Omega Chronicles -13- The prodigal daughter
One hand under the pillow, the other arm resting on her torso, as naked as the day she was born, comfortably sprawled on her back, the Commander was sleeping in after a particularly active night in the sack. She didn't know whether it was an effect of the pregnancy, and if it was like this for all Asari, and frankly she didn't care, but she had noticed that Aria's appetite for sex had peaked steadily in the past few weeks. Not that she complained. Shepard was aware of the cold spot beside her in the bed. Just a few minutes earlier she had heard the Queen getting dressed and exiting the doors of her private room.
In the haze of her half asleep, half awake state she heard the doors opening again. She knew perfectly well that Aria had a full schedule today and shouldn't be back for a good while, and her senses were immediately alert. She knew that there was a merc at the doors at all times and wondered how anyone could get past him. It didn't matter, her fingers wrapped around the handle of her Carnifex, which she invariably kept under the pillow, ready for any emergency. She kept her eyes closed and tried to follow the movements of the intruder through the room by hearing alone. The steps were definitely getting closer. As she felt that they had stopped by her side of the bed, she sprang up in a quick movement and pointed the pistol right in their face.
"Ah!" The Asari standing there put her hands up, her mouth open, her eyes wide.
Shepard took a good look at her. She was wearing a cream coloured, fitting dress, the long sleeves coming down to cover half her hands, the rim just halfway along her thighs, cut diagonally and softly waving about her legs, a pair of brown leather boots hugging her calves all the way to under her knees. Her face was stunningly beautiful, her skin a light blue colour, dark purple markings running along every tentacle of her crest, a single, thin strip running down her nose, two more decorating her face following the curved lines under her flawless cheekbones. "Good morning. May I help you, Miss...?"
The Asari found her voice. "Liselle."
"Liselle. Such a pretty name." Shepard's gun was not moving. "Tell me, why are you in here, Liselle?"
"I'm looking for Aria." She tried to put her hands down.
"Ah ah. Keep them where I can see them, please."
She raised them again and stared at the human. "So, who are you? Her new bodyguard? Or her new pet?"
The Commander seemed to be thinking about it for a moment. "Let me see. That would be a 'sometimes' to the first... and a 'when I'm in the mood' to the second. And who are you?"
Liselle had been instructed a long time ago by Aria never to reveal that she was her daughter. It was actually an act of kindness on the Queen's part, it would spare her young one having to go through life always looking behind her back, afraid that this or that thug or crime lord might want to exact revenge on Aria by killing her child, or maybe even kidnap her, looking for an outrageous ransom from the Pirate Queen herself.
She didn't have the time to reply with a lie anyway. Both their faces turned towards the doors as they heard them whooshing open. Aria walked in, holding a padd in her hands. The Queen's eyes rose from the screen to see a heart warming scene. A completely naked Shepard was holding her gun of a hundred battles to the face of a young Maiden that looked torn between being scared and being annoyed. She tossed the padd on the couch and crossed her arms on her chest. "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."
Liselle replied, trying to sound a bit insulted. "I caught an early transport. Can you tell your lackey to move her gun from my face?"
"First: she's not my lackey. So watch your tone. Second: you walked in here unannounced and uninvited, what do you expect her to do? Throw petals at your feet and welcome you like a high priestess? She did exactly what -I- would have done, in her shoes."
Liselle couldn't believe her ears. Her mother asking her to show respect to this human? Now, she had always liked humans, but her mother's mercs were never worthy of respect to begin with, even less so the ones that she slept with. Who was this woman? She did the best to hide her shock well. "Speaking of which. Tell her to put on some clothes. It's too early in the day for me."
Shepard let out a short, amused laugh as she put the pistol down on her nightstand and got out of bed. "So you two obviously know each other. And you, Liselle, a prudish Asari? Will wonders ever cease?" She brought her underwear out of a drawer and started getting dressed.
"I'm not a prude! And yes, we know each other." Liselle said in a non-committal tone as she was regaled with a perfect view of the deep red tattoo of the Omega symbol on Shepard's lean ass. She couldn't believe her eyes.
Aria was more direct and to the point, as usual. "Commander Shepard, this is Liselle. My daughter."
The eyes of the human jumped up to stare at the Maiden, quick as a snake, in time to see a very surprised expression on her face.
This time Liselle couldn't help her mouth gaping open. "Aria! But..."
"No buts. Listen carefully. Now, I don't plan on dying any time soon, but just for the record. Liselle: if anything ever happens to me, and you find yourself in trouble, you can trust Shepard."
