DISCLAIMER: Mass Effect video game is the property of its respective owners and the author has no financial gain from it. Original Characters and story concept are mine though.

A/N: Here is the first part of Chapter 8. Dubois must now deal with the consequences of the Blue Suns takeover and it's not going to be all sunshine and daisies. This part is about 6k words long. Hope you enjoy it!

My beta is still the one and the only Redentor

Chapter 8 – Divide And Conquer

If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it.

Gaius Julius Caesar

Repair and Conversion Shipyard 'ARGO'

Planet Acheron (LV-426)

Hourglass Nebula

Earth Year: 2172

"That about sums it up, ladies and gentlemen." I concluded.

When I was done talking, the atmosphere in the small conference room was so thick with tension that one could almost cut it with a knife. The men and a woman present eyed each other apprehensively trying and failing to process what they were just told. The only person completely relaxed and at ease was Zaeed Massani as he stood by the wall with folded arms and observed the proceedings. Apart from him and myself there were other important Blue Suns officers present. The most important was obviously Commander Das'Maral Tarak, in charge of the Acheron Military District, but he'd also brought two other officers with him. The first was Lieutenant-Commander Arien Loray, a permanently scowling woman with short, dark hair and an even shorter temper from the colony on Eden Prime. Loray was the overseer of the Blue Suns mining operations in the area. The second was Lieutenant-Commander Quintus Orelan, a scarred turian with unusual colony markings that my eye-app could not place. He was a naval officer turned mercenary, who was in charge of the shipyards on Acheron, 'Argo' being the primary facility.

There were also two civilian contractors present in the conference room: Rudolf Colley, a human and the chief executive of Stalwart Shippings, a local transport company which doubled as logistical support for the Blue Suns and Lar'kai Valdorf, a batarian who owned and ran Valdorf Metalworks, the largest metal processing conglomerate in the star system.

Neither of the Blue Suns officers looked very happy with Zaeed's presence – or mine for that matter. Nevertheless, they were disciplined soldiers and they trusted Tarak's judgment on this. I was glad that Zaeed had managed to convince the batarian commander to support us, otherwise our campaign for getting the Blue Suns assets would have been a very short lived one indeed. The civilians didn't care either way about the changeover – for them it was all the same who signed the paperwork in the end. They were here to ensure that the Blue Suns' contracts with their companies would not be declared null and void by Zaeed. For Colley being the Blue Suns logistical support was a large part of his company's income, while Valdorf's steel mills and processing plants were dependent on the supply of raw materials from the mines controlled by the mercenaries.

Finally, the uncomfortable silence in the room was broken by Lieutenant-Commander Loray as she turned her face to me with a scowl.

"You can't honestly think that we would believe this load of pyjak dung, Dubois?"

I smirked at her condescendingly.

"What I presented to you has this rather annoying trait of being a fact and not dependent on your personal beliefs, lieutenant-commander. No matter how inconvenient the Reapers are to us, they still remain a threat. The question is: what are we going to do about them?"

Looking around the table I reached into my side-pocket and pulled out my holo-tablet. It contained the same, heavily-edited data package that Lox and I had compiled and forcibly inserted into Zaeed's head.

"You can all ask Mr. Massani here and he will vouch for it. This tablet contains data concerning the Reapers and the threat they present. All you have to do is to put your palms above it, which will enable the data-transfer."

The flanged turian voice interrupted.

"I have never heard of such technology, apart from an asari mind meld, which is directly tied to their biotics. Can you ensure us that this is safe?"

"Mr. Massani had the same technology used on him and it left no lasting damage – our medical officer ran full scans afterwards. I also had this type of transfer used on me on multiple occasions without any unwanted side-effects." I lied easily.

"I lost my consciousness for a couple of hours at least, kid." Said the old mercenary, still clearly displeased with the way I handled his knowledge transfer.

I turned back to Zaeed with a strained smile, seeing as he was not helping the situation.

