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The Justicar's Dog of War	By : Doirly_No Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 55026 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 31
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- 33
"Horseshit!"
The maiden at the other end of the comm bristled, "The bet was to PROVIDE the entertainment. Not that I had to BE the entertainment."
"Oh and you would have been satisfied if I showed up with Monopoly and a six-pack?" Shepard skeptically asked the small asari filling her screen.
Hawke's entire face scrunched up as she unconvincingly answered, "I would have."
"Uh huh," the human stared down the young alien.
"You don't believe me!?" The socialite had an awful poker face.
"Oh come on, Hawke. You lost," Isabela's voice suddenly invaded from off screen. "And if I don't get laid by a galactic hero I'll make sure you don't get laid by anyone for a month."
"Jerk!" the maiden spat to her right.
"Double or nothing," Shepard decided to throw the girl a bone.
"What?" Hawke's attention returned to the human in the comm.
"We'll play another game. You win, I bring the beer and I'll also make sure you don't spend the next month in bed alone. I win and your little, blue butt is mine."
For just over a minute the maiden suffered through weighing her options before finally conceding, "What game?"
It took a few hours for them to negotiate what they would compete in. First though they had to call around to see who would participate; both having their share of problems getting anyone to go along with the new bet. Merrill was easy, she wanted to play in the other game and would have if not for the fact she couldn't be stripped. To get Tallis on board Hawke only had to mention how badly she got her ass kicked and her competitive nature took over. Bethany was then broken down by her childhood friend's pathetic pleas. Beyond those three it took some finagling and a change in the stakes; Liara would only agree to play if she had a chance to beat Shepard.
So suddenly it was a free-for-all, significantly affecting which games were an option. It also made the need for even sides nonexistent opening a spot for Isabela and since the completely inexperienced stripper was playing an invite was extended to Kelly. That left two to go. Samara fell to Shepard's talented tongue, tight t-shirt and tiny, cotton panties. The peer pressure of being the odd woman out and reassurances that she wouldn't have to team with Tallis, Bethany or Isabela got Aveline to join in.
The participants set, they chose a Strip Arena Match variant called Huntress Harem. A few centuries ago a close knit squad of commandos invented it as a way to decide who would be at the 'top' of their unit while on shore leave. The rules they came up with were a bit more complicated than a normal contest's. The key difference being the means of victory; either capturing every point or having the most points before time expires. The VI referee had a long list of equations to break any tie. The points being other players and capturing being done by changing the color of an opponent's uniform. Rather than stripping, slugs would change the hue of the material, the amount dependent on the power of the weapon.
So the red player could capture blue by shooting them enough to change over half their uniform to red. If the red player is later captured by the green player then blue would be free to reenter the game. Although, those captured lose their weapons and would be rather defenseless until they found a new one; it would therefore be easy for green to catch blue right along with red. Or green could just take blue away from red and leave it at that. It added an interesting amount of strategy around balancing going on the offense or focusing on defending what one already had. Plus it gave great opportunities to taunt and humiliate opponents. Blue would have to do whatever red ordered so long as she was a captive and didn't involve either taking off any gear, which did severely limit the options.
Things were further complicated by not every player being worth the same number of points and the fact one's own point value was subtracted from their score. In the case of this match the scoring tiers were mostly rather obvious. Shepard and Samara were given the highest point value of five, while Isabela and Kelly were each given the lowest of only one.   The two powerful biotics with oodles of combat experience Aveline and Liara would each net four points. Despite a lengthy, heartfelt protest from Hawke she was given a value of two rather than three, along with Tallis. Instead, sitting in the middle at three was the deceptively adept Merrill and the one time resistance member Bethany.
What that all equated to was Shepard could capture Isabela, Tallis, Hawke and Bethany, but still lose if Kelly somehow managed to catch Samara. Which wasn't out of the question if the Justicar decided to simply surrender to the redhead. Alliances weren't outlawed and personal interests didn't end with the starting buzzer. Such as Isabela, who had no illusions about winning, and planned to give herself up quickly, figuring she'd have more fun as a captive than out in the field alone; she did have some preferences though. On the opposite end was Liara who just wanted Shepard to lose and would do whatever it took to make that happen.
There was no one in the galaxy the Shadow Broker felt second to. She was more powerful than any who was more capable, more capable than any who was more intelligent and more intelligent than any who was more powerful; with one exception. That one exception, who made her feel like the shy, little, bashful archeologist she was a half decade ago, Commander Shepard. If honest with herself perhaps she would recognize the innocent joy and comfort she could recapture while in the presence of the person she felt so utterly safe with. Not only in the knowledge this woman would never hurt her in any sense, but also in the knowledge no one else ever could for no one was stronger. If only the human wasn't so fucking annoying about it.
Another stipulation of having a lower point value was having to wear a skimpier outfit. Thus Kelly Chambers found herself traipsing through the undergrowth of an indoor jungle wearing goggles, boots, pads, and a bikini, which of course was pink. At least it wasn't too immodest, the top gave some athletic support and the cheeky bottoms did cover a bit of her ass. Tripping over a tree root she wished a more urban setting was chosen, there was a reason she preferred to work on starships and space stations, but the war veterans didn't want to be reminded of any actual battles they may have fought. She couldn't worry about her surroundings or wardrobe though, there were more pressing matters at hand.
Her first priority had to be getting a weapon; players and weapons were spread around the field randomly. In Kelly's case she emerged from a door between a pair of gigantic boulders and when she looked back it was hidden by a bunch of vines. Luckily she didn't have to search too long before she spotted a grenade by a tree. If she remember correctly they didn't have the largest blast radiuses, but it was really the best item she could find. All she had to do was throw it, she could do that and she had a good arm. Once she picked it up the little light on top turned pink, at least for the moment.
As soon as Kelly's back straightened something stung her ass, causing her to whirl around. A second shot then immediately hit her square in the chest and before her eyes her bikini turned from pink to brown. As did the light on the grenade she was holding. Still confused as to what just happened her vision rose to the bushes in front of her, but they were not moving. Rather it was the foliage atop a steep hill a hundred yards further that was rustling.
Several seconds later an apologetic voice came from the trees, "Sorry. Are you okay?"
