Present
"Rhinya? Are you okay? You haven't spoken in five minutes. That's not like you"
Liara punctuates this comment with a chuckle. It dies when Rhinya doesn't respond.
"I…I really wish you would tell me what's wrong. I'm not very good at guessing. You know that. Please, come here"
Rhinya doesn't respond, staring down from the window of the penthouse suite that Liara owns. She keeps her mouth shut, hoping that Liara doesn't notice her pained reflection in the window. Rhinya does not cry. She doesn't like to make people upset by seeing her upset.
But Liara is stubborn. The most stubborn Asari Rhinya has ever met. Blue arms encircle Rhinya's waist, warm even through the silky material of the bathrobe. Liara presses a gentle kiss to Rhinya's temple, close to her aural cavity. Sensitive. Rhinya shivers. Liara presses another slow kiss to one of Rhinya's head tentacles.
"Stop it," Rhinya says. Her voice is weak, lacking conviction. Liara pauses, plants one more kiss, and draws back.
"Tell me what's wrong."
Rhinya is two-hundred-thirteen, barely one-hundred years younger than Liara, but Its times like this that Liara makes her feel like a child. She wouldn't have seen herself in a situation like this when she was still a mercenary. One hundred years is a long time.
She smiles, sardonic.
"Rhinya, love, speak to me"
Rhinya hadn't known she could fall so deeply in love. Certainly not to an Information broker. But Liara is power embodied; sexy, confident and just the right amount of awkward. And that voice. That voice arrests her, even now. It compels her to speak. "I was talking to Jane, earlier at the party. She was about to say something. You Interrupted her"
Rhinya leaves it at that. The statement hangs in the air like a guillotine.
"Did I?"
Almost a Century Ago
Rhinya smokes a cigarette behind a major bookstore. It's one of the non-addictive kinds, more flavor than substance. It makes her lips taste tangy, which she appreciates because it supersedes the cloying taste of actual cigarettes and red sand that stick to memory. Rhinya doesn't want to taste another actual drug for the rest of her life.
She's cold, but she enjoys it. Her body is swaddled in layers of sweaters and jackets, but she likes to think she still looks pretty good, or is at least beyond caring. The bags under her eyes burn in the cold, but it's a pleasant feeling. She feels recovered, as if stepping outside for the first time after years of stagnation.
A Salarian turns her way and she pulls her hat down so that it almost covers her eyes. She doesn't want to be recognized right now. She just wants to sit in peace.
"Excuse me"
Rhinya's first instinct is to pretend that she hasn't heard. But that voice. It's throaty and sensual, and it rocks her from her reverie so completely that she doesn't even notice that she's already turning.
Freckles. Rhinya hasn't met many Asari with freckles, but she's always thought they were sexy. And the Asari standing over her has such striking freckles. And the most blue eyes.
"Yes?" Rhinya's voice is tinny. She's Intimidated despite herself.
The other Asari's eyes are wide with an emotion Rhinya can't quite place, but whatever it is disappears quickly. "Are you Rhinya T'Ossa?"
"Yeah"
"I knew it." The other Asari smiles brightly. "I don't wish to disturb you but…may I sit down?"
"Uh, not at all. Please." Rhinya gestures to the seat opposite her, only to realize that there isn't one there. She forgot that she had picked this table precisely because there was only one chair, a decision she now regrets. "Sorry," She mumbles, half rising, "let me find you a chair"
"No need." The other Asari smiles kindly before beckoning one over with biotics. It floats placidly towards them and settles with a quiet tap on the floor.
"Your control is spectacular"," Says Rhinya, impressed.
"Thank you"
"Are you a commando or something? Teacher?"
"Ha! No, I'm an information broker actually"
Rhinya nods appreciatively. "Well it's impressive. I used to be able to do stuff like that, but…" She shrugs.
The Asari has nothing to say on that matter. If she's read Rhinya's book then she likely already knows what happened to Rhinya's biotics. She fiddles with her jacket, pulling it more tightly around herself.
"Not a fan of the cold eh?"
"I've never liked it," The other Asari admits with a laugh.
