Morrigan stood against the island of her kitchen as she read the report on her data-slate. It had been three days since Rylanor left to raid the facility that contained the Kruosten IV she needed. According to the report, the raiding party had wild success with Yekku’s non-combustion weaponry allowing them to steal as much as they needed without problem. It was also in the report that Rylanor had any incapacitated guard and workers executed, but being a Federation facility, her concerns about that were minimal. If anything, it helped hide their trail, at least, that's what she told herself.

She sighed as she set the data-slate down, Skoll whining softly with his head next to her on the counter. Morrigan chuckled as she stroked the soft fur between his ears. His response was merely to groan happily and shove his snout against her chest.

Even since the discovery of her pregnancy, Skoll had become inconsolable to the point that April and Vii’ona couldn't get him to calm down. Thus, Morrigan conceded to staying aboard the Archangel once again which suited her well enough. Soon, Aleksei and Danson would begin the construction of the warhead and she wanted to be close by to guard the weapon.

There was a series of taps on the door that caused Skoll to perk his ears up with interest, his massive head fluidly shifting around Morrigan’s body as he crouched low as if ready to pounce before the door slid open to reveal Mo’Emori standing in the doorway.

“It’s okay sweet boy, it’s just me,” she said softly as she stepped in crouching low, allowing Skoll to approach her and sniff her hand. The wide, bright smile she wore held no worry. She knew he wouldn’t attack her, but she went through motion out of respect for Skoll and his heightened anxiety.

Even though she had gotten over it long before, it still made Morrigan smile to see Skoll and Mo’Emori get along. She knew it was hard for her seeing as her father had been killed by another of his kind however, Mo’Emori knew better than to hold prejudice against an entire species for the actions of one; or multiple given the Danthïr's history of being dangerous.

That being known, Mo’Emori had created a system for Skoll letting him know that someone friendly was at the door by tapping her fingers repeatedly before entering then getting below his level for him to smell. He was smart enough to recognize people by sight however, even Morrigan could sense that the motion put him more at ease.

Since Nora beat her to it, it wasn't long until Mo’Emori learned that she too was going to be a mother of sorts. In all honesty, it went as well as Morrigan expected given who Mo’Emori was; however, what concerned her was that her darling Eskarii love never made a real comment about the situation. Sure, Mo’Emori was beyond happy about it, though whether she was happy for her and Nora like she mentioned or happy for herself, Morrigan didn't know.

Nothing changed, Mo’Emori radiated her usual joyous, blissful happiness every time she laid eyes on Morrigan and to Morrigan, that was daunting.

“Hello, my darling loves,” Mo’Emori said wistfully as one hand held her cheek, and the other gently caressing the ever so gentle bump that began to form. For the moment, it seemed to Morrigan that there were some changes after all.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” Morrigan joked, a sly smirk crossing her lips as she placed her hands around the Eskarii’s waist and pulled her closer.

The giggle Mo’Emori shared was always music to Morrigan’s ears, “I’m always in a good mood when I see you,” Mo’Emori stated slyly before burying her face into the crook of her neck, nuzzling deeply.

There was a deep huff and the stamping of padded feet that drew both women’s attention to find Skoll stamping his front paws before his nose buried between then as he tried to pry them apart.

Mo’Emori laughed, “And you too, mister!” she stated happily before scuffing the sides of his face. “You always make me happy too!” she cooed.

Laughter almost slipped from Morrigan’s lips as she watched Skoll preen dramatically before accepting Mo’Emori’s words of endearment and making his spot to lay down on the still shredded sofa.

“Ugh, you're still paying for that,” Mo’Emori complained to Skoll only to watch him pick his head up from the arm of the sofa and tilt his head. “Don’t you be cute with me, mister!” she said before turning, “Why does he have to be so cute?”

Morrigan chuckled in amusement, leaning back against the counter in time to hear her data-slate to go off telling her she had a new message. “I also ask the same thing when it comes to you,” Morrigan mused while reaching for the data-slate.

Mo’Emori cut her off with an alert squeak, placing her hand over the device with blinding speed before pulling it off the counter and to her side, “No, no ,no. I wanted to tell you.”

Morrigan furrowed her brow, “What is it?” mild worry lining her voice as she observed the slightly childish behavior. With her luck, she expected some kind of surprise party which was something she didn’t want. It was bad enough her secret was out, but to make it a spectacle seemed like a worse idea to her and she worried her subordinates would begin to treat her differently especially of higher rank like Shepard.