Kelly waited until she saw a petite quarian pop out from the trees before answering, "Stung a little and disappointed I didn't last ten minutes, but I'm alright."
"That's good," Merrill exhaled. "I wasn't sure if these things hurt. I obviously can't tell, because of my suit. Weird not having a scope, but at least there's no recoil and semi-automatic is nice. Maybe I should look into that Viper. Not that I really need it anymore."
"Anymore?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing." The quarian quickly changed subjects, "So, you're my prisoner now."
Kelly noticed the sniper rifle the covered alien wielded had an open sight, scopes were overpowered in this game, making the two perfectly placed shots fired in rapid succession all the more impressive and made her all the more curious, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask so went along, "Okay, what should I do?"
"Right, so..." Merrill pondered with a hand on her head a half minute. "Turn around I guess."
The redhead did and immediately got her butt pinched, "Ow."
"Okay, let's go," the quarian in the white enviro-suit said cheerily.
Across the arena near the outer wall, fabricated to look like a stone cliff, a battle was about to break out. Amongst the uneven terrain to the north were plenty of defendable positions to dig in to. Even the combat inept Tallis could figure out it was a great place to setup an ambush, it was just too bad she wasn't the only one. Nor was she the first for as soon as she wandered into the area a gunshot grazed her stomach turning a swath of her bright-green maillot orange. Her inexperience showed as she had forgotten to erect a barrier, but her athleticism made up for it and she was able to quickly dive behind a felled tree.
For a moment the red and black drell wished she was only worth one point; if she were wearing a bikini her leotard would still be entirely green. Showing some extra skin didn't matter much to he, after all her Wild Witches uniform consisted of little more than panties, stockings and long-gloves. So the slightly low-cut maillot was nothing to her, even if it left most of her ass exposed. What she really wanted though was a better weapon than the pistol she found a minute before.
Rather than another slug there came a taunt, "Not going to miss next time Lizard-Lips."
"Please, you couldn't hit me while I was completely out in the open. You got no chance Incest-Queen," Tallis hurled back before peeking her head up but had to duck when a flurry of shots peppered the log around her.
"Shotguns aren't known for accuracy."
"Wait, you have a shotgun AND an assault rifle!?" the drell yelled incensed, blindly firing a few blasts from her sidearm.
"And all you have is that little pistol?" Bethany mocked the one person in the galaxy that truly annoyed her. "Ha! You know you're going to look real nice in orange."
A few more bursts of fire delayed Tallis retorting, "And you're going to look real nice bent over my knee getting your big ass smacked."
The maiden lowered her guard as she asked, "Is that allowed?"
"Sure as shit is," the athletic drell took advantage of the lapse to get several well placed shots in.
Two of the slugs struck Bethany's shoulder to almost even the score. Being up a tier her uniform had more to it, such as having a decently covered butt, and it would take at least another glancing shot to put them on even footing. The bullets hadn't stop flying so she ducked down to regroup for a second. The commandos back on Niacal tried to teach her how to fight, but little of it took. The war was just something she had to survive and had no desire to carry any of it with her into the rest of her life. All her thinking went into attempting to formulate a strategy so she didn't immediately notice she was no longer being fired at. When she did she peeked over the boulder she was hiding behind to see a glowing bubble where Tallis should have been.
"Oh no," the maiden whispered as she started scanning the area for the new threat.
Tallis had yet to be officially captured, even if she was entirely immobilized. Because of how the ammo was modified and the way the arena inhibited biotics a single shot would collapse a stasis field, but the drell had finally erected a barrier so could survive that one shot unscathed. Though for the same reasons that one shot would also be enough to completely strip her defense. So perhaps if she were facing off against someone lacking in experience she'd have a better than fair chance. It was really too bad Dr. T'Soni was the one to step out of the bushes, a submachine gun in hand.
Liara had already devised a plan of attack while watching the pair's exchange from cover. With the biotiball player immobilized she had a clear path to the account's flank. Her stasis would easily hold long enough for her to take out Bethany then come back for Tallis. Dressed in a limbless, white leotard she didn't exactly blend in with the greenery all around, so had to be careful not to be spotted early. Though, now seeing the uniforms of the lower ranked players she sort of wished she were worth only three points. The way hers was cut seemed worst than what was basically the one-piece swimsuit Bethany was wearing. With the leg holes cut even with her crotch the hem ran just below her cheeks, making it feel like they were completely hanging out as she crouched.
After getting to higher ground on a rocky ledge nearby Liara lined up her shot and squeezed the trigger. The first slug took care of the barrier Bethany had up and four of the next six created a strip of white down her foe's back. Before she could finish the job the other maiden flipped over to return fire, forcing her back. None of the rounds found their mark.
Bethany had given herself an opening to retreat and dove behind some trees before anymore of her orange leotard could be turned white. Her options were severally limited as she didn't trust her ability to control her biotics finely enough to use a lift, pull or push. If Liara so much as twisted an ankle she would not only feel terribly guilty about it, but she would be immediately eliminated from the game. On the other hand she doubted her opponent had such misgivings about using her abilities. This was a crewmember of the Normandy after all. There was no way she could do anything to outsmart or overpower her fellow asari so she might as well do something unpredictable and maybe a little dumb. She turned her rifle toward Tallis and fired off a single shot to collapse the stasis field.
There was a very good chance the drell would immediately make Bethany regret her gambit, but it didn't happen. As soon as she was released Tallis used her highly-trained biotics to launch herself like a slug from the main gun of a dreadnought at her new opponent. Her competitive nature had taken over and she went after the one who gotten the upper hand on her, the one who was the far better challenge. She shot through the air, ribbons of energy in her wake with her focus narrowed squarely on the maiden in white.
Always thinking ahead Liara didn't bother to dodge as the approaching drell appeared to be on the verge of disqualifying herself. There was no way the impending attack wouldn't be powerful enough to hurt her somehow. Then she could use the confusion of Tallis' ejection to take Bethany by surprise. Fewer points would be gained, but it seemed the safer tactic and there was plenty of time to score more. She however didn't count on the honed skills of the onetime top-prospect athlete.
