Chapter 71: Many Happy Returns

Though we may be separated
Still we are tied
Even when lost in darkness, always
This one cord we can find

Tali was fiddling with some circuitry in the drive core when Terra arrived. "No…no, I guess that's right…" She was so deep in it that she didn't notice her friend had entered until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to find warm sapphire eyes gazing at her as if wistfully picturing what she now knew was beneath her helmet. "Terra! Hi. I just got word from the Fl— Sorry. From Rannoch."

Terra smirked. "It's gonna take a while to get used to that, huh?"

Tali nodded. "Yeah. I used to send a lot of tech scraps home, but I guess I should be doing that with agriculture samples now. I don't know anything about raising crops."

Terra shrugged, leaning against the rail. "I could give you a hand with that."

Tali snickered. "Right. I forgot about that."

"Hey, I managed to maintain my own food supply on Palaven, of all places. You can count on me."

"I don't doubt it. You've certainly proven impressive everywhere else. Except dancing."

"Hardy-har. So what's going on back on Rannoch?"

"It's crazy. The geth are actually helping. They're doing in days what would've taken us years. Some are even uploading into the suits of quarian volunteers, simulating infections to jumpstart our immune systems!"

Terra looked at her in amazement. "That's incredible! You mean you won't even need the suits anymore?!"

"It's strange to think of, but yes. In a few years, with geth improvements, we won't need them. We might still wear them, the suits have become part of our society, but a rupture won't be a death sentence anymore. Right now, there are quarian children that will grow up healthy and strong under the home-world's skies. And it's all thanks to the geth. And thanks to you."

Terra was reveling in the knowledge that they might see the day where Tali could breathe freely, feel the world around her in full color, and show her face to her family. When she heard that last sentence, though, she turned to Tali in incredulity. "Tali, I know I was pretty persuasive back there, but you could've done it, too."

"…no. I'd have killed the geth with no regrets. And I would've been wrong."

"Tali, Legion was your friend, too. Some part of you knew that. You didn't have to see what I saw in the consensus to know this was the right answer."

"I appreciate your faith in me, Terra, but I'm not like you. I don't see the poetic unions like you do."

"Have you tried getting adopted by an alien species? It does wonders for that."

Tali sighed. "Stop trying to make me laugh, I'm trying to work."

Terra stepped back. "Alright. I'll leave you to it. Oh! But before I go…" She reached into her pack and pulled out her sketchbook, carefully removing one page from within. "Garrus has one of Palaven. And one of Earth, actually. I thought you'd appreciate this one."

Tali took the page like she would a precious jewel. She hadn't seen much of Terra's artwork, but this one took her breath away with wonder. There was the Rannoch horizon they had marveled at together, in stunning detail. "Terra, this is…" She hesitated to fold it but finally placed it gently in the pocket next to where she was keeping her new favorite rock so that she could gratefully hug her best friend. "Thank you."

Terra hugged her back. "You know I love you."

Hearing the subtle meaning behind the word, the way Terra regarded her as such a close friend they were practically family, Tali couldn't help but smile. "I guess I do."

Terra left the engineering deck feeling as if the ship had never felt so much like a home. She regretted the holes that seemed to have been left behind by Thane, Mordin, and Legion. When she had gone back to the AI core to see Violet, she had stumbled on the nagging thought that Legion belonged in there and her sister had had to grieve with her over the lost geth. Violet hadn't had as much time to befriend him as Terra had, but she knew enough to understand the remarkable, unique pain of this particular loss. It would be hard to get over. Hopefully, avenging him by destroying the Reapers with the help of her surviving crewmates (family), her best friend, and her mate would heal the hurt. Or at least help to.

She could at least start by putting some distance between them and Rannoch, so she headed up to the CIC to set the next course. Just as she was approaching the galaxy map, Traynor informed her she'd found something. A bunch of Cerberus defecting scientists were pinned down on Gellix. Good enough for Terra. The Normandy went straight there. It was literally on the other side of the galaxy in the Minos Wasteland, so it would take at least a day to get there, but that gave her some time to simply be with Garrus for a combined rest from battle, celebration of the peace she'd made, and mourning of their losses. She could definitely count on Garrus for all of the above and more.

