Until the very end - Chapter IV - Hot Briefing
Title : Until the very End Fandom : Mass Effect Trilogy Summary : After the War, Shepard Thought she could finally love in peace. But the shodpw of an obsessed ennemy looms... and to protect Liara and their family, she'll have to fight harder than ever - both on the battlefield and in her heat Pairing : Liara Tsoni x Commander Shepard - Miranda Lawson x Jack, Garrus Vakarian - Tali Zo Rah Van Normandy TW : Explicit content in later chapters so -18 -graphics content - mention of rape later - psycholosical abuse - physical abuse - blood -sex - explicits scene. Dom/Sun dynamic - SubShep and Dom Liara -smut Other Chapter : Part I Part II Part III
____________________________________________________________ Chapter IV : Hot in the Storm
The Normandy’s briefing room buzzed with activity, the kind of excitement they knew well, the kind that kicks in at the heart of action. The ship seemed to fold in on itself, gearing up for the silent, insidious battle that was taking shape on the horizon. Wrex, leaning against a wall, arms crossed, grumbled about those Varren sons who acted like cowards, who didn’t dare face Shepard head-on, like real warriors. Grunt, true to himself, suggested blowing everything up as soon as they found them. Jack was slouched in a chair, her feet firmly placed on the table, while Miranda, always so formal, tried to make her remove the "unofficial" position, but the amused look in her eyes betrayed the tenderness that radiated from their relationship. Tali and IDA, with Garrus’s help, were buried in the report of their findings, attempting to interpret everything they had discovered.
It was in the middle of this whirlwind that Shepard and Liara entered, together, their gazes determined. The ship seemed to almost stop for them, freezing in a suspended moment.
Jack: "So, what do we have on this ship, Tali?" Shepard asked, her voice calm but determined as she settled into one of the chairs near Jack. Liara joined her on her left, her gaze quickly shifting toward her, always so protective, even in this meeting space.
Tali turned her mask toward them, a brief but confident movement. "IDA intercepted, just before the explosion, a quick contact that allowed her to recover some telemetry packets. Thanks to that, I isolated a fragment of the ship's FTL engine log and a routing table. Unfortunately, the latter was corrupted..."
IDA, true to her role, confirmed in a mechanical voice but with cold precision: "Which made it difficult to establish their past trajectory, but Garrus suggested we use the approach angle and the speed of the last level, which allowed us to triangulate their trajectory. We've isolated two sectors and a corresponding trajectory code."
Garrus’s eyes shone as he added, a smirk on his face: "What was left exploitable in the data was a navigation label: AKT-Σ/RT."
Miranda, who had been observing closely, suddenly sat up, a look of recognition in her eyes: "This coding format... it matches Cerberus. This code is linked to Akterat."
Liara looked up at Miranda, surprise and doubt in her voice: "Cerberus?"
Liara's hand instinctively rested on Shepard’s thigh, an intimate and protective gesture, but also a soft, fiery reminder of the bond between them. She knew this touch brought back echoes of their recent kiss, those small flames that were never far away.
Miranda nodded, a thoughtful look on her face: "I find it puzzling. Cerberus disappeared after the death of the Illusive Man and the fall of the Reapers. How is it possible that this ship still bears their mark?"
Shepard, destabilized by the soft hand brushing against her, took a deep breath to regain her composure. Jack didn’t miss a beat, and it made her smile, more amused than anything. The Commander leaned forward, her eyes scanning the information in front of her.
"Akterat... This name doesn’t show up on standard maps. But I believe I’ve come across it in some internal Alliance reports during my convalescence."
Garrus burst out laughing, mocking but friendly: "Well, who would have thought that Alliance reports were such a captivating read?"
Shepard shrugged with a smirk. "I had some time to kill..."
Liara came to her companion’s aid, pressing her hand a little more firmly on her thigh, which made the Commander shiver. The Asari remained impassive, but it was impossible for her to ignore the effect this gesture had on her lover. Shepard even suspected it was intentional, even though Liara’s voice remained neutral, innocent, as she continued: "This name is mentioned in old Broker files. What’s surprising is that this planet is near a dead mass relay. It was this relay that the Broker was interested in at the time, wondering what Cerberus was doing near such a desolate place."
Shepard, her gaze lost in thought, took a moment to organize her thoughts before concluding in a sharp voice: "It’s highly likely that this planet houses an old Cerberus installation, and our ship might have stopped by for a questionable reason."
Garrus nodded, ever the pragmatist: "Especially since it’s strange for an active ship to stop in a system where the relay is dead. If there’s a base, it’s supposed to be inactive."
Tali proposed: "What if this dead relay was experimental?"
