Second Life
Chapter Forty-Nine – Thessia Interlude Part Two
I.
After receiving Commander Shepard and checking on her team members that still remained on the Blue Sabre, Onyx left the ship through the airlock and searched for the docking bay where Aleena's shuttle was scheduled to pick her up. Aleena's sizable fleet had docked with a retrofit station in the Thessian orbit to install equipment according to asari military specs and get a new coat of paint in asari military colors. Matriarch Jamaya had ordered some ships to have new names painted as well - somehow "Black Eyed Varren" and "My Concubine's Revenge" were more suited for corsairs than in the asari military fleet whose flagship's name was Destiny Ascension.
Onyx raised Aleena on her comm. "I'm heading to the docks. What are you doing?"
Aleena's cheery voice came on. "The shuttle is having trouble finding a dock that's still open. It seems the dockworkers are taking off early to attend the Janiri holy day celebrations. I've put my request in the long queue for the docks that are still open. I'm setting up a banquet and a party here on the station for my people. We have a lot of non-asari crewmembers that don't celebrate the Janiri. So Klang and I decided to have a pre-suicide mission feast and party so that everyone can have a good time. Why don't you grab a shuttle and join us for the feast?"
Onyx stopped her quick pace, "Does this mean you can't go dancing with me later?"
Aleena laughed. "I've been waiting for you to ask! I just need to make a few toasts at the banquet and then Klang can take over. I'll slip out and go dancing with you. Just name the place."
Onyx paused for a moment. "I always chaperoned Misha to the Blue Angels when she didn't have a dance partner on the Janiri holy day."
Aleena waited but Onyx didn't say more. "So you want to go there and see if you can run into her?"
Onyx sighed. "I just wanted to see if she needs credits or anything and see if she's been taking care of herself. We don't really have to talk about anything, you know?"
"She hasn't responded to any of your messages?"
Onyx shook her head and Aleena took the silence as the answer. "How about this? I'll meet you at the Blue Angels and after you talk to Misha, we'll come back to my ship. We can spend a quiet night in my captain's quarters. What do you say?"
Onyx smiled. "I'd like that."
II.
Misha walked towards Docking Bay 29 and wished her father were here with her. She had received a message from a distant grandaunt, Matriarch Michala, who'd only just discovered she had a grandniece, as Misha's mother didn't inform the family of her daughter before her death. The Matriarch wanted to meet her grandniece before leaving Thessia and her small freighter was docked at Bay 29.
After she last saw her father, Misha had gone through a period of depression, the same feeling that she had after she received the news about her mother's death. But back then, she had found her father who took care of her and nurtured her back to happiness. After her father told her the truth about Halica, she sunk into that mode again, withdrawn from her training and her friends, until the ship's counselor pointed out that her father was still alive and still cared about her. Misha repeated the counselor's advice in her mind, "the only way to heal is to talk to your father", when she almost hit that comm button to call her father several times, but she chickened out each time. She didn't know what to say to her father. Her father asked her to forgive but Misha didn't know what it meant to forgive somebody. She never had anyone close to her that she had to forgive.
The docking bay was huge and empty save for an asari matron and a tall turian in blue armor waiting for her at the door. They led her to a suite on the top floor that visitors could rent during their docking period. This was a freighter docking bay with a giant warehouse attached and visitor's suites for doing business transactions.
Inside the sitting room of the suite, the matron led her to Matriarch Michala while the turian in blue armor disappeared through another door. "My dear filia! It's good to meet you!" The Matriarch stood up from the sofa and reached for Misha's hands. She took her grandniece to sit in a seat across the tea table before settling back in the sofa. The matron stood behind her.
"I'm Misha, Matriarch. Not Filia." The young commando said nervously.
The Matriarch laughed. "I know, my dear. Filia is a very old term, it means 'child' in our ancient tongue." She waved her fingers and the matron bent over and served them tea. The Matriarch examined Misha's face carefully. "I can see my dear dead sister's face in you. It's astonishing how much our daughters look like our mothers."
