Chapter 19

Humming cheerfully, I finally left my room. My muscles were still a little sore, but it was a pleasant soreness. It also reminded of just what went on last night. It was always fun sparring with Jack, it was just something about her that turned it from being a chore into something … fun. The joy she found in it was infectious, and it made her seem radiant.

I figured she would enjoy the lessons when I first asked, and there may have been an ulterior motive or two on my behalf for offering, but I never expected how fast she would progress through the forms. Her physical fitness wasn't too surprising considering what I knew her job to be, but the rate she picks up techniques and tricks is ludicrous. I've never even seen someone learn faster than her, and I know it's not because of my teaching. I'd like to think I'm good at it, but I know I'm just meh at best. No, the reason Jack improves so quickly is all because of her, because the girl lives and breathes combat. Her movements have already begun showing the alterations long practice of Jia'nor brings after only a few years, it normally takes Asari decades. I don't think she had even noticed, but she walks like one of us now. If not for the whole bloody reputation she had as Fury, she would likely be swarmed while in her armour. I'm not sure why she isn't when she's unarmoured, but I suspect it's because Jack doesn't actually spend that much time in the club out of the armour, and all of it with us. People knowing how close she is to Aria might be a contributing factor, they really don't want to piss her off.

I stretched my arms behind me as I entered the common area, closing my eyes briefly at the pleasant sensation before looking around. Peros, Rialle and Rimel were all sitting at the table, staring at me. What? I looked between them all, bewildered at the sight. Just what's going on?

"So, I heard you had an interesting night." Peros commented, sipping at a drink with an eyebrow raised. Wait, what?! How would they – No, they couldn't possibly know that already, could they?

"It wasn't that interesting. Just did some sparring with Jack. She almost beat me too, that girl is a monster in a fight."

"Mhm." Okay, this is getting weird. Just then, Peros pressed a button on her Omni tool that she had been fiddling with, projecting a damning image. It showed me and Jack laying entangled on the ground, kissing passionately. It was a nice picture actually, I wouldn't mind a copy of it myself.

"How'd you get that?" I wonder, no longer hiding it. Not sure why I did in the first place, they're all going to be so Jealous, and I am going to lord this over them for as long as I can. Being confronted about it had made me a little defensive though, that's probably why.

"You'll never know-"

"She was watching through a gap in the door." Rialle interrupted Peros, impatient for more information. She was practically vibrating.

"Ah, you were snooping." I hit one fist into my other palm.

"I was not!" Peros protested, but her flushing cheeks gave her away. This had the rest of us cackling at her, only making them burn more. I don't know why she still denied it, we'd caught her plenty of times. She picked up some useful info every now and then too.

"So, who wants to ask first?" I ask, wiping away a tear.

"Did you have sex?" Rialle responded immediately. Her eyes were focused intensely on me, but I could almost see the hope in them. Rialle had a crush on Jack, but she was kind of shy. She wasn't necessarily interested in a relationship either, having been hurt before. Instead, she just wanted to sleep with Jack because she found her debilitatingly attractive. What can I say, my girls digs the tattoos.

"I shouldn't kiss and tell, but~" I grinned cheekily and Rialle cheered. Her excitement wasn't alone either, as Rimel stopped teasing Peros and both returned their attention on me.

"How was it? What'd you do? Where you do it? Was she good? …" Rialle launched into a string of questions, one after the other without interruption. I had no hope of answering all of them, so I'll just answer the few I could remember from her barrage. Peros helpfully leaned over and smacked the back of her head, finally stopping the babble.

"Slow down Rialle," Peros chastised her then looked back at me "… well? Give us the details." You're no better that Rialle. Fine, whatever.

"I'm guessing Peros was dragged away after she took that photo?" Rimel nodded. I said nothing else for a moment, waiting. The others stared at me, frustration building before Rialle's eyes widened and she pointed at me.

"You had sex in the gym?" she squawked. I grinned widely, unrepentant. Peros immediately glared at Rimel at my admission. "It was a spur of the moment thing, did you happen to catch the end of the fight Peros?" she shook her head, so I explained it to them all. Mostly the ending.

"Oh you bitch!" Rialle laughed, her face flushed. It was an unconventional tactic, but it worked. Sue me.

"Moving on, we never actually stood up after I pinned her. One thing lead to another and, well … I now have conclusive proof that Jack's tattoos cover everything."

"Really?" Rialle gasped delighted.

