Notes:

A Grá - My Love (Gaelic)

Anam Cara - Soul Friend/Mate (Gaelic)

FTL - Faster Than Light travel

Inanna - pinnacle of Asari blending, perfect unity of two spirits into one (from 'real world' Sumerian Goddess of Love, Fertility, and War)

Ionúin Álainn - beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

Kaffe - equatorial Thessian vine, seeds of which are used to produce a non-alcoholic beverage of same name, taste described as a mix of coffee and chocolate (Thessian; Source: CDN)

Siame - "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian/Source: CDN)

Joab

Joab, Enoch, Rosetta Nebula – 11 Jul 2190

The overnight at Omega had revealed a few surprises, the biggest being the status of the rekindled romance between Aria and Nyreen Kandros. The 'join me for dinner' had actually been 'join us for dinner,' where it was quite obvious Nyreen had made herself at home in Aria's apartment… and, more importantly, Aria welcomed the change with a rare enthusiasm.

{More surprising is that Aria is here with us… on the Bridge of the Aletheia and trusting Omega to Nyreen! Never thought I'd see the day that happened!}

Shepard caught Liara's thought and snorted, causing Aria to glare at her and ask, "What's so funny, Shepard? Care to share the cause of your amusement?"

Liara immediately answered for her, attempting to be more politically correct than her bondmate ever would have been. "Nothing amusing, Aria; surprising would be the better word. We are both amazed by the fact you are here with the fleet, trusting Omega to Nyreen in your absence."

"We both assumed she would be here… not you." Shepard's expression was serious, not wanting to derail the direction in which their relationship with Aria was heading. "I understand developing that level of trust with someone is a huge step for you; one which Liara and I believe is very good… for everyone involved."

Aria's posture stiffened, making it immediately obvious to them both that the queen wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea yet, and them calling it out may have been a mistake. "So, you're a fucking psychiatrist now?" she growled. "Just shut the fuck up, Shepard, before you discover just how tenuous this arrangement is."

Where Liara would have let things lie, Shepard actually walked over to Aria and gently gripped her upper arm, meeting her surprised gaze as she responded, "It's a good thing, Aria. I know how hard it is for you to trust anyone… with reason… but there are people in this galaxy who are worthy of it, and Nyreen is definitely one of them." Knowing what was likely coming out of the queen's mouth next, she smiled softly and lowered her voice as she added, "And it doesn't imply you're going soft… it simply shows you're a good judge of character. Knowing when and who to trust is not a bad trait to have."

"And," Liara added, "… as you said last night, this particular endeavor is important to cementing your position in the Traverse, so you want people to know you have taken a personal interest in the situation. Beyond our goal to locate the Protheans, stability in the region will be good for everyone, so your objective also has our full support. We are not here solely for the Protheans."

Aria huffed and pulled away. "No matter who's in charge or who makes it happen? Like Nyreen?"

"No, that's not what she said… nor implied." Shepard frowned at Aria's rejoinder, knowing that only a couple of years ago, her remarks would have been closer to the mark… but circumstances had changed. "We're here for you, Aria. You've earned it… and, you most certainly proved true to your word during the war. We may not always agree on your methods, but I know I can trust you to be upfront and honest, no matter the subject, because you don't give a fuck if we like it or not. I can work with that." She gave a quick nod and added, "I respect your sincerity, Aria, no matter your motivations."

Aria relaxed, almost imperceptibly, but visible to the two who were watching her so closely. Shepard stepped back and rolled her shoulders, refocusing on the task at hand. "So… shall we pretend that conversation never happened and get down to the business at hand – eradicating our vermin? The Blue Suns apparently have chosen to ignore the multiple changes of leadership you have forced upon them… erroneously thinking they can do whatever they please and continue their pathetic attempts to defy your control over the Terminus."

Thankful to be past the psychobabble, Pyjak-shit conversation, Aria nodded and actually smiled, relieved to be back on familiar ground – preparing to kick some more Blue Suns' ass. "And the rather large numbers of their membership you have wiped out of existence when they thought to stand in your way, as well, Shepard. Which simply proves they are either stubborn or stupid… neither of which, when all is said and done, is at all relevant to what we are here to do."

