-Miranda-

In her dreams there was a monster. It was three stories tall, a blinding shade of blue, and had twisting tentacles spiraling out of its massive head. Fangs lined its gaping mouth, and the monster tried closing those fangs around her, trapping her, swallowing her. In her dream she had screamed a silent, horrified, scream and then was plunged into the scalding hot pit of the beast's belly.

In reality, Miranda woke up gasping for air and jolting to a sit. She got three quarters of the way there before her head slammed into steel bars. Pain started at the point of impact, bolted straight through, and flared at the back of her head. Miranda winced, sucking air through her grit teeth, and reached behind her. Beneath her fingers, a swollen lump throbbed.

"Miranda?"

She looked to her left, discovering two sets of caged walls, and saw Sam tucked up into a little ball, seated on the floor of a Varren cage hugging her knees and swiping tears from her eyes. Miranda glanced around her and saw she was also in a cage. She had hit her head off the low-hanging bars of its ceiling. There was limited room to maneuver within, making the simple task of getting her elbows beneath her long and arduous. "Sam," she began when she had gotten to her side. "What the hell's going on. I got hit in the head."

"I know," Sam said, sniffling. Her voice was quiet, weak, and shaky. "The volus did it. Liara controls them now. She's won. Liara's won." She sniffled again at that; the very words seemed to drain her strength. "And... and she hurt the Commander badly."

"Shepard? What do you mean?"

Sam nodded to the front of the cages but did not look.

Miranda turned her head and saw Shepard at the far end of the dark dungeon room they were in. The commander was suspended from the ceiling, hanging upside down by her ankles, naked, her hands cuffed behind her, the leather hood that Miranda had worn earlier pulled snugly over her head; the mouth and eyes zipped shut. "What did that psycho do to her?"

"You'll see," Sam said, still refusing to look. She swiped at another tear.

Miranda looked back and saw Shepard was very slowly spinning in a circle. She was facing the cages, but her momentum was gradually turning her around. When it had, Miranda's mouth fell agape. "Oh my God... Shepard..." The woman's entire backside, from her shoulders to her ankles, was covered in dark red welts. Her ass cheeks were plastered with them, some so badly bruised that the skin had broken, sending little trickles of blood down her back in thin lines.

"Liara didn't put that hood on her til after," Sam said quietly. "I think she wanted to hear the Commander scream. She never did though. Not once. She didn't make a sound. That just made Liara angrier. She had the volus help her. They stood around her in a circle and hurt her..." There was no stopping the tears then, so Sam buried her face in her hands and let them flow.

Miranda's blood ran hot. She balled her fists, grit her teeth, and kicked at the cage door. "God damn that asari... God damn her!" She kicked again, harder.

Sam's voice came muffled from beneath her hands. "S-S-She said she was going to do much worse to me, but... she doesn't realize m-m-aking me watch and listen to them do that to the C-Commander was the worst punishment I could ever receive. Miranda... I'm scared."

"Listen to my voice, Sam," Miranda said, making her shaking fists settle. "Listen, alright? No one's going to hurt you. I'm going to figure a way out of this, alright?"

Sam's voice came weak and quiet. "...alright."

"Sam, say it out loud. We're going to be okay. Say it."

"We're going to be okay."

Liara's voice interjected from outside the room. "No you're not."

Just the sound of the asari's voice was enough to make Miranda scurry forward to the front of the varren cage and grip the bars. She glared out into the darkness of the room and shook the bars. "Liara!" She screamed.

The asari came sauntering around the corner of the hall connecting to the room. She was dressed in a white dress and heels. She was smiling.

Miranda shook the cage bars with everything in her. They were, seemingly, not impressed with her effort.

"Ah, you see," Liara said cheerfully as she approached the cages. "Even you can be broken, Miss Lawson. So calm and collected usually, but now? Now you've realized your own utter defeat and it kills you inside. Doesn't it? That feeling... oh, that feeling. Helplessness. Despair. Depression. Have they all come for you yet, or do you have enough anger in you to drown them out for awhile?"

Miranda sent a fist into the cage door. It might have hurt, but there was no way of knowing; she was too bloody angry. She drove it forward again, the flesh of her knuckles sinking into the bars and bouncing back.

"Miranda, stop. Please," Sam whispered beside her.

She did not. She punched again, roared in frustration, and then tried driving the heel of her foot into the spot where the hinges met the door. The cage did not budge.

"You know those things were made to hold varren in them, right?" Liara teased, crouching before the cage and giggling.

"I'm going to kill you, Liara," Miranda said, huffing and puffing to catch her breath. She nodded, glaring into the asari's eyes. "I am. I'm going to kill you."

