Mass Effect - A Hero Rises Ch. 68

Book 3, Chapter 18 - Council Matters

*****

"We obviously all need to talk, Shepard," Kelly said, with an obvious gesture to Ashley most of all, "Karin and Samantha will be here shortly. We can't just mope around here until we leave. Yes, we're all still sad, but..."

"I need to go see the Council so that should give you all time to talk. To be honest, you don't all know each other anyway, and if you're all going to be on the ship now, getting to know each other would be best."

"Tevos?" Liara asked, not innocently at all.

"No doubt I'll have a chat with her too. I'll pass them everything we found, add that to whatever Valern discovered. Udina is dead anyway. Cerberus should be in disarray. Tim would have spent plenty of resources in trying to take the Citadel. He'll be weakened now."

"Still don't know where he's getting all these soldiers," Miranda muttered.

"We'll keep looking."

Kelly took my hand and led me to the door, amusingly eager to get rid of me. She hugged and kissed me before putting her lips to my ear. "We might have a little fun while you're gone," she whispered, "Think it'll help some of us feel better."

"Hope you all do. We've got another couple of days here before we need to go. If we leave with smiles on our faces, it'll be better than when we arrived."

"I'll get in touch with Tara, invite her here too. Have you heard from her?"

"Called her the other night to make sure she was okay. She already has an invite to come here, but I let her know that things were a little... mournful at the moment."

"That's why we're going to have a little fun. Change the atmosphere."

I kissed her cheek, yelled to the others to have a little fun, and headed downstairs via the elevator. Keepers were already out and about, starting to fix some of the damage. Smoke continued to billow from certain areas. All fires had been extinguished but the wounds would remain visible for some time. Thankfully, humans in general were not being blamed for the attack. The Council made sure news networks from all species stated categorically that the attack was Cerberus, a fringe terrorist group that did not echo the sentiments shared by nearly all other humans, to live in peace when possible, but to fight together against the Reaper threat.

Personally, the Council was making sure my name, and those of my colleagues, were being reported in regards to saving the life of the Council and ending the main threat. The Council was going out of its way to thank the Alliance for the help, despite the fact it was a lone Alliance ship and crew that had assisted in saving the day. But if the positive propaganda was helping, I wasn't going to complain.

My meeting with the Council took place in privacy. Valern shook my hand and thanked me for saving his life. Admitting things would remain tricking because of previous matters, and well aware of my disdain for the dalatrass, he promised to open avenues in regards to salarian assistance. The best offer he could make immediately was in regards to the Crucible.

"Any help you can provide would be gratefully received," I said.

He nodded. "I will have some of our best scientists in position by the end of the week, Shepard. It is the least I can do."

"Primarch Victus is reporting krogan boots have already hit the ground on Palaven," Sparatus added, "He sounds confident it will at least stop Reaper progress. And it now frees some of our forces to keep in reserve for when we hit Earth."

"What is the great idea?" Tevos asked.

"We cannot fight a war of attrition against the Reapers. We simply don't have the resources to take them on in such a matter. We must gather all our forces and hit them with everything we have. Whether any cycle before has tried such a tactic or not, I'm not sure. But we were the first cycle to stop them using the Citadel. That meant they had to change tactics, and it gave us time to prepare. Now that they haven't been able to top the Council and our leadership in one swoop, we can take the time to organise, then hit them back."

"Ambitious. If it fails..." Valern started to say.

I met his eyes. "We won't fail, sir. We cannot fail. What I can do is keep the Council updated with our progress, regarding both the Crucible and the forces I am assembling."

They liked that idea and thanked me for it. After handing over the information I had about Udina, plus my initial reports in the Cerberus attack, Sparatus and Valern headed off to deal with other matters, and it was absolutely no surprise I was invited by Tevos to follow her. To my amusement, she didn't lead me down the corridor to her office. I walked alongside her as we walked to the elevator, riding up to a higher level, stepping out into what was obviously a residential complex.

"Care for a drink, Shepard?" she asked, not stopping myself staring at her arse as we walked into her apartment.

"Sure. Thanks."

"Wine okay? I always keep a few bottles from home close to hand."

"Sounds nice. Thanks."

