Notes:

A Grá - My Love (Gaelic)

Breá Ber'ah - Combined form meaning beautiful and strange lover; Breá being a close lover, somewhere between Amantia and Siame (Thessian)

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)

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

Xenology - the scientific study of extraterrestrial life

Home Is Where the Heart Is

CGC, Widow System, Serpent Nebula – 21 Jul 2190

As they traveled, Liara – with Samantha's assistance – had assembled an initial report for the Council on the primary facts they had discovered. Of course, they highlighted the Blue Suns activity and their theories on exactly who had hired them to run interference against the expedition, and they also made sure to mention Aria's offer of continued assistance at their future locations within Alliance space. When they called the councilor to let her know they had transmitted the report and were enroute from the relay, Tevos, of course, had been thrilled.

It was no secret Shepard and Liara preferred to deal one-on-one with Rae, rather than a formal meeting with the entire Council, especially since it normally brought the side benefit of being able to spend an enjoyable evening with her and Sha'ira at their personal residence. Given the morbid justification behind their unexpected visit, Tevos had immediately cleared her calendar for the day and told them to change their destination. "I am leaving the office as we speak, so head directly to the flat when you arrive."

With a quick hop to the Widow System via the Eagle Nebula, Liara and Shepard soon had the Aletheia tucked into a dock at the CGC. After making their way to the residential area, Rae welcomed them at the door in person, with Sha'ira immediately behind and Nizia trying to remain inconspicuous in the background. Tevos immediately opened her arms in welcome. "Please, do come in. It is good to see you both again so soon! We had thought it would be much longer before we had the good fortune of hosting you here again!"

She stepped back, urging them into the home; as soon as the door closed behind them, Liara was engulfed in a welcoming hug. "Goddess," Tevos whispered. "I cannot begin to imagine the horrors you must have witnessed, to bring you home so quickly. Your report was… disturbing… to say the least." She pushed back and glanced quickly between the two, asking, "Are you both alright?"

Liara nodded, along with a quiet, "Yes. We… I… just needed to be in familiar surroundings… to be reminded of our victory and to witness the end results of our campaign." She shivered involuntarily. "To see the mass suicides… the children… to prevent what they deemed to be their inevitable transformations at the hands of the Reapers once their escape was impossible…" Liara paused and squeezed her eyes closed, concentrating on shutting out the memories that once again threatened to surge to the forefront of her mind.

"Do not think on it." Sensing her anguish, Sha'ira immediately stepped in and grabbed both of Liara's hands in her own. "I am here to assist in any manner you may need, to help deal with the memories and any disturbance or nightmares they may cause you. It is natural to grieve for their loss, but you must take no blame, nor assume responsibility, for what transpired on Joab. What happened there was not of your making, and there was nothing you could have done to help them, even if you had been aware of their presence. It was the Reapers… and you must understand and believe this."

Liara sighed and moved closer, content to be wrapped in Sha'ira's comforting embrace. "I do understand. It is just that… the death of all those children, in addition to their parents, was an incredibly difficult thing to see. Why did they not evacuate them sooner?"

It was Tevos who answered. "It was likely similar to what happened to all of us… we never saw them coming until they dropped out of warp on our doorsteps." She shook her head, adding, "The Reaper forces were simply too overwhelmingly fast."

"Perhaps that is true." Shepard shook her head in dismissal. "However, they went into stasis knowing of the threat… and they woke up knowing it would come again, yet they chose to run and hide, rather than seek us out and warn us. Javik yelled at us for ignoring the Beacons… yet, his own people chose to hide, rather than reveal themselves and tell us what was coming. Instead of a few months, we could have had years to get ready… started our preparations so much sooner." She glowered as she added, "I understand they must have been deathly afraid… but they should have been more frightened of the Reapers than of us. Why did they opt to hide from us? That's one of the first questions I want answered once we find them."

"Enough of that for now." Tevos' brow pinched at Shepard's irritation, however justified it may be. "We survived and you are here… let us retire to the sitting room, so we can be more comfortable while we chat."

