Omega Chronicles -21- Out of the frying pan
The lights were dim in the Inanna's canteen, projecting strange shadows along the metal walls. During the day this was the heart of the ship, alive with chatter, filled with people coming and going at all hours. Now it was silent, the only sound one could hear was the constant background buzz of the engines and the occasional creaking of a bulkhead.
Aria was sitting at the long dining table, a concentrated look on her face as she was giving her full attention to the info displayed on the padd in her hands. A deep crease was slowly forming between her eyes as she digested what she was reading.
The smell of coffee hit her heightened sense of smell and made her look up even before her eyes were able to focus on the figure approaching her.
Shepard sat down next to her and put both mugs down, pushing one in front of the Queen. "Can't sleep?"
The Asari's voice sounded a bit annoyed. "Apparently. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around how we got sucked into this. Then I remember and I start planning the many ways in which I will have Barla Von killed once we're done saving the galaxy." She took a sip of the very welcome hot drink. "Fat excuse for a misguidedly evolved mole that he is. Actually, I'm not even sure if that Volus is male or female. It's difficult to tell under those envirosuits."
The Commander let out a short, half bitter laugh. "It is certainly turning out to be more of a rollercoaster than I expected. Sometimes I am tempted to say 'To hell with it!' and just sit back, forget about it and watch the Reapers do their thing." Her tone turned mockingly ironic for a moment. "It's just too bad I have finally found a reason to actually -want- to protect this galaxy." She set her eyes on Aria's and she twisted her body slightly towards her. Her arm came up to the Queen's waist and her hand softly caressed her, just below her navel. The human wondered for a second about how long pregnancy was for an Asari. She decided this was not the time to ask.
Aria's hand moved to meet her lover's and their fingers entwined naturally. They stared at each other for a long moment. "It is after all the least you can do for your daughter. And for me."
Shepard smiled. "You know I will happily give my life for you."
The Queen had a positively predatory look in her eyes as she grinned back. "Right now, I will settle for something much more... pleasant."
"Indeed. And what would that be, pray tell." There were dark flames playing in the human's eyes. Her body was already reacting to the blatant innuendo, vibes of anticipation were crawling up her spine and she couldn't help licking her lips.
"I think I'd rather show you." Aria's voice was husky and inviting.
She motioned with her head for Shepard to stand up and gently guided her to lean against the table. She slid on the long bench so to be sitting between her legs and her blue hands rested on the human's knees, spreading them apart. She unzipped her pants and slowly dragged them down together with her underwear, her fingertips leaving hot trails on the Commander's exposed skin.
As Aria's lips placed open kisses on her inner thighs, Shepard's hand started caressing her crest, her other hand placed firmly on the table, sustaining part of her weight. The Asari's purple tongue finally reached her folds, sparking small fireworks behind her closed eyes, and she let out a long sigh that quickly turned into a low growl of pleasure. Her grip tightened on the Queen's head, urging her for more. The Commander's eyes opened and travelled down to watch the scene that was taking place between her legs, the visual input bringing her desire to new, dizzying heights. Her breath was coming in ragged, low pants and her heartbeat was quickening, fast. She couldn't help thinking that Aria was so good at this, her skilled tongue knowing just where to insist, when to slide, when to press, how to tickle and how to simply devour.
The Asari suddenly stopped. Her eyes locked on Shepard's, she felt the human's fingers trying to push her to continue. A smirk opened on her perfect face. She blinked. Her eyes turned into infinite blackness and she took possession of the Commander's mind.
The impetuous invasion made Shepard gasp, there was a moment of absolute stillness between them. Then the passion took over. As the Queen resumed ravishing her lover in the physical world, her mind exploded a wave of lust so strong, it grabbed the human's consciousness and they swirled out of control. Like currents of heat they melded, their identities fusing together, becoming a single core of yearning, lost into each other, with each other. They rushed breathlessly into a spine-tingling release. Aria felt the muscles in the Commander's thighs clench, a raw, low scream coming from her throat, a burst of red hot light blinding their joined minds.