“I came by to tell you that we received word from the Trickster’s Sleight, and that Inquisitor Danafor should be arriving in the next few hours,” Mo’Emori stated nearly pouting.

To see her pout was adorable and enough to make Morrigan snort with a smile, “Took him long enough!” she commented before stepping towards her and gently taking the data-slate from Mo’Emori. “I don’t see why you wanted to tell me when I got the message?” Morrigan inquired as she set it back down on the counter.

Mo'Emori couldn't keep a straight face, instantly grinning brightly and swaying side to side with her hands hidden behind her back bashfully. Aside from being utterly adorable in Morrigan’s eyes, it was odd. She could recall a time when Mo’Emori was the calm and collected one while she was the shy, nervous wreck. Yet, ever since Mo’Emori found out she was pregnant, the roles became reversed.

It wasn’t too odd. Morrigan knew that Mo’Emori felt in wild levels of intensity, more so once they had finally reunited for the last time; however, in the moment, Mo’Emori was beyond anxious and Morrigan could see just how hard she fought to contain it.

“To see you of course!” Mo’Emori chirped brightly.

Cocking an eyebrow, Morrigan pointed out, “You don't need a reason to come see me, love.”

“Yeah, but…” Mo’Emori started only to get caught up in her own anxiety. Morrigan watched closely as Mo’Emori began to pace, “I wanted to be useful too. Like, all I do now is oversee people without actually doing anything and it's kinda like working with Mr. Yuma but not really because I did stuff all the time but that is also how I got to be lucky and met you and its just not the same!”

Morrigan listened to her ramble, analyzing the nervous chatter before taking a seat on the stool next to the island and leaning on her hand.  “I mean, I get that, it’s basically what I've been doing for the past couple years but I know you don't believe what you're saying… what's really going on sweetie?”

The question stopped her in her tracks, making Mo’Emori sigh. Her bright yellow eyes peered towards her for a moment before drifting across the room,  the nervous energy began to bleed into the atmosphere around them as panic and calm clashed within Mo’Emori.

“So, Nora and I were talking yesterday…” Mo’Emori started.

Morrigan perked up nervously for a moment, “Why do I feel like I'm in trouble,” she mused half heartedly.

“No, but… we were in the trading hub because Nora said new mothers get gifts amongst the pirate clans…”

Morrigan recalled a similar conversation, her fingers gently touching the new handgun strapped to her thigh. Stephanie, for as mad as she should've been, with her chaotic bundle of a sister in tow, forced Morrigan to go to the trading hub moments after the conversation they had regarding Taylor and her. Per both sisters, it was customary for a new pirate mother to receive gifts from fellow pirates, usually being weapons. It was honestly only a matter of time until everyone knew she was pregnant and a mountain of gifts would appear on her doorstep. Despite feeling guilty about how Stephanie found out, they had dragged her to a trader both women knew, a dwarf of a man who managed to trade in high end goods, and after trading Morrigan’s supply of cigars, they got her a special .438 handgun.

How the man got ahold of it, more or less a large supply of ammunition for it, was beyond her given there had only been 50 made in existence. Never mind that it was barely small enough for her to wield properly. Yet, for some reason the weapon made Morrigan happy.

She wasn't sure if it was because Stephanie and Nora got it for her or if it being such a rarity had anything to do with it however, she loved the weapon. Almost as much as she loved the gunblade Yekku had made for her before it got destroyed. The stray thought reminded her that she needed to check in with Yekku, it had been some time since she had visited him and she was sure Danson was running him ragged.

“Well, we came across something... which led to another conversation…” Mo’Emori started nervously, “Just… can you close your eyes?”

Morrigan couldn't deny she was curious however, it did concern her with how nervous Mo’Emori was. Despite that, she closed her eyes as requested and listened to her love move quickly across the room, feeling her anxiously touch her hand.

Morrigan’s heart nearly stopped as she felt Mo'Emori slip something on her hand, something clearly small that hugged her finger snuggly as it slide on. Before she could even begin processing what had just happened, she felt her hand get pulled gently down in front of her which caused her thoughts to scatter.

Well, I’ll be damned. As gross as this is, you might wanna open your eyes, kid, Apollyon stated gruffly.

