Shadows and Dust 031 (Patreon)

The memorial service for Nihlus, such as it had been aboard the ship, had ended nearly three hours ago, and the Normandy was near-silent as it made it’s way at top speed towards the Citadel. Everyone was dealing with things in their own way, dealing with the celebratory knowledge of successfully achieving so dangerous and difficult a mission with relatively low casualty count, while simultaneously aware that a not insignificant number of allies had been killed and that nothing was close to over yet.

For their own part, Cassandra, Tali, Ashley, and Liara had disappeared into the commander’s cabin not long after eating at the ‘reception’ for that memorial service, something that everyone had expected and no one was going to complain about. Likewise, everyone rather guessed that they knew exactly what was going on inside that cabin, and in fairness they would have been right.

The moment they walked through the door and it hissed shut behind them, Cassie made it perhaps three or four steps before her lover -soon to be lovers- were moving. Tali’s hands worked at the seal of her dress uniform top, Ashley was carefully removing her own, and Liara was watching with a soft, almost indulgent smile, somehow already down to nothing more than her underwear in spite of how short a time they’d been in the room.

Cassie let herself be undressed, hands rising to help Tali with the last of the seals along her collar, and by the time the fabric slid from her shoulders she’d already lost track of whose fingers belonged to whom. Ashley’s mouth found the curve of her throat first, warm and eager, teeth grazing gently over her pulse point, and Cassie tipped her head back with a soft exhale that turned into something rougher when Liara’s hands settled at her hips from behind.

“We could have waited, you know,” she managed, though there wasn’t much force behind the words, and there certainly wasn’t any disappointment. “let you all get settled first—”

“Shut up, Skipper.” Ashley husked, kissing her briefly and holding her eyes. “I don’t, we don’t, know what could happen next. You’re…even with all your power, you can’t protect us from everything, and I wouldn’t let you try. And neither Tali nor I aren’t willing to risk any of us getting killed without expressing how we feel, without showing just how much we love everyone in this room.”

Cassie found her voice catching and stilling somewhere between her chest and her throat, because Ashley wasn’t wrong. There was no arguing with it, really, and certainly no arguing with the ache in her own chest that had been building since Tali had been shot, never mind since the moment Nihlus’s final transmission had come through and that fireball bloomed on the planet’s surface.

She wanted this. Wanted them. Needed the reminder that she was alive, that they all were, at least for tonight. That they were safe and sound and with her. So she stopped trying to argue a point she didn’t really want to convince them on and opted to simply let herself feel and enjoy the moment.

Ashley walked her back to the bed, guiding her down to sit on the edge, before dropping to her knees and starting to unlace her boots, clearly intent on stripping her completely. Liara, meanwhile, was now helping Tali take off her no-longer-required survival suit. So Cassandra, naturally, ran her fingers through her human lover’s unbound hair as she watched her asari carefully peel her quarian’s beautiful body free.

The suit came away piece by piece, each seal releasing with a soft hydraulic hiss until finally her lover stood there bare for the first time outside a decontaminated room -or outside Cassandra’s soul-, her skin so pale it was nearly luminous under the cabin’s warm lighting, mottled with faint bioluminescent patterns along her collarbones and hips that Cassandra had only ever glimpsed when the light had filtered through Tali’s mask in just the right way. Each swathe of skin that was tentatively revealed received a soft kiss from her fellow non-human, and it didn’t take long for the touch-starved youngest member of the group to be blushing heavily, breathing strongly, with her tightly pebbled nipples and a glistening on her inner thighs showing just how turned she was turning out to be.

“Goddess, look at you. Small wonder so many asari books lamented your people being trapped in their suits…” Liara breathed, drawing back to admire her handiwork, and Cassie found herself agreeing wholeheartedly as she abandoned Ashley’s hair long enough to crook a finger at Tali.

“Come, Tali.” The words -the order- came out rougher than she intended, thick with want, and the way Tali’s whole body shivered in response sent a fresh wave of heat pooling low in every belly. She obeyed immediately, crossing the short distance on unsteady legs, and Cassie caught her wrist gently to tug her down until she was straddling one freshly bare thigh -Ashley having managed to get her pants off only a moment before- and so press one muscular thigh against her soaked, heated, and unguarded pussy.

