Second Life

Chapter Thirty-Six – Family Reunions

While her partial crew headed for Omega, Shepard asked Joker to set a course for Aeia where the Hugo Gernsback's distress call originated. Without Dr. Chakwas onboard, Shepard wished Pierce were still on her crew. According to Joker, Pierce was going through an accelerated program to become a doctor. Dr. Chakwas helped her get into the program and served as her sponsor and an advisor. Standing behind the pilot seat and watching Joker's hands flying over the console, She sighed and told herself to stop thinking about Pierce because thinking about her old medic meant thinking about Kaidan, and thinking about Kaidan meant thinking about Ashley and her old life. Shepard couldn't help but wonder if Pierce would join her under the Cerberus banner or would she consider her old Commander a traitor like Ashley did.

"Commander, another ship just went through the relay and she's hailing us." Joker alerted. "It's … it's the Benezia."

"Liara?" Shepard didn't bother to tell EDI to open the comlink and hit the button herself. "Liara, what are you doing here?"

Liara's voice came on after a brief moment of static. "I told you I was doing some recon on the Hugo Gernsback's distress call."

"You found something interesting?"

"No, not really. It looks like a regular distress call after a crash landing. The mystery is why it took so long for the beacon to broadcast the distress call. I assume you'll find the answer to that when you're on the ground. I came because I discovered someone else is coming." Liara waited for a beat, "Shepard, the Orizaba is on her way here as well."

"How…" Shepard dropped in the seat behind Joker's leather chair and breathed out. "How did they find out where we headed?"

"Unknown." Liara's voice was quiet. "Shepard, permission to join you in the ground mission."

Ashley Williams was in the dark as to why they diverged from their original course to this planet in the Rosette Nebula to investigate a distress call from a missing civilian ship. Didn't they have recovery and salvage companies who took care of these things? Then everything became clear as soon as their shuttle landed near the Hugo Gernsback's crash site when she saw the red and white N7 helmet and armor. "Shepard!" Why didn't Hannah tell her that she'd find Shepard here? Ashley saw the Cerberus agents standing next to her old Commander, and she raised her Avenger and so did her squad of Marines following behind her.

Miranda, Jacob and Kasumi raised their guns at the Alliance Marines before Shepard had time to respond. Behind them, Liara and Tali came out of the Hugo Gernsback's main hall and saw the stand off. Liara walked quickly to stand in front of the Marine leader, "Ashley, we were friends once. You took some shots at Shepard the last time you two met, but if you ever lay a finger on her again, I will treat you like my enemy." Her biotics flared.

Tali stood next to Liara. "Yeah, me too. If you want to get to Shepard, you'll have to go through us." She tapped on her omni-tool and Chiktikka materialized and danced next to her.

"Stand down!" Shepard ordered. She pushed through her squad and approached Ashley who still held her assault rifle at level. "Can we have a Sit Rep?"

Ashley tilted her chin to signal her squad to lower their guns but she stood back. "I don't report to you anymore, Shepard. We're here to do a job and I want to get it done and boogie out of here."

"Fine." Shepard shook her head and signaled Jacob to take point. After they talked with the stranded crew and got to Jacob's father, Shepard asked Ashley to take the Hugo Gernsback's crew back to the Alliance space. Ashley walked out of the compound where Jacob's father had holed up with his people and called the Alliance Dreadnaught in orbit for transport.

Shepard watched her old squad mate walk off and caught the sight of a familiar face in the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a Marine approaching her with large strides. "Commander Shepard!"

"Charlie!" Shepard took the offered hand from the Marine and pulled him in. "It's good to see you!"

The Marine who served on the Normandy SR-1 drew a smile on his face. "It's great to see you, Commander." He looked at Shepard up and down. "I served in the three-volley squad at your funeral and here you are. I'm glad to see you're still breathing, Commander."

"Thanks," Shepard let go of Marine's hand. "It means a lot to see people from the old crew and have a normal conversation."

The young Marine waved his hand. "I joined up to seek an adventure. Serving with you on the SR-1 taught me how to be a soldier. We're supposed to help people. From what I hear you're out here to hunt down the bastards who destroyed our ship and are messing with the innocent people out in the colonies. I'd join your crew if you were still with the Alliance." The Marine paused. "After the tour on the SR-1, we can apply to join any ship and unit and they'd probably take us."