Under the Matriarch's intense stare, Misha lowered her eyes. "My mother told me she was an orphan. I don't understand why she didn't tell me about her family that still lives."
Matriarch Michala let out a long sigh. "The answer to that eludes me as well, my deal filia. But I'm glad I found out about you." She waved her fingers again and the matron produced a datapad from somewhere within her dress and handed it to Misha. The Matriarch continued, "Our story begins in Lusia. I can no longer recall the size of the convoy that landed on that planet for the first time, as my mother told me the story of that voyage when I was very young. But since then we've set foot on many of the frontier planets, working hard and transforming a virgin rock into industries and civilizations."
Misha scrolled through the texts, images and short vids on the datapad, her eyes wide at the scale of this empire. When she finished reading, she looked up at the Matriarch in awe. "This is incredible!"
The Matriarch's eyes brightened. "I'd like to invite you to join me and my family in our continued adventure. Come with me, I'll show you a galaxy you've never seen before."
Misha's awe faded and she put the datapad on the table. "Why would you want me? I don't have any training in business. I'm to be a commando. My goal is to earn a seat on the Destiny Ascension."
Matriarch Michala's eyes turned sharp. "I hope the data on that pad was clear that we share a proud celestial heritage that binds our families together in exploring new worlds. It'd be a disgrace to see your lineage become destitute. I cannot allow that. You're a part of my family. I'll provide you with material and familial refuge and you must accept it, as it's your birthright as well as your duty to carry on the bloodline. I hope you understand that the bound of blood is sacred."
"But what about my father?" Misha asked cautiously.
"You may have some of her character traits, but you do not carry her blood. It's your mother's blood that flows in your veins, the blood of our shared ancestry. You'll not end that bloodline by throwing away your life foolishly like your mother did."
"But my father said it's important to fight the Collectors and to prepare to fight the Reapers."
"And did your father's gallantry prove to be the salvation for your mother?" Her faint smile made Misha want to shiver. "I have my sources in the Matriarchy, my dear filia. How do you think I found you? I know what happened in Halica and what your father did… or rather what she didn't do."
Misha felt her face burning as her heart raced. "It wasn't my father's fault! She was ordered not to take action!"
"That may be so, but the truth of the matter remains. Because of her inaction, your mother is dead." Michala reached a hand over and patted Misha's hand lightly. "Let's not argue what happened in the past. I'm offering you a future that's as bright as a dashing comet, and I'm offering you a family, a family you rightfully belong with."
Misha looked up from the Matriarch's hand that covered her own. "Do I have to make a decision in such a hurry?"
The Matriarch let her hand go. "I've only made it to Thessia once in the last three centuries. We live a nomadic life, if you don't come with me when I leave Thessia, goddess knows where I'll be or if it'd be convenient for you to join me again."
Misha looked down again. "I should at least talk to my father, but I haven't spoken to her in a while. I…"
The Matriarch offered. "Then let me talk to her. I shall meet her here and give her the news. I promise I'll be very gentle. And you two can talk afterwards if you both wish it."
As soon as the turian escorted Misha out of the sitting room, Matriarch Michala whispered to the matron. "I know we've only had three days to prepare for this, but let's make the most of it. Take her to the dressing room and lay out all the clothes and jewelry I've bought on Thessia, and have her try them on. I want her out of that commando uniform. Give her more datapads to study her ancestry while we wait for her father to get here. Bring me her omni-tool and don't let her out of the dressing room until I've met with her father."
III.
Her omni-tool beeped and it showed the call was coming from Misha. Onyx answered immediately. "Misha, it's good to hear from you!"
Another voice answered her. "This is Matriarch Michala, Misha's grandaunt. May I request your presence this afternoon at Docking Bay 29?"
Onyx asked. "Is she in trouble?"
The Matriarch answered. "On the contrary. I'm offering her the opportunity of a lifetime."
