9/6/2210

"Creator-Shepard. Your father will be departing the Invisible shortly. We recommend you take this opportunity to speak to him before he leaves," Core'svoice cut in over the loudspeakers, shattering the blissful silence that had hung over Ria's quarters.

"Go away, Core, I'm tired," Ria spat bitterly. Rolling over, she snatched a pillow from next to her, shoving it over her head.

It had been five days since the destruction of the ExoGeni research facility, during which time the Invisible had made its way to the Citadel. As a result of the damage to the ship's drive core, what normally would have been a two day trip had taken much longer. Repairs had already begun, but it would still be several days until the ship was ready for active deployment once more. During that time, Ria had kept mostly to herself, spending much of her time not on duty in her quarters.

"Creator Ria, it would be best if you attempt to speak to him. You will not have another chance for some time," Core repeated. The geth's normally coldly emotionless tenor seemed somehow gentler now, full of concern.

"Since when do you care what I do?" Ria asked bitterly, raising her head to gaze up of the speaker from which the geth's voice emanated from.

"Since you became part of this crew. We do not wish to see you upset. Please, we request you do as we instruct."

Ria nodded slowly, the geth's pleading winning her over. Besides, she owed it to dad, to … talk about what happened. To explain that what she was feeling wasn't his fault. Pushing away her cover, she slipped out of bed, her unkempt hair falling in a tangle around her face.

"Core, what are the rest of the crew doing? I guess I-I should probably check in, you know," Ria asked, kneeling down to pick up her suit's helmet from the floor.

"Officer Vakarian, Corporal Alenko, and Creator-Valah left to procure supplies on the Citadel, one hour, thirty-seven minutes, and three-point-five-seven seconds ago. Most of the remaining members of the crew are elsewhere on shore-leave."

"Alright, thanks, Core."

It took a moment to find her mask, having somehow found its way under her bed. Then it took even longer still to feed her hair into one of the tubes that ran out of the back of her helmet as she put it on. At last she clicked the mask into place, blinking as her eyes adjusted to its darkened interior.

Heading down to the front of the ship, Ria found her father standing in front of the airlock. A pack was slung over one shoulder, a duffel bag held by its straps in his right hand. Her turned at the sound of her approach, surprise displayed cleanly on his face for but an instant before he expression softened.

"Hey," he said. Turning to face her fully, her father set his bag against a bulkhead, dropping his pack down next to it a moment later.

"Hey," Ria replied in kind, her voice coming out as a whisper of its normal intensity. For a moment she said nothing, she just … stood there, unsure what to say. "Core said you were heading out. I wanted to see you off."

Her father nodded. "Yeah, I was actually planning on this since before … well, before what happened. I realized after Alkimos you don't need my help, so there's not much good I can do sticking around. Figured it was better to split our resources, cover more ground," he replied. A soft smile filled his lips then, only Ria was surprised to uncertainty within it. "Besides, you probably don't want me around right now. I figured it is best to give you some distance."

Is he really afraid that I hate him? That I no longer want anything to do with him, after what— after what happened? Ria shifted uncomfortably, a pang of guilt tearing through her throat. "Dad, its not that. I don't—" she started to say, her words lost in the thickness of her voice.

"I know," her father replied, his tone gentle. If he expected her to press the matter, he made no sign.

Nodding slowly, Ria struggled to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. "What are you going to do now?" she asked.

"Head out on my own, see if I can find out more about what Project Winter is, or what the 'skullheads' are after. I even talked a certain old turian we know to tag along with me," he replied, his smile fading as he added. "I plan to investigate the location we discovered back on the station, see if I can get some answers there. I hope you don't mind, I just think its better for me to handle this bit. The Council won't be happy no matter which of us goes poking through their garbage, so I'll take the fire for this. They have a lot less they can threaten me with, at any rate."

Ria nodded ahead. "Thank you, that means a lot …" she said, her voice thick with emotion.

"Don't mention it," he said. He stared back at her for several moments, his expression uncertain once more. "Look, Ria, I'm sorry for what… happened, back there. I'm not sure what you must think of me right now, but—" he started to say before Ria interrupted.

"Dad, I don't hate you. You know that," Ria said, shaking her head. "You did nothing wrong, its just… it hurts right now. Growing up, hearing all those stories about your adventures, you were my hero. I looked up to you, not just as my dad, but as an idol. You could do anything. No matter how bad things got, you always did the right thing."

"You were the ideal I lived up to. I thought, that if ever something felt impossible, I just had to think what you'd do, and that if you could do it then so could I. If I failed, it was because I wasn't good enough, that I had to be better. To be more like you." Ria gave a choked laugh, its sound sad and mirthless. "Maybe I was clinging to a child's view of the world, that innocence in believing things would always turn out alright. It is my fault in the end, I put you on a pedestal, let myself believe in something no one could live up to, even someone like you. I don't blame you, its not your fault, its just … losing that idea, it…"

"… it hurts," her father finished for her as she trailed off, his expression sad. "Unreasonable or not, I'm sorry I couldn't live up to your faith in me, Ria." He put a hand on her shoulder squeezing it gently.

Immediately Ria threw her arms around him, pulling him into her. Her shoulders began to shake, wracked by silent sobs. She buried her head against her father's shoulders, tears pooling in her eyes. She felt arms wrap around her then, pulling her tighter against him. Throughout it all her father said nothing, allowing her the time she needed let out her tears. At last her tears faded, and she slowly pulled away.

"You okay?" her father asked her a moment later.

"Yeah, I'm— I'm fine," Ria answered, choking back another sob. She cursed her mask, wishing she could wipe the wetness that still clung to her eyes. "I probably should let you go, I've kept you waiting too long as it is."