"Everything." I nodded. Rialle's eye glazed over a moment and she gulped deeply. Oh, you so need to get laid. She certainly has a preference as to who, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I'm not sure that will happen any time soon.

"I won't say exactly what went on, but sitting on her face was a very enjoyable time." I grinned salaciously, the other three all grinned back. They knew exactly what I was talking about. We weren't dancer's because we were shy, that's for sure.

After a minute of teasing the others about my tryst, not actually telling them much, I sighed. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I should tell them now rather than let them make a fool of themselves.

"There is something you should know though." My subdued words bring the mood down a little, but they all nod, sensing that's it's serious. "I don't think you should proposition Jack just yet, I'm not sure she's ready," I held up my hand to stop them from saying anything, but I could see Rialle really wanted to, "I know some things about Jack that you guys don't, and as such she trusts me a little more. While I'm not saying she doesn't like you guys, or trust you, she may not be ready for the next step. We all know how slow she is to trust. It was never my intention at first, but Jack seemed interested in continuing so I just went with the flow."

"Is part of that how you first began her lessons?" Peros asked solemnly, as all of were at the reminder of what Jack had been through.

"Sort of. I've known Jack almost since she started working for Aria. She liked seeing me dance, Aria asked me to approach her the first time I approached Jack. She wanted me to try and bring Jack out of her shell a little." The others glanced amongst themselves, but they said nothing. I'd never told them this before, not wanting to go behind Jack's back. I also didn't think it was my right at the time, but the others all know enough about her that I feel more comfortable speaking about it now.

"As you may have guessed, Jack's had a hard childhood. I'm not exactly aware of the specifics myself, I just know that by the time you first met her, she had already improved significantly."

"That was an improvement?" Rialle muttered, saddened at the news. Any other thoughts from before had been forgotten in the face of what she was now being told. The other two shared a grimace as well. They may not have been as close to Jack as Rialle or I were, but they were still close. It was often forgotten, but Jack was still so young. She seemed so much older most of the time, but we took her under our wing for a reason.

"It was. She used to be so bitter, so angry at the world. She was good at hiding it, still is, but it doesn't mean it isn't still there. She was barely 15 and already covered in scars, back before she got the tattoos. It's only in the last year since she got them that she improved so much. You all have done a great deal in helping her in so many ways as well. She no longer flinches at your touch, gets confused by your teasing. I've seen her smiling so much more, laughing even. What I'm saying is that all of us have been good for her, but she is still healing from what hurt her. I'm asking you to give her some more time, so that she may trust you first. So that she doesn't get the wrong idea about why we spend time with her."

My words were gentle, but firm. I didn't try to do this too often, but I was nominally in charge of these three. I was one of the oldest dancers in the Afterlife and with that experience came some wisdom they hadn't necessarily learnt.

"… I can accept that. Even though I'm really curious about her tattoos, among other things, I consider Jack a good friend. I didn't realise she had been that hurt, and I'm glad to know I've helped her." Rialle said. The other two murmured there agreement. I smiled warmly at them all, happy that conversation had gone well.

"I actually had something else I wanted to discuss about Jack, specifically her lessons. I'm sure you all know how she has nothing left to learn unenhanced, I want to begin her on the biotic regiment." They all nodded.

"If she almost beat you, I'd say yeah, she's ready," Peros commented with a dry voice, "but why are you asking us? She's always been primarily you're student."

"I want your help with that for two reasons. The first is that more varied experience is always helpful, but that's not the main one. My specialised Jia'nor techniques aren't ideal for Jack, so I'm not comfortable in being her only teacher." Rimel who had largely been silent, a common occurrence, was the first to speak up.

"What do you mean by unsuitable? You may have small reserves for an Asari, but Jack is a human." Her voice was soft and measured, her tone even.

"Jack is rather special for a human, you'll see. Don't ask her about why though, I think it's related to her childhood." I requested. They all nodded, even if there was some confusion present. Our impromptu meeting broke up shortly afterwards, and I finally let loose the laughter I had been holding back. The main reason I was asking for them to help is that I wanted them to be part of the misery. Yes, my techniques weren't ideal for Jack with her reserves being so much larger than me, but none of the others have reserves comparable to Jack either. We are all still young for Asari, our reserves still growing, and as far as I can tell Jack's reserve is comparable to our Boss. Aria is an outlier even for our species, so Jack is truly extraordinary.

