Morrigan hissed in irritation as she saw Admiral Shepard waiting for her in the hanger as the pilot landed. She knew the old woman wanted to speak to her first but didn’t expect her to stalk the hanger for her return.

  Yekku chirped and brushed his face against her shoulder to make her feel better, making her smile as she raised her hand and pet her cheek. She side eyed the supportive S’randin and sighed, “Sorry buddy, looks like duty calls,” she said as the dropship landed, “I’m sure Danson will be happy to see you, you should go visit.”

  Yekku warbled and chittered before bobbing his head as Morrigan opened the starboard door, Yekku darting out towards Admiral Shepard in surprising speed.

  “Oh!” Shepard exclaimed as Yekku hugged the tiny old lady. Catching her off guard before slinking away towards the far exit that led towards the middle of the ship.

  Morrigan chuckled to herself as she watched the energetic S’randin dart across the hanger, obviously happy to be back on the Archangel before looking at Shepard who wore an amused expression.

  “I didn’t expect that,” Shepard stated as Morrigan approached.

  “He’s happy to be home. He enjoyed his time on Tik’Taq’To, but Xitzocl believes he feels more at home with my little clan, not a planet. Everyone loves him here,” Morrigan said, hoping to instill the belief in herself that her words conveyed.

  Her smile fell as she prepared herself for her debrief, “Anyways, I’m ready when you are.”

  Shepard nodded and led Morrigan through the hanger, up to the bridge before taking a sharp right turn nearly tripping Morrigan with the unexpected direction.

  Morrigan furrowed her brows as she watched Shepard continue around the corner to her own personal quarters, while the rest of the bridge crew watched Morrigan; some of which seeing her newly evolved eyes and markings for the first time.

  “Wow… you look amazing, Mori,” Sarilla interjected, breaking the silence. Morrigan’s eyes shifted to the Navigator, giving her a weak smile.

  “Thank you,” she said softly before Luisa, the half Eskarii portside artillery coordinator chimed in.

  “She’s not wrong, I mean… if I were into women, you know…” Luisa stated bashfully.

  The half Eskarii’s shyness despite being an overtly outgoing woman made Morrigan smile more, thinking that perhaps no one really minded the changes she had gone through.

  Avery gave her a dual thumbs up and a big grin before returning to fixing his pilot chair while Gunnar cleared his throat.

  “Hey, uh, before you go. The Javelin crew really wanted to say thank you. It’s been a long time since they’ve been able to perform their duty. Usually, they get stuck helping clean or assisting the battery crews.”

  Morrigan pursed her lips and nodded, reminding her of what she needed to bring up to Shepard. She wasn’t sure how to help the Javelin crew however, she knew they would be needed, “Tell them they have my gratitude for their accuracy. The Federation has made the first move and lost thanks to them,” she praised, hoping her words would inspire the crew and bring a bit more contentment to their seldom used talents.

  Truth was, in comparison to the battery crews, the Javelin didn’t have a lot of equipment and the Research and Development labs didn’t have a large ammunition restocking capacity. So, she did have to be sparing on when to use them though she was certain the recent battle wouldn’t be the last time she would have to call on them.

  “Mori!” Shepard called out from her quarters, sounding more grandmotherly even though Morrigan knew she was being impatient.

  “Gotta go guys,” Morrigan said before turning and heading towards the room.

  The door closed behind her as she stepped in, finding Shepard sitting in a quaint little chair across from a vacant seat with a small table in between. The room was half the size of Morrigan’s quarters, combining the living room and bedroom into one area like a loft or studio. Decorations of Shepard’s past life were scattered across the room: old photos, guns and other military memorabilia hanging on the walls or tucked into neat little spaces.

  Shepard gestured for her to sit and retrieved two glasses and a bottle of alcohol from inside the hidden compartment of the table. Morrigan accepted the seat and the glass, which judging by the acrid smell of rubbing alcohol, happened to be very high proof vodka.

  Shepard put the bottle on the table and reached down and pulled out two cigars, gesturing them towards her as Morrigan sat in baffled silence.

  “Thank you,” she said before taking one and placing it in her mouth, pulling out a lighter. Morrigan took a long drag off the cigar, despite it being unflavored but she was thankful it was bigger than the ones she normally carried.

  “Its been too long…” she said in a controlled exhale, closing her eyes as she felt the relief of tension travel down her spine.

  “May I?” Shepard asked with a brief chuckle, holding out her hand. Morrigan passed the lighter to Shepard who lit her own cigar and took a professional puff.

