A long-awaited meeting

“Mm. Looking good, sir,” Ashley let her eyes rove up and down my body as I posed in front of her. “Y’know, for someone who isn’t in the military you really do wear that armor pretty well.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her. She’d put on a brand new black suit of armor with red highlights that made her look like the villain in a space pirate holovid. It suited her pretty well, though. The fact that she was totally and completely mine made her even sexier. She was leaning against a gray wall, arms crossed as she watched me.

“I am inclined to agree with Ms. Williams, Master. You do, as she put it, look good,” Samara’s deep blue eyes sized me up. The Asari Justicar kept her old red armor which hugged her voluptuous body like a second skin. How it protected her better than most of the armors on the market would was anyone’s guess. She stood only a few feet away from me.

I glanced into a nearby mirror. Huh. The dark gray Onyx armor did actually look decent on me. I smiled. I wondered what Jane would think if she could see me wearing the same brand of armor she’d favored for most of her military career.

“I’ll take your word for it I guess. So how are we doing? Is Liara ready to meet us?” I asked Ashley.

The gorgeous olive-skinned woman nodded. She pushed off from the wall, her face all business now.

“Whenever you’re ready, sir. Just give the word and we’ll go meet her. Her office is only a five minute walk from this store. That’s one of the reasons I picked it.”

I nodded. “Good work.”

Ashley beamed at me.

“Liara. May I ask you who that is, Master?” Samara said, her voice smooth as silk. I glanced at her.

She lowered her eyes deferentially. I put a finger under her chin, forcing her to look upward. She bit her lip and gasped. Damn. Even after I’d spent an entire hour fucking her she still wanted more. I wondered how long she’d gone without sex since taking her Justicar vows.

“Liara T’Soni was part of my sister’s crew when she went up against Saren. She survived the battle that destroyed the Normandy and became an information broker here. She knows about the pen, somehow. My sister must have written something on her.”

Recognition glimmered in Samara’s eyes.

“T’Soni? Liara is Matriarch Benezia’s daughter?”

I frowned.

“Benezia? Who’s that?”

Ashley put a hand on my shoulder.

“I can answer that, sir. Yeah. Liara is Benezia’s daughter. Saren had her indoctrinated to serve the Reapers. She brought a lot of Asari commandos into his army.”

“So Benezia was a big deal, then,” I said. “A lot of Asari get old enough to be called matriarchs, but very few of them are allowed to take on the title.”

Samara nodded.

“Your knowledge of Asari culture is impressive, Master. You are correct. I myself am old enough to be called a matriarch, but I never earned the right to use that title,” she gave me a complicated look. “Benezia was a strong **** among the Asari, stronger than any president could be for your human government. Her betrayal and **** sent ripples throughout our society’s very foundations. That Liara would remain outside of Asari space may not be her decision.”

That actually made a lot of sense. The Asari were a long-lived bunch with even longer memories. To have one of their society’s most esteemed elites suddenly turn traitor must have been pretty traumatic for them. I wondered if they even knew she hadn’t betrayed them of her own free will?

I nodded.

“So she’s dead, then?”

Ashley’s lips formed a thin line.

“That’s uh… I think Liara would be better off explaining that, sir.”

I quirked an eyebrow.

“Why? What’s so difficult about saying a person’s dead or not? You were there when my sister fought her.”

Ashley’s eyes widened. She swallowed nervously and lowered her gaze. I immediately felt bad. Ash was normally such a fierce woman it was hard to reconcile that with the fact that she probably valued my opinion of her more than her own life. I'd have to be more careful in the future.

“Sorry, sir. So, remember when we talked about Reaper indoctrination, how eventually it turns everyone into mindless husks?”

I nodded. Samara was watching with rapt attention. On impulse I drew the much older woman towards me. Her armored body melded against mine. She let her head rest on my shoulder.

“Yeah. What happened with Benezia, exactly? I’m not mad at you, by the way. I just want to know what the deal is.”

Ashley gave me a relieved smile.

“Yes, sir. Back when we first recruited Liara, there were doubts about her loyalties. I was one of the ones who thought she should be forcibly confined to her quarters and brought back to the Alliance for questioning. Your sister had a much clearer head, thankfully.”

“She trusted Liara,” Samara said, her soothing voice tickling my ear.

Ashley smiled sadly.

“Jane always had a good instinct for people who could be trusted. Didn’t matter what species they were. So Liara joined our squad. She wasn’t the best shot, but her biotics were pretty damn powerful. Definitely got that from her mom. Anyway, we eventually landed on a planet called Noveria. It’s a corporate world like Illium, only the surface is too cold to do EVA without a hardsuit. We’d heard from a few security agents on Noveria that Benezia had gone through the spaceport to one of the corporate facilities somewhere else on the planet. We found her there along with Geth and a Rachni Queen.”

Samara’s eyes widened. It was testament to her discipline that she didn’t ask how a species that terrorized the galaxy over a thousand years ago before being driven to extinction had somehow popped up on the same planet as Matriarch Benezia.

“That is… a Rachni Queen. I suppose Saren must have been interested in that.”

Ashley shrugged.

“Yeah, but not for the reason you’d think. See, the Rachni Queen knew the location of a pretty important Mass Relay that’d been lost thousands of years ago. Saren sent Benezia to get that information out of it through the mind meld thing you people do. Speaking of which, I noticed you didn’t meld with John when the two of you were having sex. Why is that?”

Samara tensed.

“Hey, you alright?” I put a hand on her back.

The Asari smiled.