A dumbfounded silence descended upon the small group as Liara explained what Chadrak had told them about the link between the Protheans and Inanna, a point of discussion purposefully left out of the formal Council Report. It was Sha'ira who responded first, retorting, "Well, that is simply preposterous! I understand, perhaps, that their tinkering may have been the basis for what the two of you have… but his theory assumes you only communicate through touch, and we all know that to be a fallacy. You are able to connect via your link over extremely long distances… across space, for Goddess' sake! With the two of you, contact is absolutely not a requirement for communication. Did he not see that?"

Liara and Samantha both chuckled softly, with Liara answering, "Of course, he did… but that was part of his argument. We avoided developing the skill because of what he sees as a lack of understanding of its benefits… when it is used correctly. Because of what Sam and I are capable of, he wonders just how far we could have refined the skill, as a race, had the capability not been considered so taboo. Our success is because of our relationship, because Sam and I very purposefully chose to give each other blanket permission to enter one another's mind… which, as you well know, would normally be considered a horrible transgression. Chadrak reasons our connection proves the capability still resides within our genetic makeup, no matter how much we may have attempted to suppress it over the centuries."

Shepard huffed, adding, "Even so, Chadrak understood just how much Javik's actions disturbed us… and he ended by stating it was the warrior in Javik who failed to accurately assess our potential; a failure which eventually led to Javik's aggressiveness toward me… and his subsequent death."

Squeezing Shepard's hand, Liara continued, "Javik also failed to see the advantages of the Geth… and artificial life in general… which Chadrak, as a scientist, immediately grasped."

"Yeah." Shepard's smile returned as she picked up on the new subject. "That segment of our discussion actually led to how Edi's frame could serve as a prototype for Chadrak's potential return to a physical form… which most certainly garnered his immediate interest."

"I can see why, as a return to the physical realm must be quite attractive, allowing him to leave the confines of the Pyramid facility." Tevos' brow then pinched a bit. "However, it appears to me as though a fundamental, philosophical schism exists within the Prothean empire… between the military and scientific communities. If you do manage to find the survivors, I hope this does not prove to be problematic."

"I, for one," intoned Sha'ira, "am ready to leave such discussions to the Council and enjoy our limited time together. Let us talk about how long you'll be staying and how your future plans have been altered by your unexpected early return to Council Space."

"Agreed… though we have yet to decide on the duration of our stay." Liara gave Shepard a shy smile. "The harvest festival is on the first and our anniversary is on the fifteenth… but we fear it might be a bit of a stretch to stay for both events, no matter how much we would enjoy being home for so long."

"Speaking as your Councilor," Tevos began, "a longer stay would give us time to formulate a plan for the Joab facility cleansing… and possibly set a precedent for future action, should you discover this pattern at more than one location. It would also mean you, Liara, could help us select the lead for the xenological team, a process which should take no more than a few weeks; a month at best."

Tevos then reached out and took one of each of their hands, giving them both a light squeeze of support. "Speaking as your friend, I feel you need the time to regain your balance after witnessing such atrocities… and the opportunity to celebrate those important personal events at home, seeing as you are already here, should not be ignored."

Until Liara felt the sensation of relief flood through her body, she hadn't realized just how much she yearned for an excuse to spend more time at home before heading back out. Goddess. Is it possible every location could be the same? Nothing but death and despair?

{No, Liara.} Samantha's titanium resolve immediately bolstered her spirit. {We will locate the survivors… and be done with this Council mission. Then, we can move on to whatever it is you want to do next.}

Shepard then answered the councilor aloud. "So, if you seriously desire Liara's help, we could schedule our new departure date sometime near the end of next month." Shepard pulled up a calendar on her omnitool before finishing, "Say… Monday, the 23rd?"

Raesia offered an appreciative smile. "That, my dear Samantha, would be positively fabulous!"

T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula – 22 Jul 2190

The muted sounds of early morning activities could be heard in and around the main house as Samantha Traynor made her way from the dining hall to the east side parking area. Depending on the planned length of Liara's rest stop, the Aletheia might be relocated to the main parking area for minor maintenance and resupply. They always set the ship down on the east side pad in order to deploy passengers a short distance from either the main house or commando quarters.

