A/N: Greetings! It's been... awhile since I wrote a note to you guys, just wanted to thank you for reading this far and putting up with my absenteeism! Can hardly believe I've been writing this story for 5 years, before ME3 was even released... so you're either crazy for still reading or a glutton for suspense! I hope the latter ;) Also, Halle Chekov was inspired by a brainstorm with Cambia Forma so credit to her! Enjoy!

The screams shattered the night as another yellow uniformed merc was ripped apart by a biotic implosion. Shepard smirked at Jack and held out her fist.

"Niiiice Shep!"Jack punched her fist into Shepards.

Shepard had decided to bring Jack and Grunt along with them for this mission to get a better feel for their tactical abilities as so far she'd only seen small snippets of them in action. Kasumi had stayed back on the Normandy to finalize what she needed for her op on Benkenstein but Garrus was sticking to her side like glue.

Movement ahead caught her eye, "Mechs." She warned them quickly.

"I see em." Grunt chuckled then leapt over the cover of building materials they'd been using and charged at them.

Shepard was right behind him, literally using him as a giant meat shield as the mechs opened fire and the Krogan ignored the bullets, his shields absorbing them with ease. While his shotgun turned the first mech into scrap Shepard was focused passed them and lashed out with her arm, her biotics flaring as she reversed gravity for a couple Eclipse mercs.

Jack grinned, it was her new favourite move of Shepards because without the cheerleader there to interfere it meant that she could hit the bastards with a warp or shockwave and the combined biotic fields wreaked havoc on the enemy, she loved havoc. She levelled her own shotgun at a second mech that was in front of Grunt and the combined firepower had the mech literally falling to pieces. Oh she was having so much fun!

Garrus just shook his head with a smirk at the destructive trio, trailing them with his sniper rifle out to pick off any stragglers that somehow avoided the maelstrom.

They had worked their way up the lower levels and were approaching the service lift the wounded Salarian at the entrance had told them about. Shepard had seen to his wounds, gently asking him questions about what was going on in the towers. It had been… enlightening.

Shepard scanned the area using her biotic vision and spotted a small group of Salarian workers huddling in a storage room. "Grunt, Jack, keep an eye on that lift in case more come to join the party, Garrus with me."

The Krogan and human biotic took up position either side of the lift behind stacks of building materials. There was plenty of cover to choose from with construction still a long way from completion.

Garrus was by Shepards side without hesitation, "So, why did you bring those two with us to hunt down an assassin?" he murmured curiously.

"I have no qualms in letting him complete his mission here and figure we can help him out by being a distraction to the mercs. What better way to distract them than with our masters of mayhem over there." Shepard winked up at him.

Garrus chuckled.

Shepard hacked the lock on the door and held up her hands so those inside could see she wasn't a threat.

"Please don't kill us, we'll go, we'll go!" One of the salarians cried out in terror, cowering behind his hands.

"Hey look, they're not with the mercs! You're here to help us right?" A second pointed out quickly, a grin plastered on his face.

"One of the reasons I'm here yeah. Is everyone alright in here?" Shepard smiled at them calmly.

"Thank you, we are in your debt." The first bowed almost reverentially to her.

"Maybe you can help me, I'm looking for someone. Not a merc, he's on his own." She looked between them, she couldn't see any injuries just some very understandable signs of fear.

"Well, whoever sealed us in here…" the first began, scratching at his aural horn nervously.

His companion took over, "When he found us we thought we were dead, but he just closed the door and locked us in."

"Locked you in? Sounds like our assassin was trying to keep them safe." Garrus commented thoughtfully.

"Assassin?" The first just about squeaked in fright.

"Here for Nassana no doubt." The second didn't seem surprised at all, "You treat people like this it always comes back to bite you in the ass."

Shepard debated for a moment if she should try and get more information out of them but decided not, "Well, way out's clear, you should probably get going. Stay safe okay."

"I was just thinking the same thing. Let's go everyone!" The first salarian was incredibly relieved to hear that.

"Thank you, and tell your assassin to aim for the head because she doesn't have a heart." The second one grumbled on the way out.

Shepard smirked and watched them go thoughtfully, "I'm looking forward to meeting our assassin. I hope we get there in time."

They returned to the cargo lift and Shepard realized it was already on the way down, "We've got company coming, defensive positions."

"How is standing in the middle of the fucking room a defensive position?" Jack called over to Shepard who was facing the lift doors and had actually holstered her gun.

Shepard smirked and lit up her biotics, "Something I've been meaning to try out in a combat situation." Closing her eyes for a moment she reached within herself and accessed one of the Prothean techniques she'd discovered in the lab.

Jack could feel the power of the visible bubble that flared around Shepard, "Fuuuuck me."

The doors opened and revealed a Krogan Warlord with a couple Eclipse tech mercs flanking him. With a roar the Krogan charged the first opponent he saw, the human female biotic with glowing eyes.

Shepard didn't move, didn't even blink at the thunderous clash that rocked the room and had the Krogan reeling as her biotic shield held against his charge. "Garrus overload their shields, Jack take out the bitch on the left, Grunt you got the one on the right. This Krogan is mine." She growled with a feral grin, she could feel the thrill of the fight rush down her spine from her ashvaylin and for the first time she allowed herself to revel in it with the knowledge that it wasn't going to overwhelm her.

