"So, there's good news and bad news."

Shepard paused before she explained what she meant, looking out at her assembled crew. They were among the best the galaxy had to offer, a fact they'd already proven in more battles than the commander cared to count, but if this new information was true, they'd soon be put to their hardest test yet.

"The technical data Cerberus gleaned from the prothean VI had already been erased by the time we got to their computers," she continued, "But fortunately, they weren't so thorough about scrubbing their notes on that data, and those told us a great deal. First off, the Citadel is the Catalyst. Apparently, the Crucible uses the station's control over the Mass Relay network to generate and channel the energy it's going to need to destroy the Reapers. Unfortunately, the Reapers know this too, and that's probably why they've taken the Citadel and moved it to Earth."

"Screw it, then." Ashley was recovered enough to return to active duty, and her injury had only sharpened her determination to win the war. "We have to go there and take it back."

"That's more or less the plan. Tomorrow, the armada that we've been building is going to jump through the Sol Relay. The Reapers have a lot of their forces at Earth, but enough of them are spread out attacking the rest of the galaxy that we've got a fighting chance. We still probably can't win the battle, but hopefully, we can hit them hard enough to give us time to deploy the Crucible. That, however, is where things get complicated."

"Ah, good," Garrus quipped. "Because I was worried that taking on half the Reaper fleet was going to be too easy."

"Well," the commander smiled grimly, "Don't worry about that. According to Anderson, when the Citadel arrived on Earth, its arms were closed and we can't dock the Crucible with them that way."

"How do we fix that?", Tali asked. "With the arms closed, we can't board the Citadel."

"The hard way," Shepard replied. "We land on the surface of the station, blow through the outer hull, and make our way to the control center. The place will probably be crawling with enemy forces though and we won't have a lot of time, since our fleet can't keep the Reapers off of the Crucible forever."

"I'm guessing," Samantha chimed in, "That we're going to be at the forefront of this attack."

"We are," Shepard responded. Sam wouldn't be with them but the Spectre suspected she was worried about her new girlfriend.

"No surprise there," Vega laughed. "It seems like it's always our number getting called these days."

"That may be true," Liara explained, "But in this case, there is an additional reason for the Normandy to take the lead. We have to be there, because according to the recovered Cerberus data, we are the only ones who can stop the Reapers."

"Very dramatic, Liara," Shepard thought as the room erupted in pandemonium.

"Don't keep us in suspense," Garrus complained, "What did she mean?"

The Spectre took a deep breath. "So, Vendetta told us that the design of the Crucible had been refined by each cycle that worked on it. Well, the protheans were pretty full of themselves, so one of the changes they made was to alter the user interface so that only a prothean could use it. I guess they were worried about that much power falling into anyone else's hands. Theoretically, now that we know what they did, we could try to alter the design ourselves, but given the way the war's been going, we don't have the time."

"Fortunately," Liara explained, "Prothean technology considers Shepard to be a member of their species due to her encounters with their beacons. Of course, Javik can also activate the Crucible, which is why both of them will have to go on this mission."

"You don't think you're leaving the rest of us behind?", Ashley asked the commander in a tone that suggested she'd have to be hogtied before she'd let that happen.

"Don't worry about it," Shepard answered with a laugh before turning serious once more. "This is an all-hands-on-deck kind of situation. All combat personnel are going to be part of the assault team so tonight, do whatever you have to do to prepare, because tomorrow, the fate of the galaxy is going to be in our hands."

Shepard sat on her bed and took a sip of her wine. In front of her, Liara was finishing off her own glass, the asari remaining standing. "It's hard to believe," the Spectre said quietly, "That it was the beacons that made me special all along. If Cerberus just knew that, they wouldn't have pulled all the shit that they did. The resurrection. The cloning." She glanced down in the direction of her groin. "That."

"Come, now," Liara told her, brushing her hand over the Spectre's cheek. "Your interactions with the beacons are hardly the only way that you're special. Look at all you have accomplished so far. Your victories are all your own."

The asari's words were kind but her compliment lacked it's usual playfulness. There was a distant look in her eyes and the commander realized that she'd been so distracted by her own worries that she'd missed Liara's distress most of the evening.

