Slaves of Cerberus | By : NakedOwlMan Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 138070 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2 |
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"So, what do you think a krogan guy would find romantic? A bouquet of venus fly traps? Candle-lit dinner by moonlight, toasting with the blood of your enemies? Urgh, this is so tricky!"
Michele looked over from her workstation with a familiar expression of annoyance. "Seriously, Lisa? You're still going on about this?"
Lisa flashed her friend a crooked smile, one that Michele knew had gotten the blond seductress into more than one set of pants in the past. "Sorry. It's just... I can't believe how badly I misread Grunt. Thinking he was some macho alpha male warrior who wouldn't hesitate to claim a willing female at the drop of a hat. And here, turns out he's a big, cuddly romantic. Who would have ever guessed, you know?"
"Yeah, looks can be deceiving. Now does this mean you're going to finally shut up about your Quest for Quad?" Michele asked.
This elicited a snicker from Lisa. "That's a good one, actually. I'll have to remember that one."
"I have my moments," Michele said.
"But no, this is only the beginning," Lisa said. "God knows I love a challenge. And it's going to be that much more exciting when I finally entice that sweet, innocent lug into getting his first taste of human." She quirked an eyebrow at Michele. "You think I'm his first human? I have to be, right? Maybe even his first female, period." Raising her hands up from her control panel, Lisa clenched her fists and shook them in excitement. "Oooh! I'm going to pop Grunt's cherry! This is gonna be so awesome!"
Michele sighed. "That's the word I was looking for. 'Awesome.' Now, could you please stop talking about it for the rest of our shift? Right about now, the last thing I want to think about is aliens having sex with humans."
"Really? Why?" Lisa asked innocently.
"You serious?" Michele asked, sounding mildly disgusted. "Didn't you see those videos coming out of Omega?"
Recognition dawned on Lisa's face. "Oh, right. Yeah, those were... horrible. Just horrible. Innocent human women being drug out of their homes by insatiably horny aliens. Having their clothes violently torn off before being held down and violated by an endless array of giant cocks of every shape and size. Being pumped full of cum just before being auctioned off and sold into sexual slavery, to spend the rest of their lives as nothing but human fuck toys." Lisa's eyes were distant as she lingered on the images. "Yeah, what a... what a nightmare. I can't even imagine myself being in that position." With a twinkle in her eye, she added with a smile, "At least, not while I'm on duty. But once my shift is over and I'm back in my bunk..."
Shaking her head, Michele turned back to her workstation. "You're so fucking twisted, Lisa."
"Say, once we finish off this mission and head back to Omega, think Commander Taylor would let me come along?" Lisa mused, ignoring Michele's obvious aggravation. "I could be, like, a distraction or something. Keep all those horny aliens at bay while Jacob puts a bullet in Balak's head."
"Okay, seriously, Lisa, let's stop talking about this," Michele said, her voice grave. "I mean, really. Just seeing all those humans being treated like that... almost makes you wonder if Cerberus might have a point, you know?"
Lisa blinked, staring over at Michele in confusion. "Makes you wond... wait, are you serious?"
"It's just... everybody talks about Cerberus like it was an organization full of heartless monsters," Michele said bitterly. "But there were people like the Commander and Joker and Private Riggs and Li... whatever, you know what I mean. Shit, even Shepard was working with them at some point."
"Because she had to," Lisa responded, staring over at her friend with an odd look. "Because nobody else wanted to deal with the Reapers. And as soon as Shepard got what she wanted out of them, she..."
"I know, I know," Michele said, suddenly strangely agitated. "All I'm saying is... Cerberus may have been evil at its core, but there were good people in their ranks. Meanwhile, look at those videos from Omega. You see any aliens fighting against Balak? Any of them resisting all this depravity? No, every single one of them is taking part in this. Dammit, if you ask me, maybe we should be listening to the Terra Firma party. Maybe we should... should..."
"Should what, Ensign DeSilva?" said a voice from behind them. The two bridge crew members whirled to see that Jacob had stepped down from the CIC platform, and had come up from behind their chairs without either of them noticing. "What was it you were discussing with Ensign Mason that was so important?"
Michele looked aghast, not realizing that she had been speaking so loudly. "Sorry, Commander, it's... it's nothing. Ensign Mason and I were just having a minor disagreement on some politics."
"Glad to see you two have the spare time to discuss politics," Jacob said, his voice cold and stern, "considering everyone else on the bridge is devoting all of their attention to this extremely important mission. Perhaps I should relieve you two of duty and have you sent to the brig. You'll have plenty of time to discuss all the politics you want down there."