"I guess that makes me pretty strange"
"Maybe a little bit, I'm glad I found you though. You disappeared so quickly after your reading"
Rhinya smiles, embarrassed. "I don't like sticking around after these things. People ask me questions about the book and…you know…it can get awkwardly personal"
Rhinya's memoirs; the story of her time In the Eclipse mercenary gang from her Initiation to her eventual expulsion. After leaving Eclipse Rhinya had spent years getting over the trauma, both inflicted and suffered, especially during the Reaper war. She hadn't expected the book to be a success. Critics had praised it as an important chronicle of marginal skirmishes during the war, while activists held her up as a role model for young Asari. Rhinya had just wanted to tell her story; maybe scrounge up some meaning from all that suffering. But in writing it all down she had revealed much more of her past than was proving comfortable, and when people asked her about those parts of the book it felt like they were holding up a magnifying glass to her soul.
"I can understand that," The other Asari said. "Listen, I'm sorry to be bothering you when you clearly came out her to be alone. But I just had to tell you: I loved your book"
A wry smile. "Thanks"
"I really mean it. I won't get into the details, but I was going through some problems of my own. Er-" She looks uncomfortable then. "My bondmate died during the war," She says quietly, "It was decades ago. I buried myself in my work to cope but...when the restoration was over I became deeply depressed. Without my bondmate, without my work, I felt that I had nothing. I hurt a lot of people then. I hurt my daughter. She got me your book then. She made me read it actually," The other Asari laughs at the memory. "I felt like there was nothing left for me. But your story; It helped me put things in perspective. It helped me realize all the good I still had in my life, as empty as it had become. I just wanted to say, thank you for that"
Rhinya is silent, touched and humbled.
"Oh dear," The other Asari says, "I hope…I hope I haven't alarmed you. I'm not a stalker or anything-"
"No!" Rhinya Interrupts, "Not at all. I'm just- I'm just a little blown away." She takes the other Asari's hand and squeezes. She has no words. She wants to say how happy she is. How grateful. All she manages to do is squeeze tighter.
The other Asari squeezes back.
"That's probably the best review I've ever got. Thanks." Rhinya looks at those impossibly blue eyes. "Hey I never got your name"
"It's Liara. Liara T'Soni"
Present
"You Interrupted her when she was about to talk about her father"
"Rhinya-"
Rhinya turns angrily, breaking Liara's embrace. "You don't have to treat me like a jealous maiden Liara!. We've been together for ninety-seven years. I'm not threatened by a dead woman"
But she is. Who wouldn't be? Liara's previous bondmate saved the galaxy.
Liara lets out a frustrated sigh. "I'm sorry; it's just awkward for me"
"No It isn't. I know you talk about her when I'm not around; With Jane, with Wrex"
"Rhinya your hands"
"Don't change the subject!"
"No, Rhinya, look at your hands!"
Rhinya looks at her hands. The air around them is smeared in distorted blue. Rhinya gasps in dismay and the corona disappears. Years of inhaling modified Red Sand in Eclipse has rendered her biotics at best useless, at worst volatile. Her hands shake uncontrollably as she forces herself to calm down.
Almost a Century Ago
The restaurant makes Rhinya feels small. Even after the success of her book she just can't get used to high-class settings. She was even at such a loss as to how to prepare for this night that she had her publicist choose an outfit for her. Even then she feels intensely weird.
It doesn't help that her date is absolutely gorgeous.
Liara is wearing a long black, strapless evening gown. She has a simple necklace around her neck and a scarf wrapped around her shoulders. She looks like a high-class escort, the kind Rhinya would never be able to afford even If she worked for the rest of her life. Rhinya didn't think it was possible to be at once salivating and dry-mouthed, but she somehow manages both when she sees Liara In her dress.
"Truth be told I almost didn't ask you out tonight"
"Oh?"
They've already exchanged pleasantries and ordered drinks. Conversation is slow going but Rhinya supposes that's standard fare for any first date. She hasn't been on one of these in a while. She still can't believe Liara asked, and some small part of her still can't believe that the date is real, even though she is in the restaurant, on the date, across from the woman who asked her there in the first place. Normal breaths Rhinya, she reminds herself, if you don't start hyperventilating maybe she won't think you're weird.
"I mean- don't get me wrong"
"Huh?" Rhinya snaps to attention, realizing that she had been staring longingly at Liara's eyes.
"I wanted to ask you out," Continues Liara, apparently not having noticed Rhinya's inattention, "But I didn't know if I was ready, or if you would be receptive. And you know, most people are put-off by the fact that I have a daughter. I had almost forgotten what it was like to have butterflies in my stomach"
Rhinya can sympathize.