When Terra, Garrus, and Ashley moved out on Gellix, Cerberus was already there engaging the scientists. It proved easy enough to clear the area, even as Garrus took time to complain about the freezing weather (Terra chided him for him, but she also agreed, seeing as how they both preferred Palaven's heat). The real surprise came from who was leading the defense.

"Jacob!" Terra took her wounded former crewmate's side. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to keep these people safe from the Illusive Man's attack dogs," Jacob shook his head, "Good to see you showing up, though."

"Heard you could use a hand."

Jacob smirked, glancing over at Garrus. "Oh, and look at that. Where one goes, the other follows. Glad to know some things don't change."

Garrus shook his head. "Staying out of trouble, I see."

"Jacob, are you there?" a nearby abandoned COMM unit turned on.

Terra quickly retrieved it. "This is Commander Shepard. Cerberus is gone for now."

"Is Jacob there?"

"It's OK, Bryn!" Jacob answered.

The doors immediately opened to let them in. Terra helped Jacob while Garrus and Ashley watched the perimeter. Once they were all safely inside, they just needed to plan their next move—start mobilizing for an evacuation now Terra, Garrus, and Ashley could watch their backs. They'd have to be quick and careful, though, since there were families on the line. Of course, all three of them had an axe to grind where Cerberus was concerned and a lot of pent-up aggression to burn off. The assaulting troopers fell all too easily to the three snipers' combined offense before they even saw them coming. The repairs they needed to make to the base's systems weren't even that difficult—Terra was able to finish the first two by herself. The third repair, however, involved restarting an entire AA system, which meant one of them was going to have to bunker down and fiddle with the circuitry while the other two held off Cerberus reinforcements.

Terra knew only one of them was definitely up to that. "Counting on you, love."

Garrus smirked as he set to work, briefly taking her hand on the way there. "Goes both ways."

She knew that. She was already drawing her rifle when the shuttles started moving in. "Ready, Ash?"

Ashley smiled, readying her rifle as well. "Born that way."

Terra hadn't realized how much she had missed holding the line in the thick of it with Ashley. She and Garrus played to each other's strengths well enough, but she and Ashley could cover each other's weaknesses. Between Terra's well-aimed incendiary shots and Ashley's constant barrages of inferno grenades, the few invading Cerberus troops that didn't burn to death fell to combined fire from the two human Spectres. By the time Garrus was done with the repairs, the entire field was clear and it was time to head back in and start the evacuation. He made it clear he was impressed but a little disappointed.

The first shuttle carried every minor in the base away safely. It had been gone no more than ten seconds before Cerberus suicide-bombed the AA gun and started dropping in yet more reinforcements (what, did the Illusive Man start a cloning project so he'd have an endless supply or something?!). Terra managed to quickly dispatch the few troopers that dove in through the windows, giving the scientists time to rush for the shuttles, and then led Garrus and Ashley down into the shuttle bay to subsequently dispatch the incursion teams so the main doors could be opened to start launching the rest of the evacuation. Then it was just a matter of the three of them holding the landing pad until the last shuttle had gotten through. Which, of course, ended in a fight with an Atlas. Even with Garrus overloading its shields and Ashley's grenades tearing through its armor, it didn't go down easy. As far as Terra was concerned, though, all that mattered was that it went down. After it did, all they had to do was wait for Jacob and Bryn to sweep around in the last shuttle and pick them up. It wasn't the most elegant escape, considering Terra's attempt to hold off Cerberus fire ended with her being knocked off her feet by a rocket and dragged back by, you guessed it, Garrus while Jacob laid down a few shots to buy them the time they needed to actually extract. Once they were on their way, though, there was no sign they were being followed. They'd done it.

Jacob volunteered to stay with the scientists while they integrated into the Crucible project, so it was safe to say the mission was complete and a definite success. With everything going on, though, Terra wasn't the least bit surprised that Liara called her up two minutes after they were back on the Normandy to inform her that Asari High Command was asking for their help investigating a site some commandos had gone missing in. It wasn't that far, so Terra had Joker head straight there. Once again, she spent the travel time with Violet and then with Garrus. She didn't let herself think that it was because she needed an escape from the madness or because she soon might have the chance to anymore.