That does come with the issue that it will be difficult for Jack to learn how to use Jia'nor with biotics, the final and most complicated step. This is what makes the art deadly, but it is quite finicky and takes practice to be able to use properly. I'm sure Jack can spar with Aria once she's learnt enough, but she needs the basics first. The issue with that is that Fury will be able to overwhelm us with brute force the moment biotics are allowed. She knows the physical movements as well, only needing to adjust to using them with biotics. This all basically means that one on one? She'll destroy any of us. I'm rather looking forward to the other three trying themselves, something I'm definitely not going to do. My hope is that by having fury face more than one opponent, the power gap will be bridged. I don't think it will require all four of us, at least not at first, but I'm unsure if even two will be enough. I guess time will tell, but first I make a mental note to record the others fights with Jacks. I am going to milk that.

Today was going to be a good day. I was finally allowed to use my biotics for sparring, something I had been looking forward to since the moment my Jia'nor training began. It meant I was almost able to use it in a proper fight, as in against Aria. I haven't sparred with her much while doing this as she thought it would be better to wait until I had a solid grounding, we were focusing on biotic techniques instead. I'm really hoping It will make a difference because this has not been a quick process. If in fact that was the case though, I … wouldn't mind. I've enjoyed the process immensely, even made some friends. No, I wouldn't regret it even if it didn't matter. That's a thought for another time though, today was when I got to nock everyone on there ass. It'll be a nice change.

"So, who's going first? I had a match with her already back when we first started." Bari asked the other three. We were all gathered in the gym once more, for the first biotic enhanced fights. I could win reliably against the other three without biotics, had been for weeks now, but that was for biotics were brought in. Just from the excited looks I could see, I could tell they were looking forward to winning.

"I think I'll go first, it'll be fun." Rialle chirped, bouncing on her feet. I wouldn't be so confident Rialle. I had been confused when Bari shot me a message about letting them underestimate me, but I think I know what she was thinking. Bari might be aware that I'm Fury, but the other three aren't. I nodded my acceptance and stepped forward with her, settling into my stance as I watched Rialle do the same. We were both dressed in our normal workout clothes for now, but at some point I would have to practice wearing my armour. I would probably save that for Aria.

We would have done this a week ago, but got distracted. The citadel being attacked shocked the entire galaxy, even those not under its influence like Omega. The death toll had been enormous, but what can you expect with that monstrosity of a ship leading the attack. The full details hadn't been released to the galaxy at large, much of what I did know was because Aria had an informant. The press release said it was a Geth attack, but Aria's informant had highlighted some inconsistencies with that. Something about two distinct enemies, I wasn't quite sure. I'll leave that to Aria and just keep in mind it's more complicated that the council would have us believe. The fact that humanity is now on that council was only slightly of interest to me. I just found I didn't care, which I suppose is an improvement over the anger I used to feel. There were more interesting things to think about, such as Rialle's currently biotically shrouded form.

I waited in my stance as she walked closer, portioning out a small portion of the energy within me, readying myself to use it. We both waited there for a moment, waiting for the other to attack before Rialle lost her patience and threw an enhanced punch at me far faster than normal. I breathed out slowly, my eyes focusing on the fist inching ever closer before my eyes, almost blurring in my vision. I didn't think, didn't need to I just acted. I let the energy lying in wait surge out of me to help enhance the arm I was punching out with, barely an instant before my fist met hers.

Rialle's fist yielded to mine in an instant, her wrist bending back forcibly. Rialle cried out in pain, and unexpected as it was she was forced back, off balance from the unknown outcome. I didn't waste her shock as my other fist was already nearing her chest. I'd started throwing the next punch the moment our fists met, using the recoil from the blow to rotate my body even faster, fast enough that she only caught sight of my attack a moment before I struck. It was in the final instant that I realised I was still enhancing my strength biotically, something I do almost instinctively now, and was about to strike an unarmoured and unshielded chest. As quickly as I could, I stopped enhancing my arm with my biotics and tried to hold back as much as I could, but I had built up significant momentum. Enough that when I struck her with the even weakened blow, I felt Rialle's lungs deflate and she was launched off her feet and onto the ground. I paused, my fist outstretched and Rialle gasping on the ground even as everyone else froze.

"What the fuck?" Peros muttered, staring between me and Rialle. Oh, shit! I rushed towards Rialle to check on her. Her eyes were open and she stared up at me when I leaned over her. Blinking away tears in her eyes.

"You okay?"

"… owwwww." Rialle groaned in place of a response.

