Mass Effect - Strength Of Heart

by IAmElvie

This story is different from my others because of the lack of mythology. It begins when she is five years old and ends up a duct rat in the underbelly of the Citadel's Wards - and will continue past ME3. It will have all the main characters and some of my own. Remember, I'm not an editor, there will be typos. The story is for mature readers only.

12. Strength of Heart Ch12 - Feros

Strength of Heart

Chapter 12

Feros

He touched the panel on the wall next to the closet to turn on the mirror function. He could have just told the VI 'activate mirror' but sometimes it felt good to do something physical. He looked over the sweat-wicking, form-fitting athletic suit that nearly covered him from head to toe. He nodded at his reflection in appreciation. He was using a new workout routine and it was starting to show. He drew a towel around his neck, grabbed a small container of hydrocubes that he attached to a band around his upper arm and headed for the mess.

Since there was no recreational room or gym onboard, he ran laps from the mess, up to the deck one, circled the CIC and back down the steps to the mess. He ran his gamut of stretches and then grinned over at his wife who was watching him shamelessly from the small kitchen area. He then glanced at Kaidan, Ella and a few other strewn out behind, who'd joined in the laps.

An hour later, half his running group had slipped away at one point or the other. He patted down with the light towel and tossed it onto one of the mess tables. He followed with another series of stretches to wind down.

Garrus had been fascinated by the humans that ran laps on the ship. He wasn't sure if that was a normal thing or a Loki thing. But running in circles was a waste of time and energy. He was turian, not a hamster that ran in a wheel. "You wouldn't catch a turian wasting their energy like that," he teased. In truth, he hadn't come down here to see him run but for what came next. The sparring. Now, turians loved to spar, especially to blow off steam…but not usually in the mess hall.

"Do you want to dance?" he challenged him.

Garrus choked on his water and nearly sprayed it everywhere. "Turians don't dance, Loki...and you are not my usual type."

He blinked for a moment confused. Then he realized the turian had taken him literally. He smiled and then laughed. "Human? Or male?"

"Both," Garrus grunted, his head tilting as he tried to figure the human out. He knew Loki was married and didn't seem the type to enjoy outside… relations.

"Fuck me, Garrus, that's hilarious!" Loki wheezed out and then his eyes popped open when he realized he might be taken literally again. He took a step back and waved his hands in denial. "That wasn't an invitation! I'm a woman only kind of guy and happily married. The only that kind of dancing I like to do is very slow, very sensual and only with my wife. I meant do you want to go a few rounds? Spar? I would like for you to show me your moves. I mean – show me what you got. No! Oh, fuck me… I give up," he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

Garrus' mandibles spread and he chortled a strangled laugh, this time understanding how words could go terribly wrong despite the intension behind them. The turian picked up the metaphorical gauntlet and gave the spectre the come-hither motion with his fingers. "You are on… pretty boy," he taunted.

They squared off on the mat. Garrus explained a few moves and showed him how they were done. Once he was sure the human knew the particular movements he wanted to teach him, they pulled on forearm and shin guards that were laid out on one of the tables and began to put the moves into practice.

After a few rounds, he had to admit he was impressed. The Spectre caught on fast and was keeping him on his guard. He spotted a flaw in her movement, stepped in and tossed him onto the mat. One of several that were laid out around the tables.

Loki rolled up in a flowing motion and swept a leg out, low and precise, taking the turian's legs out from under him. In the next instant, his boot was pressing down on Garrus' carapace and he leaned over, getting closer to the alien. "I don't lose. Ever." Well… maybe to his sister… maybe even Thane. But no one else.

Ella elbowed Kaidan, motioning to Loki and they laughed, commiserating with the turian.

The turian's carapace held him up just enough that his head was angled down a bit. That didn't stop him from noting the hard look in the human's eyes. But the man's lips, however, twitched and then he burst out laughing. Humans were strange. "To think I wondered if you were about to throw me out the airlock."

Lokyrian removed his foot and held his hand out to help the turian get back onto his feet.

"Yes, I think we all can say that we've learned that lesson the hard way." Kaidan clapped the turian on the back. "But you should know – he wasn't even trying. He was just evaluating us. Watch this," he said as he stepped onto the mat with Loki, preparing to spar.

Garrus was stunned by the fluid moves. If one attempted something, the other just wasn't there. It was almost like they were dancing but he had little doubt that if the blows landed, they would be felt. The men were spinning around each other, arms, legs, knees, elbows, every part of their bodies flashing out in quick, precise moves.

The battle leapt up onto the table for a few moves before Loki backflipped off, aiming a flying kick at Kaidan's leg as he jumped down after him. Kaidan grabbed his friend's upper arm flung him over his head; Loki rolled, pulling Kaidan along with him and ended up straddling his chest and arms. He grinned and tapped Kaidan's forehead with his finger until his friend cried uncle.

Garrus clamped his mandibles against his cheekplates, not exactly pleased the battle ended on a teasing note - a far lighter ending then he was accustomed to. "Turians are known to end sparring matches after something breaks… or more amorously, depending on who they are sparring."

"I can see the appeal," Ella acknowledged. "But," she said motioning to the silly antics of the pair, "that's better than ending up at the medbay getting patched up."

Garrus rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. If he could blush, he would be. "Er – well… that's where we ended up after the…hmmm… tie-breaker in the cabin," he admitted.

That earned more than a few laughs as more people were drawn to the mess to see what was happening. Sparring lessons usually took place after the jog-about through the ship. Those that wanted to participate would pair up and he and Kaidan worked with the pairs to improve their sparring techniques. Both had originally been trained by his sister and they'd never stopped practicing, no matter what ship they were on.

When the session finally broke up, they were both eager to hit the showers. And spend a few naughty moments with their wives.

Dinner was the time when most of the crew got together to talk about their day as well as anything happening in their personal lives. At least the parts they wanted to share. But even a small ship like this had its share of scuttlebutt, the stuff they didn't want to share. There were whispers that Liara had a thing for Loki, but he and his wife stamped out the rumors every time they surfaced.

For the next couple of weeks, they did odd missions for the Alliance, because they just couldn't seem to let him go. They even took down a few Cerberus and geth bases. Shortly thereafter, they also ended up taking down the two rival criminal warlords that a third crime lord, Helena Blake, had told him about. But he wasn't about to let Helena become the kingpin of crime lords. When he returned to Helena's base, he strongarmed the woman into getting out of the business. Here's to doing bad things for good reasons.

Things were different under his command, not to say Father David did anything wrong. He didn't. He was a great soldier and leader. And let no one say any different. He would not tolerate that. But he was not his father. He spent a lot more personal time with the crew. He wanted to know who their sweetheart was, their families, their likes and dislikes. He, in turn, talked about his life aboard various ships, his time with his sister – though he only fielded general questions about her. Only she had the right to talk about her life, though he could well understand their curiosity.

Occasionally, the crew would meet up at the mess at night and drink until dawn - and suffer the next morning. Though the times he let himself go that far were far and few. He did not like losing control of himself. If an emergency arose, he would not be in the right headspace to deal with it.

Someone had brought a chair down to engineering for Tali. "You are so mean, you ax'kah." She groaned and grabbed at her helmet.

He laughed until his belly hurt. Not that the enjoyed seeing the quarrian suffer, he didn't, but her calling him mean was hysterical. "Not hungover does not translate to being mean or an asshole," he pointed out with a grin.

Tali groaned again, resting her mask against the console. "If I throw up my helmet…"

He commiserated with her. He'd been there a time or two. "Sorry, Tali. My magic wand is all out of fairy dust and Tinker Bell is hiding."

She moved her head as little as she dared to look at him. "Humans are so weird." What was a Tinker Bell?

"I'll talk to my wife and see if she if has any magical concoctions that might help. Hand in there, kid."

"Not a kid," she grumbled as she rested her helmeted forehead back on the console. Though, she supposed she was actually a kid, since she'd not completed her pilgrimage. Still… she didn't want any man as beautiful as Loki to think of her as a child.

"Thank you, Joker. Comm the landing party – that's not hungover, and have them meet at the airlock in 15." He looked critically at the quarrian. "Stay…I'll send my wife to you."