It was nice that they were getting into a pattern of knowing exactly how bad things were going to turn before they even arrived at the mission site, but it was still upsetting that the pattern was necessary. On the shuttle ride to the planet surface, Liara informed Terra and Garrus that High Command had left out a key detail: they were headed to an Ardat-Yakshi monastery. Terra tensed up when she heard the word, though Liara was quick to assure them that these wouldn't be like Morinth, that they had isolated themselves to avoid a fate like hers. Terra, ever the peacemaker, elected to reserve judgment until they saw what had happened, so she also elected to reserve judgment on the fact that the commandos had apparently planted a bomb somewhere on the grounds. They were just going to have to move in and see what was going on.

Not to say the entire war hadn't felt a bit like this, but entering the monastery felt like watching the Reapers remove the seven seals on an ancient evil's crypt. The first sign was how, even though there was a still warm skycar parked at the entrance telling them that someone else was there, the doors were locked open to an empty elevator shaft. The second sign was the darkness they descended into. The third was the emptiness. The fourth countered that emptiness with a distant shriek that made their blood run cold. The fifth was the carnage they found within, select few Reaper bodies to confirm their presence amidst an alarmingly larger number of fallen asari. Liara was able to scan the commandoes' gear and confirm that the bomb was in the Great Hall at the heart of the monastery. There was nothing left to do but go down towards the sixth and seventh levels of horror that awaited them.

So it was an especially pleasant surprise to see a friendly face on the other side of the first door, dispatching a Cannibal just in time to greet them. "Very good. I almost didn't hear you."

Terra beamed. "Samara? What brings you out here?"

The justicar didn't show it, but they could tell she was happy to see them. "Two of my daughters live here. I've come to make sure they're safe."

"That we can help you with. Do you know what happen—?"

She was cut off by the sound of a scream echoing through the building.

"We're out of time!" Samara exclaimed, "I'll hold them off!" She then headed down a corridor Terra, Garrus, and Liara couldn't reach.

"Wait—!" Terra tried to call. Too late. She sighed, turning to her squad. "We'd better get down there."

She had assumed the scream was a survivor being tortured by the Reapers. Not entirely false. But the reality was the sixth sign of the horrors to come. They met it the second they climbed down a stairwell into a courtyard. The sight of it made all three of them freeze. At least for the half second before they were forced to dive for cover.

The Reapers' harvest continued to spread. It had finally reached the asari. The creature they were corrupted into was the biggest abomination they'd faced since the Brutes first came on the scene. Terra's nightmares had been plagued by Marauders several times, but she had to think that even if those nightmares had attempted to predict the fate of the other species, she wouldn't have dreamed up something this horrendous. Between the claws, the screech, the twisted biotics, and the dead eyes, it was a complete inversion of everything the asari were. Based on that assessment and Liara's woeful terror, though, Terra was able to overcome that disgusted, fearful reaction with a certain, furious resolution.

This monster had to die.

Liara wasn't so distraught that she couldn't still fight upon Terra's insistence. She quickly sprang into action to warp the creature's barrier so Terra and Garrus could start shooting at it. They only got in four shots before it started putting its powers to use, springing across the battlefield in three bursts of biotic-charged movement to flank them. Terra didn't like the thought of being within range of those claws, quickly pushing Liara out of the way of them. Just as they dodged it, the creature let off that blood-curdling screech again. Being this close to it not only staggered Terra but made her feel like the cybernetics in her ears had overloaded. As usual, though, the second she was thrown off-balance, Garrus jumped to cover her, a quick overload attack stunning the remains of the creature's warped barrier so he could snipe it three times in the head. The first two shots struck, clearly hitting hard enough to put the thing on its last leg, but then it started charging again. The three of them managed to put enough distance between them that it couldn't catch them flanked again, Garrus even managing to preempt its last jump with a proximity mine. Before he could finish it, it sent out a warp field of its own directly at him. He ducked down just fast enough to avoid it, hearing a shot go off behind him. When he came back up, the creature had fallen. Terra's gun wasn't up, though. Liara's was.