Shepard saw the young Marine looking through the gate of the compound at Ashley who was busy talking on her comm. "You have a better post in mind, Charlie?"

The young Marine turned his head back to Shepard. "No, ma'am. After you were … gone, LT got me and the others from the SR-1 squad together and we've been moving from ship to ship as a unit ever since. Think we're going to stick together and watch each other's backs." Charlie paused for a bit and then said softly. "I heard you two got into it on Horizon. LT hasn't been the same since, you know. She gets into too many fights and gets herself drunk on every shore leave. She takes unnecessary risks in fights. I mean, we're supposed to watch her back in the field, but sometimes she charges in and we have to follow her. Can't you talk some sense in to her?"

Shepard couldn't help but feel a wave of warmth rushing through her. The young Marine asked for her help as though she was still his CO. "I'll talk to her, Charlie."

The young Marine looked relieved and he fished out his dog tags from under his armor. "I haven't said anything about LT to anyone else, Commander. She treated me like a buddy on the SR-1 and afterwards. She even gave me this." He picked out the extra tag on his collar and the name on the tag was Kaidan Alenko.

Shepard clenched her teeth. "You stay frosty out there, Charlie. And you watch her six."

"Ten four, Commander." Charlie skittered off to join his buddies on their way back to the shuttle while Shepard walked through the gate of the compound to join Ashley. Ashley had finished her communications with the Orizaba and she was staring out at the ocean below the short cliff. She heard Shepard's footsteps and she picked up her helmet on the crate and started leaving. "Someone's coming to have a chat with you. You should wait here."

Shepard was out of her helmet with her red hair untamed in the wind sweeping up from the ocean. She softened her voice. "Ash, can we talk for a sec?"

Ashley stopped and gave a quick glance at Shepard. The sight was familiar, the unruly red hair, the stance and the tilted head. For a moment, she saw her old Commander standing there. And that voice was familiar too, it trapped her and she felt she couldn't move away from that voice. How she wished this was the same Shepard! Anger rose, stirred up by the tricky look and trapping voice. Her old Commander died in that attack, flotsam among the broken pieces of the Normandy in space, a fitting resting place for a space Marine. This was a ghost staring at her with more sharpened eyes, colder. Eyes that had lost the intensity of innocence and the vibrant challenging glares when she was beating her in roller derby matches. Ashley had told Hannah Shepard about the roller derby matches against her daughter; how she'd plot each match to beat her old Commander and each time Shepard would figure out her plan and counter it. The stories had brought laughter to Hannah who called her daughter a "smart ass". Searching in these new eyes, Ashley couldn't find the smirking smile that curved those eyes into half moons, the confidence oozing effortlessly through each glance. She saw hesitation clouding over every flicker in the new eyes. Is she a copy or a ghost in a new body? Or is she indoctrinated, like Benezia but not by the Reapers but by Cerberus? But that voice! Ashley couldn't deny that certain confidence still remained in that voice, the warmth when Shepard talked with Liara and Tali, it sounded so much like her old Commander. Could I be wrong about this Shepard? Ashley turned away from her former mate; maybe if she didn't look into those eyes and maybe if she just listened to that voice, she'd imagine her old Commander was standing beside her again and feel the old sense of security again. She had a place back then and it was by Shepard's side. Without that anchor she hadn't felt right in the universe. She'd given almost anything to be by her old Commander's side again, but not within a terrorists group and not with this Shepard. "Fucking Cerberus!" She cursed out loud.

Shepard was about to open her mouth but she heard Ashley's curse and saw her turning away. "I'm not working for Cerberus." She finally started. Sincerity spoke in that voice. "I'm homeless out here. My navy doesn't want me. I'd been happy to just take Liara and settle somewhere and disappear."

"But instead, you're working with thieves, assassins and mercenaries." Bitterness filled in the remark.

Shepard felt anger rising too. "One day you and I stood back to back, guns pointing at the enemies. The next day, my back is against the wall, alone. These people aren't Alliance, I grant you that. But at least they listen and choose to believe in the truth. What I don't understand is that how someone who learned all that on Ilos and actually faced Saren could still stay blind to the truth. Explain that to me?"