"I can…"

"No, you can't," he countered and sauntered away.

"Will do, Shepard." Jeff shook his head as he ran through who all ended up drinking too much last night and then commed those who should be mission worthy. Afterwards, he requested permission to land. Garbled static was all he received. He tried once more. More static. "I have received no response from ground, Shepard. There appears to be a jamming field in place."

"Roger that, Joker. Land anyway."

He noted another ship as he brought the Normandy into the landing bay. The clamps clanked as they latched onto the hull. His OT chimed; he pulled it from his pocket and flipped it on. An implant wasn't going to work for him, he couldn't risk damaging his bones.

He grinned when he saw who it came from. He received a handful of messages a year from his father, at least a message every month or two from his sister. But this one came from Livvy. His heart did a silly little flip that would have embarrassed him if anyone had known. Good old Deliverance Tilton, best friend and… something more. He'd first met her in person when she'd been called over to babysit his little sister, Hilary. Hillary – not himself. She was only two years older than him. Despite that, she actually spent time getting to know the boy with creaky legs. Eager for the attention, he all but fawned at her feet.

His lids lowered and her face came to his mind. Long, black, wavy hair, tied back carelessly. Silvery grey eyes that sucked you in and you weren't sure if you wanted to get back out. That was his Livvy. At least until his mother uprooted him to the Arcturus Station. When they parted, Livvy gave him his first kiss. Sure as shit he wanted to stay after that. And he was pissed as all hell about the move. But he developed a love of ships on that station and a passion to fly. He slowly opened his eyes to see what she'd written.

Jeff – It's been too long since we've been in contact. I don't know if he's told you, but your father is so very proud of you. First Pilot on an Alliance prototype! You've come a long way, Jeff! I've finally gotten my own ship – Nothing so grand as yours. I named her Deliverance. I can almost see the light in your eyes and the need to tease me about it. But it's what I do now. I'm a supply runner. And, noooo… that doesn't mean smuggler. So, don't even go there! And I know you did, so don't tell me otherwise. I run supplies to and from the outer colonies that are too far away from standard tradelines. Sometimes it's even trade between the colonies. I earn a portion of the traded goods on both ends and then sell that to make money. It's not a great living, but I'm not doing it to get rich. I'm just not ready to settle down on the farm. I know you understand, even if leaving had not been your choice. You never came back…and I understand that.

I fly into the Citadel and Earth on occasion, but I suspect meeting up with you will continue to be difficult, despite having my own ship now. Perhaps, someday, we'll bump into each other in the vast expanse of space. Honestly – do you never take leave anymore?

I expect you to tell me how you were made First Pilot and what it's like being on a ship like that? I heard Shepard was aboard the Normandy. What's he like? Does his ego fit through the door? Is he as dangerous as they say? Butcher of Torfan…and he's your captain. I worry about you.

I miss you, Jeff! I think about you all the time!

Yours – Liv

His hand lifted to his heart as he breathed out the pain. For so long, his career was everything. The Normandy was everything. Until he received a message from one of the few people he cared about. Then he felt the pain of missing them. But Livvy was different. She wasn't a relative, she didn't have to care about him. She chose to. And that, somehow, meant more. He made a motion to pull out the holo-keyboard and started his response.

It was nice that the Normandy could dock on Feros rather than doing a drop in the Mako. She was sure to need some light repairs. As they stepped out of the airlock and onto Feros, a man was on the walkway to greet them.

David hurried towards the soldiers, having waited impatiently for the ship to dock. "We saw your ship. Fai Dan wants to meet with you immediately."

"Who's Fai Dan?" Lokyrian asked.

"He's our…leader. He needs your help to prepare for the geth. They are making another push - " David explained.

Take cover!" Garrus yelled. But it was too late for the greeter, who was torn apart by geth bullets. Then, the three geth open fired on them. As they fell, more moved in. Both Liara and Loki threw out singularities. Large crates and geth bodies crashed together. One geth escaped death by crates, but only because he was flung over the balcony to the hard docking bay floor…very far below them. "Watch out for that first step!"

Liara frowned down at the dead human. "They tried to build a life here; the geth won't even let them have that."

"I can't believe the colony held out as long as they did," Kaidan added softly. "It's a desolate planet."

"You humans are soft," Wrex grumbled. "This planet is more hospitable than Tachanka."

Ashley frowned in the direction her thoughts went. "It reminds me of Earth." She swallowed hard, willing the headache away. She did not want Loki to know she was hungover. She had a job to do and she would do it with her teeth gritted if she had to.

What? Kaiden turned a puzzled gaze on Ash. "What do you mean? Earth isn't a ruined husk."

"Maybe not – but quality of life only exists high above the ground. The further down you go, the harder it is to survive. At least from what I've seen. Besides, this could have been Earth, if humans hadn't discovered space travel," she pointed out.

They followed the walkway around a corner, he saw a geth fly over her head. "Hopper!" he yelled. Damned geth clung to walls like a gecko. Hard as hell to catch. Garrus brought it down before he could even find where it had landed. The turian shot him a smug look when he glanced over at him. All right. He earned it. He bowed her head in acknowledgment.

As they continued forward, any colonists they found would only talk of their fear for the geth, so they continued on. They passed through a mobile home unit and out the other side. Finally, someone was willing to talk.

The leader looked at the advancing group of soldiers and there was an odd relief that did not seem his own. Though, he was definitely relieved too. "I'm Fai Dan, I'm so glad they finally decided to send someone to help us."

"It would have been nice had you come sooner," the woman bit out.

"Look, the geth are -" he heard the noise and spun around. "They're here!" Fai Dan yelled.

Lokyrian and Liara sent singularities at them, the two singularities pulled together to create a much larger field. He flung protective bubbles around his team and the surrounding equipment, not wanting important bits to be sucked into the powerful sphere. A hale of rounds took the geth offline and he pulled the energy back into himself. The geth fell with a metallic crunch sound.

Liara was stunned. She'd never fought alongside a biotic who was adept at singularities before, she'd been unaware the two wells would merge like that. "You are an extraordinary biotic for a human." She saw the man's brow lift. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I've never met anyone… as powerful. And you just… just pulled all that energy back into yourself instead of letting it die out. I didn't even know that could be done. I would love to study… I mean… I don't know what I mean. I'll just be quiet now."

Loki laughed softly. "It's okay, Liara. I had a very good teacher. If you think I'm good, you should see my twin sister. Though studying me like a lab rat is not on the table," he teased.

Liara's tattooed brows rose. "Of course not. I didn't mean…" She saw Aria's grin widen and just blinked for a moment. "Oh," she said with a shake of her head. "You were just teasing me. I'm still not used to that." Though, no doubt, she'd get used to it quickly around Aria. "You have a twin sister?"

Once he knew Liara had caught on, he winked and continued down the corridor in the direction of a signal he'd been following. "As odd as it is, she is my identical twin and the elder of us." He shrugged. "It is a very rare phenomenon. In most cases, we would have been fraternal. And no – that can't be studied either," he teased.

Loki wound his way through the snake-like corridor. At the end of the path was a crazy man talking in riddles. He seemed to be fighting something that caused him a great deal of pain, but he didn't appear to want help, so he left him to his own devices. They turned back to the bridge they'd just passed and crossed over it. The wall slid open and several geth attacked. They were higher up, but taken down before he could do anything. A large group did have its uses. He had missed the larger Bighorn squads, it felt good to have it back.

He came out of the corridor into a larger room. Three massive krogan charged them. He smiled at Liara and nodded. The asari flung out burst of energy that formed into a singularity. A favorite quick fix, it seemed, but no need for two of them. One of the krogan was tossed to the other side of the room, he amped and charged him. He slammed into the krogan full force, it smashed into the wall behind him and didn't move again. Another was taken down from a direction he hadn't expected.

He pulled the energy of Liara's singularity into him, shuddered slightly at the feel of another's biotic energy, and turned to face the newcomer. The woman had long black hair braided and pulled up out of the way. Her silvery eyes were striking. They were calculating and showed no fear. Her high-quality pistol did not waver. It looked to be Teiner Tech. "I am Lokyrian, most call me Loki, and this is my squad. Are you one of the colonists?"