"It was my daughter who made me call you. You should have seen me, I was a young archaeologist all over again, fumbling words together, preparing line by line what I would say if I got up the courage to call. But Jane just hacked into my omnitool and dialed your number. She's such a little brat"
"Well I'm glad she did. She sounds like a good kid"
That elicits a warm smile. "She really is. Maybe you could meet her sometime. You would like her." Liara's eyes widen. "Oh Goddess, I don't mean- er, you don't have to- unless you want to? Ah! This is just supposed to be casual. Not that I have any, um, expectations! I'm not quite ready for that kind of thing! B-but I'm open to the possibility! After we've gotten to know one another a little better of course. Oh." LIara cradles her head In her hands. "I'm blowing this aren't I?"
"You weren't kidding when you said you were rusty"
Small laughter. "Not at all. It occurs to me now that I've never actually asked a stranger on a date before. I'm over three-hundred and you're the first person I've actually asked out on a date"
"That's impossible. There must have been someone else"
"Well there was Jane's father." A sad smile this time. Touchy subject. Liara shrugs. "But everything with her was...extenuating circumstances. Oh goddess look at me, I keep bringing up awkward subjects"
"It's fine"
"No its not! Who wants their date to talk about children and…dead bondmates. B-by the Goddess, I can't believe I just said 'dead bondmates'"
"Don't worry about it. It's cute. Really"
"You're kidding"
"Not at all. This whole package" she gesticulates to all of Liara, "I likes it. I want to learn more about you, no matter how awkward it gets"
Liara laughs. "Who talks like that?" But she looks back coyly under hooded lashes. "You're a charmer"
"Goddess." Rhinya stifles a laugh. "I'm really, really not"
"Well whatever you are, I like it so far"
"Are you flirting with me?"
"I'm trying to. is it working?"
"Liara you could recite the alphabet, very slowly, and it would be sexier than the first scene of Vaenia. You know the one-"
"I have seen the movie," Interrupts Liara, cheeks coloring.
"Er-yeah. I mean, sorry, I'm not great at flirting either. It's just your voice is...it's spectacular"
"You like my voice huh?"
"Are you kidding? I am sexually intimidated by your voice." Oh goddess, thinks Rhinya, someone shut me up before she realizes how much of a creep I am. But she can't stop herself. "I'm sexually intimidated by pretty much all of you. I mean that dress alone..." she stops herself, finally.
Liara's expression is unreadable. But just as Rhinya thinks she's blown It, Liara says: "Your dress is nice too. I think you look stunning"
With that dinner gratefully segues, perhaps unceremoniously, to less turbulent waters, which is fine. Both of them find solace in less heart-racing topics of conversation like the weather and their professional lives. This eventually leads to more stimulating conversation. They discuss their mutual love of pre-contact Asari literature (in which Rhinya admits that she hated all those plays until her parents pushed her to audition for a role in her intermediate school production of "The Huntress Quickens by Night," which happens to be one of Liara's favorites. They act out one of their favorite scenes using the menus as props until the waiter comes to take their order, at which point they remember not to act like children but giggle despite themselves when the waiter leaves, shaking his head). They discuss their similar pasts with the galaxy's underworld, and Liara even talks a little bit more about her daughter.
But no matter how much they talk Rhinya keeps remembering Liara's words: "you look stunning."
Those words, paired with that voice, electrify her, and they play over and over in her head, distracting her to no end. She glues her gaze to Liara's beautiful blue eyes; never straying for fear that she might get caught staring at any other part of her. She doesn't notice that Liara, in staring right back, is actually doing the exact same thing.
When the meal is done Liara pays. Liara then drives her home. She drives very carefully, but Rhinya is nervous all the same. Expectations, Liara had said. What's that supposed to mean?
Finally they arrive at Rhinya's apartment. In the stationary skycar they look into one another's eyes.
"Well," Says Rhinya, "this is me"
But the look in Liara's eyes is hungry. The moment hangs heavy between them until Liara slowly leans over and cups Rhinya's cheek. They crash into one another. Liara is more savage than Rhinya expects, but she isn't complaining. "Can I come in?" Liara asks finally asks, in between kisses.