Ashley raised her voice to match Shepard's. "I'd follow my old Commander to hell, okay? I want to fight too! You think it's easy to stand on the sidelines and watch those people getting killed and abducted?"

"So what? You get drunk and think that'll make you forget." Shepard challenged.

"Fuck you, Shepard!" Ashley's hands balled into fists. "You're not my CO anymore!"

They both looked at each other with fire in their eyes and Shepard took a deep breath and backed down first. "Look Ash, I know things can get frustrating when you're not in the right fight. But you've got a squad of Marines following you into battle. Their job is to watch your six and your job is to make sure they make it back safe. But you act like the world's going to end tomorrow and it's all about you. The recklessness is going to get you killed and get your men killed. If I were still your CO I'd tell you to drop on the floor and give me twenty. But it seems your back is against the wall just like mine, and pushups won't make a difference." She sighed. "I'm worried about you, Ash."

Ashley lowered her sharp gaze and she sagged her shoulders. When she looked up at her old CO again, her voice softened. "Can you honestly say that you're still the same person I called my best friend?"

The same question had toiled Shepard's mind ever since she came back. Through others' eyes, she saw a stranger living in a different world and when she reached into her own psyche what glimpses she could grasp had shown her a different person too. As she looked at her old friend's hopeful eyes, almost eager for a favorable answer, Shepard lowered her head. "No, I cannot."

The sound of an approaching shuttle engine broke their conversation. Ashley turned and walked hurriedly towards the shuttle and gave her captain a crisp salute. As she jumped on the shuttle, she looked back at a mother approaching her daughter on uneven steps.

In her mother's warm embrace, Shepard could no longer hold it anymore. She let her tears run free in the safety of her mother's arms. "I'm very sorry, mom."

Hannah remained silent as she held her daughter. She had imagined this moment on many sleepless nights. An anonymous message appeared in her personal message folder, telling her to meet her daughter on this unexplored planet. This wasn't where she'd imagined seeing her daughter again, but it didn't matter. She had her little girl back in her arms again and the world was right as rain once again.

After the waterworks, Shepard detailed how she came back and about the mission laid ahead of her. Watching her mother listen to her every word intently, Shepard bent her head. "Ashley asked me if I were the same person as before and I told her no. I'm sure she doesn't understand my meaning."

"Why didn't you explain it to her?" asked Hannah.

Shepard shook her head. "To tell her that I keep myself busy preparing for the mission because I'm too afraid to be idle and to feel the anger and rage inside? I'm angry at the Alliance for not seeing that I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't ask to be brought back. I'm angry at the Council for turning a blind eye at these attacks on human colonies in the frontier and for ignoring the warnings of the Reapers even after all that we've been through with Sovereign and what we learned on Illos. I feel the rage whenever I think about the Collectors. They didn't just take away my flesh, they took away what made me me. I used to have confidence in my decisions because I knew my Navy and my friends would back me up and dig me out of the hole if I got in trouble, now I don't have that luxury. I used to have a romantic notion that humans could fit in with the galactic community that's largely accepting, now I think we're too stupid to realize I'm the only one who's fighting the war and the only help comes from a terrorist group. When I think about this, I don't want my life to go on. I can't wait to rip the Collectors' asses into shreds."

"And I'm going with you." Hannah said abruptly.

"You can't!" Shepard looked up sharply at her mother.

Hannah had never shown this much anger in front of her daughter. She always believed a mother's calm was the best medicine to sooth a kid's troubles, but she couldn't drive the anger out of her voice now. "They tried to take the life of my child, and they had succeeded by all accounts. The rage I have for them can't be suppressed until I see every one of them dead."

Shepard put a hand on her mother's arm, trying to calm the trembling. "Now I feel like I'm dragging you and all the friends who are still with me into a personal revenge mission."

"No you're not. Didn't you always say you have to have someone to fight for when you go into a battle? Now you just gave your friends a reason to fight."

"So I've turned myself into a martyr." Shepard lowered her head.