Upon stepping outside, she took a deep breath of the tangy ocean air, being carried in by the normal, light morning breeze. A hint of dew could be seen, glistening on the leaves of the shrubbery and grass blades still shaded from the sun's light. Sammi stopped walking and slowly turned completely around, studying everything around her. It's good to be alive, came the happy thought. Mornings like this… all this peaceful serenity… the natural beauty… She shook her head minutely. Being able to enjoy all of this is because I chose to follow Riana when she left the Normandy. Being employed by Liara and Shepard is like a dream come true. I have a family here! A distant sound intruded on her thoughts. She began walking again, realizing the rapidly escalating high-pitched whine was the sole reason she was out here – Lusmeni Thoni was bringing the Aletheia in on the standard approach vector that began approximately fifty kilometers to the southeast, over the open waters of the Kendra Ocean.

Stopping to wait at the northwest corner of the parking apron, she shaded her eyes with a flattened palm, after inserting the specially molded sound deadeners in her ear canals. She grinned in anticipation as she spotted the high-intensity landing lights – a pair each in the leading edges of the swept wings, along with the two housed in the 'chin' below the flight deck. The whining complaint from the corvette's oversized twin engines gradually grew in volume, even as the frequency of the sound diminished in step with the throttles being pulled back to slow the ship's forward momentum.

The vessel tipped its nose up slightly in response to the reverse thrust being applied to arrest its forward motion when it came across the beach; in seconds, the landing gear was being deployed in step with the crescendo of wailing complaint delivered by ventral and reverse thrusters. The instant Aletheia gracefully grounded its main gear, fuel flow to the ventral thrusters was rapidly reduced, allowing the nose gear to gently set down. The sound decreased quickly as fuel to the mains was also shut off, allowing the engines to spool down. Auxiliary power units continued their own high-frequency sounds, but these were muffled by their location at the stern of the Turian-designed corvette.

The main hatch opened to reveal a grinning Cy Axeuss. Sammi waved to Riana's lieutenant as she ambled up to the ship; the waves of heat rolling off the hull immediately brought moisture to her forehead, cheeks, upper lip and the exposed skin of her throat and chest. Within a few minutes, the passenger ramp slid out and down, allowing Cyenia and Riana, followed closely by Liara and Samantha, to descend to the pavement. As the rest of the passengers came down the ramp, they were welcomed by Lyessa, Livos Tanni, and Lyria Tremi, who had all quietly joined Sammi to welcome Lady Liara, her bondmate, and the Personal Guard back home, even if only for a few days.

Liara gave the small group a wave, focusing on the House Steward. "We'll be here quite a bit longer than originally planned, Lyessa. It seems the councilor would like me to assist in the selection of the xenobiologists and their team lead, so we'll be home for roughly one month."

"That is excellent news, Lady Liara!" Lyessa beamed at the young leader of House T'Soni. Her eyes shifted to Shepard as she added, "And, that means you will be here for the harvest festival! We'll begin making the appropriate arrangements immediately! Who would you like invited?"

Shepard smiled. "Our standard party list will do just fine, Lyessa… including Matriarch Marisha and Zan, as well as Sharon and Adrien. It will be a bit short-notice, so we'll just have to wait and see who can make it."

"Excellent." Lyessa beamed. "I'll get the guest list to you as soon as I can."

"There's no hurry." Shepard crooked her arm, which Liara immediately took, a wide smile spreading across her face as they started moving toward the house. "Is there?"

"None, whatsoever," Liara sighed happily. "You know all those we like to invite, so, I leave it in your very capable hands, Lyessa. At the moment, I just want to get inside and relax for a bit. It is good to be home."

While the small leadership group was chatting, Sammi had planted herself in Riana's path in order to envelope her tightly within welcoming arms. After a hastily applied welcome-home kiss, Sammi whispered in Riana's ear, "I have really missed you, my darling. Welcome home."