With the fight over, Liara was shaking. Terra quickly took this opportunity to take her friend's side, but Liara was too shaken to even notice. "That…that thing used to be…"

Terra laid a supporting hand on her shoulder. "We're going to stop them. They're going to pay for this."

Garrus stepped up with her. "And we're going to start by blowing this place."

Liara nodded, but her eyes betrayed that she wasn't satisfied. She wouldn't be until they lived up to their word.

When Liara was willing to move again, they hurried back inside through the courtyard door just in time to see Samara throw another Cannibal, taking it down so she could turn to the asari it had been targeting and make sure she was alright. After receiving an affirmative answer, she gave Terra a welcoming look. "Commander Shepard, this is Falere, my youngest. She and her sister—"

"Mother!" Falere cut in, her voice shaking with terror, "They have Rila!"

Samara turned to her in shock. "What?"

"I saw those monsters taking her into the Great Hall!"

Terra quickly took the front. "We're going in after her. We'll have to move fast once we have her, though, if we're going to detonate that bomb on the way out."

Falere turned to her in shock. "A bomb? Didn't you come here to save people?"

"Of course we did, but the best way to do that is making sure none of these things get out behind us."

"You sound like the commandoes. They didn't stop to help anyone!"

"Falere…" Samara chided gently.

Falere was past that already. Before any of them could stop her, she'd jumped over the railing, using her biotics to soften the fall, and raced off after her sister. Samara quickly copied the trick to follow her down.

Terra looked over at the elevator. If the bullet holes were anything to go by, it wasn't working. She turned to Liara. "Don't suppose you know how to do that?"

Liara shrugged. "Not really."

"Guess we're taking the stairs, then."

The stairs led through the dorms, which happened to be full of Cannibals and another one of the formerly asari monsters. This one was no easier than the last, but they knew what to expect now and still took it down in time to keep moving. This one fell dead as one last screech echoed through the room.

Terra groaned, her ears still not accustomed to the noise yet. "Why did the Reapers have to make those things wail like Banshees?"

"Like what?" Liara asked.

"Banshees. Earth folklore monster. They stood outside people's houses and screamed to foretell of a death inside."

"Were all human tales so grim?"

"Considering most of them were written either in the Dark Ages or by the Grimm Brothers? Yeah, pretty much." Inwardly, she noted that Banshee was probably the ideal name for the asari husks. She was starting to wish she wasn't so good at that.

The seventh horror of this nightmare was on the other side of the next door, in the Great Hall itself. The bomb was in plain view, ready for them. Samara was already there with Falere, standing over an unconscious asari that Falere's frantic cries identified as Rila. Falere was finally able to rouse Rila and help her to her feet…only for her eyes to turn black and her hands to wrap around her sister's throat.

Falere quickly pushed her off, unintentionally shoving so hard that she knocked her sister back out. "Why…why did she do that?"

Samara took her side sadly. "Because she's begun to turn into one of the Reapers' creatures."

Terra gave the justicar a sympathetic look. One daughter already lost and now another? She deserved better. So much better. "…I'm sorry."

Samara didn't accept it. But the look she gave to Terra let her know the offer was appreciated.

Terra knew the justicar well enough to know that it was best to leave her to her thoughts. They needed to finish the mission now. So she turned to Garrus. "Can we set off the bomb?"

Garrus finished looking over the device and shook his head. "Not without a detonator."

"The commandoes would've had one. We just have to—"

That's when two more Banshees arrived.

"…later."

Samara quickly raised a barrier to keep her daughters safe, unfortunately preventing herself from joining the fight. Liara stayed low, throwing out warp fields every chance she got while Terra and Garrus stayed on the move to avoid the opposition's responding attacks and shoot every chance they got. It was hard and unnerving and it would haunt their nightmares, but they survived.

Rila didn't. When it was clear, she stood up to face her sister, her eyes no longer darkened by Reaper controls. "Falere, go! Take the elevator!"

"Rila—" Falere tried to argue.

"It's too late for me," Rila said sadly. Before reaching into her pocket to reveal the detonator. "I love you."