Matriarch Michala sat on the same sofa in the sitting room when the matron led Onyx in but she didn't stand up to greet the commando. Onyx first bowed slightly and then looked at the Matriarch whose face invited immediate attention but not affection. Her eyes were small but sharp and her lips bowed with age but were not unshapely. Onyx had to take long breaths to regain her calm after racing over here to see her daughter. "Where's Misha?"
"She's trying on some of the new clothes I bought for her. You'll see her soon. I promise." The Matriarch showed Onyx the same datapad she'd shown Misha and then explained her intention to take Misha with her when she departed from Thessia this afternoon.
Onyx's heart sunk. "You spoke to her without talking to me first?" Her voice came out louder than she had intended.
The sound of porcelain hitting the glass table startled everyone when Michala dropped her teacup. The Matriarch's eyes twitched and she quickly waved a hand, and the asari matron standing behind her took out a vile immediately from a pouch she carried on her belt. She put it on a plate and bent over to the Matriarch on the sofa and waited for her to drink the contents of the vile and put it back on the plate, and then she swapped out the broken teacup with another one from the set and poured more tea. After the tasks were done, the matron back stepped to stand in her previous position a few paces behind her mistress once again.
The Matriarch waited for a few more moments and then she looked up at Onyx, her eyes had stopped twitching. "I'm unfortunately inflicted with a disease that makes me barren. I've longed to have my own children, alas, goddess had her own will." Seeing the concern in Onyx's eyes, the Matriarch sighed. "I'm only seeking to protect Misha. Asari commando is a dangerous life, you must admit, and Misha is the last of her bloodline."
Onyx protested albeit a little weakly. "But her dream is to serve on the Destiny Ascension and I've made it my goal to help her realize that dream."
"My dear filia, when you get to my age you'll see many goals you've set for yourself unfulfilled. It's a part of life. However, you must make the ones you do fulfill count. You brought up Misha, gave her shelter, food, guidance and… love." She looked at Onyx with her sharp beady eyes. "Oh, I could see from your daughter's eyes when she spoke of you. She has deep affection for you as any loving daughter does. I'm offering her an opportunity of a lifetime. Would you deny her that?"
Onyx swallowed as Michala described Misha to her. Her daughter hadn't talked to her since she spoke the truth about Halica, about how she stayed her hand while her child's mother was beaten and captured and how she turned her back on the dead woman when she needed a decent burial in order to preserve a less dramatic memory, a memory she'd never found the courage to share with her daughter. The commando tightened her jaw to suppress the emotions that threatened to betray her and asked in a masked even tone. "But why must she leave her current life and live with you?"
"My dear filia, I'm of the asari old guards who believed that family is our strongest tribe and ally. People nowadays rarely care to preserve their lineage. Matrons have fewer babies because they want to have careers or simply avoid the burden. I am overjoyed to learn about Misha. Her mother came from one of the three major bloodlines in our family, we share the same ancestor, a progenitor who saw the flourish of her daughters, granddaughters and great granddaughters. As a traditionalist, I must take Misha into our fold. I hope you'd understand."
Onyx forced herself to speak calmly again. "What will you have her do instead?"
Michala picked up her newly refilled tea. "I'm not one of the five moguls in the asari space, but I have a sizable industry. I'm sure I can find a suitable position for Misha." She leaned into the table and looked Onyx in the eye. "I will protect her with all the resources under my disposal."
The promise sounded like a threat, but the commando told herself that her ears wanted her to hear dastardly intentions in the Matriarch's words because she meant to take Misha away from her. She reminded herself that Misha had the right to choose what she wanted in life, no father or matriarch of the family should dictate what her life should be. Onyx once again put down her teacup, "If that's all, I'm not certain what you'll need from me. Misha's an adult and she's the one who should decide."