Riana turned her head slightly, kissing Sammi's cheek before replying, "I have missed you as well, Breá Ber'ah, and not just your physical presence. I have truly missed not being able to share my thoughts with you, and you sharing yours with me. I love you, Sammi." The Asari pushed back slightly to study the honey-brown eyes regarding her. "Come on. Let me go so I can get my travel packs unloaded and things put away. I want to tell you about some of the wonders I witnessed on Joab."

The smirk Riana received had her heart soaring with intense joy as Sammi replied, "I would rather see what you witnessed, Ri… so much more satisfying to share your memories directly."

Riana gave her lover a quick kiss of promise, then released her; Traynor picked up one of Riana's travel bags and the pair, surrounded by the members of their extended family, followed Liara and her bondmate into the house.

Traynor looked at her image in the full-length mirror as she finished blotting the water from her skin and toweled most of the moisture from her hair. Her lover sidled up behind her, placing a pair of strong hands onto the crown of her shoulders. Nuzzling her neck, she whispered, "I love the smell of your bath dampened skin, Sammi. It's totally unique – unlike any other scent I've ever encountered."

Sammi tilted her head away from Riana's face in order to allow the Asari unfettered access to the hairline at her neck. "I'm glad it's so attractive to you, Ri, but I suspect part of that is from my damp hair. And since I stopped using scented bath products, what you are smelling is totally me." Traynor eased around to face her amantia, hands still holding the towel on top of her head; gazing at Riana with hooded eyes, she purred, "Sounds to me like I made a good choice."

Riana opened her eyes wide and cocked her head in reaction to Traynor's boldness. "Goddess! What has become of that shy Human female I fell in love with? I believe you are becoming more like an Asari maiden with each passing day, Sammi!"

"You happened, Riana! It's all because of you. My love for you runs deeper each time our minds are joined… even if all we do is cuddle. It seems really incredible when I think about it. We've only been truly intimate since war's end, but I feel… I feel as if we've been together for decades, my darling."

Before turning back to the mirror, Sammi placed a tiny kiss on the tip of a blue nose… but blue wasn't exactly right. Riana's skin tone had a hint of something else in it, perhaps violet? The more she thought about it, the more she realized it reminded her of the blue cornflowers she had seen during her years at Oxford. She shook her head at her wandering mind and turned, pulling the towel from her head, and brushing her hair while Riana watched from behind.

Speaking in a near whisper, she said, "Your presence in my life is truly a blessing, Sammi." Handing Traynor's underwear to her, she added, "Get dressed, please. While I thoroughly enjoy looking at your nude body, I feel the need to have some lunch." She grinned as she added, "I have a feeling I'm going to need all the energy I can muster this evening."

Traynor smirked, bending to the task of lazily easing her panties up her legs. Watching Riana ogle her body was turning her on as well, so she made a show of carefully tucking each of her breasts into the cups of her bra. Riana opened her mouth to say something before thinking it better to just remain silent as Sammi pulled on a vee-neck long-sleeve sweater, black pants, socks, and short boots, then said, "Let's go, my love," as she slung her backpack over a shoulder.

Riana grabbed Sammi's free hand; as they left their room and went down the stairs to make their way to the dining hall, she admitted, "I am in complete agreement with Lady Liara; it feels really good to be home again."

Both dressed in loose-fitting, comfortable clothing suitable for a relaxing stroll, Liara and Shepard meandered down to the beach and the waterside pavilion after lunch. Walking hand-in-hand, they quietly sauntered along the water's edge, the hard-packed sand barely showing signs of their passage, with the waves quickly erasing any evidence of their transit. The shore birds swirled in the light winds overhead, their cries shattering the near silence as they occasionally dived for fish or landed on the beach to chase crab-like creatures across the surface.

Liara sighed in contentment, softly squeezing Samantha's hand. "I miss this when we are away. The barrens of those long-forgotten worlds simply cannot compare to home, no matter how many artifacts or Prothean traces we discover." She stopped and turned, pulling Shepard around to face her. "While I was growing up, I never would have believed this would be my future, Sam. Thank you for coming into my life, saving me, becoming my lover, my bondmate, my partner in all things… the other half of my soul."