"Yeah, okay." He nodded. Reaching down, her father picked up his bags. "I'll make sure to stay in contact, that way we can coordinate our efforts and share any information we find. In the meantime I'll speak to Liara, if anyone can find out more about the 'skullheads'f, it would be the Shadow Broker."

"Alright. Dad, just … take care of yourself, okay?" Ria said as he turned to go.

Her father paused, turning to look back at her over his shoulder. "I will. Take care of yourself too, Ria. Good luck." He smiled back at her. Then, stepping into the airlock, he was gone.

Ria silently watched after him, the air suddenly feeling very cold around her. For how long she stood there, she did not know, an indeterminable span of time stretching out like an eternity before a voice snapped her back to reality.

"Creator-Shepard, analysis by subroutines regarding psychological wellness indicates that it would be beneficial for us to recommend that you take some time to yourself. Until repairs are completed, the Invisible cannot depart from the Citadel."

"But I need to be here, I need—" Ria started to argue.

"There are no immediate tasks that require your attention. As we informed you prior, the majority of the crew have already departed to take advantage of the opportunity for leisurely activities," Core interrupted. "It would be … wise to make full use of the available shore leave time while the opportunity presents itself."

"Alright," Ria signed, turning towards the airlock. "Let me know if anything comes up, and make sure to let the rest of the crew know I want to be alone. I don't need you or anyone else babying me. I can take care of myself."

Not bothering to wait for a reply Ria stepped out into docking tube, and into the city beyond.

. . . . .

Plop.

Ripples spread out from where the pebble hit the water's surface, catching the gleam of the cold, false sunlight of the Presidium's 'sky'. Ria gazed upward, watching the holographic clouds drift across the pale blue expanse. No matter how they get it to look, its still fake. An illusion. A lie.

Ria sat on a grassy bank next to one of the Presidium's many artificial lakes. She'd chosen to come here for the relative quiet, the rest of the city was too loud and busy. At least here she could be alone with her thoughts. And other than the occasional passerby, she had been alone. Alone to brood on what had happened.

Digging out another rock from within the grass, Ria flung it towards the watery expanse with a flick of her wrist. Plink, plink, plink, plop. The stone skipped across the surface three times before falling beneath the lake's sparkling surface, fresh ripples expanding from where it had vanished.

Sighing, Ria wrapped her arms around her knees as she stared into the water. A light breeze washed over her, a feature of the Presidium's simulated weather no doubt. While it would have otherwise been pleasant, another part of the illusion that she was outside, the breeze only chilled her now. Why did it always feel so damn cold? Why couldn't it be warmer like on Rannoch. Ria shivered, tightening her arms around her.

The sound of footsteps crunching in the grass alerted Ria to someone approaching. Glancing back over her shoulder she caught sight of Daron making his way down the grassy slope towards her. Great, just what I needed right now. She turned her gaze back to the sparkling water, watching the artificial sunlight dance across its surface.

The footsteps came to a stop a few feet behind her. For several moments the only sounds that could be heard was the woosh of skycars far overhead and the distant chatter voices from the Presidium's streets. Ria kept her eyes on the water, refusing to meet his gaze."What do you want? Come here to gloat?" A thought occurred to her then, a bitter laugh escaping her throat. "Or are you here to tell me you'll be leaving too?"

"No, I came to apologize."

Those word's were the last ones Ria had expected to hear just then. She turned, forgetting for a moment her desire to be a alone to stare in wide-eyed surprise at the mercenary. "You what?"

"Apologize, for what I said before," Daron repeated, his words sounding stilted, as if it was by great difficulty that he managed to convey them. He crossed his arms, his expression hard as he regarded her silently for a moment before continuing. "Don't get me wrong, I haven't changed my mind on what I said before. I still think you're being stupid, wasting all our damn time chasing after scraps."

"I thought you said were going to apologize," Ria said indignantly. She narrowed her eyes, glaring angrily now.

"Look, sorry," Daron said quickly. He sighed, closing his eyes as if collecting himself. "I'm not good at this. What I'm trying to say. The point is…" He sighed again. "No matter what I think, it wasn't my place to question your decision. You're our leader, that means following even when you're being damned stupid."

Ria nodded, turning her gaze away. A part of her still wanted to be furious at him, but the anger that had burned moments before had faded to little more than an ember. He had apologized for how he'd acted. He still disagreed with her, sure, but could she be angry just for him not agreeing with her? Besides, this was probably the closest she'd ever get him to admitting he'd been wrong about something.

Ria sat in silence before she ventured to speak again. Her voice came out in a croak, her throat suddenly feeling so very raw once more. "Thanks. I appreciate it, Daron. I'm … sorry, for what I said back there..." She shrugged, trailing off.

Glancing back over her shoulder again she saw Daron dip his head in a sharp, barely perceptible nod. The mercenary stood there silently for several moments, his icy blue eyes staring at her with a surprising intensity. A shiver ran down Ria's spine, feeling as though gaze peered into her very soul. Then he turned to go. However, he only made it only a handful of steps before he stopped again, turning to back to regard her thoughtfully. "Ria?" he called out. His voice seemed to warble slightly as he spoke now, sound almost awkward, uncertain.

"Yeah?" Ria replied. She looked up, meeting his gaze.

"You asked me why I still bother sticking around, remember? I know why now: because that's what a friend does." He finally left then without another word, leaving Ria alone to ponder what he had said.

Author's Note: Due to feedback received on the last chapter, I actually went back and made some changes to the very last bit of it (chapter 13), making Ria perhaps handle the situation more adult-like.