The Krogan balanced quickly and brought his shotgun to bear on the human's biotic shield to start wearing it down.

Shepard had other ideas. She let the field drop and instead charged at the Krogan. Lashing out with a hard strike empowered by biotic inertia she bent the shotgun rendering it useless. "Show me what you've really got you overgrown pyjak." She snarled at him.

"I'll rip your hearts out human!" He roared and swung his fist at her.

The swing was wide and Shepard nimbly ducked under it while she unleashed a crushing warp to tear away his biotic shield.

The Krogan reacted with a surge of his own biotics and threw her back a couple meters into the crates Garrus was sheltering behind.

"You know Shepard now really isn't the time to show off…" Garrus pointed out as he overloaded one of the tech's shields.

Shepard laughed, her eyes were shining brightly as she drew on the energy within her once more and with a greater distance between her and her target than before she charged. Arm drawn back she wrapped her fist in energy and roared as she unleashed a biotic punch.

The Krogan's body was thrown back into the cargo lift, smashed through the glass and disappeared from sight.

There was a long moment of silence as everyone stared at the slightly breathless Spectre.

The last remaining tech was so distracted she didn't even see Jack come up behind her and raise her shotgun.

Grunt raised his shotgun in salute and bellowed gleefully, "SHEPAAAARD!"

Jack was shaking her head and chuckling at the reminder that Shepard was the most badass biotic she knew.

Garrus rolled his eyes, "Next you'll be complaining you didn't get to take a picture of his face coming out his hump."

Shepard pouted slightly, "Well I was hoping to add to the collection." Then she grinned and sauntered into the lift, "Let's find some more Eclipse."

They fought their way up through several more levels brimming with Eclipse mercs and mechs.

Shepard was pleased that even though Grunt and Jack loved to pretty much bathe in the blood of their enemies they still listened to direction when she gave it. In fact Jack quickly got the hang of working in tandem with her biotically and enjoyed the carnage they could unleash together. It gave her a little hope that when push came to shove they'd listen to her orders.

Crossing the exposed bridge between the towers Shepard had to caution Jack off using shockwaves to bowl the mercs over the edge.

"You really want this thing to fall out from under us?" Shepard questioned the young woman with a raised brow.

Jack hesitated, "Eh… fuck no."

"Then throw the bastards like this." Shepard demonstrated and a human man in the Eclipse daisy yellow armor was sent screaming to his death.

Jack rolled her eyes but secretly she gleefully altered her attack plan.

"Rocket turrets!" Grunt bellowed in warning as he copped a rocket to the hump and simply shrugged it off.

"Garrus can you snipe them in this wind?" Shepard looked back at him.

Garrus huffed, "Please, Shepard its child's play." He lined up on the left turret and began to whittle away its shields.

Continuing to move up Grunt took the heat from the turrets while Shepard and Jack cleared the bridge of the dwindling Eclipse mercs.

"You know Shepard, Eclipse is going to be very pissed off at you. First you clear out one of their warehouses, now you're screwing over one of their high paying jobs…" Garrus commented with a grin in his voice as he took down the final rocket turret.

"What can I say, I'm feeling inspired Archangel." Shepard returned with a cheeky grin over her shoulder.

Garrus laughed, his predatory blue eyes bright with amusement.

There was only one asari commando between Shepards team and the penthouse so she motioned for them to hold back for the moment. She brought up her biotic barrier and stepped out from behind a large packing crate with weapon lowered for the moment.

The asari was firing on her instantly with a shotgun and a furious glare.

Shepard casually leant against the crate and checked her nails as if she wasn't under fire. "You know I'm not actually here for Nassana, I'm actually here for the assassin who plans on killing her."

The asari stopped firing as the thermal clip overheated, more than a little annoyed at the fact the human was blatantly ignoring her attack.

"I could have helped you in stopping him but no, no, you and your mercs just had to shoot up everyone not wearing that eye gouging yellow armor of yours, including unarmed civilians." She looked up from her nails and her eyes were blazing with her biotic aura, "That, my dear, is uncivilized and unacceptable."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" The asari smiled, reloading her cooled clip and raising her shotgun once more.

Shepard smirked, "Oh how rude of me, I'm Shepard, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance."

The asari paled, "Shepard's dead…"

"I've been getting that a lot lately. I was mostly dead." Her grin turned feral, "Got better." Straightening she gestured to the rest of the squad and strode towards the door, ignoring the asari, "She's all yours."

Jack led out with a warp, ripping away the asari's biotic barrier while Grunt's armor piercing rounds from his shotgun tore chunks from her armor and Garrus finished her off with a sniper shot between the eyes.

Shepard looked down at the body then back at the trio with a nod of approval, no words were necessary. Sauntering into the penthouse she smirked at the array of weaponry that was levelled at her.

Nassana's eyes narrowed, "Shepard. But… you're dead."

Shepard shrugged, "Got better."

"And now you're here to kill me?" Nassana stood tall, maintaining her poise.

