Mass Effect - a Hero Rises

Book 1, Chapter 17 -- The Mutineers

*****

Nervous excitement infected the crew. They were still doing their jobs, the chatter was slightly louder than normal, but I let it go for now. All I wanted was for the

Normandy

to get to Ilos safely and to finally track down Saren and kill the bastard. I did wonder what happened to Anderson once we'd made our escape. I had sent him a message but heard nothing back, so figured he'd already been arrested. I didn't believe the Alliance would sent anyone to hunt us down. Anderson believed, and I had a feeling Hackett did as well.

The journey to Ilos would take at least a couple of days, heading deep into the Attican Traverse. We would pass through systems that had either only been recently discovered, or we would pass through completely uncharted systems, wondering if we shouldn't be sending out a tonne of probes at the same time. I knew some of the crew would be worried about our presence, but we were a lone ship, and had the fact we could run silent and practically invisible. As long as we were careful, we'd make it to Ilos without a problem.

Of my team, it was easy to see Tali and Ashley were both in very good moods. Ashley remained a model professional in front of everyone. Tali... was a little more affectionate, though I didn't mind in front of her engineers. They were all aware that she liked me, though wouldn't have known that our relationship had turned physical. She didn't say anything to give away what we'd been up to.

I had a chat with Garrus, and he told me he'd spent some time with Chloe, the relationship apparently already turning rather serious. Wrex admitted he'd had a lot of fun back on the Citadel but suggested his time with me would draw to a close once we'd caught Saren, not wanting to get involved with everything else going on.

Then there was Liara and Shiala. The pair seemed to be rather closer, enough that Benezia had picked up on it, pulling me back into the mess as before I had walked through the med-bay. "I do believe my daughter is involved with another asari," she told me quietly, "I find this surprising considering both of them seem to be infatuated with you."

"Maybe they need the physical release?"

"While that is true, there is something about Liara that makes it..." She paused before gesturing to the nearby table. Seating herself, looking as elegant as ever, she asked, "What do you know about the asari and our mating rituals?"

"Not a lot, to be honest."

"Liara is what we term a 'pureblood' asari." I didn't understand, obviously, so Benezia added, "That means her mother and father, to put it in terms you would understand, were both asari. Though there are millions of pureblood asari still born to this day, there are negative connotations to being one."

"Liara knows she is one?"

"She has always speculated. I have never confessed to it being the case. Asari falling in love with each is not unusual, and if there were significant dangers, we would never have progressed as a species. But once we realised we could mate with other species, it was soon popular for asari to mate with other species, as though the child is born asari, the child will take some of their 'fathers' DNA, and it is regarded as the further evolution of our species."

"Why did you choose an asari as a mate?"

That made her smile. "Because I was in love, Shepard. You probably sit there now and see a Matriarch who has performed acts recently which would make you wonder how I'd ever fallen in love..."

"I wouldn't say that."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did though. But I did love her father. We spent a century together very happily married."

"I assume you are no longer together?"

"No. Once I fell pregnant with Liara, I chose to end our relationship so our daughter could be raised without the stigma of being pureblood. Very few if anyone knows the truth about her, though I'm sure the secret has been discovered over the years. The fact Liara has been suspicious would suggest she's put two and two together over the decades. I very rarely mention her father." Benezia trailed off, not meeting my eyes.

"You still love her?"

"Always," she whispered, "But it was for the best."

I figured moving the conversation on might help. "What will you do once we're finished here?"

"I will fling myself in front of my fellow Matriarchs and beg forgiveness. If you succeed in taking down Saren, and I am part of your crew, though my current position suggests I'm... What am I, Shepard?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I can't take you into the fight against Saren. You are far too susceptible to this indoctrination you spoke of. Is that still an issue?"

"I fight the voices every day, Shepard. It is... It is exhausting at times. But not being near that ship, near Saren, it is helping me. Anyway, if I am part of the Normandy when you eliminate Saren and his threat, then perhaps I will not be judged as harshly as I would be if you'd killed me on Noveria." She paused before leaning forward, resting a hand on mine. "Thank you, Shepard."

"For what?"

