Oriana found it a little hard to believe that the collective powers that be in the galaxy had conspired to send her to therapy. She was even more bewildered that they’d somehow roped Sha’ira into handling her case personally. Sure, Sha’ira was a fully accredited psychologist. In fact, that was a horrible, horrible understatement. Few non-Asari ever really understand, but ‘Consort’ is just as much a title as ‘Justicar,’ and one that requires an equally unusual individual to acquire, even if the two types of individuals are nearly diametrically opposed. Consorts aren’t just experts of the mind, or as many non-Asari believe, experts of bodily pleasures. They are healers who specialize not in the body, or even in the mind, but in the soul. To become one requires understanding the minds around you, yes. But it also requires the ability to deeply understand people, to empathize with them to an extent that you can’t help but love them. Then, with that understanding, they have to be willing to fully invest themselves. To try just that little bit longer than anyone else can imagine, to reach and heal each client. No matter who they are, or what they’ve done.

For Oriana, who straddled the line between Asari and Human in many ways, the closest she could get to explaining the needed level of understanding and what it meant, was to point out a line written by a 20^th century author, Orson Scott Card. In the case of the character involved, it was in reference to his enemies, but the work did a good job of verbalizing the depth that Consorts are able to understand the people they ‘comfort.’

“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves.” (Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game)

That was it. That was what Consorts were. Someone who could understand another person well enough, understand their wants and desires deeply enough, that they ended up loving the person as that person loved themselves. That took an unusual mind, and an even more unusual spirit, even for an Asari. It also made them, just possibly, the best therapists in the galaxy. Their approach to healing was far more complete than the meagre methods of a psychologist. Sha’ira just so happened to be one the most widely respected Consorts in the galaxy, and one of the very few who was able to achieve that level of understanding and empathy with non-Asari. A task easily an order of magnitude harder, given that every race thought a little differently, had a different perspective of…everything, really.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Oraina’s disbelief didn’t change the fact that the Think-Tank, the Citadel Council, Shepard, Aethyta, Benezia, and even the Geth had all somehow conspired together to land Oriana’s posterior in a unfairly comfortable couch, sipping a custom tea she’d never even heard of, across from the famous Consort. While each of them had possessed slightly different reasoning for their meddling, it had all ultimately boiled down to, ‘You are waayyyyy too important to have a breakdown on us. Here, have this drop-dead gorgeous Asari help you sort out the complete and utter fuckery that is your entire self and backstory.’

It was really a pity that Oriana didn’t actually think they were wrong. She really was sort of a mess.

“And so you fear not what you have done, but who you have become. You fear not your actions, but the ever quieter voice of restraint inside you. You have claimed greatness, but you have done it not for yourself…and you fear that in giving so much of who you could have been up to fuel the fire of hope for a galaxy, that you have betrayed that optimistic little girl, who looked at the night sky in wonder, and dreamed.”

She also kinda wished the woman wasn’t quite as good at figuring out all of Oriana’s deepest fears. This was both comforting and horrible in ways that she could never have imagined. On the bright side, she supposed, maybe she’d get a round of more physical affection from the gorgeous woman after she bawled her eyes out three or four times…

-----

Oriana smiled in delight at the mixture of innocent giggles and throaty moans that burbled up from her ‘victim,’ as she made the simple feather dance across Liara’s skin. The two of them were alone, for once, with the bound and blindfolded maiden spread eagle over the large bed of Liara’s own quarters. Another giggle and squirm was forced out of the blue beauty as the feather traced just under a breast, a moan following the giggle a moment later as a rapid flick of the wrist sent the same feather arching across a rock-hard nipple. The sounds, and even more so the sensations of joy and uncomplicated pleasure coming from their feather-light embrace, acted as a balm to soothe a part of Oriana’s soul that she hadn’t wanted to face before her session with Sha’ira.

She’d known she was wounded inside, of course. How could she not, with the jagged spikes of guilt and pain stabbing her whenever she stopped moving? She hadn’t, however, known how to deal with it. Instead, she’d simply kept moving, unconsciously aware that if she stopped…she’d tear apart upon those jagged edges. Jagged edges made out of every death she’d signed off on, every deed done in the dark in a desperate bid to give the flickering light just a little bit more fuel to burn on. She wasn’t military. She wasn’t even naturally inclined toward combat, or aggression at all, really. In another life, she might have become something like a Consort herself. And the weight of all she really wasn’t, but had forced herself to be, had torn vicious wounds into her soul.

Sha’ira words had opened those wounds and, in doing so, they should have destroyed her. Instead, by some personal magic of the Consort’s that Oriana couldn’t hope to understand, the wounds had been washed and cleaned. A path towards healing the worst of the scars offered up with no motive save to help Oriana help herself. Though, there was some amusement to the idea that an Asari’s first suggestion had been some one-on-one time with another Asari in bed.

Still, as she felt the uncomplicated happiness flood out of her young lover, she knew that Sha’ira had been right. In constantly focusing on the terrible things she had done, Oriana had blinded herself to the good she’d created in exchange. Good that was reflected in the feeling of youthful optimism radiating from her ‘victim,’ as the feather continued to dance. The original Liara, from Oriana’s first time around, had been a broken bird. Her mother a traitor, dead at the hands of a mind controlling eldritch monster right in front of her, in a fight she herself had contributed to. Her lover dead at the hands of the collectors, only to be reanimated in the closest thing to a deal with the devil Oriana could imagine without a literal portal to hell being involved. Friends betrayed and tortured, the weight of the galaxy falling on her back as she took up the mantle of the Shadow Broker, few having a clue just how much she’d done to help the galaxy. Somehow struggling onward, through it all, with next to no support the entire time.

Not a single bit of that had happened here.

