The sounds of music echoed in the main hall as nobles watched several asari dancers before them. While they weren't part of Lord Arkid's harem, they were his dancers. Picked out from the best dancers in the land, both recruited and paid dancers and slaves. In this case, the ones dancing before them were the former. As slaves, even here, left a sour taste in the newcomer's mouth. While Arkid was born and raised on the ark, he was aware of the distaste of slavery among several of his nobles, commanders and more due to being born on the outside.

He didn't blame or question it. To him, some things on the Ark were like food. You either liked it or disliked it. But if the nation allowed it, there was nothing you could do about it. That was just the nature of things on Ark. Rejecting it or disliking it changed nothing, it just meant you ended up in chains or eaten. And you may not even have a choice about it. But that was just how Ark worked. Survival of the fittest.

But that didn't always mean strength. Granted while that was important, you also had to be smart, cunning, resourceful and adaptable. He recalled the stories of a Korgan Warlord who ruled by his strength alone but ended up eaten because he couldn't adapt assuming that his world operated like Tuchanka. He paid the price of that mistake with his life. Reaching out he picked up a glass of wine and took a slow sip. Savouring the beverage, he continued to look on as the Asari dancers moved into a close formation syncing their movements with each other. They moved their arms above them in such a way that it looked like they created a sea of blue flame.

The music added to the sensuality of the movements and dance. He kept his urges down as he watched. It was improper to use a slave or one of his harem at a dinner like this. So, he just focused on the dance and movements. Taking his mind off of his lust. It wasn't easy, but he had a few mental techniques to avoid it. Out of the corner of his eye, one of the soldiers was doing a speedy walk towards him. Not quick enough to disrupt the dance or dinner, but quick enough to get to him to relay important news.

Once the soldier reached him, he bent down and whispered in his ear. "Sir we have," he said.

It took all of Arkid's will not to react. "How?" he whispered back.

"A group of bandits ambushed her and overpowered her," the soldier replied. "They also have two slaves they wish to sell,"

This time Arkid couldn't help but smile. "Sounds like I need to pay them handsomely. Send them to the meeting room,"

The soldier nodded. "I will do when they arrive,"

Arkid nodded as the soldier left. The Lord of the Iron Sing clan looked at his wine with a smile today was a good day, a very good day. Taking another sip, he wondered how he could dominate the woman who had been a thorn in his side for so long. But one thing he knew for certain, their children would rule with glory.

OOOOO

"I feel naked," Liara moaned as she, Miranda and Sonja were pulled in a cart to the palace.

"Same with me," Miranda admitted annoyed that she didn't argue against Sonja when she had the chance.

The pair of them were dressed in dancers' outfits. A long-split skirt connected to a cross top which exposed their cleavage and midriffs. The two also had matching jewellery around their ankles and wrists. The way the two were exposed made them shiver, and the eyes from people outside didn't help that. Miranda wasn't opposed to showing off, she did wear a skin-tight bodysuit, but this wasn't the same. But she hid her discomfort as much as possible.

Sonja, on the other hand, was only dressed in a chest wrap and loincloth which exposed her Amazonian muscular frame. That, as well as her scars, made her very intimidating. But that didn't help the desired filled look she gave both of them, especially Liara. The chains that held her in place didn't help either as they made her look like a wild animal hungry for meat with Liara and Miranda being the prey.

"You look gorgeous," Sonja said as she eyed both of them up and down, but with her focus on Liara.

That made Liara blush and shy away from that single-eye stare. While she had used the fem-fatale persona more than once in her information broker work, there was something about the look of her former lover that was uncomfortable. She wasn't sure if it was due to the single green eye or just the way she looked at her, but either way, she both did and didn't like it. Her heart beat fast, but she clamed it down not sure if she wanted to go for that road yet. She had come to accept that Shepard had died, but now seeing her alive and muscular… that heart beat even more.

She wanted Sonja but wasn't sure if that was right for her or the right time. The Shepard before her wasn't the same as she knew before. A lot had changed in the two years since her 'death' and not just in her body. But it was her personality and mind that had changed as well. The Asari could still see that Shepard was there, but it seemed that she evolved somehow… grew. She wasn't sure how but that change seemed to have been for the better.

Garrus slammed on the cage bars. "Get ready," he said.

Sonja nodded and changed. She began to growl and snarl while struggling against her chains. "Let me out of here you bastards," she yelled earning looks towards them. "I'm going rip your arms off with my teeth!"

Inwardly, Miranda couldn't but laugh but it was a nervous one. Sonja's reputation as a hero wasn't exaggerated, but piss her off… and you lost the hero and got a villain. There were plenty of stories about her when she was sent against the Batarrians. Normally, you had more wounded than dead. Not with her. Whenever she was on the field with that particular race, not one would remain alive. There was a video, classified, of her walking into a Batarrian medical station killing every wounded soldier with a quick shot to the head. She left the doctors and told them to be thankful that they weren't soldiers and left.

Right now, she saw that villain in the hero she wanted to bring back. There was nothing wrong with that, everyone had a dark side. But the dark side of Sonja wasn't something she ever wanted to see or be left alone with. Taking a deep breath she pushed the images out of her mind, with some difficulty and did her best trying to play the reluctant slave.