Liara's smile spread wider. "Yes... you know, someone else once threatened me that way. A certain bald, tattooed, friend of yours, actually. I had her, much like I have Shepard now, suspended and tortured..." Liara paused, tilting her head to the side and letting her eyes playfully dance around Miranda's body. "Didn't you ever wonder why exactly it was that Jack never came back?"

Miranda breath caught in her chest.

Liara laughed. "Yes, that's right, bitch. Jack never returned... because Jack's dead."

"No..." Miranda said with a shake of her head. "I... I don't believe you."

The asari shrugged. "Believe what you will. I just wanted you to know the truth. Because you will suffer the same fate. Bound, tortured, and when I grow bored of you? Killed. Just like I did to Jack." Liara's eyes narrowed and she leaned a bit closer to the cage. "She cried out your name as I drove the blade into her stomach, you know."

Miranda didn't think it was true, but it could be, and that was enough. She screamed, grabbed hold of the cage bars, shook them, punched them, threw her head back, screamed again. Her heart thundered in her chest, turning into a war drum. She felt light-headed, but it didn't stop her. She punched again, again, again, screamed, and then felt warm tears racing down her cheeks.

"Leave her alone!" Sam's voice pleaded.

"There we are..." Liara said, standing. "You see, once the anger drains from you, you begin to feel reality set back in. And reality for you, Miss Lawson, is: you're fucked."

Miranda knelt, catching her breath. She stared down at the cage floor and slowly but surely felt the fight seep out of her.

"And you," Liara said, pointing at Sam. "You little mouthy bitch, don't think you're getting off any easier. In fact, I'd suggest you start stretching those pretty little legs of yours. I'm going to spread them nice and wide tonight before I tear apart every hole on your body for our guests."

Sam hugged her knees tighter, whimpering.

"Serj!" Liara yelled.

A moment later, the volus in red and pink appeared at her side. "Yes, Miss T'Soni?"

"Strip and clean them," Liara instructed. "I want them ready to show off within the hour. Our guests will soon arrive."

"Yes, Miss T'Soni," the volus said. "May I suggest, though, that you keep Commander Shepard hidden away down here. Her guests are very loyal to the woman, and would do almost anything to protect her. We don't want a war on our hands."

"I know that!" Liara snapped. "You think me an idiot? I didn't mean Shepard. She's staying right here tonight... I'll come give her her dues after our guests have departed. But I want the caged sluts ready. Can you handle that?"

"Yes, Miss T'Soni."

"And also, I'd like you to start calling me 'Master', Serj."

The volus hesitated, but obeyed. "Yes, Master."

"Good boy. Now do it," Liara said, heading out of the room. She turned at the last moment to shout back "I'll be seeing you bitches soon," and was gone.

Serj began unwrapping a hose from the wall as other volus joined him.

"Miranda..." Sam whispered. "What are we going to do?"

Miranda knew saying something, anything, might comfort Sam, but she couldn't find anything to say. She couldn't tell her what they were going to do... because she didn't know.

She just didn't know.

-Ashley-

"Hello!?" She shouted, her hands cupped around her mouth to help carry her voice. "Is anyone out there? Hello!?" She pounded the library door with the butt of her palm. "Let me out of here!"

Something bad had happened in the mansion. She didn't know what, or why, or to whom, but something bad had happened. Ash was sure of it. She'd been reading her book when the shouting started from somewhere upstairs, but by the time she'd gotten to her feet and tried heading up to see what was going on, one of the volus had appeared and shut the door in her face, locking it. The East wing and West wing doors were locked before she even got a step in either of their directions, and that had been that. She'd been left locked in the library for over an hour since, and had no idea why.

Her open-palm became a fist and she drove it against the door as hard as she could. "Hey! Hello!? I know someone can hear me!"

Something clicked near the handle. Ashley's eyes widened and she took a step back just in time; the doors swung open and Liara T'Soni came stumbling in. Her eyes were red and rheumy, and she practically fell into Ashley's arms. "Oh, Ash!" She cried out, wrapping her arms around Ashley's waist and squeezing. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Ashley was dumbfounded. She hesitated before resting her hands on the asari's shoulders and hugging her back. "It's okay, Liara. It's alright. What happened? What's going on? Why was I locked in here for the last hour?"

"Oh, Ashley, it was terrible," Liara said, swiping at her eyes. "I was right, Ash. They hurt her! Miranda and Sam... they hurt her, Ash!"

"Shepard? Is Shepard okay?" Ashley said. Her heart raced in her chest. "Liara, what happened to Shepard? Where is she!?"

"She's alive... but barely," Liara explained, peeling away from Ashley's body, but keeping her hands on her arms. "They were trying to overthrow her and take the mansion. I caught them and... and they almost hurt me too, but the volus stopped them. Shepard, though... she's in bad condition. We've had her shipped off-planet for medical treatment."