"No, sir," Michele quickly said. "That won't be necessary. It won't happen again, I promise."
"Me too, sir," Lisa chimed in, sitting up straight in her seat with wide eyes. "I mean... I'll focus on my duties, sir, you have my word."
Jacob frowned at the two of them, the two women anxiously awaiting his next words as he held their fate in his hands. Finally, he let out a short, harsh breath. "I have to go check on some things for a few minutes. We're getting close to our destination and I want to ensure that everything is prepared. Can I trust you two to focus on your duties while I'm away?"
"Yes, sir," both women immediately responded in unison.
"Very well, then. Carry on," Jacob said, giving them a few more seconds of the evil eye before turning on his heel and heading out of the CIC.
Once she was sure he was out of earshot, Lisa turned to Michele, pursing her lips and whistling. "Somebody's grumpy today," she insightfully observed.
"Can you blame him?" Michele said quietly, not turning away from her workstation as she spoke. "Those are his friends on the other side of the Omega 4 relay, and we turned our backs on them."
"What could we do?" Lisa asked. "It was either that or get blown into space dust. He has to know that trying to fly through that army of oculuses... oculi... oculusesses... droids would have been suicide, right?"
Michele let out another annoyed grunt. "Lisa, maybe if you thought about more than just getting laid, you'd understand why leaving people you care about in danger, even if it's the right decision, can make you feel like crap. Now would you pipe down and focus on your station? I'm not about to let you get me into trouble again."
"Hey, you were the one who..." Lisa started to say, before putting a petulant pout on her face and turning back to her station.
* * *
"Stop fidgeting, Tara! I'm telling you, you look absolutely stunning!"
Staring at herself in the mirror set into the wall of the vacated women's locker room, Rooker frowned. "Really?" she asked the gushing quarian next to her. "You don't think it's a bit... much?"
"Of course not!" Tali exclaimed, running one of her three-fingered hands down the fabric of the bright pink and purple striped gown that Rooker was currently wearing. "It's absolutely stunning. Well..." she said, pursing her lips behind her breathing mask as she stared appraisingly at the gown, "Maybe it's a bit on the plain side as far as coloring, but I suppose it will have to do. I'm just glad we were able to find somebody on board who was able to modify one of my dresses to fit you."
"Yeah, about that. You think maybe we might be able to have a few more modifications done?" Rooker asked, gripping the top of the gown with her fingers and attempting to yank it up higher on her chest. "I felt like one wrong breath and I'm going to be spilling out of this thing."
A sly look crossed Tali's face. "Well, that's the whole point, isn't it? You're there as a distraction, after all. The whole point is for you to keep Dugas focused on those," she pointed a finger at Rooker's ample breasts, barely contained inside the modified dress, "and not on why his old comrade is showing up out of nowhere asking for a ship."
"I suppose," Rooker said, not sounding entirely convinced. Narrowing her eyes at the reflection of the awkward, barely-dressed woman in the mirror, Rooker ran a hand through her long dark brown hair, normally tied up in a ponytail but now freed to spill down across her shoulders. "Just gotta make sure none of the guys in the barracks see me like this. I'd never live it down if..."
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a knock at the door. "Are you decent in there?" came a muffled voice.
Turning to Tali, Rooker frantically shook her head. Tali nodded and then, with a mischievous smirk, turned to the door and called out. "Come on in!"
"Tali, you rotten..." Rooker hissed, before the door slid open to reveal the Orpheus's commander on the other side.
Stepping into the locker room, Jacob regarded his XO with an inquisitive look. "Well, looks like you're nearly ready," he said, as Rooker's cheeks immediately turned bright red.
"We still need to do her makeup, of course," Tali said, ignoring Rooker's obvious discomfort. "Put some concealer on that Alliance Navy tattoo and do up her face all nice and pretty. But once we're done with that, I think she'll look absolutely stunning."
"Commander, I'm really not sure about this," Rooker said, taking a step in Jacob's direction. "Maybe we should... whoah..."
Jacob watched Rooker as she attempted to walk towards him, hiding the smile on his face as she stepped tentatively on the strappy high heels she was wearing. "Watch yourself, now," he said. "Wouldn't want you to break an ankle before we reach Elysium. When's the last time you wore heels like that, anyway?"
"Uh, maybe senior prom..." Rooker said, her feet wobbling slightly as she walked.
Jacob furrowed his brow, turning to Tali with a look of concern. "Maybe we better find a nice pair of flats for Lieutenant Commander Rooker to wear."