I sighed in relied, she should be fine. I offered my hand and quickly pulled her up from the floor once she took it. She didn't hide her wince at the movement and I supressed the surge of guilt it caused. I held back enough, Rialle would be fine. It's not like I'd beaten people to death with my hands or any – No, she's fine, I can't think about what could have happened, just focus on what did happen. Rialle was okay, she might have a small bruise but my punch wasn't as serious as it may have looked. Rialle may have been knocked to the ground, but it was more the placement of my punch that knocked her off her feet than the force, that and the surprise. Having the air knocked out of you was startling if you weren't used to it.

"… I didn't think you would win that easily. You didn't even use Jia'nor either!" Bari groaned, frustrated. The others were all glaring at her for her lack of surprise which, fair.

"How'd you even do that Jack? Rialle left herself open, sure, but she did so because of how aggressively she attacked." That was meant to be fast? I think I got too used to Aria, because Rialle had seemed …, not to be mean but weak.

"… I grew up fighting barehanded with biotic enhancement. I was basically a brawler, but it didn't really matter when I could just overpower them. Aria encouraged me to learn Jia'nor for when I couldn't. She was also … training me, so … yeah." I shrugged. I hadn't told them about that before, but I didn't mind them knowing. I would have told them if they asked a long time ago, but they never did. I figure, why not now? I'm sort of hoping I can ease them into the whole being Fury thing. I want them to know, but it doesn't hurt to be a little cautious about it.

"Bari you bitch," Peros groaned, rubbing her temples. "You wanted this to happen, didn't you?" Bari wiggled her hand in front of her.

"Part of the reason I asked you all here is that once biotics come into it, I don't think we can compete with Jack one on one. Rialle admittedly underestimated Jack there and wouldn't go down so easily now, but none of us have much experience fighting, not like Jack. Are you guys all right with that?"

"I think it sounds like fun actually, would have liked a warning though." Rialle answered, finally having regained her breath. She was still leaning into my side, had been the whole time and only now did she straighten up fully and pull away. "Although if I might make a few suggestions?" she looked around, waiting for any interruptions. Evidently she was still annoyed. "I would like a barrier up first considering the whole lack of armour we have. Except for Fury," she turned around to face me with a gleam in her eye, "she needs to learn."

Oh? Well I'm up for the challenge. I grin back at her and she nods, seeing my consent.

"Good, Bari you can go next, I need some Omni-gel." Rialle stormed away leaving the rest of us behind, the other three eyeing me warily.

"Three on one?" I ask.

"Agreed." Peros said, the other two nodding, so I sunk into my stance once more while waiting for the others to pull up there barriers. It was interesting to watch just … slow, painfully slow. Bari's was a little better than the other two, but none of them formed there barriers fast enough for true combat. I want to hope it's because they were forming stronger barriers than normal, but I knew they weren't. Their mnemonics didn't hold the same efficiency that Aria's or mine did, clearly having never been condensed. They finally finished after a painful 10 seconds.

"We're going to have to work on that." I sigh. All three looked confused, they'll learn. Still, nothing for it now and hey, at least they have barriers up! That means I don't have to be so … delicate.

"Come on." I grin wildly at them, my hands held loosely. I have to consciously resist forming them into fists, Jia'nor didn't use fists being more of a grappling and kicking martial art, although I enjoyed the palm strikes involved. I'll see about adding them in at another time, for now let's have some fun!

Bari struck first, acting as the first aggressor. She knew exactly what I was capable of, and she kept it in mind as she began with a testing strike, kicking out at me while keeping her other foot planted, leg tensed and ready in case she needed to abort. I knocked her leg higher with my right forearm and ducked under the altered strike readying an attack, but I wasn't given the time to perform it before Peros joined in.

She came from my right side, her form glowing as she moved fast. I didn't even have time to blink before she had grabbed onto my raised arm, pulling it out of the way while her other palm moved to strike my sternum. I didn't have the time to think, I didn't have the time to breath, all I could do was react. Rialle had been fast, but I could still manage, Peros was a whole other story. Using the grip she had on my arm as leverage, I abused the enhanced strength my biotics granted me to jump up and over her. This conveniently both dodged Peros strike and pulled her off balance. I pulled my still free hand back in preparation to strike her, shit –

Rimel's leg flew over my face, brushing my nose even after I had arched my back fully in an effort to dodge the kick I saw coming out of the corner of my eye. It passed over my form before I caught myself on my hands, enhancing them once more to launch me off the ground and back to where I was less vulnerable. As I was landing though, Bari was already there, launching a palm strike of her own. I was still landing and had nothing to leverage, so I instinctively raised one forearm to block her. I readied myself to kick at her the moment it did, but the flare of pain it brought dismissed that plan. My unenhanced forearm gave in to her strengthened strike and while I was able to avoid the rest of it, I was left unbalanced. Unbalanced and easy pickings for Peros to come up behind me and pull my arms behind me, locking them in place even as she knocked me to the ground. I landed with a grunt from the pain and thought about struggling but deciding against it. I had lost, quite soundly I might add.