It was the Commander's turn to be shoved off balance. What Aria had just said was more than a compliment, more than a commitment, more than a love declaration. She felt her heart swell and had to work hard to shake herself out of it. As she put on her black leather jacket, her eyes never left Liselle. Regardless of the turmoil of pride and gratefulness and love that she was feeling at the moment, she didn't miss a beat and her reply came out in a confident voice, betraying just a hint of affection. "Your mother speaks the truth. You are blood of her blood. I will always treat you as such."
Shepard was one of the most reserved people Aria had ever met. Not one word too many ever escaped her mouth. For a moment she had been afraid that upon learning that this young Maiden was her daughter, she would have let out that they were more than lovers, that they were actually bonded, and that Aria was pregnant. But no. Not one word out of place. It was just one of the many reasons that Aria had found to admire the human. Other people were careful with whatever they knew of Aria, of course, but they mostly had to be threatened, coerced, or they were simply too scared to utter anything to anyone. Not the Commander, no. She did it out of respect alone. And not the kind of respect that you get from instilling terror in everyone around you, either. This was the real thing, and the old Asari knew it. It made her feel good, too.
Shepard picked up her pistol from the nightstand before passing next to Liselle on her way out of the room. As she was walking by her, the young Maiden's jaw dropped and she almost screamed. "Oh! Goddess! What... the... fuck... Mother!" It was possibly the first time Liselle had called her 'mother' in about a century or so, and Aria knew instantly why she was so shocked.
The Commander also realized right away what had just happened. She looked at Aria and threw up her hands in a gesture of innocence. "Don't look at me. It's not -my- marking hormones causing problems here." She stepped out of the room to give the two Asari some privacy.
Shepard decided to walk to her favourite breakfast place, she sat at her usual table and waved at the waiter. No need to come and take her order, she always had the same thing when she was there. A small pile of bacon strips that were usually dripping fat and oil, two eggs, toast and a cup of coffee. The first time she had discovered this place and had read the menu, she hadn't been able to believe her eyes until the bacon was actually in her mouth, being chewed like it was her first meal after a week of starvation. Ever since then she had always made it a point to indulge herself on a semi-regular basis.
Her plate arrived and she dug in. It was shocking how fast she could eat. Not much time to waste when you're on a mission or on call, and as an Alliance Marine that was often the case, so it had become a useful habit to just wolf down whatever was in front of her and move on. She had been really trying to change that, though, so she put some effort into at least sipping her coffee after she was done with the food. She brought out a padd and started reading.
"Well, you are exactly where my mother told me I would find you. That's quite a disappointment. So predictable." Liselle casually sat down on the chair across the table from Shepard and simply deadpanned her.
The soldier smirked and retorted without pause. "Well, your mother knows me better than anyone. In fact, she can easily claim to be the only one who knows me at all." She motioned to the waiter so he would come and take Liselle's order. "Please, be my guest."
"How generous." The Maiden quickly perused the menu and, apparently not very happy with the selection, settled for a fruit salad and a glass of water. "Are you always so gentlemanly?" Her voice still betrayed at the very least annoyance.
Shepard chose to ignore the sarcastic question. "Why did Aria send you to find me?" She took a sip from her mug and waited for an answer, hopefully without added comments. She could be very patient, but this young Asari was beginning to test her, especially considering that the human didn't think Liselle's grating behaviour was really justified.
The Asari let out a half bored sigh. "All right, no small talk then. Predictable -and- boring. All business." She reached for her glass as soon as the waiter set it down on the table. "Something big is going on, Aria has received intel back from Barla Von, one of her contacts at the Citadel. Something you brought him recently wielded results beyond his imagination and now he is all a-flutter with worry and excitement and we have to go and see with our own eyes what the heck is causing such a commotion. More or less. I still don't understand why she is involving me. Maybe she doesn't trust you, after all." A teasing smirk opened on her beautiful face. A little devil behind an angel's mask.
Shepard was not used to the vague and scattered nature of the Maiden's thoughts, she was used to Aria: precise, to the point, clear and logical. She sat back on her chair and tried to extrapolate whatever this young one was not telling her from what little she did tell her. However she turned it around, it didn't sound good. As she watched Liselle eat her fruit salad picking and choosing which pieces were all right and which needed to go, she made a mental note to speak to her bondmate privately before going anywhere.