Rhinya can't nod soon enough. She doesn't want this to be a one-night-stand, but she can't resist that voice. Later, in her room, when Liara unclasps her dress and it falls seamlessly to the ground, Rhinya can't bring herself to care.
Rhinya wakes up in the morning, the little spoon, and for the first time in forever feels that all is right in the world. She fist pumps the air, and Liara tries not to laugh, pretending to be asleep.
Present
"Stay there I'll get your medicine"
Rhinya complies, sitting down as the fight drains out of her. The beginnings of a headache tingle in her brain and she closes her eyes. As Liara returns to the room she dims the lights and gives Rhinya a glass of water and some pills.
Rhinya accepts both, and ruefully swallows her dosage. It's something they've done countless times before; a calming ritual. In the silence of the room they let their tempers die down. The tingling of Rhinya's biotics being suppressed makes her hands go numb.
Liara rubs circles on Rhinya's back.
"Thanks"
"Do you have a headache?"
"Yeah but it should be gone soon"
"Let me get you some juice"
Liara turns to leave but Rhinya stops her. "Seriously, why don't you talk to me about Shepard?" The name stops Liara in her tracks. She didn't expect the argument to be brought up again. But Rhinya's tone is calm, defeated. "Just tell me"
Liara hesitates. "Let me get your juice first." She returns moments later, setting a glass on the side-table. She sits down next to Rhinya. "I mourned Shepard for a good third of my life. I'm ready to move on. Sure, I talk about her to Jane and Wrex and Grunt; but that's for their benefit. And mine I suppose. I like to remember her with them. But I don't want my grief to define me anymore"
"That doesn't explain why you won't talk about her with me, or why you won't let Jane talk about her with me"
"Look I just don't want that part of my life bleeding into this one. I'm finally happy again Rhinya. With you. You of all people should know the value of leaving the past in the past"
"It's not the same thing and you know it. I don't want to be a label for a separate chapter of your life. It's like…I feel like we're sharing our lives with one another but you're holding back. I can even understand that. I can. But I just want to know why"
Ninety-Six Years Ago
Rhinya isn't stupid. She connects the dots. Nevermind that the clues were all already there. Nevermind that Liara T'Soni is a prominent, if reclusive, public figure. Nevermind that she has a daughter named Jane. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Liara T'Soni is the Liara T'Soni. And for all the good she did, and all the things she did to secure the security of the universe, most people know her as the bondmate of Jane Shepard.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?"
Rhinya shakes herself into the present.
"Of course! I've heard so much about her I feel like we've already met"
First impression with the daughter. Should be fun.
But how can Rhinya ever measure up to a dead parent? How can she measure up to a dead parent that actually saved the galaxy? At best Rhinya is a successful writer, at worst a washed up merc that Shepard could have eaten for breakfast. Rhinya tries to remember where she was during the Collector debacle. Was she anywhere near Illium? It's definitely possible. The thought is chilling.
Liara leads her up the stairs to her large apartments, hidden away in a part of the city Rhinya didn't even know existed. is this how all rich people live? Her heartbeat dances as she gets closer to the door. She isn't ready. She shouldn't be here. She feels like she's stepping on the memory of a great woman.
She shouldn't be here.
She was standing on the threshold, breathless, too scared to move until Liara gently pushes her through the door. The touch is a reassurance as well as encouragement. It isn't a trespass; Rhinya has to remind herself that this is how Asari have always lived. Fall in love, then move on when the lover succumbs to old age (or impromptu blaze of glory inside an alien superweapon). It's a common philosophy, but Rhinya has never felt comfortable with it. She's less comfortable now.
There's a young Asari waiting in the living room. She looks around sixty. Already a beautiful young woman. She'll be beating off suitors with a stick if she isn't already. Before Liara can introduce them the young Asari stands and envelops Rhinya in a big hug.
"So you're the one who's been banging my Mom huh?"
"Jane!"
"It's about time! You can't imagine how long she's been pulling the prude act. Maybe now she'll ease up and stop scrutinizing everyone I bring home"
"Fat chance," Says Liara, but there's an affectionate smile on her face. "not that it isn't obvious, but this is my daughter Jane. Jane, this is Rhinya T'Ossa"
"Drop the formalities Mom," Says Jane. Her eyes are just as blue as her mother's, but even sparklier somehow. "She talks about you all the time," Jane says, leaning conspiratorially close to Rhinya.
