Mass Effect: Cry Out For a Hero

"Sounds like you've been busy, Shepard. Sometimes I feel like I'm missing out on quite the adventure. What would make it better is that I'd be with you all the time."

"I know how you feel, Jane. Miss me?"

"So much it sometimes scares me, Shepard. I was always wary about involving myself with a fellow soldier. Just so happens that soldier then becomes a Spectre."

"You know, when my current mission is over, I might be able to convince the brass that I'll need people I can trust on my ship for any future assignments."

"Shepard, if I end up on your ship, we're just going to spend our entire time fucking… Not that I'd be complaining."

"I know you want to meet up so I'll let you know when I'm in the area. I'm not sure I'll get to Arcturus anytime soon, but if I do, I'll definitely let you know."

"Where are you going now?"

"Feros. I've got a feeling that we're going to be flying into more bullshit."

"And you'll no doubt find a woman or asari to fuck."

"Jane… You're not… I know we don't see each other much, but just the fact we're still talking. The asari are built slightly different, but I do worry about…"

"Jealousy? God no. I still have all those pictures you sent me when you fucked those two matriarchs and matron. You all looked so good together and the three of them were beautiful, Shepard. You've got wonderful taste in lovers."

"And that includes you, Jane."

"Oh, I know I'm beautiful and a fantastic fuck. The problem I have is that you have just the best dick ever and I can't get it every day."

"You tell me that all the time. I'm surprised my ego can fit through my cabin door."

"I bet those on your ship who want to fuck you think the same thing. What's her name, Ashley?"

"Yeah."

"Bet she's gagging for it. And knowing you have an asari on your ship as well, I bet you'll be kept satisfied. Swear to God that there are billions of them and at least half want to jump your bones."

"I've learned that I have at least one fan club of asari."

"They'd happily line up for the chance for you to fuck them. You'd probably cause an explosion in birth rates. Thousands of little asari as the result of you."

"And you'd be first in line?"

"Nope. I'd already be on the bed with some of your cum leaking out of me while I watched the show."

"I'll probably be back on the Citadel after this. Think you could get away?"

"I'll try though I don't want to interfere in your time with your other lovers. I can't believe you're fucking the asari councillor."

"Jane, I know how lucky I am."

Walking out into the mess the next morning, I knew we would be in the orbit of Feros by mid-morning. Ashley and Liara both smiled at me, assuming that I had a look on my face. After grabbing a tray, I found myself between my two possible future lovers. Ashley gave me another look that I knew well and I figured that trying to act innocent probably wouldn't work.

"Talk to Jane last night?" she asked.

"Yeah, we had a good chat about everything."

"Is she the woman on Arcturus?" Liara asked.

"She is. We don't see each other very often, but when we do…"

"You share the same name, don't you?" I glanced at Ashley and nodded, wondering where she was going. And she didn't hesitate when she added, "Do you get kinky about it?"

Wrex immediately understood the insinuation and roared with laughter. I knowingly smirked before I replied, "You bet your sweet little arse we do. It just makes it even better sometimes."

Liara was a little confused, so I leaned in closer to her ear and explained what I meant. She was blushing rather quickly before I met her blue eyes and smiled. "So many people get hung up on it. There's no real problem with it if you don't have children," she said, "I'm an only child, but if I had a sister or two, there's no reason why we couldn't experiment."

"And that's what I love about you asari," Wrex stated.

"What are they talking about?" Tali wondered, innocent as always.

"I'll explain it to you later, child," Wrex replied.

"What's the status on Feros, Commander?" Kaidan asked, moving the conversation along.

I cleared my throat before replying. "To be honest, I'm not sure. I've done some research about Feros but a lot of it is secret and even my Spectre access won't open doors to the information we need. All I know is that the geth have been seen in this system and on Feros. Saren has also been tracked to the vicinity. We're here to find out what he wanted and eliminate any geth we find if they remained here."

"And Shepard will no doubt try and find someone to fuck," Wrex added with humour.

"There's always Ashley or Liara if not."

"Goddess," Liara whispered before she shuffled closer towards me, "You really mean that?" she asked quietly.

I turned to see her eyes gazing at me, the pink appearing on her cheek as it was either through a little embarrassment or a sign of her arousal. I gently wrapped an arm around, pulled her closer, and left a kiss on her cheek. "I can say in front of everyone here that I definitely mean it though only when you feel ready," I replied.

"You know, despite what you're like sometimes, I think you two would be adorable together," Ashley suggested, "In fact, I think the only person that it would be completely and sickeningly adorable would be with Tali."

"Keelah," our young quarian whispered, "I mean, I've obviously never… It's just… With my suit and… There's a chance that…"

Ashely reached over to take the hand of our quarian engineer. "Tali, I'm sorry. I was only teasing."

"No. It's okay. I enjoy being involved and all. It's just… It's Shepard and he's… You know…"

"Nursing a little crush?" Ashley asked softly.

Tali immediately glanced away. My heart went out to her immediately as I understood why she'd be feeling awkward. Ashley felt the same and shuffled away from me to make space, patting the bench between us. Tali moved to sit between us, both of us wrapping an arm around her. "Feelings are natural," I assured her, "I guess coming in blasting to save the day made a good first impression?"

"And everything since," she admitted, "I mean, I don't expect… You have no idea what I'd even look like under this."

"I remember," Wrex stated, "I remember what you look like very well. And I think Shepard would be delighted should it ever come to pass."

After breakfast, I sent everyone away to prepare for landing. With no idea of what sort of welcome we were going to receive, I wasn't taking any chances. Armour. Weapons. And prepared for an immediate onslaught if required. I knew there was a small colony called Zhu's Hope that might have information for us. Though if the geth had arrived in number alongside Saren, my fear is that he could have wiped them all out.

And my fear for their safety heightened when Joker tried to hail the colony as we prepared to enter the atmosphere, hoping to receive permission to dock. But we received no communication back from the planet. We could pick up plenty of energy signatures that told us geth were on the ground, and the only positive note was that there were slight signs that people might have been alive in the colony. But it was obvious that communications had been knocked out.

My team was prepared for when Joker pulled the Normandy into dock, feeling clamps attach to the ship to keep it in place as Joker powered the ship down. I asked him to keep in touch with us as this was going to be a different mission from Noveria. I was thinking about keeping a couple of my squad back for reinforcements, but I put that thought aside. I wanted numbers in case the number of geth ahead was overwhelming.

Stepping off the ship with assault rifle in hand, I could feel some nervous tension from those behind me as we walked into the unknown. To our surprise, we were greeted by a man who didn't introduce himself nor ask any questions, simply telling us to head to the colony and speak to someone named Fai Dan.

"Geth!" Tali shouted.

Before I could react, the man was shot in the back and collapsed against me. I dragged him into cover as I heard the rest of my squad open fire. I placed him down on the ground and joined in firing at the geth closing in on us. A dozen of the fuckers though they were simple bipedal units. Tali immediately got to work overheating weapons and hacking them. We made short work of them.

By the time we finished firing, the man who had greeted us was dead.

"Well, that's a great start to things," I muttered, "Let's hope the rest of them are alive."

We met more geth before making it to the colony. And it was when we reached Zhu's Hope itself that I understood how desperate their situation was. I met Fai Dan and he was the sort of genuine, kind-hearted man this sort of colony needed. And it was obvious within minutes that he and his people needed all the help that we could give. It was so bad that I called Joker and had him send crew members and Doctor Chakwas in to help.

They had a myriad of problems. They were on the edge of starving. They had little drinking water. They needed power. And then there was the geth. They had spent weeks fighting them off though Fai Dan was left believing that the geth didn't have any intention of wiping out the colonists, it was more a case of containing them where they were.

"Have you seen a turian come through here recently?" I had to ask.

"No. There's been no one like that through here. Our main concern is that we haven't heard from anyone at ExoGeni since the geth arrived. ExoGeni are responsible for this colony, and it's the reason why we've been struggling. Without their help, I'm not sure this colony can survive," Fai Dan replied.