"You were under duress at that time, sir." I made a note of addressing Zaeed respectfully when among other Blue Suns. I didn't want to undermine his still shaky position in the organization. "I have full confidence as well as the confirmation of our medical team that data-transfers are perfectly safe."

Commander Tarak looked at Zaeed for a moment and the mercenary gave a barely perceptible nod. Apparently it was the only confirmation he needed and the batarian was the first to sit at the table. His officers were still uncertain but he motioned for them to follow, which also convinced the civilian contractors to do the same.

As their hands hovered above my holo-tablet I clicked the confirmation key and started the data-transfer. Unlike Zaeed where I was pretty overwhelmed by the situation, this time I actually had time to observe the procedure from the third person perspective. A thick, light blue beam erupted from the tablet and it split into five smaller rays. Each of them travelled through the outstretched hands of the Blue Suns and directly into their heads.

I had to admit that they took their first data-transfer much better than I did, my condition at the time notwithstanding. The two civilians were shaking a little, but they kept their hands steady. The mercenary officers on the other hand absorbed the knowledge with a stoic patience, only their eyes moving rapidly under their closed eyelids betraying their strain.

Zaeed stood next to me and asked, "Did your first transfer feel like this too, Dubois?"

I cringed, remembering the scorching needles piercing my brain and the metal hand clamping around my throat. This and the thirty-six-hour interrogation were one of the memories that I could do well without.

"No, Zaeed. My body was not suited for transfers at the time and they were very painful."

"And how many did you have?" He asked, either not noticing or not caring that I lied to the Blue Suns officers.

"Quite a few." I answered curtly. For the sake of my continuous sanity I did not wish to pursue this topic anymore.

The mercenary nodded quietly and returned to watching the sitting Blue Suns. At this moment the light beam flickered and disappeared and the people sitting around the table looked as if they had woken up from a deep slumber. They were all a bit dishevelled, but not the worse for wear.

Lieutenant-Commander Arien Loray was, unsurprisingly, the first to speak once again.

"Well, fuck." She said eloquently

"Couldn't have put it better myself." Muttered Lar'kai Valdorf, all four of his eyes skipping between me and the holo-tablet. I could see that the destruction of the Hegemony by the Reapers left a lasting impression.

"There are so many of them. And the way they just tore through Earth's planetary defences. The Sol System is probably the most secure capital star system out there and they went through it like a charging krogan through pyjaks." Added a visibly shaken Rudolf Colley.

"There is a fleet of literally thousands of centuries old dreadnoughts just waiting to jump us." Tarak's voice was level, but his face was grim. He folded his arms and he stared at the holo-tablet as if everything that happened was its fault.

"I understand that the Reapers are a terrifying enemy, but we have more than a decade to prepare for the war. And they don't know yet that we know about them and that gives us a vital edge in the fight." I said with a confidence that I didn't feel.

Lieutenant-Commander Loray replied to my attempt at reassurance with a very sharply delivered query, "So, what is your stake in this, kid? What do you get from sharing this knowledge with us?"

I ignored her condescending tone of voice. Thanks to my intensive training I had become fairly competent at reading peoples' facial expression and I recognized that she hid her own fear behind her abrasive personality.

"I have no stake, lieutenant-commander. I simply follow orders, just like anyone else."

The turian officer was much more pragmatic about it. He turned toward me and asked, his sub vocals adding the melodic undertones to his serious voice, "This 'Confederacy' that you're a part of, are they going to send out some help? Decade or no, the Blue Suns simply don't have the manpower to mobilize on the scale you're talking about. We will need your help."

"And you will get it. The 213th Infiltration Brigade of which I am a part of will be supplying us with instructors, technological know-how and liquid assets."

Quintus Orelan looked at me as if he saw me for the first time, his mandibles hanging down in shock.

"A brigade? You have the resources and manpower of our galaxy multiplied by a thousand and you are committing a single brigade to help us?" He said slowly, as if he could not believe his own words.

