Mass Effect - a Hero Rises

Book 2, Chapter 15 -- It's a Trap!

*****

Placing the mug of coffee by her terminal, I stood just close enough she could almost feel me press against her as I breathed into her ear, "Coffee for you, Miss Chambers."

She turned slightly, her eyes moving to me as she smiled. "Why thank you, Shepard," she replied in a seductive tone. Putting it on, of course, but it was enough for me.

I kissed her cheek before moving down to her neck. She moaned quietly as she ran a hand back up and through my hair. I looked up and the crew were focused on their monitors. Many wore headphones to help concentrate. And if anyone did look, they'd be no longer surprised. They all knew I was with Kelly and we no longer had a problem being open with our affection.

Running a hand down her body, I slid under the band of her trousers, pleased to see she wasn't wearing underwear. She liked to do that more often, as we often liked to tease each other during the day, simply to make life more fun as it could be rather dull while waiting around for missions. She kept the hair around her pussy trimmed in parts, shaved otherwise. She knew I liked a little hair, just enough to run my fingers across. She moaned quietly again, pressing back into me. "Shepard," she breathed.

"You're beautiful," I whispered into her ear.

"Bet you say that to all your girls."

"Only those that I love."

She turned around and kissed me for that one, gently pressing her back against her workstation, my hand still down her pants. I kept our bodies close so you'd have to walk around the galaxy map to see what we were doing. She simply gazed into my eyes, feeling her legs part slightly, as I slid a couple of fingers into her. She relented easily, opening the button of her trousers and lowering the fly so I could do it easier.

"So naughty," she whispered.

I kissed her hard though my fingers remained gentle inside her. This was only teasing, though if I could make her cum, even better. I did raise my fingers, ready to suck on them, when I offered them to her instead. When she sucked on them and moaned a little louder, I think my cock got even harder. She then helped guide them back to her pussy. Leaning forward, she asked, "Think I haven't done that before?"

"Oh, I'm sure you have but..."

Moving in closer to kiss her, she moaned into my mouth again. I'm sure we were now being observed, but by now, neither of us would have cared. We could have fucked in the CIC and wouldn't have cared. People would probably watch for a little while then just go about their day. They knew we flirted and fooled around all the time. To be honest, probably one of the few good reasons to be on a Cerberus vessel. Never would have got away with this sort of behaviour on an Alliance ship.

Hearing the cleared throat behind me did bring my fingers to a momentary halt. I glanced back to see Miranda. Now, Miranda when this all started would have stood there with arms folded, scowl on her face. Miranda when we were friends would have probably been a little embarrassed. The Miranda we knew now looked like she'd been watching for at least a couple of minutes. "I don't mean to interrupt but..."

"No, it's fine. I think we might have ended up getting carried away," I admitted.

"Shepard, I was on the verge of just dropping my trousers and pushing you down onto your knees so you'd finish me off."

Miranda laughed. "I can come back in ten minutes."

"No, it's best you taken him, Miranda. I'll see if I can concentrate on work." She did up her trousers before she gave me a soft kiss. "We'll carry all that on tonight," she whispered.

"Definitely." I joined Miranda by the elevator and has to ask, "How long were you watching?"

"Long enough to see her suck your fingers, Shepard. Long enough to know for a fact you two were going to end up fucking in the CIC. It's going to happen eventually. You two can't keep your hands off each other. It's... It's nice to see, Shepard. Even I can admit that. Hell, I sometimes feel guilty for getting intimate with you too."

Stepping out of the elevator, I said, "I used to as well, but Kelly and I have discussed it enough. We're now in a great place. Anyway, you obviously wanted me for something?"

"The Illusive Man sent me a message. He'd like you to contact him shortly."

Walking into her office, I sat at her desk, Miranda taking her usual position. "Hope it's good news about a next step. We're managing to keep ourselves busy but the whole point to this is about the Collectors, yet we've barely heard anything since Horizon."

"Nothing from the Alliance?" she asked.

"I'm receiving updates about colonies that are being attacked. They're trying to track Collector movements, but honestly, they appear pretty clueless. I think they want to help but don't want to send anything through Cerberus channels, not knowing where the information will go."