Shepard shrugged. "There’s only one way to find out. And in any case, we don’t have any other exploitable leads. Joker!"
In the room, the ship seemed to awaken. "I hear you, Commander," Joker replied, his voice calm yet energetic. "Heading there now. We’ll be in the system in 24 hours."
"Very well." Shepard’s voice grew firmer, her body straightening into a command posture. Her gaze swept across the room, the attentive faces of her crew locked on her. "Everyone get ready. I’ll take a small team with me." She turned her gaze toward Liara, her eyes locking with hers, a silent promise shared.
Liara met her gaze, a barely perceptible shiver passing through her features. She remained calm, as always, but something in her eyes betrayed the intensity of the emotion she was holding back. Shepard, standing in front of her, straightened up, her voice becoming firmer, but also soft and tender.
"I want to know everything about this planet, Liara. The climate, the fauna, the flora... Everything that could help us anticipate what lies ahead." The words were carefully chosen, as if preparing herself, strengthening her confidence in the unknown, but only Liara could decipher what was going on in her eyes and mind, where uncertainties and a hint of worry mixed — worries she never let show. Shepard then added to Cerberus’s former ally: "Miranda, if you can retrieve all the information possible on this base, that would be perfect. We never know what might be waiting for us there."
She straightened up, the adrenaline beginning to flow through her veins, but she wasn’t in a hurry. Not yet. She wanted this mission to be prepared meticulously, while knowing that no preparation could truly account for the unknown. "In the meantime, everyone, rest up. We don’t know what’s waiting for us."
A silence fell. The crew members began to move, each following their instructions. The briefing room doors closed behind them, and Shepard felt Liara move closer, her hand gently sliding down her arm. She felt her even closer, like a familiar shadow, and it reassured her.
Jack and Miranda walked down the corridor toward the "cheerleader's" cabin. Their voices mixed with the tension in the air, a slightly mocking camaraderie floating between them.
"I don’t know what Shepard did to Liara, but they’re having a hard time peeling off from each other…" Jack chuckled, her tone light, almost lascivious, but also filled with that spark of curiosity that defined her.
Miranda raised an eyebrow, an amused smile playing on her lips. "I think she’s just breathing, that’s all." Her voice was calm, but there was a glint in her eyes that betrayed the truth they both knew: the intensity of the relationship between Shepard and Liara was obvious.
Jack, with a smirk, added with a sparkle in her voice: "Oh, well, Liara was about two seconds away from licking Shepard’s shadow."
Miranda shot a knowing glance, a small laugh escaping her lips. "How much do you wanna bet they’re going to explode before we even get to Aktarat?"
Jack, nonchalantly, shrugged. "I’ll bet an hour."
"Deal." Miranda replied, her smile slipping into a playful grin. The shadow of laughter lingered between them, but she knew this was more than just talk. They both knew the depth of the bond that tied the two women together, and they understood that it wasn’t just a game.
The Commander's cabin was silent, except for the soft metallic click of the M98 Widow that Camille Shepard maintained with almost sacred attention. Her sniper rifle, her silent companion on the battlefield, the tool of her efficiency. She treated it with almost intimate respect, each movement of her hands carrying a touch of tenderness, as if the weapon itself had a soul. Liara, sitting on the couch, absorbed in her research on Aktarat, stole a quick glance at her companion. She smiled slightly before making a remark, her tone both teasing and tense.
"I sometimes feel like if you could, you'd sleep with that... thing."
Shepard looked up, her gaze as piercing as the bullets she fired from her rifle, and responded indignantly: "Hey, don’t talk about the M98 Widow like that! It’s a little gem. Extreme precision, capable of piercing certain armor. Even Garrus is jealous of it."
Liara remained silent, but a small smile tugged at her lips, hiding her slight confusion. Of course, she knew it was part of Camille’s soldier side, but there was something irresistible in the way the Commander lost herself in her weapon, as if she found comfort in it, an anchor in a world often too chaotic. Liara turned her eyes from her datapad and focused on Shepard with an almost possessive attention. Her eyes followed every movement of her hands, each precise, almost ritualistic gesture, her crossed legs, her neck exposed by her V-neck shirt, her calm breath, her chest rising and falling with that tranquility.
Shepard, becoming aware of her lover’s gaze, allowed her focus on the rifle to shift into sensuality. She took her time, each movement slower, more graceful, as if to awaken a discreet but omnipresent desire.
"Shepard..."
Liara’s whisper vibrated the air around them, her voice soft yet charged with palpable intensity. A shiver ran down the Commander’s spine, and she smiled, the corner of her lips lifting, her gaze meeting the Asari’s with a spark of challenge.