Now everyone was looking at me including Zaeed whose eyes I could feel boring into my neck. Perhaps letting them know about the Confederacy's capabilities wasn't the best idea in the world, but then how could I have explained my foreknowledge of what is to happen?

But I was expecting such a question – it had been brainstormed during my training very often. We even had a prepared data-sheet with answers to questions that were bound to arise in the course of my mission. Still, reciting the memorized answer didn't make me feel any less like shit.

"The Reapers have no way of putting the Confederacy's citizens in harm's way and as such they do not warrant the mobilization of the Confederate Armed Forces. The Multiverse Parliament only allowed a limited insertion to your universe. I am also hereby lawfully obliged to remind you that what you have learned here today is considered strictly confidential and on a need-to-know basis. Failure to comply will result in a complete cessation of any interaction from the Confederacy's side and a full withdrawal of any promised support."

My weak resolve reared its ugly head once again. I probably should have just strong armed them into obedience, but I wanted to avoid that. Instead, I tried to make them understand the threat to their galaxy, but at the same time it caused me to reveal too many of my cards. They were cowed for now, but how long would it last?

I sighed and shook my head, noticing their dismayed expressions. I leaned on the table slightly, trying to gather my wits, seeing as I had to play the devil's advocate now.

"Look, I don't like the situation any more than you do. But the Confederacy's voters will not allow us to start a long military campaign in a minor universe – no offense intended – which has a high probability of bringing thousands of their sons and their daughters' home in coffins. In short, my people don't care and we have to do the best we can with the tools at our disposal."

To my surprise it was Zaeed who came to my support. He stood by my side and eyed the people on the table.

"I remember the Blue Suns being sent in with no support before. Granted, the threat is larger now than it's ever been. But so are we. I think all of us here can agree, it's better than being oblivious."

"Wasn't it the humans who said that ignorance is a bliss?" asked Quintus jokingly.

To the untrained eye, it might have looked like it was humour that had defused the situation. In truth it wasn't the joke that calmed the swiftly forming storm around the table. Despite the sudden change in leadership, Tarak hadn't lied when he'd said that anyone whose opinions mattered still believed in Zaeed. The Old Guard's word was respected, and at the moment the word coming from between their lips, was 'Massani'.

It was heartening that the common threat temporarily put the differences between Zaeed and the Blue Suns to a back-burner. I had no illusions though, that the moment they felt less threatened it would quickly resurface. I hoped to be very far away from them if that ever happened.

"So what is our next move?" I asked wearily.

It was Tarak who responded.

"For the moment we consolidate our forces. We still have to convince Solem Dal'Serah to your idea, lieutenant and it won't be easy. Some changes that you propose, like withdrawing our assets from the slave trade will not go well with him."

"Why is that? The funds you will receive from the Confederacy will more than cover any financial losses you might sustain from losing the slave trade."

"Dal'Serah is a batarian from a very high-caste. If it weren't for the political manipulations of Matriarch Tyviana he would be an admiral in the Hegemony Fleet by now. He may not like the fact that the Hegemony dropped him for political convenience, but he still holds many old batarian traditions dear. One of them is slave ownership – it's a matter of pride to him."

Oh joy! Now I had to deal with the alien equivalent of American slaveholding gentry – will the wonders never cease? If the high-born batarians were similar in any way to the old ruling class of the Deep South then discussing the issue of slavery with him would be like punching a brick wall. I pinched the bridge of my nose, already feeling another headache on the way.

"What about you then, gentlemen?" I asked eyeing the two batarians at the table. "How do you feel about the issue of the slave trade?"

Tarak shrugged at that.

"I don't care one way or another. When you are from a lower caste, like me, then your situation is no better than that of the slave. I never fought the status quo when I lived in the Hegemony, but I won't die to preserve it either. As far as I'm concerned we should go where the money is."