"I'll see if he's ready to talk yet." She keyed a few commands and I waited patiently. She eventually received a message back. "He's on a conference call at the moment. He'll message when he's finished."

"Are you okay?" I asked.

I think the question surprised her. I wasn't worried, it was just a casual question. "Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"An innocent question, Miranda. That's all."

She leaned forward. I noticed her buttons were loosened lower than normal, getting an excellent view of her cleavage. No doubt done on purpose and probably for my benefit. "I did enjoy what we all did the other night, Shepard."

"Figured you did. Haven't seen you act like that before."

"In a room full of women, it was... freeing to wander around naked and not feel like a piece of meat. I was so exposed at times but always felt comfortable. I always do with you anyway. And Kelly is certainly talented. You're a very lucky man, Shepard."

"I know."

"She's already sent a message around, asking when we'd like to do it again. I have a feeling some girls would like that to happen constantly from now on. I think it would wear you out."

"More than likely. It was great fun but I do prefer the more intimate setting with just one, maybe two girls at most. But on certain occasions, it's nice getting carried away and just going with it."

"What will you do when this is over?"

"You mean with Kelly? Or with Kelly and everyone else?"

"Well, with Kelly first?"

"Find a way we can remain together. I'm not sure how yet, but I'll figure it out. Regarding the rest of you, I really don't know. I mean, I desperately want Gianna with me, but she's on Illium, I'm here, and the chances of us seeing each other isn't great because I'm only going to rarely be near there. Same for Shiala. I haven't even been to Feros yet. The only chance I will get to see her is on Illium, with Liara, but being alone is difficult because Liara wants to be involved, because Shiala and Liara are involved."

"Bloody hell, that does sound awkward."

"Yeah, but Liara admitted that, if I offered, Shiala would leave her in an instant. I felt sorry for her in that moment, though she appreciated Shiala was only being honest."

"We tried to recruit her," Miranda confessed, "Shiala, I mean. No Alliance affiliation made her rather ideal, to be honest. We sent a couple of our recruiters to speak with her. Suffice to say, she thought we were talking bullshit. She'd dealt with the idea and all the grief that you were gone. She thought it was nothing but a cruel joke. And the fact they were from Cerberus? I think the entire colony wanted to kill them, so they left quickly after that."

"I didn't know."

"Shiala probably didn't want to say anything because it would have been awkward. I mean, how was it with Liara?"

"She told me the truth about everything nearly straight away. I was blown away, to be honest. I did ask if she did it because she loved me or for some other reason. Though it was partly about love, it was more about who I was, or at least what I represented, and also my knowledge of the Reapers. I mean, at least she never gave up on me."

"Neither did we," Miranda added, "Nor did I."

"I know, Miranda," I said softly.

Her terminal beeped, signalling a message had arrived. She read it quickly and suggested I head to the conference room. Once I was standing in my usual spot, the room darkened and the Illusive Man appeared in front of me yet again. Last time we'd spoke, he hadn't managed to get a word in as I ranted, raved and threatened retribution about Jack. He'd barely communicated since, perhaps giving me time to calm down.

Smoking a cigarette, drink in hand, he walked towards me. "Shepard, we caught a break. I intercepted a distress call from a turian patrol. They stumbled on to a Collector ship beyond the Korlus system. The turians were wiped out, but not before they crippled the Collector vessel." I thought it sounded rather convenient, but it was also a breakthrough, a chance to perhaps get on the front foot. "I need you to board that ship and get some hard data on the Collectors. Find us a way to get to their homeworld."

"How the hell did a turian ship manage to disable a Collector vessel? I've seen one in person. They are not easy to take out."

"Reports indicate the hull's intact, but all systems seem to be offline. They could be making repairs as we speak. I'm not saying it won't be dangerous, but we can't let an opportunity like this slip by."

"What about turian involvement? I don't want to trip over them while we're at work. I doubt they'll take kindly to our presence."

"I intercepted the transmissions. They'll find out eventually, though long after you've been and gone. In the meantime, we're feeding them false reports. You're close enough that you can be in and out before the turians learn the truth."

"Okay, time we got on the front foot. Send the details and I'll have the Normandy head there immediately."