"Interesting squad you have, Loki." Why did that name sound familiar to her? "No, I'm not a colonist. I, apparently, arrived here not long before you did. Deliverance Tilton, most just call me Liv. What brought the Alliance out here? Is it because of the geth?"

Lokyrian's brows rose. The woman was more knowledgeable than he'd expected. "The geth are the main reason we're here." Though he had no intension of telling her about Saren. "Deliverance. That was your ship then. How did you get past all the geth?"

Ashley rolled her eyes. Biotics tended to interfere with some types of tech, like the cloak, so they tended not to think about the tech they couldn't use. "My guess is a cloak."

Deliverance nodded. "I killed a couple geth and hid their bodies. Units? Whatever. But the cloak got me through. Teiner Tech tough," she grinned. "Just like my pistol," she said as she snapped it to her magbelt. "Best investments I've ever made. But enough of that. Something is going on here. The people aren't…" she lifted her hand and poked her head with her index finger, "right in the head."

"We already ran into Mr. Crazy," Ashley said, twirling a finger at the side of her head. "Talking to yourself is one thing, but he was fighting with himself. A real whack-a-roo."

Liv turned back the way she'd been going. "It's more than that. The others are… off too. But I'm guessing you came down here for the same reason I did." She motioned to the small alcove. "The transmitter the geth are using. I've tried to hack into it to turn it off, but nothing I did worked."

Loki's team fired on it until it was nothing but smoke and ruin. "I was going to try to hack it," he told them.

Garrus' mandibles spread. "It worked," he pointed out. "And I saved us time."

"I didn't even think of that," Liv admitted with a shake of her head.

"Do you have family here?" Lokyrian asked as they headed back the way they'd come.

"No. I'm a supply runner. Legitimate supplies," she added quickly. These were the Alliance type and she didn't need to borrow trouble. "I was supposed to drop off a few supplies and pick up some cargo they were flying offworld. But it wasn't where it normally is." She frowned. "What is even odder is that I couldn't even find a mechanic to make a few repairs to the Deliverance. They are usually waiting for me, eager for credits. I couldn't get much out of anyone except asking me to get their water going and salvage some power cells that they need. I was hoping I'd find some parts that I could use as well."

"Let me see if I can get some of my crew to try to run repairs on your ship." He flipped on his OT, but it was still scrambled. "As soon as we take down whatever is jamming communications. I was hoping it was the transmitter, but apparently not. Come with us, it's safer as a team."

"I'm feeling better about this already," Liv said with an agreeable nod. "I got a lock on where the spare parts are supposed to be before the signal was scrambled. Follow me."

They exited the wall-door, crossed back over the bridge and through the wall on the opposite side. Huge varren slavered, growled, and then attacked them. He and Liara threw out singularities in different directions. Three varren were pulled into one, five in another. A volley of rounds ended the danger and he drew the energy back in. He shuddered less this time. It would seem his body was adjusting to Liara's biotic energy.

"Over here!" Deliverance ran up the ramp to where a broken-down tank sat rusting. After she pulled out the power cells, she smiled at the men who picked them up and thanked them. She pulled out a few smaller parts and shoved them into her pockets. "That's about all we're going to be able to get from that bucket."

Lokyrian took a moment, among the varren corpses, to introduce her to the team. It had been an oversite on his part. He should have thought to introduce them earlier. It was time to head back.

-BREAK ONE-

Fai Dan nodded, acknowledging the soldiers' return, "The tower's secure. Thanks to you."

"It was a team effort, I assure you," he told him.

"Of course," he nodded. "Thank you for your efforts against the geth. It is appreciated."

"It won't hold them for long though, they always come back," the woman beside him replied.

Lokyrian frowned. What would Saren want with a colony that was barely surviving? "Do you know why the geth have attacked your colony?"

Fai Dan shook his head. "I don't know why they're here. The geth's main base is at the Exo-Geni headquarters if you want to look for answers. They are the company that funds the colony. The skyway leads directly to their headquarters." He motioned in the direction they would need to go.

He turned to Liv. "Let's talk to the folks you were assisting – we need to move out quickly."

As a team, they talked to the people Deliverance had spoken about to let them know they'd already taken care of the non-geth issues plaguing the colony, including handing over the power was unfortunate they had to eat what amounted to dogs, but he could understand the need. He would do it if he had too as well. He readied a message to his sister, knowing it would send as soon as they took care of the geth's scrambling measures. He knew she would ensure that supplies reached the colony far sooner than the Alliance could send. Though, he messaged them as well. This was a human colony after all. Now it was time to hit the skyway and take the fight to the geth before they could attack the colony again.

"I don't understand it," Deliverance said with a shake of her head. "I'm a shipper and I want to make this pick up and leave. Ledra's a merchant, he should want to sell what he can and leave. It makes no sense for him to stay."

"And he's acting strange just like the colonists," Ashley pointed out.

Lokyrian supposed it could be something in the air, water or even food supply. "Don't eat or drink anything and activate your shields or put your helmets on filter mode. Until we know more, treat this like a contamination." He looked over at Liv, who now had a pale blue tech field around her. "If you haven't gone by the time we get back, I'll send some of my crew to help patch up your ship."

"I'm coming with you." Liv lowered her voice. "I don't trust what's going on here and these people… Nope, don't want to stay here alone. Plus, I need to locate the crates I was supposed to pick up."

He frowned at Liv. They could just as easily find the crates for her. "You might be safer…"

"At home with my feet kicked up watching a vid," Liv butted in. "But that life isn't for me. Not yet. And when I chose to come out here, I learned how to shoot. How to take care of myself. Take me or I'll follow. I'm not staying."

He nodded in understanding. He didn't trust these people either. He supposed Liv would have chosen to stay aboard her ship, but he could certainly understand the need to do something. "Then welcome to the team, Liv."

They hopped the elevator; when the door opened, she heard a man yelling. They drew their guns, quickly scoped the situation and fired at the geth that were attacking the guards. When the threat was cleared, they climbed into the Mako that had been dropped off for them and headed out the main doors. As usual, Wrex hopped on guns but due to Tali's absence, Kaidan ran the navigation and scanners. Liv crowded in with the others in the back.

Debris and geth hides littered the skyway. Geth were a major problem, they come here in numbers. Armatures and geth with rocket launchers were everywhere.

They passed through two waves of geth before they picked up local radio chatter.

"They've got us on visual. They must be close," Liara said, sighting the cameras along the walls.

"Forget about them, we need to focus on the geth," Garrus responded.

"True enough, but it won't hurt to take a few minutes to peek in on them. They might be in serious need or they could have important information that would help us out. We won't know until we check," he explained.

"Then let's make this fast," Wrex grumbled. "We don't have all day." Though it bothered him, he actually agreed with the turian. They shouldn't stop. But damned if he was going to admit he agreed.

They climbed out of the tank and headed down the ramp into an underground encampment. The small group was safe for the moment. There was a nasty little butt-weasel who worked for Exo-Geni that Lokyrian wished he could silence. Instead, he pushed a small amount of power and made him stumble. When the man ended up on his hands and knees, he cleared his throat. Well, fuck. While he had good control over his biotics, he was not anywhere near as precise as his sister. He looked away from Kaidan's pursed lips, before they both burst out laughing, His friend was as close to losing at he was. Thankfuly, a woman drew his attention, she wanted her daughter found and a man wanted her to collect some data off his terminal at Exo-Geni, but otherwise nothing new was discovered. They returned to the mako and moved back onto the skyway.

After a couple of more geth waves, they made it to the end of the line. The door wouldn't open far, but he was able to wiggle the mako close enough that the cannon could be fired through the door to weed out some of the geth hiding within. When nothing else attacked them, they carefully headed in. A quick walk through only left one way to move forward. They dropped down through an opening to the floor below. There would be no coming back this way unless he wanted to lift everyone high enough to get over the ledge. Not something he cared to do unless there were no choice.

As they cleared the rubble, he noticed varren corpses littered the debris-filled ground. They were not alo – a bullet flew between hm and Kaidan.

"Damn it! Oh – I'm sorry. I thought you were a geth or one of those varren," the woman apologized.