I saw Zaeed nod with appreciation at his words. Meanwhile I turned to Lar'kai Valdorf.

"And what is your opinion on that?"

The businessman looked at me with speculation. The four eyes boring into mine felt really disconcerting.

"My company has no stake in the matter at hand and we will not suffer any financial losses either way. At the moment we only care to keep the contracts we have with our Blue Suns counterparts if Mr. Massani would be so gracious."

As he said that, he eyed the old mercenary with a naked suspicion. Zaeed responded with a predatory grin that would make a lesser man cry. It seemed like they were in for some tough negotiations.

As for their attitude concerning slavery… well, I don't know what I was expecting. The Mass Effect fanon always made a very big deal out of slavery and the fact that Batarians still engaged in it. But once you were already here it seemed like most of the people were pretty apathetic to the whole issue, unless it affected them directly. True, there were people who were very vocal about ending the slavery and the batarian ruling class swore that they would defend it with their lives, but even in the Citadel Space it was simply accepted as just another fact of life. The Hegemony equals slavery – end of story, nothing to discuss there. I mean, the Batarian Hegemony was stonewalled by the Citadel because they attacked one of the asari colonies, not because of their internal practices of sapient servitude or their totalitarian political regime.

It was a sad state of affairs, but one that was quite familiar at the same time.

After that there wasn't much for me to say anymore. The Blue Suns and their subcontractors still wanted to discuss the finer points of managing the company, but it was Zaeed's problem now. I used it as an opportunity to excuse myself and leave the conference room.

I walked through the facility responding to the salutes given by mercenaries with quick nods. I went to the guest room that was provided to me, compliments of Commander Tarak. I opened it with a wave of my omni-tool and scanned its spacious interior, as usual checking for escape routes and good hiding spots. As I did that I remembered Kowalski's professional infiltration and my squad's exemplary conduct. I wondered what they were doing now.

My team was sent back out to Confederacy space immediately after the conclusion and debriefing following our mission. Sergeant Major Aberswythe recognized how lucky we were with what we pulled off on 'Omega Blue'. Vido was pretty confident in his security and the discipline of the Blue Suns marines left much to be desired. It was only their initial shock at our sudden appearance and Zaeed's quick call to Tarak that prevented the bloodshed that was sure to occur otherwise. I admit that our infiltration and assassination was a daring plan, something worthy of Zaeed Massani himself. The British SAS motto was 'who dares, wins', after all. Nonetheless, after a lengthy discussion we decided that all future insertions would require more boots on the ground and at least some sort of naval support.

Despite informing the Blue Suns management who I really was I still had to keep a low profile, so the less Security Branch troops were here, the better. As far as the crew of 'Omega Blue' was concerned my team was simply some freelance group of contractors hired by Zaeed Massani to help him kill Vido Santiago and it suited our purpose just fine. Any questions concerning the wormhole technology were quickly silenced by Das'Maral and Zaeed.

It also meant that I had the room all to myself. The Blue Suns were a very wealthy company and their guest rooms were opulent to the point of extravagance. I could appreciate the royal bed just like any other guy, but a private bar? I mean – a simple fridge and a cupboard would be perfectly sufficient to provide whatever drinks anyone would need. The room was also very bright and the large screens on the wall provided a very accurate illusion of a tropical island outside. Despite the room being mostly made of metal, there was a rich carpet on the floor. It really looked more like a luxurious hotel suite rather than a guest room in a shipbuilding facility.

I shook my head at the wasted money and resources that could have been put to a better cause. Then again, if you're rich then who can stop you from doing whatever you want with the money?

I took of my armour, which I didn't have time to remove since yesterday, leaving me only in the snug skinsuit. As I packed my armour I heard a commotion in the adjacent bathroom. Narrowing my eyes I grabbed my pistol and stealthily moved toward the locked door. I doubted that the facility had room service or maids, so I could take a wild guess, and assume that whoever was inside was not supposed to be there. If it was an assassin sent by the Blue Suns then he was mighty incompetent at his job.

