Family History
The shuttle's kinetic barriers flared as it passed through the debris that orbited earth. Jane Daria Shepard had always found this last part of the journey to Earth beautiful. Though not as beautiful as her travel companion that was sitting beside her. Liara T'soni looked over at her human soul mate.
"What are you looking at Jane Daria?" she asked with a smile.
"The most beautiful sky in the galaxy," Jane Daria told her as she leant over to kiss the asari on the check Liara blushed about the use of one of Jane Daria's more romantic sentiments about their relationship.
"You still haven't told me were we are going," Liara said not really caring about the answer, because where ever it was they were going together.
"Actually I'm taking you home Doctor T'soni," Jane Daria said.
"But you've told me you never once lived on earth," Liara stated matter of factly.
"That's true," Jane Daria confirmed. "But there has always been a place both sides of my family are connected to, we all tend to think of it in times of personal trouble..."
"Oh Jane Daria," Liara sighed, "You have been..?"
"Yes," Jane Daria replied. "It was suggested I use my this time before bringing the Normandy into to port to reaffirm what makes me, well me."
"But why here if you never grew up here?"
"Because who I am," Jane Daria explained. "Is all because two teenage girls met each other in twentieth century Lawndale."
"Welcome to Casa de Lane," Jane Daria said as they walked towards an old yellow house that looked out of place amongst the more modern structures and passing air cars. On the building's front lawn was sign made of scrap metal proclaiming it as the Lawndale historical society and museum.
"Come on," Jane Daria said grabbing Liara's hand. The asari smirked as she was dragged through the front door of the building. Even with all that had happened Jane Daria still knew Liara's true passion was the past. Admittedly a lot of human history was recent by asari reckoning and could be considered as close as last week compared to Liara's own field of study. Nevertheless it was still fascinating.
"Good morning," greeted the young woman with dark skin behind the front desk. "Welcome to... oh my god you're Doctor T'soni!"
Liara began to blush surprised to be recognised before humanity's first spectre. The grin on Jane Daria's face told how amusing she found it.
"...so I started an extranet petition," the girl continued heedless if Liara was actually paying attention. "If relations with the batarians means we can't go to Ilos then we can at least reopen excavations on Therum."
"You can get her autograph and picture later," Jane Daria told the girl. "I have accidentally wandered home in my travels and find myself wondering if my bed is free."
"You're a Lane!" the girl asked in shock.
"I'm also a Morgandorffer," Jane Daria said. "Now about that..."
"Okay Okay," the girl said as she pressed a few buttons on her omni-tool. "Well isn't that something, our records show you get her room. You know you do look a lot like her."
"A lot like who?" Liara asked.
"Turn around," the girl suggested.
Liara did so and found herself staring into the same blue eyes that she had lost herself in on countless occasions. The same smirk she had seen when enemy storage lockers had been pilfered. But they were not upon the visage of Jane Daria Shepard. Instead they were frozen in a painting that hung above the entry door.
"Met my great Aunts by blood relation and marriage," Jane Daria said. "The one in the glasses is Daria Morgandorffer and the one with the piercings is Jane Lane."
"You do look a lot like Jane," Liara said noting the family resemblance.
"You've just never seen me wearing glasses and letting my hair down at the same time," Jane Daria smirked.
"So these are the women you are named after?" Liara asked.
"Yeah," the spectre said. "Dad often joked when I was born I was quite obviously the daughter they never had."
"Um sorry," the girl from the front desk interrupted. "Uh Commander Shepard, Doctor T'soni um it'll be awhile before you can get into Jane's room."
"I get it, using the hallway for storage," Jane said.
"Um yeah," the girl admitted. "Anyway please enjoy the exhibits while I sort this out."
The girl turned on a basic VI to take her place at the front desk and disappeared upstairs.
"So why are your aunts important enough to have a museum?" Liara asked.
"That's a little too grand to describe this place and the commemorative plaque in the mall were the Morgandorffer house used to be," Jane Daria shrugged. "But I guess my mom explained it to me best. She said that two friends meeting in high school lead to the world becoming a slightly better place. Of course she also told me not to be as oblivious to my deeper feelings as they were for a time."
"So did us meeting make the galaxy a better place?" Liara asked.
"Because we met the whole universe becomes a much better place every single day," Jane Daria said sincerely. The sentiment bought a tear to Liara's eye. All the pain they had both gone through while they were separated paled into insignificance compared to these quiet and happy moments.