A soft, startled gasp punched it’s way out of Tali’s lips at the contact, her hips rolling once against Cassie’s thigh before she could stop herself, and Cassie caught the sound with her mouth, kissing her slow and deep while her hands mapped the newly bared expanse of her back. Her skin was perhaps one of the softest things that Cassandra had ever touched, and if it wasn’t for the fact that her partner had not only healed her Tali but enhanced her, she’d be worried about causing genuine damage. It wasn’t as if the quarian’s skin was used to being exposed to…anything, really.

Ashley’s mouth found her inner thigh from below, hot breath fanning against skin gone sensitive with anticipation, and such rational, scientific considerations promptly fled from her mind as she spread her thighs more and squeeze Tali’s hip, her mind brushing against Liara’s with the ease of familiarity to pass along the asari’s own instructions.

A moment later, as Cassie encouraged Tali to start grinding on her thigh, palming one of the girl’s malleable orbs, Liara was kneeling behind Ashley and taking control of her efforts. One hand laced through her hair to guide her, the other slipped between her legs to tease her, and her lips went next to her ear to say such wickedly, wonderfully sinful things.

Letting her head fall back to roll slightly on her shoulders -gasping softly in surprise as Tali immediately leaned forward and started to kiss and nip at the flesh there- Cassandra basked in the moment. Basked in the feeling of Tali’s wet folds rubbing along her leg as the quarian began to find her rhythm, in the feeling of Ashley’s lips getting close and closer to her sex, in the sound of Liara’s murmured words. Basked in the feeling of their beautiful, radiant souls shining brightly around her, reaching out to hers as much as hers reached out to theirs.

Ashley’s tongue finally found it’s mark, and Cassandra’s hips arched off the mattress with a groan that she felt more than heard, what with the sound itself being swallowed up by Tali, much as she swallowed the squeal her quarian lover made when the sharp, strong movement caused the grinding girl no end of pleasure.

She let her hand slide from Tali’s hip up along her spine, tracing the delicate ridge of her lover’s back, feeling the fine tremor building beneath her palm as Tali’s pleasure mounted higher and higher, feeling the way each shudder rippled outward from where their bodies pressed together. The quarian’s fingers dug slightly -even gently- into her shoulders and Cassie found herself smiling against the crown of Tali’s head at that. She was afraid, like she’d somehow hurt Cassandra if she squeezed too hard, if she let herself get lost in the pleasure.

“You won’t break me, you know.” she murmured, low enough that only Tali would hear it over the soft, wet sounds Ashley was making between her thighs. “Not now, not ever. Let go, sweetheart. I don’t want you to hold back, I want you to show me everything.”

A soft, keening whine promptly spilled from Tali’s throat at that, muffled against the curve of Cassandra’s shoulder, and her hips stuttered before catching a fresh rhythm. One that was rougher, less restrained, her body grinding down with a desperation that made heat coil tight and hot low in Cassandra’s belly. The quarian’s grip tightened, just as she’d asked, blunt nails catching against her skin in a way that stung sweetly, and Cassandra let out a low sound of encouragement that only spurred her lover on further.

“That’s it, good girl.” she breathed, tilting her head to catch Tali’s mouth again, feeling as much as hearing the lovely sound that Tali made as a result of the praise, of the way that praise was given.

Tali’s whole body shuddered in time with that sound, a full-body tremor that made her grind down harder against Cassandra’s thigh, and the muffled cry that followed on its heels was even sweeter. Between her thighs, Ashley’s tongue found some particularly devastating angle, and Cassandra’s own hips jerked in response, a low and satisfied groan flowing out of her mouth and into Tali’s.

Then Tali was coaxing her into lying down, hips never stopping their rhythm, and eager but tentative lips latched onto one of the fire-haired human’s nipples. Unable to resist the temptation, uninterested in trying, and well aware that her lovers wouldn’t object, Cassie reached deep into that wellspring that existed at the core of her soul and started weaving the fire that lived there between the four of them. A web of connections, and in an instant each became aware of the thoughts, feelings, and sensations of the others.

What better way to make love, Cassandra thought as everyone involved redoubled their efforts, chasing that now far more potent peak, than when you could feel those you loved in the most intimate of ways?##############################################################################

By the time exhaustion finally caught up with all four of them -even Cassandra-, it was well past three in the morning, and Cassandra couldn’t have said with any certainty how many times they’d each found their peak, tangled together in shifting configurations of limbs and mouths and murmured, loving encouragement. What she could say, with absolute certainty, was that she’d never felt so thoroughly and wonderfully wrung out in her entire life. Something she was quite sure she shared with her lovers.