"Okay. What I can do is help get this colony back on its feet in some manner or other. I'll organise my squad to get the most urgent things done. I'll then need to head over to the ExoGeni building and investigate there."

I had Garrus work on restoring power alongside one of the colonists. Wrex escorted Kaidan to deal with the water problem. I had no real idea what to do with food. Given the Normandy had more than enough supplies, I had a couple of crew members give the colonists all that we could spare as I would simply return to the Citadel once this task was complete to restock. As for the geth, the rest of us set about dealing with them. They were like rats, hiding in every nook and cranny, and we found an area where they seemed to be waiting in numbers and I feared it was for the order to wipe out the colony. It was a fraught battle and the first where we took a couple of minor wounds.

It was dark by the time we finished all the most urgent of jobs. Power and water were restored. Doctor Chakwas had been busy providing help to those who needed medical treatment. We'd help wipe out the geth and Tali jerry-rigged a device that would notify us if any more geth approached the colony. The fact the colony had been starving wasn't missed by the fact that we watched all of them eagerly eat the meals that we had on offer.

"How do we get to the ExoGeni building?" I asked.

"There's an elevated road that will take you there," Arcelia replied. She appeared to be Fai Dan's number two. She hadn't exactly been welcoming upon arrival though had now mellowed at seeing all the help that we'd been able to provide, "All of this, our colony and what ExoGeni have repurposed, is all built upon Prothean ruins."

"I'm surprised that there is so much out in the open," Liara admitted, "I've always been under the impression that whatever wiped them out made sure there was little left of their legacy, at least on the surface."

I didn't miss the fact that she didn't mention the Reapers. Probably best not to mention them in front of people who simply wouldn't understand. Hell, I think people who had been told about them were still struggling to believe it. I knew that I was going to need concrete evidence eventually even if I did manage to stop Saren and the potential invasion of the galaxy.

Although I was confident that the geth had been pushed back and they probably wouldn't be stupid enough to come looking for us again, I still posted guards at the two main entry points to the colony. Wrex was happy enough to stay up as he told me more than once that he could go days without sleep. I offered to take first watch and Ashley pushed Liara towards me, suggesting that she would take the second watch with Garrus.

The main pinch point was a fair distance from the colony, Liara and I settling in for a few hours. It was as quiet as any planet that I'd been fortunate enough to visit. I wouldn't say it was peaceful. It wasn't yet though perhaps we could bring peace soon. Liara sat close to me, taking her hand and feeling how soft her skin was. She leaned against my shoulder, and I heard her sigh.

"You have softer hands than I thought you would be considering what you were doing."

"I always wore gloves, Shepard. I mean, I didn't mind having dirt under my fingernails…"

"Considering the state you were in when I found you..."

She chuckled lightly, feeling her press against me tighter. "Don't remind me! I was so embarrassed. I probably looked awful and definitely didn't smell nice."

"Well, I still thought that with a bath, you would have been gorgeous."

I glanced to see her blushing. "You mean that?"

"Liara… You're obviously incredibly bright. You've proven to be very brave since joining me. Your enthusiasm is infectious. You and Tali have brightened everyone since joining us. It's obvious that you are a special young asari. I'm glad you're with us… With me…"

She moved to straddle my lap rather quickly, her soft fingers caressing my cheek. I could sense her nerves, proven when she lightly bit her bottom lip before I made the choice and leaned forward to kiss her. She had admitted to no experience with humans, and no experience when it came to sexual matters, but she could definitely kiss. We were both in armour which made things a little awkward, but when I felt her trying to grind away on my lap, we broke the kiss together as she started to chuckle.

"Watching you with my mother, Shepard… It was the most erotic thing I've ever seen in my life. But while I was watching you with her, I was wishing it was me who was with you. I wasn't jealous of Mother. She had that look on her face that I remembered. Enjoying life and being as carefree as she used to be. I'm glad she got that look back by being with you."

"Ashley and I are waiting to be intimate. That's her decision. And it's the same for you, Liara. If you want to make love soon, all you have to do is let me know. There is no rush. Given it will be your first time, the only thing that I want to make sure is that you have a wonderful time and that it's memorable for the right reasons. Even in this modern age, a lot of people rush into sex and it's not the event they think it should have been."

"Will you meld with me when we make love?"

"Of course."

"And after we deal with Saren, you'll remain a Spectre…" She started to blush again. "I'd love to stay with you, Shepard. There's nowhere else I'd rather be, to be honest."

"Stay with me for as long as you want."

She kissed me again, eventually releasing a whimper into my mouth as I could feel her desperation for us to be naked and doing something else at the same time. I wanted to run my hands all over her naked body before doing many things to that same body with other body parts. By the time we broke apart again, we were breathing heavily and the look of desire in her eyes nearly made me growl.

We were sitting apart when Ashley and Garrus arrived to relieve us early in the morning. There was no point returning to the ship as we'd only get a few short hours of rest before we'd be up and heading towards the ExoGeni building. A small room had been prepared for me and Liara didn't hesitate in following me in. Closing the door behind us, we slowly took off our armour, Liara wearing only a bra and panties underneath. I always wore a t-shirt to soak up the sweat and underwear. I slipped off the t-shirt before Liara stepped towards me, and that first kiss we shared had me poking her rather quickly.

There was only a single cot available though plenty of blankets. I took those and laid them on the floor and grabbed what I could so we had something to rest our heads. Liara joined me as we quickly resumed making out, now enjoying the fact that I could run my hands over her body. I moved down to her neck and earned a soft moan in my ear as I felt her press her crotch against my erection.

When my hand moved down to one of her breasts, I felt her hands move and she quickly had her bra off. I met her eyes as I gently played with one of them. She had fuller breasts than I would have imagined. She kissed me eagerly as I played with her nipples, feeling them harden in my hand, another whimper as I could feel her arousal build and build.

"Shepard," she moaned.

"If we keep going, we're not going to get any sleep. But I know that I've turned you on here."

"I can feel your arousal too." Her fingers caressed my cheek. "I've already done more in the past few minutes than I've ever done before. I know you're teasing Ashley right now. I like it too."

"Do you need to cum?"

She smiled softly and moved closer to cuddle me. "I'm going to wait just a little while before you do make me cum. Goddess, I know that I'll be a mess afterwards."

Rolling over, she spooned back against me, hearing her gasp again as she pushed back against me more than once. She took my hand and rested it between her breasts as I kissed the top of her head. She shuddered as I knew how sensitive her crest would be. We eventually drifted off together.

The alarm on my omni-tool woke us the next morning. Liara immediately rolled over to face me and we shared another long, passionate kiss. It was with reluctance that we rose and quickly dressed in our armour. I think if we didn't, we'd have never left the room. Ashley noticed Liara's look and walked over towards us, a smile on her face.

"Did you?" she asked Liara.

Liara blushed though shook her head. "I wanted to desperately, but I think it was better that I waited. Just a little longer."

We ate breakfast with the colonists before Arcelia escorted us to a nearby garage. There were vehicles still in working order and she explained what we could potentially face ahead. She suggested that there might be survivors further along though with no communication channels open, they simply didn't know if anyone else had survived the geth attack.

One of the vehicles was a Mako so we loaded up inside and assumed our usual positions. The path ahead was an elevated roadway, and we could see out the window once we were on our way to see we were incredibly high above the Prothean ruins below us.

The geth were waiting for us in considerable numbers. Ashley quickly had the cannon firing with Kaidan blasting away with the machine gun. Garrus was constantly calling out new energy signatures as geth drop ships were dropping all manner of different machines in our way. Tali was keeping the shields as high as possible as I did my best to almost drift the Mako whenever a rocket or missile was fired in our direction.

As we progressed, communication channels started to open, and we could hear all sorts of chatter. Gunfire in the distance suggested that we had allies ahead though that simply brought geth firepower upon them at the same time. We heard other chatter that suggested people from ExoGeni might have survived. Or they were separate colonists though Fai Dan hadn't mentioned that. The only name we heard mentioned was that of a Lizbeth Baynham. That name meant nothing to us so that confirmed for me that the survivors were from ExoGeni.