Setting down her glass, she pulled her bondmate closer to her. "What's wrong, Liara? Are you worried about the battle?"

"I am," the asari conceded as she lowered herself into Shepard's lap, "But that is not the only thing on my mind." She wore the same blue and red dress she had the night they rekindled their relationship, and through its silky fabric, she could feel the commander's erection beginning to press against her. Instead of being aroused though, she was nervous, and when she continued, her voice the shook the way it had when she first met the commander.

"Something has happened," she started. "I only found out about it myself yesterday, so I do not want you to think that I have hidden it from you. I only waited this long to tell you because there is so much else going on right now…"

"Breathe, Liara," Shepard said gently, stroking her lover's scaled neck. "What happened?"

"Shepard, I… I am pregnant."

The Spectre recoiled as if she'd been struck and Liara fell out of her lap, rolling over onto the bed. "How, Liara?", Shepard snapped, shock making her words harsher than she meant them to be. "How did this happen? We're in the middle of the worst war in our history. You and I are risking death every day. This isn't exactly a good time for us to have kids."

"I know that. I…" Liara stared to fumble with her words again and then took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts before she continued. "It was the night after Thessia fell and I was so afraid." There were tears in her eyes as she remembered the events of that day. "My world had fallen, Ashley nearly died, and I thought you were leaving me. When you came to my quarters and told me otherwise, I was desperate to hold on to you, to every part of you, and I think that's why I did what I did."

Shepard understood but it didn't stop her anger from pouring out. "But how could you do that without asking me?", she protested. "It should have been my decision too. Cerberus tried to force me to breed, and then you went did the same thing."

The Shadow Broker choked back a sob. "I didn't mean to do it. I told you once that asari had to chose to conceive, and that was true, but perhaps also misleading. While it is a choice, it doesn't have to be a conscious one. I didn't think when I mapped your DNA. I just…" She stopped herself. She shouldn't keep trying to justify her actions. "I was wrong," she admitted. "I know I should have controlled myself better that night but I didn't and I can't change that now. All I can do is ask you to forgive me."

Looking into her lover's teary, blue eyes, Shepard's heart broke. Liara had done so much for her, helped her through her darkest hours, and she could do this much for her.

"I can," she said softly, brushing aside Liara's tears. "I do."

"Thank you," the asari whispered, her lips seeking out Shepard's. "I love you so much. I don't know what I'd do if you couldn't."

"And I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't saved me from Cerberus," she replied. "You took what they did to me and turned it into something I could not only live with but something I enjoy." She put her hand on Liara's stomach, trying to think about her bondmate's news in a different light. "Listen, the timing might suck and I wish we'd talked about it first, but you're the love of my life. I want a family with you, and after we blow the Reapers back beyond the galactic rim, we're going to have one."

"We are," Liara agreed, her breathing returning to normal. "It's what I want too. More than anything. And for as long as you want me, I'm yours, Shepard." She wrapped her arms around the commander's neck and against her body, she felt Shepard harden. This was their last night before the final battle and she wanted to make it count. Lowering her voice to a seductive purr, she added. "Now let me prove that to you."

Suitably encouraged by the smile spreading across her lover's freckled face, Liara laid the commander down on the bed, running her hands up the length of her body. One by one, she undid the buttons of the commander's uniform shirt, her tongue following her hands over her powerful form. "Goddess, Shepard," she murmured as she kissed her bare chest, "The things you do to me. Before we met, I'd never even joined with anyone, and now…" She took a nipple in her mouth, sucking on the hard little bud before looking up at Shepard with those bright blue eyes that drove her bondmate crazy, "…Now I can't get enough of you."

"God, Liara." Shepard pulled her bondmate to her, planting a lengthy kiss on her soft lips. "You're incredible." She unbuttoned her pants and drew out her almost painfully stiff cock, stroking it slowly. "I can't believe you actually made me appreciate this."

"Did I now?" Liara replaced Shepard's hand with her own, running it up and down the shaft. "How did I do that?"

"Mm, sort of like that," the Spectre muttered. Liara's thumb was brushing over the silky head, making the cock jump in her hand.

"Was there anything else that I did?", the asari asked, her voice all innocence even as she slowly pumped Shepard's length.

"There, uh, might have been," the Spectre gasped, rapidly losing her mind.