Tali was curled against her left side, head pillowed on her shoulder, one bare leg thrown over Cassie’s own with the casual, comfortable possessiveness of someone that had finally figured out that she neither had to hold back nor had to take up as little space as possible.

Liara had draped herself across her other side, one hand tracing idle patterns over her ribs, and Ashley was sprawled half on top of both of them with her cheek pressed to Cassandra’s sternum, close enough that she could feel every breath her gunny drew and released. The cabin, which not all that long ago was filled with cries of pleasure, direction, and proclamations of adoration, was now near-silent. The only real noise now was that of the distant drive core, sending a soft thrum that was felt more than heard, but managed to penetrate the -thankfully quite good, given recent activities- soundproofing that the Captain’s quarters possessed.

Cassandra didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to think, didn’t want to let the moment end, but the thought had already wormed its way in regardless, cold and unwelcome against the warmth of four bodies tangled together. The thought that, when this mission was completed, all of this could very well be at risk.

She was well aware of the fact that the Council was being very generous with both herself and the Alliance, most likely due to her status as a Probationary Agent rather than a fully-fledged Agent, by letting her have as much free-rein as she did. But they would never allow one of their Agents to be fully dependent on one of their member states -the newest and youngest, in particular- for transportation, support, and supply.

The Normandy would be taken away from her. It had to be. The Alliance couldn’t possibly justify handing it over to her, not after the incredible expense that had gone into it, the pride and the press that it had generated.

Ashley would undoubtably be redeployed, unless there was something Cassie could do to prevent it. The danger was, though, that trying to prevent it would simply result in the Alliance discharging her lover to ‘simplify’ things, and she wouldn’t dream of costing Ash the career she’d spent so long building up for the sake of her own desires. Especially since her involvement in all of this was damn-near-guranteed to finally get her the officer’s promotion she so coveted, and the chance to attend N school along with it.

Tali could very well be called home by her father and the rest of the Admiralty Board. In fact, she was damn near guaranteed to be called home, if only because her Pilgrimage would be over and her culture demanded that she went back to the fleet. Granted, she would request -and probably be allowed- to come back to Cassie’s side, the Board wouldn’t neglect the chance to build a better relationship with humanity and with a SPECTRE…probably.

Liara…depending on how things played out in regard to the Reapers and the decrypting and integration of the Eden Prime beacon’s knowledge went, Liara could very well be taken from her side as well. As the foremost Prothean expert in the galaxy, it would only be reasonable for her to have a position of importance in following up on whatever revelations Cassandra could pass on to her.

The thoughts must have shown somehow, or maybe leaked through the muted-but-present connection she’d woven between them, because Ashley shifted against her sternum, propping herself up on one elbow with the sheet sliding down to pool at her waist.

“You’re doing that thing again, ma’am.” she said, voice still husky with exhaustion and satiated lust, meeting Cassie’s eyes. “That thing where you go quiet and start carrying the whole damn galaxy on your shoulders.”

“I’m not—”

“You are.” Liara’s fingers stilled against her ribs, a bit of an edge to her voice. “I felt it too, Cassie, and I’ve far too much experience with a connection like this one to misunderstand it. I felt you get sad, get worried, and I can guess why. You’re worried about them taking the ship and Ashley away from us when all of this is over?”

“Yeah, that.” Cassie let out a breath and made herself say it plainly instead of dancing around the subject or remaining silent and letting it fester. “The Alliance can’t justify handing the Normandy over to me indefinitely. Not with the political capital -hell, not with the cash!- it took to build her, not when there’s a dozen admirals who’d love to have her under a proper chain of command instead of loaned out to a Council agent. Ash, they’ll want you back in a normal unit, on a normal ship, doing normal marine things, and if I fight that too hard they’ll just cut you loose entirely.”

Her marine shifted slightly at that, eyes and mouth turning down as she considered Cassie’s theory and found it rather more probable than any of them might have preferred. She wasn’t happy about it either, judging by the way her heart darkened and dampened in response.

“I’d leave for you, ma’am.” she offered, meaning every word, but Cassie didn’t need her psionic abilities to feel the pain buried at the heart of those same words. She would do it, without hesitation, but it would hurt her badly to do it.

