Revealing The Family Secret
Kaja T'Soni, eldest daughter of Leia Shepard and Liara T'Soni, sits in her mother's skycar debating to exit the vehicle or go home and talk to her mother. It's been six weeks since her mental breakdown and she sees a turian therapist named, Dr. Tattius twice a week. The turian wants Kaja at least once a week to either sit at her father's grave or at the statue of her father at Shepard Memorial Plaza and write how she feels being around the statue or grave in a journal. Kaja has made it a habit to leave her appointment with Dr. Tattius and go to visit her father's grave. The retired huntress still misses her father very much, but with each session with her therapist, she is slowly learning to let her grief go.
The asari exits the skycar and walks through the cemetery so she can sit at General Shepard's grave. Kaja sits cross-legged next to the headstone. "Hi, dad. I love you and I still miss you. My shoulder is still messed up and Dr. T'Sakos says it's healing nicely. I don't know about that. It doesn't hurt anymore, but I have very limited movement with it." Kaja attempts moves her left arm above her head but the arm doesn't go any higher than shoulder height.
The former commando pulls her journal from her pocket, looks at it, then puts it back in her pocket. What is on the young maiden's mind today isn't about her father, but about her mother. It the same thing she's had on her mind since Liara told her about Leia's death in 2183 and the comment about the Shadow Broker. Kaja wants to confront her mother about what she suspects, but she had other things on mind the past few weeks.
Today, Kaja feels confident enough to talk to her mother and to have a conversation about what is on her mind. What has been on her mind for almost two months. Kaja wipes the leaves off the headstone that the wind is blowing across the cemetery. She wonders if she asks her mother the question about her being the Shadow Broker, will she get the truth? Kaja trusts her mother, but knows her parents have kept secrets from her and her two younger sisters.
Kaja stands up again. She smiles down to the headstone, "I love you, dad." Kaja gets back in her mom's skycar and heads home. As she gets closer to home, Kaja starts to get nervous. She needs to talk to her mother about this, but is not starting to second guess herself and think today isn't the right day to ask about the family secret.
She knows deep down her mother is the Shadow Broker. It the only thing that fits. If her parents took out the old broker, who took over? Mom's an information broker and that is what the Shadow Broker does. Buy and sell secrets, just like her mother. From her understanding, the Shadow Broker has the biggest intel network in the galaxy. Kaja knows her mother's network is large, but it is larger than most information brokers? Kaja's investigative mind starting going into overdrive.
To Kaja, everything fits or is starting to fit together. She doubts her parents took the time to get rid of the old broker only to give it to someone else. That makes zero sense to the investigator. Kaja knows her mother wasn't always an information broker and didn't become one until after her father died in 2183. Parking the skycar in the driveway, Kaja enters the house looking for her mother.
Liara hears the front door open and peeks her head around the corner from the kitchen. "I'm in the kitchen, Kaja. How did your session go with Dr. Tattius?"
"It went well," relies the eldest daughter before she hugs her mom. "I do have something I want to talk to you about, mom."
"What is it, Kaja?" asks Liara.
Kaja gets fidgety which causes her to rub the back of neck. "Mom, ah, hmm."
Liara notices Kaja's nervousness. "What's wrong, little one?"
"Nothing's wrong," answers Kaja as she sits at the kitchen table. "I've been wanting to ask you this since you told me about dad's death in 2183. "
Liara sits across the table from her oldest daughter. "I'm listening. What do you want to ask?"
Kaja looks her mother in the eyes. She has a nervous grin on her face. She isn't sure if her mom will get mad and not answer her question or lie to her. Kaja isn't sure which is worse, but she needs to know. "Are you the Shadow Broker?"
Deflecting the question, Liara asks one of her own, "What makes you think that, Kaja?" She always knew this day would come. The day Kaja inquires about her being the Shadow Broker. Olivia already knows, she found out decades ago before she left home for college.
"Just answer my question, mom." Kaja's tone is on the authoritative side and almost sounds like she is talking to a suspect and not her mother.
Liara doesn't reply right away. She thinks about how to explain the biggest family secret then decides to deflect the question again. "No, Kaja, I want to know why you think I'm the Shadow Broker."
Kaja frowns at her mother. "As much as I hated working with the military police as an investigator, I am very good at it, mom. You told me about what happened with dad and the old broker. I know what I've been told by older commandos on Thessia about how the Shadow Broker was instrumental in helping with rebuilding Thessia. The Shadow Broker has a huge network of agents. You have a large network of agents and I suspect you have more that don't actually work for you, but for the Shadow Broker. If you and dad took out the old broker, who took over his network? I doubt very much you gave it to someone else to use. You kept it. You used it to help dad end the war, then you continue to used it to help the galaxy rebuild. Not just Earth or Thessia, but everywhere."
Liara gets up from the table and walks over to the window overlooking the backyard. "Does it really matter? If I'm the Shadow Broker or not?"