Some time later they arrived at the gates and Sinja snarled at the guards giving her a victorious or smug look. After arriving at a spot to stop, the doors opened and Jacob and Zaeed walked in to unlock the chains holding them to the cage. Liara and Miranda were reluctant but stood and walked out while Sonja just kept up the façade of anger. That led to Garrus coming up to help Jacob pull Sonja out of the cage and into the main plaza, still snarling.

"So, this is her?" one of the captains asked and Garrus nodded.

"I recognise her from the wanted posters," the Turrian said. "Figured I could get more for her than on the market,"

"Asshole," Sonja growled. "I'll rip those mandibles off when I get the chance!"

Jacob slammed a baton on her back earning an evil deadly look from her, but he smiled in return. The captain walked up and got a good look at her while she looked back, her single green eye piercing him like a spear. He didn't react, but Sonja saw an imperceptible wince. That made her smile.

"Scared you, didn't I?" she asked as a hint of recognition flared in her mind. "How's the scar I gave you?" the twitch of his way was worth the slap she got.

"Hey, no harming the merchandise," Jacob said. "Do you really want your boss to kill you?"

The man just grunted and jerked his head. "This way," he said leading the group towards the building.

"That was a bit much," Jacob muttered to the commander.

"It's worth it," Sonja shot. "I didn't leave on the best of terms, but showing that I'm here unwillingly adds to the realism,"

Jacob nodded at that as they walked inside. Just like on the outside, the inside was made out of sandstone but instead of using wood, they used steel I beams as structural supports instead making the place more like a bunker. Which wasn't a surprise as this place was the primary command centre of the Iron Sting clan. As they walked all six of the team looked around looking for any weaknesses making note of them. They fully expected to bust out at night, but plans did change so they needed to keep an eye on all opportunities.

Taken up four levels, they were brought into a meeting room with maps decorating the walls and a round table in the middle. A chandelier made out of bones and iron hung from the ceiling with electric wires connecting them to the bulbs on the end. The maps were of the different regions of the continent that they were on. Taking this opportunity, Jacob looked at one of the maps. The part of the continent it was of the far northeast. It was divided up into several regions and a hard border between the Triumvirate and another nation by the name of the United Clans.

But he frowned at a blank section near the lower left-hand corner. It had a hard border with the United Clans and was marked as a Forbidden Zone. It seems that there was an entrance in the clan's territory, but was marked with a faint red line. He followed the map and looked to another one to see that the Forbidden Zone was almost twice the size of Iron Sting clan territory which itself was about 1.70 million km².

Ark was about three times the size of Earth but had the same gravity. Which indicated that whoever controlled or made this place had some seriously advanced technology. Putting that out of his mind, he continued to look at the maps seeing at least 12 Forbidden zones roughly around the same size. But the biggest one he found was about 5.50 million km², about the size of Antarctica. That particular zone was an island all of its own to the west. He needed to check up on that when he got out of there. He looked to the guards, but they didn't stop him from looking.

It was odd, but then again, they probably hid the important maps away. So, gaining some knowledge about the wider world wasn't a crime. Miranda and Liara were on their knees as soon as they entered the room while Sonja was forced to her knees by Garrus and Zaeed, growling as they did. It wasn't long until Arkid walked in. The man had tanned skin with short hair and grey eyes. He had no noticeable scars, but it was not hard to imagine him without them.

The robes flowed outwards in a sandy yellow and a green, his family's colours. Granted that wasn't what he wore as he also had several items that were dark leather. The way he smiled made him look very punchable, especially when he looked towards the commander. Sonja just growled at him as he looked her up and down.

"Astroth, if you even try it, I'll fucking castrate you," she said as she stood.

"I'd love to see you try my beautiful bride," he smiled walking up to her but kept a safe distance knowing what she could do even in chains. "But I think you need to learn that first," He then turned his attention to Liara and Miranda, eyeing them up. "Stand," he ordered.

The two did, but Miranda did so reluctantly, looking him directly in the eye with a fire burning in them. Arkid cupped her chin and turned her face from side to side taking in her beauty. He avoided touching the rest of the body but did look at the rest of her with interest then at Liara. Both of them were well-toned with their bodies and muscles. Sonja had told them that was normal, but Jacob didn't quite believe her until he saw the nod of approval from Arkid.

"These are two fine specimens," he said as he began to stroke their sides. "Perfect for child rearing," that just made Miranda spit to the side but kept quiet. "Humm very fiery," he muttered before turning to Jacob. "I'll give you 100,000 for all of them,"

"150 for all," Garrus said as he pointed to Sonja. "She caused major problems for my clan. I want some compensation,"

Arkid looked at him with an angered eye, but he relaxed with a smile after a moment. "I suppose that's fair. I know how much she is. Very well, you'll get your 150," he clicked his fingers and several guards walked in. "Take Sonja to the dungeons and these two to the harem. And one of you brings out 150,000 gold. These fine people need paying,"

With grunts in the affirmative, the guards took the chains of Sonja, Liara and Miranda before pulling them out. As they did so, Jacob, Zaeed and Garrus smiled inwardly as their plan was working so far.