“I wouldn’t ask you to, love. None of us would. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are now, I could never ask you to give everything up.” she shook her head firmly, feeling the pulse of love and regret that went through Ashley as a result, but then three sets of eyes turned to Liara at the spike of -to their minds- wholly inappropriate amusement.

“Girls, this isn’t something to worry about.” she spoke before any of them could, eyes twinkling slightly, a bit of loving chastisement in the words. “Provided we succeed in stopping the Warmaster and Sovereign -which I have every belief we will- we’ll have saved Citadel Space. The two of you, in particular, will be heroes. The Alliance won’t dare do anything that could earn your ire, separately or together. It would be PR suicide, abroad and at home alike.” she paused for a moment, and both her smile and the look in her eyes hardened sharply. “Besides, even if they are that stupid, I believe my mothers can help persuade them to see sense. One way or another.”

Three throats gave three snorts of laughter, reluctant but genuine, as they imagined the two very different ways in which the two most famous matriarchs in the galaxy could ‘persuade’ the various governments to see things from their point of view. Benezia’s would certainly be the most pleasant for them, the easiest to swallow, compared to Aethyta’s, which would…probably include a few peoples’ careers ending up in a ditch. She couldn’t even guarantee that there wouldn’t be bodies in ditches, though she was at least sure that that would only happen if she found out something particularly unforgivable.

“She might have a point, Cassie. I don’t really understand this issue that so many humans take with Ashley’s grandfather, but when we succeed, everyone in the galaxy will know that she’s one of the people that helped save them from a genuinely apocalyptic threat. They couldn’t possibly do anything besides give her everything she’s owed as a result.” Tali agreed, sounding pleased by the idea of people in power being forced to abase themselves and make overtures of gratitude to someone they’d previously wronged. Unsurprisingly, of course, given her…cultural baggage. “I think the real issue will be getting the Council to take your advice about what should happen next, when we get to the Citadel. They’ve not had much interest in listening to you before…”

“Well, this time them not listening to me got Nihlus killed, though I’m sure they’ll point out -fairly, much as I hate to say it- that a couple of cruisers wouldn’t have been any help at all in dealing with the fleet that was at Virmire.” Cassie sighed, grimacing faintly and huffing out a laugh as she let the subject change, the reassurances from her family about Ashley rather soothing her previous worries. “I can only hope that, after all of this, I’ve proven myself worth listening to. I know I don’t have as much experience as the rest of their Agents, and I know they don’t know a damn thing about the Force, but I’d like to think my record would speak for itself.”

“They will. This isn’t Homer, ma’am, and you don’t have Apollo going around making sure that no one will ever believe you when you tell them what’s coming.” Ashley quipped, lips quirking as she referenced a certain tragic Trojan princess, and Cassandra rolled her eyes at the giggles that resulted. Even Tali understood the joke by now, in spite of her less-than-comprehensive education on human culture, and the general mood of the room brightened again by several degrees.

“We can but hope. And while we’re at it, let’s hope they know something about that damn fleet we spotted as well, because the idea of that many enemy ships being unaccounted for is terrifying under the best of circumstances, which this definitely isn’t.” Cassie remarked, before flushing slightly as her stomach rumbled. Pressing a hand to it, she shook her head. “Sounds like it might be time for a snack or two, huh?”

“Well, we did burn quite a few calories last night, didn’t we, ma’am?” Ashley leered, cheeks pinkening slightly as she made the joke, and Cassandra gave a short snort of laughter before pressing a kiss to her lips.

“That’s my marine. Now come on, let’s get cleaned up a little and get something to eat. WE’ll figure everything else out as we go along.”

###########################################################################

The Citadel, when the Normandy finally slipped past the mass relay and into its familiar traffic lanes some thirty-six hours after escaping Virmire, didn’t look like the gleaming heart of a peaceful galactic civilization Cassandra remembered from her last visit. It looked like a fortress, one that was heavily reinforced and ready for one hell of a fight.

She stood in the cockpit, one hand braced against the back of Joker’s chair, and watched through the viewport as squadrons of salarian, turian, and asari cruisers hung in staggered formations along the approach vectors, their running lights blinking and their every electronic eye scrutinizing everything and anything that came near them. Hell, there were even a couple of Alliance cruiser squadrons present, though they were half-strength and vastly outnumbered by the ships sent by the ‘Big Three’.