Shepard glanced at Liara as she said, "I am, however, a bit concerned as to why they are still here… knowing they must understand the overwhelming odds against them, if nothing else. It strikes me as borderline absurd. If our positions were reversed, I would have been long gone from here… as soon as the fleet showed on the scanners… because they should damn well know that with the two of us, especially if we've joined forces, they can expect no mercy."

"So, it's more than just a remote base." Liara suddenly frowned. "This is no coincidence or random event; they have a mission here."

"Does it need to be anything more than revenge? Making sure they can kill as many of us as possible before they turn tail and run?" asked Aria. "Or, maybe they're just trying to make a point of demonstrating their independence." Her expression hardened as she added, "If that's the case, I'm more than happy to help them along their path to martyrdom."

"I don't think it's that simple." Shepard pursed her lips in thought for just a moment before continuing, "What are the chances they're trying to figure out what we're looking for… and find it before we do?"

"Which would immediately make me suspicious regarding who they could be working for," added Liara, suddenly glancing at Shepard in surprise, knowing the likely answer. "The Hanar?"

"Yeah." Shepard sighed, any humor she had found in the situation vanishing like a puff of smoke. "That would be my guess." She shook her head in disgust. "Fuck. They're fanatics. We should have known their initial response was too quick and accommodating."

Aria was obviously not amused by the sudden turn of events, having received an overview of the Hanar actions-to-date while they ate dinner together the previous evening. Even so, she simply crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "So, fuck the Hanar. Just do what you do best, Shepard, and get us into that facility, then deal with the rest as it comes. At least now you know they didn't just roll over and crawl back into their brine… so, you'll be prepared for the next round."

Shepard huffed, a smirk on her face as she realized Aria was absolutely correct; the Hanar involvement, if that's what it turned out to be, meant nothing.

Even Liara felt a grudging respect for the Queen of Omega at her rapid assessment. She surprised herself by unexpectedly contemplating the idea they could eventually become friends, assuming, of course, that Aria continued to move along her current path. Liara suppressed the smirk that wanted to form on her own lips as she looked at her bondmate, wearing her best Shadow Broker face as she relayed her epiphany. {In my wildest dreams, I never thought we would share a common goal with Aria after the war. Even crazier, that I could consider the possibility of her as a friend. Who's more surprised than me?}

Shepard checked the laughter that wanted to erupt, converting it into a statement of enthusiastic agreement to be on their way. "Alright, then. Gear up and prepare for deployment in five!"

As they moved down into the site, Lieutenant Lynea D'Kevus – the Team 2 lead from the heavy corvette Freedom – called out a warning, "Legionnaires! Eyes on two, each with a full squad!"

Even with their highly skilled infantry troops leading the charge, the Blue Suns honestly had little chance of victory. The combined might of House T'Soni and Aria T'Loak bordered on platoon strength, with a total of 42 extremely well-trained Asari commandos, not including Aria, Shepard and Liara. Also, while the defensive position should have had an advantage, the Blue Suns pressed the attack rather than hunkering down inside the protections offered by the facility. The assault team obliterated three solid waves as they emerged from the building before the tide tapered off, their opponent finally reconsidering their obviously failing strategy.

Aria, in her standard brash approach, wanted to simply charge in, but Shepard had other ideas. Soon enough, four cloaked infiltrators were on their way, setting multiple charges in the lobby and further reducing the welcome committee. Only then did the expedition team enter, with the assistance of smoke bombs to help screen their movements. Once in the door and behind cover, it became a war of attrition; easily won with the use of biotics.

Singularities and pulls dominated the battle, by either ripping the cover away from shielded enemies or pulling the unshielded ones into the open, exposing them to weapons fire. While Liara held back, launching lifts and singularities quickly followed by explosive warps, Shepard and Aria pressed into the fray, bringing up memories of their run through Omega during the war. There were a few periods of extremely hard fighting, with four of the commandos needing medical evacuation because of severe injuries… but all of them would survive.