  “So, this is a lot different than I was expecting…” Morrigan noted which made Shepard grin, her aging and discolored teeth fully showing.

  “You act as if you’re in trouble,” Shepard joked.

  Morrigan took a sip of the vodka and let the burning sensation spread through her body before retorting, “Well, I did bring an alien pet on board…”

  Shepard laughed lightly and nodded, “Indeed you did. That was quite surprising to find, or should I say he? Truth of the matter is, whatever it is, the creature has been keeping Sigurd busy which means less fraternizing with the crew and less pestering me.”

  That caused Morrigan to snort as she took another drag off the cigar. Shepard downed her entire glass of vodka and began pouring herself another glass as she spoke, “Annoyances aside, I wanted to congratulate you on your first real battle aboard the Archangel. We admirals have a… ideology of sorts, that the fate of the Inquisitor and their ship is decided during their first real battle.”

  Morrigan cocked her head to the side in intrigue, “Does the fire fight with the private ship a few weeks ago not count?” Referring to her earliest experience aboard the Archangel, defending a convoy being harried by a pirate Destroyer though the ship escaped.

  Shepard shook her head and gave a wrinkled smile, “You know it doesn’t. That was nothing but a warning shot. This though, this was a real fight. Granted, you took care of most of it yourself which is… unique to the situation. However, you gave combat orders to this ship and had them execute battle maneuvers that disabled an enemy ship as well as helped assist in capturing another,” Shepard took a drag off her cigar and blew the smoke above her head, “You did this with the objective, as well as the safety of the ship in mind, even if you were rude about it; which was the number one rule I told you to follow.”

  Morrigan pursed her lips into a thin line, staring directly into Shepard’s one uncovered eye, holding her breath as she waited for the ball to drop. However, nothing came of the pause.

  “Did we suffer any casualties?” Morrigan finally asked.

  Shepard’s face wrinkled even deeper as she grinned, pointing at Morrigan with her cigar, “This is my point, right here,” she said before her face fell into its natural position, “Two were lost to the boarding crews,” she said swiftly, “And a handful were injured beyond bumps and bruises. As much as I detest the idea of saying it, Nora’s training exercises she has been running have paid off well.”

  Morrigan laughed at that, “I’ll be sure to tell her that!”

  Shepard glared with her one good eye, “Don’t, I’m sure I would never hear the end of it and I already have one of yours that enjoys getting on my nerves as it is.”

  “Yeah, probably not,” Morrigan quickly agreed before taking a drink, “Has Sigurd been that bad? I mean, I know he's a handful but…”

  Shepard shook her head, “I’m just complaining. Besides being a nuance, he is actually rather loyal and dedicated which makes it worth putting up with him. Another good call on your part, which brings me to my point,” she said which redraw Morrigan’s undivided attention, “You handled yourself admirably and moving forward the safety net is off, Mori. You are in full command of the Archangel, leaving me to perform a supporting command role to both you and the various crews.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Morrigan nearly dropped her glass in surprise, “What? I mean, what about the ability to override my orders or making sure I don't go rogue or something?”

  Shepard nodded knowingly, “Those are still my responsibilities however, you've proven yourself capable enough to not require extensive scrutiny. Though, I must ask what happened.”

  Morrigan pursed her lips and nodded, having waited for the question to come up. She set the glass down and took a sharp drag off the cigar before sighing, “I’m honestly not sure. This is how I woke up, as if my body went through some sort of metamorphosis in a way.”

  Shepard cocked her head and looked Morrigan over, “Do you feel any different?”

  Morrigan wiggled her hand side to side before answering, “I’ve noticed some subtle things but… not really? Like, Yekku barreled into me earlier and I barely moved. That and…” Morrigan paused, considering whether or not to explain her new fangs or the fact that she had growled in a more animalistic fashion, “I don’t know. It was surprising but overall, I don’t really feel any different, which makes it all the more confusing. My biggest concern was how everyone would respond… my powers have outcast me so much as it is...”

  The old woman watched the distant haunting look in Morrigan’s expression and tsked her, “Mori,” her tone chastising, “As odd as it is, it’s certainly not the weirdest thing to have happened recently thanks to that creature you brought on board. I mean, a giant dog that generates powerful currents of electricity? How does such a thing even exist?”

  Morrigan shrugged, “I’m not sure. As far as I'm aware Skoll has been on Tik’Taq’To for a long time and with the way the Marmuro’k spoke of him, he’s the only one.”