Hannah tilted her daughter's face. "Honey, I command one of the largest dreadnaughts in the Alliance Fleet and I'm not letting you go through the Omega 4 Relay alone. I don't care what they'll do to me, if this is the last thing I do in my career, so be it. But I'm going with you and protect you. I'm not losing my only kid again. You hear me?" She was trembling and accepted her daughter's arms in a tight hug. "You can only put a parent through the funeral of her child once, my heart won't survive another." Her tears fell on her daughter's shoulder. She held Shepard's arms and looked at her daughter's teary eyes, "Your old mother has got your back and will dig you out of any hole. You can count on that."

Shepard swallowed in a tight throat and nodded. "It won't be easy battles to fight with the Alliance or when we face the Collectors."

Hannah wiped the tears on her daughter's face. "Your old mother still has a few tricks up her sleeve. I'll collect every last favor I'm owed to put the Orizaba in that battle."

Hannah watched her daughter walk towards the compound with tension in her shoulders. As though Liara echoed her daughter's thoughts and appeared at the gate and took the human soldier in her arms and embraced her tightly. The tension in her daughter's body disappeared. Hannah couldn't help but feel the comfort at the sight of her daughter and the asari walking back towards her, hand in hand. It reminded her of the meetings they used to have on the Citadel. But this was the first time they saw each other after Shepard's death, and Hannah nervously ran her fingers through her wind-swept short hair.

The pair stopped in front of the elder Shepard and Liara started, equally as nervous. "Captain Shep…"

Hannah cut her off. "Don't you Captain Shepard me! You didn't bother to show up at my daughter's funeral and didn't bother to send a word to let me know that you were okay out there on your own and most of all you didn't speak a word after my daughter came back!" Hannah's lips were quavering and so were Liara's, and then the elder human added, "I was so disappointed in you until my daughter told me you were too busy risking your own life to bring her back. You gave my only child a second life, you drop the Captain Shepard crap and come here and give me a hug!"

Liara took urgent steps and wrapped herself around Hannah as sobs threatened to break out. "I was afraid if I saw you I'd fall apart after Shepard was gone. I couldn't let myself fall apart because I made you a promise that I'd protect her when she couldn't protect herself. I couldn't face you before I could fulfill that promise."

Watching her mother and her lover sharing their grief for her death, Shepard felt for the first time since her reawakening that she could let the past go. She enveloped both and they in turn opened their arms and took her in.

Hannah let the last of her grief for her daughter's death wash away and told herself that perhaps it was indeed safe to let her aching heart hope once again. She finally broke off the group hug and wiped the tears off her face. "Now, when can I expect some blue grandbabies?"

Shepard burst out in laughter. "Is that all you ever think about?" She glanced at Liara whose face had turned a shade deeper.

Hannah ignored both kids' embarrassed expressions. "I'm not getting any younger. If you want free babysitting services better do it when the grandma is still able to chase after the little ones. I think I have the capacity to take three." She looked at Liara straight on, brokering no doubt of her intentions. Liara wiped her own tears and smiled while darting her eyes between the two Shepards.

"I think we will want to get bonded first before thinking about children." Liara said politely.

Hannah huffed. "I've been in the military all my life and we military people know the meaning of seizing the moment when you're consistently facing danger. But you young people do what you need to do, just don't ignore a grandma's rights to dream of holding her grandbabies."

Shepard swallowed a few times and tried to say something intelligent but found she couldn't. Now that Liara had indirectly proposed to her and Hannah had bluntly embarrassed her, the soldier suddenly found something interesting on her armor and rubbed the dirty armguard clean.

Shepard walked into the Port Observation Lounge on the Normandy and saw that the room was empty. The thief's ability to stay hidden was indeed more superior to that of any infiltrator she'd ever met. "Come out, Kasumi. I just wanted to say good job back on Aeia. Your flashbang grenades saved many lives. It was good thinking on your part, the people attacked us were sick, they didn't deserve to be killed."

Kasumi uncloaked. "You guessed. This time doesn't count." She walked to the sofa and sat facing the window. "It was fun, Shep. Well, maybe not for Jacob." Shepard shook her head, how could she be so good at what she does when she's still so young? Kasumi held up an Alliance access keycard between two fingers. "You can return this back to them."

Shepard walked to the back of the couch and took the keycard, "You snuck on the Orizaba? How? Why?"