"Oh my God..." Ashley whispered. "I can't believe it... is she going to be okay?"

"Yes, she should," Liara said. "Thank goodness for that."

Ash stared forward at nothing, taking it all in. "Why... why would they do something like this. Sam? I thought Sam was... well, kind of in love with Shepard."

"It's that Miranda Lawson, Ash," Liara explained. "She twisted the girl's mind. She did work for Cerberus for many years. I mean... you're with the Alliance, you know how positively vile those Cerberus people can be."

"Yes. Yes, I do," Ash admitted with a nod. She'd seen plenty of the horrors Cerberus had committed across the galaxy. "Well, what happens now?"

"Now we wait for Shepard to get shipped back to us, hopefully, with good news that she's not sustained any permanent injury from the brutal attack Miranda and Sam laid upon her."

"Shouldn't we go with her?"

"To the medical facility? No," Liara said. "It's a very exclusive, private, facility. One of Shepard's wealthier friends owns it. It's best for us to stay here and carry on like normal until she's returned."

Ashley raised her brow. "What do you mean 'carry on like normal'? What's 'normal' in this place?"

"Well, for starters, the Commander was throwing a party tonight," Liara told her. "A big party, in fact. We could cancel... but I don't believe Shepard would want that."

"No... I suppose she wouldn't," Ash admitted.

"So let's just have it then. And Ash... Ash, it would mean the world to me if you'd act as my date. You know, like you did for Shepard at her last party? I'm just so shaken up by what's happened to our sweet commander... I could really use you by my side tonight. The volus have put me in control until Shepard returns, so I'll be hosting. I don't want the control-it disgusts me-but that's what Shepard wanted, and so... I guess I'm the new temporary 'commander'."

"Your date?" Ash questioned.

Liara squeezed her hands in her own. "Yes, Ashley. You know... you could put on that beautiful dress like when you were Shepard's date. And you can laugh with the guests and make jokes and call me 'the commander' if you'd like... I guess that would be nice."

The asari's hands squeezed tighter. Ashley's eyes flicked to them and then back to Liara's eyes. She forced a smile. "Um... I guess so, Liara. If that's what you really want. I'm just worried about Shepard. And what about Miranda and Sam? I can call in the Alliance and have them brought up on-"

"No," Liara cut her off. "No. Those two... Ash, you didn't see what they did to the commander. It was terrible. We can't simply hand them off to the authorities."

"Well I don't see-"

"Leave them to me, alright?"

Ashley didn't like the sound of that. "Liara, I-"

The asari's hand moved to her lips and pressed gently against them to stop her. "Ashley... please, alright? Just do this for me. I just want to forget what I saw done to Shepard and unwind at this party tonight. Just wear the dress and stay at my side and we can have this discussion tomorrow. Hey, maybe this medical facility will work so quickly Shepard will return tomorrow too. Okay? Does that sound good?"

There was something the asari was not telling her, but Ash wasn't going to find out what that was anytime soon. Her only option was to play along until she could find out more. She slowly moved her head back until Liara's hand fell from her mouth. "Alright, Liara. We'll go on like 'normal' tonight if you think that's what Shepard would want. I'll go get dressed."

Liara smiled, wide and pleased. "Thank you so much, Ashley. Come here." She wrapped her arms around Ash's shoulders, pulled her close, and squeezed. "This means so much to me. I'll see you in a little bit."

With that, she left.

Ashley watched her go, dressed in her white dress and high heels, and tried wrapping her mind around what the hell was really going on. She retrieved her reading glasses from the center table of the library, tucked them onto the bridge of her nose, and left herself. The hall spilled out to the main lobby, where several volus were carrying on like normal. Ash watched them for awhile, hands on her hips, eyes narrowed in concentration. They didn't seem to notice or care about her presence. She wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Her gaze fell to the stocky, steel, door that lead to the mansion's dungeon. If working with the Alliance had taught her anything, it was to trust your gut, and her gut was telling her she had to go down there.

Ash waited until the lobby had cleared of the volus, then quickly sidled along the wall, gently letting the soles of her boots rock along the marbled floor so as to remain silent, and slid her fingers around the doors steel handle. It twisted up, clanked, and the door was coming open. She hugged her body to the wall and stepped sideways within, closing it behind her. The staircase was narrow and dark enough to lose your footing if you didn't pay attention; so she did. One step after another she carefully wound her way down towards the cool, rushing, air of the dungeon below.

She was halfway, her arms extended, her palms grazing the side walls for balance, when a glowing red circle appeared at the foot of the stairs. She froze, held her breath, and peered down in confused terror until she realized it was simply the mask of one of the volus; their breathing apparatus' glowed.