"Oh, calling me by my last name now? You must really be wound up, my love."
The tone was teasing, though a glimmer of amusement shone in her eyes.
Liara didn’t respond immediately, but the atmosphere between them tightened, electrified. Shepard could feel Liara’s eyes burning through her, lingering on her silhouette. She set her rifle down on the table and, with a fluid gesture, stood up. She had wanted to play earlier? The Commander thought back to their fiery kiss, the hand that had caressed her thigh… the palpable tension between them in that moment. She slid her hands over her belt, unfastening it, and Liara froze. The pants slipped to the floor, followed by the t-shirt, revealing her lover’s finely toned abs, and the scars that the Asari both admired and despised. Liara’s pupils dilated slightly, and Shepard continued... one by one, the remaining clothes joined the floor. Liara could no longer detach her gaze, her eyes piercing through Camille’s skin, fascinated by every detail.
Shepard then moved toward the bathroom, wordlessly, naked, her gaze daring Liara’s. Her movements were slow, measured, like a silent promise. An invitation.
"I’m going to take a shower. Coming?"
Liara slowly stood, each movement controlled, an unshakable grace. But beneath her calm exterior, she burned with desire. Camille knew her too well not to see that hidden flame. She still had that power over her, the ability to ignite every fiber of her being. Liara approached with calculated slowness, her eyes fixed on the Commander’s figure, which stared back at her with a defiant gleam in her eyes. A gleam that Camille loved to make disappear during their love-making, under her precise caresses. Liara knew exactly what to do to drive Camille wild, and the reverse was true. But Liara was better at maintaining control in these situations.
"Are you aware that this shower is going to take... a lot longer than expected, right?" she informed her, even though the other knew perfectly well.
Shepard turned slightly, a defiant smile brushing her lips.
"Oh yes... that’s the point, Dr. T'Soni."
The beep of the communicator suddenly shattered the rising tension. Joker’s voice came through, clear and professional.
"Commander, approaching Aktarat. We’ll be near landing in 20 minutes."
Liara froze for a moment, a sigh of frustration escaping her lips. Her hands landed on Camille’s hips with a gentle but determined force, pushing her against her. The contact of their skin, Camille’s bare body against Liara’s uniform, sent a shiver of longing through both of them. Liara locked her gaze with Camille’s, her lips pressing against hers with burning intensity. Liara’s hands slid over Camille’s warm skin, each caress, each press against her body reminding her of how much this woman was hers.
"It seems we’ll have to put this off for later, darling…" Liara murmured against her lips, a provocative smile playing on her features. "Let me just give you a taste of what you’ve provoked."
The kiss that followed was wilder, more hurried, an explosion of shared desire. Liara’s hands were everywhere, lost in Camille’s curves, exploring her skin as if it were the last time. A moan escaped Shepard, her lips barely separating from Liara’s, feeling the heat of her body like an inferno. Every movement between them was an intoxicating dance, each kiss burning with a thousand silent promises.
And then Liara pulled away.
"Let’s go. Get ready. Commander."
Her tone was both a challenge and a warning. Liara knew what she was doing, and she loved it.
The door closed behind her, and Shepard, breathless, slowly straightened up. Her hands rested on her hips, her gaze drifting to the cabin where Liara had just exited. There was energy between them, a fire that was only waiting to burn. But this fire... it only asked to wait.
The warm water flowing over her skin moments later loosened her muscles. But her mind was elsewhere. Liara’s gaze. The tension. The desire. The heat. She found herself smiling alone under the water, forgetting the danger that threatened the bubble they had built.
Hundreds of light-years away, in a dimly lit space, a silhouette watched the illuminated screens in front of her. Images of the Citadel appeared from various angles, but only one particular area seemed to catch her attention: a corner of the residential zones, near the casino where she had played years ago.
Her gaze pierced through the pixels on the screen, scanning every detail, until the neighborhood she was looking for appeared. She observed for a moment, then a satisfied smile curled on her lips. It was empty.
"Have they started following my trail, Shepard?" she murmured in a barely audible breath.
Just then, a message appeared on one of the screens, confirming her suspicions.
"Veritas. The Normandy is entering the Noxus system. They seem to be heading for Aktarat."
The silhouette slowly straightened up, a sinister smile playing on her lips. She responded in a soft, almost hypnotic voice, full of seduction and control.
"It doesn’t matter. Let them think they’re making progress. They’ll never find our trail."
Silence fell as the silhouette’s gaze became icy, a metallic glint flashing through her eyes. Then, in an almost imperceptible whisper, she added, as a promise, a challenge.
"Ah, Shepard. I can’t wait to see how you defend yourself. This game... is going to be delicious."