Benezia lived. Changed, but actually closer to her daughter now than she had been in decades. Liara’s ‘father’ alive and involved in her life. Shepard not only alive, but joined by Oriana and Kelly in a very Asari-maiden-like exploration of sexuality and romance. Yes, this Liara has seen death. She’d faced combat. She was well aware of just how horrible the odds were against them. But this Liara had also had the support network to keep her from breaking. To help her grow instead, and to maintain the optimism that was the core of her, once you got past the layers of emotional armor she’d built for herself. This Liara, despite the galaxy going to hell around her, was Happy.

And it was Oriana that had made it all possible.

It was Oriana who had brought a cure to the Krogan and the Ardat-Yakshi. Oriana who had given the Geth a chance at life and the Quarians a chance to touch their homeworld again. Oriana who had saved tends of thousands who would have died in the destruction of the Alpha Relay. Who had saved even more still who would have died in the opening round of the Reaper War as Earth, Palavan, and Thessa were ravaged. Oriana who had given the galaxy a chance.

Pushing away the still-uncomfortable realization, she focused on her lover. She was making progress. She had proof she could get better. But right now, she had a desperately squirming Asari Maiden to ravish…

-----

Ashley bit back a moan as the neural stimulators produced by the Neuralux 3 implant sent her the sensations of ‘her’ cock being sucked. Despite the fact that said ‘cock’ wasn’t currently on her body. It was not, in fact, anywhere within sight of the private café balcony she was having lunch with Oriana on. Instead, it was somewhere else in the city. In the devious clutches of Liara, Kelly, and Samara, with Shepard keeping an eye on the trio to enforce the rules. Under the circumstances, it was impossible to tell who, or even what was currently causing Ashely’s pleasure. The pleasure halted as abruptly as it has started and the Spectre let out an unconscious whine.

“How did I let you talk me into this?”

Oriana grinned, mischief sparkling in her eyes, as she raised her espresso to her lips.

“As I recall, I got you drunk again, told you stories about the games like this I played with Shepard, Liara, Kelly, and even Samara. I implied you couldn’t handle it, since you’re too much of a prude. And you challenged me to the game. Personally, I think you just wanted another shot at experiencing the Neuralux.”

Ashley pouted at the reminder. She actually pouted. Oriana hadn’t been aware that the stern-faced Spectre even knew how to pout. This was a delightful discovery. She would be doing everything in her power to get even more interesting expressions out of the woman. It would be a refreshingly non-violent challenge. Sha’ira had said Oriana needed more of those. So, of course, Oriana would only be following the ‘doctor’s orders’ if she picked this one, right? Surely, it was only a minor bonus that Ashley had been acting steadily more submissive as the random bursts of pleasure came and went…without the Spectre actually being able to cum. That command sequence was currently disabled in the implant, tied to the app on Oriana’s Omni-tool. Just as a similar command sequence that would allow Oriana to cum was tied to the same App on Ashley’s own Omni-tool.

That was the game for the day. The challenge. Both of them had been fitted with their neural stimulators and a pair of chastity belts before Ashely had sobered up completely the evening before. And too much pride, as well as not a little arousal, had been tied up in her issuing the challenge to Oriana for Ashley to back out when she’d woken up this morning. The first one of them to break and ask to cum would be subject, with some limitations, to a week under the other woman’s control. Chastity belt included. And, despite Ashley’s iron will, this was a game that Oriana had played before. The only real chance that the Spectre had was the fact that Oriana was linked to multiple women’s bits, whereas Ashley only had to worry about what happened to the Neuralux 3 cock. For everything that happened to Ashley, two or three things had been happening to Oriana.

It should have been enough to even out the odds.

Pity for Ashley that it hadn’t worked out that way so far.

Oriana had experience with being edged for days. Worse, Ashely had failed to take into account that Liara and Kelly were very invested in the idea of getting into Ashley’s panties. Which they knew was virtually certain to happen if Oriana won. Kelly had already been there, of course…but she’d shared the experience with Liara via a meld, and the Maiden was intrigued. For all the fun they’d had, Ashley with the Neuralux 3 would be the closest Liara had ever gotten to a lover with an actual cock, and the maiden was very curious. Which meant that she and Kelly were giving their absolute best efforts whenever it was time to do something to the Neuralux toy.

Of course, that didn’t mean that they weren’t enjoying the chance to tease the normally-dominant Oriana along the way. As she experienced a moment later when her neural stimulators sprang to life with the sensation that was undeniably Kelly’s particular oral skills. Vibrating tongue included. The fact that Ori knew that meant the redhead was publicly (it was the rules) tonguing either Liara or Samar, a only made the sensations hotter. Thankfully, since Asari and human anatomy didn’t quite perfectly align, it was slightly less intense than if Kelly had been servicing her directly. In fact…she was just barely coherent enough to weaponize it.

“Mmmm. Kelly’s tongue really is something special. You haven’t experienced her implant in full yet, have you? You already know how good she is, of course…but can you imagine just how much better she is when her tongue itself is capable of vibrating? Ah~! Or turning ice cold, like it just did to me? Flicking like a slim cube of ice across your clit, only for her warm breath afterward to make you shiver in an entirely different way…”

Ashley twitched. Her hands clenching and a whimper escaping her as Oriana’s voice, heavy with lust from what was happening to her, continued to describe it all in detail. Ori started weaving in bits of fantasy to the description, making Ashley imagine restraints and hot wax, the brush of feathers and the pinch of clamps on helpless nipples. She could sense it as Ashley’s will gave slightly and she started falling into subspace. She grinned. It was only a matter of time, now…particularly since Kelly had actually stopped half a minute ago. She just had to keep it up until the next time the trio played with Ashley’s Neuralux…