Jane is not what Rhinya expected, but that's a pleasant surprise. She's such a welcoming young lady that Rhinya feels, if not like part of the family, then at least like a frequent guest of the household. The forwardness might otherwise be off-putting, but its charming on Jane. Was her father like this?
"Mom says you're working on another book"
"Yeah. I'm writing up on the battles on Thessia, before the Crucible was deployed"
"That's so cool. Will you be writing about my Dad?"
Liara coughs. Loud. Too loud to be mistaken as anything other than a deliberate interruption.
"Jane! Could you please get me a glass of water?"
Rhinya and Jane look at one another cautiously. "Sure Mom," Says Jane, leaving for the kitchen.
When she returns they talk about Rhinya's work, for which Lara seems thankful.
"Can you come to my room for a second? There's something I want to show you"
Rhinya sends Liara a questioning glance. Liara looks amused. "Go ahead, I can clear the table"
"Awesome! Come on Rhinya"
Jane is just young enough that still living at home isn't unusual, but by no means is she still a child. Still, there is something decidedly child-like about her as she scrambles up the stairs, as she must have been doing all her life, admonishing Rhinya for being a slowpoke.
Jane's room is more sedate than Rhinya expected. It's certainly larger than the room Rhinya had as a kid, and it isn't plastered with posters of idols and famous huntresses like most young Asari's are. Maybe she takes after her mother that way? The bed is made, and tasteful artwork is arranged on shelves and tables. There are a few photos, displaying Jane with friends and family. There's one of just her and Liara displayed in a place of prominence above the bed. And next to it is one of Liara and the late Jane Shepard. It's the first visual reminder of Liara's past relationship that RHinya has ever seen. They look perfect together.
"Tadaa!"
Rhinya forgets the stab of jealousy she feels at the picture and turns to see Jane holding up a hardback print book.
"I can't believe you have one of those"
Its Rhinya's book, with the same ostentatious close-up of Rhinya's face on the dust-jacket. Only a few print copies actually existed
"It was expensive but worth it. I'm actually a huge fan of yours"
"I'm starting to realize that. Wow," Rhinya thumbs through the pages. "Ugh, some of this is so baly-written?"
"Hey! Don't be like that, that's my favorite book you're talking about"
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. Forgive my fangirling, but you are just so amazing. You have a way of detailing your life so that the reader experiences those moments right along with you. Your initiation into Eclipse; I stayed up all night reading that chapter even though I had school the next morning. Its chilling stuff"
"You did that?"
"Oh that was nothing. The stuff on the war had me skipping class. Like, the way you outline how bleak everything was, and how amazing it felt when you realized the crucible had been fired...My generation will never know what any of that was like"
"Well you're lucky. It was hell. If it weren't for Commander-" she stops, remembering Liara's earlier reticence. is this a sore subject?
Apparently not. "My father? You can talk about her, I'm not my Mom"
"Are you sure? Liara seemed…"
"Yeah I don't know what was up with that. It makes sense though, considering, you know, you. She isn't usually like that when it comes to my Dad"
"Well that makes me feel great," Rhinya mutters sarcastically. "If it weren't for your Dad then none of us would be alive. She's the real hero. I'm…nothing compared to her"
"That's not what she would say"
"You didn't even know her." Rhinya realizes what she's said and panics. "Sorry, I meant-"
Jane laughs at her. "Chill out. You're right, I didn't know her. But I've been told enough about her to know that she valued the lives of every soldier that helped her get to where she needed to be. The war was won by the galaxy united, not just one woman. Granted, she united the galaxy first, but all in all it was a team effort. So don't discount your part"
"Somehow that doesn't make me feel better"
Jane laughs at her. "Well just take my word for it okay? I think you're pretty great"
Pretty great? Rhinya's part in the war had been minimal; mission after mission with a few Eclipse battalions and dozens of mechs, slowly losing soldiers as they had to beat a hasty retreat after each and every objective was done. She had turned to red sand to cope with the memories and ever since her biotics still haven't been able to work quite the same.
But Jane read her book. She knew all that. And still she admires her?
"You're a weird kid you know that?"
Jane preens, pleased.
"Want me to sign your book?"
"I thought you'd never ask!"