"It was so easy it's not even worth telling you how. As to the why, Jacob went aboard with your old shipmate Ashley Williams. I couldn't just let Jacob walk in there without checking her out, could I?" The thief crossed her arms in front of her.

"You spied on my old friend?"

"Hm… She didn't seem very friendly. For a moment there, I thought she was your enemy the way she held that gun to your face."

"Well, that's a little… complicated."

"Know thy enemy but first know thy friend." Kasumi went to the bookshelf and took out a sword hidden behind the books. She unsheathed the katana and showed the engravings of the quote near the halt. "That's why a little recon can help you know her better. Do you know whose tags she's wearing in addition to her own?"

Shepard looked at the hooded woman and saw her eyes blinking in the shadows. Shepard sat heavily on the couch and murmured. "Kaidan's."

"That's correct." Seeing Shepard casting down her eyes and her face clouded in sadness, Kasumi wanted to put her arm around the soldier and comfort her. But she told herself that soldiers were a different breed, she was an outsider here. She returned to questioning. "Do you know who she talks to the most?"

Shepard looked up again at the face half hidden in the hood. "Her sisters." And watched the thief's lips curled up into a smile.

"Correct again. Who's her best friend?"

Shepard pursed her lips this time. Ashley used to call her old Commander best friend. "Does she have one?"

Kasumi could hear the masked casualness in Shepard's voice. "That's something you and your old mate have in common. You both like asari." She paused and examined Shepard's surprise and then, "Ashley has been talking to an asari named Shiala a lot. Mostly about grieving their lost. They both lost their mentors, it seems. I made a copy of their correspondence. Would you like to read it?"

"No!" Shepard protested immediately. "You don't have the right to snoop on someone's private life."

Kasumi shrugged. "Liara and her team do it everyday. I'm only looking out for you, and for Jacob."

Shepard couldn't deny that Kasumi would make the best infiltrator on the team. "I get it. You gave me a little audition for your ability, I'm half suspecting Liara put you up to this. But what I'm leading the team into is very dangerous. In fact, every time we learn more about the Collectors the more this mission feels like a suicide. Why would you want to be a part of that?"

Kasumi lowered her head and remained silent for a while. And then she looked up. "Your path is set before you so you may walk on it."

Shepard tilted her head. "Is that engraved on another sword?"

Kasumi shook her head, "No, it's written in our ancient scroll. It means you can't fight fate. My fate was decided before we even met. Liara was on that Shadow Broker's decoy ship that nobody was supposed to know about at the precise time when Keiji… Whether we like it or not, our fates are intertwined and none of us can change that."

"But it doesn't mean you have to throw your life away."

Kasumi turned at Shepard's comment sharply. "You think I'm young and I don't understand things. But you're wrong. I watched what you did to save Liara on Zorya and Liara told me what she did to bring you back. Keiji and I were a team and we survived together as a team. Then he had to go off on his own and get himself killed," Kasumi's voice started to tremble but she quickly recovered. "It was a stupid thing to do but he couldn't help himself because he saw his path laid in front of him and he had to walk on it."

"He loved you, Kasumi. He didn't want to put you in danger."

The thief nodded. "We all walk on an unseen path to true love until fate reveals it to us."

Jacob watched the guards in the Orizaba brig lock the door to his father's cell and listened to his father's plea. "I had no choice but lead them, I had to restore order to save lives. Please, I don't belong in a prison. Jacob, son, please tell them."

Jacob's jaw twitched. "My father was a good man, knew right from wrong. What you did down on Aeia was wrong. Your crew trusted you and you betrayed them. I came to look for my father, I wish I had found him." He turned and took quick strides towards the brig exit. He stopped when he heard the brig gate shut behind him and let out a long held breath.

Ashley Williams watched the unusual family reunion and she had to admit to herself that this Cerberus man wasn't without honor. She saw him closing his eyes and the twitches on his jaw continued. Ashley stood next to him. "You okay?"

Jacob turned to the soldier and then lowered his gaze. "Yeah, not exactly what I'd expected. But a cushy prison with three squares a day doesn't seem justice for those lives lost and ruined. I suppose it takes higher power to judge him right."