Pulling into some sort of halfway house, I parked up the Mako and we checked the perimeter for any geth before we followed the sound of voices. It was there that we found more survivors and the sense of relief could be felt immediately. I walked towards those in charge as they were in the middle of quite a heated discussion.

"Commander Shepard. Council Spectre. What's your status?"

The clothing they wore had the emblem of ExoGeni on their chests. I glanced around and noticed those signs of shock any civilian would suffer when faced with near-certain death. I gestured for Liara, Ashley and Kaidan to speak with some of them.

"A human Spectre? We must have been cut off longer than I thought. Thank you for coming, Commander. I'm Juliana Baynham."

"And you?" I asked to the man with her.

"Jeong. Ethan Jeong. I know who you are, Commander. I had a dossier recently land on my desk about you."

"Ah, I guess that wouldn't come as any surprise after Saren's attack on Eden Prime."

"I don't know anyone by the name of Saren," he retorted.

"Yeah, I'm sure you don't." I turned back to Juliana. "Okay, what's the situation? I need to get to ExoGeni…"

"That is private property. You are not…"

"Council Spectre, idiot. I can go where I want. Now, Juliana…"

"We've been cut off here since the geth attack. So many of us died…" She stopped and took a deep breath to contain her emotions. "There's no doubt they're all over our building now. And then there's my daughter. Lizbeth. She must still be in there, hiding away. When we were making our escape, she insisted on saving data that she needed. We got split up and I haven't seen her since."

"If you do anything to interfere…"

"Jeong, I'm going to put this in a simple way that you will understand. Get in my way and I will put you down. I hate corporate bullshit and the idiots that peddle that bullshit. Remember, Council Spectre. I am authorised to use any means necessary to bring criminals to justice. And trust me on this, Jeong. If I find that crimes have been committed here…"

"We'll sue you!"

I snorted and even Juliana managed to laugh. "Ignore him, Commander. What's most important is that you kill the geth and, if you can, please find my daughter."

"I'll do what I can, but I need to know what the geth wanted here."

The rest of the day was an absolutely fucking slog. We had to get back into the Mako for another drive towards the ExoGeni building itself, the geth waiting for us in even larger numbers than before. It was so bad that I allowed Wrex out of the Mako to go and cause havoc. We were moving so slowly that he could use the Mako for cover.

By the time we pulled into the garage of the ExoGeni building, Tali had done her best to keep the shields up, but the sustained firepower had almost overwhelmed us. We checked over the vehicle to see numerous scuff and burn marks. Thankfully, the Mako was still in one piece and in working order. We'd managed to get back to Zhu's Hope in the end.

It was an infestation of geth. We took a few out first before we found a survivor, introducing herself as Lizbeth Baynham. She was relieved to see us and grateful to hear news that her mother and others had survived. When I asked her what ExoGeni was doing on the planet, I was surprised by her honesty.

"The geth are probably here for the Thorian," she replied, "ExoGeni found it ages ago and were very excited."

"What is it?"

"I have no idea. If anyone does, it'll be someone like Jeong."

"Met him. He's an arsehole."

Lizbeth managed a chuckle. "That and then some. How safe is it out there now?"

"The best thing you can do is take cover in our Mako. We need to clear this building of geth and I want more information. We'll drive you back to your mother when our job is done here."

She handed me her pass and told me to take whatever I could find. "I tell you one thing, Commander. These people in charge… They're bastards. Real bastards. I joined up because the idea of exploring space alongside my mother sounded thrilling, and building colonies for people to live in was an ideal. But something just stinks with all of this."

We entered the building and began our systematic clearance of anything we could find. Lots of geth which we all took delight in eliminating. Tali particularly enjoyed causing carnage in their defensive lines, while we'd long discovered they were susceptible to biotics. There was nothing funnier than seeing geth floating through the air, making them incredibly easy to take down.

Finding a krogan was a slight surprise though we'd already met a few krogan who had been working for Saren. I'd asked Wrex as to why and he admitted that they would simply join up with him on the promise of credits. He'd been a bounty hunter and had spent centuries travelling the galaxy simply to make money.

The krogan had been questioning a VI, and using the pass Lizbeth gave us, the VI was an absolute treasure trove of all the information that we required regarding the colony and the Thorian.

"That lying little bitch," I muttered as I learned very quickly that Lizbeth knew exactly what the Thorian was and why ExoGeni had been so interested in it. Mind control. No doubt hoping it would work better, unlike the rachni queen. While that avenue of mind control had gone tits up, it looked like the Thorian's mind control properties worked as the colonists in Zhu's Hope were its unwitting test subjects.

"This is disgusting, Commander," Kaidan stated.

"We're taking these fuckers down, aren't we, Commander?" Ashley asked.

"You bet that sweet little arse of yours we are, Chief."

"You always say the nicest things, Commander."

"Right. We all noticed that geth ship on the side of the building? I reckon that's the one thing fucking with trying to communicate off-world. You agree with that assessment, Tali?"

"I do, Shepard."

"Good. So we take out the ship and we can get in contact with the Normandy and then spread news of what's going on here. Because this is fucked up. Binary Helix was one thing. This is a whole other manner of evil."

"What about the Thorian?" Garrus wondered, "Think we should find that, Shepard?"

"Excellent question, and that's a categorical yes. We find it, try and talk to it, or we deal with it. What we do is help the colonists. Understood?"

They all did, and we got back to work. It was one hell of a fucking brutal slog up the building. I don't think anyone bothered counting how many geth were put down in the subsequent couple of hours. The geth fought back ferociously and employed all the tech attacks they had at their disposal. I heard weapons overheating more than once. Those of us with tech abilities did their best to keep us safe. The worst was when they managed to take down our shields. And that's when they did score hits of their own.

Garrus was at our rear covering us with a sniper rifle yet he was the first to take a hit in the leg. Medi-gel worked its usual wonders, but it still left him limping though Doctor Chakwas would provide further aid later. Ashley took a hit in the shoulder; despite the thick body armour she wore. Tali was bounded at the hip and had to stop, her hands shaking as she did her best to seal the wound. We all surrounded her to keep her safe.

"You're incredibly brave," Ashley said softly, giving the quarian a quick hug as we all understood Tali's fear of infection. She'd told us about her life lived in a suit. "Are you okay?"

"I don't think anything got in. I'll dose up on antibiotics if I need to though."

While we fought, we were busy checking any information terminals that were still working. We found evidence that ExoGeni had been sending Thorian samples off-world. I kept that in mind as I knew that I'd have to send that information to the Alliance. They could take care of that. There was also information about ExoGeni sending samples to an organisation known as Cerberus.

"Ever heard of them?" I had to ask, "I know the name though only that they're listed as a terrorist organisation."

"I'm fairly sure they used to be some sort of black ops department that went rogue," Kaidan suggested.

"I'll send this to the Alliance for them to deal with. No idea what Cerberus would want with them, but if they're working with ExoGeni, I have no doubt it's something totally fucked up."

There was no doubt that most of us burned with anger at the discoveries we'd made as we worked forward against the geth. The bastards didn't know what hit them as we focused on the clamps holding their ship to the side of the building. They seemed to realise what we were doing, but instead of trying to fly their ship away, they simply sent floods of geth units in our direction. We had to eliminate a force field that prevented us from making it to the final clamp, and it was there that a couple of the big geth units waited for us. They were a bitch to take down, Tali, Kaidan and Garrus combining their tech attacks while Ashley and I kept them back through sustained gunfire.

When we put the last big fucker down, we destroyed the final clamp and I could imagine the scene outside of the geth ship falling far to the ground below.

"Commander! Commander! Are you reading me, Commander?"

"Joker? What's going on?"

"Bedlam, Commander! The colonists have gone crazy and started attacking some of the crew. They retreated to the ship, no injuries reported, but the colonists are now banging on the door."

