The Omega Chronicles - 29 - Justice is Served
Shepard was in a deep sleep when suddenly she felt Aria's body shifting sharply. She woke up, immediately alert. The first light of dawn was tinting the sky pale. Her eyes focused on the Asari's face and what she saw made her realise right away what was going on.
Aria's features were twisted in a mix of concentration and distress. Her eyes were black holes and her teeth were clenched. The only noise coming out of her was her loud breathing.
The Commander got to her feet and took a few steps to gather some fresh water, a cloth, whatever she could think of that could be of some use.
She kneeled next to the Queen and spoke in a calm voice. "You should have woken me up. I'm here, just tell me what you need me to do."
The Asari blinked back to the here and now for a second and addressed her bondmate quickly, her voice only slightly straining. "You said there's a pond nearby. Help me get there. My broken leg is healing, but it's still hurting. I certainly don't want to drag myself there on my hands and knees."
Shepard gave her a small smile. "No. You're right, that would not be dignified enough for the Queen of Omega."
She helped her up and put Aria's arm around her shoulders to better support her as they walked. They started making their way through the short grass and among the trees. Thankfully the natural pool was close by and they got there in a matter of minutes. The rarified atmosphere of the planet was making every movement a bit harder, but they both knew it was not a time to complain.
The water was cool and the Asari welcomed that refreshing feeling as soon as she let her body slide into it. The dress she was wearing, much more suited for a pregnant body than her usual outfit, puffed up around her and then, as the water soaked it, it floated in a ghostly way under the water, around her figure. She allowed herself to sink down a little, resting her reduced bodyweight on her knees, her arms spread out along the surface to keep her balance. The bottom of the pond was covered in smooth, round pebbles and the water itself was crystal clear. Part of it was kept in the shade by the branches of the trees growing around it, and a few aquatic flowers were floating lazily here and there.
The Commander took off her clothes and stepped in as well. She shivered for a moment as her body adjusted to the temperature of the water. She settled close to Aria, who noticed the uncertain expression on the human's face. She gave her the answer to her unspoken question.
"Nothing more you can do. I can let you be part of the meld. I know you won't freak out, you never do, so it won't be a stress for our daughter. You can be a beacon for her to focus on, and you can soothe her. You're usually good at that. Certainly better than I am."
Shepard nodded, her hand reached for Aria's in a natural gesture, their fingers entwined as the Asari's eyes turned to dark whirlpools of infinity.
As the human was welcomed inside Aria's mind, their daughter felt her immediately, and naturally started gravitating around her consciousness, it felt like there was confusion, concern, but also exctiment. "Mai! What is happening?"
The Commander sent out a wave of calm vibes as both her and Aria kept the environment of this exchange as relaxed as possible. "You are being born. That is all. Soon your mind will be on its own, not tied to your parent any longer. It will feel very different from what you have experienced so far. But we will both be there for you. We have been waiting for this moment for some time, as you know."
The little light shone bright. "Oh yes, I remember. You both talked to me about this. I can feel ... straining. Is Mai Aria hurting?"
The Asari was doing her best to shield their daughter from the worst of it, but the amount of concentration it required was making it difficult at this point. Shepard offered some comfort. "No. She's not hurting, but she needs to focus on doing the best job she can, for you. So you have me. Is that enough?"
The pulsating feeling of familiarity and trust coming from the little consciousness was wonderful to experience. "Of course it is."
In the world outside the Queen's hand was gripping the human's to the point of physical pain. Aria knew her body was completely ready. She tried to relax for the fraction of a second before giving it her all. She took in a deep breath, and then she pushed. Her teeth were grinding as she felt herself dilate to let her daughter through, slowly but surely.
In the meld, Shepard instinctively created a sort of safe bubble around their daughter, to dampen the stress of this slow separation process, as she watched her light getting dimmer and dimmer. And then she was gone. The meld was cut off almost abruptly.
The Commander stared in awe as she saw a translucid egg, the size of a human baby, sliding out of the Asari's body and gently floating to the surface of the water, a thin cord still anchoring the new life to Aria's body. There was not a single a drop of blood. The Queen grabbed it and brought it to her mouth, her teeth bit into it and she pulled and chewed for a couple of seconds until it broke.
Shepard's hands moved to pick up the little body, still encased in that egg-shaped semirigid membrane, but Aria stopped her. "No. She has to come out of it by herself."
Just as her words were hanging in the air, their daughter shifted inside the cocoon, her little hands tested the wall that separated her from the world, her fingers unfolded and she began to scratch her way out. In the space of a few seconds she was able to tear through her egg, and she wedged out her limbs at first, and her body to follow. That's when Aria reached for the discarded placenta and started eating it.