Just before Tallis impacted Liara she transferred all her biotic energy; stopping herself dead and sending the maiden tumbling through the air. The field she had created would degrade gradually, giving a gentle landing, but until then the asari was just a target floating through the air. Which she took advantage of as soon as possible by opening fire with her pistol. It was just too bad she was no marksmen and struggled to score a hit.
As a completely mortified Liara drifted through the air, getting peppered by occasionally accurate shots, she noticed her other opponent taking aim at her. So she summoned up her own biotics to sharply pull Tallis toward her and since she was floating slowly the drell quickly caught up, just in time to act as a meat shield for the torrent of slugs from Bethany's assault rifle.
A huge smile spread the busty maiden's cheeks as she watched green turn orange. She had caught the damn drell; whatever else happened would just be icing on the cake. Still, she didn't want to settle for two points and kept pressure on the trigger, but after a half dozen shots realized she had a problem. Tallis was in the way and since she was a captive she could no longer attack Liara. Bethany had given up on her strategy to use the former athlete as a distraction too soon. While she contemplated what to do next submachine gun fire began to rain down upon her and orange quickly became white.
Bethany's capture freed Tallis causing a midair struggle to ensue, as she still had her pistol. Liara grabbed her scaly wrist while she grabbed the asari's blue one. Even though neither could center a shot they fired them off into the wind as they started spiraling down. She felt good about her odds once they hit the ground; she was definitely stronger and doubted her biotics were too far behind, if at all, the maiden's. Both of which she was right about, it was just she hadn't trained herself for this opponent in this situation.
As soon as they had solid footing Liara put the drell back into a stasis field. She wrestled herself from Tallis' frozen fingers and took away the pistol. Concerned how much the bullets may sting she took a few paces out from pointblank range before going about what amount to an execution. Her opponent accepted the inevitable and didn't resist the spray of shots that turned her green leotard white.
Upon hearing the first exchange of gunfire Aveline redirected toward the battle. Since going on the defense failed so miserably for her the last time she had decided going in she would stay on the offensive as much as possible. That didn't mean she was going to be reckless. So she proceeded cautiously through the overgrowth, assault rifle at the ready, until she came across a peculiar, but not altogether surprising sight. Lying on a patch of grass in the shadow of an outcrop of stone was a perfectly relaxed, bikini-clad Isabela; arms crossed behind her raven mane, an ankle propped up on the opposite knee.
Aveline shook her head and began to proceed on, but after a dozen yards she stopped. As much as she didn't want to spend any more time than necessary with the harlot, she could not afford to pass up on such an opportunity. Considering her competition she was going to need every point possible. So with an annoyed grunt she turned around. Approaching she noticed the olive-skinned woman had a pistol within reach so didn't take any chances. The vanguard raised her rifle and fired from cover, enjoying the surprised yelp Isabela made as her skimpy attire was changed from purple to black.
Having yet to really move, Isabela tilted her head and upon seeing who had captured her she laughed, "Oh, this is too perfect."
"Whatever," the ginger vanguard just rolled her eyes and ordered, "Just get up."
With a far too pleased smirk the busty stripper followed the order and sat up with a sarcastic salute. "Yes, ma'am."
As Isabela's back straightened something jumped from the grass where she was lying. Before Aveline could fully realize what was going on a burst of energy ignited the air. Reflexively she threw up her arms to protect her eyes and when she lowered them she saw that the other woman's outfit had returned to purple. She glanced to where the flash had originated from and saw a grenade laying there. For a few dumbstruck seconds she just stood there before her jaw knitted and she glanced down to confirm that, yep, the color of her leotard now matched the whore's.
"What the hell just happened?" the big ginger growled.
"Never seen a..." With a shake of the bust to emphasized, "booby-trap before?"
The soldier just shook her head at the bad joke and answered, "Plenty, as an Alliance vanguard I was the first one into battle; before the engineers could disarm the IEDs and mines and shit."
Isabela mumbled mostly to herself, "I do forget that about you."
"Just wasn't expecting it in this game." Plopping down on a nearby rock Aveline asked, "So who's color am I wearing?"
"Shepard," the dancer replied as she scooted over to lean against the outcrop, to more comfortably face her fellow captive. "Said she'd come back after she heard the boom and did some scouting or something. She seems to be taking this game kind of seriously. Don't think she wants to let Hawke off the hook."
With a brief laugh the former marine huffed, "No shame losing to a soldier like her."
"Little hero worship?"
"More than a little."
Isabela propped her forearms on her knees before waxing, "You know, I never really idealize soldiers or thought of them as these great heroes. I abhor violence and war and guns; this little game of paintball is as far as I'll go. Always thought there was something wrong with a person who would volunteer to join the military. Choose a life of violence, fighting in wars that rarely if ever really improves anything or saves anyone. Then along came the Reapers. I and everyone I love would be dead or worst if there weren't people who chose such an awful life and sacrificed so much. I don't know if my opinion on soldiers has changed, but I do know I am eternally grateful to any who fought on my behalf. Because I sure as shit wouldn't have fought, just surrendered. Too much of a coward to pick up a gun. I mean, I begged Hawke to keep a ship so we could run away and hated her for being so noble. Hawke and I would be dead if not for you and I can never do enough to repay you for protecting us, but I'm still going to try."
"I appreciate that." With a smile she added, "I think."
For several minutes they sat in silence, though it wasn't as awkward as it could have been, until Isabela suddenly broke it with, "So, do you still consider yourself straight?"
"I never said that," Aveline groaned. "I just don't consider myself gay."
"What do you consider yourself?"
The large woman's face collapsed into her hands and grunted through her palms, "I don't know. What does it matter to you?"
"Just curious," Isabela answered innocently then a few second later asked, "Have you ever gone down on Hawke?"
Aveline jerked upright, "What!? I'm not going to tell you..."
"So that's a no," the dancer accused. "But you do love her?"
"Of course," she answered adamantly.
"I believe you. I really do," Isabela said sincerely. "Are you attracted to her?"
"I am," said with a bit less confidence.
"And you want to be in a sexless relationship with someone you love and are attracted to?"
"We can meld," Aveline mumbled.
"But you said melding isn't sex."
"Hawke says she prefers it..." the muscular woman sitting on a rock was growing increasingly defensive.