“Well, Commander, I think it’s safe to say that they got your warning about that fleet, yeah?” the pilot remarked, looking around at the massive number of warships, before his eyes flickered to something on his readouts. “We’re being hailed, Commander. It’s the Ascension.”

“Put it through.”

“Normandy, this is the Destiny Ascension. We’re sending you nav data now. Proceed to dock at best speed. Commander Shepard is instructed to meet with the Council immediately. A C-sec airship will pick her up stationside and transport her.” the youthful sounding voice of the massive dreadnaught’s comms officer was tense to say the very least, and Cassandra cleared her throat to let Joker know she’d answer herself.

“Understood, Ascension. I’ll head directly to that airship and meet with the Council as soon as we’re docked. What’s the status of the Citadel? Is there any word on the enemy fleet that I reported?”

“The Citadel is secure, Commander, and there’s been little sign of the Warmaster, besides a handful of missing merchant ships. Still, we got the data that you provided, so at least we know what we’re looking at, if they decide to crawl out of whatever hole they’re hiding in now.” came the response, and Cassandra was proud of herself for not snorting aloud as she politely thanked the kid and cut the channel.

“You know, Commander, I understand it’s easy to feel brave when you’re aboard the largest, most powerful ship the Citadel has to offer, but you’d think the idea of a couple of hundred enemy ships coming out of the relay right at you would result in a little bit less confidence.” Joker remarked dryly, and she gave him a noise of agreement and a pat on the shoulder before leaving him to his docking efforts.

Efforts that quickly bore fruit, as he guided the Normandy into one of the exclusive, high-security docks that only SPECTREs could make use of. Which she took as something of a compliment, since previously they’d had to dock at the headquarters for C-sec, and it was perhaps a sign that her Probationary status was somewhat closer to being removed than she might have expected.

Twenty minutes later, the promised C-sec airship dropped her off at the Tower’s private landing pad -the same one, she would wager, that the Council themselves used- with all of the ceremony of a VI delivery drone, leaving the unescorted young woman to make her way down an unfamiliar corridor that, eventually, led her to the familiar and waiting form of Tela Vasir.

“Hey, kid. How’re you doing?” her old friend greeted her promtply, eyes scrutinizing her face, and Cassandra gave her a small half-smile and non-verbal shrug. Snorting softly, the asari nodded and started walking, beckoning for the young of the pair to join her in lockstep. “Yeah, that’s about what I expected. Glad to see that your maiden -maidens, from what I’ve been hearing- didn’t let you get stuck inside your head over Nihlus.”

“I tried, believe me.” Cassandra responded wryly, fondly, and Tela gave her a light punch in the shoulder as they turned to head down a different corridor.

“You always did take things hard. But Cassie, what happened to Nihlus wasn’t your fault. I heard the recording, I saw the combat data, and I can guran-damn-tee you that there wasn’t anything better that you could have done.” she said, the words almost a rebuke, for all the fact that they were clearly intended to comfort her as well. Then she huffed, almost angrily. “Not to mention that that big fucking idiot thought it was a good idea to go straight after Saren without telling the rest of us. He wouldn’t have died if he’d have had the brains to call in a few more agents before touching down on Virmire, but he let it get personal and it cost us a good Agent.”

“I can’t disagree with you on that, and I don’t think that he would either.” the human sighed, running a hand through crimson hair, grimacing unhappily. “I just…maybe I should have split my girls up, had Liara with Nihlus or something. Maybe then we would have been able to get him out.”

“Or maybe you would have lost your girl, maybe Saren wouldn’t have attacked at all, would have escaped to keep helping the Warmaster. We certainly wouldn’t have gotten the intel that Nihlus seemed to have knocked loose from that bare-faced skull, Goddess knows that. They died making sure we knew that the Warmaster has someway of taking control of the Citadel itself. That’s literally priceless knowledge, Cassie.”

“Speaking of which, is there any word…?” Cassandra started to ask, but Tela held up a hand.

“Council will help bring you up to speed, I promise. There’s no point in repeating the information, and they know more than I do anyway.” she said by way of explanation, tilting her head towards the conference room that they were approaching. “Game face, kid.”

Cassandra nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped through the indicated doors, finding herself in a room not so very different from that which she’d been in the day she’d been made a Probationary Agent. Like before, the Council was seated at the far end of the table, and like before she found herself guided into a seat at the foot, Tela taking the seat immediately to her right.