Shepard was watching all of this with a gaping mouth and an exploding heart. She was afraid she would do something wrong, but she found it almost impossible to contain herself by now. Her voice was audibly trembling as she hesitantly extended her arms towards the happily floating baby and asked. "May I...?"
The Asari grinned as she tore apart another small bite of the membrane. "Be my guest."
She let her hands glide just under the surface of the water and they came back up to cup the small body of her daughter. Her skin was soft and smooth as silk. She wrapped her in her arms and stared at her intently as the new life was slowly trying to open her eyes for the first time.
Aria swallowed the last of her placenta and wiped her mouth on her arm. Not phased nor concerned in the least by her soaked dress, she moved behind her bondmate, her broken leg not limiting her motions as much while in the water, she encircled the human in her blue, strong arms, and she rested her chin on her shoulder as she too was about to be seen by their baby for the first time.
The little life opened her eyes. It took a moment for her to be able to focus, then she looked at her parents. Tears filled Shepard's eyes and her lips opened in a sweet smile. Her head was light and her heart was beating out of her chest. Aria placed a soft kiss on her cheek and whispered in her ear. "Good job, Commander."
The human raised her hand and let a finger caress the baby's face, tenderly. She yawned, showing two rows of perfectly formed tiny teeth. There were no markings on her face, and the tendrils on her head seemed to be less rigid than the ones of fully grown Asari. Her small hand came up and she wrapped her fingers around Shepard's, gripping it tightly. The Commander didn't think she could have gotten more smitten until that very moment. She was mistaken. The joy she felt at that little gesture was nigh overwhelming.
Aria's voice distracted her from her reverie. "I hope you thought of a name, as I had asked you to."
Shepard's reply was somewhat delayed by the sight of the sweet little smile on their daughter's face. "Yes. Of course. You know your every wish is my command, after all."
"And?" The Asari was playing it cool, but deep inside she was beaming. In spite of all the latest complications, everything had gone perfectly well. She stared at her daughter with pride and love.
"Metis."
The baby let out a short cooing sound. Aria grinned. "Well, she seems to like it."
Shepard twisted in the Queen's embrace to face her. Her free hand cupped the back of her neck and she drew her perfect blue lips close. They kissed. Their lips, gliding against each other at first, opened to let their tongues dance in hot, slow movements. It was intense, it was deep, it felt like nothing else existed. The Asari's hands gripped the Commander's lower back to draw whatever part of her body she could nearer. In the back of their minds they knew not to squeeze their newborn between them, but damn, it was hard to resist. Their hot breaths melted together as they devoured each other.
There was the sharp sound of a shot ringing in the air, in the distance.
The Justicar got down on one knee, her keen eyes examined an ever so faint trace on the ground in front of her. It would have been missed by anyone else, but not by her. It was her job, her calling, her entire life, after all. Running after criminals and dispensing justice was the only thing she did, and she did it flawlessly.
The sun was just coming up behind some tall, old trees, the rays spreading and dancing through the leaves. It looked beautiful, and the Asari admired it for just a few moments. She was in no hurry. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the atmosphere was less than conducive to physical activities, and she had forgone bringing her respirator, considering that her pursue would not take long at all.
She started walking towards a jutting group of rocks, just a few hundred meters away from her current position. Several small animals and insects were very busy at the beginning of their day of toiling, and the surroundings were very much bursting with life. She wondered if there were any large predators in the area. The information regarding this planet, whatever was available in her database, was quite lacking in any details of some importance for the casual visitor. She guessed they did not expect any casual visitors all in all.
As she approached the rocks her finely attuned hearing spotted a loud panting and wheezing ahead. There could be no mistake that whomever she was after was not far.
She considered using her gun for a moment, then decided she would rather rely on her biotics for the time being. Her arms started swirling in blue electricity.
As she climbed on the third rock, she saw him. The Batarian was slowly trying to find a place to hide, a tad too slowly. He was incredibly tired by now, due to the lack of oxygen, and he was clutching his left arm. It must have gotten broken at some point while he was running for his life, he had probably slipped and fallen ungraciously or some such unfortunate occurrence.
He heard the faintest noise behind him and turned around to see the majestic figure of the Justicar towering over him from just a few feet away. There was no expression on her face, her eyes were cold and intense. He reached for his weapon, in an attempt dictated by pure desperation.
The Asari let a small ball of crackling biotics flare from her hand and hit his arm, blasting his rifle away and making it land at some distance from them.
He smirked, caught between rage and disbelief. "Well, fuck."
She stepped closer.
He just stared at her, the realisation that his daring escape was over finally sinking in. "At least make it quick, bitch."
The Justicar brought her gun out and pointed it right between his eyes. Her voice was stern as much as it was silky. "That I can do. Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess."
She fired.
The Commander 's immediate reaction was to shove their baby in Aria's arms, as gently but as fastly as she could. Naked as she was, she got out of the pond, she grabbed her faithful Carnifex and she disappeared quickly in the vegetation.