"Yes I know." Isabela's posture opened as her legs fell into a crossed position. "Asari don't necessarily need much physical intimacy, especially Hawke which is fine, but a sexless relationship isn't healthy."
"What's your point?"
"Hawke will never ask, but that doesn't mean you should never offer."
"But I'm not really interested in..." Aveline trailed off.
"Eating pussy?" Isabela finished. "Yeah, that doesn't matter. Giving lip is about the pleasure of your partner, not yours. If you enjoy it that's a bonus, but in the end that isn't why you do it. Though, you may learn to love it. Just some friendly advice, take it for what it's worth."
"Why do you care so much?" the big ginger quietly asked.
"I love Hawke more than anything and want her to be as happy as possible. And I'd like you to be happy too." With a sly grin she added, "And fucking is the key to happiness."
Aveline joked, "Maybe you aren't such a whore after all."
"Ha!" Isabela exclaimed. "I have never exchanged sex for anything but pleasure, love or a smile."
"A smile?" a red eyebrow rose.
"The look on someone's face when you cure them of their virginity is priceless. Harder to find the unspoiled these days, especially since they won't allow me in the housing tower anymore. I'm trying to start a rumor about 'The Pirate Queen' deflowering maidens who wear a red hat to her shows." The exotic dancer drifted into a memory for a moment before coming back with, "Anyway, if you need any more advice on life, love or pussy pleasing you can come to me anytime."
"Gee thanks."
"No seriously, I'm like the den mother. Making sure the house runs smoothly," Isabela explained.   "Merrill's the assistant/babysitter. Making sure Hawke runs smoothly. And you, you're the new pet project, I'm guessing. Though I'm not entirely sure about that anymore."
"Who was the old pet project?"
"Merrill; she was such a bundle of guilt and self-hatred when Hawke and I met her."
Not too far away the aforementioned quarian sneezed, causing her to stop dead in her tracks, "Oh no, no no no no. How can I be sick? I can't be sick. I need to run a medical scan."
Kelly watched as her captor immediately sat down and opened an omni-tool interface. It was so sad that a simple sniffle could so worry the alien, she just hoped nothing was wrong. As she waited, drilling a toe in the dirt her mind began to wander and almost immediately drifted back to her curiosity about what Merrill had said earlier. It seemed so weird that such a jittery, little thing could have any knowledge about weapons. Though, if she remembered Tali'Zorah's dossier correctly all young quarians received some level of combat training before setting out on their pilgrimage, but that didn't seem like a complete explanation.
Which meant Kelly just had to ask, "So, did you fight in the war?"
"Yep, but not really." Merrill lowered her tool as she waited for her suit to go about its scan. "All of us from the station got recalled by the Fleet, so we got on a ship. Well my ship, the second one Hawke gave me. Wait, you didn't know Hawke gave me a ship for my pilgrimage before. Oh well, that isn't important for this. Anyway, everyone was recalled for the war with the geth, but when we got there the fighting had already started and we couldn't get through the relay right away without getting destroyed. So, we figured we'd just join the ground war, but then Shepard was awesome and fixed everything so we didn't have to do that either. After that they assigned me to be a marine on a transport. We helped evacuate several colonies, but I never saw any real action. Not that I really wanted to."
It took the former yeoman a second to absorb the information and then form a follow-up question, "A marine? That must mean you had some kind of combat experience beforehand, right?"
"Of course not!" Merrill panicked as if she had just admitted to having scale-itch. "There was this lottery and I won... no, lost..."
Going into counselor mode Kelly offered, "You know, I used to work for Cerberus. Everyone makes mistakes."
Still unsure what to do the quarian returned her attention to the screen on her wrist, but found the scan wasn't done and after a hoping it would for a couple minutes admitted, "I used to be a pirate."
"A pirate? You?" the redhead was able to control her tone even as she was floored.
"I thought I was going to be a mercenary. They didn't seem so bad. I mean almost half of them were women, well including asari, and there was also an elcor there and I'd never heard of an evil elcor. Which is kind of racist, so I was also a racist. It started off fine just guarding stuff. Then I was ordered to participate in this attack on a freighter, opening doors and stuff. We ran into their guards and there was shooting."
"You didn't know..."
"Only the first time."
Kelly was already planning the counseling session, but now wasn't the time so she tried to change subjects, "Then how did you meet Hawke?"
"We attacked one of her ships and stole some of her stuff so she attacked our base to get it back. Totally wiped us out," shockingly the quarian's mood seemed to already be rebounding.
"How did Hawke take out a pirate base?"
"She brought Morrigan and Grey, which is just her nickname. She was born with this skin pigmentation deficiency so she isn't blue, she's grey. I think her real name is Warden... no wait, that doesn't sound right. Anyway, they're these two huntresses that are so powerful people say they took down a Reaper destroyer by themselves."
"They took down a Reaper destroyer, just the two of them?"
"Of course not, but they are so powerful that people believe they could have. In reality they just took out its leg and set it up for an artillery bombardment." Merrill noticed her scan had finished and checked the results, "No infections, guess it was nothing. Let's go."
Before Kelly fell back in line with the standing alien she further inquired, "Wait, I'm still not sure how you meet Hawke."
"Oh, I pretended to be a hostage and they..." Air quotes apparently had jumped the cultural divide as the quarian twitched four fingers, "...'saved' me. It was months before I admitted I was one of the pirates, but Hawke didn't care. She still liked me, even though I didn't deserve it."
"So, where are Morrigan and Grey now?" a new voice asked.
"Back on Thessia helping Hawke's mom," Merrill managed to fully answer before realization sunk in.
A brief moment of stillness passed before the petite alien whirled around, raising her sniper rifle. The barrel didn't make it all the way as a strong hand caught it while it was still pointing harmlessly into the jungle. Silver eyes trapped behind a foggy visor slowly rose to meet the gaze of bemused Shepard. The smile didn't stop Merrill from being intimidated as hell though. Plus, the fact she had yet to be shot was pretty disconcerting.
"Do you girls realize how loud you were being?"
Merrill's natural response was to say, "Sorry."
"No need to apologize, it helped me find you. I want to offer you a deal."
The quarian made an attempt to move her gun one more time, but couldn't budge it an inch so inquired, "What kind of deal?"