Leaning by the wall next to the bathroom door I used my omni-tool to open it. I swiftly aimed my pistol at the person inside.

"Put your hands up and turn toward me. Very slowly"

It was a female, or rather an asari. She wore nothing but a ridiculous pink towel wrapped around her mid-section. She looked scared half to death as she eyed my gun with fearful expression.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" I asked coldly keeping my finger on the trigger. She was an asari so she was bound to be a trained biotic. Her state of undress could be a simple distraction technique. But what would an asari commando be doing in the Blue Suns facility in the first place? Had my cover already been blown and the Citadel Council sent their Spectres after me?

"I'm… I'm…" she stuttered, trying to respond to my question. She was hyperventilating, too.

I lowered my pistol slightly, seeing as she was completely terrified, but I still kept it ready to fire.

"Take a deep breath and answer my question." I tried and failed to make it sound reassuring. I couldn't take any chances, though.

"I was sent here by Mr. Zaeed Massani to tend to your needs, sir! He said you would know what he means by that! He said you were talking!" her high-pitched voice verged on the edge of panic.

Well, at least that made some sense. When we killed Vido Santiago and were preparing to land the 'Omega Blue' Zaeed was in great spirits. He asked me in jest if I'd ever slept with an asari, to which I admitted truthfully that I never had. The old mercenary said then that he would see what he can do about it, since apparently it was the best thing ever or some other crap.

It was just the regular bullshit talk though, and I'd completely forgotten about it myself. But now it seemed like Zaeed wanted to stay true to his word for some reason. Maybe he was grateful for my help?

I sighed and turned on my heel to go back to the room. I opened my armour locker and deposited my pistol there, along with my skinsuit. The asari was still terrified as her eyes followed my every step. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to leave this room, but she stayed put.

"So who are you?" I asked her awkwardly as I changed my clothes to the regular jumpsuit.

"My name is Faira Laertis and I was sent here to tend to all your needs, sir."

I paused in the middle of zipping up my jumpsuit and looked at her.

"Are you a slave?" I asked suspiciously, noting her attire or lack of thereof.

Zaeed was fully aware what my opinion on slavery was. I agreed to tolerate it for the time being – we had bigger fish to fry – but I won't be taking part in it in any shape or form.

The asari seemed offended by my question though and it showed. She maintained her demure pose, but her eyes burned with anger. It brought a small smile to my face – there was a personality there, behind the calculated smiles, after all.

"No sir!" she responded with force. "I work at the 'Vega Star'. It's a gentleman's club near the starport, sir."

I raised my hands defensively.

"I apologize. I meant no offense."

So she was a 'professional entertainer'. That explained how she got to my room – the Blue Suns mercenaries would know her. I decided to check it out with Zaeed still. Patricia's warnings about our enemies using females to gather intelligence were still in the back of my head.

"I just need to make a quick call, so help yourself to a drink if you wish. The bar is over there." I said to her as I moved away to make the call in the relative privacy of the bathroom.

As Faira opened the bar and checked out the bottles, I used my omni-tool to hail Zaeed. The gruff mercenary answered after a moment, clearly displeased that I had the gall to bother him.

"What is it, Dubois? Don't tell me you got lost in the shipyard."

"Zaeed, there is an asari whor… working girl in my room. Would you happen to know anything about it?" I asked sweetly.

"Ah, yes. She's from the 'Vega Star', and let me tell you – they have the best girls this side of the Terminus Systems. They are nice, clean and very, very expensive. I paid up-front for you, so no slapping, beating or chocking her. Remember Dubois – you break her, you bought her."

At the mention of beating and slapping I felt a chill to my stomach, but I responded evenly.

"Don't worry. I understand. I will talk to you tomorrow." I said as I disconnected the call.