Michala smiled and waved her fingers at the matron standing behind her. "My niece has prepared a document for you to sign. It's a standard procedure based on our ancient law that states father of the child wouldn't be able to claim her estate after she'd passed the maiden age. I hope you understand that by taking Misha into the family, we're placing considerable amount of wealth and responsibility on her. Such a document frees you and her from any legal entanglements."
Onyx thought for a moment and then stood up. "Thank you for the tea, Matriarch. I'll do what's best for Misha."
The Matriarch stood with her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm grateful, my dear filia. My niece will take care of the rest for me. May the goddess' grace shine upon you."
The matron who stood behind the Matriarch extended a hand at the door. "This way please."
Onyx followed the matron into the lobby of the large hospitality suite and waited for the matron to retrieve the legal document from a suitcase.
The matron came back with a datapad and she look around making sure they were alone before she whispered. "Don't let your daughter set foot on that freighter, or you may never see her again."
"What?" Onyx's eyes went wide. "Aren't you related to and working for the Matriarch?"
"Yes, she acquired me the same way she's trying to acquire your daughter." The matron once again searched the room as though she was expecting someone spying on them.
"What do you mean by acquired?"
"I mean indentured servitude."
"How?"
"The document you're signing isn't for detaching her estate from yours. It's a permission form to imprison your daughter in case she wanted to defect or flee. You'd be signing over the care of an 'insane person' to the Matriarch and she'd force your daughter to work for her for the rest of her life."
"That's illegal." Onyx's ears started to ring. No, my daughter will not be a slave!
"On Thessia, yes, but not on Illium and certainly not in the frontiers. She stashed me in the mines of Terapso and told my family that I was kidnapped on that lawless planet. My family signed a contract that forfeited my freedom under the false promise that the Matriarch would get me back from the kidnappers alive."
Shock-struck, Onyx didn't know what to say. Finally she managed, "And why would she do this to her own people?"
The matron touched the pouch on her belt unconsciously. "She's ill, in her head. She can't have children so she made it her life's work to take away others'. This isn't nepotism she practices; it's a form of slavery. She uses the bloodline to control her own blood and their wealth. That's how she made her fortune. Half of her workforce is made of slaves bought from the batarians in the frontier towns, and of people who had no choice but to sign over their lives in contracts. Nothing can sate her greedy will and the more she gets the hungrier she becomes. She acquired many cousins before me. I suspect she was the reason that Misha's mother never told the family about her child. Now the Matriarch wants Misha."
Onyx took a deep breath, "Thank you for telling me the truth. I must get Misha out of here!"
The matron said hurriedly. "No, if you go back in there, she'd know something's wrong and neither of you will get out. She's got a team of mercs with her. You'd better wait for your daughter at the exit of the dock, I'll find the opportunity to help her escape."
"No! I'm not leaving here without her!"
The matron begged. "You don't have a choice! I promise you, I won't let that witch get her hands on Misha."
The matron watched Onyx taking off with the greatest reluctance and waited to give her time to get out but didn't dare to linger too long as she knew the punishment if the Matriarch suspected her and the wrath of her mistress wasn't something anyone would want to weather. She told the Matriarch that the commando had changed her mind and asked for more time to think it over. The Matriarch pressed a button on her omni-tool. "She opted to do it the hard way." The door to the study opened and the turian in blue armor walked in. Michala instructed. "Make sure you have someone escort the youngster to the freighter when we leave."
The merc bowed. "What should we do with the father?"
"I don't give an ounce of eezo what happens to her. You can send her to netherworld for all I care. Wait, better yet, leave her at the warehouse and let her suffer as my niece had suffered when she learned that her daughter has vanished the same way as the mother." The last words were spoken with splatter of her spit and the matron moved forward, carrying her medicine vile on a plate, which the Matriarch quickly took before her body went into a mess of fits. She turned to the matron. "Get everything ready, we have a long and dark journey ahead us. We'll leave as soon as the port authorities clear our ship."
IV.