Still panting loudly, still deeply entangled in their shared consciousness, Shepard pulled her pants up and zipped them quickly, then she grabbed Aria's face and dragged her up, into a crushing kiss. She could taste herself on her salty blue lips and it made her even more excited. Their mouths opened and their tongues started battling, their lips sliding, their teeth biting, harshly drawing breaths as their hunger kept growing.
Their hands worked frantically in unison to get rid of Aria's clothes, and she hastily kicked her boots off. As soon as she was naked, Shepard put an arm around the Asari's waist, lifted her, pivoted her around and nigh slammed her on the table, swiftly half-mounting her body, one leg on the floor to keep herself balanced, the other possessively spreading the Queen's legs. The air left Aria's lungs in a huff just a second before Shepard's mouth covered hers once more for a brief, hard kiss. Then the Commander started trailing a wet line down to her breasts, stopping to bite the base of her neck, leaving a purple mark that pleasantly pulsated for a few seconds.
The Asari almost growled in ecstasy when her lover took a nipple in her mouth and sucked on it until it was painfully hard. She was lost in that incredible sensation as she felt Shepard's hand sliding between her thighs, exploring, probing, spreading her wetness over her folds before easily opening them and impaling two strong fingers inside her. Aria arched her back in an involuntary movement, her body betraying just how much she loved it all, her Commander so rough and hungry and divinely skilled. Shepard's fingers were thrusting so deeply inside of her, filling her, stroking her, she couldn't help raining down her pleasure like a shower of lava in their minds. Then Shepard made those agile fingers curl up to find that intimate spot, ever so slightly harder than the surrounding walls, knowing that it would make the Asari come, hard. In a drunken whirlpool of passion their minds wrestled and blended all the way to the edge. Aria's skin glowed in swirls of blue light for a second, then her orgasm hit them both, their muscles tensing and trembling, they gasped their release on each other's lips for what felt like forever.
Shepard felt her lover's body finally relax, and her arms moving around her, enveloping her, drawing her even closer. Their eyes locked on each other, their minds so deeply fused together, there was no need for words between them. Aria's hand caressed her way up the human's back, her fingers intertwined in her short hair and drew her in for a long kiss, then guided her to rest her face in her neck. She slowly let the meld fade as they revelled in a few more moments of intimacy.
Unexpectedly, the Queen spoke in her so typical no-nonsense tone. "The show is over. It's time for you to go now."
Shepard's head darted right up, her eyes scanning the dim room looking for whomever was lurking there. She saw a shadow quickly running away. "What the fuck." She stared at Aria with a questioning look. "Why didn't you let me know there was someone watching us?"
Aria laughed ironically. "Don't tell me you want me to believe you would have stopped, Commander."
The human weighed her bondmate's words for just the fraction of a second. Her lop-sided grin would have been a reply on its own. "You definitely have a point, my Queen. Do you know who it was?"
"From the smell alone I'd say human, female."
Ashley Williams was running as if her life depended on it, she threw herself into the women's lavatory, she ran into a restroom and locked the door behind her, her breathing almost panicked, her throat burning. She leaned heavily against the metal door as she was gasping for air.
And to think that all she had wanted was a midnight snack. She certainly got way more than she could handle. As she had approached the canteen she had noticed the noises right away, but she had only realised their source as she was walking in. She had stopped dead in her tracks, and she knew she should have just turned around and quietly walked back to whence she had come, but somehow her feet had suddenly been nailed to the floor, and her eyes had just not been able to look away. It had felt like watching a train wreck. A very sexy, very hot train wreck. She knew of course that it was wrong. Very, very wrong. But she had found herself hypnotised beyond her control. Taking advantage of the low lights, she had just stood there. She suddenly felt incredibly ashamed, she let her body slid down to the floor, her face buried in her hands. The worst part was how she couldn't stop being turned on by it. She knew for a fact she had never seen anything so sensual, so erotic and so intense in her life. And that made her feel even more ashamed.
She waited for her heart to slow down, then she picked herself up, exited the stall and used one of the sinks to wash her face, in the hopes to cool down her crazed hormones.
She slowly and silently made her way back to the bunk she had been temporarily assigned and tried very hard to get some sleep. She ended up tossing and turning, her mind rewinding and replaying random images of Shepard and Aria in the throes of passion. After a while she just wrapped her pillow around her face to muffle a frustrated cry. Then she resigned to a sleepless night. She accessed her omnitool and used her time to fill in some details of the report that Captain Anderson was sure to ask of her once she'd be back on the Normandy.