Present
Rhinya looks at Liara expectantly, but the older Asari says nothing. She just looks down at her lap, at her hands clasped in anxiety.
"Liara?" She says, pleading now. "Say something"
"Rhinya. You have to know, no matter what, that I love you for who you are, and for no other reason"
Rhinya thought that went without saying, but Liara's words make her anxious.
Liara takes her hands. "Tell me you believe me when I say that"
"I believe it"
Liara nods, resolute.
"…do you remember what Jane Shepard sounded like?"
Only hours beforehand
Only a Few Hours Ago
The reception is a classy affair, as most of them tend to be when it comes to Liara T'Soni. As her date Rhinya plays the gracious conversationalist, long having mastered the art of applying her dry cleverness to everyday conversation. Liara's elitist Thessian contacts think her charming and say so in between bouts of mottled laughter. It's a bit condescending actually, but it isn't exactly bad. Rhinya adopts Liara's same quiet reassurance; they can be as smug and superior as they like. None of them are as powerful as the Shadow Broker.
But these parties can be a little more taxing on Rhinya than they are on Liara. Rhinya waves to her bondmate from across the room, signaling that she needs to rest for a while. Liara nods at her, barely breaking conversation from the Turian Primarch.
Rhinya's omnitool registers a message. Do you want to go home? How had Liara even typed that without looking?
I'm fine. Just need a break from your sycophants.
A holographic interface shimmers subtly in front of Liara's eye, imparting Rhinya's message. Liara smiles at it. The Turian Primarch, thinking the smile is directed at him, continues on with his ridiculous hunting story.
Relieved from duty, Rhinya finds a seat at one of the corners of the room. Though, as in all Thessian architecture, finding any semblance of an actual corner can be difficult, so it's more of a rounded alcove. It's an alcove with a bar though, and Rhinya orders herself a martini.
"Taking a break from the festivities?"
The bartender, an older human man, slides her drink across the counter.
"Yeah. This isn't exactly my crowd"
He smiles. "Here with the bondmate then?"
"is it obvious?"
He nods. "Most parties I've got about ten bored spouses at my bar. Tonight you seem to be the only one"
"I don't usually mind it. But i just can't be on all the time you know?"
"Huh." The bartender looks thoughtful.
"Sorry?"
"No its just...you remind me of someone. Have we met before?"
"I don't think so"
"Were you in the war?"
"Yeah. I was in Eclipse"
He frowns. "I probably didn't meet you then. I was on Earth most of the time. But still...something about you"
"I'm an author," Rhinya says helpfully, "Maybe you've seen my picture somewhere"
"No it's not that. It's...your voice. I've heard you somewhere"
"I don't know what to tell you. I don't really do interviews or anything"
He scrutinizes her a moment before realization dawns. "Could you say "this is my favorite shop on the citadel?"
"What? Why?"
"Just humor me"
Rhinya feels silly as she says, "This is my favorite store on the citadel"
The bartender lights up in a smile. "That is uncanny"
"What? What is it?"
The bartender calls over a buddy and asks Rhinya to do it again, which she does. The buddy looks at her curiously. "What am I supposed to have heard?" He asks his friend.
"Don't tell me you don't hear it. Don't you think she sounds like-"
The buddy brightens in similar realization. "Oh yeah! She does"
"Hey, guys! What are you talking about?"
They both look at her, amused. Has she missed something obvious?
"Do you really not know who you sound like?"
Present
Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could she have been so stupid!?
A little over ninety years they've been together and she hadn't noticed! How had she not noticed? There are so many documentaries, so many war museums, so many TV specials dedicated to the woman Herself. It was always there, waiting for her to just pay attention.
Rhinya stares blankly into the gloom as the voice of Jane Shepard plays again and again from her omnitool. "I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store on the citadel." One of the more famous sound bytes.
How the fuck had she never noticed?
It's Rhinya's voice speaking. But it's not hers. It's a ghost's, mocking her now from beyond the grave. A legend made fleetingly corporeal with Rhinya's every word. Rhinya doesn't even let herself breathe audibly for fear of invoking the memory of a dead woman.
How come no-one had pointed it out to her? Surely one of Shepard's old companions; Wrex or Grunt. Even little Jane, surrounded by the legacy of her father, would have noticed. If not soon after meeting her then at least sometime in the last ninety years!