The alien was staring at her. It was dark enough so that his masked face was hidden in shadow during his exhales, but lit up with a soft red glow on inhales. His head cocked sideways. "Can I help you, Miss Williams?"

She swallowed. "Oh, um..." Lie, Ash, she told herself. Just lie. "I... was, um..."

"Yes?"

"Just... just looking for..."

"What? Whom?" He asked. A thump sounded as he began climbing the steps himself. The glowing red circle of his breather floated forward in the dark.

"I'm sorry. I made a mistake," she said, turned and climbed the staircase. She reached the top, gripped the handle of the door, and twisted.

It didn't budge.

Thump. She turned and saw the volus was still coming. "A mistake?" His distorted voice questioned. Thump.

Ashley opened her mouth to say something, but wound up staring down at the volus instead. His head swayed with every step as he thump - thump - thumped his was closer. Something bad had happened in the mansion. She didn't know why or when or to whom... but her gut feeling was telling her that this volus had a large part to play in it. And in the Alliance - you trusted your gut. "Stay away from me," she warned, her back pressed to the door.

"Miss Williams!" He made a sound that could have been laughter. "What's the matter?"

Thump.

"Just stay where you are, alright?"

Thump.

He was short, his legs stubby, and she had the high ground. If she had to-needed to-she could attack him. But there was doubt in Ashley's mind, and doubt was another thing an Alliance soldier had to adhere to. If she hurt this volus and he was innocent... she'd have to live with that for the rest of her life.

"Miss Williams, allow me to help you with the door." Thump. "Just hold on one moment."

He was only three steps below her now, a floating ball of red approaching her knees. You're paranoid, Ash, she told herself. Don't do something you'll regret.

She had decided upon letting him to the door. The volus thumped onto the step below her and reached his arm forward in the dark. She dropped her gaze to his hand. He inhaled and the breather's glow lit the staircase just enough.

Just enough for her to see the syringe he was carrying, the sharp end of the needle stabbing for her arm.

She planted her foot on the alien's chest, leaned in, and shoved. His arms flailed up above him, his legs kicked out, and then he was tumbling backwards down the steps; the red glow of his breather briefly turning the dark staircase into a nightclub - flashes of red circling and painting the ceiling, the floor, the ceiling, the floor. Then he stopped falling and his body hit the floor of the dungeon below with one final thump. He lay motionless; a shadowed lump amidst the concrete. The breather still pulsed, but slowly and labored.

Ashley stood frozen at the top of the stairs, heaving to catch her breath, and feeling a cold sweat drip from her brow. She stood like that for a good while, partially because she was terrified, partially because she was waiting to see who had heard the scuffle and would come running. After half a minute, she realized-with some relief-that no one had heard.

With the door at her back locked, there was only one way to go, so she went.

Reaching the dungeon floor, she prodded the volus' body with the toe of her boot. He did not stir. She stepped gently around him, crouched, and found the syringe lying cracked and bent to the side of his outstretched little hand. The contents inside were liquid and brown. She didn't think she even wanted to know what the alien had been trying to inject her with.

Footsteps approaching from the adjacent hall.

Ash's eyes widened, she cursed beneath her breath, and shuffled down to the volus' legs. The aliens were short but round and heavy, so when she lifted his ankles to her waist and pulled, he barely budged. She grit her teeth, planted her feet, and pulled harder. His suit made a thiissss sound as it scraped the concrete floor.

Now voices accompanied the footsteps. Volus voices.

"Come on, come on!" Ash whispered to herself. She dug a heel into the floor, yanked, stopped, dug her other heel down, yanked, stopped. The volus was coming, but too slow. She glanced back at the corner she'd have to round and realized she'd never make it. The hall was dark, though. Dark enough that a shadowy lump on the floor might go unrecognized - if it didn't pulse light.

The voices were close enough to distinguish words, which meant she was out of time.

Ash dropped to the floor on her belly, army-crawled up beside the unconscious volus, and wrapped her arms around his head. She clamped her hands over his mouth-piece, burying the light between her fingers. It still poked out here and there in little dull lines, but it was the best she could do.

"If not tonight, when?" The voices were in the same hall then; nearing from the opposite end.

"It has to be tonight. It's the only way to make enough credits to cover the expenses."

"If she doesn't?"

"She will. We'll make her."

Their lights came bobbing right up to her; one a bright green, the other a soft purple. They stood a mere few feet away, lingering at the steps.

"There's no breaking vows, Telk."

"Who said anything about that?"

There was a moment in the conversation where they both went silent, and Ash was sure it was because they had spotted her lying there in the hall like an idiot. But then the volus climbed the staircase. At the top, one commented about the locked door, but it came open quickly enough - he must have had a key. It slammed shut, and the sound of her's and the unconscious volus' breath was the only sound left in the dungeon. She got her hand beneath her chest, pushed herself up to her feet, and wiped the sweat from her brow.

