NOVEL NEXT 69 – Priority: Thessia (3)
DAYS LATER
A few days had passed since the crew left Earth. Samael's days consisted of training a bit, making out with Tali, trying to woo Liara with mid-success, and then meditating.
The last part was one of the highlights for him, as it allowed him to relax a lot and helped him calm down a bit. His memories were still scrambled, but with meditation, he could mitigate the effects, allowing him to remember a few things with precision.
That still didn't help regarding the question of what could have caused the scrambled memories in the first place. Still, this 'new power' was something Samael greatly appreciated, even though it just helped with meditation and nothing more.
The crew also assimilated Grunt, Thane, Kasumi, and Keiji into the family. Equal to all other LD personnel, they would go to great lengths to protect their friends, a feeling the new recruits were starting to gain, albeit slowly.
LD focus was making a tight group, a family of sorts, and it was working not just with the SSV Phoenix crew but with the group as a whole.
Also, the group was experiencing a boom in sales thanks to the products they launched in the market a month or so ago, the ones Samael mentioned to Shepard when they talked at LD headquarters.
Thanks to that, Miranda was busy on Earth, but she had Jack's help, so they were managing just fine.
Shepard had also left Earth on a diplomatic mission, but she didn't say where. Secrecy and all that.
But she promised to keep in touch with Samael and the crew, as they were now friends.
Tevos also sent a message informing Samael that she had already arrived at Thessia and was waiting for him with a bunch of Asari, who would learn the content of the Beacon.
WITH SAMAEL
It was morning, not that it mattered in space, when he woke up with Tali in bed. By his assumptions, they would arrive in Thessia in a few hours.
Samael kissed Tali's forehead and got out of bed carefully so as not to wake up the Quarian. He dressed up, even though he was still a little sleepy, and went out of the room to grab something to eat.
In the kitchen, he found Liara eating something. She was dressed in gym clothes, meaning she must have just finished her training.
Liara noticed Samael and smiled at him. '' Morning.''
Samael was still a little sleepy, and the image of this Liara interlaced with past cycles, in particular one where they were a couple. So, out of instinct, he said, '' Morning.'' and kissed Liara on the lips.
Liara was taken aback at first, but this wasn't the first time Samael, or Tali kissed her like this... Yeah, they need some time to talk about their status. But, for now, she accepted it.
Samael broke the kiss after a few seconds, '' How is your day?'' He was clearly comfortable with the situation.
Liara fought back against her embarrassment, '' The usual. I woke up a few hours ago, trained a bit, and then came to eat.''
'' Shame. I thought we could work out together.'' Samael finally woke up for good after he took a cup of coffee, but he didn't say anything about the kiss. This was, after all, one of the steps in his plan to become a couple with three women.
'' ... We will train together later.'' Liara was talking about the training Samael was giving to her, Tali, Veronica, and John. Well, for the past month, after Samael took the serum, the training was halved for Liara and Tali, as they could not keep up with the three humans who took the serum.
Regardless, they still trained together, and Liara was confident she could face a Krogan warlord on her own and achieve a draw. It was amazing progress, as just a few months ago, she was just a Prothean Expert, excavating ruins for fun.
Samael shook his head and said, '' Not today. We will arrive at Thessia in a few hours, so I plan on just meditating.''
'' We can do that together then.''
Samael smiled at Liara's suggestion, '' Good. Let's just wake Tali up first.''
'' Let's.''
They grabbed a few things for breakfast, with things that Tali could eat, and went to Samael's quarters. There, Tali was still in bed, sleeping.
'' I'll take a shower, you can wake her up.'' Samael said that as he put the food down and headed to the showers.
Liara looked at the human and when the door closed, she sighed, her mind a mess. While this situation with the couple was fun, she wanted to know her standing. Because, at least in her mind, it was fun for now AND because of the Reapers.
' What if after the war, if we survive, they both discard me?'
That was the main preoccupation of the Asari, but she put that aside for now. ' I will deal with things as they come.'
She looked at Tali's figure and smiled a bit, '' Let's wake her first.''
--
When Samael got out of the shower, he noticed Liara and Tali were talking, '' Ladies.''
'' Good morning.'' Tali got up and kissed Samael, '' Why didn't you wake me up, so we could eat together?''
'' Well, your sleeping face was too beautiful to ruin, so I let you sleep some more.''
Liara interjected, '' I can confirm that you're beautiful.''
Tali rolled her eyes and said, '' Very funny. What are our plans for today?''
Cleary Liara and Tali talked about other things, as the Quarian was still in the dark about their arrival time.