In her hasty retreat to the elevator, she was stalked by two turians in blue armor. Onyx turned and backed up towards the warehouse that was her only option for a desperate fight, as she knew more trouble would await her at the bottom floor by the elevator. She backed up, step by step, matching the advancing turians' pace and when they were within the walls of the warehouse, Onyx readied her biotics but suddenly she felt something hit her head, something very hard, and her world swirled into blackness.
She vaguely felt her toes in her light combat boots dragging on the floor, and behind the fog in her mind, she felt strong forces hitting her body, but the pain was dull and distant, and then she heard the door snapping shut. She had just enough time to connect with Aleena's comm and left the line open for easy tracking of her location before everything went dark. She woke up in a small room, where dim ambient light emanated from the floor where her face was resting. She tried to move her arms but they felt heavy. She grunted and tightened what muscles she could feel to try to push herself up. The pounding in her head made her forget the pain from her bruised shoulder and ribs, she growled loudly and held her head with one hand and her body up with another.
In the neighboring docking bay, Klang made his signature pirate maneuver and swooped into the port when a ship left before the next one docked, and dropped off Aleena before taking off. Aleena followed Onyx's signal to Docking Bay 29 and when she saw the drag marks on the loading dock floor, she knew she'd found the right place. She hacked the door and waited for it to hiss open.
"Goddess!" She rushed over to Onyx who was working to sit up and slid an arm under the commando's arm and supported her. "Where are you hurt?" In the dim lighting, Aleena could see the blood smearing Onyx's head and dripping on the floor, and she reached to check her head wound.
Onyx captured her hand. "No time for that. I have to get to Misha and stop her from joining the Matriarch." She clung to Aleena's arm. "Help me up!"
Aleena grunted as she heaved Onyx off the floor and carried most of her weight as the commando's legs betrayed her. "You have a head wound. We must take you to a doctor."
Onyx's breathing was rapid and the pounding in her head overshadowed the pain spreading from her ribs to her chest. "No! If she can hide other slaves in her factories and mines, she'll hide Misha from me and I might not ever see her again. I can't let my daughter live with someone who enslaves people, especially after what happened to Misha's mother. I didn't prevent her mother's capture, I'll not let my daughter down!"
Aleena knew she didn't have time to ask who this Matriarch was or what she wanted with Misha. The only thing she could do was help Onyx get to the departure hall and get to Misha before the Matriarch's ship left. The long walk from the warehouse to the departure gate had drained their energy. They were both sweating and panting. But the moment Onyx saw the freighter was getting ready to undock, she dropped on the floor and pushed Aleena towards the control room. "Go, stop them! Hurry!"
Aleena let Onyx go and pushed her tired legs into a run. But half way through the dash, she heard the docking clamps release loudly even through the plasiglass window, and saw the small freighter's engine throttled brightly and the ship took off. Aleena stopped her run and heard a loud wail behind her.
"No!" Onyx watched the freighter bank away from the port's birth and within a blink it disappeared from the view. She pushed both hands on the floor trying to get up but her legs wouldn't heed to her will and when she felt a pair of hands gripping her she looked up, tears filled her eyes. She struggled to get up with the helping hands and stumbled to the railing in front of the window. She held onto the railing with one hand and gripped Aleena's shoulder with another, staring at the empty spaceport. "Lee, I've failed her! I've failed her again." Her body bent down, laboring over exhausted breaths at first and then she retched.
Aleena held Onyx by her waist, careful not to touch her upper body as she didn't know where the commando was injured and how badly. When she saw Onyx throw up and then her body started small convulsions, she cursed. "Fuck! You must have a concussion. We have to get you to a hospital." She watched Onyx's eyes turning up and her hands turning icy, Aleena looked up at the control room, hoping to get the clerk there to call for an ambulance. The control room was empty. The clerk must've left the minute she was done with her work. It was the Janiri holy day after all, and the giant spaceport was completely deserted. Aleena eyed the elevator but before she put the commando down to launch her omni-tool, she saw a figure exiting the elevator and jogging towards them.
