Seeing as last chapter was shorter than what my average has turned out to be and this one is as well I thought I'd let you have both today instead of posting tomorrow! What can I say, I'm a sucker for reviews. This one will be a little different. Up till now I've been highlighting that something's been done to Miri. Last chapter showed you there's something different about Shepard. THIS chapter will begin to show just how different Shepard actually is as Miri isn't the only one who was messed with...
Shepard was pleased to note that Miranda had removed the Cerberus logo from her 'armour' though she wished Miranda would actually wear some armour. The cat suit was incredibly sexy and sure she had excellent shields and biotics but it made her feel uneasy that Miranda looked vulnerable. Perhaps that was a part of her armour, she wasn't seen as much of a threat when in fact she was the next most dangerous person in the field next to Shepard.
Miranda rolled her eyes, "What is it now Commander?" she growled, she'd taken off the logo what more did she want.
"Sorry, was mulling over something." Shepard flushed and walked on quickly, Omega was not a place to dawdle.
"While staring at me." Miranda didn't let it drop.
Shepard sighed, "Fine. Just don't hit me. I was... concerned about your uniform."
Miranda's expression showed her annoyance.
"I'm used to working with soldiers or people who wore at least a light armour. That doesn't look like armour to me and I know it's got top notch shields and you've got your biotics which combined is better than most light armours. It just... looks vulnerable. So I was musing that it's probably actually an asset. It means opponents won't take you as seriously because you don't look like a soldier or a merc so they underestimate you when in fact you're the most dangerous individual on the field." Shepard quickly explained.
Miranda relaxed and actually let a small smile touch her lips at the compliment. Any response she could have made was cut off by a heavily armoured Batarian approaching them.
Shepard nodded to him, "Gritch."
"Shepard." He grunted, "Aria wants to see you, now." he thumbed over his shoulder.
"Ah, saves me the trouble of asking to see her. Lead the way old man." Shepard couldn't stomach grinning at the Batarian but wasn't being offensive to him either.
He grunted, but grinned a little, it was hard not to like the human after the mess she'd left Aria in last time she was here.
They were given a free pass to walk straight passed the line to get into the club Afterlife which was Aria's den of iniquity and where she'd established the seat of her power. Asari strippers and dancers were entertaining groups of drunks of almost every major race. Flashing lights, heady music, a giant holographic display of an erotic asari dancer in the centre and the smell of sweat, blood and booze assaulted their senses. Everything about the place screamed at Shepard, she truly did hate this place but Aria was useful, for now.
Over at the bar a flash of yellow armour caught her attention. She grinned and sauntered over to it. Slapping the merc on the back just as he was about to down his shot.
Massani choked on his drink and went for his gun only to find it missing.
"You're losing your touch old boy. Sure you're up for this mission?" Shepard teased him.
"Bloody hell Shepard. You owe me a drink." Massani glared at her.
"I believe that's even. Get your wrinkled arse on my ship, the Normandy, dock six." she winked and patted his shoulder.
"You gonna see Aria?" He grabbed his gun from her hands as she offered it back to him. Shepard was the only other person he'd let handle his beloved Jessie and live.
"Yep." Her eyes twinkling a little with anticipation.
He chuckled, "Hell I'm going to your tin can before I see this."
Shepard smirked, "Pervert." she continued walking towards the stairs that led up to the personal sanctuary of the Queen of Omega, who was already watching her with keen interest though pretending not to.
Miranda frowned, she hadn't known that Shepard was so familiar with the merc and the familiar greeting with the Batarian thug also had her confused. Shepard had a reputation of, well, she didn't get on well with Batarians.
"Whatever happens up there, don't interfere unless you're sure she's about to get in my head." Shepard warned Miranda and Jacob, Kasumi was floating around somewhere keeping an eye on them.
"What do you think will happen?" Jacob asked curiously.
"She'll try to kick my arse then mind rape me." Shepard smirked and was taking to the stairs a little too eagerly for Miranda's liking.
One gesture from Aria and all the people on her raised platform overlooking her domain just about fled. The only one brave enough to approach was Shepard and she sauntered up the stairs with that seductive swagger that could hook a Justicar. Aria herself was momentarily ensnared until she caught sight of the stunning human below who was also entranced. Her eyes narrowed, "I see Miss Lawson was successful in bringing you back. But just how successful was she?"
Just like that and it was on.
Shepard danced circles around Aria as the powerful asari struck out at her again and again. Her movements were so fluid and graceful, so confident and assured she could taste Aria's lust for her. It was a very careful dance of violence and power play. Aria was quick but she was taller and heavier than Shepard who was a master of hand to hand combat of several forms including some Asari Commando forms she was using to avoid Aria with right now.
That was until Aria actually connected, her elbow grazing Shepard's cheek and knocking her head back slightly. Aria followed up quickly on the micro-second Shepard was shifting her balance, after all, she wasn't the ruler of Omega for her good looks or for playing nice.
Shepard hissed at the heel of Aria's hand that snaked through her defences into her lower right ribs which in a normal human would have resulted in them being cracked or broken, for her it'd merely bruise.
Aria smirked only to receive a sharp knee to her inner thigh which put her off balance then she was thrown back with a powerful blow to her abdomen that left her convulsing for breath as her shocked diaphragm tried to recover.
Shepard met her obsidian glare and waited, the atmosphere around them was highly tense. A few of Aria's goons had been here last time and were wondering if Shepard had the quad's to pull off a repeat performance... if Aria would let her walk away this time if she did.