"Come on," Jane Daria said as she wiped away the happy tear off her love's blue face. "I'll show you the paintings Aunt Jane made when she dreamt of the future and the words they bought to Daria's heart."
Several hours later they had both retired to the so called gazebo of responsibility. Liara was surprised to learn it was Jane Daria herself who had paid for the heritage listed structure's last bit of maintenance, but not as surprised as she had been at the amount of famous and infamous people who attended Lawndale high at the same time as the spectre's great aunts.
"So Jodie Landon quit the vice presidency to go and run NASA?" Liara asked as she snuggled into Jane Daria side.
"Yeah," the spectre said. "Apparently it was one of Aunt Daria's speeches that inspired the decision. Anyway by turning NASA into what essential amounted to an asteroid mining claims office it gave the expansion out into the solar system the real boost it needed. It also gave NASA the money they needed to continue with their scientific endeavours."
"I have noticed something Jane Daria," Liara said. "No exhibit mentions the...umm..."
"Liara its okay," Jane Daria said.
"Is it foolish to think of forever when I have already been confronted with you actually dying?" Liara asked.
"No it isn't," the human told her. "Because my love for you is forever and shall still shine when the stars do not."
"That's very sweet," Liara conceded. "But a bit cheesy. All that aside I must acknowledge the fact I will be around for at least another nine centuries and you..."
"Won't," Jane Daria said. "But we were talking about my aunts?"
"Sorry," Liara said. "It's a little strange to think even though they are so far in the past for you my mother could have met them if first contact was sooner."
"Never found the bodies," said the girl from the front desk as she approached them. "Sorry for eavesdropping. But that's basically all we can say for sure about the fates of Lawndale's favourite daughters."
"That and the fact that aunt Jane is buried in a bridesmaids dress," Jane Daria said with a smirk.
"The current theory is that Jane was finally struck by the wanderlust and of course Daria followed," the girl said.
"Well it was in their wedding vows," Jane Daria said. "And its the reason the Morgandorffers followed the Lanes into space."
"Any how," the girl continued. "They could have ended up anywhere. My theory is Antarctica, that way there would have been Lanes on every continent at that time."
"I wonder if I can convince my earthbound cousins to..." Jane Daria began. "No I don't have enough relatives for every human colony."
"Anyway Commander, doctor you can now get into Jane's old room," the girl told them. "I assume you have the key for the house Commander Shepard."
"It kind of got blown up," she said embarrassed.
"Then you know were the emergency one is," the girl stated. "It is a better excuse compared to the last on record."
"It was symbolic," Jane Daria explained. "Mom and Dad know exactly were it is in relation to Arcturus station but they both only needed the one key when they finally got together."
"Come on Jane Daria," Liara said. "Let's go inside, the sun is starting to go down and I'm hungry."
Jane Daria scooped Liara up into her arms and carried her back into the house come museum.
"Have you ever had the earth delicacy know as pizza?" Jane Daria asked.
"Hmmm," Liara said. "Actually there was a place on Illium that had indentured servants as the delivery employees and they had these skimpy little outfits. Suddenly I know what I'm getting you for your birthday."
Several hours later, after explaining to the delivery guy why Liara or any other asari couldn't possibly have taken his ancestor's skin and enjoying the Pizza Prince traditional four quarts of grease pie, they found themselves in a position both Daria and Jane would have found oddly familiar. Liara laid out on the bed a book in hand. Jane Daria was staring at a blank canvas. She grabbed pencil and drew a stick figure upon the canvas.
"Might as well face it I have none of the Lane genes for artistic talent," Jane Daria sighed.
"No but your oratory skills would make your aunt Daria proud," Liara said.
"But I should be both," Jane Daria said.
"The Lane side is expressed in your physicality," Liara said. "The way you run, walk and that damn sexy smirk of yours. There is an artistry to it. I imagine Daria felt the same way about Jane, she mentions it about the character clearly based on Jane about three times on a page of this Melody Powers novel."
"Have I told you I love you?" Jane Daria asked as she sat down on the bed besides her blue soul mate. Liara reached up and pulled her spectre down on top of her.
"Isn't this the wrong way around?" Jane Daria asked with a grin. Then she noticed Liara's eyes begin to change.
"Please Liara no, please no," she begged. "Don't link us, I don't want you to see."
"You're still hurting," Liara said. "I understand that, you were forced to do such a terrible..."
"No," Jane Daria said.
"Then tell me," Liara commanded.