  Shepard shook her head with a smile of amusement, “And leave it to you to become friends with it. I saw how it responds to you on the surveillance, how is that possible?”

  Morrigan spent the next half hour explaining her experiences with Skoll from when she was attacked by the Iaktai to wreaking devastation aboard the Federation Cruiser on her command and everything in between.

  Shepard listened intently as she nodded along, “Well, whatever he really is, the fact that he listens to you makes him your responsibility. As long as he doesn’t cause damage to the Archangel I see no reason to not accept him though I can't say a starship is the place for a creature of his size.”

  Morrigan nodded in agreement, considering how it must’ve been for Skoll to transition from an open world full of food and room to run around to a metal labyrinth. However, according to Nora, Skoll has been quite content though she would have to try her emotional connection to Skoll and see how he really felt.

  “Which reminds me, those prisoners Sigurd captured… I’ve heard interesting reports that one is the sister of Nora, and one is your ex-boyfriend?” Shepard asked.

  Morrigan sighed, yet again being reminded of that situation she had to handle. She knew she should be happy however, something deep inside her was rejecting the entire concept, causing stress to build.

  “I… I don’t know what to do about that...” Morrigan admitted, “I put Sigurd in charge of interrogating them so, I guess I should follow up with him first and go from there.”

  Shepard nodded, “Well, I do have a long history of dealing with prisoners, all you need to do is ask.”

  Morrigan stood and stretched, “You know, that sounded far more sinister than it should’ve been,” she pointed out.

  Shepard flashed her a purposefully sinister smile as she raised her glass, obviously enjoying the weight lifted off her old shoulders.

  However, Morrigan smiled and drank what was left in her glass before setting it down on the table, “I’ll keep it in mind but… well, as you said, I’m in charge now which means I got to take on the responsibility,” she iterated as she stepped towards the door, stopping and turning back, “Thanks for having such faith in me, and for all your help. I’ll do the best I can.”

  Shepard nodded respectfully, “That’s all we ask, Mori. Always remember we are your support. Make good decisions and take care of that support and you will be able to move stars.”

  Morrigan snickered at that, “Is that some Admiral proverb or something?”

  Shepard shrugged, swaying slightly in her chair as she chuckled, “No but it should be huh? Maybe I should spread it to the rest of the ships.”

  “You should, I like it,” Morrigan said sincerely in a soft tone before opening to door and stepping onto the bridge, leaving Shepard to relax with a bottle of vodka, who began humming softly before the door closed.

  ◇◇◇

  Morrigan found Sigurd lounging around in the 3rd deck mess hall, leaning back and snacking on a large plate of bacon with Skoll laying underneath his legs. She watched as he would eat a piece then pass the next one down to Skoll in an established routine.

  “Oi, lass! Me an Fido here are just catchin’ a bite o’ rashers,” Sigurd called out as she approached, holding a strip of bacon out. She watched as Skoll looked up at the piece of salty meat with wide eyes, one of Skoll’s tendrils snaking around the back of the seats before releasing an electrical discharge right into Sigurd’s lower back.

  Skill snagged to piece of back as he stood up, just as Sigurd convulsed briefly in a yelp of pain before falling in between two of the seats of the table.

  “Ow! Bloody hell mate, an here I thought we had an understandin’,” Sigurd grumbled as he pried himself from between the seats. Morrigan covered her mouth with the back of her hand as she stifled her laugh while Skoll let out a short high-pitched cackle and pranced around the table proudly. Several crew members watched the ordeal and laughed which only fed Skoll’s showmanship.

  “So, the rumors are true,” Morrigan stated in amusement as she took a seat at the end of the table, Skoll rushing to ram his head into her lap and lick her hands profusely until she pet him. “Hey sweetie, doing alright?” she said giggling.

  “Aye, he’s a right bastard that one,” Sigurd snickered as he sat next to her, sliding the plate between them. Skoll quickly ignored the both of them and planted his chin on the table, barely an inch from the plate before Sigurd bopped him on the nose with one of his metallic fingers.

  Skoll slithered one of his tendrils under the seat again only for Sigurd to look sharply at him with a metallic snap of his fingers, “Oi! Don’t even think about it, mister. I’m watching ya,” he stated firmly while pointing at Skoll, “Der for ye momma, ya hear? No bein’ a greedy shite.”

  Skoll opened and closed his jaw as if stretching his jaw or mocking Sigurd, before using the joint between his right paw and front leg to rub his nose. Skoll let out a high-pitched yawn before looking at Morrigan with big wide eyes, then glancing at the plate of bacon before looking back at her.