Well covered by her red leotard, Samara strolled along a trickle of a creek with the attitude of a mother joining in on her children's games. She wished to have fun, but she wouldn't find it in the same place as the others playing. Winning was of little consequence, all that matter was watching her juniors enjoy themselves. Sure she would give it her best, her best just wouldn't be her actual best. Putting her all into it was nearly impossible when she rather see the look on the victor's face than have it for herself. Besides, Shepard's expression before the game made it clear no one else was coming out on top.
As the matriarch walked, not even a hunch to her shoulders, something in a nearby tree caught her eye. Up amongst the branches was the shine of a yellow light. Someone was trying to set a trap that may have worked on a less trained individual, but centuries as a justicar had honed her senses to near perfection; even when she wasn't giving it her all. Nor did she need to tap into much of skill to pick off the would be ambusher. So she raised her sniper rifle and put a few perfectly placed rounds into the canopy, but nothing happened. No one revealed them self, not even to fire back, plus the tiny glow had remained the same color.
If this were combat Samara would have been cautious, wouldn't have even shot yet. Her opponent wouldn't have even known she was there, but this was a game so she wandered closer to the tree with only a weak barrier to protect her. Once under the shade of the leaves she noticed that the assault rifle was wedged between some branches alone without a shooter. An oddly specific trap, only the eminently perceptive would have spotted such a subtle threat; for example a Spectre or justicar. So it was clever, even though she had yet to spring it. Patience and timing were virtues for an ambusher, but it seemed something should have happened by now.
When the matriarch stood directly under the propped up rifle, facing the tree trunk a shotgun blast to the back stripped her barrier. As she turned a second stained her side and a third hit her in the stomach immediately after; completing the job. Her short sleeved and legged leotard changed from red to yellow. She was impressed with her attacker's ability to remain hidden until the shots were fired. Perhaps the dossier was right about the maiden; it was immaturity and emotional vulnerability that kept her out of combat, not a lack of skill or intelligence.
Some of that immaturity showed through as Hawke popped out of a bush squealing, "Yes!"
The excited maiden then launched into a happy, little victory dance, made all the more ridiculous by the foliage she had strapped to her body. To completely blend into her surroundings Hawke had wrapped herself and her weapon, covering any lights, in fern like plants. She had gone a little overboard though as the broad, flat leaves stuck to her made her reminiscent of a beaten-up, green bird. All of which was legal, as the foliage didn't prevent hits from registering. She didn't care what she looked like, she had just captured a justicar; a fact she wouldn't let anyone forget for decades to come.
Before Samara could say a thing the VI referee announced over the loudspeakers, "All competitors have now scored or been captured. The leader is at plus three, second place is at plus one, third place is even and the player in fourth place is at negative two. All other competitors are captured."
"I'm winning!" Hawke exclaimed and gave her elder a big hug. "So awesome."
Samara stood stiffly as the maiden clung to her, unsure what would be appropriate. "You did very well. That was an excellent ambush."
"Really?" Hawke asked as she slipped away, relieving the older asari from deciding whether to reciprocate the embrace. "You really think so?"
"Of course."
"That's good, cause that was my only idea. Think it would work again?"
"No," the matriarch said plainly, but after watching the maiden's shoulders slump an inch added, "Perhaps I could give you a few tips."
A huge smile plastered Hawke's face; never one to turn down help she eagerly said, "That would be so cool."
"What would I get if I accepted?" Merrill asked as she placed the butt of her gun in the dirt.
Shepard offered, "What do you want? Maybe I could arrange for something to happen at the party."
"All I can really do though is strap on one of those dicky things," three fingers waving in front of her enviro-suit covered crotch to elaborate. "...or meld."
"I could put in a good word for you with Samara. She's learned quite a few tricks in eight centuries, that Hawke couldn't have in two."
The young quarian tossed her head back and forth a few times before thinking out loud, "But if I win I could ask her to do that anyway. Right? Or maybe not. It is awful intimate."
"I have a better chance..." was as far as Shepard got.
A thought suddenly struck Merrill, "I know! When we were playing games before I saw your profile. I saw that you play Elder Scrolls: Eras of Tamriel."
The Spectre immediately saw where this was going, "Oh no, no no. I am not handing over any of my rare or limited edition items."
"But some of that stuff you have doubles of." The petite alien even opened her omni-tool to check. "Look, see you got the Sovngarde Weapons Pack as both a pre-order bonus and from the promo exclusive to Alliance personnel. Oh and you have three Third Era Mehrunes' Razors."
This was an agonizing decision not to be taken lightly. For several minutes Shepard stood there hip cocked, arms crossed, fingers drumming along her bicep with a concentrated expression. There was some stuff she could give up she supposed; maybe even put in a call to Conrad, Samantha or Joker, he does always use EDI to get extra promo items whenever possible. Plus, it would ensure Merrill's loyalty until the end of the game.
"Alright."
"Great, I'll give you a list," the quarian said with a happy, little jump.
"Don't have the time right now, but after the match I'll make the transfers." Shepard offered her hand, "So, do we have a deal?"
Considering who she was dealing with, Merrill didn't feel the need for specifics and readily shook on it, "Hawke is going to be so jealous."
Their arrangement set Shepard gave her new cohort a few instructions, along with a grenade, and parted ways with the pair; Kelly remaining the young quarian's captive. With that a lull settled over the game as two opponents didn't cross paths for another sixteen minutes, though a shot would not be fired for eighteen. Having been invented by a band of huntresses the rules of the game encouraged ambushes, traps and judicious use of biotics. Needless to say krogan and turians regularly and thoroughly got their asses kicked whenever they attempted to play; even volus consistently outperform the two larger races. So it was little wonder Hawke, under the tutelage of a seasoned justicar, didn't immediately attack Liara when the maiden in white wandered into the area.
Still in her makeshift ghillie suit, though Samara had helped her streamline it a bit, Hawke remained hidden behind some bushes as the younger maiden entered the gulley bellow. She wasn't terribly surprised Liara had two captives in toe, or that it was Tallis and Bethany who got nabbed. After a little simple math she realized she was looking at the player in second place and got extra excited. With the sniper rifle she had just procured from the matriarch she could easily get a few shots in which she would have if not for the wise words still fresh in her ears. She had to think her actions through and keep her true objective in mind; scoring points, not taking out opponents.