"For not killing me. It has given me a chance to reconnect with my daughter. It is still difficult but I am hopeful. I know she doesn't exactly trust me. It will take time to re-establish our relationship. Shiala despises me now, and I do not blame her. Most of my acolytes are now dead. Those who remain alive are indoctrinated and are now at Saren's side. I find myself... alone. It is an unusual feeling."

"I've killed a lot of people, Benezia. There is a reason I saved you, though. I figured you could prove to be helpful, if not on the field, at least in helping establish what makes Saren tick."

"Don't believe all the anti-human propaganda you have been told, Shepard. There is one simple reason Saren is on this crusade. That ship he resides on. It has infected his mind as much as it did mine. Destroy his ship and you will likely destroy him."

"Do you think he can be saved or redeemed?"

"I find that doubtful, Shepard. I believe he is what you would term a 'lost cause'. It was hubris on my part that thought I could save him, turn him from the path he has since walked down. He or that ship was more powerful than I could have ever imagined."

"And the Reapers?"

She met my eyes. "They must be stopped, Shepard. No matter the cost."

"That's the plan, Benezia."

She smiled and seemed to relax back into her chair. "Were you planning on speaking to my daughter just before?" I shrugged, which made her smile broaden. "Do you find her interesting?"

"Of course."

"Attractive?"

"Yes."

"What about me?"

That caused a moment of surprise before I simply returned her smile. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't."

"I've never been with a human before, Shepard." She paused before adding, "Not sure why I just told you that either. There is something about you though. An inner strength that seems to draw people towards you like a beacon. I have found myself increasingly attracted the longer I've been on this ship."

"Are you proposing something, Benezia?"

She rose to her feet and gracefully took the seat next to me, her arm resting on the back of my chair as she leaned closer. "I believe I would enjoy my first experience with a human if it was with you, Shepard," she stated softly, lips close to my ear, feeling her breath on my neck, "But... But you cannot be with me before you have enjoyed my daughter." I couldn't help chuckle for a moment before glancing at her, meeting her eyes. "I am serious, Shepard. If I were to... claim you first, she would be incredibly jealous and it would destroy the very shaky foundations of our rebuilding relationship."

"Again, I would suggest you were offering your daughter to me, Benezia."

"In a way I am, Shepard. She is infatuated with you. In fact, I believe it is more than just infatuation or a simply crush. I don't believe she is in love, though it is possible, even likely, those feelings will develop in time if you were to be intimate with her." She paused before adding, "But I still want to experience you too. I don't think my daughter would be interested in sharing you with me, for example." She cleared her throat. "You should be with her before Ilos. Then once you have been with her, perhaps you would like to enjoy me?"

I glanced her way again. In the low light of the mess, without the indoctrination that had appeared in her eyes, she was certainly beautiful. Pretty much an older version of Liara. There was a depth of wisdom in her eyes I had rarely seen. Her face was almost carved from stone. I believed many asari would have found her beautiful. I would admit I'd checked her out on more than one occasion. I noted the word above. Graceful. The way she walked spoke of a poise and natural flow that belied centuries of what probably amounted to training in certain societal circles.

"I might take you up on both your offers, Benezia," I finally replied. That simply earned a smile and a kiss on my cheek.

"It is about time, Shepard. I believe my daughter will enjoy herself with you." And with those words, she stood up and left me alone. I happily watched her walk away as she took the long way around, definitely putting an extra shake into her hips, glancing back and winking, which simply caused me to chuckle to myself again. I'll be honest, I had only saved her because I thought she would prove useful against Saren, and while she'd been able to explain certain motives, I certainly wasn't going to make her part of my team, and I knew the indoctrination of Saren or his ship still lingered. I doubt it would ever truly go away, therefore she would be difficult to ever trust completely. But she'd done nothing so far to earn my ire while on the

Normandy

.

But despite what she said, in the end, I didn't even have to make a move. We were still at least a number of days from the Mu Relay that would eventually take us to Ilos when she knocked on my door one evening. Calling her in, I was still sat at my desk, going over more reports, turning to her when she didn't approach. Instead, she leaned back against the door and appeared unsure.

"Something wrong, Liara?" I wondered, turning my chair to face her.

