Spectre Bk. 02 Ch. 15

A/N - Regarding this chapter, if you've been reading this, you'll notice that I've added Amelie Lacroix as one of Shepard's crew. I've never played Overwatch though find the characters and lore rather interesting and have read a lot of it in detail. The lore of Overwatch doesn't mesh with the Mass Effect universe so I've had to adapt Amelie's backstory to fit this universe.

Australian / British standard English. There is a good chance of reading the following: lots of profanity, characters drinking, typos, and bad grammar at times.

Proofreading and editing suggestions provided by OhDave1. Any mistakes are still mine.

Comments are appreciated as always.

Feedback by email is always welcome. Enjoy chatting with anyone who likes my work.

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Shepard helps Amelie with a personal problem.

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No one asked me why we were making a quick stop at Omega as I waited by the airlock. I think most of them had already noticed that I'd come aboard with Samara and Morinth though not with Aela. It was only when I was waiting for the airlock to open that I heard the click of heels, not looking at Miranda as she approached me.

"You were distracted by the crazy bitch, and I don't mean Jack," she said once she was standing next to me.

"Don't let her hear you call her that."

"She'd probably agree with me though then either want to fight or fuck me." That made my eyes widen as I glanced at her in surprise. She met my eyes and smiled. "I don't think either of us are actually attracted to women, Shepard, so don't go thinking things." Then her smile broadened as she added, "Though I'm sure you'd be delighted with a threesome including me and Jack."

"What's brought this on?"

"I'm simply amused that we left Omega without the recruit because you were distracted by a real crazy bitch. Was the sex that good?"

"I'm sure you know that I fucked her on the ship too."

"I wish we could have watched it on video. I think the entire ship would have enjoyed the show."

The airlock opened and I was relieved that I could escape before Miranda started to suggest other things. Afterlife was calling as I was hopeful that Aela hadn't disappeared while I'd been away. Taking Morinth to Lesuss and then returning to Omega had taken a few days. Not seeing any sign of Aela or at least someone of her description, I made my way towards Aria in her usual place. She took one look at me and laughed.

"I heard you left with a couple of asari. I can only assume one of them was who you were after. Distracted were you, Shepard?"

"Is Aela still here?"

"She is though I know she's working right now." She opened her omni-tool and I received information rather quickly. "She's here. Nothing major. I think she'd dealing with a couple of batarian... I think the human term that you'd use is fuckwits. Generally making human lives miserable here."

"I'll track her down."

Given that I never entered Omega without my armour and weapons, I called Garrus, Grunt, Jack and Miranda, wanting a little firepower, and I knew Jack and Miranda disliked batarians as much as I did. Jack had gone into detail about her time spent as one of their slaves. I wasn't surprised that she escaped nor that she'd dealt with them brutally.

Once the four had joined me, I explained the story. I didn't think we'd need to go in all guns blazing, but without knowing what to actually expect, I wanted to make sure that I had enough support in case things went south. The section of the station we were heading towards had no human presence whatsoever. And given that the three mercenary companies that we'd wiped out had yet to restore a foothold, other gangs were starting to throw their weight around.

"Have your weapons ready but we don't want to shoot unless necessary," I instructed my team before we entered the area, "She's apparently in a tavern up ahead. No humans. Mostly full of batarians and vorcha. Look around. No asari either. Very few turians. A few krogan at most."

I felt the eyes of every batarian on us as we approached the small establishment. None of them were stupid enough to approach us given we were either armoured or quite obviously shielded. Add to the weapons that were on display, and while there might have been more than one comment in our direction, none of us reacted. I didn't particularly want a bloodbath.

It felt like one of those old westerns when we entered the tavern, and the place seemed to fall silent almost immediately. The clientele was a mixture of batarian, vorcha and krogan with a sprinkling of other species. Not a human in sight except for one near the back of the tavern, at a table by herself. She removed the leather hood from her head, and I recognised her immediately from the photo that I had.