"Copy that, Joker. They can't get on so leave them be. They're not of sound mind. There's something nearby that now knows we're here and wants to stop us."

"I'll send word that we're to remain on board. But hearing them banging away…"

We made our way back down the building towards the garage where we'd left the Mako. Lizbeth was waiting for us nearby, took one look at my face as her eyes met mine, and I think she was ready to start running away.

"I'm sorry," she stated quickly, "I know I… It's just…"

"Shepard," Ashley murmured, "Just a look and you've scared the shit out of the girl. Maybe we should let her explain?"

We took a seat on the rubble as I sent Garrus and Wrex to watch the perimeter. I knew geth likely still lurked nearby though if they had any brains they'd be in full retreat by now and looking to get off the planet.

"Okay, Lizbeth. You have one chance to tell me the truth. I don't like being lied to."

"First thing is that I stayed back for a reason. I wanted to get a message off-world to the authorities about what happened here. Some of us never agreed with what those in charge wanted to do to those colonists. Me and my mother were the most outspoken. I'd just been suspended from duties when the geth arrived."

She then explained what the Thorian was, what it could do, its possible age and how it had survived for so long, and why the colonists were chosen as its targets. When I asked who was responsible for many of these decisions, her eyes darkened with fury.

"His name is Jeong. He was the one who pushed for the colonists to be used as test subjects. I've never seen someone so excited at the idea of… I know what this company is capable of, Commander. There are those of us who helped the colonists before, and if this colony is to survive, we'll need to remain here and help it continue."

"What if ExoGeni pull their funding?" Ashley asked.

"The colonists are resourceful, and some of us have already spent time helping establish the colony. To be honest, without ExoGeni overseeing us, the colony will struggle for a little while but will likely thrive in the end."

"I'm going to tell the Alliance everything, Lizbeth," I warned her, "I will leave certain names out of it if I can find proof that certain people were not involved. But that's under the proviso that you're now telling me the truth."

"I am. I promise. I can send you data about what I found myself and also the correspondence regarding my suspension with the reasons why."

We loaded up into the Mako and began our journey back to Zhu's Hope with a pitstop to help the others. Any hopes that it would be a quiet journey ended rather quickly as the geth appeared to be making some sort of final stand to prevent our return. Ashley and Kaidan lit them up with our weapons while I finally thought 'Fuck it' and started to just run them over. I sent more than one flying over the edge of the roadway, much to my amusement.

Halfway to the ExoGeni survivors, we got a message from Juliana asking anyone for help. We then heard Jeong cut her off from the radio and a struggle seemed to ensue. Juliana's voice returned and she put out a general distress call.

"Please hurry, Commander," Lizbeth pleaded.

The Mako hadn't even skidded to a stop when Lizbeth had the hatch open and she disappeared. We hurried after her, weapons in hand, no idea what we were going to find. It was only when we heard shouting that we slowed down and approached cautiously, taking cover as I noticed Jeong pacing around with a pistol in hand, and I noticed that a couple of the guards were holding the rest of the group at gunpoint.

"I'm the ExoGeni representative on this planet and my word is law!" Jeong shouted, "If ExoGeni wants this colony purged, that is what is going to happen. And when they want something purged, that means no witnesses."

"That's enough, Jeong," I stated as we stood up together out of cover and approached him.

"Commander? You're alive?" Then he looked smug for some reason. "As soon as the channels re-opened, I was inundated with information about you. You're nothing but a thug. Some would even call you a murderer. You're no better than me."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe go fuck yourself. But the colonists are not going to die, Jeong."

He laughed almost manically. "You don't understand, Shepard. It has to be done. It's been ordered. And I always follow orders."

The idiot then raised his weapon in my direction. I raised mine and shot him through the forehead. He dropped to the ground as I heard other weapons raised and aimed at the other guards. Wisely, they dropped their weapons, held up their hands, and backed away.

"Shit. Shepard, Jeong was an arsehole, but he could have bankrolled this colony," Juliana stated.

"I'm a Spectre and I already have plenty of friends that can provide the resources you will need," I stated reassuringly, "Would you mind if the Asari Republics were to provide assistance?'

I heard some chuckles from my squad. "I think Lady Tessia would move mountains to assist anything that Commander Shepard asks," Liara added.

As the group moved back towards the Mako, the half dozen guards approached me cautiously. I wasn't worried about them attacking me. In fact, they looked downright scared. "Commander, we were only doing what he told us to do," one of them said as he gestured towards the body of Jeong, "I know that's no excuse, but he was right about one thing. If ExoGeni wanted this place purged, that means we were all expendable. Everyone excluding him."

"What do you want?"

"We know that the colonists and everyone else would have no reason to trust us, but we have nowhere else to go. We did our best to fight off the geth, but we're guards, not soldiers. But what we can do is provide security for the colony after you're gone. It's going to be difficult enough now that ExoGeni are likely going to pull the plug."

"Fine. Wait here for now. I'll have someone call you forward when we've secured the path."

"Thank you, Commander. We can reassure you that we'll earn the trust of everyone and help wherever we can."

As I joined my squad in the Mako, Lizbeth and Juliana had joined us. Before I started the engine, Juliana told me about how the colonists were affected by the Thorian and asked if it would be possible for us to use non-lethal measures. I assured her that would have been the case regardless.

"Chief, I have smoke and flash bangs. You got the same?"

"Affirmative."

"Garrus, what have you got?"

"Smoke and frag. I'll only use smoke."

"I've got small gas canisters, Commander," Kaidan reported, "They'll feel a little woozy afterwards."

The geth made their final stand between there and the colony. I was amazed at the sheer weight of numbers. Wrex was out to fight them again, and I was laughing away as he flung geth this way and that. Ashley had geth flying all over the place with some well-aimed cannon fired. And Kaidan was having the time of his life.

It was slow progress, and by the time we made it back to the garage, the shields had long since failed and the Mako had started to smoke from the damage taken. We stepped out cautiously, Lizbeth and Juliana looking rather pale. We'd barely had time to take stock when we noticed colonists approaching us, and it was obvious that they were under the influence of the Thorian.

"Non-lethal only," I ordered, "We put them down but try not to hurt them too much. No one dies. Understand?"

They did and we worked carefully going forward. The grenade tactic worked best, smoke grenades allowing us to get close, the gas canisters that Kaidan had at his disposal knocking a few people out without needing to get close. The flashbangs worked when colonists were holed up in small rooms, leaving them disoriented so we could get in and disable them. They'd be left with sore heads from knocking them out, but it was better than being dead.

We left a trail of unconscious colonists behind us. Lizbeth and Juliana had remained with the Mako for safety, so we didn't have to worry about them. The colonists nearer the centre of the colony were dug in and it took some interesting throwing techniques to make sure the grenades were effective. It was a close-run thing a couple of times as the colonists were shooting at us, but it was obvious the Thorian controlling them had affected their motor skills. Most of their shooting was wild and wide.

Assembled in the middle of the colony, I was assessing the situation when I heard a voice from nearby. It was Fai Dan and he walked towards me with a weapon in hand, aimed straight at me.

"It wants me to kill you, Shepard," he stated, "It knows you're a threat to it."

I didn't raise my weapon as I knew Fai Dan wouldn't shoot me. The Thorian? Probably.

"You don't want to kill me," I replied.

"It has no reason to trust you. It knows what you want. It won't give it to you, Shepard. It… I must…" He released a cry of anguish and pain before his eyes met mine. "I won't, Shepard. I won't."

Before I could draw and shoot, possibly to save him, he put the pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. I heard a couple of cries behind me as I stepped forward and caught his body. I hoped that we'd seen it wrong, that he'd faked out the Thorian. But the hole in the side of his head and the glassy look already in his eyes told me that he was gone.

"Brave to the end," I whispered, "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve this fate."

"We'll bury him here, Commander," Arcelia stated softly, looking up to see her rubbing her head, "He wasn't born here, but this was his home. This is where he should rest for eternity."