When the battle was over, Shepard and Aria stood shoulder-to-shoulder, surveying the results. A significant number of their personnel had sustained minor injuries and, while there were the few who had been evacuated, no one on their combined team had died in the assault. That result was in direct contrast to the complete annihilation of the Blue Suns. None had surrendered, so the facility defenders had died to the last man in their failed attempt to keep the expedition at bay. It made Liara question what exactly was at this site that was worth so many lives?

While Liara contemplated the contents within the facility, both Shepard and Aria considered it a good victory, neither holding any compassion for the Blue Suns. Aria actually grinned in a way that was reminiscent of her old self, glancing at her battle partner as she said, "You be sure to let me know if you want or need any additional help at your other locations, Shepard… Traverse or not; particularly if the Blue Suns are involved. I haven't had this much fun since we crushed Petrovsky and all his minions during the retake of Omega."

"We just may take you up on that, Aria, depending on what kind of resistance we run into at the other sites." Liara stepped up to Shepard's other side, sliding her arm through that of her bondmate and pulling her close to her side. "But let us hope the news of this attack spreads and they vacate future areas as soon as we show up, so this won't be necessary again."

"Nice dream, T'Soni," grunted Aria. "That will only happen if the Omega fleet shows on the horizon along with you, so they understand they would be meeting the same force, should they decide to try to hold their ground, like they attempted here."

Shepard smirked as she added, "Yeah. I really don't have much hope of our future sites being any easier to access… The Blue Suns haven't exactly proven to be fast learners."

Aria barked out a laugh. "That's why I like you, Shepard. I can always count on a quick comeback from you."

Joab, Enoch, Rosetta Nebula – 12 Jul 2190

Once the site was fully secured, Aria had rejoined her fleet and returned to Omega while Liara, Shepard, and crew made their way deeper into the facility. Finally having time to step back and honestly look around at the building in which they had been fighting, "This is most definitely not Prothean," were the words that came out of Liara's mouth. "So, I have to wonder who built it."

Shepard could only shrug. "I guess that's what we're here to find out. Though, our scans did include a Prothean signature of some type. We just need to figure out what it is." She chuckled softly, then explained to Liara, "Right about now is when I'd be asking Edi to try to narrow down the location of that signal for us."

"I do miss her capabilities," Liara answered, a wistful smile sliding across her face. "Do you suppose there is any way possible we could convince her to come along for the ride?"

"Ha!" Shepard let out a laugh. "Only if the Normandy and her entire crew joined your expedition… which I really don't see happening. We'll simply have to make do with our standard sensor equipment, Doctor."

"Well, that and the incredible Captain Shepard and her cipher." Liara couldn't help but to reach over and run a loving hand down Samantha's arm. "We never would have made it this far if not for you… and, as loathe as you are to admit it, you know I'm right, so don't argue the point."

"And I'd be dead, twice over, if not for you, Liara." Shepard stopped and turned to her, Liara feeling the sudden, undeniable love and devotion flooding through the link from the woman standing so calmly before her.

The lump in her throat making it impossible to make any form of rejoinder, Liara simply stepped willingly into Sam's welcoming embrace, silent tears trickling down her cheeks; the love, joy and remembered desperation of the war combining into a nearly overwhelming sensation. Nearly. The strength of the woman who held her resonated deep in her core, and made Liara feel like the youth she was, by Asari standards. She still pondered how lucky she was – how fortunate – to have met someone the caliber of Samantha Shepard so early in her life and under such desperate circumstances. {Truly, in the depth of my heart and soul, I know we never would have made it through without you, Samantha Shepard.}

Sam reached up to tip Liara's chin up until their eyes met, the Asari falling swiftly into the depths of those beautiful emerald orbs, barely hearing the words Shepard spoke. "And I never would have made it without you, Liara, so let's call it even and move on." The woman pulled away and smiled softly. "Let's go find this Prothean relic… whatever it may be."

Smiling at the woman's singlemindedness, Liara gave a simple, one-word response. "Okay."