"Did it involve my mouth?" Liara bent down and placed a kiss on the head of Shepard's cock, her small tongue flicking out to gather up the growing wetness there.

"Jesus," Shepard managed to get out, "Please."

"Please what?" Liara kept up a torturously slow place with her hand even as she feigned ignorance of what Shepard wanted her to do.

"Please suck me."

"Of course." Liara grinned up at her commander, her lovely face still covered in a guileless smile. "I am yours, after all."

In one swift motion, the Shadow Broker took the top half of Shepard's length between her lips and sucked hard on it. The Spectre practically came then and there, her shaft jerking in Liara's mouth and sensing her bondmate's excitement, the asari slowed herself down. Her head bobbed over Shepard's cock, sucking her lover with a steady rhythm, creating wonderful but not yet overwhelming sensations.

Liara felt Shepard's fingers stroke the side of her head, and she purred happily around the cock in her mouth, the sound sending pleasant vibrations through her lover. She enjoyed so much about doing this: the heat of Shepard's erection, the way the powerful Spectre would twitch and gasp with every motion of her tongue, and most of all, the delight she could bring to the woman she loved.

While not stopping her blowjob, the Shadow Broker reached down below the base of the shaft with two fingers, finding Shepard's opening. Though the rewiring Cerberus had performed meant that it was no longer central to the commander's erotic responses, it remained sensitive, and when Liara probed inside it at the same time she suckled on the head of her lover's cock, she was rewarded with a fresh flood of precum.

With Liara's finger's thrusting into her while her mouth kept working, Shepard doubted she could last long. Her hips started to buck and she stroked the asari's crest, murmuring, "Close, sweetheart, fuck, so close." Liara responded eagerly, using her free hand to pump the base of her lover's shaft even as she licked the top of it.

Beneath her, the asari felt the tell-tale stiffening that preceded Shepard's climax and she sped up her motions, eager to feel her bondmate's pleasure. With a final upward thrust, the commander exploded, filling Liara's mouth as warm, salty liquid poured out of her cock. The asari kept stroking as she swallowed it down, but once she felt the Spectre's orgasm ebb, she stopped quickly. Between her legs, she could feel her azure pulsing with need, Shepard's moans of pleasure and the taste of her release making her anxious for her lover's touch.

Shepard sighed when the Shadow Broker's wonderful mouth left her cock, but her lover didn't leave her much time to regret its loss. Liara yanked the commander's pants the rest of the way off before pulling her own dress up over her head, leaving her in only a little pair of red lace panties. These she peeled off more slowly, giving the commander an excellent view of her damp azure, before climbing on top of her. She rocked back and forth against the base of Shepard's shaft, and each time the Spectre felt Liara's sex rub against her, she got a little closer to full hardness again.

"I need you in me," Liara begged, her desire too sharp now to be coy, "Just like when we made our daughter." The thought of that night, of how badly her bondmate had wanted her then, was all that Shepard needed. Placing her hands on Liara's hips, she lined up the swollen tip of her cock with the asari's azure, groaning as it pushed past her tight entrance. She went slowly at first, but as she entered her, Liara rolled her hips, sinking herself deeper onto Shepard's shaft. The asari's azure pulsed around her, and Shepard reached up, rubbing her lover's hard, blue nipples before moving them down to stroke her throbbing clit. She kept her thrusts slow at first while she pleasured Liara. As good as it felt to be buried in that wet heat, the Spectre's first climax had taken the edge off of her craving and she wanted to feel the asari peak before she worried about coming again herself.

As Shepard drove into her, her thrusts pressing her thumb firmly against the Shadow Broker's exposed clit, Liara failed to choke back the moans of pleasure building deep within her. Whatever anger Shepard had felt earlier, all Liara could see when she looked into her eyes now were love and a burning focus on her pleasure that drove the asari wild. Each time Shepard thrust, a little more blackness started playing at the Shadow Broker's eyes, the need to be one with her lover growing stronger.

When she started to reach out, though, Shepard uncharacteristically pushed her mind back. "Not yet," the Spectre purred, "I want to make you come first, to have it be just for you."

Choking out a "Yes," Liara bit back her craving. As much as she wanted to join, she knew that the waiting could make it even more intense when they finally did, and her hands went to her own breasts, massaging them as she focused on the pleasure Shepard was giving her.