But of course; Liara hadn't let them. She must have been there every time, listening like a bat, waiting for someone to bring up the subject so she could silence them with an interruption and a kind smile.
"Do you really not know who you sound like?"
Rhinya has her answer, finally. She just wishes the realization wouldn't hurt so much.
Maybe she did know all this time. She just ignored it, pushed down the truth until she could see it no longer. Because if she acknowledged the truth, then…
Rhinya slams her fist against the bench she's sitting on. Biotics flare up like tinder. She doesn't feel any pain.
She should have known it was all too good to be true. All that time, had any of it been real? Or was Liara clinging with every fiber of her being to the memory of Jane Shepard, a lover that no-one in the galaxy could ever live up to? That would certainly be preferable to a washed-up former Eclipse merc who fancies herself a writer.
"I'm commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel. I'm commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel. I'm commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel"
Rhinya switches off the recording.
She assumes a mocking tone. "I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite fucking store on the fucking Citadel." To her surprise tears sting her peripheral vision, blurring the gloomy air of this Thessian park. Except for a few robotic sentries, the place is empty at night.
"My name is Rhinya T'Ossa," She says, but the words are much less impressive. She doesn't even have a cool title like "Commander." She was a Lieutenant once, sure, but that was in a mercenary organization, and it doesn't really amount to the same thing, especially since Rhinya never killed a Reaper, much less three.
"Fuck this," She says, climbing to her feet, unsure of what to do but certain that she doesn't want to see Liara right now. Her omnitool lights up,taking her by surprise. is it Liara? What should she say? Rhinya's panic subsides as she notices the caller display isn't Liara but Jane. Her picture bounces up and down on the holographic display. Rhinya rolls her eyes and presses it.
"Hey"
"Holy crap, where are you!?"
"At the park"
"I'm a few blocks away. I'll be right there"
"Don't bother"
"Huh?"
"I want to be alone"
Silence. Then: "Mom told me what happened"
"Great," Rhinya says angrily, "So now I'm free to ask you. Why the hell didn't you ever tell me? Did it never occur to you that it might be important to mention to me that I sound exactly like your dead Father?"
"To be honest I'm surprised you didn't find out sooner"
"What!?"
"Well come on, my dad isn't exactly an obscure figure." Conceding that this is a fair point, but unwilling to stop being angry, Rhinya says nothing. "Hey," Says Jane, "Mom's really worried about you"
"I'm still pissed at her"
"I get that. But come on, you know she loves you"
"Do I know that? Maybe she just likes keeping me around so that she can pretend I'm Shepard"
"Hey!" Rhinya had rarely heard Jane get mad. "That's bullshit and you know it! You know my Mom. She would never do that to a person. Ever! Listen, I know you're angry right now, but just think about it okay? You've been together for ninety-"
Rhinya cuts the connection.
"FUCK!" She yells. Her biotics flare up, wrenching the bench from the ground. "Dammit!" She curses, less spirited now. She hadn't meant to damage public property. Her biotics die down and the bench falls to the ground with a clamor. She tries to push it back into position, but it is still undeniably broken.
She yells at the sky, at her own stupidity and for so many things. And in that moment she is lost, completely, in a simmering cocktail of anger, sadness, and frustration.
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
The sound of her inner turmoil is instantly drowned out by the thunderous synthetic roar of a Reaper. The sound is unmistakable, sending Rhinya scurrying behind a tree. "Athame's tits!" She yells, watching the approaching blue lights in the sky.
She can't believe it. Ever since the end of the war Reapers had become background features, as unremarkable as clouds in the distance. She had forgotten the terror-inducing majesty of their presence. She had forgotten how small they made you feel.
The blue light seems to track her like an eyeball, chilling and unblinking. She stares at it, wide-mouthed.
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
"Fuck!" She yells, jumping once again in fright.
The Reaper descends, sinking its massive legs into the soil of the park a series of mulchy crashes. It's a destroyer class; smaller than larger capital ships but still large enough to rumple a park just by standing in it. It orients its body in Rhinya's direction, the blue light fixes on her and then magnified so that only her immediate surroundings, and the tree she's cowering behind, are illuminated by it. If she doubted that she had its attention before, she doesn't now.
For a moment, time stands still, and then:
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
"What!? What do you want!?"