"You will get along just fine, Shepard. She's not that bad once you get to know her. Granted, she's not me, but she is a capable biotic, and she has a talent for seeing things from points of view that one would not necessarily consider. And if Barla Von is right about what he found out, you will need a lot of 'lateral thinking' on this one."
Aria was comfortably lying in bed, half sprawled on top of the human, her soft blue hand drawing lazy patterns on her lover's belly and chest, the tone in her voice not giving much leeway for if's or but's. Shepard still had a few questions though.
"About that, care to tell me what exactly he found out? I don't like throwing myself into situations I'm not prepared for. A wee bit of info would be much appreciated."
The Asari placed a soft kiss on her shoulder and settled closer before answering, her warm breath brushing lightly on the human's skin.
"Part of the intel is from the artefact I had you bring to him. It is a fragmented sequence of information coming from a Prothean archaeological site, a kind of... shard or something that apparently they used to store data. It contains images that appear to be random, but ultimately are not. We just need to find a way to interpret them. What little he could make of it paints a scene of danger, conquest and death. He believes that having access to more Prothean data might help. This is where you come into the picture: on Eden Prime, a human colony of some success, they have just dug up a big Prothean... something. They call it a beacon. I want you to go there and very simply take it. The other piece of the puzzle, and Barla Von strongly believes the two are somehow connected, is that Geth have been spotted on this side of the Veil. And they seem to be headed to Eden Prime themselves."
Shepard was lost in thought for a few long moments, thinking, considering, evaluating. If the Geth were really involved, it must be something big indeed. The artificial beings never showed any interest to leave the Veil or interact in any way with the rest of the Galaxy. As a result, no one really knew what kind of military power they held. She was taken back to the here and now by the lovely feeling of Aria moving fluidly to straddle her, the Asari's lips closing on her own in a kiss that quickly deepened.
The Queen knew that there was no time to waste, really, but in the back of her mind, in a part that she rarely dared to look at, she didn't like the thought of sending Shepard into a potential Thresher's nest of trouble. Sure, the young Commander knew how to take care of herself, but Aria couldn't help feeling protective towards her. It had started after they had bonded, and now that she was carrying the human's child it had become quite unbearable at times. The old Asari attributed it to the hormones racing through her body due to the pregnancy, but even giving it a sort of scientific explanation didn't quench her distaste for it. She hated it. It made her feel like she was getting soft. And soft was not something she could afford to be. Nevertheless, she couldn't stop herself from wanting a few last moments of intimacy with her lover before sending her off.
The Commander was always swayed by how ridiculously smooth Aria's skin felt. It was the most delicious thing she had ever laid her hands on and she couldn't get enough. Her hands were roaming slowly along the Queen's lower back, half caressing her, half guiding her as she was lazily grinding against the human's hips, her moisture leaving a short wet trail on her pale skin. Their breathing was becoming more laboured as their passion was rising, fast.
Aria's omnitool decided that that was the best moment to beep, insistently.
With a deep wrinkle of pure annoyance between her eyes, the Asari got swiftly up and out of bed, walking briskly to the low table where she had shed her clothes earlier and where the chime was coming from. She picked it up to answer the call, standing still, as majestic and perfect as a statue. Sure enough, it was Liselle who greeted her with a chirpy voice.
"Hello Aria! I just wanted to make sure that your... what -should- I call her, I wonder? Well, that the human was getting ready to go. I believe we are to meet at the docking level in just a couple of hours. Actually, shall I come by to pick her up?"
Aria was silent for a long moment, trying not to let her anger get the best of her. Her daughter took the chance to sling another little jab at her. "Oh! Oh... I hope I'm not interrupting anything... how rude of me..."
Shepard got up from the bed and slowly made her way to stand behind the Asari, staying out of Liselle's line of sight. She let her arms circle Aria and her hands grabbed her blue breasts demandingly.
The Queen's voice was dangerously low. "Not. Now. Liselle." She closed the connection and threw the omnitool on the floor unceremoniously, turning around to face Shepard. "As for you." She wrapped her arms around the soldier's neck and started kissing her breathlessly. Their bodies moved quickly in perfect accord until Aria's back finally slammed against the wall behind them.
Shepard's hands were on her thighs now, gripping them so tightly that Aria knew she'd find purple bruises there later. The human dragged her legs up and settled them around her waist, the Queen instinctively tightening the grip and crossing her ankles around her strong back, then the soldier encircled her, sliding her arms between her back and the wall, and bit down on her neck so hard that it drew a long sigh from the Asari, half in pain, half in pleasure.