"And then he turns around, looks at me and yells: 'I thought it was -your- varren'!" Wrex's booming laugh was quite contagious, Garrus, Tali and Ashley joined in while Jack limited herself to a smirk.
Shepard grabbed a plate of food and went to sit down with them at the big table in the canteen as they were all having breakfast. Her mind gave her a flashback to the sexy memories of the night before and she couldn't help smiling as she started eating.
"Good morning Commander, you seem to be in a good mood today." Tali's slightly metallic voice greeted her with a happy note.
"Oh, I'm in a great mood, all things considered." The Commander couldn't help noticing that Williams was sternly avoiding looking at her, and there was a hint of a blush on her cheeks. She went back to what Aria had told her about their voyeur and she got a bit suspicious. She pretended nothing was wrong and kept wolfing down her food.
Garrus got her attention. "So, do we know where we're headed next?"
The table was suddenly silent as they all waited for an answer. Shepard wiped her lips and told them what they wanted to know. "We do. Aria and Tali worked out the information that was given to us by the Rachni Queen on Noveria. We have the coordinates of the Mu Relay, so we're headed there as we speak... and we're flying through it."
They all looked at each other with concern on their faces. Jack spoke for all of them, albeit in her own style. "Shit. Do we even know what the fuck is on the other side? For all you know, you could be flying us into a fucking nova, or something equally as unhealthy."
"Unfortunately, we don't have much of a choice. Apparently, that's where we can find this Conduit thing, whatever it may be. That's where Saren is going, and that makes it our destination too." Shepard stared at the Chief. "Williams, I know you're not part of this team, but I'm afraid you're stuck with us for the time being. I could set you down on the first M class planet along the way and signal the Normandy to come and get you, but that's the best I can do. You are of course welcome to stay and help. We certainly can use all the firepower we can find. I obviously cannot guarantee your safety. Ball's in your court, think about it. You have two hours before the Inanna reaches the point of no return."
Ashley simply nodded, still unable to look at the Commander straight in the eye.
The door chime abruptly interrupted the Commander's concentration as she was reading all the data they had available about this mysterious Mu Relay. "Come in." There was just a faint note of tiredness in her voice.
Ashley walked in and she found she had to suppress the instinct to salute. She stopped just a few steps away from the table where Shepard was sitting, suddenly unsure about how exactly she wanted to address the situation. She had spent a good half hour playing this conversation in her mind back and forth before she had finally found the courage to come here, and now all that careful planning was disappearing quickly from her memory and her will.
The Commander looked at her and smiled. Her hand silently invited her to take the chair next to her at the table.
The Chief nervously accepted. She sat down and took a deep breath. She was so sure she had thought of a good way to start talking, but somehow now it was gone.
Shepard waited for just a couple of seconds and then decided to break the uncomfortable silence. "Williams. I take it you're here to let me know whether you're in for the ride, or if you want me to set the Inanna down somewhere and call the Alliance to come and pick you up."
Ashley saw an opening and went for it, her eyes finally connecting with the Commander's. "I... yes, of course. I don't think I could be of any help if I returned to the Normandy just now, so I figured I could offer my services here, for the time being. I understand what is at stake and I can see how the top priority is to find Saren and stop him, by any means necessary. So... yeah... I would rather stay, if it's ok with you."
Shepard leaned back on her chair and let out a low whistle of appreciation and relief. "Somehow I had no doubts you'd choose to help, but still. I've been in the Alliance long enough to know just how well they brainwash you into perfect submission and total loyalty. You do understand that in the eyes of the Council, and by extension, of all their affiliated and subject races, we are no better than criminals, right?"
The soldier seemed to think about it for just a moment. Then a decisive light shone on her face. "I do. And I don't care. Right now, no one can tell me you're not doing the right thing, the thing that needs to be done. I saw you in action, more than once, remember? The first thing I recall of you is you saving my life. If that is part of being a criminal, then we should all embrace that lifestyle. I will lend all the help I can. Then I will say my goodbyes and go back to my regular life. Well, hopefully there will still be a regular life to go back to once we're done."