"No, I'm fine, sir," Rooker said, taking another careful step. "If you're dead set on me being the one to go on this mission, I'm not going to do anything half-assed." She stared her commander dead in the eye and stated confidently. "And if the mission is to pretend to be a brainless bimbo, then I'm going to be the best damn brainless bimbo I can be."
"That's why you're my XO, Rooker," Jacob said. "You never settle for less than the best."
Shooting a quick, devious glance over at Rooker, Tali moved in close to Jacob. "Could you do me a favor, Jacob? Could you..." was the last words that were audible to Rooker before Tali leaned in close to Jacob and began whispering in his ear.
"Hey, what are you... Commander, I don't like this at all," Rooker protested as Jacob and Tali exchanged quiet words with each other, occasionally glancing back at Rooker. "As your XO, there should be no secrets between the two of us, you know!"
Ignoring her, Jacob smiled slightly as Tali finished her whispered words. "You've got it, Tali," he said. "Anyway, we're a few hours out from Elysium, and I want to check in with command before we arrive. Anything else you two need from me at the moment?"
"No, I think we're all good," Tali said.
"I'm not all good!" Rooker exclaimed, but Jacob was already turning to walk away. "What did she say to you, Commander? I swear, I don't care if you are my superior officer. If you tell anybody else about this, I'll..."
As Jacob left the room, Tali turned to Rooker with a disarming smile. "It's nothing, Tara. Just a secret between two old friends."
Rooker looked doubtful, but suspecting that she wouldn't get any further out of Tali decided to let it go for the moment. Turning back to the mirror, she gave herself another look. "Well... I suppose it doesn't look too bad," she said, turning to the side and arching her back.
"You look great in it, Tara," Tali said. "I still remember the last time I wore that gown. A diplomatic function on Palaven, chatting up turian politicians about working on a trade agreement between their people and Rannoch." She chuckled to herself. "Never would have expected to see a dance floor at a turian reception, but sure enough. I remember stepping out there with Garrus and..." Trailing off, Tali let out a long sigh. "Well, anyway... I'm glad to see you looking so lovely in it."
Seeing the sudden melancholy come over Tali, Rooker turned away from her reflection towards the quarian. "Hey, sorry if I'm getting too personal or something, but what's up with you two, anyway?" she asked. "I've seen you with Garrus in the mess hall, and you seem really close. But I asked Jacob if the two of you were together, and he didn't seem sure how to answer."
"I'm not surprised," Tali said. "Garrus and I, we had a fling back during the war, but afterwards we had duties to our people. Helping to rebuild our homeworlds, that sort of thing. So we both agreed that it would be best to keep things casual, and not make any commitments." Tali paused, almost seeming to leave it at that, but then said, "I thought I would be okay with that, but seeing him here like this... the two of us serving together on the same vessel like old times..."
"Tali, I'll admit that I'm not the best at reading humans a lot of the time, much less turians and quarians," Rooker said softly. "But it sure looks to me like the two of you are crazy about each other. Sure, it might be difficult keeping things going long-distance, but don't you think it might be worth it to give it a try?"
Tali glanced away from Rooker to stare at a nearby wall. "It's... it's not that simple. Every time we get together, Garrus tells me all about the women he's been with. About how much fun he's having being single, and then I tell him..." Tali hesitated again, before turning back to Rooker to stare her in the eye. "Can you keep a secret, Tara?"
"Of course, Tali," Rooker sincerely promised. In her mind, she couldn't help but add, After all, don't I have so many of my own to keep? What's one or two of somebody else's?
"Well, like I said, we both agreed that we would keep our relationship casual," Tali explained. "But not just that. I had this idea that, whenever we got the chance to be together, we'd give each other all the details of the people we had been with since the last time. I thought it might be kind of... hot, you know? Hearing about Garrus enjoying himself with all those different women. And I was right. The first time we met up again, when he started talking about having sex with all those ladies, and not even all of them turian... I couldn't wait to get him out of that armor and into bed. But then... then he looked at me. Waiting for me to return the favor. But I... I..."
Rooker understood before Tali could even say it. "You didn't have any stories, did you?"
"I tried, I really did," Tali said. "But whenever I would start flirting with some handsome quarian male, all I could think about was Garrus. So when he and I were back together, and he asked me about who I'd been with, I just... I made it all up." She laughed bitterly. "I'd just think back to all the smutty vids I used to watch back when I was young, and I'd just tell the stories of those with me as one of the participants. And Garrus never caught on. He'd listen to me lie to his face and it'd just get him more and more turned on. And after a few times, I just couldn't bear to tell him the truth." Shaking her head, Tali stared at Rooker with slightly-glistening eyes. "And even if I could... I wouldn't dream of trying to tie him down when he's out there enjoying himself so much. So now I have to lie and tell him all about the dozens of men I've been with, when I've really only been with one."