They discovered that she was the missing daughter, Lizbeth, and that she worked for Exo-geni. Lizbeth had told them that she had elected to stay behind to download data; but she ended up trapped here when a geth ship latched onto the building to power barrier shields that kept people away from the Thorian, a very large, very old, plant life form, which was the most likely reason behind why the geth were here. She gave Lokyrian her ID to get him past any locked doors and wished him luck on getting the shields down. He handed the ID over to Ashley. He doubted he could pass for female should the scanning equipment be intelligent enough. Best not to take the chance.

That didn't much make sense to Kaidan. "I don't understand it, Loki. Why would the geth even care about an old plant?"

"You're right, it doesn't make sense," he agreed.

"Ha!" Garrus laughed. "Maybe its plant juice super primes a geth. Well, hmmm…that wouldn't be good."

"Maybe they use it for lubrication!" Deliverance joined in. That earned her a few groans followed by laughter.

"The geth don't require -"

Loki winked at the asari. "They were teasing, Liara."

Liara shook her head. "I don't think I'll ever understand humans."

"Give it time," Loki chuckled. "We're an acquired tasted.

"Teasing again?" the asari asked.

"Not so much," Kaidan told her with a kind smile on his lips.

As they rounded up the next level of steps, they heard a krogan yelling at a machine. The machine was nice enough to warn the krogan of their presence and he charged. He dropped a stasis bubble on him and sauntered over. "You really should control that temper of yours. It can lead to all kinds of… problems for you."

Garrus took him out.

Lokyrian frowned at the turian but then burst out laughing. "Really Garrus? I was going to ask him if he would surrender."

Garrus adjusted his armored collar, his mandibles spreading in a grin. "And I think we both know what his answer to that would have been."

"It's sporting to give him the chance," he quipped. "And now my toy is broken." He pulled in the stasis field and the corpse fell to the ground in a clank of armor.

His mandibles made small jerks up and down, his head cocked to the side, trying to figure him out. "I've never met anyone quite like you, Loki," he admitted.

"And you never will," he grinned. "Well – there's my twin. She'd have honestly been pissed that you'd killed him without giving him a chance to surrender. So… not just like me. Now, let's see what this hologram interface has to tell us."

Luckily, it had quite a bit to say, considering it thought Ash was Lizbeth, due to the card she'd been given. Apparently, the thorian controls people through inhalation of its spores and Exo-Geni purposely let it control the Zhu's Hope colony so they could study it. They also learned Lizbeth was aware of all of this, due to her high-level clearance. That was intel the woman should have given to them, especially since their safety was at risk. He was glad he'd had his team take precautions. He didn't want to lose any of them to this creature.

They continued past the VI and discovered two geth below them distracted with something. They destroyed them and jumped down to the lower floor. Huge geth ship claws were anchored onto the side of the building. They needed to find a way to remove the claws. They followed the corridor around and it opened into a room with several geth. Once they were down, they headed left through a red corridor and up a flight of stairs. They followed the corridor until it led to another open room and wouldn't you know…more geth.

When the last one fell, they headed up a nearby staircase to the floor above. They moved across the crumbling upper level and looked down at the geth gathered below. He flung out a singularity and Liara threw out a second. The geth were flying around in a figure eight until the two singularities merged and they were shot down. At the back of the room was a control for the shuttle bay door. One of the geth claws just happened to have used that for an anchor point. That would be their best shot to loosen the ship's grip on the building.

Wanting to show confidence in his team, he asked Garrus to see to the shuttle bay door. When the pressure triggered its release, it came down hard and sheared off the top claw on the geth ship.

"I did that!" the turian boasted, his mandibles spread.

There was a satisfying scream of metal as the bottom two claws gave way, unable to support its weight alone and the ship dropped off the side of the building and crashed to the surface far below. The loud hum was gone. The energy fields had come down.

"Normandy to shore party, anybody there? Normandy to shore party…come on, Shepard, please be there." Worry laced Jeff's every word. When he finally answered him, he told her that colonists were banging on the hull.

"Sit tight, Joker. Fists aren't going to damage the Normandy."

Deliverance was stunned by a voice she didn't expect to hear here. She darted over to Aria's OT. "Jeff? Is that you?"

Jeff blinked; his left eye twitched. It couldn't be, could it? "Livvy?" he asked, swallowing hard.

Liv grinned and bounced on her feet. "It's me! The galaxy is so vast and yet… damn, it's good to hear your voice again."

His mind was not playing tricks on him. It really was Livvy. "What are you -" This was hardly the time for twenty questions. "We'll talk after you're done doing whatever it is you are doing. Keep her safe, Shepard."

"I won't anything happen to her, Joker," Lokyrian assured the pilot.

Liv stumbled back a step, as realization dawned on her. "Loki Shepard…the second human Spectre…the Butcher of Torfan," she muttered in shock, taking another step back.

Lokyrian caught the words and the telltale retreat. "Get to know me before you pass judgement." He beamed the uncertain woman a smile, winked and returned to the stairs to head back up.

Liara touched the frozen human's arm to bring her back to them mentally. "He's… stunning… and very much in love with his wife. But when he smiles at you... it's easy to forget you're not the only woman alive." She released a slow breath. "You'll get used to that smile – I think," her voice lacking the assurance she'd hoped it would have. "Come with me, we shouldn't fall behind."

"That man is dangerous…" Deliverance whispered under her breath. Despite Loki's beauty, nothing could dim her love for her Jeff. Her heart was lost to him a long time ago and no pretty face or sizz body would change that.

"To both enemies and women's hearts everywhere," Liara agreed.

They retraced their steps and bypassed the newly opened passage to head up the other side of the stairwell. He needed to retrieve some data for one of the colonists. Several krogan were in the room he needed to get into. He took a step to the side and let his team have some target practice.

With the three krogan out of the picture, he nodded to Kaidan to download the data before they headed back to the newly opened passage.

Lizbeth was waiting for them on the other side. Loki strolled right up to her, a frown on his face. "You knew more than you told us about the thorian, Lizbeth. We needed to know what we were up against."

Lizbeth wrang her hands together nervously. "I – I'm sorry. I – I was afraid. I wanted to stop the tests, but they threatened me, told me I'd be next. When the geth attacked, I stayed behind to send a message to Colonial Affairs. I tried to tell them where to find the thorian, but the power cut before I could send the message. I – I never meant for this to happen."

"I get that." The scientist was hardly responsible for the geth arriving. "I need to stop the thorian. Where is it, Lizbeth?"

"The thorian is underneath Zhu's Hope, but the entrance is blocked. The colonists covered it with a pallet of crates just before the geth attacked."

"And that's the real reason ExoGeni is here. To study a plant with mind control capabilities. No amount of good will ever outweigh the atrocities this knowledge would be used for."

"Normandy to shore party, come in."

"What's happening, Joker?"

"We're getting a lot of geth comm chatter. Looks like they are heading your way."

"Thanks for the heads up, Joker. When the colonists stop trying to break their hands on the Normandy's hull, please send an engineering team to the Deliverance. She needs a little help."

"Copy that, Shepard."

"Come on," he told Lizbeth. "We need to back to your mother and the other survivors."

Ethan drew his gun on the approaching squad. "Damn it! I knew it was too much to hope the geth would kill you, Shepard. I found some interesting facts about you in the ExoGeni database. I know what you did at Torfan. The Butcher of Torfan. I won't let you do that to us. Your exploits aren't needed here."

He would never escape that title. But he would own it. "Aren't they?" he asked. "The colonists wouldn't agree, if they could think for themselves."

Ethan waved off his words. "Communications are back up. ExoGeni wants this place purged."

"This is a human colony, Jeong." Lizbeth shook her finger at him in anger. "You can't just repurpose us."

Jeong scowled at the young scientist. "It's not just you. There's something here far more valuable than a few colonists.

"The thorian," Lokyrian growled.

Juliana looked from her daughter to Shepard. "The what?"

Lizbeth sighed. "It's a very old plant living under Zhu's Hope that has telepathic, mind-control abilities. It's taken control of the colonists there, mom. ExoGeni knew all along."

"What?" Juliana asked, her outrage growing. "You won't get away with this, Jeong!"

Jeong scoffed at her ridiculous words. "So, you keep saying. But nobody's going to miss a few colonists."