The place remained silent as we moved through the crowd. More than one batarian glared in our direction. Any vorcha that met my eyes looked ready to start a fight. I would smile at them and walk past. I knew the others were watching my back when I took a seat opposite Aela. She had incredibly long red hair, the leather coat she wore clung to her ample bosom, and I noticed the pair of pistols on the table.

"I know who you are," she said without introducing herself, "And you know who I am."

"Sorry for the delay but..."

"I was aware of your previous visit here and why. If you hadn't taken care of her, I would have given it a go. Aria would probably have liked the situation resolved. Killing visitors who enjoy her establishment isn't good for business. Can't have that sort of reputation."

"I take it that you've received information from Cerberus about the mission?"

"Sure have and quite a lump sum of credits."

"And I understand you have a personal matter..."

"Not exactly personal. I have a contract that needs to be completed. Not the one I'm here for now. This is a minor thing. You'll like the bigger contract, Shepard. It'll probably have us fighting a lot of batarians."

"Guess you know my reputation."

"Frankly, my opinion is that the Alliance didn't go far enough. I'm not going to suggest that we should have wiped the batarians out, but ensuring they learned their place would have been helpful."

"What are you doing here now?"

"Waiting for a pair of batarians who I've been tracking for a few days now. If you had recruited me earlier, I would have missed my chance. Might want to tell your friends to scamper as they'll likely scare them off. You can stay though."

"Hang around outside," I ordered them, "Try not to look too conspicuous. How are we dealing with these batarians?"

"If they have the data I want, they'll live. If they don't, the contract is explicit about what will happen."

I didn't order anything from the bar as I wouldn't have trusted the batarian bartender not to slip something into my drink to either drug me or worse. Aela wasn't particularly talkative as she concentrated on the door. I knew that her targets had arrived as she met my eyes and made a subtle gesture with her head. She rose to her feet and walked around the table. I stood up and positioned myself where I could provide cover if necessary.

It went about as well as I thought it would. The conversation lasted barely a minute before Aela had a pistol in hand, firing two shots. The first shot went into the head of the first batarian, the second shot went into the gut of the second batarian as he was doing his best to move. I had my weapon out though I didn't fire a shot as Aela stepped onto the crotch of the batarian that still lived.

"Where is it?" she asked.

"I'm not tell you a damned thing. Fuck you, human."

Aela didn't say anything. She simply fired again. The place was then silent. I lifted my assault rifle and moved it in a careful arc. "We'd better move," I suggested.

"Cover me," she stated. I watched her back then she watched mine as I eventually moved backwards towards the entrance. I noticed weapons were being readied. I put a couple of shots over the head of anyone stupid enough to move their hand. Once I was back out the door, the rest of my group converged around us and we moved carefully out of the area. A small crowd of batarians followed us. Garrus, Grunt and I both fired short bursts into the air over their heads. The batarians were smart enough not to fire at us in return. If they had, I'd have authorised my entire team to fire at them.

Once I felt we were in safety, I sent the other four back to the ship for immediate departure as Aela led me towards a building where she explained that she kept an apartment. "Work on Omega often?"

"My work generally has me away from Council Space. And it's fair to say that the Alliance don't appreciate people of my talents. Bounty hunters. Mercenaries. Others who skirt on the right or wrong side of the law."

The apartment was sparse with furniture. Only an unmade bed and a footlocker at the end of it. There was a lounge that looked as old as I was. The bathroom was at least clean. Aela opened a small wardrobe and threw her few belongings into a rucksack. She glanced my way and smiled.

"I'm not big on personal possessions," she said, I guess explaining her lack of decoration, "I'm not here very often anyway."

"You own the place?"

"No, it's rented. But I've had a good deal with the landlady. I always pay on time, and she likes that I'm quiet when I am here."

"Visitors?" I teased.

"No one worth fucking on this shithole. Well, maybe Aria though I wouldn't trust that asari at all."

"Well, she hasn't done me wrong so far."

"I won't say Aria is scared of anyone, but you do have a reputation, Shepard. I think even the Pirate Queen of Omega would hesitate in pissing off the Butcher."

"Guess my reputation does follow me around."