“Thank you for coming so quickly, Commander. Time is short and the situation is somewhat fraught, but I still regret the necessity of keeping you in the thick of things so soon after Nihlus’ death.” Tevos was, as usual, the one to greet her, and as the redhead bowed slightly and murmured a brief ‘thank you’, she could see that Sparatus was looking distinctly less combative today.

How novel.

“The situation as it stands.” Sparatus’s mandibles flicked in what she’d learned, over these past months, to read as barely-checked frustration and focused aggression. “Nihlus’s final transmission, or rather the last words of Saren Arterius, have been cross-referenced with what data we have from various Prothean archives and, in point of fact, the data you retrieved from the rachni queen on Noveria. We now have a location for both, and there are hints -though nothing definitive- that a major Prothean project existed on Ilos.”

“Information is highly limited. The STG believes that any mention of Ilos, it’s location, how to reach it, and the details of any research being performed on the planet were specifically, deliberately, and irrevocably scrubbed by the Protheans.” Valern added, tapping away at his omni-tool and flicking several packets of data Cassandra’s way. As she opened it and start to skim through, he continued. “While the finer details are unknown, STG and SPECTRE branch assets are now in agreement that this was done in an effort to preserve the project’s security during a major, perhaps devastating, conflict.”

“A conflict against the Reapers, you mean.” Cassandra’s fingers stilled on the datapad. “Saren said it himself. The cycle repeats. If the Protheans built something on Ilos specifically to fight back against Sovereign and his kind, that’s the first real weapon we’ve had against them since this whole mess started.”

The three aliens exchanged glances, discomfort and hesitation and doubt radiating out from all three of them beneath a thick, cloying cloud of fear, and she narrowed her eyes in both disbelief and displeasure as Tevos sighed.

“The Council is…not prepared to place undue weight on the words of a traitor, nor the speculative interpretations of visions provided by the unprepared mind interacting with a damaged Prothean beacon…at least not in regards to some sort of mechanical super-race that has allegedly been performing pan-galactic genocide for eons on end.” she said delicately, holding up a somewhat-pleading hand as Cassandra’s jaw dropped, cutting her protest off before she could do much more than narrow her eyes and inhale deeply. “That being said, there is obviously more to this situation than we have unequivocal evidence to explain, and this ‘Conduit’ is doubtlessly a major threat to the security of the Citadel.”

“I’m surprised you believe it exists, given your reluctance in regards to the Reapers.” Cassandra didn’t quite bite the words out, but there was certainly an edge to them, and Tevos gave her a slightly-chiding look.

“Where there is smoke, as you humans often say, there is fire. The Council is willing to acknowledge that. But we will not through quadrillions of people and hundreds of planets into absolute chaos, based entirely on suppostion -strong supposition or not- by informing them that a machine race that wiped out the Protheans is plotting their imminent destruction because said machine race thinks that cultivating and culling organics is some sort of divine right and mission.” she emphasized the last dozen words or so rather sharply, gesturing to her colleagues. “We are, I assure you, considering everything quite closely. But while we’re not prepared to act precipitously where the supposed existence of the Reapers may be, presuming the Conduit exists is a presumption built on firmer ground.”

“In the short term, whether the Reapers exist or not is irrelevant. Whether the Reapers built the Citadel, as this ‘Sovereign’, or ‘Nazara’ as you called him -and we will be discussing in full just what the Beacon has given you in the near future, Probationary Agent- claimed, or the Protheans did,” Sparatus interjected, giving Cassandra a look that was rather more suspicious and quelling than it was chiding, though at least he wasn’t radiating outright dislike any longer. “The fact that so many sources refer to Ilos and the Conduit leads one to believe it does exist. And if the Warmaster, Sovereign, or the geth have the ability to take control of the Citadel’s systems away from the Council and C-sec, that is an existential threat to the fourteen million people that live here at the very least.”

“To that end, we will allow you to take your ship and crew to Ilos. Investigate the Conduit. Find it, and either take it or destroy it before the Warmaster can make use of it. The Citadel Fleet, meanwhile, will stand ready to defend the Citadel in the event that our enemies launch a frontal assault.” Valern finished, giving her a somewhat apologetic look. “With no disrespect intended, one stealth infiltration frigate, probationary agent, and three dozen crew will not make a significant difference in a pitched fleet battle. You could, however, make quite the difference on Ilos.”