" It's just that I feel," Jane Daria began uncertainly. " I destroyed a solar system, definitely not the kind of thing my aunts dreamed of. Sure their early works were cynical but their happiness together forced their idealism to reawaken."
"And they worked together for a future their nieces and nephews could live in," Liara said. "Quite frankly that's not as hard as making sure there is a future."
"Okay I will open up," Jane Daria said to her blue companion. Liara linked their minds and they shared their fears, their hopes and most importantly their love.
The next morning showed both human and asari the disadvantage of sharing a single bed designed for single person. With a thud Jane Daria landed on the floor, ironicaly forced off the bed when Liara had tried to cuddle her spectre while still half asleep. She didn't cry out in pain, nor did she grimace or groan thanks to her cybernetic enhancements. She did however notice a glint of something shiny beneath the bed. Jane Daria reached out to grab it and was surprised when it remained stuck.
"Liara wake up and help me snoop through my aunts' things," Jane Daria whispered.
"But you promised me you would never steal from any museums" Liara mumbled. " And you only ever take things from the bad guys or Udina."
" Udina and villainy aren't mutually exclusive," Jane Daria replied. "Besides I'm not taking anything, we're doing archaeology about the 21st century."
At this Liara's eyes lit up and soon she was on the floor beside Jane Daria and staring at the mysterious object under the bed.
"I'll lift," Liara said. "You push the bed out of the way."
A glowing mass effect field encased the bed as Liara used her biotics. Jane Daria carefully pushed the bed out of the way. Once the bed was again safely on the floor they both turned to look at what had grabbed Jane Daria's attention. It was a small metal tool box and it was glued to the floor.
"That's odd," Liara said.
"Let's try to open it," Jane Daria suggested. Liara nodded in agreement. They had some trouble with the lock though as it wasn't electronic but an old style pad lock. It only perplexed Jane Daria for a few minutes though. She checked the top shelf of Jane's old closet and the key tumbled out of a horrendous pink night gown that screamed grandmother. She was glad she wouldn't have to resort to shooting the lock. Liara and Jane Daria smiled at each other as they opened the lid of the box together. Inside they found a stack of documents, Jane Daria made a grab for them but Liara playfully pushed her back.
"Hands up the trained archaeologists in this room," Liara said as she put her hand up. Jane Daria made to raise her hand and lowered it sheepishly.
"I thought so," Liara said. "Now it seems I Doctor T'soni famous adventurer archaeologist have discovered the fate of the mysteriously disappeared great aunts."
"No way," Jane Daria said. "The families even put a ban on betting that old fifty dollar bill on their fate. Eventually everyone just assumed Great Grandma Quinn's explanation of a quiet Island were Daria could read and Jane paint was the most likely.
"This letter from Jodie Landon at least gives us a new avenue of inquiry," Liara insisted. "Here look."
Dear Daria and Jane,
After your speech gave me the push I needed to quit that lousy job of course I'll do anything to help you. We've increased profit in the NASA claims department by another 27%, so the testing division has once again been expanded, the science division is excited to have more launches to piggy back on. That's probably going to be the only stipulation of any agreement, it won't be to much work, Jane won't even have to do any math, just run a scan and transmit the numbers. We'll also want telemetry in regards to your vital functions. Believe me until we get workable artificial gravity, going into space is the only way some grandparents are going to see their grandchildren as we continue to expand, so yes it is necessary. Everyday Mack mentions how much happier I am in this job and the kids claimed I never used to smile before. Even Brittany said I was perkier when she visited us last week. You two never do anything normally but as retirement plans go its definitely one of the most romantic. Mack and I were just planning to go back to Lawndale with a trip to somewhere exotic, though definitely earthbound, every six months or so. I'll come visit you two as soon as I finalize the details. Which is something you to should do as well, finalize the details if you are serious about not coming back.
Yours Faithfully
Jodie Landon
PS I know you're both probably fans of the far side, but it will be a lot easier to get you down on the near side. Doesn't have to be the sea of tranquillity but some were nice and reasonably easy to land on.