Rooker fidgeted slightly. She really wasn't good in these sorts of situations, figuring out what to say to somebody with relationship problems. Ask her to drill a target between the eyes at 500 yards, no problem. Ask about dating, and Tara Rooker was dumb as a post.
Finally, she stammered something that she hoped sounded comforting. "Listen, if you really feel something for Garrus, you should just open up to him about it. You don't have to tell him about the fake stories, but just ask him if there's any chance of you two having a future as more than just friends with benefits. If he says no, then at least you know. But from the way I've seen him look at you, I really don't think that he'll be that quick to shoot you down."
"I'd like to think so, but it's just..." Tali started to say, then shook her head. "Ah, I shouldn't be bothering you with this. You've got an important mission to prepare for, and here I am boring you with my personal problems."
"It's no problem, Tali," Rooker said, then added after a pause, "although, there's maybe something you can do for me in return."
Tali gave Rooker a warm smile. "Sure, what is it?"
"Tell me what you whispered to Commander Taylor before," Rooker responded.
Tali paused to consider this. "Well... you did listen to me babble about my personal problems and all," she said. But with a devious glint in her eye, she added, "Sorry, nope. You'll just have to find out for yourself."
"Dammit, Tali," Rooker said, as Tali grinned and quickly dashed out of the locker room before Rooker could grab hold of her. "If you and Jacob are plotting some embarrassing trick on me, I'll rip that mask of yours off and cough right in your face!"
But Tali was already gone. Sighing wearily, Rooker decided to practice walking in her high-heeled shoes until they arrived at their destination. After about ten minutes or so of shaky attempts, she still felt herself stumbling a bit, nearly turning her ankle with every step.
"Dammit, Rooker, you can do this!" she muttered to herself. "You're a goddamn Alliance Marine. You can survive ten days in an alien foxhole on nothing but MREs and dirty water. I know damn well you can handle walking in high heels."
After a few more minutes, her slow, wobbling steps became more confident. Before too long, she was walking back and forth across the locker room, barely even stumbling as she went. After one more successful trek across the room, she did an effortless spin, her dress whirling around her in a colorful flash as she grinned and pumped a fist in the direction of the closed locker room door. "Yeah!" she exclaimed.
And just at that moment, the door to the locker room slid open. "Hey, I got here as soon as I could," Vega said, gasping slightly as if he had run all the way across the ship. "Commander said you needed help with..."
As Rooker stared at him in shock, Vega's eyes finally focused on her. In an instant, his jaw went slack, his eyes staring intently at her as his words trailed off. "...with... uh... with moving some... some..." he muttered, his cheeks flushing red as he caught a good look at Rooker in her evening gown.
"Dammit, Tali," Rooker muttered to herself, her face turning almost as red as Vega's as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Would you close the damn door, already? Before half the ship gets a look at me in this ridiculous outfit?"
"Close the door..." Vega said the words as if it was the first time he had ever heard them in his life. Finally, his mental functions kicked in, and he nodded. "The door, right," he said, pressing the button and shutting the locker room door behind him.
"Well, I suppose sending you here was Tali's way of proving to me that I look good enough to be a sufficient distraction," Rooker said, sounding slightly annoyed. "Well, as long as you're here... what do you think?"
Vega's eyes drifted down her body, but didn't linger too long before going back to her face. "I... yeah, I'd say you're looking like a pretty good distraction to me. If that krogan friend of Zaeed's is as into humans as Zaeed says, he won't be able to focus on anything but you."
"Well, good," Rooker responded, moving a hand up underneath her hair to rub at the back of her neck. "I'm... I'm glad you think so."
"If I'm being honest, though," Vega said, having finally managed to compose himself enough to speak normally. "I gotta admit something. If it was a choice between seeing you in that dress, chica, and seeing you in your combat armor... I'd take the armor any day."
She gave him a doubtful look. "You're joking, right?"
"No way," Vega assured her. "Because as... well, as smoking hot as you look in that dress, I can tell that it's making you really damn uncomfortable. I mean, it may look good, but it just ain't you you know? Not like when you're all suited up with a rifle in your hands. That's where you're at home, I can tell. And... well, I guess I've always been a guy who's more into attitude than looks. And I'd be much more into seeing you fully clothed and confident as hell, than awkward as hell and being... not fully clothed, you know?" Waving a hand at her, Vega grunted. "Ah, I'm not making any damn sense. Forget I even said anything. You look great, and I'm sure you'll do perfect."