Cassandra murmured a dismissal of any potential insult, which there wasn’t because quite frankly it was true, running one hand over her face as she thought furiously. This was…quite frankly, better in some ways than she’d feared. She’d been worried, deeply worried, that the Council would try to ground her or some such insanity, but it seemed that the constant barrage of hints, innuendo, and fragmented information she’d gathered and passed along these last few months had made some kind of impression on them. Not as much as she might have hoped, perhaps, but an impression all the same.

It was a start, and them giving her permission to proceed to Ilos even went so far as to make it a good start.

“I can’t disagree that speed and stealth will be far more useful for reaching Ilos than in defending the Citadel.” she finally said aloud, a bit of the relief she felt at being allowed to continue her mission leaking into her expression and her tone. “That being the case, I’ll need whatever data you can provide me, and expedited resupply for the Normandy.”

“Both are already in progress, and your ship should be ready to launch within the hour.” Tevos assured her, gesturing slightly to Tela. “While SPECTRE Vasir won’t be able to accompany you to Ilos, she will be escorting you back to the Normandy and providing further instructions.” she paused for a moment, her expression intent. “And Agent, when we come out the far side of this, you can expect a long and detailed debrief. The Council has quite a few questions about certain anomalies and irregularities that have cropped up.”

By which, Cassandra would guess, she meant the increasing number of signs and blatant pieces of evidence that she wasn’t ‘just’ an extraordinary biotic and a good soldier. Transparency cut both ways, she supposed, and she wasn’t entirely surprised that the Council -Tevos in particular, being a powerful biotic herself- had picked up on a few things. Things that would probably make them dig a bit deeper into her pre-SPECTRE life than they already would have, or at least pay more attention to some of the details.

She’d find out one way or another when the time came, she supposed, and there was only one thing that she could say in response.

“Of course, ma’am. I’ll be glad to give the Council whatever information I can.”

#############################################################################

Rust.

That was the first description that came to the mind of Liara T’soni, as she looked down at perhaps the most famous and sought-after world in the field of Prothean archaeology.

It looked like rust. The entire damn planet, or at least the parts of it that didn’t seem to be on fire from lightning strikes, was the same color of corroded metal. Poetic, she supposed, in a strange way, but a part of her was immensely disappointed. Ilos was the Holy Grail of her field, the sort of thing she’d spent her entire life working towards, and it looked like Korlus!

“Got eyes on the Warmaster, ma’am, but it won’t be easy to reach him. The only drop zone possible that isn’t miles away is tiny. Joker will have to drop the Makos off one by one, and both he and the drivers will need to be perfectly on point or it will go very badly.” Pressely said rather loudly from where he was standing some distance behind her, looking at the main holotank and the blown up image of the ruined city beneath them.

“Not to mention that massive bulkhead door he just went through. Best guess, it will take a hell of a lot of firepower to punch through it, Shepard.” Garrus added, scrutinizing a still image of the bulkhead in question, and Cassandra made a sound midway between a scoff and a sigh.

“Don’t worry about the door, Garrus, I can deal with that. Joker, I’m relying on you to get us on the ground.” her love responded, before keying the intercom. “This is Shepard. I want all specialists in the Makos loaded for bear, on the double. This is it, boys and girls. We’re on the Warmaster’s heels, time is short, and this galaxy needs some heroes to pull its collective fat out of the fire. Looks like it's going to have to be us.”

Keying it back off again, as Liara turned to head for the elevator, Cassandra addressed Joker directly.

“As soon as we’re on the ground, I want you to haul ass to Eighth Fleet. On my authority, they’re instructed to standby for reinforcing the Citadel. I have a bad feeling that the defense fleet will need it. If nothing else, catching the enemy in between two allied forces is a good idea.”

“Understood, Commander. Eighth Fleet, standing by. Anything else, or should I just start praying?”

“Prayer’s not a bad idea, Joker, so go ahead. Do both.” Cassie’s voice carried down the corridor after Liara as the elevator doors slid shut, and Liara allowed herself a small, genuine smile at the levity, brief and half-serious though it might have been.

It was a nice way to cut, ever so slightly, into the tension. It was, more likely than not, the last light moment that would be found before they’d either won…or the entire galaxy died.