Returning to the alien's legs, she once again lifted and began the difficult process of getting him out of the hall. They wound up in a smaller room with stools around a leather bench and cuffed links with chains tethering them to the walls. Ashley dropped her attacker and sat on one of the stools catching her breath. It was in that quiet moment that she heard it.

The sound was drifting into the room faint and soft and filled with reverberation, like a choir whispering in a church hall. Ash steadied her breathing, focused, and listened. It was melodic and coming from the corner of the room. She stood, made he way cautiously over, and pressed her ear to the wall. The sound-voices, perhaps-grew ever-so-slightly in volume. She backed away from the wall, her brow furrowing in confusion.

Get a grip, Ash, she though. This is crazy. You're hearing things.

Only, she wasn't. She was sure of it. She pressed her ear back to the wall and sure enough the voices could be heard once more. The wall was thin, possibly hollow, and unnaturally cold. Ash took a step back again and scanned the length of it. Her eyes fell on a stone at the other corner; waist high and just slightly offset enough to catch notice. She went to it, crouched, and placed her hand on it. It was warmer than the others, but unlike the twentieth century films they'd studied in art class in college, the wall didn't magically slide away to reveal any hidden passages.

Ash backed away, hands on her hips, and stared forward, thinking. The volus at her feet stirred and groaned. She realized their suits were probably meant to withstand much more than the toxicity of air, and the alien would awaken soon. She stepped to his hands, lifted them, and dragged him closer to the wall with the intent to chain him there. She stopped mid-drag when she saw the palm of his glove. It was white, but at the fingertips and thumb, it was a bit dirty, as if he'd been gripping some filthy object.

Or, perhaps, touching walls.

Looking back at the offset stone, she noticed it hung at her waist, but would be perfectly placed for the volus to march right up and give a push. Ash bent, grabbed the alien by the waist, and winced as she lugged him over and propped him beside the wall there. His little hand fit perfectly over the stone as she placed it, and then-

-those twentieth century films were more accurate than she'd thought. The wall at the corner of the room slid back, a cold gust of musky air rushed in, and a dark and cavernous hall twisted down further into the ground beyond.

"Whoa..." Ashley whispered, taking a step forward. The walls and ceiling of the hall were carved right into the rock, but so smoothly it looked like proper architecture. The voices she heard earlier had easily doubled in volume now that the path lay bare. "There's a problem in front of you and there's only one thing to do about it, Ashley Williams," she spoke the words, but it was her father's voice she heard. "Fix the problem."

The cuffs clicked into place around the volus' hands, and as Ash was finishing up, she saw the alien had a thin black rod strapped to the inside of his left leg. She frowned, reached, and removed it. There was a switch at the base, and she pressed her thumb into it. The top sparked with blue electricity; little bolts snapping at the air around it. The thing was a cattle prod of sorts.

She nodded, thankful to be armed in some capacity, and moved to the front of the entrance. She left the top of the prod sparking to light her way; the electricity sending a blue ball of light down the hall. If the higher-ups at Alliance HQ could see me now, Ash thought.

She stepped into the unknown.

-Liara-

She sprayed the perfume, leaned forward, and took a deep inhale. A smile came across her face. "Yes, this is the one!" Liara cheered, clapped her hands, and set the bottle down. "I will smell as beautiful as I'll appear, don't you think?"

Serj bowed his head. "Absolutely, Master."

She made her way across Shepard's bedroom and opened up the shoe drawer. It slid out and was lined from end-to-end with shoes of every color, size, and style. Liara licked her lips, eyeing them up. She decided on a pair of silver, lacy, heels. "Perfect!"

"The first guests have docked, Master," Serj informed her, a hand to his ear. "Shall I go and greet them?"

"You may," Liara said, sticking her feet into the shoes and gawking at how pretty her blue skin looked beneath the silver lace. "First, tell me how pretty I am."

"Very pretty, Master."

"Prettier than Shepard herself?"

"Of course."

"And even Miranda Lawson?"

"Yes, Master."

Liara smiled. Yes... she was prettier than those whores. They were human; nasty, filthy, perverted, humans. She ran her fingertips along her breasts. "You're dismissed."

"Yes, Master," Serj said, but lingered for a moment and then stepped forward. "About our arrangement-"

"Yes, yes, I know," Liara said, swatting the air in annoyance. "I will release your little Oath soon, Serj. After the party."

"But before the guests leave. That is important to me, Master. You must break the Oath of Servitude before the guests depart."

Liara frowned, growing more annoyed. "What does that even matter? Fine! Just leave me be and do as I say without question for the next few hours and you will have your release. Before the guests leave."