She glanced at me and smiled. Perhaps just being polite earned it. I might have been raised on the streets, but the military had helped install discipline and I'd learned small things like manners helped. Could still be an uncouth bastard at the best of times, but considering I was with an asari councillor in her home, now was the time for decorum. Whether I'd managed to keep it up... pun intended...

I was taking in the view when I noticed her return in the window. I couldn't help chuckle as I turned around to see her approach with a glass in each hand. She'd taken off her dress, approaching me in a dark blue bra and panties, looking up from her bare feet and legs all the way to her eyes. There was no hint of nerves this time. In fact, I enjoyed the look of unbridled lust and desire in her eyes.

"So this is a social call?" I half-joked as I took the offered glass. When she took a small sip of hers before placing it down on the table, I didn't even bother taking a sip. This was a 'Would you like to come up for coffee' moment. I wasn't there to drink wine.

The mask slipped for a moment as she almost fell into my arms. She was tall but her head still rested under my chin. "I can never thank you enough, Shepard," she whispered, "I was terrified. No idea what was going on. And Udina seemed so... I want to say assured, but I think the word is arrogant. Like he knew something we didn't know. Guess I was right."

"Just glad I got to you in time," I whispered back.

She leaned back and kissed me. No soft, tentative kiss either, her tongue wasting no time entering my mouth as my hands immediately found their way up and down her back to her arse. Taking a breath, she took my hand and led me to a gorgeously decorated bedroom, light music already playing in the background. She helped off my jacket as we resumed kissing, though undoing the buttons of my shirt took longer as, despite the apparent confidence, her hands were shaking.

She eventually stopped, resting her head against my chest as we both had a chuckle. "Goddess, I feel like I'm a couple of hundred years younger..."

"Well, I am your first human. I can see why it's a big deal."

She shook her head. "Not just that. It's... you, Shepard. I shouldn't look at you any differently than anyone else but I can't help it. Our relationship is far beyond just professional now."

"I know, Ariana. I like that a lot. Wouldn't be here otherwise."

She seemed to take delight in undressing me, going so far as to remove my boots and socks, but it was removing my underwear that was the moment, particularly as I was already hard. When my cock sprang free, I shimmied so they dropped to the ground, flinging them back to join all my other clothes. Tevos looked down and immediately looked back up with a smile, kissing me again as I felt a soft hand gently grasp my shaft. I released a light growl which made her giggle.

"You're... strong, Shepard," she murmured, feeling her hands move up and down my back, up and down my arms and shoulders, before she ran them down my chest, "Rarely see human men without a shirt. All I can feel is muscle." She kissed me softly again. "Definitely a soldier."

"It's what I've been doing for years now. It's all I really know. Well, that and..." I looked her up and down. She actually giggled. It was a sound I simply didn't expect and I couldn't help laugh in return.

Lying her back on the bed, my intention was to hopefully prove a good lover. I'll admit to actually feeling a little pressure in performing. She was the asari councillor, one of the most powerful asari in the galaxy, the voice of her people, representing billions. And here she was, in bed with me. Something must have passed through my eyes as she leaned up to kiss me. "I want you, Shepard," she breathed.

Always nice to be wanted. Her bra disappeared quickly to reveal a pair of full breasts. My eyes must have lit up as she released another giggle, kissing down her body towards the thin fabric of her panties, peeling those off and slowly spreading her legs, feeling the smile form as her excitement was obvious.

She gasped when I lowered my mouth to taste her. Soon as I did that, I looked up and smiled... then went to town on her. I like to believe she loved every minute of what followed. Mouth focused on her pussy, my hands caressed the rest of her body. She had a great pair of legs, a flat, soft stomach, and my hands found their way to her breasts, feeling one of her hands grab a wrist to hold it in place, as I gave one of her nipples a lot of attention, provoking more than one gasp of delight.

"Shepard," she breathed, "Been so long."

That actually made me feel a little sad though I could understand her position would be a little isolating. Some others might have taken advantage of it, but I liked to think Tevos was a good person at heart. We obviously disagreed regarding certain matters regarding our professional lives, but all our private conversations had taken place with an air of openness and honesty.

"Goddess, keep going," she moaned, feeling her body react in a familiar way. The pressure I'd felt had disappeared rather quickly as soon as I'd started. "How long can you stay and do this?" she asked, a mixture of a moan and giggle at once.