All lights in the park go off except for the Reaper's eye, bathing Rhinya exclusively in blue light. Then even that goes off. In the darkness Rhinya can hear only her breathing.
Abruptly her Omnitool flashes on, glowing blue rather than orange. Screens pop up from a graphics interface that Rhinya is certain she did not install, surrounding her with images of Liara. Pictures of Liara smiling, of Liara working, of Liara coaxing a reticent Rhinya to smile at the camera.
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
The omnitool lights up again, opening up the caller application without Rhinya bidding it to. It scrolls swiftly through the different windows until Liara' picture is displayed with the number underneath. Call? The display reads.
"What the hell?"
The Call? Icon blinks orange as if Rhinya has pressed it. The communicator starts ringing.
"What? Nonononono!" Rhinya depresses the cancel icon again and again to no avail.
Liara picks up. Then outline of her picture glows green.
"Rhinya?"
The world lapses into silence, as if everything stops to hang onto every word coming from the feed. The Reaper is completely, utterly still. Its eye reignites, but it glows softly.
"I didn't think you wanted to talk to me," Liara continues unheeding of Rhinya's drama. "I thought-" Her voice catches, "I thought I might have…ruined things"
Rhinya watches the Reaper's blue eye. She resists the urge to say Its not me, it's a Reaper. A big goddamn Reaper just hacked my omnitool and made me call you. But the relief in Liara's voice is so palpable that it gives her pause. The silence continues until Liara speaks again, even more hesitant than before.
"Baby please talk to me"
Rhinya responds on instinct, throat dry from her silent crying. "How do I know this, us; how do I know it's real?" As she speaks she can hear Liara's happy intake of breath; her relief.
"I love you Rhinya"
"You love my voice"
"That's not true! Maybe it's why I was more…intrigued than I might have been when we first met. I can't be certain. But what I feel for you now is more than a memento. I love you for you, Rhinya"
Rhinya doesn't respond, wanting so desperately to believe Liara but still the tiniest bit doubtful.
"Please come back. We can talk all about it when we get home, but for now please come back to me. Please." The final plea is close to a whimper, but Liara has too much dignity for that, even now. Rhinya smiles despite herself. That stubbornness is one of the reasons she fell in love in the first place.
"Rhinya-"
"I got it!" Rhinya says, sniffling away tears. "I'm coming back okay? Just hold tight"
She hangs up, and this time the omnitool lets her.
The Reaper, apparently satisfied, lifts itself in the air to the sound of its massive engine, an elegant motion belying its potential for mass destruction. Rhinya calls after it, shouts at it. She has so many questions and no idea how to order them right. But as the Reaper floats further and further towards the atmosphere Rhinya calls out a simple thanks.
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
And before long the Reaper is nothing but a blinking blue blip in the sky.
"Heeeeey"
The cry echoes from the distance, but it gets exponentially closer. Soon a young Asari maiden astride a hoverbike zooms into the park and makes a hard brake next to Rhinya's bench.
Jane dismounts her vehicle, much taller now than she was ninety years ago, taller than both Rhinya and Liara. She has a soldier's build, though she isn't a soldier; just a well-defined young lady too lazy to get a job after university.
She takes just one stride next to Rhinya and takes her by the shoulders. She's breathless, but there's excitement in her voice.
"Are you okay!? Holy shit did you see that?" She notices the great furrows in the ground where the Reaper had once stood. "Was that thing here?"
"Y-yeah. How did you-?"
"Find you? Traced your call earlier. Thanks, by the way, for hanging up on me. Real rude of you." She bops Rhinya on the head affectionately. "What did it want?"
"Huh?"
"The Reaper. That's what it was right? What did it want?"
"It-" How to explain this? "'I'm still not quite sure what just happened"
"I'll bet. Come on, I'll give you a ride back to Mom's. You can tell me all about it then." She puts on her helmet, then casts her gaze to the sky after the receding light of the anomalous Reaper. "Wow. What was it like?"
"Really…weird. I think it was giving me relationship advice"
"What?"
"I told you. Weird"
"Beyond our understanding I guess. Still, I'm sure it had a reason for what it did"
"Maybe"
"I'm sure of it." Jane pauses, as if she has something else to say, but can't quite think of what it is. "Let's get going shall we? Mom's a mess right now. You're probably the only thing in the universe she wants to see right now"