They worked their way through the facility, Liara finding it hard to reconcile the presence of a Prothean artifact of any kind within the building through which they now traversed. The structure was obviously not Prothean; her only way to reconcile the disparity was to think the artifact had been either found or stolen and brought here for study. Her doubts vanished in an instant when they opened what seemed to be the final door of their dead-end, fruitless venture.

They hadn't realized just how deeply into the planet's crust they had ventured; the slight slope being deceiving as they clambered through all the rooms of equipment and workstations. They had stopped and hacked a number of terminals along the way, all of which verified the Blue Suns had been hired by some outside organization… but also making it clear that outside organization wanted desperately to maintain anonymity.

The only encouraging information they retrieved was that once the artifact was located, they were supposed to rendezvous with a ship in the Arinlarkan System within the Omega Nebula. Since the Blue Suns' force was still groundside when they had arrived, they could only assume the artifact was still here as well.

Shepard had made an immediate call to Aria, passing along the information, to which the Queen had reacted with an emotion verging on glee. "I'll get Nyreen and the Fleet right on it, Shepard. Don't you worry… if that ship is still waiting, they won't escape us. I just can't guarantee we'll take them alive." She had immediately added, "But don't get your panties in a twist. I know you want information regarding who hired them… but you know as well as I they likely don't have it. I promise I'll do my best to get that information before we send them off to their respective versions of Hell." She had then cut the link without waiting for a reply.

"I bet you will," Shepard replied to the already black screen.

"Send them to Hell, you mean?" asked Liara, unable to disguise the sarcasm in her tone. "Because I am confident Aria is correct in her assessment. That ship is merely an intermediate transport. Whoever organized this expedition has gone to great pains to maintain anonymity." She paused and frowned, continuing, "It is hard to believe the Hanar Department of Religion is responsible for all of this; yet everything we've seen points in that direction. We may need to rethink their level of sophistication and development." She glanced warily at Samantha, her voice suddenly both cautious and concerned. "I am concerned the Council may have been underestimating their capabilities for quite some time…"

"I think you might be on to something there, Liara." Sam sighed, giving her head a twitch that wasn't quite a full shake. "We need to be careful how we proceed with them… and send a secure note to Tevos, giving them warning. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I fear we may have awoken a sleeping dragon."

"Sleeping dragon?"

Shepard chuckled quietly, letting a picture of the terrible creature-of-lore slip through the link. "Ferocious, smart… and, while deadly, not completely unstoppable."

"We certainly stopped them today." Liara looked at the impressively large door that suddenly loomed before them as they rounded one last corner. It was obviously the final destination and point of the whole structure into which they had ventured. "It appears to be the base of one of the Prothean pyramids, Shepard. Agreed?"

"Yes." Shepard walked up and ran her hand along the door, the touch a physical manifestation of both her curiosity and a bit of awed reverence. She spoke in a whisper. "I never imagined there would be any that were completely buried… with no hint of anything sticking up above ground. How did they even find it?"

"Because they picked up the same signal as us… and decided to dig until they did." Tyson Launt's loud voice echoed in the reverent quiet of the newly discovered structure. "There's still live power here and, I do believe, that console over there is the control center, Liara."

"Miri and Jude have just recently discovered it was an illegal dig, disguised as an exploratory mining operation." As they worked their way down, Liara had been sending all the data from the various Blue Suns' workstations to Miranda and Judea who, in turn, had been sending back everything they could find from whatever leads Liara provided.

Now, with more information, Liara commented, "That's why it was so easy for them to hide their discovery here. No one had any reason to think it was a pyramid, so paid no mind to the development going on. As far as I can tell from the information we did find, they disguised their work as a prospecting venture, yielding only moderate amounts of platinum and iridium, along with enough eezo to maintain operations without having to import a fuel source."

Shepard nodded in understanding. "Just enough to legitimize their claim without garnering undue attention…"

"Yes." Liara then turned her attention to Tyson, continuing, "… and enough to keep power up and running. Is it in galactic standard… the panel, that is… or Prothean?"

Having felt the pull of the device since they entered the room, Shepard answered before Tyson could say a word. "It's Prothean. I can feel it."

"And you didn't say anything?" Liara asked, just a bit of surprise echoing in her voice.