"What does that make you?" Loki hissed. "The Butcher of Zhu's Hope? Is that a title you aspire to? These people are innocent! I went after pirates who rape and kill and pillage. Do not think we will allow this injustice!"

"We're not going to let you do that," Kaidan growled, his hand resting on his pistol.

"Ha! You don't know who you're messing with," Wrex warned.

His hand shot out, a wave of power wrapping around Jeong, lifting him up off his feet. "You have a choice to make, Jeong, and none of them have anything to do with purging the colonists. You should know that I am a Spectre and no one would lift a brow if I were to kill you. Understand?"

He drew closer, until they were face to face. "I'd rather not have to kill you." He removed Jeong's pistol and tossed it to Juliana. "We are going to destroy the thorian. There is nothing you can do to stop us. What you can do is decide what you are going to do about it. Attack any of us and die or put a spin on what happened. ExoGeni helped defeat a hostile alien that had taken over the Colony. Now, wouldn't that boost sales and encourage investors to take a chance on ExoGeni?" He released his hold on the man and he dropped to the ground in a graceless tumble.

Jeong quickly ran through the options as he regained his footing. They already had some data on the thorian and what it could do. Maybe they could salvage more after it was destroyed. It wasn't ideal, but he didn't want to die in vain when he had provided him with another option. "Well, yeah, nobody's ever gone broke playing the champion of humanity. Yeah, it just might work." His brows furrowed. "Wait – no – but the infected colonists would throw a bit of a wrench in that plan. No, now…they need to disappear."

"That's not acceptable. Once the thorian is dead, the colonists should be okay. We just need to find a way to control them until our mission is done. Hmmm… I can't put that many people in stasis – if I could even achieve it, it would drain me too much. There has to be another way."

"Concussion grenades are not usually fatal. Might be worth considering," Garrus put forth.

Kaidan frowned. That would have to be a last resort. "It's too risky, Garrus. Some of the colonists might not survive."

"He might be on to something," Juliana agreed with the turian. "Not a standard concussion grenade, of course, but a nerve gas grenade. If we just use a small amount of the nerve agent, it should keep you well out of range when it detonates."

He nodded in the direction of stacked crates. "Do you have what we need here?"

"We do – or we should have. Just give us some time to get them constructed."

Once the nerve gas grenades were made, they were on their way back to Zhu's Hope. Hopefully, a majority of the colonists could be rendered harmless, allowing them to gain access to the Thorian.

When they reached the main door, there was something balled up in front of it. They hopped out of the Mako to get a closer look. The husk-like creatures rose up on their two feet and shambled towards them.

Wrex backpedaled when the creature threw up a foul green substance. "I don't think so," he grumbled and shredded the creature's head with a blast from his shotgun.

After both were down, Loki slapped the pad to open the door. As if on cue, many more of the creatures rose and attacked them. He motioned the group to back up. They fired upon the creatures, backing away, encouraging the barf-bags to follow. They didn't want to take a chance of hurting the colonists that were guarding the entrance.

With no more coming out to play, they hopped back into the mako and drove it up next to the guards. They climbed out, using the Mako for cover. With each of them armed with grenades, he and two others threw the grenades at the four guards. They cried out and dropped hard to the ground. That was going to leave a headache. But better than the alternative.

They proceeded through the door. He tossed a grenade at the two humans guarding the interior entrance, four more grenades followed his and he snorted from holding in a laugh.

Heading down the stairs, they faced another wave of creepers and more humans. He tossed another nerve grenade, but only three went down. Liara tossed a second one. They headed up the ramp, carefully took out more creepers and lobbed a nerve grenade at the two humans at the end of the ramp.

On the other side of the ramp, a crap-ton of the creepers were waiting for them. But so too were a lot of humans. No biotics were used, they couldn't risk the colonists. They waited for the creepers to get close and shot them point blank, that way they could avoid stray bullets taking out the colonists. It would have taken three to four more grenades to put the rest of the colonists to sleep, but his team was just as concerned about the colonists as he was. There had to be at least a dozen grenades that were launched.

The air scrubbers kicked in, but it was too late for the colonists. They were already down.

"That is where my pallet ended up!" Deliverance exclaimed with a shake of her head.

Liv hacked into the control and programmed it to lift her pallet out of the way. The arm swung out and she lowered it on mechanical lift so it could be moved to her ship later.

Fai Dan approached them. It was obvious he fought the Thorian's control, a pistol wavering in his hand. Loki tossed a grenade at him and motioned Kaidan to grab the weapon that had fallen from the man's grasp. "We'll deal with him later."

-BREAK TWO-

A massive, tentacled, slimy plant…thing barfed up a green asari. "I speak for the old growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It demands that you be in awe."

Lokyrian looked incredulously at the green asari and shook his head. He never much cared for demands. It was too bad his chosen career field was built on them. "That's just not going to happen. I'm here to broker a deal. Release your thralls or die. Simple enough for you?" he asked.

The green asari attacked. As soon as she was down, creepers poured out of a side room. With a sigh, he swiped his hand to the left and most of the creepers were flung out over the railing, falling to their deaths far, far below. As he continued forward, a huge, pulsing tentacle crossed above his head. Pulling his pistol, he blasted a hole in the damn thing. The Thorian screamed. How delightful. He needed to find more of those. "We need to destroy those," he said, motioning to the leaking mess near their heads. With that goal in mind, they headed further up searching for more nerve bundles.

Two more waves of creepers and a green asari later, they were able to destroy another nerve bundle. They continued up the stairs, their pace increasing. Another two waves of creepers and another green asari later, and they located another nerve bundle. This was starting to be like clockwork…but he knew better than to rely on patterns. Patterns, like rules, could be broken too easily.

Along their route, two more nerve bundles were destroyed before they were forced to drop down to a lower floor and then up another flight of stairs. Prone creepers they had already passed popped up behind them, flanking them, and came down from the stairs above... catching them in a pincer ambush. Nicely done, thorian. Still won't save you though.

As they came around a bend, Lokyrian could see another nerve bundle across the way. He pulled out his sniper and blew it to hell. The creepers didn't even waken from their prone positions. The thorian grunted and then began to thrash, trying to maintain its hold. But it was too heavy. The last of its tentacled vines snapped, with an inhuman scream, it plummeted a great distance to the floor below. He sincerely hoped it was nothing but a pile of splattered goo now.

An asari fell from a pustule on the wall. They swung around; guns ready.

Shiala wiped the mucus from her eyes and blinked, the light was brighter than she was used to. It didn't take long for the guns to come into stark view. She held up her hands in surrender. "I won't hurt you. My name is Shiala. You have freed me…I suppose I should thank you for that." She told them that Seran had traded her for the cipher to the Thorian and then sent geth in to kill the Thorian. She spoke of how Matriarch Benezia sought to help Saren walk a gentler path, but had become indoctrinated to Saren's will through the ship he calls Sovereign, who had powerful mind control capabilities. She explained that Prothians and their knowledge became a part of the Thorian when it consumed their bodies over 50,000 years ago.

"My name is Lokyrian Shepard. And I need the knowledge you gave Saren to stop him."

She studied the human that stood before her. Incredibly beautiful. She barely stopped herself from fanning her face. "I can transfer the cipher to your mind as I did Saren's."

He nodded. As he was receiving the cipher, his head thumped as more memories poured into it... death destruction, machine, blood…but it included more than the previous vision. He also saw two suns and a couple of planets. A possible location or map of sorts? It ended with coming of a giant metal cockroach. He shook her head. It was a lot to take in and things still weren't all that clear.

Kaidan grabbed hold of his friend's arm. "Are you alright, Loki?"

He nodded and released a breath. "The cipher seems to have updated what I saw from the beacon. I'm still not completely sure what it's telling me...it's like a partially completed puzzle and a map, I think. Gave me one hell of a headache though."

Pain flared behind Shiala's eyes. Sharing the cipher had been far more difficult with the human. Their mind were more alien to her. "I am sorry, Loki. I am not very familiar with the human mind." She pursed her lips. "It was like pushing the transfer through a hydrocube instead of water." That wasn't exactly right either. "Either way, it is done. Through the cipher, the ancestral memories of the Protheans are a part of you now. You have been given a great gift: the experience of an entire people. It will take time for your mind to process this information."