A tear of joy slipped out of Liara's cerulean-blue eyes, which Shepard immediately wiped away with a tender swipe of her thumb. "Do not thank me for that, A Grá. No matter what our future brings, you – and your happiness – will always be my top priority. Just as we did this time… if you ever need to see the beach and feel the sand between your toes, touch the soft petals of the blue roses in the garden… or simply desire to sleep in our own bed for a night… no matter where in the galaxy we may be, we will come home."

"Oh, Sam…" Liara's eyes closed as she leaned in to join their lips and their minds. Sensing her need, Shepard's hand slid across her back, massaging sensitive places through the fabric of her blouse, making her gasp. "Goddess… I want you," she whispered.

"Right here?"

Liara felt Sam's grin on her lips and chuckled. "It wouldn't be the first time, now, would it?"

"No," replied her bondmate. "But it would be the first time in broad daylight!"

At that, Liara's laughter filled the beach, sending the shorebirds scattering at the rather unexpectedly loud sound. "I suppose it would, at that." Her face felt hot as she added, "So, I also suppose we should head back to the house, before we make a complete spectacle of ourselves… unless you would prefer we continue our walk?"

"Are you crazy? Do you honestly think I'd turn down an offer like that?" Shepard cocked an eyebrow as she continued, "Not on your life, Doctor T'Soni!"

T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula – 23 Jul 2190

The return to Thessia was a welcome break for everyone, especially for Riana; as Captain of Liara's personal guard – and her First – she would be spending a major portion of each day performing equipment inspections and requisitioning needed replacements, replenishing supplies, and developing contingency plans for any number of scenarios. She also knew her nights would be spent blissfully wrapped in the embrace of her Breá Ber'ah. Their nightly lovemaking, fueled equally by their intense passion for and utter devotion to each other, invariably left them drained, mentally and physically; sleeping soundly afterwards was never a problem, for either of them.

Samantha Traynor was nearly as busy, especially on the day after their arrival – she spent a major portion of her waking hours updating the software suites responsible for enabling Alethea's long-range communications ability, as well as the sleek corvette's deep-space scanning capability. Additionally, she was monitoring the data network for comms chatter that even hinted the Blue Suns were showing interest in any of the Prothean ruins on Sharring. The last thing she wished to see was the Alethea being ambushed by the merc group.

"What I wouldn't give for an hour-long visit with Edi," she commented while enjoying lunch with Riana. "She is so much more capable at data-mining than I'll ever be."

The left corner of Riana's mouth twitched upwards, echoing Traynor's smirk. "Do not belittle your own abilities, Sammi. If there is anything to discover concerning the Suns, I believe the Goddess will reveal it to you." Half-turning in her seat in order to face her lover, she clasped her hands and initiated a shallow meld. {You are so much more capable than you give yourself credit for; it is the main reason you are employed as the comms director for House T'Soni.} A whispered, 'I love you,' was echoed in the link as she withdrew from Sammi's mind.

"Thank you, Ri. You always know exactly what to say, especially when I'm experiencing a bit of self-doubt." Bringing the blue hands up to her face, she quickly kissed the knuckles on each of them, then released her in order to finish lunch. "Now that you've restored my self-confidence, I need to return to my research."

T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula – 26 Jul 2190

In spite of seemingly doing lots of nothing, their first weekend at home had passed amazingly quickly, and Monday morning brought house meetings, along with a call from Raesia Tevos thanking them for the invitation. "I generally wouldn't miss one of your festivals for anything… except for the fact that it is such short notice. The Council wants an update… including an in-person briefing from you on Monday, which I declined on your behalf."

"They actually accepted that?" asked a surprised Liara.

Raesia chuckled quietly. "I didn't give them an option. I simply explained that you only just returned home, following a relatively traumatic event, and you needed a break." She huffed and shook her head. "There will plenty of time for that later, if they still have questions, over the two weeks between the harvest fest and your anniversary. They can wait."