Apollyon’s sudden appearance in her mind made it even harder for her to focus. The deity having seemingly disappeared over the past several days. It used to concern Morrigan whenever Apollyon sank itself into her mind; however, the peace and quiet had been helpful for her to try and rebalance herself over the past few days.

“You can open your eyes…” Mo’Emori said, anxious worry lining her words.

Morrigan was almost afraid to open her eyes, the static in her mind trying to get a grasp of what was happening.

“No, this couldn't be…” Morrigan thought.

Listen to her, Apollyon stated softly, the deity’s tone endearing which only made her mind struggle that much more. If Apollyon was surprised or supportive, Morrigan knew it was something incredibly important.

Slowly, Morrigan opened her eyes, her focus adjusting to see bright yellow eyes framed by vibrant teal hair looking up at her. Her eyes instantly shifted the moment Mo’Emori nervously squeezed one of the fingers she was holding to see a ring on her finger.

Her heart stopped as her eyes traced an infinity band of black stone and crisp, glistening diamonds that offset each half of the symbol. What really drew her eye was the centerpiece, a square cut stone of crystalline crimson that made it appear the symbol of infinity ran through it, a crimson ruby of impeccable clarity.

“We don’t have things such as this in our culture…” Mo’Emori commented, forcing Morrigan to shift her stunned gaze to meet the ever-gorgeous gleam of her bright yellow eyes. “But Nora told me Terrans have rituals and ceremonies between two people that love each other and-I mean I heard the phrases a lot on Earth but I never knew what it meant and then Nora told me about it all!” Mo’Emori rambled nervously, gently tugging on Morrigan’s hand.

Taking a deep breath as she admired the shocked face of her lover, Mo’Emori continued, “But Nora said she was going to be a mother which is amazing for her! Then she told me I should be your wife and told me how this ritual works!”

Morrigan barely understood what she had said, her eyes occasionally darting between the ring and nervous smile Mo’Emori wore. Never, even back when she and Taylor were together had Morrigan ever considered getting married.

To Morrigan, marriage always seemed like a stigmatized concept, serving no purpose except for very minor legal benefits. Her parents were married, but their marriage was never anything special to Morrigan.

What Morrigan saw ever since she was little was just how much her parents loved one another, how much they loved and supported one another, and that was what Morrigan always wanted.

“Did… did I do this wrong? Do you not like it?” Mo’Emori asked, her voice heavy with nervous sadness as her eyes began to tear up.

Morrigan realized she hadn't moved for a long moment, even going as far as to stop breathing as she sat stunned. All she wanted to do was burst into tears but knew that would ruin the moment, bloody tears do not make for a happy moment, though if she didn't do anything, she would ruin the moment anyways.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Morrigan shook her head, “No, you didn't do anything wrong,” she said with a joyously laughing voice and smile as she edged herself off the stool. At second glance, she realized that Mo’Emori had done everything wrong. Instead of being down on one knee, Mo’Emori had been kneeling, and instead of presenting the ring and asking, she had put the ring on first.

She didn’t care though, it was far beyond adorable and Mo’Emori doing it her own way made it all the more special.

Morrigan helped Mo’Emori to her feet and before Mo’Emori could say anything, Morrigan pulled her into her arms tightly and buried her face in the nape of her hair. “I love it baby,” said emotionally before pulling back to stare into Mo’Emori’s glistening eyes, “Of course I’ll marry you!”

Mo’Emori breathed a giddy sigh of relief before stealing a passionate kiss from her now fiancé. The moment their lips separated, they both started giggling joyously as they fell into each other's arms. The almost frantic embrace carried the weight of their feelings for one another, as if it was somehow the first and last time they would ever hold the other, the two clung to each other before a thought occurred to Morrigan.

“You do know you’ll be every bit of their mother as Nora is, right?” she asked through her giddy laughter.

Mo’Emori giggled at the question before nodding into Morrigan’s shoulder, “I know, but Nora said I should be first wife as well as second mother.”

Morrigan couldn’t help but laugh, pulling away once more only to smile, “You two are ridiculous,” she said, before kissing Mo’Emori once again with deep passion.

◇◇◇

“I have to say, the girl has taste,” Shepard mused as she inspected the ring on Morrigan’s finger.

Clare snickered as Aria rolled her eyes, “Right? Shit, I’m jealous. But hey, I guess this really does make you royalty now, doesn’t it?”