"Long as you want, Ariana," I whispered back, only stopping for a moment, my tongue back doing what I liked to think it did best, earning another moan of delight.

I was left thinking Tevos was trying to hold back the building orgasm for as long as possible. I'd slept with enough women and asari by now to know the signs a woman was getting close. Subtle clues I'd picked up over the years. When I knew she was getting close, two fingers were slid inside her. That earned almost a groan of delight, feeling her body involuntarily move down onto them. "Goddess, yes," she cried, then covered her mouth, laughing again. "Oh, I'm close, Shepard."

A couple of minutes later, Councillor Tevos was lying back, sucking in deep breaths while I was busy leaving soft kisses around her pussy. I was ready to keep going, but she's managed to ask me to stop, as it was simply too intense for the moment. Leaving soft kisses up her body, I rested above her as her eyes lit up, a warm smile appearing immediately.

"Higher opinion of humanity now?"

Humour and sex go hand in hand. She laughed again before she kissed me, feeling her fingers run around to the back of my head. When her legs wrapped around me, feeling her ankles hook around my back, I certainly felt my own smile form. Neither of us may have been looking down, but sliding my cock inside her was easy enough, though doing it slowly as I already knew her experience with the male species of any was limited at best.

"Oh my," she whispered. I didn't say anything as I carefully buried myself, "Oh my. Oh, I like this already."

"Good thing you do, Ariana."

"No wonder the asari love human men if it feels this good!"

"You feel pretty fucking great yourself, Ariana."

That earned an immediate blush. Admittedly, I didn't last long as I was far too excited about the idea of being intimate with her. She knew I'd been attracted to her since the first time I'd seen her. Getting to where we were now hadn't been a long wait, as I certainly didn't expect our relationship to be anything but professional. Bu once she started to hint at an attraction returned, I guess ending up how we were at that moment shouldn't have been too big a surprise to either of us.

When I warned her I was close, I felt her legs tighten around me a little more. I met her eyes and she grinned. "I want to feel you cum in me," she said, blushing a little more.

A last warning before I groaned and unloaded. Having not had sex in a few days because of everything, it felt pretty damned good regardless, but even better as she was a new partner and proved to be a lot of fun already. I felt her fingers run up and down my back as I gathered myself, and earned another chuckle from her when I started to move inside her.

"Again, Shepard?" she asked in surprise.

"Give it ten minutes and I'll be rock hard again."

"Still feel pretty hard now."

"Well, ten minutes' time, I'm rolling onto my back and watching you enjoy my cock."

"Goddess, I've thought about that... more often than I should probably admit..." She kissed my cheek. "Well, I've thought about how flexible I still am and other positions we can try."

I leaned back and met her eyes. "Now or later?"

"I'm hoping you'll be with me many more times in the future, Shepard."

"You do know..."

She kissed me again. "We'll talk about it later. Now, I remember you saying something about me riding your cock?"

Watching her stretch a leg over to straddle me, she amused herself rubbing her pussy against my shaft before grabbing the base and slowly lowering herself down. Her face lit up with delight again as I watched it disappear inside her. With hands lightly resting on her lips, I let her get comfortable, watching her try any position she thought would work. She knew I wasn't going to cum again soon, so she had plenty of time to try new things. And when she eventually enjoyed an orgasm of her own, even I couldn't stop smiling as she simply looked so happy.

We couldn't make love forever, Tevos eventually needing to cry enough once I came inside her again, collapsing onto the bed next to me, giggling away as she cuddled into me. "Making me feel like a maiden again, Shepard."

Wrapping an arm around her, pulling her tighter, I kissed her forehead. "I'm just glad you invited me here today."

"Wish I'd done this earlier. Perhaps the day after we'd made you a Spectre. Though then I would have had to deal with your disappearance in a way like all your other lovers."

"I guess that isn't a secret, all my lovers."

"No, but I guess you wanted to talk about it?"

"Does it bother you?"

She almost snorted. "Please, asari have numerous lovers over their long lives, Shepard. You're just compressing that into the century or so you'll live." She kissed my cheek. "If you want to invite me along one day, I'll definitely say yes. I have no problem enjoying sex with women too."