After a few days of searching through the files of the NASA space exploration and prospecting claims archive Liara and Jane Daria had hired a rental shuttle and headed towards the moon. They had found a transcript of the final conversation Daria had with those stuck on her home world. All it contained was a confirmation of touch down and an indication of when theywould lose telemetry in the women's vital signs. Apparently Daria had a romantic evening planned. As Liara and Jane Daria approached their destination in the sea of nectar a lunar lander came into view. While it looked much more advanced then the one that bought the Apollo astronauts to the lunar surface it looked like a hunk of junk next to the rental shuttle. Jane Daria softly bought her space craft in for a perfect landing a short distance away. Jane Daria and Liara helped each other into their environmental suits, they didn't need to as all but the heaviest armoured suits could easily be put on by the wearer without assistance these days, but any excuse to act intimately with each other. The hungry look in Jane Daria's eyes told Liara how much she appreciated that the asari had kept the colossus light armour suit for whenever they weren't getting shot at. Finally safety checks completed they opened up the hatch and stepped onto the grey dust of the Lunar surface.
"So much more peaceful than our last visit," Liara commented.
"Soon every day will be as peaceful as this one," Jane Daria said with conviction. "Would you look at that module, I'm not seeing any indication it can get back into orbit."
"It seems larger than the ones I've seen when researching earth history on the extranet," Liara said.
"They weren't coming back so they didn't need a separate command module to stay in lunar orbit," Jane Daria speculated. "Come on lets go poke around."
"We are not merely going to poke around," Liara informed her human soul mate. "We are going to perform the initial archaeological survey."
"I love it when you get all academic my beautiful sky."
"Just open the door," Liara said.
Jane Daria did so and was surprised to see that the lander's windows let in enough light to see by. In side they could see that the lander was split into two levels. Where they had entered housed the landing controls and a small table with two chairs on either side. A small kitchen and two empty storage lockers. Liara climbed the short ladder to the seconded level. All she saw was a mattress that dominated the floor, it was just large enough for two people. On the opposite wall she saw two pressure suits stored in cargo netting stretched across the wall. Several straps hung down from the ceiling. Liara had no doubt that if she reached up the ceiling itself would be squishy and soft. It was a popular design for dealing with the g-forces of acceleration at the time. Jane and Daria. Would have worn pressure suits while strapped against that ceiling during lift off and perhaps during any required burns on their way to earth's natural satellite.
"Hey Liara I found something," Jane Daria called. When Liara climbed back down the ladder she found her spectre thumbing through a notebook, occasionally stopping to look at something in a sketch book on the table.
"My aunts' finale collaborative work," Jane Daria explained. "They seemed to be rewriting their own memories as far as I can tell."
"What does that mean?" Liara asked.
"Well it seems they've created a happy memory to replace every time they were fighting, not talking to each other or just feeling beaten by the world," Jane Daria explained. "Take a look at the first picture in the sketch book."
Liara opened the book to find a sketch with the Jane Lane signature. It showed two little girls, similar, no they were young versions of Daria and Jane, shoving earth treats into each others mouths. They appeared to be hiding under a sheet, the only illumination coming from the flash light between them. It seemed so real even though it was rendered in simple grey shades.
"Sharing gummi bears in the dark," Jane Daria explained. "Daria's notebook here explains how they got trapped in an old style warehouse store at the end of a crummy day. The only bright spot was at least they were together. So they rewrote it. The experience is now about their first sleepover when they're seven years old, how excited they are, the childish promise to marry each other, of course that could never have happened in real life seen as they hadn't met yet."
"I think its kind of sweet," Liaria said flicking to the next page of the sketch book. The picture depicted Jane and Daria in the costumes of earth's so called middle ages surrounded by a crowd of children who seemed regaled by they tales they seemed to be telling. The next had Jane and Daria in an audience watching a man get sawn in half by a girl in a sparkly costume. The performers looked similar to pictures she had seen at the historical society of Chuck Ruttiemer media mogul and Stacey Rowe, magician of some repute and Nascars' girl next door. The next page was Daria standing between Jane and another woman. Liara had seen the same look on Jane Daria's face when she stared down a drunk at an official citadel function. A drunk who had been coming onto Liara in a most unpleasant manner. The next was Jane talking to a guy, with a speech bubble asking if her girlfriend could come to. Liara found herself looking forward to reading the stories that accompanied each picture.
"It's kind of sad though," Jane Daria said. "Aunt Daria says her only regret was not doing certain things sooner and Aunt Jane's is that she didn't realise how much she hurt Daria with certain decisions."
"I wonder where they are though?" Liara said. "I know its morbid but they're a lot fresher than the protheans, even some of the deceased asari in my other line of work out date them. Shouldn't there be...remains."
"Maybe they decided that it was too nice a place to be couped up inside when their supplies began to run out," Jane Daria speculated. "We should probably leave these books here until an expert can decide whether they can be bought back to earth."