Shepard was disappointed and voiced her regrets. "So, you're not coming to the festival?"

"Unfortunately, not," Tevos shrugged. "But, unless you have special plans for your anniversary, we would love to come for the weekend, arriving on the night of Friday, the 13th?"

A quick comment flashed through the link and Samantha blushed. "No chance of swapping those weekends? Liara and I actually do have plans… and would prefer to spend our anniversary… uhm… alone?" Shepard shrugged uncomfortably and asked, "No hard feelings?"

At that, Tevos broke into laughter, causing Liara and Samantha to exchange confused glances.
Tevos finally managed to wheeze out, "By the Goddess, Sha'ira owes me. She told me I'd never be able to deliver that line without letting on that it was a joke!"

"Raesia Tevos! That was incredibly mean!" Shepard couldn't help but to start laughing. "Funny, for sure… but still mean!" Shaking her head, she asked for confirmation, "So you will be here on Sunday? With Sha'ira?"

Tevos' face still held a cheeky grin over her perceived victory as she answered, "Of course we will, along with Nizia, as well. You know she won't let me go anywhere without her."

"Excellent!" Shepard grinned and shook her head in wonder. "Have I corrupted all of you with my sense of humor?"

Tevos was suddenly more somber as she replied, "No… we have always possessed it. It is simply because we met under rather dire circumstances. From Saren and Sovereign to the Reaper horde led by Harbinger… since we have known one another, we have experienced difficult times. Only recently could we truly begin to breath freely again, Samantha." She glanced at Sha'ira before turning back with a smile. "And we very much look forward to our joint futures."

"Before I forget," Liara chimed in, "I've spoken with the university, and they should be sending you a message by mid-week, including both their short-list of potential candidates to lead the Joab expedition, as well as all their available xenobiologists. Every single one of the researchers jumped at the opportunity to go on such a trip. The only question was what type of security you would be providing."

"Ah. Therein lies the sticking point." Tevos smirked as she continued, "Given its location in the Terminus, we were actually wondering if Aria would be willing to send a few ships to fly top-cover."

That made Shepard break out in laughter. "Seriously? You want to ask Aria?"

"Well, yes… kind of." Tevos continued to grin as she continued, "We were actually hoping that you would be willing to ask Aria, on behalf of the Council."

Shepard drew a deep breath, holding it for a second before blowing it out. "Honestly? I think it should come from you. I overheard your conversation with Aria when she was parked on the couch in Purgatory, being harassed about not going through the proper processing." Shepard smirked at the expression on the councilor's face. "I think you call in a favor for the favor. She hates the idea of being indebted to anyone… so, I do believe she'll do it just to be rid of even the perception that she may owe you."

"Really." Tevos' question was more a statement of incredulity. "I think she would be more likely to extort some ridiculously high fee for the services of her fleet than to just agree to assist us in the endeavor."

"Oh, no doubt she'll try," chuckled Shepard. "That's why you ask first, let her be obnoxious, then lay out the guilt trip about how you never hesitated to help her skip the Citadel's annoying administrivia when she sought refuge during the war – the political risk you took to assist her – particularly when there were thousands upon thousands of Council citizens backed up at the ports wanting entry. Then, you remind her she has a choice; either she sends a few ships to help, or she tolerates a Council Fleet presence at Joab, because you will not leave your research team unprotected." Shepard smirked. "I've seen how you work in the Council, so I know you have the political acumen to pull this off."

"Nice to know you have such faith in me, Shepard." Tevos rolled her eyes and sighed in surrender. "Fine. I'll try it your way."

Shepard gave her a wide smile. "Thanks, Rae. See you on Saturday."

T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula – 31 Jul 2190

"By the Gods, Sharon, that's awesome," Shepard bellowed, clapping Sharon on the shoulder. "When will the stupid criminals of New York figure out they're not gonna get away with that kind of shit for more than a couple of weeks?"