Hawke would have to waste a shot taking down the other asari's barrier and being such an experienced warrior Liara would be able to recover quickly. She'd be screwed in an actual battle. Even if she did win, Tallis and Bethany would immediately be freed and could easily attack her. So even after winning she could lose. No, she had to do something clever and do it soon as the trio was nearing the end of the gulley. When she noticed her childhood friend beginning to linger behind the others an awesome thought struck.
Her biotic ability was the only reason any of the resistance leaders even considered enlisting Hawke for the war effort. Genetics gave the maiden a lot of raw power, but it was her surprising lack of ego that got her to properly harness it. She happily took instruction, even if she could be lazy at times, and unlike many with great inborn talent she didn't feel a need to prove it by being the one who could erect the strongest barrier, lift the heaviest weight or cause the biggest explosion. She could still go big when needed, which she'd need a little of. Rather her training had always focused on finesse and precision, so she had all the confidence in the world wrapping a mass effect field around Bethany's waist.
Lacking any responsibilities at the moment, the maiden with purple markings sprinkled across her face and an hourglass figure beyond her years wasn't paying much attention as she strolled after her captor. Sure Bethany had to do whatever she was told, besides strip or fight, but Liara was far too focused on victory to have any desire to take advantage of that fact. Her mind wandering she didn't notice the grip like a lasso around her midsection until she was prevented from taking a step by a tug from behind. She wasn't given time to consider what was going on as almost immediately she was pulled from her feet.
Not being the most vocal of people Bethany only made a single yelp when initially yanked. Her trip through the air was brief and before she knew it a pair of lithe arms wrapped around her. A hand clasped over her mouth as her balance was stolen from her. After a bit of wrestling she found herself on her back looking up into a familiar set of eyes underlined by a red swath. She really didn't have a chance to develop concern, but still she felt a little more at ease seeing it was Hawke sitting on her, shushing her with a single raised finger. At first she considered herself fortunate, she was kind of helping her friend win, but then the petite asari on top moved.
Silence ensured Hawke's attention shifted, losing track of what her hands were doing. The boundaries between the childhood best friends had faded long ago so the young socialite didn't put much care into what she was holding as she craned up to check what Liara was doing. She needed to better support herself so braced her arm against something, but didn't notice a pillow was filling her palm. Nor did she notice when one of the fingers that had yet to move from Bethany's lips had slipped between them. The maiden getting groped certainly did though.
Having her breast mashed against her ribcage wasn't the most pleasant of sensation; however the fact Hawke was the one doing it made Bethany tingle all over and squeeze her thighs together. Her nipple found its way to the tiny bit of webbing between her friend's middle and index fingers which inadvertently pinched and teased just so perfectly. She prayed how stiff the nub had become would go unnoticed. What was happening to her boob had diverted enough of her attention that she had inadvertently began swirling her tongue around the blue appendage in her mouth. She didn't even become conscious of what she was doing until she began to suckle on the digit. Then a whole new set of prayers went out to keep Hawke ignorant of her actions.
Bethany released a sigh of relief when the one sitting on her started to move without mentioning her indiscretion. For a moment she thought she was safe from discovery, but then a new test approached the frazzled maiden. Hawke apparently needed to get a better look and in order to do so had to get a little higher. To her excited horror the lithe asari on top of her began crawling up her curvaceous body. Wide-eyed she watched her friend's lower half get closer and closer until she had trim hips practically straddling her head, filling her vision with so much blue and just a bit of yellow. A few inches and what was little more than a thong, made of fabric she didn't realize was so thin until that very second, separated her from her fantasy. So many of her dreams involved having her face sat on.
As her friend suffered below Hawke was growing giddy above. Spine fully extended she was able to peer over the bush to watch her confused opponent search; Liara seemed to be falling for her trick. It had taken the other maiden a few seconds to notice a captive was missing, since a shot had yet to be fired. All she needed was for the asari in white to leave then she could take Bethany off, make the capture official and be up by six points. She was already making her plans for the party and more importantly for Shepard.
"The rules state a captive must do whatever their captor says!" Liara suddenly shouted which confused the hiding maiden; until she added, "So Bethany, I'm ordering you to yell out your location!"
After a moment of hesitation, the dark-blue maiden mouthed sorry to her friend and yelled, "I'm up here!"
Rather than wait for her opponent to hone in on her hiding place, Hawke immediately stood up and opened fire with her sniper rifle. Her first shot went wide but the next two scored, bringing down Liara's barrier and changing the color of one hip, respectively. There was no panic in the young doctor's demeanor, not even bothering to dive for cover, she simply raised her assault rifle and proceeded to send a stream of well placed slugs back. Without any recoil the weapon's high accuracy was easy to harness and most of the rounds hit their mark. Honestly, the club owner had no chance in such a situation. It didn't take long for yellow to turn entirely white; or for yellow to return to red, then slip away.
For a moment everything went still as the aftermath of the battle settled in. Reality could only be postponed for so long though and eventually the bushes atop the gulley's rim rustled, producing a pair of maidens. The darker one with the perfect hourglass tried to console her slightly shorter, distinctly trimmer friend. It was no use, Hawke was not ready to stop pouting. She wasn't a poor sport by any means, trying to wiggle out of high-stakes wagers not withstanding; she just really had her hopes up and was utterly disappointed to lose the prize. There was no way she was getting another chance to win like the one she just lost. On the other end of the spectrum was the one trying to quickly gather her up.
Before she had even let go of the trigger Liara's mind had moved on to deciding her next objective, though she could use a bit more information, "Did you have any captives?"
After kicking a pebble from her path a cranky Hawke replied, "Samara."
"Samara?" The young doctor's brow rose a bit as she wonder how that could be possible, but stopped herself from asking about it as the more pressing question was, "Where is she now?"
"I don't know," the captured maiden mumbled. "Probably ran off."
"What color..." Liara's words halted as distant gunfire cracked the air.