"You mean God?" Ashley asked.

Jacob nodded. "God works in mysterious ways. Maybe his conscience will get to him one day and make him realize what he's done."

"If I didn't know better, I could've mistaken you as one of us." Ashley observed.

Jacob's face relaxed and his eyes softened. "Actually I was one of you. I was a part of a project called Corsairs, an initiative your grandfather General Williams envisioned." Seeing Ashley's shocked expression, Jacob added. "He did a lot of good things and it's a shame a great man will be forever remembered for what he did in Shanxi and his other accomplishments forgotten. My buddies in our old unit still think highly of him. He had a vision and he was a man ahead of his time. What was it like to have a grandfather like him?"

"He was kind, and he always smelled sweet from his pipe. And he was one hell of an act to follow… in more than one way."

"Sounds like my dad. Oh shit, scratch that."

"Hey, being in war and being stranded for years can turn any man into something he never should have been."

"Yeah, thanks for that Ashley. Hey, you're not so bad for someone who tried to punch Shepard's clock. Nice left hook there on Horizon." He cocked his head to the side and gave her a crooked smile. "And now Shepard's kinda stranded," he added. "But she's holding it together way better than my old man."

Ashley cleared her throat and examined the rivets in the floor. Fuck. "Hey Jacob, I've got some Dewars in my cabin, want to unwind and chat about old times in the Alliance?"

"A glass of scotch and a beautiful brunette, how can I say no, LT?"

Jacob looped his way to the light switch. It was definitely too bright in Ashley's cabin, at least if a little bootie with the cutie was in order. Ashley rolled over on her bunk where they'd been necking, so she could watch him. The bottle of Dewars hit the floor and rolled with a hollow clunk-chink. They'd downed a liter in two hours and it was a testament to the LT's liver and her less than clean-Marine behavior these past months that she managed to stand without swaying. Jacob however, was a lightweight: she wasn't sure if he was heading to the light switch or trying to imitate the queen of England waving to the masses.

"Hey, I'd like to see your body, Jacob. Leave the lights on." She walked over to him and ripped the undershirt off his well made shoulders.

Ashley ran her palm across his nipple, and then gave it a tweak. He yipped in a way that reminded her of her youngest sister's dog and Ashley shook her head briefly, clearing the image. But then a vision of Jacob on all fours came to her, and that was decidedly more appealing. She pushed him back and said, "Marine, give me 20!"

Jacob looked particularly bewildered for a second and then his face shone. Oh man, when she sees my delts and pecs pumping, the candy drawer will be all mine! He threw himself to the floor and started doing pushups. The liquor had him heated, as did the tightly wound lady Marine, and sweat glistened on his back and arms.

Ashley ran her tongue across her lips several times as her eyes narrowed. Now, that is the best thing I've seen in months. Without thinking, she grabbed Jacob's belt from the chair back and jumped on his back. "20 more with me riding you, Marine," she cried as she slapped his butt and rode her new pony hard.

"No problem, Ashley, when are you going to give me something I can't handle?"

"Oh, any time now… and don't slow down!" She spanked him again and waited for him to collapse. 100 push-ups later and the man wasn't going to throw in the towel. Ashley was starting to feel mighty seasick. "OK, Marine: at attention now!" She jumped off his back and waited for him to stand in front of her. He stared at her 20-20's, clad only in an Alliance issue bra. Apparently, some of his southerly parts were also at attention. She looked down at his standard issue Alliance tightie-whities and he followed her gaze with a leer. Then he swayed drunkenly and she braced his shoulders. He leaned in and kissed her, tongue not waiting for her lips to part. His hands warm on her bare shoulders, his touch unexpectedly gentle. She closed her eyes and… saw Shiala. Holy crap! That's what she got for seeing Shepard again: the Blue Disease. Now if only she could become a Spectre like Shepard, then she might be able to live with the thought. Ashley pushed Jacob away and snarled, "on the bed now Marine, and hold attention."

Jacob looked down with a grin and said "not a problem, ma'am!" The candy drawer was definitely unlocked! He threw himself on her cot, and laid spread eagle, facing her eagerly.

The LT grabbed his wrists and fastened them with the belt.