Loki's pain worried Liara. "We should get you back to the ship where the doctors can monitor you."

"Soon enough and thank you for your concern, Liara." He gave her shoulder a gentle pat and then focused on Shiala. "You were in Saren's ship?"

Shiala nodded. "I was. Sovereign is alien. There is an energy about the ship. You feel drawn to it. It makes Saren's arguments more persuasive, more compelling. Spend enough time in Sovereign's presence and you will lose yourself. There is no other way to explain it. I do not know how it was built or where it comes from. Its design does not match that of any known spacefaring species. It dwarfs any vessel in the Citadel or Alliance fleets. Its weapons are devastating; its defenses, virtually impenetrable. With it, Saren believes he is unstoppable."

"And my mother? Benezia?" Liara inquired with a waver in her voice.

So, this was Liara. Benezia had talked a lot about her daughter… once. "Your mother always sought the paths of peace and harmony. She joined Saren because she hoped to turn him away from his path of destruction. But she underestimated Saren. We all did. Be sure you do not make the same mistake."

Liara felt lighter inside. Despite what had become of her mother, she had tried to do the right thing. That was a weight that had been lifted from her shoulders.

"We are heading back to the Citadel to resupply, you are welcome to come with." Lokyrian told Shiala.

"Thank you, but no," Shiala said with a shake of her head. "I want to stay here with the colonists. They have suffered greatly, and I played a role in their suffering. I need to make amends for that."

He nodded his understanding. "The colonists will need all the help they can get. Come, we'll give you a lift back to the colonists."

With the geth no longer a problem, the ride was uneventful and quick. They made a quick stop to check in with the survivors but they were no longer there. Instead, they were found at the Zhu's Hope. Doing what they could for the other colonists.

Lokyrian flipped his OT on. "Joker, the colonists are no longer a threat. I need you to send Chakwas to look over the colonists. And a team of engineers to the Deliverance. I also want some of food, hydrocubes and medical supplies offloaded. The colony's been through enough and needs a new start." And if the Alliance balked about resupplying the Normandy, they could suck it. This was a human colony, after all.

"Consider it done, Shepard. Livvy… I she…"

'She's fine and I suspect you'll be seeing her very soon."

"I wasn't worried," he said quietly. Though he had been.

After the comm, he checked in with Lizbeth and her mother. "A doctor will be here shortly to examine the affected colonists and we will be offloading some supplies that should help you to get back on your feet."

Juliana was relieved that things ended as they did. Fai Dan would get the support he needed. When he told her that he'd tried to end his own life to stop the thorian from forcing him to shoot their saviors, she'd been grateful they'd been able to stop him. She smiled as the man who had given them so much. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Shepard. With the thorian gone, we can start rebuilding again. Exo-Geni will be giving Zhu's Hope all the money it needs to rebuild but your supplies will help until they arrive. We cannot thank you enough for what you and your team have done.".

While he and his team were talking with the other colonists to get a feel of how they were doing, Liv joined them.

"I've gotten the pallets delivered to my cargo hold and let your engineers on board. I appreciate you letting them help."

"You don't have any crew?" Lokyrian asked curiously.

Liv shook her head. "Not anymore. Did have a partner once. Thought it would be good to have a show of protection." She frowned at the memory and pushed it back. "Carter was killed when pirates tried to prevent us from loading cargo. I got the cargo but lost my partner. After that, I just couldn't bring myself to involve anyone else. I traded for a mech a several years ago, but it malfunctioned a few months back. Been meaning to have it looked at. This shipment should help cover the costs."

"Follow us to the Citadel. I have a friend that can help out with your mech. I can get you a good deal," Lokyrian assured her with a wink. When he saw the hesitation, he knew another prod was needed. "You helped us out. You didn't need to but you did. Let me return the favor."

"You should let her, Livvy."

Deliverance's eyes widened and she turned to see a face she hadn't seen for a long while. "Jeff!" She threw her arms around him and held him gently but close. She didn't even notice when Loki walked away with the doctor. "I was just going to ask if I could board the Normandy to see you!" Excitement sparkled in her eyes when she pulled back but did not let go. She removed his hat and fluffed his hair. And then she was covering his bearded face with little kisses. When she finally reached his lips, she didn't even have to encourage him to part them. Instead, he pulled her flush against him and took over.

With his hat dangling from her fingertips, she used her other hand sink into his short hair. Until faint laughter broke through the haze.

Jeff brushed his lips against her ear. "Do you want to see my cabin?"

She pulled back enough to look into his eyes. "But your…"

"I'll be fine." He smiled as Loki's twin, Elvie, came to mind. He was appreciating the hell out of the armor-disk she'd given him and he'd been working on commands she'd given him to minutely control the nanites. He'd even figured out how to thin it and make it transparent. He'd even learned how to configure it to only cover the important parts, leaving the more… fleshy parts uncovered. That had been a major relief. "Don't ask me to do any acrobats and I won't break anything."

"Then yes, I would love a tour of your cabin. If you can arrange it." She knew she had been Jeff's first during a meet up several years ago when he was on shore leave. They'd met up a couple of times since then and always managed to find a little alone time. But seeing him had always been a challenge. Pre-arranged way ahead of time so that she could find transport to get to him for shore leave. It was always worth it. Still, she'd always wondered if there were others that kept him company in the long, lonely stretches. Though, she'd never had the courage to bring it up.

She'd been with one guy before realizing she loved Jeff as more than just friends. He'd left when they were too young to know that kind of attraction. But when they met up after he'd joined the Alliance navy, she knew he was the man for her.

He grinned and stepped away. "Shepard," he said, raising his voice. "I going to give Livvy a tour of the Normandy."

Lokyrian smirked and smiled knowingly. "She's all yours, Joker."

"See?" he grinned at Livvy. "Now give me back my hat," he said as he tried to snatch it back.

"Nope!" She jerked her hand back and shoved the offending thing into a cargo pocket on her pants. "You can have it later. You're not going to hide behind it while you're with me. I want to see you." She brushed her fingers over his beard. She preferred him clean shaven but the hat was an acceptable win.

He took her hand and led her towards the Normandy. "I'm not hiding," he nearly whined, wanting his hat back. He didn't hide behind it, did he? It's not like he was hiding a bald spot. He just felt more comfortable with it on.

"Stop whining, Jeff," she smirked.

He grunted. "I'm not whining. I never whine." She never once made him feel awkward for walking slowly and she'd never shown a hint of impatience. That was one of the things he loved about her so much. And he did love her, heart and soul. How could he not? But he'd never told her. She deserved to have more than he was capable of giving her. He would not tie her down to a broken man. A cripple. A man that could never give her children. But he would love her when he could.

Once onboard the Normandy, he proceeded to give her a tour of the ship, which ended at the bridge before he showed her his cabin. He motioned her to his small shower and put her clothing through the sani-steam next to the shower, so that they would be ready for her when she got out.

He left the tiny bathroom and settled in the two chairs that were in his room. It felt wrong sitting on the bed like some sort of beast waiting to ravage her. If only, he snorted. Still, between imaging her in the shower and what he'd like to do to her if he could, left him with a raging monster in his pants.

He pulled the square pillow from behind his back and placed it on his lap, his hands folded on top of it. It had been so long since she'd touched him, held him, made love to him. There had never been anyone been her. He wasn't even interested in looking. She accepted him like no one other than his family ever had.

He was absently picking at a string on the pillow when she stepped out of the bathroom. He looked up and nearly swallowed his tongue. She strolled towards him, naked as the day she was born, water glistening like pearls on her skin. Her breasts were not large, but they would be all he ever needed. She was lithe, her hips flaring enough that he could grab hold of them. Her black nether hair trimmed short and shaped into an arrow pointing down. That was new. In fact, he found it hard to draw his gaze off her little box of delight.

She smiled when she noticed where his eyes lingered and then reached out to take his hand and pull him up. The pillow fell as he rose, giving her something to appreciate a great deal. There was no doubt just how ready he was for her.

She slowly helped him off with his shirt. That his hands were trembling only bolstered her confidence. She steered him towards the bed and pushed down on his shoulders to get him to sit. Afterwards, she slowly stroked her own body, cupping her breasts and rolling her nipples.