The Commander had a small smile on her lips, that wasn't enough to light up her tired, sunken eyes. "All I can say is, thank you."
"Shepard... before I lose my resolve, there's something else I should say..." Her fingers started fumbling nervously. She inhaled deeply and let it all out in one go. "I was in the canteen last night, and I saw you and Aria, and I know I should have just walked away, and I wanted to, but I couldn't, no, I don't mean I couldn't, I just -couldn't-, well, it caught me unprepared and I don't know why I didn't leave, and that was so rude of me, I don't know what came over me, this is not something I usually do... oh God, what am I even saying... of course I don't do this kind of thing! ... What I'm trying to say is that I am sorry." She paused and let out a long sigh, her eyes fixed on her own hands. "I'm sorry."
There was an infinite moment of silence.
Then Shepard laughed. "That was you? I had a suspicion, but I wasn't sure! Oh, Williams..." She reached across the table and put her fingers on the Chief's chin, lifting her face up to look into her eyes. "It's all right. Seriously. Granted, Aria and I don't go out of our way to share our most intimate moments publicly, but neither of us is a prude when it comes to sex, and you can rest assured we won't be carrying any emotional scars just because you saw us." The Commander took Ashley's hand in her own and gave it a friendly and reassuring squeeze. "I'll tell you what, if you standing there had been a real problem, Aria would have taken no more than a second to smear you on the nearest wall with her biotics. The fact that you are sitting here and talking to me is the best guarantee that it was -not- a problem."
Williams seemed to suddenly realise just in how much of a dangerous spot she had put herself in. Her eyes went wide and her mouth slightly opened.
Shepard was still smiling. "Relax. All is well. And thanks for having the guts to tell me."
Seeing how sincere the Commander's words sounded, the Chief felt finally able to draw a breath of relief. She composed herself and got up to leave. "Well, I... thanks for listening." As she was walking to the door, she quickly added in a shy tone. "And pass my thanks to Aria for not killing me."
The Mako was making its way along the immense tunnels in the belly of the planet. Everything looked ruined and long forgotten, the plant life was retaking possession of every inch possible of the ancient walls, water dripping along the metal and the stone, deep roots and hanging vines creating abstract designs all around them.
Jack was staring out of a small viewport with fascinated eyes. "What the fuck are all those things protruding from the walls? It looks like no living soul has been here in forever."
Aria looked outside to see what she was talking about. "They look like stasis pods. But there's no sign of life coming from them. It's as if they are all turned off."
Williams shifted uncomfortably on her seat, her hands tightening the grip on her rifle automatically. "This place is giving me the creeps. Nothing but Geth, Geth and more Geth. Do we even know what we're looking for? How to find it? What it looks like?"
Shepard was driving, a wrinkle of concentration on her brow. "Your guess is as good as ours, Chief." The Mako suddenly slowed down and stopped. "Damn. There's a forcefield."
Jack asked in an angry tone. "Is it a fucking trap?"
"No, I don't think so, it doesn't look like something made by the Geth, and there's no sign of activity on the radar. I'm going out to see if there's a way around. Williams, you're with me. Aria, would you like to join us?"
The Queen got up and got her shotgun out. "Wouldn't miss it for anything."
The air was damp and it stuck to their faces as they made their way to what looked like an elevator. It was miraculously working. After a short ride they walked down a path to what looked like the only piece of technology still intact.
As they carefully approached it, a light emerged from it and a scattered image started talking. "You are not Prothean, but you are not machine either. This eventuality was one of many that we anticipated. This is why we sent our warning through the beacons."
The Chief commented in a low voice behind Shepard. "It looks and sounds like a VI, but it seems to be badly damaged."
The hologram went on. "I do not sense the indoctrination in any of you, unlike the one that passed earlier. Perhaps there is still hope."
Aria walked all around it, observing it closely. She addressed it with suspicion. "How can you speak our language? Why aren't you speaking the language of the Protheans?"
"I have been monitoring your communications since you have arrived at this facility. I have translated my output into a format you can comprehend. My name is Vigil. You are safe here, for the moment. Soon, nowhere will be safe."