"Did you know about the Thorian?"

She looked confused before asking, "What's the Thorian?"

"Don't worry. You just confirmed what I already assumed."

The Thorian must have pulled back its influence as we were soon joined by woozy and rather sore colonists. I sent a message to the Normandy, Doctor Chakwas and some of the crew returning quickly to provide assistance. The six guards that I'd left behind arrived a couple of hours later and I put them to work as security though I reasoned that the geth would now be withdrawing in full. They had no reason to remain as we knew all the secrets that Feros had to offer.

It had been an incredibly long day, and I had our squad return to the ship for the rest of the evening. I was in desperate need of a shower and was enjoying a hot one when I heard the door to my small bathroom opening, turning to see Liara as naked as I'd ever seen her, a small smile on her face as she saw me completely naked as well.

"You are so fucking hot," I murmured before I pulled her towards me and kissed her. We mixed making out with washing each other as I enjoyed running my hands from her crest to her feet and everywhere in between. Her pussy was an absolute work of art and her scent was beyond arousing. I wanted to do a lot more, but I knew now wasn't the time. We would be up early in the morning to go and meet the Thorian.

What made me laugh was hearing the door open again and Ashley stood there. She started to laugh before she said, "Fuck it, I'm in."

Liara moved aside enough that Ashley could mould herself into me and we shared a passionate kiss. What I didn't expect next was Ashley to look at Liara and then they shared a kiss. I think my dick got harder seeing that.

"I didn't think you liked women as in fucking them," I said.

"Liara is an asari, not a woman. Well, I mean, she's got tits and a pussy… I bet it's a lovely pussy as well. I'm surprised you're not already on his bed with his head between your legs, Liara."

"Would you do that too, Ash?" Liara wondered.

"I'd try anything once."

"You know I'd like to return the favour."

"Well, I know Shepard loves my pussy so I'm sure you'd enjoy it too."

We fell silent before Liara whispered, "I just needed a hug after everything. What happened…"

Ashley shook her head. "Me too."

I hugged them both to me, hearing them both sigh as they held me tightly in return. "I know you wear a thick armour and portray the tough modern woman, Ash. Understand and accept it. But if you ever need time like this, just a moment to release some feelings in private, I have an open-door policy. I don't broadcast that, but my door will rarely be locked. You need to come in and cry on my shoulder, do so. And the same for you, Liara. I know we've dealt with things already that are incredibly upsetting. Don't lock it down."

"And you, Shepard?" Ashley retorted.

I understood why. "It's different for me, Ash, and you know it. I'm the leader. Yes, I have emotions, and most of the time, I don't let those emotions influence my decisions. But I'm also human and I will make mistakes. I'm not perfect. Far from it."

We dried ourselves off a few minutes later before moving over to my bed. Liara cuddled me to one side, Ashley to the other. It was only after we were lying in silence for a few minutes that I felt my shoulder get wet, Ashley tightening her grip around my torso as she cried quietly for a few seconds.

"Thank you," she whispered, "I feel better for that. I wanted to do that after Eden Prime, but I just buried it all down."

I kissed her forehead before doing the same to Liara. "I've put my alarm on early for the morning. It's going to be another long day."

When we walked out of my quarters the next morning together, Wrex took one look and burst into laughter, slapping the table in front of him. Tali giggled next to him while Doctor Chakwas had that twinkle in her eye that I'd seen more than once. Garrus shook his head while even Kaidan couldn't hide his amusement.

"No," I stated, "It was a long day and all we did was sleep."

"And shower together," Liara added happily.

"It was a nice shower, wasn't it?" Ashley said as the pair moved away to get breakfast.

Joining them to grab a tray for breakfast, I heard Ashley ask Liara, "Can I be with you for your first time?"

Liara glanced at me and I shrugged as I figured it should be her decision. She smiled before looking back at Ashley. "I'd love it if you were with us, Ash."

"I watched him with Helena. It was the hottest thing ever. Just watching his big cock piston inside her pussy and seeing the absolute joy on her face while he was doing so. Fuck… I'm turned on now just thinking about it."

"I watched my mother bouncing on his dick when we were back on the Citadel. I stayed to watch them. I've never seen my mother looking so happy, and I know that she'd never had a big cock inside her before. I wanted to get on him after she got off in more ways than one."

"Why didn't you?" Ashley wondered.

"I guess that I was still a little scared. But while I'm still nervous, I want to lose it with him."

"I don't blame you. Shepard's going to be my first in what feels like forever. I know he's going to make me cum so hard then I'm just going to cry because it'll be so good."

"You know we can just make the Thorian wait for another day," I joked as I think they forgot I was standing next to them.

We finished breakfast before Doctor Chakwas asked if she could have a quick word. I was thinking that she was going to advise caution, or evening subtly rebuke me for what was going on. Instead, she shut the door to the med-bay and locked it before we sat on opposite sides of her desk. She met my eyes and smiled.

"Don't worry, Commander. I just want to say that it's actually rather refreshing to see people so open in their obvious infatuation with each other. If this was still an Alliance vessel, I would have only advised caution as although fraternisation isn't the big deal that it used to be, it's still advised not to happen between officers and non-officers. But given your position as a Spectre, I think the rules go out the window."

"But are you going to give me a subtle warning or something?"

"Not exactly, I'm just trying to read the situation. Ashley is tough as nails but there is a soft heart underneath that shell she's built around herself. She needs to be loved. I'm aware that word is difficult for you, Commander, and I understand. So at least show her love."

"I will."

"As for Liara, that young asari is beyond smitten with you. Not only are you her dashing hero that flew in to rescue her, but it's obvious you enjoy her company in return. And the sexual chemistry you are going to share in the future is enough to make an old woman like me jealous."

"I think Helena was around your age, Doc," I said with a smile.

"I'm well aware of what you were up to with Miss Blake, Commander. I was a little jealous about that. But I wish to keep things professional between us. Don't get me wrong, I have thoughts and I'll have many more in the future. But I'm here because the most important thing is that I believe in you and want to give you my full support."

"Thanks, Doc. That means a hell of a lot."

She leaned forward and took my hand, surprised at how soft hers was. "Even after you've dealt with Saren, I'm going to ask for an official transfer to remain with you, Commander. And I don't think I'll be the only one."

"All the more reason to make sure I catch that turian bastard."

I met up with the squad as we prepared for the mission ahead. Everyone put on their armour. Grabbed weapons, grenades, shield packs and any other supplies we might need. We strode out of the ship and back towards the colony. They'd prepared for our return as the hidden entrance to the Thorian's lair was now revealed. The colonists gathered around us to wish us good luck. I could sense that the influence of the Thorian had worn off though that didn't mean the threat was over. I was under no illusion that the Thorian knew we were coming and would now go on the attack.

The Thorian was… ugly. I mean horrifically ugly. It was like nothing that I'd seen before. I could have only assumed that it was some sort of sentient plant being. The research by ExoGeni had suggested that the Thorian had spread right across the surface of Feros.

Before I could even think of trying to communicate with the Thorian, it spat something out which was quickly revealed to be a green-skinned asari.

"Shiala?" Liara whispered behind me.

"Who?"

"Later, Shepard. But if it's not Shiala, it's an almost perfect clone of her."

Liara later mentioned it almost sounded like Shiala as the Thorian talked to us through the asari clone. "The Thorian demands you respect and display your awe at its power," the clone stated.

I laughed. I couldn't help it. I laughed. I sensed some humour from behind me as I finally replied. "Okay, you tell the big guy that I'll even get on my knees and show wonderment if he shows at least a modicum of cooperation."

"What is it you want?"

"I know Saren was here. I want to know what for and why."

"The Thorian is an ancient being that exceeds the age of numerous civilisations that have come before it, including who you call the Protheans. The Thorian has absorbed the essence of the Protheans, all their knowledge, and has used it for its own purposes. The one you call Saren arrived here in the quest for that knowledge and proposed an exchange. An asari and to be left alone for all the knowledge of the Protheans."