Aela zipped up her rucksack and took a look around. Satisfied, she lifted it up and joined me at the door. "Frankly, Shepard, I'm someone who can say honestly that you didn't kill enough of the fuckers. Torfan should have been a start. We should have pushed them all the way back to Khar'shan and then forced them to the negotiating table. No more slavery. No more warmongering. They play nice or we fuck them up even worse."

"Trying to win my heart, Aela?"

She snorted as we walked out into the hallway before she locked the door behind her. "I know your reputation as well, Shepard. You like to have some fun. Good thing for you is that I'm usually too busy to want anything long-term. Depending on how long all this lasts, I might want a roll in the hay from time to time."

"I like a woman who is upfront."

"I've got no time for anyone's bullshit and their games. I'm a woman who knows what she wants. I enjoy what I do for a living. I make plenty of credits. I deal with scumbags. I like living alone most of the time. And when the opportunity presents itself, I definitely love to fuck. Shame is that, as I said, Omega is a shithole, and the majority of men here absolutely suck."

Boarding the Normandy, Kelly approached us and was friendly as always. To my surprise, Miranda was hanging around nearby and offered to show Aela around at the same time. I gave Miranda a look though all it earned in reply was a smile. Shrugging to myself, I thought that I should speak to some of my crew as I'd been distracted the past few days by Morinth and then Samara.

Leliana was delighted to speak to me and I'm sure that I made her giggle as I found her accent as mesmerising as Amelie's. We stuck to discussing her love of music as although she admitted to being a trained killer, her passion had always been singing. Asking what she'd do once we defeated the Collectors, she suggested that although she'd already developed friendships with some of my crew, she would likely return to her true love of music.

I found Triss sitting by herself gazing out of the lounge window. Sitting on the floor next to her, she smiled at me before shuffling closer and leaning against me. I tried to make time for all the women on the ship though I think they all knew it was difficult to give all of them equal attention. To be honest, I had talked to Kelly and wondered if I wasn't being a bit foolish about finding so many women attractive and wanting to sleep with them. She suggested that as long as no one was being hurt, I should enjoy myself.

Triss simply joked at my expense that I seemed to have particular tastes. Red hair. Slightly pale. Blue or green eyes. An ample bosom. Pert bottom. Great legs. When I retorted by suggesting that she fit that description, she kissed my cheek and chuckled, stating that she hoped I found her attractive. I assured her that I did.

"I've been getting to know Samara," she added, "Well, her and Jack. Being biotics, I've enjoyed discussing everything we've learned. I will tell you one thing, Shepard. Samara... She's besotted with you now."

"You've learned that in the past few days?"

"Helping her with Morinth confirmed her feelings. As soon as she's released from her code, she is going to jump your bones and ride you until you both pass out."

"And you, Triss?"

"I think there are a few of us on this ship who think the same though we're left feeling a little unsure. Not that we're after anything more than a bit of fun, but you're only one man and there are a lot of beautiful women. Add to that the women who are not on the ship. I've had a conversation with Tali, who is adorable, by the way, and she's told us about Liara, Ashley, Gianna, Kira, Naira, Shiala..."

"Most of them are not here, Triss."

"Do you have a thing for asari?"

"I do. Humanity has come a long way, but we are still prudes compared to the asari. I've met asari and had them in my bed within a couple of hours." I paused before chuckling to myself. "Okay, when I think about it, Jane had me in her bed rather quickly. And I arranged a deal with Helena that involved a lot of sex."

Kasumi, Tali, Leliana and Karin all walked in to join us, and it was a fun couple of hours as we talked about anything on our minds except the Collectors. I was worried about the lack of news from the Illusive Man though I knew we'd given the Collectors a bloody nose after Horizon. But if that gave people time to sort out issues before we were on an apparent suicide mission, all the better.

Speaking of personal issues, I was up in my cabin later that evening when Kasumi walked in after EDI announced her. She told me about something that needed to be taken care of. Not immediately as it would take some organising, but she knew that it wasn't a job that she could do alone. She was still putting things together, getting in touch with contacts to make sure the plan was organised, and that she'd get in touch with me when she knew it was ready to go. I just asked her to keep me in the loop,

I already knew Aela had a contract that needed completing though she'd already told me that it was urgent. Kira was messaging me every couple of days about her life back on the Citadel. Benezia must have been given my contact details by Liara as I was now receiving messages from her. She admitted to missing me terribly, happy at the news of my return though saddened to hear that I wouldn't be able to visit given my current situation.