Realizing what she had to do and regretting it the second she did it, Terra grabbed Falere and started dragging her to the elevator as Samara, Liara, and Garrus got on. Falere fought every step, reaching for the sister she was being forced to leave behind, but Terra finally managed to close the doors. They were halfway up the shaft when the bomb went off.

When they were back outside, Falere walked to the edge of the balcony, looking out at the horizon as she cried. "Rila…there wasn't even time to say goodbye…"

Terra knew what that was like. Then again, she'd found her sister again. That wouldn't happen here.

So she let Samara take the front on this one. "Few can break the Reapers' hold. Rila's will was extraordinary. As was her love for you."

Falere glared at her mother fiercely. "We left her there to die!"

Samara looked at her daughter sadly. "Rila's sacrifice has reminded me why I became a justicar. …Falere…the Code dictates an Ardat-Yakshi cannot live outside a monastery that no longer exists."

Terra reacted immediately, on edge the second she saw Samara draw her pistol. "What are you doing?!"

"I am sorry, Shepard. By the Code…there is only one way to save Falere." Ignoring her daughter's shocked cries, she turned the gun on herself. "My daughters. You were all so much stronger than I believed."

Terra surprised even herself with how fast she moved. She wasn't losing another friend. Not when there was finally something she could do to prevent it. She grabbed Samara by the wrist, twisting the gun from her hand and restraining her before she could pick it up again. "Samara, stop! You can't do this!"

"I won't kill my last daughter!" Samara snapped back.

Terra had no argument for that, but Falere stepped up for her. "You won't have to. I'll stay here. Home. No matter what's become of it. And if the Reapers return, they won't take me alive."

Samara seemed uncertain. But she finally stood down, letting Terra back off so she could face her daughter. "Then the Code permits you to stay. As you are." She didn't respond at first when Falere hugged her. But she didn't let the chance go by. "When I have time, I will visit. As a justicar should."

Terra smiled. It was nice to see one family wasn't completely destroyed by this. "You could stay with her. Help her rebuild."

"I will return," Samara assured her, "But it is past time I joined your fight."

"…good to know you'll be out there."

It was good to know. All of Terra's friends were safely accounted for now (well, except Miranda, who was only communicating in short bursts as she continued looking for her sister), and the war was turning in their favor with the turians and krogan and geth and quarians working together. Even with the losses they'd taken, she really and truly had hope.

Especially when she went to see Garrus afterwards. When she found him looking over a message on his omni-tool instead of poring over algorithms, she knew something was up. "What is it?"

He looked at her with relief in his eyes. "Dad and Solana. They made it off Palaven. They're almost to the Citadel right now."

She burst with joyful relief so suddenly that she didn't even realize she was moving until her arms were around him and his were around hers. Their family was safe. It seemed too good to be true.

So she couldn't blame him for his suggestion: "I, uh…I was thinking that…maybe…maybe we could…and they could…"

She smirked as she heard the meaning beneath his words, leaning back to meet his eyes. "Like Violet?"

He shrugged. "At least so they could meet her. It's not that I don't trust the Citadel, it's just—"

"I get it. And you're right. They should stay close. Someone's gotta make sure they stay out of trouble."

He smirked. "Not to mention Solana's gonna want to help plan the wedding."

She laughed. "Of course."

"We'll have to be careful. We might set a precedent for the crew like this."

"Special circumstances?"

"Well, Dad's still a veteran C-Sec officer who was friends with the last Primarch and you're still playing diplomat for the turians with your adopted status, so I'm sure there's a tactician point we can work in as an excuse if it comes to that."

"And Sol is injured, so she'll need the best care, and we just happen to have the best doctor in the galaxy onboard."

"Plus the Citadel is starting to get overcrowded in the hospital and the refugee camp."

"So we're really just helping C-Sec."

"Right."

"Right. EDI!"

"Jeff is already plotting a course."

Terra smirked. "See? EDI agrees."