"Thank you, Master." He bowed his head, turned, and prepared to leave.

"Oh, and Serj, have Miranda and Sam positioned in the ballroom. Gag their mouths and make sure Miranda is displayed... gratuitously, if you understand."

"Where the guests can view her with ease?"

"Yes. And where they can put their hands on her... anywhere they want," Liara explained, feeling her smile widen. "Sam, too, I suppose, though her figure won't draw as much attention, I suspect, as Miss Lawson's." She was hoping someone would get drunk enough to rape the woman silly... she'd like that, especially since she was going to do it herself before the night was over. "And make sure Ashley is dressed and ready."

"Miss Williams has escaped, Master."

"What!?" Liara snapped, spinning to face the volus. "What did you just say!?"

"Your story apparently wasn't convincing enough, Master. We spotted her on surveillance a few minutes ago making a run for the woods."

"No!" Liara whined, stomping her foot. The heel on the silver shoes broke in half as she brought it down. They'd be impossible to wear now. "No!" She screamed even harder before setting her raging gaze back on Serj. "Do you know how badly I wanted her on my arm tonight you stubby little bastard!?"

Serj remained silent.

"And you just- you just let her slip away from me, didn't you!" Liara screeched, throwing her arms up. "I hope you're happy... damn you! Damn her!" She kicked the shoes from her feet and threw open the drawer to pick out new ones. "You're all against me... all of you... against me..." Her eye twitched and she ground her teeth until it stopped.

"Shall I send out a party to retrieve her, Master?"

"Oh, to hell with it!" Liara shouted. None of the shoes were as perfect as the silver ones she'd broken and that was making her even angrier. "Let the bitch go. Tomorrow morning send someone out there with a gun and put one in her deceitful little forehead!"

"Yes, Master."

"I mean... don't kill the bitch," Liara explained, taking a breath. "Just... hurt her a little and bring her back."

"Yes, Master. I will see you later tonight. The guests are arriving now. I hope that you will honor our agreement..."

Liara shooed him away with a swat of her hand.

"The Oath must be broken before the guests leave."

"Go!" Liara yelped, pointing.

Serj bowed and went.

She turned her attention back to the shoes. So many shoes. So many choices. They swam in her head, mocking her, laughing at her. Against her. The shoes were all against her, too.

Her eye twitched.

-Jack-

She paced around the room, her feet slapping in rhythm off the cool floor, her arms folded across her chest, and her eyes keeping watch on the viewport that ran the length of the room. Outside, night was setting in, and ship after ship was dropping into orbit; the dull light of their thrusters making them look like massive fireflies in the distance. Jack pressed her lips together and frowned. Things were happening out there. Big things. And yet, she was stuck in here: a prisoner, always a prisoner.

"Argh!" She growled in anger and punched a fist to the glass.

She'd woken up a few hours earlier with little to remember how she'd gotten here. The last thing she could recall was that psychotic asari slut hovering over her with a candle in her hand, and then - boom, a lapse of time and here she was. The room had to be a compartment sectioned off a small ship. The whole thing sounded like a ship; the steady thrum of the engines idling reminded her of the Normandy. The room was small, sparsely furnished, and-most importantly-locked. She pounded on the door for awhile after waking up, but no one had answered. There had been a hot meal and a glass of water sitting at the room's sole table. At first she mistrusted it, but realizing if someone had wanted her dead by now, she'd be dead by now, she ate and drank. It was good.

That was hours ago, though, and now she had grown beyond impatient. The ships landing on the planet had only served to stir that impatience. Liara was still roaming around out there, and more importantly, so was Miranda. Shepard and the rest had no idea of how dangerous and batshit crazy that bitch was, and there was nothing Jack could do to warn them of it.

That pissed her off. She cursed and flipped the table on its side.

"Could you do you best not to destroy my ship, Jack?"

Jack froze, staring up at the ceiling. That voice had come from the intercom, and it had been familiar. "Let me the fuck out of her! I don't know who you are and I don't care! Just let me the fuck out! RIGHT NOW!"

"I'm coming in, Jack. Could you sit down first and try not to hit me. I'm on your side here."

Jack frowned, thinking on that. There was something familiar about that voice... She sighed, went back to the cot she'd woken up on, and sat on the edge, keeping alert and ready to attack.

The doors slid back and Kasumi Goto walked in.

"Kasumi?" Jack questioned.

The thief she'd ridden into hell and back with during the Omega-4 Relay mission stood before her dressed in a snug stealth suit of dark grey and navy blue. An attached hood was up and over the back of her head, shadowing most her face. Her lips were plainly visible, though, a strip of purple paint running down the center of them. She was smiling as she spoke, "Hello, Jack. Long time no see."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jack asked, standing.