"And I'm guessing shit went sideways after the exchange?"

"You are correct. The Thorian fulfilled the bargain, but Saren attacked. It was done on purpose to ensure the one called Shepard would not receive the same information. The Thorian has since learned that you are Shepard. You will not receive the information you desire. The Thorian will no longer trust any meat bags."

And that started another incredibly long day of fighting. The Thorian produced what felt like hundreds of creepy-looking monsters that were a real bitch to take down. They were almost immune to biotics. We knew that we also had to take out the Thorian itself, and as we descended further, we noticed that the Thorian had latched itself to pillars of the building. When we focused on them, we heard the growl and more of the creepy monster things were sent to stop us.

With little space to work in, we all switched to shotguns and formed a firing line. We added grenades to add to the carnage, and the monsters wilted under our sustained firepower and we made our forward methodically. Each time we took out one of the tentacles that the Thorian had attached to a pillar, an asari clone would appear from some sort of sac nearby and attack us. I knew that was upsetting Liara as I had a feeling that she had known Shiala rather well. And that had me wondering if Shiala was even still alive. And if Liara knew her, had she been one of Benezia's acolytes?

We descended into the bowels of the building, continuing to attack the Thorian where possible, and we must have killed hundreds of his monsters. I could hear creaking and more than once checked to see that the Thorian was starting to falter. If we shot a couple more of its tentacles, it was going to fall into the abyss. What lay below, I didn't care. I didn't care if died. Frankly, it was too dangerous to be left alive.

It must have taken hours to make it to what felt like a bottom level. There was nowhere else to go. We all fired at a nearby tentacle and when it was loosened from the pillar, we heard a roar. Walking to the edge, we arrived just in time to see the Thorian fall, glancing over the edge to see it disappear into the darkness. After that, I could only assume it was dead.

"Hmmm. I wonder if I should tell the Council about that," I muttered.

"Shepard!" Ashley called, turning around to see an asari collapse from a nearby sac.

She rose to her feet and was violet-skinned compared to all the green-skinned clones that we'd seen before. Noticing the group of heavily armed people in front of her, I could see the fear in her eyes. The leathers she wore suggested that she was an asari commando.

"Shiala?" Liara asked, "Is that you?"

"Liara?"

I didn't stop the two asari from hugging each other. Liara hugged her tightly as Shiala hugged her though her eyes didn't avert from me. I had a feeling that she knew exactly who I was. "Liara, if he'll allow it, we'll talk in private later. But I think the Commander has questions for me."

Liara stood alongside what must have been her friend as Shiala looked me up and down. "Saren suggested that you were formidable, Commander. I don't think he anticipated the demise of the Thorian though I don't think the Thorian expected it either."

"I can only imagine you were one of Matriarch Benezia's acolytes?"

"Correct, Commander. I formerly served her until that service was transferred to the Thorian. Now that it is dead, I no longer serve anyone. It is an unusual feeling."

"Easiest question to ask is why was Saren here? What was he looking for?"

"The Thorian carried the cipher. It is the only way the species of this cycle can understand the Prothean beacons. It helped him understand the message the Protheans were trying to send."

"And your role in this?"

"It's simple. I was offered in exchange. The Thorian wanted as much knowledge of the asari and this cycle as it could possibly learn. Saren knows that with the cipher you would begin the search for the Conduit. Saren attacked the Thorian to prevent you from learning any of this. To show you that I mean you no harm, I am willing to give you the cipher."

"You know it too?"

"When I was given to the Thorian, it started to take all of my knowledge. In return, I started to learn about the knowledge it had. I can give you all the information you require about the cipher. During our meld, I anticipate that it will clear up any previous visions you've had from other beacons."

"Um, now or later? It's just when I usually meld…"

Shiala's jaw dropped before she smiled. "Oh, well… I mean…"

"I think Shiala is trying to say that melding later would be for the best, Shepard," Liara added, "I'm just glad that you're alive, Shiala. Was Mother here with you?"

"No, I was sent here with Saren and numerous other acolytes. Liara, what Benezia was doing… Is she still alive?"

"Alive and well, and we've cured her indoctrination. You do realise what's going on, right?"

"I'm glad Benezia is well though I don't know if I wish to see her again anytime soon. I do not appreciate being sacrificed in such a manner." She looked back towards me. "What do you plan on doing with me, Shepard? I mean after the cipher exchange."

"What would you like to do?"

"For saving me, part of me would like to offer you my services."

"I bet you would," Ashley joked, "You wouldn't be the first asari to do that."

"But while I could do that, I feel terrible for what the Thorian has done to the people who lived on the surface. I sensed everything they were going through. The guilt is horrible, Shepard. To start, I want to stay and help them thrive. Would that be possible?"

"Absolutely. I think they'd be grateful for the help. I don't particularly like lying to them, but I think we'll leave aside certain things. Technically, you were a prisoner of the Thorian. I can't exactly imagine you were eager to be offered in exchange."

"Far from it, Shepard, but Saren had such influence on me… And Benezia…"

"Good enough for me. Let's head back to the surface, tell the colonists the good news, and make sure they are at least in some sort of state to at least survive before we leave. It'll be straight back to the Citadel as we're going to need supplies. We're going to leave these people absolutely everything we can to make sure they have a good chance."

It was a tiring walk back up to the surface as it had been a proper slog on the way down. We were all feeling the strain by the time we felt fresh air, the colonists quickly gathering around to ask about the fate of the Thorian and what we discovered. There were some tears of sheer relief that the situation was now resolved, and I received more than one quick hug and kiss on the cheek as everyone agreed that a small celebration was called for, quickly adding that it would also be a time to celebrate Fai Dan and all he had done for the colony. Arcelia told me in private minutes later that it was his sheer will and determination that had kept the colony going, even when the Thorian had been influencing them.

While most of my squad and crew were shoreside with the colonists, Shiala took my hand and led me away. I suggested my ship for privacy. Only Joker was still on board with a couple of other crew members. I had asked if he wanted to join in but he admitted to concern about walking around too much.

Walking towards my private cabin, Shiala didn't hesitate in pressing into my body and that first kiss was definitely a sign of more to come. "Thank you, Shepard," she whispered, "Do you make a habit of rescuing helpless asari?"

"Well… Actually, when I think about it…"

She kissed me again as she helped me take off my armour first until I was just in my t-shirt and underwear. She was still in her commando leathers, explaining it was a full-body suit and all I needed to do to get her naked was undo the zip at her back. It would go all the way to her arse and all she would need to do is shimmy out of it.

Once she was naked, my t-shirt and underwear joined her leathers, feeling her hand quickly wrap around my cock. "I've been in service to Benezia for most of my life. All of my lovers were asari," she explained, "I've been curious about what males of the galaxy have and what it would feel like."

"Do asari usually make love while melding?"

"Not always, but the way Liara looked at you when I mentioned it. That young asari… Well, I'm guessing you already know, but I can assure you that her devotion and loyalty to you is absolute, Shepard."

"And would you come and join me in the future?"

"In a heartbeat. And I think that idea will solidify once we've melded, and I learned about you even more."

We resumed making out and moved onto the bed, Shiala underneath me as I felt her fingers run all over my body. She mentioned more than once how different I felt from an asari. I had hair up my arms and legs, a light covering on my chest and even over my butt. Hair on my head, my eyebrows were not particularly thick, and I usually had a couple of days of growth on my face as I didn't shave daily. As for Shiala, it was obvious that she kept herself fit. A toned torso and fantastic legs, appreciating everything that she had to offer as I slowly kissed down her body.

Her nipples were dark purple compared to her violet skin. I hadn't met too many asari of that colour, a sign they came in different colours just like humans. She moaned as I teased her breasts, nibbling at each nipple numerous times which made her giggle. I kissed down her tummy until I reached just above her groin. I felt her legs spread wider and her scent made its way into my nose. I groaned as her scent was lovely. I'll say it again, the scent of an asari was almost like some sort of delicious fruit back on Earth. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"Do you like doing it, Shepard?" she asked.