"Misha!" Aleena shouted, "I need your help! Your father needs your help!"
Misha called for an ambulance and helped Aleena carry Onyx to the taxi port to wait for its arrival. Aleena allowed herself a small breather. "We thought you left with the Matriarch. Your father risked her life to come to stop you. What happened?"
Misha looked down at her father's bloodied head and face. "The matron told me everything and showed me a surveillance vid of the mercs beating my father. She helped me escape through the roof and I went around the building to get to the warehouse to find my father and followed you here. There was a blood trail. I was scared to death. I thought they had taken my father with them, and I came to stop them."
The doctor came out of the ER examination room and told the waiting family. "She'll be fine. You got her here just in time. She has some bruised ribs, but nothing too serious. The main concern is her head wound. She has a concussion. We'll keep her overnight and let her go in the morning."
Aleena and Misha let out a joined sigh of relief. Aleena asked the doctor, "How soon can we see her?"
"No," Misha blurted before the doctor had a chance to answer and then she mumbled something about having other plans this evening.
The doctor looked at both Aleena and Misha before answering, "Soon. I'll send someone to inform you once we're done treating her." The doctor gave another glance at the two asari and then took off.
Misha sat down in a chair in the waiting room, her head bent, not looking at Aleena. "I've missed my father, I miss seeing her, hearing her voice, I miss our meals together, chatting about my training, and I miss everything we used to do."
Aleena sat down quietly next to the young commando. "Your father has missed you terribly too and it'd mean the world if you let her see you, even for just a couple of minutes. You don't have to say anything but hi."
Misha looked up at the elder asari. "Yes, I do. She expects me to say something, expects me to ask questions I don't know how to ask."
Aleena reached an arm around Misha's shoulder and held her lightly. She said in a low voice. "She hopes for your forgiveness but she's too afraid to ask, or she doesn't think she deserves to ask."
"How can I forgive her when she lied to me about such an important thing? Why did she keep a secret from me? Why couldn't she ever tell me who buried my mother?" Misha's voice rose with each question but she swallowed the last one, what other important secrets about my mother is my father keeping from me?
Aleena saw anger in Misha's eyes and realized this was not a conversation she should have without the kid's father's presence. So she only squeezed the kid's shoulder lightly and nodded her understanding.
Misha took out a worn sudary and put it in Aleena's hand. "I wasn't even going to go to the Blue Angels tonight because it'd remind me of all the Janiri dances that my father had accompanied me to, but I did want to give this to her. It was my mother's and it came to me with her possessions the military sent after her MIA. Could you please give this to my father?" Aleena looked at the small fabric and then looked up at the young commando who added, "I just need more time." When the youngster looked up, she had tears in her eyes. She stood up and turned quickly towards the elevator. "Tell her I'm completing my fleet training no matter what."
V.
Shepard snuck quietly to Liara who sat by a table in the empty mess hall on the Blue Sabre, datapads piled in front of her. Shepard bent down and kissed Liara's neck. "I'm Thisbe, here to whisper words of love. Pretend I'm not here to get in the way of your work."
Liara grabbed Shepard by her head and brought it to her lips. "You were sound asleep in the med bay. I didn't want to interrupt your sleep."
Shepard took Liara's hands and held them. "It's good to see you're not in that horrible contraption and you can use your hands normally."
Liara smiled. "Doctor Evy told me what a shock it was for you to see me in that clavicle brace. I'm sorry that you had to see me in such an ugly thing."
Liara's smile did its magic and Shepard's breath caught. "I'm on a planet full of stunning looking people, yet your beauty eclipses them all."
Liara's face flushed. "I'm by far the more modest looking maiden among my people. I just don't see how you think I'm that beautiful."
Shepard brushed her finger lightly on Liara's jawline. "You would if you looked through my eyes." They both giggled and Shepard looked around the empty hall. "This reminds me of the time on the SR-1 when we were alone in the mess, you with your eyes and your attention on the datapads and me with mine on you."