"I guess surprise might have helped me against Rialle?" I spoke from my position on the floor. You can get off now Peros.

"Yeah, a little bit. But still, that was extraordinary. The fact you even put up a fight three on one, how good are you at fist fighting?" Peros wondered from above me. I mean, I think I'm pretty good at it? I have a lot of experience with it.

"Didn't help." And to my surprise, I didn't even feel a hint of the bitterness I might once have. I know I hadn't minded losing our previous sparring matches, but that was because I knew how much I was holding back without my biotics. Now that I'm using them, I thought I might resent loosing to someone who's not Aria, if only a little bit. Yet I don't care. I was outclassed, but at the same time I didn't care, although come to think of it …

"Are you getting off anytime soon?"

"Nah, I'm pretty comfortable here." Peros purred into my ear. I ignored the shiver that caused and instead focused on freeing myself. Pulling on the amount I normally used to enhance myself, I let the energy flood my muscles and pulled my arms.

"Hey!" Peros protested, but my arms broke out of her grasp with little issue and I proceeded to push myself up, flinging Peros off my back as I stood up. I turned around to find Bari and Rimel standing there amused and Peros sitting on her ass on the ground looking annoyed. Her legs were spread in a rather revealing way so I averted my eyes causally, pretending I'd never even looked that far down.

"You were holding back the strength you used in the fight, weren't you?" Bari asked, a considering look on her face. I nod.

"I wasn't really given the chance to attack, and you said it yourself, I'm trying to learn how to use Jia'nor, and I'm being modest when I say that if I fully enhanced myself? I wouldn't need to. I would also likely hurt you all. Do any of you even remember that I have a solid metal foot?" I stamped it into the ground for good measure, the dull thud echoing. I have never kicked any of them using it, knowing what it could do to them. Judging by the sheepish looks I got, they did forget. Even Bari had forgotten. For god's sake guys … I may have smiled at that though, just a little bit.

"You're really holding back that much?" Peros squinted at me, suspicious. I looked into her eyes directly, not admitting to anything even if she was clearly turning things over in her mind.

"… I've trained with Aria, Peros." She opened her mouth to ask something else, but then my words caught up with her and she just stared at me, mouth gaping. Rimel seemingly didn't care, but she froze at my admission all the same, her version of surprise. Bari just nodded, I had likely confirmed her suspicion. "Enough of that though, are we ready for another round?"

"Oh, you bet I am. I wonder how many times I can pin you?" Peros taunted, snapping out of her daze.

Want to bet?

It had seemed like such an ordinary night, before she walked in. I was standing guard next to Aria as I usually did when one of the bouncers I didn't know the name of paused outside the doorway leading to Aria's room, knocking.

"What is It?" Aria asked, reclined in her chair, bored. She watched the man with little interest, barely paying attention. I wasn't so careless and I could see this was more important than Aria though. He was tense, more tense than the people are to see Aria normally.

"We have someone who wants to see you, they requested an audience." He answered respectfully. Aria scoffed sitting up.

"And just who is the upstart who thinks they can request things of Me?"

"An Asari named Liara T'Soni, who is apparently the daughter of a Matriarch Benezia. She said you would recognise her…?" Aria's lackadaisical attitude left her and she straightened up in recognition. I knew the name just as she did. I knew that Benezia was working with former Spectre Saren, and that she was related to the assault on the Citadel a few months back. That Liara had been one of the people on Shepard's ship, the ship that had been shot down a couple of weeks ago. I only knew so much because of Aria, she had demanded to know as much as she could about what went down at the Citadel, she had then proceeded to tell me everything she knew as well. I think she just wanted to gossip considering the pleasure she took in the councillors misfortune.

"You're sure?" Aria asked, her voice cold. The man flinched at her acerbic tone but nodded. "Go get her." Aria waited for the door to close after he left that she turned to me.