She hesitated for only a moment before striding forward with purpose, leaning down and she kissed me hard, the sort of kiss that spoke of a million different feelings at once. I kissed her back immediately, rising to my feet, wrapping my arms around her. I'll give her credit right now. She had either been practicing with Shiala, or she was a naturally good kisser, as I rose to occasion very quickly, and she definitely felt it as she pressed her body into mine, as she started to smile.

There was no need to say anything. Her white suit was easy to remove, delighted to see the black lingerie she was wearing underneath, and I reckoned she had worn it for my benefit only. I complimented her on it, which raised a shy smile, before she focused on me. Once I was out of my jacket and trousers, she spent some time simply running her hands up and down my arms, chest and back. "Humans are so different," she murmured, "All this... hard muscle..."

"We're not all like that," I retorted gently, "Took a lot of hard work to get into this shape."

She took my shirt off and her hands seemed to grip my body even tighter. Kiss her again, I undid her bra with one hand rather easily, letting into fall to the ground, feeling her breasts press into my body, nipples already hard. My arms were long enough to help remove her underwear, surprised at how curvy her body was, and she had a fantastic arse, giving that a good squeeze once she was naked before me.

Lowering her to the bed, there was only one thing I was going to do first. Tease the fuck out of her. Her skin was different to mine. It wasn't exactly scaly, but it wasn't as smooth as human or quarian skin, from what I found with Tali anyway. Not to say it wasn't a pleasant experience, it was just a little difference. But I learned quickly that asari had the same, perhaps even more erogenous zones than a human, running my hands and tongue all over her body, completely ignoring her sex, enjoying the gasps and moans when I found something new that provoked a good reaction.

Sitting back on my knees for just a moment, I couldn't help but just gaze down at her, our eyes locking for a moment. She seemed to grow shy for a moment until she realised I was simply showing my appreciation. "Damn, shouldn't have waited so bloody long," I muttered. Leaning down to kiss her, I started to gently fondle her pussy, earning a whimper as I kissed her before I broke the kiss. "And I'm definitely going to taste you now."

That earned nothing but a smile at first. "Make me cum, Shepard," she whispered.

I did, quite quickly to be honest, and far quicker than I expected. I think she entered my bedroom horny, and everything I'd done previously certainly helped, but I only ate her out for around five minutes before I had her writhing on the bed, her hand grabbing my head to keep it in place, almost demanding I lick her 'Just there, don't stop' until she finally climaxed. If she thought I was going to stop after just one, she was definitely in for a surprise, particularly after I slid a couple of fingers inside her to find that spot that humans and quarians had, so I figured asari might have something similar.

She did, and her next orgasm was even better. Took a few more minutes as I teased her again, bringing her to the brink before relaxing, earning at least two groans of frustration but also some giggles as she knew what I was doing. I had a feeling she'd been intimate with Shiala. I didn't know the truth yet, and I might ask later, but she didn't seem surprised by at least a few things I was doing. Though I still had my underwear on though I did wonder if she'd seen a real cock before.

After I'd made her cum a second time, she asked me to stop for a moment, kissing her up her body before I just rested on my forearms, caressing her face. Her blue eyes shone brightly, her cheeks slightly flushed, lips parted as she breathed deeply. I thought she definitely had strong feelings for me, as Benezia told me.

Pushing me up, she had me sit on my knees to see the tent in my underwear. Gesturing, she had me stand up on the bed, grabbing the band and gently pulling them down, freeing my cock. She gasped at its appearance, helping me kick off my underwear, before I sat back down on my knees. "Oh, I thought..."

"Don't worry about it," I stated, interrupting her, "Though I like a blowjob as much as the next man, I prefer what we're going to do next, if that's what..."

"I want you to fuck me, Shepard." I raised my eyebrows at the use of that term. She simply met my eyes. "It's not my first time. I wanted... I've been with Shiala."

"I figured," I stated, with a grin.