"That's because you already suspected, the very moment you saw it."

A playful smile crossed Liara's face, enjoying the light banter. "Yes, I did, and your emotional response confirmed it via the link. But don't you think the rest of the group would have appreciated the verbal confirmation?"

Shepard laughed as she replied, "You're the expedition lead! Announcements are your domain. I'm just along for the ride!"

Tyson was smiling, but he erupted into a full laugh when Rasha got impatient and practically yelled into the silence, "So, can you open it, Shepard or are we going to stand here all day while you chat with your bondmate?"

Shepard managed to dredge up a tiny bit of repentance as she responded to the impatient Drell, "You're right, I'm sorry. I don't know yet; I need to look at the panel."

Liara was immediately reminded of being trapped in the Prothean security bubble on Therum, where Shepard simply walked up and turned the device off… and that was before she received the cipher.

Shepard gave her a knowing glance, a smirk playing on the edges of her lips, but said nothing as she approached the terminal. "This won't be as easy as it should have been." Shepard's brow furrowed as she examined the panel. "The Suns obviously attempted the brute force method, by trying a series of different combinations… and the panel has locked itself out."

"There must be something we can do." Liara frowned as she stepped up to Samantha's side. "I can't imagine blasting the door… Being the Blue Suns, I imagine they tried that, as well, all to no avail. What are our options?"

"When all else fails…" Shepard glanced around at the disappointed faces, knowing she couldn't possibly let them down. "We simply shut it all down and hope the system reboots itself at the original entry screen instead of the security lock-out."

"Do you honestly think it could be that easy?" Liara looked at the woman in surprise, not honestly expecting the answer she received.

"No, but it can't hurt to try… because nothing else I can think of is going to unlock this terminal." She glanced over her shoulder at the massive door, adding, "And nothing else I can think of is going to penetrate that door, either; not without bringing this whole facility down on our heads."

As soon as they made the necessary arrangements, Liara and Shepard retreated to the ship, letting the power systems engineers do their magic on the unfamiliar equipment. Once they cleared the decontamination lock, Liara quickly undid the zipper on her pressure suit and rolled it down off her shoulders. "Goddess, I'm tired… and I feel like my auditory canals want to burst! The atmospheric pressure here is horrible! How do the colonists deal with it?"

Shepard had done the same, peeling off the pressure suit and feeling like she was taking her first truly deep breath since leaving the ship that morning. Her ribcage expanded fully, and the relief caused her to yawn before she could answer. "From what I understand, it's more than double that of Earth… and it takes everyone here roughly two months to acclimate. They have established a pressure-controlled dome to help with the acclimation of new colonists… but it's nearly halfway around the globe in New Jericho." She smirked and shrugged, adding, "Over 21 million people have acclimated – in less than 20 years – so it can't be too bad."

"I suppose you are correct, Samantha." Liara sounded resigned as she added, "But, it's still incredibly bothersome… and tiring. At least the gravity isn't that different from Thessia."

"True enough." Shepard stopped unexpectedly, Liara nearly running into her as the woman turned to her. "I'm more tired than I am hungry, but both of us need more than an eezo bar to last through the night. So, do you want to eat or clean up first?"

Sensing Samantha's choice via the link, Liara smiled in agreement. "Yes, let's eat. Then, once we go to our quarters, we don't have to worry about coming back out until our alarm goes off in the morning." As tired as she was, Liara still felt a brief pang of want at the thought of being alone with Sam… but, just perhaps, tonight they would have to settle for simple snuggling. She could feel Shepard's exhaustion through the link, echoing her own, and the silent agreement that accompanied a swell of loving devotion.

Tomorrow would be another day; one filled with the hope of actually accessing their first Prothean pyramid, instead of – quite literally – just touching what Samantha metaphorically referred to as the tip of the iceberg.

Pyramid Facility, Joab, Enoch – 13 Jul 2190

Liara and Shepard received news from Riana the moment they stepped from their quarters into the passage, with her relaying that the computer system had rebooted without difficulty. Once power had been restored, Tyson was unable to determine if the display was any different. "He's actually quite angry with himself for not thinking to capture an image of the screen before the shutdown… so he could compare then and now."