“I am fine, Master. It is… may we speak of this another time, when it is just the two of us? It isn’t urgent, but it might have some bearing on our mission against the Reapers.”

I stared at her for a long moment. I wanted to ask her what was wrong. What could Samara refusing to meld with me have anything to do with the Reapers?

I shot my soldier a look. Ashley caught my eye and nodded, seemingly approving Samara’s request.

“Alright. After we talk with Liara and settle down for the day, you’ll tell me what’s bothering you?”

Samara nodded. It was strange seeing someone who was so stoic and strong act so **** in front of me. Then again, I did kind of upend her entire life so that could have had some consequences. I definitely need to have a long talk with Samara after we straighten things out with Liara.

“Yes. I will hold nothing back, Master. I promise.”

“I think we should get going. Liara’s probably expecting us any minute now,” I said.

My two servants nodded in affirmation. They took up flanking positions around me as we left the gun store. We said goodbye to Klinius and he promised to look after the store while we were gone.

We drew quite a few looks and more than a few jealous stares of some of the men on the street. We must have been quite the sight, as armed as we were. It was like something out of one of my teenage fantasies, where I’d been heroic space explorer surrounded by powerful female guardians who’d cater to my every whim and protect me with their lives.

It looked like that fantasy had been fulfilled to a certain degree. I hadn’t really imagined that I’d have to assemble an army to defeat ancient machines bent on galactic genocide, but I suppose you have to take the good with the bad.

We entered the building Liara had her office in and were immediately met by a buxom violet-skinned Asari. She flashed a disarming smile, but there was something in her amber eyes and too-cheery attitude that I didn’t like. She reminded me of a lot of the countless people who’d wanted to get to know me, but only so they could get an “in” with the first human Spectre. I’d had to become pretty guarded around new people when Jane had been selected by the Council, but I didn’t feel bitter about it. My sister had done something no human had ever done before and I refused to allow anyone to use our relationship to take advantage of her.

She leaned forward slightly, drawing my gaze to her deep cleavage. Her plump lips twitched upwards.

“Welcome. I’m Nyxeris, Liara’s personal assistant. You must John Shepard. Liara has been expecting you along with who I presume is Ms. Williams, but she said nothing of any additional visitors.”

Her eyes roved over Samara curiously.

“Yeah, I’m John Shepard and this is Ashley Williams. The woman you don’t know is Samara. She’s a Justicar who’s decided to work with me for the time being.”

Both women preened with their chins held high. All because I’d introduced them. My cock twitched.

Nyxeris’ eyes widened. She gave my Justicar a wary look before shooting me a nervous smile. She clasped her hands together, attempting to regain control over herself.

“That’s uh… I didn’t expect to see a Justicar outside of Asari space. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Justicar Samara. May I ask-”

“The tenets of my Code do not require me to notify you of the purpose of my presence here.”

Damn Samara, did you really have to jump down her throat like that? I gave her an exasperated look. She simply shrugged as if to say, “Have I done something wrong?”

Nyxeris chuckled nervously.

“Ah, I see. Well,” she clapped her hands together. Her breasts jiggled enticingly. “Liara is waiting for you in her office. Follow me.”

She turned and headed towards an open elevator. My eyes fell to her rear. I watched it bounce and sway and jiggle with her every step until we made our way into the elevator. Hm. That purple dress of hers really hugged her body. It couldn’t have been comfortable to walk in. I did appreciate how it hugged Nyxeris’ ass though. The Asari in question sent me a brief look, a small smile on her lips before she typed a command into the holoscreen on the elevator wall.

I briefly considered having Ashley and Samara restrain Nyxeris so I could claim her, but I restrained myself. Despite the fact that Jane had pretty much given me permission to gather as many followers as I wanted, Nyxeris worked for Liara, a woman Jane had loved. I didn’t want to do anything that would negatively affect her operations here. If Liara gave the go-ahead later, though, I’d take her. Asari were usually pretty powerful individually thanks to their biotics, though that power varied by bloodline and training. I fully planned to have as many of them working for me as possible.

The elevator ride was over in mere moments despite the fact that we’d ascended nearly a thousand feet. The elevator doors opened, revealing a rather spacious lobby with large windows that showed a gleaming picture of Illium’s cityscape. The buildings glowed with an ethereal white-sapphire which contrasted beautifully against the backdrop of the red sun and sky.

“Right this way,” Nyxeris walked out of the elevator.

We followed her, Ashley and Samara still flanking me on either side. They still carried their weapons, so it was interesting that Nyxeris hadn’t even commented on them. Had Liara told her to ignore them?

A door at the other end of the lobby opened, revealing what looked like an office. The place was sparsely decorated, with a few plants and something that looked ancient. A Prothean artifact?

The golden pen glowed warmly in my pocket.

A desk occupied the end of the room in front of a wall of glass which had been polarized to the point that the sun’s glare looked like a painting on the wall.

A blue-skinned Asari sat behind the desk, typing away at a terminal. She was beautiful, easily one of the best-looking woman I’d ever seen. Her deep blue eyes flicked up. They met mine and widened slightly. Her blue lips parted sensuously.

“Liara? John Shepard’s here to see you.”

“Thank you, Nyxeris. I know. You may wait outside,” she stood from her desk. She wore a tight blue-white dress that showed plenty of her generous cleavage and parted beneath her breasts to reveal her toned blue midriff.

The violet-skinned Asari nodded and left the room. The door closed behind us.

Liara walked up to me. She was shorter than me by a few inches and she had to crane her neck slightly to look up into my eyes.

We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Her eyes shimmered.

“John…”

She hugged me.