A second burst allowed the Reaper War vet to identify it as coming from an assault rifle, before it could end another weapon began to fire, also an assault rifle. Another fight had began, one that had a limited number of possible participants. She doubted Isabela or Kelly could have lasted this long and an unarmed Samara had to still be fairly close by. That left three suspects, only two of whom could still be playing. Shepard had to be one of them, there was no way the former commander had been captured; the other then was either Aveline or Merrill. Perhaps, she could try the same tactic she used to capture Bethany and Tallis. An objective found Liara set out.
All of that was sound reasoning, too bad little of it turned out to be right. Aveline nor Merrill were exchanging fire with anyone. No, the stray shots were nothing but a lure and all coming from Shepard who had dug herself into a defendable corner with an assault rifle in each hand. The lack of recoil made dual wielding possible, but still it was a remarkable feat. She then gave her vanguard captive a gun, though the redhead couldn't use it, to act as a decoy and early warning system near the entrance of the crevasse she had backed herself all the way into. All she had to do now was sit and wait which she was having quite the good time doing.
Shepard had chosen her seat carefully; a pair of stones ideally positioned to make a comfortable chair. She even padded it with some leaves. What really made it the best ambush she had ever laid was the extra armoring she had devised. Straddling her lap, putting an added layer between her and any would-be attacker was her very own bikini-clad, bulletproof vest, Isabela. Who of course wasn't going to just sit there like a good, little girl; which is why she was picked over Aveline. That and the bountiful, tan assets she had her face buried in.
Isabela was the only person in the arena glad her uniform wasn't made of a more robust material as she ground her hips into the former commander's lap. Though it wasn't quite thin enough for her to garner all the friction she required to get beyond a heightened state of tortuously close arousal. Stupid game, not allowing her to take her bottoms off. Maybe it would be worth the disqualification, but if she did the odds were she'd have to pay for lowering Shepard's chances of victory later. At least the active mouth between her tits was helping out a bit.
The frustration built though and the dancer had to pull the face out from her bust to seductively suggest, "Why don't you put down those guns and help a girl out?"
"Can't," the woman underneath groaned.
"Sure you can," Isabela tempted with a peck to the lips. "You're quick on the draw, aren't you? Fast reflexes and all that."
"My reflexes aren't exactly at their peak at the moment, thanks to you." Shepard might have had a bit more to say but teeth applied the perfect amount of pressure to her lower lip and all she could do was moan.
After dragging her tongue along the soldier's mouth she changed tactics, "But I'm helping you out, shouldn't I get a little something for that."
"You're my captive. You have to do what I say," the woman getting straddled barely got out before a deep kiss assaulted her.
Breaking away after she stole the breath from her captor Isabela pouted, "You know those bullets do sting."
It took only half a minute of having the busty body writhe against her for Shepard to crack, "Alright, but the price of this orgasm is your freedom. At the party I'm going to put you on a leash and make you my trophy."
"I have the perfect outfit," the exotic dancer smiled.
That was all the former marine needed to drop half her arsenal. The freed hand took a firm grip of one of the dancer's meaty buttocks and lifted to make room. She then guided the butt of the rifle she had kept inward, tracing along the edge of the cheeky bikini bottoms.    She got no resistance, just a gasp. After a little juggling she was able to wedge the weapon against the apex of the shapely, olive thighs. Anticipation was allowed to build for a moment before she squeezed the trigger.
A shocking vibration shot into Isabela's core, never would she have guessed a gun could do such a delicious thing. The weapon's reduced potency decreased its recoil to slightly more than a steady tremble that was more than enough to send a warm shiver through her body. Gibberish punctuated by curses began dripping from her lips as her eyes rolled up into her head. Seeking greater pleasure her hips involuntarily humped against the device firing between her legs. She just needed a little bit more to reach the summit and come crashing down. Never shy she was about to beg when something stung her ass and lower back, giving just the right amount of pain to send her into crushing climax. Even as the source of her joy was removed.
Shepard retrieved and dislodged her pair of weapons, respectively, in order to shoot back at the assaulting maiden. Her special armor had protected her from the initial attack. Demonstrating an amount of strength that didn't seem possible the infiltrator managed to stand with the stripper still clinging to her as she released twin streams of slugs at the doctor who had already taken away her other captive. The ensuing firefight did not last long, only a few bursts exchanged before both recognized the stalemate.
Peering out from behind cover Liara noticed she'd scored enough hits to change the color of a certain bikini so ordered, "Get off her."
Isabela's quivering legs unwrapped from the soldier and took a few seconds to recover before giving up her crutch with a kiss, "Thanks, hun. Too bad it looks like it's going to be a freebie."
Shepard just smiled, "Don't count on it."
"Ahem," Liara cleared her throat.
In the moment it took her future trophy to step away the former marine was able to duck behind a narrow protrusion of stone, barely enough to protect her even with her back flush against the wall. Luckily the maiden didn't get a shot off in time to make a hit, but that was of little consolation. Shepard wasn't going to last long in her current position; it would have been even less if she were as well endowed as Isabela. Who she had hoped would have lasted longer than a single volley. Seeing no point in two assault rifles she tossed one away.
"So Liara," the former commander called. "Where do you rank that on the badass scale?"
"Rank what?" the perplexed maiden asked as she attempted to make it to a more advantageous position.
Shepard took a few precursory shots at her relocating opponent. "Dual-wielding assault rifles with a climaxing stripper wrapped around me."
"By the goddess," Liara mumbled under her breath, shaking her head, but still played along hoping to lower the woman's guard somewhat, "Pretty low by your standards."
"True," the war hero thought. "Nothing compared to Rannoch or Tuchanka. Though Tuchanka was more like the most badass thing I've ever seen. Getting shot across the galaxy in the Mako was way up there."
"There's nothing pleasant to remember about the Mako!"
"Geez, you really need to get over that Liara," Shepard shouted back over a poorly contained snicker and burst of fire.
"You drove off a mountain! Then I... I..."
"Puked on the woman you secretly luuuv'd?" the merciless marine mocked, having only recently figured out why the maiden was so devastated at the time.
"I hate you!" Liara lost track of the situation and straightened up, but recovered quickly enough for it not to matter.