Terra suddenly realized that most of their journeys recently had given her a sense of anxiety and uncertainty. This one filled her with anticipation and excitement. After they'd hit the relay, she spent the approach to the Citadel bouncing on her feet by the airlock and not caring who noticed. Garrus met her there just as they were docking, the two of them the first and fastest to leave the ship. She did take the time to distantly note where everyone else was going—Ashley was going to meet her own recently evacuated family, Joker was going to show EDI around, Tali was going to coordinate with the turians about the Migrant Fleet bolstering the hierarchy's efforts, and Liara had volunteered to take Violet on a tour of her own that she had remarked with a wink would end at the hospital—but Terra and Garrus were both mostly focused on getting to the hospital and finding its newest patient. Between Terra's Spectre status and the fact they were family, it didn't take long to find them.

The second Terra opened the door to the treatment room and saw Solana sitting there, she practically leaped over to hug her. She just barely stopped herself when she remembered Solana's broken leg, but that didn't stop her from a more careful approach to the same ends. "You have no idea how good it is to see you!"

Solana smirked as she hugged her back. "Right back at you, farm girl."

Terra scoffed. "Don't tell me you actually worried."

"We both did," Castis said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Garrus shook his head as he stepped up to greet his father. "You're actually admitting that?"

Castis sighed. "We knew it was going to be bad, but…seeing it…"

"…I know."

Terra drifted with the three of them into a solemn silence, all wordlessly paying respects to Palaven's fallen. But she also didn't want to sour this reunion so quickly. Not when there was good news to be shared to avert it. "Actually, Garrus and I had something to tell you."

Garrus smirked, wrapping his arm around her waist when she took his side. "We're going to be bonded."

Solana, after taking a few seconds for the news to sink in, immediately burst with delight. "Really?! That's wonderful! When?!"

"After the war's over," Terra answered, showing her adopted sister her ring, "We're going to try doing it mostly by human standards…"

While the two were enveloped in a spirited discussion of wedding plans (just as Garrus had suspected, since sisters are sisters by species or not), Castis gave his son a look. It seemed questioning at first, as if making sure this was the right decision and they were both certain of it, before he realized there had never been a need for questioning where this pairing was concerned and his glance turned almost proud. It spoke to Garrus just as his sub-vocals would: Your mother would be happy, if only she'd had the chance to see it.

Garrus simply nodded. He had to believe that Terra was right and his mother was looking down on them proudly. He still missed her. If Terra's experience was anything to go by, part of him always would. But family sticks together. Even then.

"…and what about me?" Solana was asking, "Do you need me to be involved?"

"I might, actually," Terra answered, "But we can discuss that on the ship."

"Right, we…we can…what?"

Terra shrugged. "We were kind of hoping the two of you would come on the Normandy with us until then."

Castis instantly started debating this. "That's not necessary. The Citadel is perfectly safe—"

"Dad, it was attacked last week," Garrus pointed out, "And we have thought this through."

"Besides," Terra said, "there's, uh…someone aboard I think you should meet." No sooner had she said so than her COMM beeped. It was Liara's signal. She didn't even need to answer to smile with the knowledge of what the message was, pinging her own COMM to give Liara her location. "Speaking of which…" She headed over to the door, keeping it open until said someone could enter with her.

Solana, like Garrus, only needed a quick glance to see exactly who it was. "Is…is that…?"

Terra nodded, still smiling as she delicately pulled her sister closer to them. "Violet, this is Garrus' dad and sister."

Castis, ever the detective, found himself remembering the day he'd first met Terra, a small, shattered teenager closing herself off even as she tried to show her gratitude for taking her in. Now here was Violet, a small, shattered woman closing herself off even as she tried to show her gratitude for her sister's sake. From the way she was looking at them, warm though wary, it was clear she was still getting used to meeting strangers but had heard all about her sister's adopted turian family. From the way she carried herself, it was clear she was endeavoring to overcome her trauma as her sister had. Maybe it was that memory that pushed his protective instincts and made him realize he was going to have to go along with Terra's suggestion and be family to this human as well.

Or maybe it was because he knew that was what his wife would've wanted.

Solana, seeming to come to this conclusion on her own, gave Violet a welcoming smile. "So you're the one she was always talking about."

Violet gave a reserved but flattered smile. "Same here."

Solana laughed. "Guess that makes us sisters."

Terra and Garrus exchanged smiles as the "sisters" started getting to know each other. It was safe to say their lives were looking up.

And about to get a lot more interesting.