She smiled shyly again. "Though I wanted my first time to be with you, I didn't know if it would ever happen. Shiala and I have history. She's always been a good friend, despite recent history, and so... well... You know things happen." She gently grasped my cock. "You will be the first cock I've ever had inside me though. I've used sex toys before so let's just say you'll be the first real cock inside me." I couldn't help chuckle at her honesty. "Trust me, Shepard, I left behind a couple of good toys on Therum. Got me through some very lonely nights." She kissed me before adding, "But I think having a real one inside me will be so much better. And you'll cum inside me at the end too."

She did make me cry out as she lay down and pulled me with her, kissing me as I slid inside her far easier than I imagined, though she was tight. Very tight, groaning into her mouth as I slowly buried my cock inside her. She shuffled as I did, getting comfortable, before she broke the kiss and smirked. "Fuck me, Commander!" she demanded.

So that's what I did. Liara T'Soni was fucked by Commander Shepard for the next few minutes. I was never going to last long. I'd thought about fucking her within the first few days of meeting her. I'd always found her cute, and intelligence was always a turned on, but she came across as rather innocent, perhaps even a little naïve at times. I think I may have been a little wrong on those latter opinions.

"Goddess, your cock is magnificent, Shepard," she moaned as I lifted her arse off the bed slightly, changing the angle of my thrusts, really driving into her. She wanted to be fucked, I was going to give it to her.

I would have said something, but I was enjoying it far too much and anything I said would have just sounded corny. So I focused on trying not to orgasm too quickly but the noises I made, with plenty of cursing, would have told her what I was thinking and feeling.

"Are you going to cum in my pussy, Shepard?" she asked so innocently, I nearly came there and then.

"Soon," I grunted, kissing her hard for a moment before resting my forehead against hers, meeting her eyes.

"Never had someone cum in me before, Shepard. You'll be the first human to ever do so."

"I consider it an honour, doctor," I managed to say.

Feeling her legs move, her heels now resting on my lower back, I pounded her even hard, her fingers digging into my back as she pretty much was now just holding on. "Cum in me!" she cried. That pretty much did it for me as I groaned loudly, swore a couple of times, then buried my cock as I felt myself erupt inside her. I kept thrusting until I was simply too empty and my mind too frazzled to continue, slowly coming to a stop and relaxing, Liara keeping her legs and arms around me, feeling her kiss me softly on the cheek.

Resting on my forearms, I sucked in a few deep breaths before I leaned up so I could look at her. The smile on her face was definitely one of triumph. "About time you fucked me, Shepard," she said, her voice wavering slightly, lower lip definitely trembling.

"Better late than never," I retorted, though somewhat sheepishly, laying a soft kiss on her lips.

She did learn sex was messy, at least between a man and a woman after he'd cum, but that didn't stop her giving me around ten minutes to recover before she pushed me onto my back and hopped on. "Use to ride my sex toys like this," she stated, grabbing my hands to balance herself as she slowly established a rhythm, "Much better when the cock is attached to a body."

Moving my legs, she definitely liked the new angle, moaning loudly as she remained in that position for a little while before leaning forward, resting her hands to either side, giving me a kiss though she remained in control. I just watched her face, the pleasure easy to rest, running my hands down her back and sides, enjoying the feeling of her skin. "You are beautiful," I whispered.

"Bet you say that to all your girls," she retorted with a smirk.

"Well, I think I've definitely been blessed regarding some of my crew. Won't lie."

I eventually rested my hands on her arse, met her eyes, and received a nod. I think it was a race to see who would orgasm first. Whatever I was doing, it worked well, as she had to kiss me to stop the loud moan that escaped from deep within, feeling her pussy grip my cock almost like a vice as she started to climax. Breaking the kiss, resting her forehead against mine, she simply begged me to keep going. Like I was going to stop anyway, but that was only her first orgasm. She enjoyed a second one rather quickly, though that pretty much ended me, as while she was clenching me again, I drove into her harder and faster, Liara by this time practically resting against my body as I unloaded inside her again. Lying together in post-coital bliss, we could only lie there in silence as we both recovered. My cock was now practically useless, feeling it fall out of her, while she seemed incapable of any movement.

We eventually got up to clean, Liara joining me in the shower, where we showed more appreciation of each other's bodies, before she ended up under the covers with me in bed. Wrapping an arm around her, she snuggled into me and it felt so normal already.