When I entered the room once again Faira was sitting on the couch with a glass of some blue liquid. The asari prostitute also put on some loose fitting gown in lieu of her towel. She was completely composed now, the frightened girl from before was gone – in her place a smiling, confident woman. She motioned to an empty glass that stood at the bar.

"Would you care to join me, sir?"

I smiled at her tightly, but it didn't reach my eyes. Zaeed's words still reverberated in my ears as I walked to the bar.

'No slapping, beating or choking her…'

What kind of people was he associating with?

I could see that it wasn't the first time she'd visited the facility. Mercenaries were notoriously paranoid and they would not drink anything supplied by a stranger when they were alone. She clearly understood this unwritten convention seeing as she'd left the empty glass, so I could fix my own drink.

I poured a glass of the same blue liquid as I turned back toward her.

"Do you know what sort of alcohol this is?"

That professional smile again.

"It's a Thessian Blue Wine, a specialty of the asari wine-makers. It is made from fruits similar to your grapes that were cultivated on Thessia and other asari colonies for centuries. The one that you're drinking now is one of the best of its kind and a very expensive brand."

Obviously the Blue Suns would buy the most expensive ones to entertain their guests, I thought wryly.

Taking a sip of the drink I tasted it, and found it alright. It had a sweet flavour though, and I was never one for sweet wines, even the exotic ones. Give me a dry or semi-dry with a slice of good cheese any day. I smiled at the resurfacing memories – it was how Erica used to drink it. We didn't even bother with getting proper wine glasses, just some cups, because the glasses were too difficult to clean up. They were reserved for special occasions, like having guests. God, we were truly one lazy pair.

I felt another wave of nostalgia as I sat across the table. Despite all this time it still felt weird to think that I will never see my people again.

I ceased that train of thought immediately and it came to me with a surprising ease. I was getting better and better at compartmentalizing and controlling my emotions. It was all Zaeed's fault – if he didn't mention beating up prostitutes I would have never lost my control in the first place.

Lost in my wandering thoughts I almost didn't notice that Faira's lips were moving. I shook my head and asked her, "I beg your pardon?"

She gave me another of her fake smiles and repeated.

"Do you like this wine?"

This time it was my turn to force a polite smile, but it was getting easier with each try.

"It is alright for a sweet wine. I'm not much of a wine connoisseur, anyhow. And you?"

"Do I like the wine or am I a connoisseur?" she asked with an impish smile.

I chuckled slightly and took another sip before responding.

"Both, I guess." The asari wine did its magic. My muscles were already relaxing, which interestingly enough made me focus more. The state of relaxation was already so unusual to my senses that I was all the more alert because of it.

"Well, to tell you the truth – I don't see much of a difference between an expensive wine and a cheap one. Of course, in my school they taught us how to present different kinds of wines to different kinds of people. I had to memorize some two dozen types of them. It was a nightmare."

I laughed at that. Wine-tasting was one of the businesses that I would never understand. You either like the wine or not, what else do you need to know? Then again, I was always a man of simple tastes.

"And what school was that?"

"The Companion Academy. We were taught how to 'ease the pain of body and soul through the oldest of rituals'." She said with the sarcastic air-quotes.

"And by the oldest of rituals you mean sexual intercourse, obviously." I added snidely.

Seriously, I probably should have expected that from the asari. On the other hand, it sounded quite similar to what that chick from 'Firefly' did. It seemed like apart from pole-dancers and commandos asari exported luxurious whores too. Well, sex was something that the galaxy would always find money for, Reapers or no Reapers.

Still, Faira didn't seem to hold her former mentors in a very high regard.

"That's right. You wouldn't believe these women at the Academy – they were so sanctimonious about everything concerning sex that it made my blood boil. So one day I'd had enough of their bull. I stood up and told the Matriarch what I thought about her interpretation of the 'oldest of rituals'."

"What did you tell her?"

"I said that it's not much of a ritual if anyone can pay for it. Sure, sex is great on both physical and psychological levels, but ascribing some magical or mythical powers to it – you would think we had evolved past that as a species."