"It matters to me, mom. You and dad kept secrets from us. I understand why, but I don't like it. Don't give me the life isn't fair crap. Trust me, mom, I know that all too well." Kaja follows her mother and stands next to Liara.
The Shadow Broker looks at the view. The mountains are always beautiful, no matter what the season is. Liara doesn't look at Kaja when she answers. She has her arms behind her back. "Yes, little one, I'm the Shadow Broker. I must stress to you how important it is to keep that a secret. It's one thing for people to know, I'm an information broker, it's something else if people found out I am the actual Shadow Broker."
Liara turns to face her daughter. "If anyone finds out, Kaja, it puts everyone at risk. You, me, your sisters, and Cassandra at risk."
"I know, mom. Thank you for being honest with me. I wasn't sure if you were going to lie to me or not answer my question. Anyone else know?" asks Kaja. She gives her mother a hug then a smooch on the cheek.
Liara hugs Kaja back. "I can't answer that. Please, don't press me on it."
Kaja nods to Liara. "Okay, I won't." The young asari walks outside and sits in a patio chair.
Liara walks back upstairs to her office and goes back to work. She thinks about Leia when she glances at the N7 graduation picture of her late bondmate. She says under her breath, "I love you, Leia. And your daughter is too damn smart of her own good. And yet, she makes me so proud." Liara picks up the picture and holds it close to her heart. "All of your kids are too damn smart, Leia. Thank you for everything." She puts the picture back in its normal spot on her desk.
The retired huntress feels good after her talk with her mom. She's glad her mother told her the truth about being the Shadow Broker. After everything the young asari has gone through, Kaja lost her self-confidence and is slowly getting it back. At times, she still feels she's not good enough for anyone, but her human girlfriend, Dr. Cassandra Mitchell, assures her, she is more than good enough.
Doctor Mitchell works at an archeological digsite on Feros, but Kaja calls her every night and they talk for at least thirty minutes. Most days it's over an hour, while other it's a short five to ten minute chat. On average, they talk for about thirty minutes. It's rougher on Kaja more than Cass being apart. The asari loves Dr. Mitchell and is trying hard to regain her sense of self and her self-confidence, so they can have a life together. Thinking about Cass always puts a smile on Kaja's face.
Since meeting the human archeologist, Kaja has felt alive, not a drone going through the motions. Her relationship with Cass means everything to the young asari. She knows she can't give Cass everything she needs until she gets back her sense of self. Kaja isn't exactly sure when she lost herself. If she ever really had a self. Maybe she's always been just Shepard's oldest daughter and not Kaja T'Soni. Maybe she lost it when her father died? Or was it lost decades earlier?
Either way, it doesn't matter to Kaja now. The only thing that matters is moving forward. She will continue to work on her mental issues and her grief. She has to if she wants to live a happy life. She wants this for herself, so she can have what her parents had. A long loving relationship with her soul mate and she really believe Cass is just that. Her soul mate.
Kaja watches a flock of birds fly by before she walks back in and heads to the basement to work out her left shoulder. This too, is part of her daily routine. The shoulder isn't healing like Kaja wants. But her medical doctor keeps telling her, it's healing fine. After her workout, Kaja takes a shower, heads back outside to enjoy the day. She sits on a chair and thinks today is a good day. Kaja starts to feel she can trust herself again. Because of that, she starts to get her self-confidence back.
Liara being honest with her has helped Kaja more than Liara realizes. By being honest, Liara gave Kaja back a piece of her confidence. The younger asari needs to rely on her instincts to continue to move forward. And her instincts rely on her confidence. Kaja is an excellent investigator and sees things others miss. Even though she hated doing that type of work in the military, Kaja is learning from Dr. Tattius to embrace her natural skills at observation and not run from them. Which is why she confronted her mother about being the Shadow Broker. Kaja feels a weight lifted off shoulders when Liara answered her question. It proves to the young asari, she can still trust herself and her instincts. Because of that, she is regaining not only herself, but her self-confidence.
Kaja doesn't want to keep secrets from Cass, but understand why it's important to keep this one. Kaja makes herself a promise. This is the only secret she keeps from the human she loves. She wishes her parents hadn't kept this one, but understands why they did what they did. The retired huntress knows all too well the dangers the galaxy can bring and she would go to any lengths to keep her family safe. Which is what her parents did by not telling her and her sisters their mother is the most powerful information broker in the galaxy.
A/N: I originally had Kaja confronting Liara about being the Shadow Broker during "Crossroads", but I cut it out. Then I realized after posting the story, I shouldn't have cut that scene. So, I decided to fix it, so people know Kaja does know who the Shadow Broker is.
Next week's story is really the epilogue to "New Beginnings". The next four shorts are not any chronological order. I am posting them in the order I wrote them.
One story reveals Shepard's promotion to General. Stay tuned for that. See everyone next week. I hope you enjoyed this short. I am working on a multi-chapter story. It's another Kaja-centered story. This is all I am saying on it for now.