Kasumi put a hand up to motion for her to sit back down. "Relax, Jack. Like I said: I'm not your enemy. In fact, I seemed to have saved you, though admittedly unintentional as it was, it was still a rescue. The asari had you in a very... disadvantageous postion."

"Liara... the bitch's name is Liara," Jack said, anger heating up her blood at the simple thought of the twisted blue bitch's smiling face.

"Yes," Kasumi agreed, taking a seat at the opposite end of the cot. "She had you bound and gagged in a shed... what was that all about?"

"It doesn't matter," Jack said with a shake of her head. "Look, we have to go back to that mansion. Miranda's in there and she doesn't know what a sick fuck Liara is. None of them do."

"That's not part of my mission here, Jack," Kasumi explained.

"Well then fuck you, I'll go myself," Jack said, stepping towards the door.

It slid shut as Kasumi pressed a control on her wrist's touch panel. "Please, sit Jack. I can't have you interfering with my mission."

"What fucking mission?" Jack snapped.

"I'm here to retrieve a girl named Samantha Traynor."

Jack frowned. "Shepard's slave girl?"

Kasumi shrugged. "I suppose."

"What do you want with her?"

"I don't want anything. The people who hired me do."

"You're a kidnapper now?"

"I'm a thief. People can be stolen the same as any painting or ship or valuable."

"Well listen to me, Kasumi," Jack said, sitting back to the cot and staring into the thief's eyes, or at least what she could see of them beneath the hood. "You're 'valuable' is in danger in that mansion. They all are."

"I know this."

"Then let's fucking go!" Jack snapped. "I know the ins and outs of that place. I can help you."

"Liara is delivering the girl to me tonight," Kasumi explained. "Until then, you and I are going to sit still, Jack."

"She told you that? And you believed her? Are you as fucking nuts as she is? She's not going to do shit for you!" Her eyes drifted to the viewport. "And what the fuck are all those ships doing dropping into orbit!?"

Kasumi glanced outside. "Your guess is as good as mine. I would assume our former dear Commander is throwing herself a party." Her eyes fell back to Jack. "This is all news to me. I was expecting to come here to an isolated planet with only Samantha, Shepard, and the volus. Instead I wound up walking into some crazy little game you all seem to be playing with each other."

"It's no game," Jack said. "Well... it might be to Shepard, but Miranda and myself were kidnapped by her."

"Shepard kidnapped you?"

"And Miranda, yes."

Kasumi put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe you should explain this situation to me from the beginning... so I have a better understanding of what I'm dealing with here."

So Jack did. She told the thief everything she could, from the night Shepard showed up at Grissom Academy, to the last night Liara had her locked away in the shed; only leaving out her night of sex with Miranda on the beach.

Kasumi sat quietly for a long while afterward, taking it all in. "So Commander Shepard is just as crazy as Liara, then?"

"No... no, Shepard..." Jack struggled to find the right way to put it. "Shepard's basically like a child with too much power and unsure of what she wants to do with it. She's relatively harmless compared to that fucking psychotic asari."

Kasumi thought on it again. "Well, what do you want to do about all this?"

"I want to storm the mansion. Give me an amp if you got one. I'll tear those fucking walls down and crush Liara T'Soni's blue little head in," Jack explained, balling her fists.

"An amp? Like a biotic amp? I don't have one, Jack."

Jack cursed. Without an amp, a biotic was fairly useless as far as their powers went. "Well... fuck it, we'll sneak in, then. I'll get Miranda, you get Sam, and we go."

"What about Shepard?"

Jack thought about it. "Shit... as fucking pissed as I am at her for getting me into all this... I guess we should get her ass out of there, too. Or at least make sure she knows about Liara. Then after everyone is safe and fucking sound and you have your little 'valuable'... I'm going to kill Liara T'Soni."

Kasumi stared out the viewport as more ships dropped into orbit. "As good a plan as any, I suppose, Jack. Except you have one, glaring, flaw in it."

"Well spit it out."

Kasumi ran a hand along her control panel. Dim lights powered on around the room's ceiling. It had grown dark outside and the light provided enough visibility within the ship to see one another, but not much more. "I wasn't hired to kidnap Samantha Traynor, Jack. I was sent to rescue her."

Jack frowned. "What... what do you mean? From Shepard? You know she's willingly acting as Shepard's slave, right?"

"Not from Shepard. Shepard is as clueless as she is."

"I don't understand," Jack admitted with a shake of her head. "You said you didn't know about Liara."

"Not Liara, either. As crazy as she might be, she's not the real danger." Kasumi leaned forward. "The real danger... is the volus."

"Volus?" Jack echoed, a smirk coming across her face. "I've knocked out krogan with my bare fists, and you're telling me to worry about those little fucks?"