It was Shepard's turn to interrogate the VI. "What are you? What is this place?"
Vigil dutifully replied, giving them all the information they wanted, telling them a story of striving and despair, of how its VI program was by now the only thing left on the entire planet that still held a spark of life. A cold shiver ran down Williams' spine as she realised that all the stasis pods around them were nothing more than coffins, the last hope of an entire civilisation that died a slow, senseless death in the wake of the last Reaper invasion.
The Commander had heard enough about the past. "Vigil, can you tell us anything useful on how to stop the Reapers?"
"The Citadel is the heart of your civilisation, possibly the seat of your government, as it was for us. We did not build it: we found it. As you must have found it as well, and as every civilisation before us did. The Citadel is the key. It is nothing but a trap. The entire structure is a Mass Relay, and it was built with one purpose alone: it links directly to dark space, outside the rim of the galaxy, to the place where the Reapers lie dormant between one cycle and the next. When the Citadel Relay is activated, the Reapers will pour through, and your eradication will begin."
Shepard couldn't believe what she was hearing. "How? How can they activate the Citadel from beyond the galaxy? How come nobody ever noticed that it was a huge Relay?"
"The Keepers. They are those who maintain the Citadel's basic functions between civilisations, they make it possible for anyone who finds it to be able to use it, without fully understanding how it works. What you, and we, consider to be a fortunate help, is actually our undoing."
Aria had a look of rage and disbelief on her face. "The perfect trap. They can wipe out the Council and the entire fleet in a surprise attack. From there, it's going to be a piece of cake for them to spread through the galaxy and destroy everything."
Williams couldn't help asking. "If the situation was so dire, why didn't you surrender?"
Vigil replied in its indifferent tone. "An offer of surrender was never given. The final goal of the Reapers is the extinction of every advanced organic life form in this galaxy."
The Commander's voice was cold as stone as she was taking in all the dreadful knowledge of the Protheans. A simple yet profound question exited her lips in a low, angry breath. "Why?"
The VI did not care about her state of mind as it gave her the best answer it could. "We do not know. The reasons of the Reapers might be beyond the comprehension of any organic life, they are machines, their thought process is nowhere near what we are familiar with. We never found out."
"Just tell me how to stop them." Shepard's voice did not betray any emotion during this almost surreal exchange with Vigil.
"Our scientists found a way to stop the Reapers from using the Citadel as their entry point of invasion. It was obviously too late for it to be a saving action in our cycle, but it has worked now, for your cycle. They were able to upload a scrambling code into the Keepers. When the machines sent the signal to the Keepers to activate the Relay, they ignored it. As a result, Sovereign is now acting as an investigator of sorts. Now, with the help of Saren, it knows what has happened, and together they will try to use the Conduit to reach the Citadel and undo the work of our scientists for good. The Conduit is here, on Ilos. It is not a weapon, it is a miniature Mass Relay that was built as a backdoor into the Citadel itself. Saren is already headed for it, you need to catch up to him and stop him before he can handle the manual controls of the Citadel to Sovereign. If he succeeds, the machine will use its direct access to override the failsafe programmed by our scientists and it will allow the Reaper fleet to come through."
"-How- do I stop him? Give me something to work with here." There was just a subtle note of impatience in the Commander's voice at this point, she was painfully aware that they were wasting very precious time.
"There's a data file in my console, make a copy of it and take it with you when you go. Once you reach the Citadel, upload it into the station's Master Control system. It will give you temporary control over the entire station. Hopefully it will give you the chance you need."
"Williams, grab a copy of the file. Let's move!"
Vigil had let the forcefield fade, and the team had been allowed to drive through it. Ignoring the Geth armatures and troops that were trying to blast them along the way, the Commander was driving the Mako towards the Conduit like she was possessed. As they eventually reached it, she launched the vehicle through it without hesitation. A blinding light enveloped them and they felt their bodies were being pulled by an invisible force, to the breaking point. It was over in the fraction of a second.
The Mako appeared out of thin air into the heart of the Citadel, careening and skidding across the once pristine floors of the Presidium. It bounced off a couple of walls, trails of hot sparks dancing in the air as metal collided and scraped against metal.
It finally came to a full stop.