"I love doing it. I can't wait until I show Liara everything that I can do."

"Shepard, you do that and she's going to fall in love with you immediately."

I took a moment before I said, "To be honest, that idea doesn't scare me now like it would have once done. Although, you know, it would be difficult…"

She sat up and kissed me softly on the lips. "Don't explain, I'll learn later. Can you lick me for now, please? My body is yours, Shepard. Not just tonight either. When I feel that my work is done here, I will pledge my service to you. Forever."

"You mean that?" The look in her eyes meant that she didn't need to verbalise her answer. "Okay. I'll just remember that for later."

The moan she released as I ran my tongue along her slit made me smile. She spread her legs wider and kept her head raised to watch me while I ate her pussy. I couldn't help groaning as I savoured her taste. Her hips were soon moving quickly and I knew that she wasn't going to last long until her first orgasm. Although I was concentrating on her, I did think about how many asari I had now been with since my first. It made me chuckle as I was making quite the list of asari lovers.

Honestly, I now absolutely adore the asari as a people. No doubt friendly. Hearts on their sleeve. Wonderful to be around. Sexually liberated. But there was a determination and focus that was the reason why they led the galaxy.

Shiala whimpered before her first orgasm tore through her body. She begged me not to stop as I slipped two fingers into her pussy and quickly had her second orgasm arriving. Her back arched as I focused on just my fingers, leaning up to kiss her as I felt her fingers move up to my back and dig in.

"Fuck," she moaned softly, "Right there, Shepard. That's the spot. Right there. Fuck, I can't wait to feel that big dick inside me."

"If you're like the other asari I've fucked, I bet you're lovely and tight as well."

She snorted before releasing the sort of giggle that was like a dagger to the heart. "We're lovely and tight for the sort of man like you, Shepard," she said softly, "We don't just have relationships with other species because it's a good idea. We love and we love deeply. But we also just really love to fuck."

I moved back down and resumed pleasuring her as I just had a feeling it was exactly what she needed after what she had endured. To make her feel loved and safe before we departed. I flicked her clit with my tongue and it sent a jolt through her body before she told me exactly how she liked it teased. Whimpers and moans echoed around my cabin again as one orgasm after the other tore through her body before she almost sobbed for me to make love to her.

Slowly kissing up her body, our eyes met as she felt the head of my cock press against her. "I'll be gentle," I assured her, "I'm aware many of you still don't have experience with males of any sort."

"Liara is going to be so lucky, Shepard," she said softly, "Do me one favour. I know love might be difficult but love her for me. And for Benezia."

"Um…"

She put a finger to my lips. "I'll find out. And I won't care. Benezia… She wasn't who she was. If you helped her return to who she was, then you'll have my thanks."

I carefully slid the head of my cock inside Shiala, my eyes on hers as the sheer look of delight had me smiling before I inched my cock slowly inside her until I was buried. It took a couple of minutes to figure out how to move her body, but once she did, it was like we'd been making love for years. We made out constantly as we enjoyed our first time together simply enjoying the physical act.

When I did finally cum, I hadn't lasted all that long though I don't think Shiala cared, feeling her legs wrap around me, her ankles crossing over as I continued to pump her as I felt an enormous load erupt from my cock. "That's different," she whispered in humour, "But it feels really fucking good to know you just enjoyed an orgasm inside me too."

We remained joined and continued to make out as my cock remained hard. Shiala enjoyed the feeling and moved her hips, making herself moan as the smile on her face barely wavered. I gazed into her eyes and felt that familiar surge of feeling, this feeling of wanting to protect her. She seemed to sense my thoughts and kissed me hard, rolling onto my back and she continued to lean forward kissing me.

Now that we'd made love, I explained the position that I'd used previously to meld with others. She was aware and we got into position, me cross-legged on the bed, Shiala sitting on my lap and wrapping her arms and legs around me before she sank her pussy back down on my cock. The sheer delight on her face was something I would remember for the rest of my days.

"Are you ready, Shepard?"

"I'll share everything with you, Shiala. It's fair to say you've well and truly earned my trust as well."

She looked away and I heard her sniffle. I pulled her tighter to me and her arms squeezed me tightly. "I needed to hear that," she admitted, "I'm so glad that Liara was with us too. I loved seeing her again."

"I'll make sure you have time together before we leave."

We kissed again as I felt her hips slowly move. She met my gaze, and her fingers caressed my cheek. I could see that she was already developing feelings for me. Then her eyes darkened before she whispered the words that I already knew very well.

Before sharing the cipher, she showed me her life. The devotion she had to Benezia, but the one thing I felt was one of absolute love for Benezia. She had been completely devoted to her, willing to follow her every command. And Benezia had loved her just as much in return. No, it was not the love of two people that had sex. Shiala enjoyed sex with other acolytes of Benezia but never with her mistress.

I showed Shiala my life and felt sadness from her. I knew my life had been shit while growing up, and my life in the service hadn't been easy. I sent feelings to Shiala for her not to feel sad. I had met many asari just like her that were certainly helping me discover more positive feelings and I was now excited about where my life was heading.

"Shepard… I know I will fall in love with you eventually. Just a warning…"

"As they said in the old song, I want to know what love is. I think that there are people in my life…"

"Ashley… Liara… Benezia… Kira… Naira… Shepard, all these women and asari… If they don't already love you, they will. If you feel more comfortable with them admitting feelings first, that is okay. As I said, asari love deeply and they love forever. Liara is still so young. She will carry you in her heart for nearly nine hundred years."

"And you?"

"More nights like this, and just showing me… love…"

She then handed over the cipher. I didn't quite understand it all before she searched my mind, and we experienced my vision together. And that's when I felt her unbridled terror and I knew she was clutching me tightly and crying. I reassured her that I was going to win and not let this happen, but with everything that had happened to her, I understood her fear. She gently broke the meld and she was holding me so tightly that I kissed her cheek and spent a couple of minutes whispering reassuring words in her ear.

Moving together, I ended up on my back as Shiala took a deep breath to calm herself before she slowly resumed riding me. Bliss returned to her face as my hands explored her body again, and when she enjoyed an orgasm while riding me, it was the look of surprise that had me chuckling.

"Wow, that was different," she stated, "Definitely want to feel that again though."

Shiala was still riding me when there was a knock at the door. "Please let us in, Shepard," Liara stated.

"It's open!" I called out, chuckling to myself as Liara and Ashley burst in to see Shiala almost enjoying another orgasm on my cock. Liara remained clothed but sat up on the bed behind Shiala, cuddling her from behind with her head on Shiala's shoulder.

"I can't believe it," Shiala stated, "This is the best feeling ever, Liara."

"I'm glad you got to experience him. He's wonderful, isn't he?"

"Best human I've ever met. Are they all like him?"

Ashley snorted. "Please, there are too many men out there that totally fucking suck. Shepard is one thing with us. Honest. He told us from the start that he was going to find Saren, put that bastard down, but if the opportunity presented itself, he was going to have fun. And Shiala… You look so fucking sexy grinding on his cock right now."

"I've read his mind. He wants you both just as much. But he's patient. He'll be patient with any lover. He understands why."

Ashley's face softened so much as she leaned over the bed to kiss me. "Thank you, Shepard. I already knew that…"

"I want to watch you, Shiala," Liara added, "I watched Mother… It was one of the most beautiful things to ever witness when she was with him. She was so happy. I think she fell for him that day."

"Really?" I had to ask.

"Mother loves easily when it's the right person, Shepard."

Liara and Ashley watched but did not join in that evening. When I took Shiala from behind at her suggestion, I could see Liara was biting her bottom lip and I did think that she wanted to sit in front of Shiala. I whispered the idea into Shiala's ear, and I think she was ready to offer Liara to join us. But one look at her had Shiala shaking her head, leaning forward for her to whisper that her first time doing anything would only be with me and Ashley.