'' We will soon arrive at Thessia, so no gym. I was thinking about just meditating for now.''
Before Tali could say anything, Liara said, '' I need to take a shower too.''
Samael remembered she just got out of the gym and was a little apologetic as he didn't let her take a shower first, '' Sorry. You should've gone first.''
'' No, it's okay. It let me have a talk with Tali.'' Liara then headed to the bathroom, grabbed a few clothes, and closed the door. By the way, she and Tali had a few spare clothes in Samael's quarters, just as he had in theirs too.
'' Can I ask what you guys talked about?'' Samael asked Tali, as he grabbed her, sat down on his sofa, and put her on his lap.
'' Just girls talk. She's still unsure about where she is in our relationship.'' Tali said that, with a few doubts about it herself.
'' Oh? Where do you think she is?'' Samael said that and waited.
'' ... I don't know. She is an amazing person, but I'm afraid of adding another person and not committing to any... Does that make sense to you?'' Tali had fooled around with Liara, but mostly just kisses, so no real commitment. With Shepard too, but that is another story.
She was afraid of taking the next steps and making this already complicated situation, more complicated.
'' It does. But regardless of what happens, you have to know I'm okay with whatever you decide.'' Samael was way past the point of caring about anything related to sex or along those lines. He just wanted to be happy with his loved ones.
'' What if I want not just Liara, but others too?'' Tali inquired, even though she knew she didn't want more than that.
' Isn't this supposed to be my line?' Samael smiled internally, '' We can talk about it, BUT only females, and I have to approve too.''
Tali smirked, and a human female face came to her mind. '' Oh? How about Shepard?''
Samael smiled at his girlfriend and kissed her.
After some time, Liara came out of the bathroom, and it was Tali's turn to take a shower. Then, after the Quarian got out and Samael was ready to meditate, Veronica called him.
'' Samael, we arrived.''
Samael sighed. He looked at Liara and Tali and said, '' Meditating will have to wait.''
He kissed both goodbye and went to the cockpit.
--
In front of SSV Phoenix was the main world of the Asari, Thessia. The population was close to 10 billion, and many considered this place to be the heart of the galaxy.
The SSV Phoenix had turned off their stealth system and announced their presence on the planet. Soon enough, they received confirmation that they were allowed to enter the atmosphere.
After Samael noted that, he called a meeting with everyone, to explain the situation to them. '' Veronica, let RR handle the lading and the parking. We have a meeting.'' He then tapped his Omni tool a few times and sent a message to everyone to gather in the main room.
Veronica nodded as she passed the controls to RR and EDI. The pilot then followed Samael.
After both arrived at the main room, everyone in the crew was there, waiting for instructions.
Samael went directly into the subject, '' Our mission here is simple. I will conclude a deal I made with Councilor Tevos, wipe out the Illusive Man personality, and possibly recruit a few people to LD.''
At the mention of the Illusive Man, the test subject reacted with glee. While they probably would not be present when that happens, they were just glad the man who made them suffer would finally receive his comeuppance.
He has been in cryo sleep for months now. Just imagining his face when he woke up, only to find he would essentially die, was amazing.
'' So, it will take at most a week or so. Only a few people would leave, and the rest would stay on standby, waiting for orders. Any question?''
Kasumi raised her hand, '' Can I steal something?''
Samael sighed internally, '' As long as the person whom you will steal from is evil, go ahead. And I know I don't need to say this, but don't get caught. Anyone else?''
No one said anything.
'' Good. All dismissed.''
After everyone left, Liara came to him in a panic, with Tali following her with a small smile on her lips. '' Samael, bad news!''
'' What is it?'' Samael was prepared for everything.
'' ... My mother wants to meet you. I might have talked about us to her.'' Liara was clearly ashamed and didn't expect this situation, as her mother was rarely on the planet.
' Benezia..'
Samael had a past with her. In other cycles, he saved her a few times and even had a fling with her. ' She is an amazing Asari by all definitions, even to the point where she managed to fight back against the indoctrination, even if briefly.'
But, he wasn't afraid of her.
Sighing in relief, Samael said, '' We can talk with her. All of us.''
Tali nodded, her resolve strengthened.
Liara was taken aback but nodded soon after. '' Good. Just say when we are free to go see her.''
'' No problem.''
Liara and Tali left soon after, and Samael added another thing to do in Thessia.
' In fact, this conversation with Benezia might be the most difficult part of this trip.'
After a few more minutes, and after everyone prepared themselves, SSV Phoenix landed on Thessia.