Aria wanted Shepard so deeply for more than the elusive whisper her biotics hummed when the adrenaline pumped through her, when her biotics simmered just below the surface from being aroused but combat. The human had this sense of wildness about her, oh she looked calm and in control on the outside but she sensed the animal within her, that raging beast the Batarians had brought out in her on Torfan she kept so carefully caged. Aria wrapped a stasis field around her, breaking the rules of their heated little dance. She moved in to take Shepard there and then spirits be damned that they had an audience, her eyes were already obsidian and as menacing as they were lust ridden.
Shepard mentally cursed. Aria was a bloody Asari matron and her biotics... her biotics felt different... Shepard didn't have long to figure it out, especially when Aria closed the distance between them and crushed their lips together.
Massani grinned as he'd been hoping Aria'd get the upper hand this time round and wondered how far she'd get before Shepard lost it and creamed her arse.
Miranda was not impressed and stepped forward to intervene.
Weapons were instantly drawn, "Don't even think about it." the Batarian, Gritch, snarled at her. No one interfered with Aria.
Miranda took a different tack then, lighting up her biotics and reaching out to Shepard's.
As soon as their biotics touched the air crackled and sizzled with ozone.
Aria pulled back from Shepard and couldn't hold the stasis field around the fierce biotic storm growing within it. She stumbled back with a sharp hiss, her hand going to her lips that were burning from the shock Shepard had emitted.
Shepard's eyes were glowing red and she lashed out at the Asari, the back of her hand cracking against Aria's cheek hard enough to throw her into the lounge, "That's not acceptable." she snarled, she'd have gone for her gun if a hand on her arm hadn't stopped her. The small touch causing her biotics to ebb and flow away and looking down at it she saw a black gloved human hand. Tracing the slender hand up long it's arm to meet the cobalt eyes of its owner she blinked as it took a second to identify Miranda.
Miranda had never seen anything like what had just happened. The switch in Shepard had no rational explanation. One moment she'd been caught up in the dance of a duel with the Queen of Omega then as soon as she'd been restrained and those blue lips had touched hers there'd been a visible shift in Shepard. It had been compounded by the addition of her own biotics to the mix and for a moment she hadn't even recognized Shepard. But now, right now she watched the redness fade and the golden amber eyes framed in long dark lashes return, amber eyes that were begging to be remembered.
The moment was interrupted by a sharp pain behind her right eye and Miranda pulled back quickly, wincing at its intensity. She quickly retreated back to where Jacob and Massani were levelling their assault rifles at Aria's goons.
Aria burst out laughing, "And there it is, finally a taste of the animal within. Tell me Shepard," she rose and sedately approached, eyes boring into Shepard's, "did that feel as good for you as it did for me?" she purred darkly, reaching out to run her hand up Shepard's arm.
Shepard knocked it back and glared at her, "I'm looking for a couple people. Mordin Solus and Archangel. Know where I can find 'em?" she wasn't about to play this particular game.
Aria just smirked and inclined her head before returning to the lounge and gracefully sinking down into it. There would be other times and now she had a vital clue into how she could reach that beast within Shepard. "Interesting. I like Mordin Solus, he's as likely to shoot you as he is to heal you, runs a clinic in the quarantine zone." her face darkened, "There's a plague killing everyone but humans and vorcha. I've had to lock the whole area down and wait for it to run its course, or for Mordin to find a cure. Just don't bring the plague back with you." she waved her hand dismissively at the human.
"Noted." Shepard nodded, her face a mask that revealed nothing of her true thoughts, of how ill she felt right now or how chaotic her mind still was.
"As for Archangel, you and every other merc here want a piece of him. He's been causing... problems for them. So much so they've teamed up and are hiring freelancers. The recruiting station is downstairs to the right." she gestured, "Now why do you want them exactly? You're not the type to go bounty hunting for fun." she asked curiously then added darkly, "Unless they're Batarian of course."
Shepard ignored the last comment, "I'm putting together team of the best. I'm sure you know Mordin's background isn't entirely medical and pissing off every major merc band on Omega takes a whole lot a stupid and the skills to stay alive as long as he has suggest he'll be useful. Besides stupid and I get along just fine." she shrugged nonchalantly.
"Just make sure you come back when you've found them, privately this time." Aria shot a meaningful glance at Miranda.
Shepard rose to her feet, "Miss Lawson will feel left out, I'll have to decline I'm afraid. Maybe next time." she shook her head and sauntered off, putting her arm around Miranda's shoulders and guiding her enraged form to the stairs.
"You'd better Shepard." Aria growled, though she smiled, she'd crack those walls eventually. Oh she'd find the crack, unleash that delicious beast within her to delve into that magnificent mind and rip out the secrets she held, that her biotics whispered were there.
"What the hell was that?" Miranda hissed to her for her ears alone, her head was pounding but the sharpness was receding.
"Disgusting. I need a bath when we get back to the Normandy I feel defiled." Shepard shuddered and released her when it was safe. "I told you she wants in my pants." she muttered trying to deflect what she thought Miranda was truly asking, no smugness in her voice but rather she was uncomfortable with the whole situation. "We should check on Archangel first, sounds like he's in trouble." Shepard led them to where a Blue Suns merc was standing guard. Distraction. That's what she needed. A distraction and something to kill.
Miranda watched her lead the way and shook her head slightly. Now probably wasn't the best time or place to demand an explanation from Shepard, not about Aria but about what had changed in her. She knew there were anomalies in Shepard's neural pathways and the chemical composition of her brain, she'd been extremely careful in keeping them intact based on the last scans from the Normandy only days before it had been destroyed. What no one had been able to figure out was what they actually were and what it meant for Shepard. Then there was the sudden headache in herself... the second in a matter of days that spontaneously generated and dissipated with no logical explanation.