"Actually no, I tried telling your mercs that but they didn't want to listen. Apparently someone ordered them to shoot everything in sight." Shepard glared at the asari whose beauty was marred by her haughty arrogance.

"If you're not here to kill me, what do you want? Credits? Access to the latest biotech?" Nassana knew how to play this game, Shepard had danced to her tune before when the newly appointed Spectre had killed her troublesome sister.

"Think you can just buy your way out of trouble? Did you stop to think that perhaps that might be a contributing factor to why you're in trouble?" Shepard cocked her head to the side and lit up her eyes to see if she could spot the assassin. "Well that and all the innocent people you've had killed. Humans have a saying, 'karma's a bitch'. It basically means your actions will come back to bite you in the ass." She reiterated the sentiment of the Salarian.

Nassana sneered but before she could respond one of the mercs looked around nervously.

"I heard something." The asari looked up at the ducts.

"I'll deal with you shortly!" Nassana pointed at Shepard aggressively.

Shepard crossed her arms and beamed, "No, no you won't."

At that moment a vividly green skinned drell clad in black dropped down from the duct opening, his hands a blur of movement as he snapped the neck of the human merc. His movements were smooth and graceful as he closed the distance between another merc and lashed out with the side of his hand in a stunning blow before the last merc received a single shot to between the eyes from his pistol.

Nassana whirled around, wide eyed and terrified at the sounds behind her. Before she could even beg for her life she was in the strong arms of the assassin and Shepard just watched. A pistol was pressed against her chest and agonizing pain ripped through her as a bullet tore through her heart.

Shepard watched curiously as the assassin gently laid Nassana out on the desk, placing her hands in an almost spiritual position. The drell then put his hands together, closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"What the fuck's he doin?" Jack muttered to Shepard in confusion.

"Praying." Shepard surmised and simply waited.

When the drell was done he looked up at the strange party before him curiously, "Thank you, prayers for the wicked must not be forgotten."

"Well, she was rather wicked I'll give you that." Shepard shrugged.

The drell frowned, "Not for her, for me."

Shepard's brow rose.

"You have been seeking me, for what purpose?" he asked in that unique tone that made it sound like he had water or something in the back of his throat.

"I have a critical mission that I need the best for, I've been told it's a suicide mission but I plan to prove them wrong." Shepard watched him closely for his reaction.

He strode around the desk appearing deep in thought, "A suicide mission? Yes, that would be fitting."

"Wait that actually worked?" Garrus muttered, a little surprised at the tactic.

"You see I am dying, I do not have much time to live." The drell explained softly.

Shepard's brow creased, "I'm sorry, I wasn't informed of that."

"It is a wasting disease that affects all of my kind born to the waters of Kahje. I would like to leave the galaxy a better place before I die." Thane explained in his soft, unusual voice.

"Well, we're going after the Collectors, they've been abducting entire human colonies, hundreds of thousands of people have been taken. We're going to stop them." Shepard held out her hand, "Think that qualifies, Thane Krios?"

Thane considered the offered hand then clasped it, "Indeed, no payment shall be necessary."

"Chevok we're clear for a pick up." Shepard called for her newly appointed shuttle pilot.

"On my way ma'am." Came the smooth, accented response.

Xxxxxx

Shepard had just finished hacking a bunch of terminals for Liara, the mysterious asari was being rather coy about the whole matter but after their recent upsets Shepard wasn't about to rock the boat. Instead she simply stepped around the desk Liara was attempting to hide behind and gave her a hug.

Liara resisted at first but when Shepard didn't get the hint she sighed and gave in. "Thank you Shepard." She murmured.

"Can I steal you away for a drink? Now I've got my specialists we'll be leaving Illium and I'd like to… spend more than five minutes with you, if you've got some time." Shepard asked softly, a little hesitant at the apprehension that flickered through Liara's eyes.

"I… I'm sorry Shepard. Perhaps next time?" Liara offered tentatively.

Shepard bit her lower lip for a moment but nodded, "I'll hold you to that T'soni." Glancing around for a moment in thought she frowned, her brows furrowing.

Liara paused, the reaction struck her as odd, "You… wanted to ask me something privately?"

Shepard nodded wordlessly, she'd even left the Normandy in jeans and a rather non-descript blue hoodie she'd purchased from a store that had a catering bent towards humans which she'd noticed when shopping with Kasumi.

Liara locked her terminal and rose to her feet. A quick word to Nyxeris later and the pair wandered over to the taxi terminal. Neither of them spoke as they worked through the crowd though Liara did cast a few glances over at Shepard who even in her casual attire managed to snag more than a couple interested looks from asari they passed.

Shepard gave a wry smirk but her eyes were a little annoyed, "You know I never noticed how much asari stare at me until Miranda pointed it out. It's… unnerving."

Liara chuckled, "Well you are beautiful, powerful and exotic, all things we asari happen to be drawn to."

Shepard blushed heatedly and huffed.

Once the doors of the taxi closed around them Liara fiddled with something on her omni-tool, "I'm under constant surveillance, as I'm sure you are. This is as private as we're going to get so wherever you have in mind, take your time getting us there."