"I don't like this, it screams trouble. Be ready." She ordered, uncommonly solemn. I nodded and let myself lean back against the wall, forcing my body to relax while I still could. Being the scary bodyguard next to Aria, meant to intimidate others, meant I had to look ready to attack, which translated to standing there tensed. It wasn't any faster If I needed to attack, but my role was more about image than anything, at least when I was in the club.

It was after another painfully silent minute that the door was knocked on once more and Aria nodded to me, so I walked up to the door and opened. On the other side next to the bouncer stood a pretty and young-looking Asari, standing next to a Drell. I had never seen a Drell before. She started moving forward immediately, but my outstretched hand stopped her. It was obvious she was carrying a pistol on her hip. She turned to stare at me, eyes frosty and I held out my hand.

"Weapon." I spoke gruffly. Liara stared me down, likely considering if it was worth the effort of resisting. She shouldn't, it wouldn't end any differently for her. Part of this was about the mind games, about the respect Aria deserved, but I rather preferred I take away the weapons of any visitors. It made it easier to protect Aria, and I cared about her well-being far more than she seemed to. Finally, Liara drew her weapon and handed it to me, her lips thin. I stuck it to my back and moved back to Aria's side, before turning around and leaning against the wall once more.

"Now that that's over with, would kindly tell me what the fuck you're doing here Ms T'soni?" Aria asked more politely than I thought she would considering how agitated she was. If Liara was surprised by Aria's brusque tone, she didn't show it as she stepped closer and began speaking, ignoring the protests of her Drell companion.

"I'm here requesting information."

"On what?"

"I have it on good Authority that Commander Shepard's body is on Omega, I want it back. Do you have any idea where it would be?" What? Shepard's body is here? I thought she was vaporised while re-entering atmosphere where she crashed. Neither of us had heard about anything otherwise, at least to my knowledge.

"And why do you think that?" Aria asked, searching for information she didn't have.

"It was brought here by the Blue Suns's for a trade deal, we think they still have her." Liara admitted, still staring directly at Aria, ignoring everyone else completely.

"Of fucking course it was them." Aria muttered, gritting her teeth. We've been having a real issue with them recently, they were causing far too much trouble for my liking. Unfortunately, they haven't broken any of Aria's rules, even if they were pushing it. "I'm not saying I don't believe they would do something like that, they would, but I don't know anything about Shepard."

She tried to hide it, but I could see Liara's face fall at that. Aria was evidently her last hope at finding the body of her … friend? Whatever they were, Liara was clearly close. I would help her if I could, if only to screw over the blue suns, but I didn't know any more than Aria. All I currently knew about the suns was that they currently mobilising at the old … mining … plant. Son of a bitch.

"I might know something." I spoke softly, but everyone heard me in the silent room. Liara eyes snapped up to me, focusing sharply. Even Aria was surprised, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Please, can you help?" Liar implored me, done with the cool pretence. Instead of answering, I glanced at Aria and she nodded so I straightened up from my position and walked forward while pressing a few buttons on my Omni-tool.

"Last night, I found the Sun's stockpiling resources somewhere new. It didn't seem too worrying as far as I could tell, but it is unusual. Here, at the mining plant." I sent a data packet to Liara who quickly accepted the transfer. "They're up to something, and if you're so sure Shepard was brought here by the suns, that's where she'll be." My piece said, I stepped back to my normal position. Liara looked up from her pad and stared at my helmet, a conflicted look on her face before she harderd herself once more.

"Thank you." I didn't react, not caring much either way. I may hold a bit of a grudge against the suns after all I had to do to get them to stop with the child trafficking, so helping Liara with some information I already had was an easy choice.

"Just make sure you leave after this either way." Aria ordered, which Liara quickly agreed to. Nothing else was said until after Liara left, Aria waiting till we were alone to talk.

"Why didn't you tell me about the Sun's already Jack?"

"Fury" I corrected, wanting to keep my identities separate even here.

"Why didn't you tell me, Fury?" Aria scowled. Oh, this is going to be good.

"I did. It's in the report I gave you this morning, the one you still haven't read." I tilted my head to face her, amused and waiting for her response. Aria had a sour look on her face and I couldn't help laughing at her.

"Shut up. Still, this doesn't sound good. Shepard is too sensitive for the Sun's to normally deal with, something's fishy. I want you to follow Liara and see if you can figure out what's going on. Observe and interfere only if necessary, got it?" I nodded and Aria stood up and walked over to me, close enough I had to crane my neck up to continue meeting her eyes.

"I mean it Jack, be careful." She put her hand on my shoulder and smiled down at me. I put my own hand on it and squeezed.

"I'll be fine mom."