As the Justicar was about to turn and be on her merry way, on to her next target, she was blinded for a second by what seemed to be a reflection of the rays of the sun on something metallic. Curious by nature, she gazed in that general direction. She decided to take a closer look and headed for the source of the unexpected light.
She reached the spot quickly. It looked like someone had done a relatively good job to cover up a shuttle. The thing was in very bad shape, so it must have been a rough landing for whoever was piloting it. There was an animal grazing lazily around it, and it had managed to accidentally pull off a few of the leaves that had been used as camouflage. If it hadn't been for that, no one would have been any the wiser as to the presence of the small, half destroyed craft.
The Asari took a good look around, and easily found the tracks leading away from it. She followed them all the way to what appeared to be a makeshift shelter. There was no one present, but it was clear that it had been used recently. As she walked among the few strewn objects, she found more tracks. She diligently followed those too.
She stopped when she came to a small natural pool of fresh water. It looked deserted, but she was not fooled. She found a bunch of clothes on the ground, just around a small rock, and she squatted to examine them. The leather jacket she picked up was quite interesting. On its back was a deep red marking of a well known place. Omega. Her senses immediately switched to full alert. More often than not, Omega was a synonym for trouble. It was also, coincidentally enough, her next destination.
Her attentive eyes panned around, her ears focused on any noise out of the ordinary. And sure enough, there it was. Someone was very close. Hiding behind one of the trees that were growing around the pond. She let her biotics swirl around her hands and forearms and carefully took the few steps that divided her from a potentially dangerous foe.
As she turned around the base of the tree she was greeted by the tiny smile and the giggles of a cute Asari baby, laying on a wet dress on the grass.
She was tempted to pick her up, but she knew better than to let her guard down. And she was right. A sharp, sure voice spoke to her from behind her back. "I may not be in my best condition at the moment, Justicar. But touch that baby and I will do my damndest to kill you."
She turned around to take a look at whom she assumed to be the angry parent. It was another Asari, and her face was incredibly familiar. In fact, she pondered that the coincidences were beginning to be a tad uncanny. She let her biotics die and raised her hands in a gesture of peace. "Aria T'Loak. I certainly had no idea I would ever find you on an uninhabited planet, away from any and all commerce routes. Let alone away from your station." She lowered her hands. "I mean you no harm. As far as I know, I am under no obligation to kill you. For the moment, at least."
Aria stood there, naked, her whole body surrounded by a sphere of biotics that allowed her to float just a few inches from the ground. She didn't want the Justicar to know she was wounded and one of her legs was still not strong enough to carry her whole weight. But to have to sustain that biotic field, so soon after her body had gone through the trauma of giving birth, was taking a toll. She sincerely hoped things wouldn't come to a fight. A fight she had troubling doubts she could get out of alive, with or without her bondmate's help. She put up her best poker face. "So you know who I am. I'm afraid I cannot claim the same about you. Care to introduce yourself?"
The Justicar smiled a circumstantial smile that never reached her eyes. "My name is Samara. I was here to take care of a... moral bounty, if you will. A criminal that had escaped and evaded capture required my expertise to be taken down."
Moving swiftly from behind another tree, the Commander placed herself behind Samara and raised her gun to her head, without saying a word. The Justicar was of course aware of her presence. She bowed her head a little and a small smile creased her lips. "So here you are, at last. I heard you coming two minutes ago. I was waiting for you to make your move. Are you sure this is the course of action you want to take?"
Aria's eyes met the Commander's as her voice spoke, and her tone did not allow any form of disagreement. "Put the gun down." Her eyes shifted to Samara's. "Am I correct in assuming we are in no danger from you, then, Justicar?"
"As I stated, not at the moment."
"That's good enough for me." Aria let her biotic field dissipate. Shepard was at her side in just a few quick steps, offering support. They walked to where their baby was lying and the human picked her up in a protective embrace.
Samara was looking on with a curious and half bemused expression on her otherwise serious face. Seeing that their initial meeting had concluded rather peacefully, she did not hesitate to offer her assistance. "I have a shuttle... a working one, standing by for take off. It's not quite near, but I can fly it closer so you won't have to walk. I can offer you passage back to Omega. If that was your destination, that is." She appraised the Queen's figure for a moment. "I also have a change of clothes that will fit you."
The Queen stared at her for a moment, weighing the non-existent options. She didn't have to think in order to make up her mind. "That is generous of you. I expect you will want something in return?" Aria knew that nothing was for free in the Galaxy.
Samara nodded briefly. "My next mission would in fact take me to your station. I would appreciate it if you let me go about it without restrictions."
Aria's lips opened in a knowing grin. "I know better than to get in the way of a Justicar."