It was a long night of lovemaking as Shiala didn't want to stop until it was obvious that I didn't have anything left. Liara and Ashley kissed us both goodnight before they gave us some privacy, Shiala wanting to be the little spoon as she snuggled back against me.

"You really love the asari, don't you?"

"To be honest, you make it incredibly difficult not to love you."

We made love again the next morning as there was no doubting the immediate attraction. After we showered together, I dressed in my Alliance blues and the absolute look of desire that Shiala had in her eyes when I was ready made me chuckle before I took her hand and led her back to the colony. Shiala must have had that look in her eyes as even Tali made mention that the asari we'd captured now looked as happy as ever. I think Shiala blushed before we talked to the colonists. We kept it vague but eventually suggested that Shiala was willing to stay and help the colony for the time being with the agreement that she would eventually join me in the future. They agreed immediately and we sat down and discussed what I might be able to offer.

"Let's just say that I've been making friends among the Asari Republics, and I think a simple request for assistance will quickly have it pouring in here. Would you object to more asari arriving?"

"We'd be morons to turn down such an offer of help if it means this colony survives," Juliana replied, noting that those of Zhu's Hope had turned to her for leadership. I had a good feeling about Juliana as Lizbeth had been adamant that her mother had been the most vociferous campaigner against using the colonists as test subjects.

I got the feeling that many of us would have liked to remain on Feros for at least a few more days. I know Liara was keen to dig into the Prothean ruins and carry out endless research. To have such ruins in pristine condition was almost unheard of across the galaxy. It was assumed that it was the Thorian that had kept the ruins in such a condition. Now that it was dead, I guess the ruins would eventually crumble.

We remained for another day to help the colony, and we left plenty of supplies from the Normandy, assuring the colonists that I could easily get everything back once we returned to the Citadel. I don't think anyone was surprised when Shiala joined me again that night. The only difference was that only Liara joined us that night. She didn't exactly join us having sex but she did get naked and lay next to us while Shiala and I made love. Shiala encouraged her to join us, Liara admitting to nerves at having a third person involved for her first time. I didn't miss the fact they did share quite the kiss, Shiala admitting that she'd always thought Liara a little nerdish but undeniably cute. Liara admitted a returned attraction.

Liara masturbated while I fucked Shiala hard from behind and the sight of her masturbating was such a turn-on that I fucked Shiala even harder. She seemed to realise and told me to only watch Liara. Her eyes were only for me in return, the absolute desire and almost unrestrained need for me had my mind set that we were going to make love soon. As for Shiala, she cried out as I made her orgasm before I filled her pussy with another load before we collapsed onto the bed. Liara then cried out as she enjoyed an orgasm of her own, and I slept in bed that night with an asari to each side.

Yeah, I definitely found myself liking the asari more and more with each passing day.

After we shared breakfast with the rest of my squad the next morning, no bets being taken as Wrex said that my time with Shiala was a sure thing that taking bets would be stupid, we escorted Shiala off the ship together and began our preparations for departure. The farewell between Shiala and Liara was heartfelt, no surprise that a few tears were shed as they said goodbye. The kiss though…

Then it came to me, and Shiala sobbed against my chest. It was enough that there were a few around us who needed to wipe their cheeks. She thanked me again and again for saving her, then admitted to feeling incredibly embarrassed for crying as it was not becoming of an asari commando. Then we kissed and it lasted for so long that Ashley eventually cleared her throat.

"I understand, Shepard, but we probably should go. Got to get to the Citadel and get cracking on finding that turian bastard."

The colonists all followed us to the ship, hugs and handshakes being exchanged between everyone. I shared one last kiss with Shiala as everyone else headed onto the ship. When the kiss broke, I held her in my arms for a little longer, my eyes on her face and her eyes.

"Feel like I've known you all my life," I said.

"I made sure you know every single thing about me, Shepard. Just like I know all about you now."

"I'll keep in touch. I hate making promises, but… I'll do my best." I looked up at the rest. "All of you. Commander Shepard gives his word. He won't forget Zhu's Hope. I will do everything in my power to help you all."

"Go, Shepard," Shiala whispered as a tear escaped her, "Because if you don't…"

I let her go and Juliana stepped forward, Shiala turning away from me as she rested her head on Juliana's shoulder. That was difficult to see… I also had a renewed perspective on how Liara saw me after I'd saved her on Therum. We'd melded once but maybe I hadn't seen everything.

I ordered Joker to take us back to the Citadel. No need for the galaxy map as he would figure out the best route for us. With the lack of supplies now on board, he knew that we'd have to get there pronto. As for my squad, I knew they'd settle back into their roles. The fight against the geth for two solid days had been tough. I knew Ashley would be working hard to have everything ready for our next battle.

Doctor Chakwas smiled at me as I walked through the med-bay and found Liara in her quarters. She stood up as I approached though wasn't surprised when I pulled her towards me and kissed her.

"Shepard," she moaned softly while I was kissing her.

"I understand now… How you feel after Therum…"

Her eyes glistened as she gazed at me… I'll use a word. Lovingly. Nothing but love in her eyes as her fingers ran down my cheek. "I hid those feelings, Shepard. It was too soon. I was scared. I didn't know much about humans."

"I'm not saying you love me, but… Shiala's feelings were so strong straight away. They often talk about love at first sight…" I sighed and shook my head. "Liara, I am a stranger to love. You know…"

Liara almost started to cry as she kissed me again. "There are so many I can name right now who would love you, Shepard. And I'm one of them. Ashley too. We both know the story and it's okay. What you endured… What you have endured to now… All I know is that the love we feel will support you going forward. That's the only thing that really matters right now. All that other stuff that comes with love, we can worry about it later."

"Want to read my mind regarding the cipher?"

She blushed slightly. "Can we do it naked but without the sex?" she asked softly.

A couple of minutes later, I was on my bed cross-legged sporting the usual erection as Liara crawled upon the bed to join me. She lifted herself up to straddle my lap and I felt the heat of her pussy against my cock. She gasped more than once as it rubbed against her pussy, and the first kiss we shared was so hot that I did wonder if she'd just give into temptation.

"So fucking hot," I murmured, "You do realise that, right?"

"I do now… Are you ready?"

"I am. I've got to admit that I now enjoy the experience."

The image was clearer, and I felt Liara's terror as she lived through it like I did. I felt her clutching me tightly as the image played out more than once, agreeing to do that in an attempt to figure it all out. But when she gently broke the meld, although the image was clear and beyond terrifying, we still couldn't figure out exactly what it was except a vague warning about the Reapers.

Although she was left concerned, the fact we were both naked had us smiling and we were quickly making out. When her fingers caressed my cock, I growled into her mouth which made her giggle, before I return the favour as I spread her legs and ran my fingers up and down her slit. She was so wet already that making love would have been without a problem.

"Shepard," she moaned softly.

"Liara, I really want to make you cum, even if it's like this," I whispered.

She bit her bottom lip before nodding, kissing me hard as my fingers got to work on making her orgasm. She was such a hot and horny little asari that she was quickly moving her hips, eager for more. I felt her clit and gently rubbed that. She cried out and asked me to keep doing it, her blue eyes now gazing fiercely into mine. And when I made her orgasm….

That's when she fell completely in love. I didn't know that then. But that sealed her love for me. From that moment, I was her life.

But she also wanted to take it slow. The rest of the journey to the Citadel was spent carrying out our usual tasks. But each night, I had two women come to my cabin for a little fun. Liara loved watching Ashley and I enjoy oral sex. Ashley loved taking my cock in her mouth and gave Liara plenty of tips for when she would do the same. As for me, Ashley's pussy was perfection, and she loved talking about what I was doing. Liara enjoyed putting on a show for both of us, making us chuckle as she suggested that she was a master of masturbation after many years of solitary work at dig sites.

It's fair to say that despite the dangers, the Normandy was some sort of happy family. Everyone was working towards a common goal. And we knew that although progress might have seemed slow, we were confident that we were going to find Saren and either bring that turian bastard to justice or just kill him and end the threat.

I was realistic to know that the road to victory would not be easy.