"And Rasha apparently didn't think of it either," responded Liara, a surprising hint of humor in her voice. "Not that we need it, because Shepard will know the moment she sees it."

"But that didn't prevent you from grabbing one before we left yesterday, did it?" Shepard smirked and squeezed the Asari's hand.

Smiling in response, Liara answered, "No, it did not. It is still good to have one for archival purposes, since we may not be the ones who return here to complete more in-depth study."

"Go ahead and let them know we're on our way, Riana." Shepard glanced forward into the ship and rotated a fist, thumb extended to indicate their intended direction. "We need to restock our energy and eezo bars before heading out."

It surprised neither Shepard nor Liara when Riana simply nodded and began typing the message on her omnitool. She was Liara's First, and her place was at her primary's side, not deep into the facility – at least not until Liara made her way down. They had been separated too many times already, in the past, and Riana had vowed to never let it happen again. Not if I have any say in the matter!

Once they completed their breakfasts and their provisioning, Liara and Shepard began the long trek downward through the massive facility, accompanied – of course – by the entire archaeological team and the Personal Guard. Liara's lips quirked up at the corner as she said, "This seems longer than yesterday. Apparently, fighting our way through provided quite the distraction for the majority of the journey."

Shepard chuckled softly, reaching out to take Liara's hand. The attention Samantha constantly paid to her was heartwarming and, once again, Liara could not help but think about exactly how fortunate she honestly was. It still amazed her, every single day, how much the Human woman loved her; how inseparably they were intertwined, quite literally into their very souls. Her brow pinched in thought as she remembered the initial discussion with Sha'ira regarding Inanna. She shuddered to think what the end of her life would have been like, had she needed to face Shepard's death at a normal Human's lifespan. Miranda truly had given them a tremendous gift – one Liara honestly believed they would never be able to repay.

Her attention was brought back to the present by the soft squeeze of her hand and a soft, "Hey." Shepard gave her a wink as she added, "We helped her save Ori, eliminate their so-called father, and took down the Illusive Man. She can live her life without constantly looking over her shoulder. I'd like to claim responsibility for taking down Cerberus, as well, but that accolade belongs to Zoë Lawrence and Atlas."

"For which I am very glad." Liara took a quick breath and blew it out, remembering the tumultuous time immediately following the war. "I am glad they were all-but-eliminated… and that we had to do little but pass some critical information, then stand back and let it happen."

Shepard did not respond aloud, but Liara heard the regret in her 'voice' plain as day. {You still know using Atlas as an agent does not absolve us of the responsibility for their deaths, Liara.}

{Neither does it negate the necessity, Samantha. To this day, I still firmly believe it had become an 'us or them' scenario… particularly with Jessica Mikhailovich being involved. I willingly live with that guilt, as the only other alternative I saw was unacceptable to me.}

Their private conversation was cut short by an ecstatic Tyson Launt. "About darn time, you two! Look at this thing! It eventually came up as a full virtual interface, if only I could read it!" His grin spread ear-to-ear and he was practically hopping in excitement. "I can't wait to see this!"

His exuberance had the effect of putting some life in Liara and Shepard's approach, the two of them picking up their pace for the remaining twenty or so steps to cross the room to the glowing display. "You know what this reminds me of, Li."

"Yes." Liara looked on in awe, her voice reverent over the possibilities. "Goddess. Do you actually think it still works?"

Shepard glanced at her with a mischievous smile. "Don't see why not; it has power. The only question is if the power has been continuous or if it was restored by the Suns, after it had already died, long ago." She squared her shoulders and approached the interface. "There's only one way to find out."

Liara could feel the energy in the room – the silent anticipation of everyone involved – as Samantha approached the controls. Shepard reached for the podium and the interface lit up, blue lines snapping and waving, as if reaching for her fingers. The woman drew a sharp breath as the virtual panel came to life, largely because it was very different from what she expected. She had anticipated a console similar to the one on the Prothean security bubble that had trapped Liara, but this was different; it was almost as if the console itself was… alive.