Liara laughed, her voice carried in the echoing hall. "I told you how I got my ship from the salarian. He made deals with the Shadow Broker, the Collectors, Cerberus and many more, and then he proceeded to cheat everyone. But what I didn't realize is that he was obsessed with codes and was a very skilled hacker. He stored countless codes in the databank on the Benezia, some he acquired through his dubious deals and others he hacked into high-level security networks to obtained. Nightshade, Kasumi and Seryna are helping me comb through these just to make heads and tails of them, and what we discovered was astonishing. He had taken the Benezia through the Omega 4 Relay before and he used a certain code to get safely there and back. He either hacked into the Collector's ship while making deals with them to get the code or they traded it with him. It's likely the former."
Shepard listened carefully. "You mean like a password."
"In a sense, yes. If we can extract it from this very sizable databank and install it on every ship that'll come with us, it'll at least ensure a safe passage through the relay in case it has a self-defense system." Liara looked at the tall stack of datapads. "But the task is daunting. There's too much data to go through, so we're working day and night. It'd be faster if we could get EDI to help us, but I'm wary of uploading such data onto a Cerberus ship."
Shepard nodded. "I agree with you. We need to be cautious with what we share with them. It still keeps me up at night that the crew knows you're the Shadow Broker."
"Don't worry. I can defend myself." Liara looked around the empty hall. "Everyone is out dancing."
"Everyone but you."
Liara shrugged. "When I was little, I loved the Janiri day celebrations, the bright dresses and more kinds of sweets that I was allowed to eat at once. But when I got older, I preferred to spend the Janiri holy day alone while mother attended those events."
"You sound sad."
"I used to hate going to functions and parties for politicians and diplomats with mother. But now, I wish I had spent more time with her." Shepard's hands went to Liara's shoulder and drew her lover to her chest. Liara wrapped her arms around Shepard's waist. "I miss her so much, Shepard. I know it sounds silly, but the way her eyes squinting when she was deep in thought was the same way when she was about to impart some important lesson to me. I missed the way she squinted her eyes."
"I'm sorry, Liara."
"One year when mother was called to oversee a diplomatic mission off world during the Janiri holy day holidays, she took only me, Shiala and a small contingent on the trip. The way they celebrated Janiri holy day on that planet was a little different than on Thessia. Each clan brought their most treasured wine and shared it with mother, or rather Shiala, mother's official emissary of the celebration who would take on the task of drinking all offered wines. I've never seen Shiala so drunk!" Liara straightened her body and giggled. "She was supposed to participate in the boat race after the feast, but she lost her oars before the race even began and then she fell into the river. Her teammates had to fish her out of the water. Mother and I took her back to the villa that was our lodging and dried her off and put her to bed so that she could sleep it off. We decided to not rejoin the celebration and spend the time alone, just the two of us. Mother asked me what I wanted to do, I said I wanted to go ion bike racing. She persuaded the racetrack to open on the holiday for us. We raced all afternoon and I was so tired that I fell asleep in my mother's lap on the way back to the villa." Liara's eyes misted. "It was the best Janiri holiday I've ever had."
Liara shifted her injured shoulder and her hand went up to cover it. Shepard unfastened the buckles on Liara's shirt and examined the blue and white strap that covered both of Liara's shoulders. "Is it hurting?" Liara shook her head. Shepard sighed. "The only consolation that came from this is that you won't be able to join our ground mission when we go through the Omega 4 Relay."
Liara's eyes suddenly turned sharp. "I won't accept that! Haven't I earned my place beside you? I've chased your body down when everyone in the galaxy had given up, I've survived a private war against the Shadow Broker and took his place, I've helped you amass a fleet of ships and build a squad with the best of the best this galaxy has to offer. You look me in the eye, Shepard, can you say that I haven't earned my place next to you?"