Shepard nodded curtly and took off slowly, slipping into the busy airways and instead of fighting with the flow just merging with it. "Thank you for your help with tracking down Samara and Thane."

"Please, no need to thank me for that." Liara shook her head quickly.

Shepard glanced over, "I know you're really busy but I was hoping for your help on some… personal matters I don't trust Cerberus with."

"Of course I'll see what I can do." Liara promised instantly, she was very curious as Shepard had always been a rather private person even with their melds.

"First, I'm worried about Ash. Both the Illusive Man and Anderson are keeping me away from her deliberately. Anderson tried to sell me some bullshit about her working with colonies in the Terminus on something classified. She's family Liara, I want to know if she's in trouble and why they're keeping me from her." She scowled as she avoided a speeding hovercar, "Jackass." She muttered not quite under her breath.

"I confess I haven't kept tabs on the old crew. I'll find her." Liara nodded, she could feel Shepard's worry and found herself concerned for Gunnery Chief Williams and a little ashamed at herself for not thinking of it herself. "I… I haven't spoken to Tali since…" she swallowed as she couldn't quite get the words out that the last she'd seen of the crew had been at Shepard's funeral.

Shepard gave a little growl, "That girl is biting off more than she can chew. She's on fucking Haestrom in geth space and wouldn't tell me what she's doing just that it's important. I've got a job to do for Kasumi then I'm getting her the hell out of there whether she's finished or not."

Liara couldn't help but smile at the over-protectiveness. "No one messes with your little sister huh."

"Damn straight." Shepard looked at Liara, "You're on my family list to you know Liara. This business with the Shadow Broker, you need some doors busted in or something you let me know."

Liara's eyes began to water a little with that admission. She had been so worried that she had ruined their friendship but to know that Shepard still cared for her that deeply warmed her heart as it hadn't been for so long, "Steph…"

"Just don't write me off cos of the Cerberus shit, I can get Miranda to run some interference for me or something and we can bust whatever heads you need busted." Shepard reached over and gave Liara's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you Steph, that means a lot to me." Liara murmured and had to tear her gaze away from Shepard before she did start crying.

As if sensing the asari's poise was on the verge of breaking Shepard not so subtly changed the subject, "Speaking of family, there's a couple girls I'd like you to dig some info up on. First should be pretty simple, name's Riviera Mendleson, twelve, adopted by Celene and Sarah Mendleson, last I knew was in Perth, Australia, Earth. She's… basically my adopted little sis but I don't want to just suddenly drop into her life again given everything that's going on. I just want to know she's… okay." She was a bit hesitant as she thought about what kind of effect that would have on the kid who would have mourned her for the past two years just like the rest of the galaxy.

"Sounds simple enough." Liara nodded, she hadn't had much to do with Earth, especially after the way the Alliance has disbanded Shepard's crew and refused to believe her about the Reapers. It had been rather personal considering how they had thrown the memory of their greatest asset and example of their race under the bus.

"The other one is a bit… unusual. Picked up a couple Alliance marines the other day, one of them is Ensign Halle Chekov, she's nineteen… and she's a clone of me." Shepard watched Liara's reaction closely.

Liara blinked in non-comprehension, "Pardon?"

"Oh you heard me right, I have a clone, a mini-me with bright red hair and a Russian accent. Chakwas confirmed it and the kid has no clue… unless of course she's a brilliant actor. I'm keeping her on the Normandy for the time being but I want to know where the hell she came from." Shepard dodged another speeding driver, "Fuck!"

"The autopilot might be helpful." Liara pointed out helpfully, her lips quirking with a smile she was trying to hide.

"I like driving, just not when there's bloody insane…" She ducked under another car, "oh screw this." She pulled a hard right and left the traffic lanes entirely ignoring the warning message.

Liara gave up trying to hide it and smirked shaking her head at the reckless human. "So this clone, what do you know about her?"

"She's already got half my ground team wrapped around her little finger I swear. Seems harmless enough but…" Shepard let the sentence hang.

"Why does she exist?" Liara finished for her.

Shepard was quiet for a moment, "There's a file on my omni-tool, Hunter Project, everything we know so far." She held out her wrist for Liara to access it. "These guys are dangerous, they've got their hooks in the Alliance and even Cerberus and you know what a fucking control freak the Illusive Man is. Miranda has people looking into it from the Cerberus side of things, I haven't been able to get in touch with Anderson yet regarding the Alliance's take on it." She took a deep breath, "I'm not a spy Liara, analyzing this kind of intel is not what I'm trained for. I'm a weapon. Point me at something and it dies."

"This is Illium's Police Tracking Authority, your vehicle is flying outside of legal airways, you are to turn around immediately or you will be fined and or imprisoned for reckless driving." A somewhat pissed off voice came through the sound system.

Shepard grinned, "Hey I know that sexy voice! Dara wasn't it?"

"I… who is this?" Now she sounded unnerved.

"Shepard! I found Justicar Samara by the way, had to blow up an Eclipse warehouse but I hear they were being problematic anyway." Shepard winked at Liara.