Jane just sent me nudes and videos of her being naughty with her selection of sex toys. When I asked her about possibly showing others, she assured me that she didn't care. Kelly thought she was hot, and I knew the two were now swapping messages.

I kept in touch with the Illusive Man about going on the front foot about the Collectors. I knew Miranda was also growing frustrated about our apparent lack of progress. At least if I had the Alliance, it would be possible to move fleets about. If not fleets, at least a squadron or two of ships. I knew Admiral Hackett was a firm believer and would send me occasional updates about what the Alliance was doing. Anderson did the same thing from his position on the Citadel. I knew he'd formed a working relationship with Kyla.

Sitting at my terminal later that evening as most of the crew probably relaxed in the lounge, I was going to just settle back and watch something on the vidscreen when EDI told me that Amelie was on her way up to see me. She appeared in the doorway and for the first time that I could remember, she was looking a little unsure.

"Want a drink?" I asked.

"I'd love one."

I kept all manner of different varieties of alcohol in my cabin. I wasn't exactly teetotal though didn't drink all that often. I kept booze available for entertaining. Finding a bottle of red wine, I poured her a large glass and gestured towards the lounge. She sat down and crossed her legs as I sat down next to her. She sipped at the wine quietly for a few minutes, not filling the air with mindless chatter. I knew she was in my cabin because she had something on her mind.

"I was tortured, Shepard. That's why I'm blue."

"I'll admit that I'm not the only one curious about the fact you are human yet blue. I was thinking some sort of science experiment, perhaps a merging of asari and human DNA."

"If only. It would make what I'm going to tell you less painful."

"Take your time, Amelie."

She sipped at her drink again before taking a deep breath. "I've not always been a merciless killer. That's what I am. I know what I am now. But I wasn't always like this. I was typically French. I loved life. And I had two main passions. I was a ballet dancer, which helps explain my figure, and I was happily married. His name was Gerard." She sipped at her wine glass and that's when I noticed the tremor. I didn't move to touch her. I knew there was a lot more to come. "He was a government agent."

"A ballet dancer and a government agent. An interesting partnership."

"I only knew in vague details what he did for a living. He never told me in detail as a way to keep me safe. And for close to a decade, he did that. I was happy to keep dancing while he was off doing whatever he did. Then one day, everything changed..."

I topped up her wine glass which earned a soft smile of thanks.

"He was away on business while I was performing in Paris. I'd just finished one of my finest evenings as a dancer when I was kidnapped just as I leaving the theatre. The torture began almost immediately. It was a completely physical and psychological breakdown of who I was as a person. They broke me completely, Shepard. Turned me into who I am now."

"And I'm guessing with the torture...?"

"I only turned blue after I did what I did. When my husband rescued me, I spent weeks being assessed. Even after the breakdown, I must have appeared normal to them. I wasn't, I knew that I wasn't, but I was so thankful to be rescued that I didn't consider the dangers. Shepard... I... I killed my husband. They fucked with my mind so badly that I received a call one evening while we were in bed. There was a trigger word. Before I even knew what I was doing, I had a gun in my hand and put two bullets into his head..."

"Did you even realise what you did?"

"Only when I blinked and saw what I'd done. And that's when I knew that I'd been conditioned. I'd murdered him in cold blood. My fingerprints were everywhere. Then I received a call. It was them, telling me to get out and go to a specific address. There, I was taken halfway across the galaxy and conditioned further. That's when I turned blue. The organisation spent all their time turning me into a cold-hearted killer.

The thing is, I was playing them. I wasn't stupid. I knew they were responsible. I made sure that I got from them all the skills I would need to survive before I made my escape. The agency that my husband worked for has been searching for me ever since. I know the organisation that kidnapped me would either like me to work for them or they'd kill me to end any danger to them."

"What do we need to do, Amelie?"