Morrigan couldn’t help but giggle as she sat in her throne shaking her head. “No. We’re engaged… Nora failed to fully explain how marriage actually works. But, I am one step closer,” she mused.

Shepard gently touched Morrigan on the shoulder, looking at her as if what she said was ridiculous. “You do know I could marry the both of you right now if you wanted,” the older woman pointed out.

“What? How?” Morrigan asked furrowing her brow.

Heather answered the question for Shepard with mischief in her eyes, “She’s the commanding officer of the Archangel, aside from ourselves, admirals have the authority to marry, as do we all things considered.”

Morrigan’s eyes widened, recalling old history of ship captains marrying those amongst their crew. However, before she could respond, Clare interjected, “Hey! I’m giving you away. I practically raised you from the fledgling little Inquisitor you were!”

“Hold up!” Morrigan said raising her hands in defense, “Let’s just get through this first… baby steps. Neither of us want to do this half-assed anyways however, once this war is over then you can definitely marry us, Shep.”

Shepard chuckled at how flustered Morrigan got from all three attention, “Oh, I’m holding you to that.  Speaking of, Danafor!”

Everyone watched the short old woman flag down the wayward Inquisitor that had entered the courtyard. The man seemed to walk around carelessly, just taking in the sights around him before Shepard grabbed his attention and even then, he had the same air of aloofness that Morrigan remembered.

Morrigan stood from her throne as she watched the man approach, his hands tucked into his combat belt as he watched the upper decks with interest. “Sure are rising up in the world, aren’t you, Lord Inquisitor?” he questioned with amusement.

The joke had certainly run its course when it came to grating Morrigan's nerves. Now, she just accepted the title as fact until the day Solomon took it back. “Its good to see you again, Inquisitor Danafor. It’s been years yet it still feels like yesterday that you rescued my family from Earth,” she said with a smile, subtle laughter carrying her words.

“Yeah, those were the days huh?” he stated before stopping a few mere feet from her and meeting her eyes, “To say you've changed is a drastic understatement.”

Morrigan, as well as Shepard and most of the Inquisitors chuckled at that. “Yeah, becoming Lord Inquisitor, getting knocked up, getting engaged… shit’s been wild to say the least,” she noted with amusement, though exhausted softly bled into her words.

Danafor crossed his arms in surprise, eyeing her closely as he attempted to find the evidence to support get claim,  “Well damn, you have been busy. Here I thought the data from the Archangel was a lot.” He then took an amused glance at Clare, “How does it feel to be superseded at every turn by your trainee?”

“Old,” Clare said with a laugh.

Shepard crossed her arms defiantly at that, “You got a long way to go before you can start complaining.”

Clare winked and gave the old woman the finger gun gesture before adding, “And proud. Unbelievably proud.”

Morrigan held her arms out and gestured for everyone to settle down, “Okay, okay, I've had enough overly emotional feelings for one life time. Has anyone filled you in?” she asked Danafor.

He shrugged taking one final look around,  “Well, I gather your gathering allies since the Void Star has been captured. If there’s more then not really.”

Morrigan let out a soft sign, “Yeah, that's part of it. The last piece of the puzzle is getting the CoU on our side,  then we can bring this war to an end.”

Danafor wince at the mention of the CoU and Morrigan didn't miss it. “What is it?” She demand.

She watched as his shoulders shrank slightly v as he let out a heavy sigh, “I’ve been trying to get them to assist us for over a year now. But with over half of their fleet wiped out and the fact that Solomon relinquished his title… they're refusing any kind of aid…”

Heat began to built in the core of Morrigan's chest as her anger began to flare, “Are you…” she started before catching herself, remembering that he was only the messenger. “Why?” she demanded spitefully.

He shrugged once again as if unable to feel the pressure of every set of eyes on him, “They trusted Solomon, but don’t like the idea of giving over command of the Inquisition to someone so inexperienced, which is a crock of shit if you ask me.” Danafor sighed again and glanced briefly at Clare, “Honestly I figured he would’ve given the title to Clare but, the old man has never been wrong in my entire service. So why would he start now?”

Aria scoffed audibly but refrained from saying anything, instead letting out a steady breath through her nostrils as Clare gently nodded in agreement with Danafor. Morrigan however, ground her teeth in irritation as she felt her anger continue to rise.

Relax girl, you don’t need them. A handful of ships isn’t going to make a difference so just stick to the plan, Apollyon pointed out.