"Spectre Shepard! By the goddess you're not dead. I was a little worried the Justicar may have not taken your request well. I'll tag your vehicle as cleared for whatever you need to do."

"Thanks darling, I appreciate it."

"Just call me next time and I'll make sure you're not bothered."

"I'll keep that in mind, you have a good rest of your shift."

"Try to keep out of trouble Spectre."

"Trouble always finds me, Dara." Shepard chuckled.

"So I hear, goddess watch you."

Liara was smirking at Shepard and shaking her head a little.

"What, she helped me out tracking down Samara." Shepard shrugged.

Liara just chuckled, "You gave her an autograph didn't you."

"Maybe." Shepard grinned and took the vehicle towards a rather gaudy district full of flashing lights, holoscreens that took up the whole sides of buildings and a sheer hive of activity.

Liara's brow rose as she knew of the district and tended to avoid it unless something work related came up, "Do you actually know where you're going?"

"Not a clue." Shepard admitted unworried, "But they look like they're having fun and I promised you a drink before we left so we're having it now."

Liara couldn't help but smile over at Shepard, Miranda had performed a miracle on the beautiful human who was just is easy going and charming as before. "I'll see what I can find out for you and I promise I'll be careful."

"Thanks Liara." The tension in Shepard's shoulders relaxed just that little bit. "Now business is done, time for some fun." She flashed a cheeky grin Liara's way before opening the door to the taxi and sliding out gracefully.

They found a club called Fusion which seemed to take to heart the moto that Illium, the gateway to the Traverse never sleeps. The place was packed, the majority were asari of course but there were more than a few turians, humans and salarians.

The asari bouncer gave Shepard a once over and shook her head, "What's under the jacket human?" she growled, the club had standards after all.

"Buns of steel gorgeous." Shepard flashed a cocky grin and wink.

Liara's brow rose at the very human phrase she'd learned from Ashley of all people back on the Normandy SR1.

The bouncer frowned slightly as she didn't understand the human.

Shepard chuckled and obliged the asari, she was feeling generous and didn't really want to cause a scene afterall. Underneath the hoodie all she had on was one of her white work out tank tops that left her midriff bared.

The asari gave a slow but very appreciative smile, "Leave the jacket off and you can head in."

Shepard tied the hoodie around her waist and sauntered in with Liara on her arm. Snagging a couple drinks from the bar proved to be harder than anticipated as Shepard was propositioned every couple steps, even with Liara practically glued to her side.

Liara found it rather amusing especially when they finally got to the bar and she found herself pinned against it by Shepard's hips.

"Sorry 'bout this Liara but I'm going to shamelessly use you as a shield if you don't mind." Shepard spoke over the din, lips brushing against Liara's crest.

Liara's blue eyes were glittering with amusement, "Miranda won't mind?"

"Oh she'll kick my ass I'm sure." Shepard smirked and waved down the bartender.

Liara's smile turned coy as she slid her arms around Shepard's waist, marveling at the warmth of her skin, to make it clear that the scintillating human was taken.

"What you wanna drink?" Shepard asked as the bartender moved their way.

"Thessian Temple will be fine." Liara glared down an asari that was angling towards them, the asari quickly changed direction.

With a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy and two shot glasses in hand Shepard herded Liara away from the bar, Liara taking a couple sips of her drink so it didn't spill. "Shall we head outside?" Shepard asked as she couldn't see any free seats inside and the music was far too loud for conversation.

Liara led the way, taking hold of the belt buckle of Shepard's jeans to guide her as her hands were occupied at the moment.

Shepard just chuckled and followed amiably. She smiled and relaxed a little as outside was an open air dancefloor with flashing laser lights, another bar, some booths and a whole lot less people. The asari seemed to like to crowd together, there were more humans and turians outside in comparison, all of whom Shepard ignored. Right now she was in casual attire, not her N7 gear she was famous for and only a handful of people in the galaxy knew she was still quite alive. Sliding into the seat opposite Liara she filled the two shot glasses and downed one with practice ease before refilling it.

"I hope you don't plan to drink the whole bottle by yourself." Liara smirked, she knew how much Shepard enjoyed the buzz the brandy gave her.

Shepard shrugged, "Wouldn't matter if I did, can't get drunk anymore. Well… maybe if I drank a couple bottles of Ryncol I might get a buzz but that stuff is just goddamn awful. What do the Krogans call it? Thresher maw piss?"

"That they do." Liara smiled and shook her head a little sadly at the reminder of Shepard having been rebuilt to such an extent.

"Liara, what's something good that's happened in the past two years?" Shepard asked suddenly, looking to her hopefully.

"You came back." Liara answered immediately.

Shepard gave a breathy chuckle, "Well that is pretty amazing, but other than me."

Liara shifted uncomfortably, "I… I've been busy with work. I haven't had much time to just… relax and enjoy something."

Shepard's heart broke a little at that, "Li…"

"No, it's how I wanted it, don't apologize." Liara shook her head resolutely. "With everything that happened, how the Council hushed everything you brought up, I haven't just been hunting my quarry. I've been researching as much as I can possibly find on the Protheans given the new information we uncovered. I spent quite some time on Ilos," she actually smiled, "actually that I did enjoy. Did you know that base we found was built on the ruins of another? Those statues we found of that strange race? From what I could piece together they were the Inusannon, they are who the Protheans developed their Mass Effect technology from just as we developed it from the Protheans."