"A good idea my faithful assistant," Liara said. "Now I believe if we study the footprints made by you're aunts we can recreate partially their actions on the lunar surface. Yes another triumph of thinking for Doctor T'soni Archaeologist extraordinare."
"I've read the paper by Doctor Dorin about the footprints on displaced object 0784 beta, just outside of the phi leto system."
"You have?" Liara asked.
"I like being able to understand when we talk about your work," Jane Daria said. "Still its a good idea even if it's not actually yours."
"You like it when we talk about my real work?" Liara asked.
"I love you, of course I love talking about the things you enjoy," Jane Daria said with a smile. "Come on lets go see where these trails lead us."
Once they were outside they noticed how much of the still intact footprints were concentrated around marks were Jane may have set up an easel. They would have to check for storage compartments for other Jane Lane originals later. What was of interest though were the two set of bootprints leading away from the lunar lander. What was interesting was there were none coming back from that direction. After a brief discussion Shepard and Liara decided to follow them. They had barely travelled 500 metres when they saw two figures in the armoured space suits of old sitting down and resting their backs against a large boulder. The suits where obviously from that awkward time when they had began to slim down but before mass effect technology had been discovered by the human race. While the shape of the suits where obviously female they still looked like overinflated marshmallows. As they got closer they could see that the suits were holding hands.
"You should make sure it's them," Liara suggested.
Jane Daria went over and carefully lifted their gold visors. Even if she didn't recognise them there would be no mistaking Jane's distinctive piercings and Daria's trade mark glasses, the real ones not the more fashionable ones she wore at public appearances. She carefully slid the visors back down so as not to disturb their eternal rest. While doing that she noticed that their hands where glued together and in Jane's other hand rested a glue gun that looked like the science fiction ray guns of yester year. In Daria's other hand was some kind of data storage device. Jane Daria scanned it with her omni-tool. While it worked on recovering the data Liara came over and pointed to words etched in the rock above the two deceased women. It read 'forever is never enough time to spend with you'. Liara came over and placed her hand on Jane Daria's shoulder.
"They're right," Liara said. "But every single second is as good as forever when we're together."
"Come on lets go," Jane Daria said. "We need to report this to the relevant authorities, make sure this place is preserved."
"I think your omni-tool has finished retrieving whatever Daria had saved on her media device," Liara said. "Lets listen to it on the way back to the shuttle."
Jane Daria nodded as she pressed the commands to share audio playback over the comm in their helmets.
"I can't believe she actually wore the dress for me," Daria's recorded voice began. "It lost a bit of impact beneath the EVA suit but you can't have everything. She's gone now, I don't want to say dead because I know she's waiting just the other side. Hopefully it won't be to much longer. Now for those who may have found us, please don't disturb our bodies. This is our final work, one that has taken a lifetime of pain, suffering, joy and happiness and most of all love to make. Feel free to help yourself to the works we left in the lander though. Except for the ones under the bed. Those drawings and stories are for Jane and my eyes only. If this a relative of mine hearing this that goes double, for a Lane triple and if you share the genetics of both Morgandorffer and Lane we are going to come back to haunt you if you even dare think of looking at them. Now my niece or nephew if that is the case some advice from your Aunt Dar and Aunt Janey. Don't wait to make the world a better place, if you see something wrong do something about it, don't just complain, if you fall in love realise it and ask them on a date. And if the glass is half empty remember the rest of that soda is still going to be delicious. Don't have the same regrets I do now when you get to this point. Jane was right it was more amusing to face away from earth. More hopeful to, after all that's were the Lane wanderlust will lead to some day."
The recording stopped and Jane Daria looked over at Liara.
"Way ahead of you Aunt Dar," she whispered to the long gone woman.
A new file played an earlier one of Jane and Daria happily planning their last day.
"It's a pity I didn't think of bringing some paint," Jane said. "Just think of the textures I could of gotten if I mixed in some moon dust."
"Just hurry up and get your eva suit on," Daria scolded her wife. "I was thinking a romantic walk."
"And then we pick a spot," Jane said warmly. "Hey Daria, look at what I'm wearing."
"Is that...?" Daria asked.
"Yeah."
"You look..." Daria said. "But then again you look great in anything."
"So one last time?"
"Yes, definitely yes."
"Daria leave your glasses on," Jane said. "I know you bought them so..."
Jane Daria Shepard wisely halted the audio playback and saved herself the mental imagery of hearing her ancestors being physically intimate.