I gave her a short laugh. I could have only tried to imagine the reaction of a spiritual Matriarch to such crass words. Well, what she'd just told me what wasn't that crass. Just cheeky. But I was certain she had censored it for my benefit. If she was still remembering it all these years later, then she must have had strong enough feelings upon the subject to utilise some pretty harsh words with her teacher.

"I bet no one had ever told her that before."

"You're right. She started shouting and cursing me. She told me that as long as she lives I wouldn't become a companion."

"And what happened afterwards?"

She waved her elegantly manicured hand in a dismissive manner.

"I left the school. And that old bint died soon after from food poisoning."

I smirked – it was just too convenient for it to be a coincidence, but I didn't say it out loud. Faira's grim smile seemed to confirm my suspicions, though.

"What a shame," I said with dishonest concern, "that she never got to learn better."

She put down her empty glass and I poured some more into it. I refilled mine as well. It wasn't like I'd paid for the wine, so we might as well drink it. Carpe diem and all that.

"So, what is your story?" asked the smiling asari. I didn't even notice when we started talking so familiarly, but I didn't mind either.

We clicked our glasses and I said, "It's nothing interesting really. I am just another soldier fighting my own war."

Faira raised her elegant eyebrow. Or was it the asari tattoo? I didn't know.

"'Just another soldier' received the living quarters reserved for Vido Santiago himself?"

Well, fuck. It really didn't seem right, now that she mentioned it. As much as I enjoyed the extravagant bar, it looked very strange for some unknown hired gun to get the best room in the whole facility. If a whore (sorry, a 'companion') could put two and two together then people like the Shadow Broker could do so too! I'd basically painted a target on my back. It was all water under the bridge now, but I would have to be more careful in the future. Still, I couldn't help but feel that this slip will come around and bite me in the arse in the future.

I smiled at her and said, "It's just for this one night. I did a very special favour for Vido and in return I got to spend the night here with you." I lied without a beat. Hopefully, if someone asked her about me she would tell them the same thing.

Vido's death was not widely publicized yet and most likely it would never be. The general public still had no idea about the previous coup d'état and as far as they were concerned Solem Dal'Serah had always been the leader of the Blue Suns. We aimed to keep it that way.

Faira seemed to buy my story, though. Or perhaps she didn't care whether I was honest or not?

Meanwhile, she put down her tall glass and stood up. She smiled at me slightly and approached my couch. Before I could comprehend what was happening she straddled my lap and started unzipping my jumpsuit as she lightly bit my earlobe.

I moaned at her ministrations, suddenly very horny and my previous feeling of fatigue gone completely. Faira knew exactly what to do to get the reactions she wanted. Comes with being an experienced Companion.

She whispered in my ear and I shivered at her sensual tone.

"Do you want it with, or without the mind meld?"

'Is that their equivalent of the 'condom question'?' I thought stupidly.

That still gave me pause. I admit to being curious about the mind meld and how it felt, which was apparently amazing if Zaeed's recollections were anything to go by. I knew better than to simply follow my base instincts, though. There was absolutely no way that I was letting a mind-reading prostitute take a peek inside my head. Too much was dependent on my foreknowledge and I couldn't risk her selling this information to the highest bidder.

My training and sense of duty prevailed over my burning curiosity. I smiled at Faira, taking in her beautiful face as I said quietly, "No mind meld tonight, thank you."

The asari nodded with a gentle smile and kissed me. She giggled like a schoolgirl as I picked her up in my arms and carried her to bed. Sometimes, you just have to go with the flow and to hell with the consequences. But now was not one of those times. Fate of the world and all that.

A/N: So there it is. Our hero is not so heroic after all, but he's slowly learning that he can't really afford to be. The next installment will deal with the overall situation in the Acheron Military District, which means more headaches for Dubois. No one ever said that managing the war machine will be easy.

Have a good one!