Shepard swallowed and her hand went up to Liara's face and cupped it. "You've more than earned a place next to me, you've earned a place in the center of my heart. In fact, when I think about the future that we're fighting for, you're the only thing that matters to me. I know there'll be casualties and it's hard enough to think that I'm getting anyone killed. There'll be no future for me if I lost you. Aethyta pledged to stand by me and to fight at my side because she said she'd give her life for you and for your happiness. I couldn't have said it better."
"But Shepard!" Liara's voice rang in the hall and before she continued, the mess hall door slid open and an asari in a colorful traditional dress came in with a kid in tow. The kid scanned the room and when she saw Shepard, she ran to the human. The asari behind her called out, "Slow down!"
Shepard turned and saw the child approaching and she was grateful for the interruption. "Nebi! It's good to see again!"
The kid stopped her dash a few steps in front of Shepard and Liara and she only smiled at Shepard while waiting for the asari behind her to catch up. "I'm terribly sorry for the intrusion, Commander Shepard. Nebi said she must give you this." The asari held out a blue sudary. "She said you gave her a Janiri gift, I didn't believe her. She's crazy about you, I thought she made it up in her mind."
"It wasn't just a gift," Shepard smiled and winked at Nebi, "It was also our training tool."
Nebi finally spoke. "I've been practicing."
Shepard got down from the chair and knelt in front of Nebi on one knee. "Would you like to show us?"
Nebi nodded and took out the yellow and purple sudary that Shepard had given her earlier. She raised her arms and twirled her body like a ballerina and when she stopped twirling, the sudary was gone from her hand. Everyone's eyes widened with surprise, but only Shepard gasped. "Where did it go?"
Nebi reached her hands over Shepard's shoulders and took out the sudary from her sleeve and ran the fabric over the human's shoulder. "It was on your shoulder this whole time!"
Shepard clapped her hands loudly and both Liara and Nebi's mother joined in. "Bravo!" Shepard shouted with delight.
The asari took Nebi's hand. "Now that you've exchanged gifts with your hero, we should leave." She looked at Shepard and Liara, "I'm very sorry for the intrusion again on this holy day."
Kneeling still, Shepard's eyes shone brightly at the child. "It's not a problem. Nebi and I are friends already."
The kid pulled her hand out of her mother's and ran to Shepard and wrapped her arms around Shepard's neck and hugged her tightly, and then she ran back to the asari and they both disappeared quickly through the door.
Liara observed the warmth on Shepard's face and couldn't help but smile herself. "She likes you and you adore her."
Shepard turned to Liara, "Maybe my mother is onto something. I couldn't help but think what our kid would be like. She'd have your beauty and intelligence."
Liara blushed but she couldn't say if it was from the compliment or the fact that they were talking about their future kid. "She'd have your heart and bravery."
Shepard laughed and sat back into the chair. "I'd like her to have your sweet tooth so that I can always buy her chocolates and sweets, and your stubbornness so that I can have two people to argue with."
Liara matched with her own laughter. "But not inherit your driving skills or I'd worry sick about her, and your sense of direction, at least not without a friend like Tali to tell her where to turn."
They laughed together and Shepard proposed. "Hey, what do you say we go to my cabin and continue our design of a daughter and practice the act of making one?"
Liara looked deeply into the human's eyes and replied in a throaty voice. "I'd like that. I'd like that very much."
Shepard smiled and started to help Liara collect the datapads when her comm beeped. Garrus' voice came on. "Shepard, my father just called. Remember that small cadre of turian fighters that the Turian Hierarchy planned to send to the disabled Collector ship? Well, they jumped gun and went ahead without us."
"What?" Shepard knitted her brows. "I thought we were going to have a coordinated operation."
Garrus replied. "They should've followed our plan because something went wrong. They sent out a distress signal and the Hierarchy has lost contact with them. My father said we'd better get to that ship and check out what happened before they send a fleet to blow it up."
Shepard shook her head. "I'm on my way."