“Right,” she thought back before letting out a tiring sigh, “Alright, we at least have three of the four…” All eyes turned to Morrigan as she paused to consider her options. She needed the Federation in one spot. Granted, it would serve to be less dangerous if she attacked with their fleet spread out however, if she could manage to get the Federation to recall the ships surrounding the Void Star, then Solomon could send the rest of the Inquisition.

Granted, that was with the assumption they wouldn’t destroy the Void Star. Then there was the issue with her plan; if she did end up needing to use the weapon she was building, then she needed a way to mitigate the damage it would cause. If she could some how evacuate the planet…

“We need to get the Federation to fall back to the Sol system,” she announced.

Before anyone could say anything, Danafor inquired, “Well, what exactly is the plan?”

“The goal is to free the Void Star, take Earth hostage and kill Amaranthe,” she spat, “I have a weapon being made that can visibly hold Earth hostage. In the meantime, the Marmuro’k, Eskarii and the pirates will engage the Federation fleet and ensure as much damage as possible to get the ships surrounding the Void Star to return to the Sol system and allow Solomon to send the rest of the Inquisition. From there, we hunt down Amaranthe and kill him and put an end to this damned war,” she informed him.

Aria huffed, “She fails to mention this weapon is capable of destroying Earth… though I’m not saying she will,” she stated begrudgingly.

That happened to catch Danafor's attention though,  “You’re creating a planet killing weapon?”

Morrigan glared at Aria as she bit her lip, “More or less. Only one… it’s been a back and forth thing but as it stands, if push comes to shove… the Federation needs to know what’s at stake.”

She could hear Danafor’s jaw pop as he shifted it in thought, “Huh… so you’re essentially taking a page out of history. Bluff unless the enemy doesn’t believe you, then you do it, and hope they don’t call your bluff twice… I mean, it makes sense though it’s a bit drastic… then again, so was Hiroshima, so…”

Morrigan vaguely recalled what Danafor was referring to. Before the nuclear war that nearly destroyed the Earth, humans had only used weapons of mass destruction once before back in the mid 1900s. Those bombings were the reason why nuclear weapons were held at bay despite every country capable of making them, had them. However, if she recalled correctly, it took two separate bombings to get the enemy to stand down and she prayed it didn’t come to that.

Everyone remained quiet for a moment as Danafor absorbed the idea. He hadn’t been absorbing though but instead, he had been plotting, “There's a relay station just outside of the Bajor system; Federation owned and would be a great place to broadcast a message. You know, get their attention.”

The idea intrigued her, “Do you know how far it can broadcast? And is it possible I could speak to the CoU from there instead of tracking them down?” She inquired.

“Everywhere. It’s one of three primary relay stations the Federation uses so, if you want everyone to hear you, it'll get you heard. As for getting ahold of those dip shits… I don't see why not. May be better than using our own code,” Danafor noted.

Clare nodded approvingly, “Very nice.”

Heather let out the faintest of snorts, “Using enemy code to broadcast their own death sentence, that’s almost poetic. I like it,” she mused as she watched Morrigan begin to pass side to side in thought.

After a moment of thinking, Morrigan stopped and pressed a series of buttons on the right hand arm of the throne. As soon as she finished, a three dimensional map of the galaxy appeared above all of them, “Alright. I’m going to need two of you,” she stated before pointing at a specific point on the map that sat directly between every faction; the Marmuro’k, Eskarii and the Inquisition.

“I need one to deliver the meeting point to the Queen of the Eskarii, and the other to the Marmuro’k… I don’t know of any if you outside of me have a relationship with them…” she paused hoping someone would admit that they did. She received nothing but the shaking of heads however, Clare did speak up.

“I can deliver word to the Queen. I was there before I made my way here but I think you’re the only one in the history of the Inquisition to get a foothold in the their society,” Clare noted.

Morrigan sighed and turned to Shepard, “Find a captain that is in good standings with the Marmuro’k, someone we can trust, and have them deliver the coordinates of the war council.” Shepard gave her a sharp nod then Morrigan turned to Danafor, “As soon as the meeting is over, we hit the relay station… as soon as I figure out how long it’ll take Danson and Aleksei to finish the weapon…” she then turned to the map and calculated the time it would take for everyone to travel. “Have everyone meet within four days of arrival. We’ll use the Lightning Strike’s largest hanger to convene once there. By then, I should have an answer.”