"Shepard, one thing. Once you're aboard the ship, establish an uplink with EDI. She'll mine their data for information regarding the Omega Four relay."

"I'll have our experts look into them on the Normandy as well."

"I'd expected nothing less. Good luck, Shepard. This is the break we've been waiting for."

I headed straight to my terminal to see a message from the Illusive Man. I transferred the details directly to the galaxy map. I could sense Kelly watching me as I checked our own position in relation to the Korlus system.

What was a turian patrol doing there?

A lot of what I was told didn't make sense, but I'd worry about that later. For now, all that mattered was the fact we had a golden opportunity to learn more about our enemy.

"Joker, sending you details now. Korlus system. Get us there pronto. Whatever you can do to get us there yesterday, if possible."

"Well, they still haven't discovered time travel, Commander, but I'll get us there as quickly as possible. I'll update you on our progress once we're on route."

"As ever, that is all I ask, Joker."

Back at my terminal, I sent the message I'd received to the entire ship with my own personal message of what I expected from the crew going forward. For the moment, we would effectively become a military vessel, as the ship might appear to be disabled, but with each passing minute, I simply didn't believe a turian patrol could just disable one of their ships in such a manner. It smelled like a trap, and I didn't know if it was the Collectors or the Illusive Man leading us into it.

Miranda appeared a few minutes later, noticing my change in demeanour. "I want all stations monitored twenty-four seven, Miranda. I want constant updates on how the ship is performing. Until we are finished on the Collector vessel, we are at Defcon Three. Before you ask, we've barely been at Defcon Four since Horizon. It's been that quiet regarding the Collectors."

"I'll make sure you are kept full informed regarding ship and crew performance, Shepard."

"Thank you."

I fired off messages to Jacob in the armoury, ensuring all weapons and armour was prepared, to Garrus, asking that he have the front batteries ready to fire at a moment's notice, to Tali in engineering, asking that the engine be ready to extract performance at the drop of a hat, to Chakwas to be ready for any injuries. Joker reported in half an hour later. Even by pushing the

Normandy

to its limit, it was still going to be two days. There was nothing I could do to change that, so I asked he just try and chip off as many minutes as possible. The

Normandy

was a new ship. It could be pushed if necessary.

Kelly noticed I was pumped up and ready for action that night. She was rather excited by it and she definitely leapt on me once we headed upstairs after dinner. I met her expectations as, after an hour and more of lovemaking, she needed to roll off me and recover her breath, giggling away as her legs were still shaking. "My god, give you a sniff of battle, Shepard..."

"Just finishing what we started earlier..." Rolling onto my side, I just gazed up and down her body, and her face lit up as I just drank her in. Running my hand down her chest, over her stomach, my hand returned to her pussy. She almost wanted to stop me, but once I touched her again, she moaned and dragged my head down to kiss her.

"God, I still want more," she whispered, "Do you?"

"Of you, Miss Chambers? Always."

We lasted another hour at least before I was left thinking that we had to cry enough. Kelly was starting to feel rather tender between her legs. Even though we stopped actual intercourse for the moment, she still wanted my touch, making out with my hand still between her legs, her hot breath in my ear as I got her off again. We'd lost track of how often she'd cum by now. She gently bit into my shoulder as she cried out, feeling her squeeze my fingers. "Oh god," she cried out. She was now drenched in sweat like I was. We were both exhausted, but our passion for the other was almost insatiable. I just felt... alive. If I couldn't fight, I just wanted her. She held onto my shoulders, her legs still spread, blowing her hair off her forehead her eyes watching mine.

"Another one?" I asked.

"Don't stop," she begged before she kissed me hard. To my own surprise, I was rock hard again, and she pulled me on top of her, grabbing my cock and almost forcing it inside her. We just fucked after that, Kelly lifting her legs back, holding her shins, legs wide, as I pounded her. "Oh god, fuck me, Shepard," she cried.

All I did was grunt, even growl, desperate to please her but I also wanted to cum one final time. It verged on animalistic at times, both of us desperate to get off with the other. I'd lean down to kiss her, barely slowing my tempo as she let go of her legs, glancing to see she'd spread them as wide as possible. "Deeper!" she moaned. So I changed the angle slightly and she moaned loudly for that.