"You don't understand, Jack. They're not nearly as innocuous as they appear," Kasumi explained. "They were sworn to Shepard under the Volus Oath of Servitude last year."

"...alright..."

"However, the clan that they came from... the clan that they were sworn out of was uncovered only a few months ago to be the most vile, terrible, group of slavers in the galaxy." She looked back to the viewport as she continued. "They were a relatively small organization based around Omega. Aria T'Loak knew of them, but even she didn't get involved with their shady, underground, business. The organization dealt in drugs, bounties, theft, but their most lucrative business was the trading and selling of organics."

Jack shook her head. "How do you know about this? I've never heard a thing about it. Does the Alliance know? Cerberus? Anyone other than, apparently, you?"

"After it was uncovered, it was kept from the public by the highest ranking Alliance officials. It was a black mark on their service, so naturally they wanted to minimize word that they had failed at their job for so long. Many disappearances were attributed to the volus group. Most never were seen again."

"Alright," Jack said, thinking. "Even if everything you say is true, what does it matter? If they've been sworn to Shepard, they can't do anything to break their precious little vows, right?"

"Correct, assuming Shepard keeps the Oath bound to them," Kasumi explained. "If she does not? If she releases them from her service? She'll have a mansion full of the most wicked, unscrupulous, slavers you've ever seen. That would be bad for my client's daughter."

Jack lifted her head. "Sam's parents? That's who you're working for?"

Kasumi nodded. "They heard Commander Shepard had a group of volus sworn to her. They paid a very high amount of credits to track her down and find out if those volus came from the slaver clan. When they discovered they had, they hired me to come get her."

"A thief instead of a professional kidnapper?"

"A thief with very close ties to Shepard," Kasumi corrected. "Which, they felt, was more valuable than anything else."

"How did they find out about all this?"

"A close friend of theirs happens to be one of those high-ranking Alliance officials whom promptly buried the story of the Volus Slave Trade. Which is why they couldn't go to the Alliance, either, without sacrificing his name and putting him in... how do they say it... deep shit?"

Jack stood, running her fingers through the stubbly hair she had grown since arriving on the planet. Her mind was racing with all this information, but the thing it kept landing on was Miranda. "We have to go stop this. If what you're saying is true... Kasumi, don't make me fucking sit in this god damn ship while you go without me!"

"Relax, Jack. The situation has changed, that much is clear. We have to think this through, though. Running into that mansion will likely only get us both captured... or worse."

Jack watched the skies. Another two ships broke the horizon, flying towards the docking bay beside the beach. "Do you still have that cloaking suit you used aboard the Normandy?"

Kasumi nodded.

Jack nodded, staring North. Staring towards the mansion.

"Get it."

-Ashley-

The voices grew as she went further and further down the tunnel. There was no mistaking it now, it was a tunnel. At first, she'd thought of it as a rock hall, but the deeper it wound into the planet, the more it became haggard and jagged. Ash held the cattle prod before her, the blue light casting its glow upon both the walls and her own face. Her eyes were wide and alert and a little afraid. She went on, though. That's what a good soldier did.

The tunnel wrapped in a zig-zag pattern down a sloped piece of rock. She took careful steps down it, a pebble shooting from beneath the rubber sole of her boot and ricocheting forward into the dark, leaving a trail of echoed clacks as it hit the walls. The path evened out again and she started forward once more.

She could heard the voices clearly now. They were chanting, and her earlier idea of a church choir wasn't that far off. There was some melody in the voices, but mostly they were just droning on and on.

The tunnel began to widen, further and further, and then the rock fell away and smooth, arched, steel replaced it. Ashley's eyes widened and she ran her hand along it. The white/silver metal beneath was cool and smooth. It was at that moment she realized: this was no simple mansion. Something was built beneath it. Something big.

Steel pillars began jutting from the walls at regular intervals, and the chanting was loud enough to drown the sound of both her footsteps and the electric hum of the cattle prod. Light fixtures dotted the walls, so she triggered the prod's kill-switch.

She rounded a corner and her jaw dropped. "Oh my God..."

Beyond the hall was the largest room she'd ever seen. And in the center-

-hands, stubby but strong, wrapped her torso.

Ashley screamed and tried twisting free of them. They did not let go. They violently yanked her to the ground, getting a hold of her hair, and then weight was on top of her. Something damp and soft pressed up against her lips and nose, and she recognized the smell as chloroform. Her screams were lost beneath it, and her vision blurred as she had no choice but to breath the fumes in.

The last thing she remembered seeing were two, pale yellow, rims staring down at her.

The fabric came away from her mouth and she was still conscious enough to mutter one word.

"...Shepard.."

Then she slept.