Back behind her tree the young doctor took a deep breath, even as she was pelted by human laughter. Not only from Shepard, but Isabela as well. Glancing at her own captives a short distance away she noticed empathy being returned to her from Bethany, Aveline and rather surprisingly Hawke. She wasn't petty but those who were giggling would be getting their comeuppance at the party, after she won. So, capitalizing on her opponent's self-inflicted distraction she laid down covering fire and advanced to a boulder closer to her foe. She paused there for a second to ready for her final assault, but as she did something stung her shoulder. Immediately she spun around and was struck four more times. Her white leotard turned brown, her weapon became useless.
As Liara scanned her surroundings for a shooter, Shepard jumped out gun blazing. In an instant the infiltrator prioritized her targets then in short succession picked them off. Hawke had amazingly quick reflexes and was already making a break for it when she caught a series of shots to the back. Next she retook a still armed Aveline, who hadn't moved since being designated as a decoy. After that the threat was negligible. Bethany and Tallis had settled in as spectators so were caught completely off guard by the barrage that riddled them.
Shepard heard footsteps behind her and partially turned, raising her assault rifle with one hand as if it were a pistol. There was a minor concern Isabela would try something, recover the weapon she had just abandoned, but in fact the dancer did the exact opposite. The buxom beauty was strolling over, hands on head in a show of surrender. With a thin grin the soldier popped off three rounds to make it official then curled a finger to order her prisoner over. A memory of her first hour on The Azure Sky inspired the former marine to take hold of the front of the now purple bikini bottoms; soft hairs tickled her knuckles.
"This will have to do until we find a leash," Shepard said with a wink then pulled the stripper along to the final target.
Liara had given up on spotting the sniper, but refused to turn around and face the inevitable, instead quietly grumbling, "By the goddess."
"I would mention how rude it is not turning around..." The maiden could hear the human's smirk. "But your ass looks amazing in that outfit."
Immediately the fuming Liara spun around, blue hands reflexively covering her now brown posterior. "How did you... Why aren't you..."
Shepard simply explained, "I bribed Merrill."
"Merrill!?" Hawke exclaimed as she approached. "That traitor!"
"She was the first helpful person I ran into."
"Hey," the stripper complained, though couldn't deny.
"Isabela!?" Hawke had noticed where the former commander's hand was. "Is Shepard leading you around like that?"
"Yep," Isabela answered with a hip shimmy.
After a moment of thought the maiden asked, "Can I try that some time?"
"Right through the middle of The Pearl if you like."
"Anyway," Shepard drawled before opening fire on Liara.
The shriek could be heard a hundred yards away by the traitorous Merrill in her sniper position on top of a nearby hill, where she had been sitting cross-legged trying to figure out what she should do next. She had asked Kelly if they were suppose to go join Shepard or stay put? But the redhead didn't have any better of an answer than she did. A number of scenarios had been laid out and she did remember all of them, it was just she couldn't tell which of them was happening. It looked like everyone else had been captured along with Liara; that would mean she should end the game that very second, but she wasn't one-hundred percent sure if that was indeed the case. So, she continued to think and ponder, literally scratching her head as she did.
Luckily for the quarian she would not have to make a decision as slugs suddenly started peppering the logs around her. Several struck her prisoner, turning half of Kelly's top the color of her hair before the human could duck down. Once her bearings had returned Merrill popped up to return fire. It took only a second for the skilled marksmen to put the matriarch rushing up the side of the hill in her sights and start squeezing off rounds. At such a close range no one should have had a chance against her, but she could not center her target. Every time she thought she had lined up a shot the asari performed a micro-biotic charge and shift several inches one way or another, causing her to miss. Not that the former pirate really knew what was happening, all she knew was there'd be a weird burst of energy and then her bullet would hit some tree or rock.
Giving up on her rifle Merrill decided to chuck her grenade, but that too was easily defeated by the Justicar. Mid-arc a biotic bubble enveloped the device, entirely containing the blast when it went off. Though it didn't really explode, just released an energy pulse to simulate an explosion. Once the petite quarian got over how cool that was, she hunkered down and prepared for the inevitable. All she could do was hope what she was about to do wouldn't cost her, her bounty of virtual prizes. Within a couple seconds her asari opponent came jumping over the log she was hiding behind.
Then there was a tiny, "Sorry."
"You know, I don't think I like your attitude," Shepard stated.
"I don't care what you think of my attitude," Liara shot back.
The human's head bobbed a few times before she ordered, "Grab you ankles."
"What?"
"You're my prisoner. You have to do what I say and I say you need an attitude adjustment." Shepard had to sadly sacrifice her handle for the moment. "And nothing adjusts an attitude like a good old fashion spanking."
"You can't be serious."
The sharp, little nods and happy, little grin gave the maiden her answer. Liara knew nothing would get her out of this, so wanting to get it over with she turned slightly and bent over. Spreading her feet a bit beyond a shoulder width she grabbed her ankles, not giving up any additional satisfaction by arching her spine or in any other way acting like she was 'presenting'. She had to dip into her vast well of self-control to keep the fact there was an audience around out of her mind as a hand rested on the small of her back. The other arrived soon after, gently rubbing her rear. It would have been enjoyable if she did not know for a fact the primary purpose of the loving caress was merely to prolong this embarrassing ordeal. When she then felt the light pressure leave her whole body tensed as she prepared for the coming strike.
As Shepard's hand rose to its highest point there was an explosion and the arena's speakers blared, "Game Over! The Purple Player, Shepard has captured all other players and is the winner!"
"Damn," the victorious woman bemoaned, she was hoping for more time with the maiden like this; still...
"Ow!" Liara exclaimed as a strong blow smacked her posterior.
Cutting off any brewing complaints from the young asari, Shepard clapped and announced, "Alright ladies..."
A different, slightly smaller maiden interrupted, "Wait, what did you just do?"
The woman now in charge replied, "I gave Merrill a grenade. She must have caught Samara in the blast."
"Something you've done must have been cheating!" Hawke was the first to accuse, but Liara was nodding along.
"Pfft, do you really think I'd cheat or that I would even need to cheat?"
After a moment of silence the immature asari whined, "Nooo."
"Anyway, everyone hit the showers and I'll see you all at Hawke's place in an hour. Keep your uniforms on though." Shepard then pointedly directed at Hawke, "Especially you. You're going to need those kneepads."
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The Justicar's Dog of War