Shepard just smiled and nodded in encouragement as that shy archeologist from the Normandy SR1 showed herself just a little in Liara's enthusiasm for the subject of the Protheans. She listened as Liara dove right in with that small amount of encouragement. It was clear that the young asari hadn't had anyone she could share this with and Shepard didn't care if the Reapers themselves showed up right now she was going to smile, nod and let one of her dearest friends lose herself in the moment.

The moment was rudely interrupted by a rather drunken asari falling into Shepard's lap.

Shepard instinctively caught her before she hurt herself and stiffened as the asari's hands began to wander.

"Well look at you!" The asari giggled, pushing her chest out and wrapping her arms around the human's neck.

Liara scowled at the intruder who was wearing little more than underwear that barely covered her intimate areas.

Shepard froze as a strong, heady scent wafted from the asari's skin. Her ashvaylin was responding to it quickly and she snarled as she mentally sat on it. Ungraciously tossing the drunken asari from her lap she rose to her feet and wordlessly held out her hand for Liara.

Liara immediately moved to her side and took hold of the offered hand, "Shepard?"

"Need to leave. Now." Shepard growled and there was far more animalistic grunt in her tone.

"What's wrong?" Liara glanced back at the dazed and indignant asari as Shepard dragged her away.

"Pheromones." Shepard snarled. At the look of fury on her face the asari in the club melted out of her way.

Liara didn't get a chance to ask what that meant, she just hurried behind Shepard back to the taxi rank. A tingling down her spine warned her that they were being watched but she couldn't see anyone behaving suspiciously.

This time Shepard let the autopilot take them back to the Nos Astra district. Closing her eyes she concentrated on her breathing and after a moment snarled. The bloody asari had rubbed the pheromone on her clothes. A little shakily she activated her omni-tool, "Miranda. Problem."

"What's wrong Steph?" Came the instant response, all business and no nonsense from the professional problem solver.

"They found me. Clothes covered in pheromone. Not… not thinking straight." She was starting to sweat as her body was heating up with the strongest urge to fuck she'd ever experienced before.

"My place is closest, we can get you a shower and change of clothes." Liara spoke quickly.

"Dr. T'soni?" Miranda queried.

"Yes Miranda."

"Get her to the Normandy." Miranda could feel the building need in Shepard and she wasn't about to let the asari benefit from that if Shepard did lose control of herself.

"Ch-Chasen. Will… affect Chasen." Shepard clenched her fists and groaned. "Fucks sake."

"Dammit. Fine, I'll bring Garrus to Dr. T'soni's residence. For the record, you're not leaving my sight again until we leave this bloody planet."

"Works… works for me." Shepard was trying very hard not to writhe, she reached over and put on the aircon on the coldest setting and full power. "S-sorry Li."

"No, it's alright. Do what you need to do." Liara sent the address to Miranda, "We'll meet you there Miranda."

Shepard and Liara got to the apartment first. Liara quickly unlocked the door and let the flushed Spectre bolt inside first.

"Shower is upstairs." Liara called, pausing as Shepard was ripping off her clothes already like they were on fire.

Shepard said nothing, her clothes were itching her and felt uncomfortably restrictive. She could feel her mate was close but the female that had brought her was not her mate. She needed her mate. No she needed control. Cold water. Cold water rushing over her body. Cooling her down. Washing away that damn scent. Calm down. Mate's not ready. Be calm. Be calm.

Miranda watched for a long moment. Shepard was calming down on her own and it was best to let her. Keeping her own emotions muted and clinical she waited, towel in hand.

Shepard sighed as the worst of the heat subsided and her ashvaylin cooled off. "I don't care what the fuck you smell from now on you're going to fucking ignore it, kapeesh?" she growled out loud to the being in her mind.

"I think we'd all appreciate that." Miranda agreed, smiling softly.

Shepard looked up in surprise as she hadn't registered Miranda was there with her and winced, "I'm sorry Miri."

"Don't be, I think you made some progress. You kept yourself in control which is the main thing." Miranda held up the towel.

Shepard turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, accepting the towel with a tender smile. "This is becoming a habit."

"One I don't mind at all." Miranda winked.

Shepard drew a shaky breath, "Goddess, Miri, unless you want me to fuck you in Liara's apartment none of that."

Miranda lowered her face in acknowledgement, "I'll wait for you downstairs."

"Thanks Miri." Shepard began to dry herself quickly.

While Garrus was patrolling visibly and Kasumi had tagged along to see if she could catch anything suspicious Liara was sitting at her kitchen table looking over the data Shepard had given her on the Hunter Project.

"How is Shepard?" Liara asked softly.

"She's fine." Miranda sat down with the asari scientist turned information broker. The apartment was quite lavish really. Larger than an average house the entire outside wall was a window overlooking the gorgeous sights of Nos Astra. There were displays of prothean pieces from the many dig sites Liara had visited over the decades she'd been studying them, large artworks on the walls from different worlds though most seemed to be from mysterious Ilos. All of the furniture was expensive and seemingly little used declaring that Liara didn't spend much of her time here.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them for a few minutes until they both spoke at once.