"I hope so," Rooker said, finding herself not minding Vega's awkward flirting for once. "But you're right about one thing... I am really uncomfortable in this." Taking a step towards him, she smiled slightly. "Let you in on a little secret, though. I've got something with me that's going to make me a lot less uncomfortable."
Vega arched his brow. "Really, what's..." he started to say, but then swallowed his words as Rooker reached a hand through the slit in her dress's skirt and up to her inner thigh. "Whoa, hey, what are you..."
With a rapid motion, Rooker gripped her fingers around the comforting metal and yanked the concealed weapon out of the leg holster hidden underneath her skirt. "M-4 Shuriken," she said, checking the heatsink before securing it back underneath her dress. "A bit of a lightweight weapon, I know, but a lot easier to conceal than something like a Carnifex. If things go bad, and Dugas isn't as friendly as Zaeed remembers him... always helps to have a backup."
"Damn straight," Vega said, grinning at her. "They can put you in as many dresses as they want, but underneath all that sheer fabric there's still a goddamn, hard-as-hell Alliance Marine."
"Oorah," Rooker responded, unable to fight the urge to return his smile. "Still, can't wait to get this over with so we can get back to Omega, kick that bastard Balak out of the nearest airlock, and deal with this Cerberus VI so we can go and get back Commander Shepard."
The mention of Shepard, and the reminder of her continued captivity, dampened Vega's mood somewhat. "You bet," he said, squaring his jaw and pounding a fist into an open hand. "And if you need anything before we hit Elysium, you just let me know."
"Just one thing," Rooker said. "When we get there... you make damn sure all of the men are nowhere near the shuttle bay. I'm not about to let any of them see me looking like this."
"You got it... ma'am," Vega said with a smirk. "This'll just be between you and me."
* * *
Jacob stood at attention as the holographic image of Admiral Hackett was generated by the QEC device. "Admiral," Jacob said, firing off a salute.
"Good to hear from you, Commander Taylor," Hackett said, returning the salute. "How goes the search for Shepard?"
"Not great, to be honest, Admiral," Jacob said. In detail, he gave Hackett a rundown of everything that had happened since his last report. Their run-in with Cerberus at Ontarom, and Kasumi's tracking device leading the Orpheus to the Omega Nebula. He winced as he recounted the failed attempt to access the Omega 4 relay, Tali's discovery of the VI coordinating the oculus drones, and their current plan to access Omega using a borrowed ship from Zaeed's old comrade.
"Sounds like you've got a plan, Commander," Hackett said after Jacob had finished. "Only wish I could contribute more to your efforts."
Jacob frowned. "Sorry to hear that, Admiral. I had hoped that maybe you could spare some people. We have no idea what's waiting for us on the other end of that relay, after all. Even assuming we can take care of Balak and destroy Cerberus's VI."
"Those damn videos," Hackett muttered. "As if tensions between humans and aliens weren't bad enough back on Earth. Cerberus releasing those videos from Omega was like tossing a match in a room full of gasoline fumes. We're barely keeping the peace back on Earth with the men we have, even with the alien security forces assisting us. Under the current circumstances, I'm just afraid I can't spare any people."
"I understand, Admiral," Jacob said, unable to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "I'll make do with what I have."
Hackett raised up his hand. "Just a minute, Commander. While I can't spare any Alliance forces to assist you... recently I've been contacted by certain other parties. Not quite as substantial as the Alliance military, but they might be able to provide you with some much needed manpower."
"Other parties?" Jacob said, confused and more than a little perturbed. "Admiral, I thought our mission was being kept under wraps. How did they know..."
"Don't ask me, Commander. All I know is that somehow, they are aware of your mission, and are willing to provide assistance," the admiral responded. "Sorry I can't provide any more details, but they specifically told me that their assistance was contingent on their identities not being revealed over any open channels."
Jacob frowned. "Can't say I like the sound of that, sir. Usually prefer an ally who's willing to stand with us in the light, rather than hiding back in the shadows."
"I wouldn't have told you about this if I didn't think they were trustworthy, Commander," Hackett responded. "Just know that you have allies out there, and they will be contacting you directly."
"If you think they can be trusted, sir, then that's enough for me," Jacob responded. "Just hope they get to us in time. For whatever it is we're going to have to face before this is over."
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