I lasted quite a while before I felt the urge. By then, Kelly had turned onto her front, resting my chest gently against her back, one hand holding hers, the other wrapped around her body. She leaned back so we could kiss a little but mostly so I could whisper things into her ear. When I did finally finish, I buried myself again and again, and all she did was smile and laugh at the sensation, almost delirious as we collapsed onto the bed together. I immediately rolled off her, onto my back, as she laid on her front.

"Holy shit," I exclaimed.

The only sound in the cabin for at least five minutes was our breathing. Glancing across, her skin was shining in the light, and I realised we both really needed a shower. I could barely stand up, but she could barely move. Gently moving her over, I picked her up, which earned me another kiss, carrying her to the shower, holding her against me as she could barely stand up. When I'd washed us both, we stood under the water, enjoying the heat. "I love you so much," she whispered.

I felt exactly the same way about her and let her know. Once we'd dried off, I carried her back to bed. Our appetites now sated, she curled up against me, now just wanting me to hold her in my arms. Making sure we were warm under the blankets, I gave her a final kiss and she was asleep within a minute. It was rather cute.

The next morning, I was up early, letting her sleep as she was still out cold while I showered and dressed. Only when I was putting on my shoes did I feel her sit behind me on the bed, looping her arms around me, nuzzling into my neck. "How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Sore, Shepard. Very sore. But I feel... wonderful as well."

"Good. I'm going to head downstairs, do a bit of gym work, then grab some breakfast. Take your time today as from tomorrow it's going to be all hands on deck."

Though it was a transit day, the ship was a hive of activity all day. The only two people who knew of my own misgivings about this operation were Miranda and Kelly. With everyone else, I exuded my usual confidence that we were finally on the front foot against the Collectors and we might finally strike a hammer blow against them. Kelly believed me completely about it all being a trap. The closer she was to me, the more she doubted everything else about the organisation. Miranda still wanted to believe in the cause but I could see she was also starting to doubt. In regards to the Collector ship, she knew it was a trap, but couldn't be sure if it was by the Collectors or the Illusive Man. She thought the worst thought was that it was both of them, working in conjunction without realising it.

I spoke with every member of my ground crew, notifying them that they would be joining. I didn't see the point in leaving anyone back on the ship. If I had the numbers, and the talent they all had, then I was going to use them. The only person I might be tempted would be Miranda, simply because she could run the ship while I was gone. But Miranda had talent to burn, so it would be left to Joker to keep the ship safe while the rest of us left.

Speaking with Joker before dinner, he showed me our location compared to our destination. "Tomorrow morning, Commander. Maybe 0700 ship time. Early night tonight and breakfast tomorrow is probably on the cards."

"Noted. The ship will be in your capable hands while we're gone, Joker."

"Chances of it all going tits up?"

"Let's just play it by ear. Get on the ship, grab what we need, and get off."

Dinner was a little quieter than normal later that evening. Despite projecting confidence, everyone knew what was at stake. The

Normandy

was puny compared to a Collector ship. Those of us who had seen it on Horizon still wondered how a turian patrol had disabled it. That was the one thing that suggested I wasn't being told the whole truth. But the simple fact was that we had to board the vessel to investigate and find out what the Collectors were intending with all the humans they'd taken.

Kelly tried to remain calm in the face of what was going on, but by the time we went to bed that evening, she simply needed to be held tightly against me as we talked quietly in the darkness. So I told her about my victories, particularly those against Saren and his minions. I'd taken down the Thorian. I'd defeated Benezia, converting her to an ally. I'd blown up Virmire, though had sacrificed to achieve it. I'd taken down both Saren and Sovereign. And I added my victories since waking up. The Collectors didn't scare me in the end. I knew we would win.

I liked to think I made her feel better before she drifted off to sleep.

EDI woke me the next morning, letting me know the

Normandy

was approaching the final jump. Kelly woke up with me, heading straight to the shower before we dressed. Just before we walked out of the cabin, I held her close, kissing her, and assured her I would be absolutely fine. "I always worry about you, Shepard. But it feels different this time," she said, resting her head against my chest.