"Shit," Jeff responded with a strangled groan.

She stepped back when he reached for her. "Not yet…" When his hands fell and fisted on the bed, she sank to her knees to remove his boots and socks. Her hands slid up his legs to his belt and slowly released it.

"You're killing me, Livvy," Jeff groaned, sure he'd embarrass himself at any moment.

She laughed softly and tugged at the waist of his pants until he lifted his hips enough for her to pull them down. She threw them aside and ran her fingers over his cloth covered erection.

"Oh, shit…" he groaned, his breath hitching into a pant. He wasn't going to last…he wasn't going to last.

His hips lifted and she lowered his underwear and tossed them to the side. She rose up on her knees. This is where her confidence faltered. Their infrequent past hookups had been more about having sex. Not the more explorative side of things. She nipped his thigh. Something harder than skin met her teeth. She pulled back and looked up at him. "What is…"

He flushed, knowing what she'd encountered. "Lokyrian's twin sister, Elvie, gave me an armor-disk. It is nanite infused – it protects me – though I have it set to only protect the…uh… bony parts. I can move without pain now, Liv." His fingertips brushed her cheek. "I'll finally be able to make love to you like a normal man."

"You've always been a normal man to me." Though, she would be sure to thank Loki's sister if she ever had the opportunity to meet her. Knowing he wasn't in pain lightened her heart.

Jeff fell back against the bed when her hand encircled him. He hissed in pleasure when she stroked him. "Livvy…" he moaned, "I can't take much more. It's been too long."

"Good," she replied softly and then drew her tongue from the base of him to the tip.

Jeff cried out softly at the sheer bliss. She'd never touched him this way before. He swore all the blood in his body just rushed to his dick. Tingles whipped down his spine to his balls. And then he sank into something hot and wet. He rose up on his elbows with a guttural cry so that he could see as well as feel exactly what she was doing to him.

He gritted his teeth and he balled the blanket in his fists when he hit the back of her mouth. The suction as she drew back up his length has his toes curling. Every time she reached the tip, her tongue flicked a spot that drove him insane.

He dropped back down to the bed, his body shaking. It felt too good and he didn't want it to end so quickly. He was straining to hold back, to stop the inevitable, but she moved with him, increasing her suction and tongue flicks. "Too close…" he warned in little more than whisper through his harsh breathing.

She palmed his tight testicles, rolling them in her palm with her free hand and stroked the tender skin behind them. His hands sank into her hair, holding her to him as hips jerked upwards with a violent release, followed by a harsh cry of pleasure. He thrust twice more, though much more gently before his hands fell away.

She'd been unprepared for his reaction. Thankfully, her the quick move of her tongue had prevented him from slamming to the back of her throat and choking her. And the release, itself, while salty and musky, wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

She tightened her hand around him and rose slowly up with a steady suction until he slid out of her mouth with an audible pop sound. She crawled up next to him on the bed and traced her fingers over his chest. She could still feel his heart thundering beneath her hand, despite the nano-field covering his ribs. "Was I pretty adequate then?" she purred.

"Adequate? You just blew my mind, Livvy."

She smirked. "I blew something else as well."

That she did and she was very good at it. He laced his fingers through hers. "Yeah… about that…"

"You are the only man I've ever done that with," she quickly assured him. "There's been no one else since you, Jeff."

"I -" That stunned him. He hadn't expected that from her. Hell, he was glad she hooked up with him from time to time. He never expected more. He rolled onto his side to look at her and draped his arm around her waist. "No one?"

She lifted her hand, her fingers teasing the short hairs of his beard. It was time to be honest with him. "No one. How could I lay with someone else when my heart belongs to you?"

Jeff closed his eyes as her words slammed home. His heart twisted painfully. Her love was all he ever wanted and all he could never have. He swallowed hard and stroked her back. "I have loved you forever," he finally admitted. "But I can never give you what you need. What you deserve. You know me, Livvy. I'm broken. Sterile…"

She dropped a finger to still his lips. "You're right, Jeff. I do know you. I've known you since we were kids. There is no part of you I don't know and there is no part of me you don't know. You are my best friend and the love of my life. Being with you takes nothing from me and it's where I want to be. If we want a family someday, we can adopt." She kissed the tip of his nose. "And don't ever think for me again. What I need and what I deserve are my choices to make. And every choice leads back to you. Deal with it."

With his breathing finally back in control and his heart in a lighter place he grinned at her. "You sure know how to put a guy in his place." He drew his hand down her hip and then to her breast. His thumb brushed across her nipple. Her gasp was music to his ears. "Now it's my turn to play. Move up there on that bed," he said, giving her bottom as slight whack. "Spread those legs, cause it's slobberin' time."

She snorted a laugh as she did what he asked her to do. "That's so gross, Jeff!" Her heart was already pounding with excitement. What would it feel like?

He crawled up her legs and rested his chin on her mound. "Tell me what feels good to you and I'll make damned sure you enjoy it as much as I did." He slowly slid his hand up her thigh. "Now do you want to talk or can I eat you until you scream?"

She put her hand on the top of his head and pushed him downwards. "I want to scream until I'm hoarse."

He laughed and rubbed his bearded chin over her swollen flesh. Her moans were all the encouragement he needed. He propped her knees and spread them further, exposing her moist, soft folds. He'd never seen her up close like this before. Her sweet, warm scent made him want to bury himself inside her. But that would come later.

He drew his thumbs up and down her soft cleft and then spread the delicate petals. Like she'd done to him, he drew his tongue through her folds from the bottom to the top, flicking the hard nub. When her hips jerked upwards, he dropped an arm across them to keep her in place.

His thumb grazed over the hard, swollen pearl while he sampled the nectar that awaited his swelling cock. He sank his tongue into her as deep as he could twirled it around, learning the feel and taste of her. Her soft cries grew louder when her rolled the sweet bud between his thumb and forefinger, never once slowing his plundering tongue.

She came hard and fast but he didn't stop. The pleasure he was giving her. It was too heady. He did this. He did slow things down though when she started squirming. His thumb lightly whispered across her nub while his tongue and lips explored her inner thighs and the silky folds. Nipping, flicking and rubbing his beard across her tender flesh.

When she stopped squirming and started moaning once again, he flicked the bud with the tip of his tongue. She cried and her hips rolled. He held her down firmly as he feasted on bud, flicking and suckling as she had done with him. Her head thrashed against the pillows, her hands gripping his head and her body trembled just as his had done. He slipped a finger, followed by a second into her tight heat. He groaned, imaging his cock sliding into her depths.

She cried out harshly when he touched something in her. "Do that again!... There! Yes! Oh Fuck, Jeff…" Her body froze as she rode the peak and then shattered with an explosive cry. Her inner muscles clenching with each continued stroke of his fingers and exquisite suction. She came again. Lighter, more delicate, but beautiful all the same. "Make love to me, Jeff. I want to feel you inside of me. Now."

He felt like a sex god that could do no wrong. It was the first time he'd ever done such a thing and he'd made her come three times in a row. They should build a statue in his honor. Jeff Moreau – King of Slobberin' Time.

After she rolled onto her side, he slid in behind her, spooning her, thrusting into her tight heat. He groaned and shuddered when he hilted himself inside her. "I love you, Livvy." It felt right to say when he was buried deep, as close as two people could be.

"I will never tire of hearing that and I hope you won't either, my love. For my heart has always been yours." She moaned and arched back against him when his thrusts hit harder than they used to. She caressed her breast, pulling and rolling her nipple as his hand slid down beneath her arrow to stroke her into another orgasm. One he had not joined her in.

She scooted away and rolled him onto his back. "I'll be careful," she told him as she straddled his waist and sank back down on him with deep and heavy moan.

They had only ever made love spooning. It was easiest on his bones. But he was right. The nanites had made him stronger. Or at least his thrusts had been and it had urged her to be more daring.

A bloom of fear struck him until the pleasure overwhelmed him. She'd taken him deeper than he'd ever been before. He could swear he touched her womb. His hand automatically rose to grasp her hips and before he'd realized it, he was controlling her movements…the speed… the depth… even their pleasure.