  Morrigan couldn’t help but find the interaction adorable as she reached and grabbed two strips of bacon, putting one in her mouth and holding out the other for Skoll. Sigurd scoffed at that, leaning back with his arms crossed, “The hell is this shite? Ye never feed me when I beg. Mutt gets more action than I do aboard this boat,” he complained.

  Morrigan snorted at that before realizing just how hungry she was, grabbing an entire handful of bacon before sticking another piece in her mouth. “Yeah, well, he’s a lot cuter. You can’t deny that,” She mused as she chewed the bacon.

  Sigurd eyed Skoll who sat nicely as he licked his nose, anticipating another treat as he looked between Morrigan, Sigurd and the plate of food. With a sigh, Sigurd reluctantly nodded and reached for the plate only for Skoll to let out a husky growl of demand.

  “Be patient or bugger off, mate,” Sigurd snapped, all the while Morrigan watched the exchange with amusement. Skoll snarled with a full flash of fangs in a challenge to the Berserker.

  Sigurd cocked an eyebrow as he turned back to the giant canine, “Oh? See this wee bit here?” He asked holding a strip of bacon between his fingers, watching Skoll focus on the food. Without warning, Sigurd impressively flicked the piece across the mess hall causing Skoll to bolt after it.

  “Now, what’s the craic?” Sigurd asked as he focused on the plate.

  “Well, Shepard relinquished control of the Archangel to me, my ex-boyfriend is in the brig with a team of Federation soldiers, one of which happening to be Nora’s sister who tried to kill her and… I kinda hit…” Morrigan didn’t know what to call it as she gestured to everything new about her.

  Sigurd nodded as he watched Skoll begin going from table to table begging for food as she answered. “Aye, not uncommon fer puberty to hit a lass later than a lad,” he sniggered, brushing off the changes to her appearance.

  Morrigan groaned and rolled her eyes, “Come on, I’m serious. It seems like any time things start going in the right direction, the universe dumps a load of bullshit in my lap… I mean look at me,” she exasperated before leaning forward and opening her mouth to show him her teeth briefly, “I have fucking fangs now! What the fuck?” she aggressively whispered.

  Sigurd glanced before looking back at the plate with a sly smirk on his face, “Hopefully ya didn’t show yer lady. That’s best kept for a surprise.”

  Morrigan instantly blushed and bit her lip before smiling from embarrassment, softly chuckling, “You’re not helping, Sigurd!”

  “Are ye sure? Cuz yer smilin’ now. By the way, now that yer the big boss now, does this mean I don’t have to wait hand an foot on the hag?” He asked curiously.

  That made Morrigan snort as she shook her head before shrugging, “I suppose she’s tired of putting up with you and you’ve done well so, from now on you’ll be taking orders from me unless I’m unavailable.”

  He slapped the table loudly with his hand in celebration, “Keen with me! But anyways, so what yer sayin’ is yer a bit out of sorts, ya?”

  Morrigan nodded in response as she snacked, “Like, yeah, the fight went well. I succeeded in creating an alliance with the Marmuro’k, but the aftermath? I’ve apparently hit puberty, according to you,” her sarcasm made him grin as he listened, “Now I’m in charge of thousands upon thousands of lives, which I’ve been preparing for but now that the news has had time to sink in… I’m kind of freaking out because it’s a huge responsibility! More than before. Then there are the prisoners…” she stopped her rant as she took a deep breath, turning to find Skoll licking a trooper’s face to the point of nearly knocking the man off his chair which was a happy distraction that made her smile.

  Sigurd hummed to himself in thought for a moment, “Well, one foot in front of the other, lass. The ship an puberty won’t end so focus on what can; yer boy an his rag tag crew. Worst comes to worst, ya throw ‘em in an airlock an be done with it,” he pointed out with an air of aloofness.

  Morrigan scrunched her nose at the idea, not willing to admit how right Sigurd was and if it weren’t for Taylor and Nora’s sister, that’s what she would have done. She spent a moment more watching Skoll absorb as much attention as possible while mulling over how she should handle the prisoners.

  “Alright, tell me how the interrogations went,” She ordered, hoping for some news to help make it easier on her.

  Sigurd chuckled to himself as he leaned away from her as he thought back to the hours of interrogation, “Ye know, they’re tougher than I thought they’d be, tried the good cop, bad cop thing. Turns out, being annoying worked as well on them as it does on the Maimeó upstairs.”