Shepard's mouth let go of her soft flesh to come up to her lips in a crushing kiss. Teeth clashing, the Commander's tongue demanding entrance unequivocally. Aria parted her lips and welcomed the hot assault, every stroke of her lover's tongue making her more excited. Her biotics flared up automatically, enveloping them in a swirling blue light, making their skin tingle.
Her mouth ravishing Aria's, Shepard snaked a hand between their bodies, placing it on the Asari's smooth, warm, wet entrance. Without hesitation, she pushed her fingers inside her, lifting her two inches along the red velvet wallpaper by the sheer force of the penetration. The Queen broke the kiss and threw her head back, letting out a sharp cry, her arms firmly around Shepard's neck, holding on for the wild ride. Every thrust was exalted by Shepard's hips rocking against her own hand, in involuntary, uncontrollable, wanton abandonment, and the Asari thought for a second that this time she wouldn't survive the onslaught, despite the amazing sensations her body was feeling all over. Shepard's breath was coming in raggedly, almost in grunts as she fucked the Queen with a passion fuelled by hunger and adrenaline, sweat running down her neck, soaking her hair, bucking wildly against her lover's body, feeling the Asari's slick inner muscles clench with every push, drawing her fingers in even deeper.
Aria couldn't hold it anymore. Her eyes flickered to pools of infinite blackness as she joined with Shepard, craving the full release that she could really achieve with a meld.
The Commander felt her inside her mind and immediately hit her with her raw passion, knowing full well how welcome that sensation was to her lover. The shadow of the feeling of what her hand was doing to the Asari barely registered within Shepard, the human too lost in the pure pleasure of what she was doing to Aria to care about her own body's response.
Their bodies trembling, moving as one now, Shepard's fingers buried so deeply inside Aria, the strong heel of her hand brushing hard against the Asari's most sensitive ridge, it only took a few more moments before they reached a crushing orgasm. It struck them like lightning, their muscles tightening, the Queen's inner walls squeezing Shepard so much she could barely move at all, in their joined minds tongues of fire of pure pleasure exploded, bouncing off each other in what seemed an infinite echo of overlapping waves, taking them to breathless heights, an animal howl leaving the human's lips as her body tensed in one last spasm, one last thrust.
Then there was silence. They stood there, perfectly still, chests heaving, Shepard's face buried in Aria's neck, her breath hot on the Asari's skin, just where the purple, deep mark of the Commander's teeth was still throbbing in a faint, superficial pain. Their minds entwined in a lazy current of heat circling into itself, the borders of their respective consciousness blurred, thin, unwanted. The Queen's hand came up to entangle in Shepard's hair possessively, holding her in place as her short pants were gradually going back to a normal breathing. As they slowly regained control, their souls still naked and bound together, Aria's voice sounded like a hot wind in Shepard's mind. 'Please. Come back to me.'
The human was always swept off her feet the very rare times when Aria showed her just how deep her feelings really were. What Shepard said came from the deepest part of her as well. 'Nothing will ever keep me away. I am yours.'
She felt a smile opening on the Asari's face as she replied. 'And I am yours.'
Aria felt the human's fingers slowly sliding out of her and she clutched on them involuntarily with a small pang of pleasure. She untangled her legs from behind Shepard's back and slowly put her feet on the floor, her muscles still trembling slightly, and definitely sore, both from the arousal and the physical effort.
Their bodies still clutching each other, unwilling to let go yet, Shepard whispered into Aria's ear, in a low, sensual voice.
"No creature ever graced this galaxy that was more splendid than you, Siame. I would worship the ground you walk on."
Shepard addressed her using the Asari name that meant 'One who is all', it was reserved for their most beloved, the one above everybody else in someone's life. Now it was Aria's turn to feel swept off her feet. She had no idea how the human could possibly know that word, let alone what it truly meant to an Asari, but she knew for a fact that Shepard never uttered a word out of place, or was ever unaware of its consequences. Aria stared deeply into her lover's eyes and was met by love, passion, respect. She had never been called that, by anyone, in her long life. Now she knew how it felt. Leave it to this young soldier to actually provide her with something new after so many centuries of existence. She smiled and shook her head almost in disbelief. Then she brought Shepard's face close for a lingering, soft, deep kiss, letting her lips and her tongue do the talking, incapable of conveying what she felt with words, allowing a wave of her feelings to flood from her mind into the Commander's, before finally severing the meld.
As they broke the kiss, Shepard scooped her up in her arms and carried her to the bed, where she lay her down gently. She let her eyes linger on the Asari for a moment, then she turned and headed for the shower.
