Author's note: A few of the events and ideas conveyed in this were used with permission by another author whom with I regularly correspond with. So, as the title states, all credit goes where credit is due. Sachehund, you rock.
Councilor Tevos paced in her office restlessly. She had forgotten when she had started and all she knew was that it was late and that her assistants had left for the evening.
Word had come from the Normandy.
Thessia was lost. Her armies scattered. Her daughters slaughtered by the millions.
It was a blow that had hit her especially. She had been chosen by the matriarchs back on Thessia to represent their people in the galactic community. She had done so for decades.
Now, however, it felt as though her position meant nothing.
"You knew," a new voice said from the doorway, full of accusation and hurt. Tevos turned slowly to the source, with a healthy suspicion of whom it was.
Liara T'Soni stood with her hands clenched at her sides. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face had marks of dried tears. Her breathing was labored and her frustration was palpable.
"The whole time… you all knew," she repeated, more heated and angry than before, "and you did nothing!"
Tevos understood where the Maiden came from. She truly did. The secrets held by the asari, which propelled them to space far sooner than the other Council races, were granted by the Protheans, themselves. Those secrets enabled them to rise to galactic prominence and no one knew.
Until now.
"There was nothing to be done," Tevos replied weakly. The constant memories of the orders from High Command to smother all of Shepard's claims of the Reapers couldn't assuage her guilt. All it did was perpetrate the false peace that she and her contemporaries attempted to keep when they all knew the danger that lurked just outside of their sight. Such a heavy price they all paid.
She remembered the look on Speratus' face when word came that Palaven had been hit by a large Reaper fleet. To think he had been the most vocal in his opposition to Shepard before, he became the first to appeal to her for help and granted her the tools to garner a peace between the turians and the krogan. She quickly returned to the conversation at hand.
"No," Liara said angrily as she shook her head, "anything could have been done! You know it. You saw it! YOU WERE THERE!"
It was true and the truth stung. Young Dr. T'Soni's anger was well justified. While she was indeed an elected official that represented the asari, her power was far more limited than what the general public thought. If there was anyone that could have done anything, it was High Command. And they had done nothing, despite her repeated and impassioned pleas to do something.
Dr. T'soni would never know that she was always on Shepard's side. In fact, all three of the councilors were on Shepard's side. However, their respective governments were not. One and all were told to never give the first human Spectre's warnings any sort of validation. It was feared that a galaxy wide panic would ensue and that was the last thing they needed.
To think it all sounded so foolish in retrospect.
"Indeed, I was," Tevos said morosely. "I made a terrible mistake and now our people will suffer for it." All contact with High Command had been lost and if the reports were of any indication, they would be no further communication with Thessia.
Tevos turned to see the maiden begin to sniff and wipe the tears that started to flood her eyes. "Why didn't you believe her? She had every reason to toss you and the other councilors to the Geth when Sovereign attacked, but she didn't. She knew that showing that they could be as selfless as the other races could prove their worth and character. She sacrificed a whole fleet to save you and how did you repay her? With condescension and scorn!"
Tevos said nothing as Liara continued to rant. She could not. In addition, the young T'Soni needed this catharsis. She needed to 'let it out', as a human saying went. As the younger asari continued to rave, the elder noted with sadness that Liara had not been idle. She had received reports that Maiden T'Soni had used her extensive network of contacts to evacuate survivors, establish escape routes for refugees, and the reallocation of resources needed to save their people.
Councilor Tevos could never say it out loud, but Liara T'Soni did her name, if not their entire race, proud. Shepard's influence had turned the young and socially awkward archaeologist into a marvel of a woman. If they were to survive this, she would make it a point to inform the daughters of Thessia that part of their survival was owed to a human and an often ridiculed pureblood.
"It's just… I can't… I don't know if…" Liara struggled to say as her fury had left her an emotionally garbled mess.
It was then Tevos came to a decision. Political implications be damned.
She walked forward softly across the expensive carpet floor and took the struggling Liara in her arms in a warm embrace.
Surprised, Liara looked to the councilor in confusion.
With a smile that held the same shame and weight that Liara was well aware of, the Councilor whispered, "You have done well, Maiden T'Soni. Your courage and kindness will never be forgotten."
That was the metaphorical crack that opened the dam. Immediately, Liara's arms wrapped around Tevos' waist and she broke down against the councilor's shoulder.
As though Liara were her own daughter, Tevos reached up with one hand and began to stroke the center of her back and leaned her head against the maiden's. At this point, losing her position over showing the consideration to a brave daughter of Thessia deserved, despite her pureblood stigma, seemed more prudent than the opposite.
THE END