"Ooh, kinky ma'am, very kinky." His head momentarily rolled to the side and his eyes rolled up. Being horizontal and very drunk was a dangerous thing. Very dangerous…

Ashley went to the head to wash up and when she returned Jacob was sawing one hell of a huge log. The man was out like a light and his tightie-whities were at ease. Just as well, what the hell was I going to do with him next anyhow? Ashley put on her tank top and eyed the vidcomm.

Shiala's image appeared on the vidcomm. "Ashley, are you alright?"

Ashley looked up across the door into sleeping quarters where Jacob had fallen sound asleep with his hands still tied together. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I know it's late to call…"

"It's mid-day here actually." Shiala was in a long gown, hanging loose from her shoulders, exposing her neck and arms. She waited for the human to start the conversation.

Ashley returned her gaze back to Shiala. "I saw her today. I saw Shepard." She paused and then, "I asked her if she was still the same person, she said she wasn't."

Shiala sat down on the floor in a brightly lit room that barely had any furniture. She thought for a moment and started. "Ashley, Shepard couldn't have gone through death and rebirth without changing. Can you say you're the same person now as you were on the SR-1?"

"But at least I'm wearing the same uniform."

Shiala said quietly. "And standing by while your own people are being kidnapped and killed. What does the right uniform mean when you can't protect the people you swore to protect?"

Ashley knew she couldn't argue that point. "But I can't just quit the Alliance and join a terrorist group."

"No, but you can do your part to help Shepard." Shiala sucked in a sharp breath.

Ashley sat straighter. "What's wrong?"

Shiala resisted urge to hold her head that was in pain. "Nothing. I'm in one of the retreats to recover from an episode. I'll be fine in a few of days."

Ashley pressed. "What kind of episode? From the Thorian indoctrination or Saren's torture?" Ashley was the only person who ever saw the suffering Shiala went through after the Thorian indoctrination and how Saren "conditioned" her for the purpose of acquiring the cipher by using pain-inducing torture.

"Both." Shiala put her hand on the floor and braced her body that threatened to break out in tremors from the pain that started in her head and was quickly spreading through her nervous system. She suppressed the cries of pain but couldn't prevent the grunts that escaped with her uneven breaths. Ashley moved closer to the vidcomm unit. "Shit, Shiala! You need someone there to take care of you. I'm calling your sisters."

"No," Shiala hurried weakly with an objection. She closed her eyes and took several breaths to calm her body. "Both of my sisters are in an intense training course in order to join an important mission. I don't want to distract them."

Watching Shiala move to a corner of the room and jam her body into the corner, Ashley thought for an instant she was back on the Normandy SR-1 when they'd just picked up this asari from Feros. She saw how terrified the asari was when she offered her a shot of sedatives and how the pain of Saren's torture had left the asari trembling and begging for the goddess to stop the torment. For an instant, Ashley felt she was holding the asari's shaky shoulders and letting her voice calm the pain that racked the asari's body. She stood up, "Then I'm going to take a few days leave and come to you and make sure you get through this okay."

Shiala didn't offer any objection. After a few more deep breaths, she said in a quiet voice. "I think I'd like that. I mean, I don't want other people to learn about my… condition. They might rotate me out of my current duty roster, or worse."

Ashley nodded. "They might suspect you of still being indoctrinated." Seeing the asari's head bent, the human realized how much weight her friend had shed in the last few months. She must not have been eating enough or getting enough sleep. "You stay put, don't take any missions. I'll be there as soon as I can." Ashley hit the call end button without waiting for the asari's reply and walked hurriedly to her captain's cabin, forgetting the man who was still sleeping in her bunk.

In the XO's office on the Normandy, Miranda put down her wine glass and sat down in front of her terminal. She scrolled through the lines in her anti-tracer program and executed a command that started a string of eraser programs following the path of her original message. This was a little trick she learned when she worked as Jacob's informant. When all traces in the network were cleared, Miranda gave a last look at the message before she deleted the original.

To Captain Hannah Shepard,

Your daughter is on route to Aeia. See attached file for coordinates and arrival time.

A/N: The part of Ashley tying up and riding Jacob was the handiwork of Renegadebabe. If you're a fan of her writing, please help me persuade her to make more guest appearances in this story.