"Next time I'm on the Citadel. I'll give you some warning as I know you'll be busy."

"Deal." She snuggled into me. "I know you'll need to go eventually, but would you like to stay for..." She checked the time. "Um, let's call it afternoon tea."

We enjoyed a shower first before getting dressed. That was actually my suggestion, admitting that if we remained naked, I wouldn't leave her alone, and I knew she was incredibly busy. She assured me a few hours away from her office wouldn't change the situation, and that I was actually a rather pleasant distraction. She then tried to apologise for calling me that. I said I'd been called a hell of a lot worse, and being a pleasant one was only a good thing.

Tevos proved to be quite skilled in the kitchen. She was a little worried about the asari food she served, assuring her I'd eaten it plenty of times over the years. Quite frankly, I found it tastier than a lot of human food, the only thing they didn't eat in abundance was red meat. But I didn't need it with every meal anyway. What she provided was light, tasty, and with the accompanying wine bottle she'd opened earlier, it was a nice way to spend the last hour together before she needed to return to work.

I earned a smile as I accompanied her back to her office. Stopping at her door, we were going to keep it professional until we embraced, feeling her soft lips on my cheek. "Until next time, Shepard."

"If I don't see you before I leave, I'll let you know when I'm back on the Citadel again."

Wishing me luck, she headed to her desk, and I watched her walk away before turning and heading back to the elevator. I chose to walk all the way back to the Silversun Strip, feeling in a much better mood about things. I still felt a tinge of sadness deep within, but I'd learned long ago to deal with the losses. They happened, deal with the grief, file it away in my mind, harden my heart to it, then move on. The only time I'd had to do otherwise was Annie. I'd spent months speaking to someone about the grief I'd felt with her loss, but considering she was the first woman I'd ever loved, and then she was immediately taken from me, no wonder I was left feeling absolutely crushed... and burning with a desire for vengeance against anyone responsible.

Reaching the apartment complex, I stopped and looked up, chuckling to myself. I was daydreaming about what I was going to find inside. If Kelly was being honest, I was going to walk into an apartment of naked women, all of them being intimate. I felt a stirring in my loins at the thought.

Opening the door, I was greeted by the sound of at least some women having sex. Apart from some very loud moaning, there was no missing Miranda begging to be fucked hard, and hearing Jack asking for the same thing had me raising my eyebrows. Closing the door, there were woman in the lounge area fucking, and I assumed more were in the bar area and elsewhere in the house.

Kelly was on her knees and peered over the top of the lounge. She smiled when seeing me. "He's back," she said to whoever she was eating out.

It was Ashley, which made me grin immediately as she lifted herself up to look back at me. "Having fun?" I asked her.

"Kelly is very talented, Shepard. Made me cum hard twice already."

"I'm not done with you yet, Ash," Kelly said, gently pulling her down and getting back to work.

Liara appeared from the bar area, and I burst into laughter as she was wearing a strap on, watching it swing as she approached me. "So did you fuck her?"

"We made love, Liara. She's... a delight. I really like her, and I think she likes me just as much in return."

"She does. You know we message each other often. You are nearly always mentioned in her messages. Her attraction has been obvious for a long time now."

"Who are you fucking right now?"

"Both Jackie and Miranda are being double teamed right now."

"Anyone not fucking?"

"Well, I'm not at this moment, but I intend on returning to Miranda in a minute. She'll start complaining that her arse is empty, though I'm sure Sammy is keeping her happy for the moment." She kissed my cheek. "Head upstairs and get changed. Sure there are a couple of girls in the hot tub, taking a break anyway."

Kelly and Ashley were being intimate. Liara and Samantha were with Miranda. Chakwas, to my surprise, and Emily were with Jack. I gave her a kiss on the cheek as she looked like she was having an absolute blast. Wandering upstairs, I found Kasumi, Gianna and Tara enjoying a drink and relaxing in the hot tub.

"Get naked and join us," Gianna insisted.

That's exactly what I did, finding myself between her and Tara, with Kasumi to Gianna's other side. They had a couple of cocktail pitchers sitting to the side, handing me a glass of something pink and smelling rather fruity. I took a sip and it nearly blew my head off. "Holy shit, what's in this?"