showdown with Timmy. Thanks to everyone for reading, faving, and reviewing. I hope you enjoyed the story.