"Shepard needs to leave…"

They both stopped then smiled wryly.

"Yes that would be best, whoever these people are they clearly have a strong presence here." Liara nodded.

"What exactly happened?" Miranda asked softly.

"We were just sharing a drink, she was letting me ramble on about my research." Liara smiled wistfully for a moment, "She's always had the patience of a matriarch. Then a drunken asari fell in her lap and she… it was like something came over her. She said something about pheromones then dragged me out of there and called you."

"Did you tell anyone where you were going?" Miranda was thoughtful, they had to figure out how these people kept finding them.

"No, I don't think even Shepard knew until she spotted the lights of the club and figured there was as good as anywhere. The only thing I could think of would be when she broke from the airways and Illium Police called us, she gave them her name and they left us alone after that." Liara's gaze flicked over to where Shepard was coming down the stairs in a comfortable pair of black jogging shorts and an N7 hoodie Miranda had brought.

Shepard grimaced, the residual scent from the discarded clothes was still present but it wasn't strong enough to elicit much more of a reaction. "You think they overheard the communication?"

"Quite possibly." Liara nodded.

Shepard exhaled loudly, "I'm sorry I ruined our drinks Liara."

Liara rose to her feet and shook her head, "Not your fault Shepard."

Shepard gave her a hug, "Yeah well still sucks. It was nice seeing you outside the office. Maybe next time we come back I'll get Kasumi to teach me some sneaky things."

Liara gave her a quick squeeze, very aware of Miranda Lawson watching them like a hawk. "Maybe by then you'll have figured out who these people are and dealt with them, hmm?"

Shepard kissed Liara's cheek with a smile, "Here's hoping. I'd love to stay a bit longer but that scent is still bothering me and I don't want it contaminating anyone here or Keya's going to have her hands full."

"Oh I think she can take care of herself." Miranda smirked and rose to her feet.

Shepard chuckled as that was no doubt true when it was just Chasen but the ashvaylin inside her was another matter entirely.

"Until next time Shepard, Miranda." Liara nodded to them both politely.

"Take care of yourself Liara." Shepard bid her farewell.

Miranda watched Shepard walk out to where Garrus was waiting before she spoke softly, "I'll look after her."

Liara nodded, "Thank you for bringing her back."

Miranda simply nodded then joined the others from the Normandy.

XXXXXX

Shepard had spent the better part of the afternoon hours with Samara and Chasen working on meditation techniques that had poor Chasen dozing off. Shepard herself found that she rather liked them, her ashvaylin was just as curious as she was to find out how things would change now that there was an awareness between their minds. It seemed that this particular ashvaylin had been content for a long time to just sit back and… exist, watching the universe growing through another cycle but not intervening. Something had changed that but at the moment the ashvaylin was not willing to share what had happened and Shepard didn't push, didn't really know how to push just yet. So she treated it like she would any other crew, with time and patience.

Touching the door chime to Miranda's quarters Shepard waited for permission to enter and smiled at the sound of that alluring voice from within.

Miranda beamed at the sight of the calm and very relaxed Commander Shepard striding in. That was a very rare thing since Lazarus. "Steph."

"Miri, switch off your console, I'm stealing you." Shepard smirked.

Miranda's brow arched and she just had to clarify that one, "You're… stealing me?"

Shepard's grin was completely infectious, her chocolate brown eyes alight with mischief, "Yep, you heard me."

"And if I do not wish to be 'stolen'?" Miranda sat back and folded her arms defiantly but her cobalt eyes were not even attempting to hide amusement.

Shepard sauntered up to her and straddled her lap, much to the surprise of the operative. Not bothering with coy Shepard cupped Miranda's face and kissed her hungrily.

Miranda smiled into the kiss and slid her hands around Shepard's waist. Shepard's lips were soft yet demanding and it wasn't very long at all before all thoughts of reports were well and truly set aside. Lighting up her biotics she lifted Shepard with ease as she rose to her feet.

Shepard gasped at the feel of Miranda's biotics encompassing her, the warmth of them of Miranda seeping into her very being. Instinctively she wrapped her legs around Miranda's waist and shifted her weight to press up against the scintillating woman in her embrace. She almost forgot her actual purpose for interrupting Miranda's schedule when she found herself gently laid onto her back on the firm mattress of the operative's bed. The gleam in Miranda's eyes, that slight quirk of her lips in that confident smirk, the fire that was building between them, it was all incredibly distracting. Then when Miranda let her weight settle over her she couldn't stop the moan of approval and pulled her closer, running her hand up that slender back and entwining her fingers in those silken raven locks at the base of Miranda's neck.

Miranda's omni-tool rang, snapping them both out of the heated moment.

"Hey Miranda, any reason why EDI's not letting me in? We have a meeting scheduled don't we?" Jacob's voice rang.

Miranda growled into Shepard's mouth in frustration, her body becoming rigid.