"God, you look so beautiful like this," the Spectre breathed, her free hand caressing Liara's stomach as the other one kept rubbing her needy clit. She could feel the tension in her lover's body, the nervousness she had kept inside her since learning she was pregnant and she wanted to help her release it. "You'll always be so beautiful to me," she whispered, and when she angled her cock, dragging it over Liara's clenching inner walls, she got what she wanted. The asari came around her cock, her head thrown back in ecstasy, her wetness seeping out onto the patch of short red hair between the commander's legs.

When she heard Liara cry out above her, Shepard stopped holding back, grasping her lover's hips and speeding up her thrusts. The series of moans and gasps coming from the Shadow Broker had refueled her desire and she flipped their positions, rolling Liara onto her back as she kept fucking her. "I'm yours too," the commander reminded her beloved as she covered her face with kisses. "All of me, body and soul, are yours."

The asari's fingers dug into her lover's back, gripping her tighter with each thrust, and when she felt Shepard's movements started to become more urgent, she reached out with her thoughts once again. This time she met no resistance. Delving into Shepard's mind felt like coming home, warmth and love filling Liara's thoughts even as the added jolt of pleasure, of sensing her own azure pulsing around her commander, pushed her rapidly into a second, more powerful climax. Her orgasm seemed to rip through every nerve in her body and she took Shepard with her instantly, the Spectre crying out with pleasure as she spilled her release into the asari.

Liara grabbed her lover's head, kissing her hard as they came together, her other hand clutching at Shepard's firm buttocks even she deepened the bond, needing to feel all of her lover in every way possible. The tensions and fears that had plagued her that night were dissolved in the shared joy of the meld, and Liara wanted to maintain that connection for as long as she could. Shepard was happy to let her. Lying on top of her bondmate, stroking Liara's lovely blue face, there was no place she would rather be.

Eventually, the meld started to fade away, but Liara's affections remained, her mouth running along the top of the Spectre's shoulder even as her beloved's cock slipped out of her. She groaned as it passed over her sensitive entrance, and looking down between them, the asari could see that Shepard was amazingly still somewhat erect. A sudden impulse seized her and Liara wrapped her hand around the sticky length, pumping it hard once more.

As her bondmate's fingers flew up and down her shaft, the Spectre let out a gasp of surprise. She was incredibly sensitive from her previous orgasm and Liara was rapidly threatening to tip her over into another one. She barely managed to gasp out, "Fuck, Liara, do you want…", before the asari cut her off with a quick nip on her shoulder blade while rubbing the slick head of Shepard's cock with her thumb.

"I do," she whispered into the human's ear as her tongue traced around its outer edge. "I want to feel you everywhere. In my mind. In my mouth and in my azure. On my skin."

A chocked sound came from deep in Shepard's throat at those words and her vision went blurry as she came one last time. Jets of her release erupted out of her, covering her lover's belly and breasts in hot, sticky liquid. She felt like she couldn't stop the pulsing in her cock, especially when Liara brought her wet hand up to her mouth and made a show of sucking it clean even as Shepard kept coming all over her.

At last though, the flood stopped and Shepard collapsed panting onto her lover's slick body. Liara's waiting arms wrapped around her and once she'd recovered enough to think clearly, she whispered to the asari ,"I love you." Liara smiled back at her and Shepard added, "You know I'll do everything I possibly can to make sure you and our daughter have the future you deserve."

"And I will be right beside you," Liara assured her, kissing her forehead. Shepard nestled her face in the crook of the asari's neck, and she gently stroked her lover's mussed red hair. "I want to apologize again," she said softly, "For my behavior recently. When asari conceive, it can make us quite possessive towards our bondmates."

"Liara," Shepard mumbled as she kissed the asari's shoulder, sleep starting to weigh on her eyelids, "If feeling that way makes you fuck me like that, I doubt you'll hear me complain about it very often.

So, the plan of attack suggested here makes a lot more sense to me in the real game as well. Why fight to a beam the Reapers could (in theory) shut off rather than get onto the station direction? As for the rest, congrats to those who guessed what was up with Liara and I hope you enjoyed all the smut.