She moved with him, putting little stress on his arms, as if she were completely in tune with what he would do next. It was so sizz to look up at her and watch her breasts bounce with each thrust. When her hands lifted to her breasts, he groaned and slid his hands up her back to pull her down to him.

The tips of her breasts rubbed against the hair on his chest as he captured her lips. He took control of her hips again, never once breaking the kiss until they both needed to come up for air. When she arched up, he drew the tight bud of her nipple into his mouth. He nipped it gently and then gave it a hard, sharp suckle. Her body stiffen against him and clamped down hard around him. Their cries mingled when they dropped over the abyss together.

Her muscles contracted around him, milking every last bit from him. She dropped down onto her elbows and his arms tightened around her. This. Her. It was so much more than it had ever been before. He thought he couldn't love her any more than he did but he was so very wrong.
Watching her walk away this time would be staggering.

They held each other close until he went flaccid and slipped out of her. And that was her cue. As much as she wanted to stay like this, they couldn't. "I've got a ship now, Jeff. It won't be like before," she told him as she carefully rolled off to gather her clothing. She tossed his on the bed next to him and started to dress. "Take your leave when you can. And let me know where the Normandy is going ahead of time. We can work out places to meet up.

When she finished dressing, she helped him on with his boots. Not because he needed her help, but because she wanted an excuse to touch him.

-BREAK THREE-

By the time Lokyrian and his crew returned to the Normandy, he was beyond ready to call it a day. "Hit the showers, debriefing in 20," he told them as they entered the airlock. Joker and Liv were heading towards the airlock. He grinned at the couple. "I received a message that your repairs are completed. I hope you enjoyed the tour."

Deliverance was sure she was blushing due to the heat in her cheeks, but she didn't care. "You have a lovely ship and an outstanding First Pilot. He went above and beyond the call of duty, ensuring I had a tour I'd never forget."

Loki burst out laughing. "I'm sure he did."

Joker stood as straight as he could. He did good. "King of slobberin' time," he said as he walked his girl into the airlock.

Lokyrian looked back at him in confusion but the airlock door was already sliding shut. He shrugged. "Probably didn't want to know anyway," he muttered to himself. It was good that Joker had that connection. It would be needed soon enough. A man fought harder when he had something to lose.

When he walked into the comm room, refreshed and ready to finish this, everyone was already seated, waiting for him.

"Loki, you look pale. Have you suffered any ill effects from the cipher?" Liara asked with concern.

"It's not that," he told her. "I used a lot of power out there and haven't eaten yet."

"Do not wait long," the asari warned, looking around at the others nervously. "And the cipher, do you understand what the beacon showed you any better?"

"Yes and no," he said honestly, rubbing the back of his neck. "It showed the same scenes as the first beacon but it added what I think is a map. There were two suns and either two planets or a planet and a large moon."

"I might be able to help. I'm a Prothean expert. If I joined my consciousness to yours, we might be able to make sense of it all," Liara said helpfully. Though, in truth, she would give almost anything to see what Loki had been shown.

The two met in the middle of the ring of chairs. Liara took the Spectre's hands and reached out to him with the deepest, most intimate part of her. When their systems synced, she saw everything that he'd seen, though it was passive. She did not actually receive the cypher itself. After the reaper appeared, she dropped his hands and took a step back. It took a moment for her to realize everyone was staring at her. She cleared her throat to cover her embarrassment. "The beacon on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged. The data transferred to Loki's mind was incomplete. There are large pieces missing from the vision. If Saren has that missing information, then he might have found another beacon."

After the meeting ended, Loki sent off the Feros report and talked briefly to the Council. Overall, they weren't too upset over the destruction of the thorian, once they understood mind control capabilities.

Later that evening, he and Rissa had several people over for an evening together. They spent a good bit of time talking with them before the vid they'd planned to watch started. He asked Liara about her life as an archeologist.

"I spent most of my life on remote digs, unearthing mundane items buried in long-forgotten Prothean ruins. Not very exciting to most people," Liara admitted with a blush.

"It sounds dangerous…and lonely."

Liara nodded. "Sometimes I would run afoul of indigenous life-forms or mercenaries, but I was always careful. Until the geth on Artemis Tau, my biotics kept me safe. As for the solitude, it appealed to me. People expected me to be as my mother was, become a leader of our people. Matriarchs look to the future, maybe that's why I preferred the secrets of the past."

He nodded. "That makes sense. Most children rebel against their parents. It's a natural part of growing up."

Liara chuckled. "You share the wisdom of the Matriarchs, Loki. That is exactly what Benezia said when I told her I was going to be an archeologist. But, there's more to it…I was drawn to the past…to the Protheans. That is why I find you so fascinating. You were touched by working Prothean technology."

"Am I a lab rat now?" he teased the asari.

"What? No! I never meant to offend you, Loki. I only meant that you would be an interesting specimen for in-depth study. No – that's even worse!" Liara said, horrified where her mouth was taking her.

"It's okay, Liara. I was only joking." He shot a look at the pilot when he snickered.

Liara looked at each of them in turn, her cheeks burning hot. "Joking? Oh, by the Goddess! How could I be so dense? You must think me the fool. This is why I prefer to spend my time with data and dig sites; I tend to embarrass myself around other people," she said apologetically.

"You're doing fine, Liara. We are all different here and it will take time to get used to us."

"Ha!" Garrus scoffed. "Don't let him fool you, Liara. You'll never get used to him. Just when you think you think you understand him, he does something else to knock you on your ass."

He grunted and leaned forward. "Any more of that from you, Garus, and you'll be my sparring partner tomorrow… and I won't hold back."

He'd been hold back? Of course, he'd been holding back. His mandibles jerked. "What was this vid we're going to watch?"

The following night, Wrex told them a story about an asari commando he met when they both held the same contract. They split the kill, each taking part of the man, each getting paid for his death. Unfortunately, he discovered one contract he accepted was for the asari's death. When he caught up with her, they shared a laugh over it and then he asked her where she wanted the fight to occur. She chose a merc hangout and they battled for two days. She was injured and he was about to go in for the kill when the space station's core went critical. He barely made it out. He watched it blow from a distance and never saw her leave. When he later received notice that she was alive, he notified the diplomat that set the contract and ended up being his personal bodyguard until the day he died. Boring, but easy credits.

He never knew what would come out of Wrex's mouth, but it was always entertaining.

The next afternoon, he and Ash shared a private lunch in his quarters. The soldier finally opened up to him and told him that her grandfather was General Williams, the Shanxi garrison's leader, the only human to surrender to the turians during the First Contact war. That was why her father couldn't advance up the chain of command and that was why she had a long list of crap assignments.

Lokyrian told her that he respected the man. General Williams saved a lot of lives, both military and civilian by surrendering. He also tried to reassure her that onboard the Normandy, she would be judged by her own merits, never anything someone else had done.

He enjoyed the downtime on the way back to the Citadel and he enjoyed spending time with all of his crew. Things were a bit awkward with Pressly because it difficult for him to unwind in the presence of a superior officer and aliens. But at least he wasn't as uptight as he used to be. He didn't, however, invite Joker to his cabin again when he realized he was spending his evenings on holovid with Liv. The two were entitled to what time they could have together.

He sent a comm to Tayln to let him know he needed a CJ mech available at the Citadel that he was purchasing for a friend and asked if he would be able to have an off-brand mech repaired. Of course, Tayln refused his credits, though not the requisition. He had to admit he was thankful for that. He was, in no way, a rich man.

He had just rolled into bed when Joker's voice came over the intercom.

"Shepard, you have a top priority message coming in."

"Thanks, Joker. Turn in for the night – I'll make that an order, if I have to."

"No order needed. I've got a comm and a thera-chair waiting for me."

He smiled at his wife. "I'll be right back."

He headed to the comm room to take the private call.

The Council informed him they had a special task force that sent a message on a critical alert channel, but the message was garbled. It haled from the planet Virmire and pertained to Saren. They assured him they didn't want to know the details of what he intended to do, they just wanted to inform him of the Virmire option. Fine, he would be sure to hit Virmire as soon as they left Noveria. Right now, his bed was calling. With a yawn, he returned to his cabin and his warm wife.