Shepard frowned as well, "EDI I thought you changed all the meetings?"

"I have Shepard." EDI confirmed.

"You changed my meetings around?" Miranda looked down at Shepard with a hint of disapproval.

"Could you please remind Jacob of this." Shepard addressed the AI first.

"Certainly."

Shepard reached up and caressed Miranda's cheek, "Well if I'm going to steal you for a couple hours I needed to at least free up your schedule so you don't actually miss anything important." She gave a sheepish grin.

Miranda's brow arched, "A couple hours?" She suddenly found herself moving and was underneath Shepard a heart beat later.

Shepard grinned down at the breathtaking woman beneath her, "Well as much as I enjoy, this," she leaned down and sucked lightly the tender flesh over Miranda's pulse point.

Miranda closed her eyes, sucking in a breath at the heat that surged straight to her core.

"I actually wanted to see if you'd like to practice the melding thing." Shepard murmured, kissing her way up to Miranda's ear and gently pulling it.

Surprise rippled through Miranda, "I… wasn't sure how comfortable you would be with that given…" she quite vividly recalled the anger in Shepard when it had first been mentioned.

"That was before I found out about the ashvaylin." Shepard shifted to lay beside Miranda, propped up on her elbow and for a moment simply admiring her.

Miranda smiled as she could feel Shepard's wonder, could see such deep affection in those darkened eyes. "So you believe me now that you weren't responsible for tainting Liara?" she asked softly.

Shepard nodded slowly, she reached down and cupped Miranda's cheek, running her thumb along that strong jawline. "It was never you I doubted. I needed… something to blame I think, a reason why I could never let anyone else in." She took a deep breath before whispering, "Goddess, I never thought I'd find you again."

Miranda felt the warmth coming from Shepard that wasn't the heat of lust but something so much more. Her brows creased, "Steph…"

Shepard smiled and leaned down to claim those soft, full lips once more, silencing whatever Miranda had been about to say.

Miranda's heart fluttered just a little, this was very new to her. It had been so long since she'd let herself get emotionally invested, she hadn't with Jacob as she had known it had been purely stress relief for her. But Shepard, Shepard was so very different in so many ways. She gasped softly when Shepard's lips began to roam and found that sensitive spot just behind the hinge of her jaw.

Shepard thought tenderly into Miranda's mind, "And I really want to hear you say my real name."

"I would really like to be free of this mind control." Miranda thought back softly, caressing Shepard's cheek and looking up into those chocolate brown eyes.

"So, would you like to try out the melding thing?" Shepard asked with a confident smile.

Miranda took a deep breath and tried not to stiffen up at the thought of another being in her mind.

Shepard put her hand over Miranda's and turned to kiss her palm, "You want some boundaries?"

Miranda nodded, "I must confess to not being entirely comfortable…"

"And there are places in my mind that you cannot go just yet for your own safety." Shepard acknowledged. "So I thought we could try… sharing senses?"

Miranda smirked in understanding, "Oh I see." She hooked her leg around Shepard's waist then flipped them over so she was on top once more, "Hence you wanting to steal me." She purred running her hand under Shepard's tank, lightly caressing the warmth of her skin.

Shepard gasped at the sudden reversal then grinned, "Would you like to join me in my quarters Miss Lawson?"

"You don't think we'd be more disturbed in your quarters?" Miranda asked curiously.

"You're the only one who doesn't use the door chime." Shepard teased.

Miranda paused, "Does that bother you?"

Shepard beamed up at her, "Miri, you are always welcome." Her smile became cheeky, "And if you happen to find yourself in my shower again…"

"Pin you to the wall and take you, I think I can handle that." Miranda purred seductively, gripping Shepard's hair and firmly tilting her head back to expose her tender throat. Leaning down she began to gently bite into that sweet spot she'd discovered previously.

Heat surged through Shepard at the provocative promise and the fierce touch, she moaned as her mind went blank beyond the overwhelming primal urge to take her mate right now. She arched up against Miranda who was pinning her to the bed, her hands gripping Miranda's shirt almost with desperation for more.

Miranda gasped at the intensity that coursed from Shepard straight to her own core, "Oh, you like that."

Shepard made an unintelligible grunt of approval.

Miranda chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind…" it would have been so easy for her to return to Shepard's throat and continue her ministrations but that wasn't what Shepard had come for. "Steph, look at me." She released her hold on Shepard's hair.

Shepard's gaze locked with hers, her breath coming quickly.

Miranda smiled and tenderly caressed her cheek, "You have something to show me in your quarters?"

Shepard cleared her throat as her thoughts came back under her control, "I… yes." She gave a slightly embarrassed chuckle, a blush colouring her cheeks, "I can honestly say I've never… reacted like that before."

Miranda winked and pulled back, sitting on the side of the bed and giving Shepard space to recover.

"You, Miri, are incredibly distracting." Shepard growled a touch ruefully.

"You, Steph, are easy to distract." Miranda returned with a smirk, getting up and sauntering over to her console to lock it as was her usual practice for whenever she left her quarters. She smiled as Shepard pressed up against her back, warm hands on her hips and soft lips pressed against her neck briefly.