Shepard put on her pants and boots, her torso still naked, and she went to pick up her faithful Carnifex, checking it to make sure that all was in perfect working order before putting it at her side, ready for action.
Aria was already dressed and inputting some data into a padd, sitting comfortably on her couch, a glass of Noverian Rum on the low table in front of her. For a moment, she recalled how absolutely ridiculous it had sounded to her when Shepard had let her know that human women were forbidden from drinking alcohol while pregnant, in order to avoid damage to the growing baby. She thanked her Asari physiology and took a sip, enjoying the marvellous flavour. She raised her eyes and caught a half naked Shepard checking her gun. She couldn't help herself. "You, my dear Commander, are a sight for sore eyes." She grinned and went back to what she was doing. "I am giving you this padd, it contains all the available info on Eden Prime, their accidental Prothean findings, and all the intel we have on the Geth, just to make sure. I suggest you learn it all by heart before you get to your destination."
Shepard grinned back as she kept getting dressed. "Thanks, I like being as prepared as possible. Hopefully we won't run into too much trouble. If we're lucky we can be in and out in just a few hours."
Aria's omnitool beeped, it was the bodyguard at the door. She gave him her most typical answer. "What."
The Batarian's voice came through loud and clear. "Liselle is here. Shall I let her in?"
"Do it." After the 'Liselle incident' earlier that day, Aria had decided to revoke freedom of access to her quarters to her daughter. There was only so much she was willing to share with her young one after all, and she tended to have the worst timing possible, unfortunately.
The Maiden strolled in as if she owned the place, a smirk on her beautiful face. "I had no idea I had to wait for permission to come in now." She sat down next to Aria and took a sip from her glass.
The Queen replied without batting an eyelid. "You have already interrupted us one time too many today."
Subtle they were not, Shepard thought, sporting an amused smile. She walked to Aria's private bar to get herself a drink and she heard Liselle's voice ringing enthusiastically behind her back. "Oh, since you're there, can you fix me a Full Biotic Kick? -If- you know how to make one..."
Aria was just about to put her back in her place yet again, but the Commander looked at her lover with a knowing smile and a wink.
"Sure. With or without a twist of orange?"
Liselle hid her surprise well and was quick to reply. "Will you look at that. You may turn out to be useful after all... Corporal, is it?"
Shepard just let out a short laugh at Liselle's continued attempts to get a reaction out of her. Aria was not as amused as the human. "Enough. You're acting like a fucking brat and I won't stand for it a second longer. You are about to embark in a possibly dangerous mission with Shepard, I expect you to do as you are told at all times and to bring your ass back in one piece."
The look on Liselle's face was priceless. "You mean the human is in charge?"
"That is exactly what I mean. It's Commander, or Shepard. I don't care as long as you show her the respect she has certainly earned."
Shepard walked back to the couch and placed the cocktail in front of the Maiden. She sat down at Aria's other side and accepted the padd the old Asari was passing to her. She gave it a quick glance, leaving the more in-depth study of it for later. She sipped her Serrice Ice Brandy, put the padd on the table, sat back and crossed her legs, her arm coming up and around Aria's shoulders in a fluid motion that betrayed the familiarity of that simple gesture. Aria put a hand on the human's thigh and slowly caressed it for a moment before going back to enjoying her drink.
She turned to meet a very bewildered look on her daughter's face. In a second, her eyes turned to black stars and she grabbed Liselle's mind into her own. Then she proceeded to get her acquainted with her soon to be born, half-human sister. Her little consciousness was growing as quickly as her body was. The little light was very curious about the new friend she was presented with, immediately recognising the genetic connection they shared, she was dancing inquisitively around her, in a contagious joy. The Maiden couldn't help being dragged into it, by it, and a smile opened on her face as she enveloped her sister and reciprocated the dance. As the meld faded, Shepard could see a slight but sure change in Liselle's expression.
The Queen spoke slowly and clearly. "You better come to terms with this, Liselle. I expect your full cooperation, as usual."
The young Asari took a moment to ponder her options and finally decided on her course of action. "Of course." Her tone for once was not sarcastic, nor irreverent. There was a touch of genuine commitment to it. She quickly added: "It may take a while for me to grow fond of you... Commander. But I won't stand in your way and I will obey your orders while on official business. As for getting friendly, we'll see about it in time."
Shepard knew full well she couldn't ask for anything more. She nodded gracefully. "Thank you, Liselle."