Sharon grinned, "I suppose that's why they're criminals, Shep. They're not smart enough to make money the legal way, so they feel compelled to lie, cheat and steal their way to riches." She glanced across the room at Liara, who was chatting with Matriarchs Marisha and Mozia, before asking, "How's Liara doing?"

"Why do you ask?" Shepard cocked an eyebrow at the seemingly random question.

"Come on." Sharon gave her a look of impatience. "You weren't supposed to be home for another what? Six months at a minimum?" She let out a soft sigh. "I heard about what you found at Joab… And, because of my connections with you, Admiral Lindholm asked me if I wanted to be part of the security expedition there. Asked me if I wanted to lead the ground team, to be honest about it, as a personal favor to you. She figured if you and Liara asked for it, it must be important to you and thought I might like the gig… plus, it offers a change of scenery after being stuck in Mob-town. She knows how much I hate New York."

"And Joab is supposed to be a reward?" Shepard couldn't keep the smirk off her face, making Sharon laugh.

"I know. Right?" The Special Operations colonel shook her head. "The only bonus is that I might have the opportunity to work with Aria T'Loak; she's a piece of work, that one." It was Sharon's turn to smirk as she added, "But, if you work with her, I figure most of the rumors must be just that – rumors."

"Oh, no. Most of that is all true, don't doubt it." Shepard's eyes flashed in warning. "What Aria and I have is weird… that's for certain. If it hadn't been for the war, I imagine we'd be worst enemies, but each of us had something the other needed and, somehow, we managed to find a bit of common ground."

Sharon's brow knit in confusion. "And what in the galaxy could a Spectre and a Warlord ever have in common?"

"We both abhor the Reapers… bad for business, no matter who you are… and the Blue Suns." Shepard smiled softly before asking, "So, did you take the assignment?"

Laughing, Culver answered, "Of course I did! Any words of advice?"

"Bring a good pressure suit. Inside the facility isn't bad… but running security outside? The almost-double atmospheric is a body-bender if you're not careful. Made us tired if we were out for more than four or five hours at a time. A whole day would be exhausting."

"I meant regarding Aria, you bonehead." Sharon grinned, realizing Shepard had avoided the topic on purpose. "And you know it!"

"Ha. Yeah." Shepard nodded and smiled. "I've got a couple things for you, neither of which should surprise you. Number one, she's a straight shooter. She'll tell you like it is and will often take pleasure in what she's saying if she knows it's something you don't want to hear; you'll know by her smirk before she even says anything. Also, she won't lie to you, so you can take her at her word." Sharon gave a single nod in understanding, and Shepard continued, "Second, return her honesty; don't cross her and you'll get along just fine. If you lie to her, your relationship will end immediately, and you'll be dead to her… hopefully only figuratively. She doesn't trust people enough to give out second chances."

"Roger that." Sharon smiled. "It's not like you or I deal any other way, so that should be easy."

Giving Sharon a second to absorb the information, Shepard paused briefly before asking, "So… How are things going with Adrien?"

The twinkle in her eye and the shy smile that appeared on Sharon's lips gave Samantha her answer before the woman ever opened her mouth. "Really good, actually. I had to go to Gellix just a couple of weeks ago, to speak with Kaestis and Khel… some satisfaction survey bullshit demanded by the Council. They called it a check on the Blue Suns activity in the Wastes, to make sure they weren't threatening Gellix… but the questions were about the level of cooperation from Co-Governor Burns." Sharon shrugged her shoulders. "The request… fuck that! The demand came from Osoba. For some reason, that man still has a bug up his ass over Adrien."

At that, Sharon laughed. "He still doesn't see the resemblance, and I think that's what bugs him. He knows he's crossed paths with her, seen her somewhere, or something, and he can't quite put his finger on it. I don't think he ever will, either, unless you show up standing side-by-side in his office someday." She chuckled again as she added, "Even then, I'm not sure he'd figure it out."

"Maybe I should just tell him, so he can get over it and quit obsessing over her," Shepard huffed. "A long-distant relative who bears the Shepard traits?"

"Just leave it be, Sam," Sharon stated without hesitation. "The less attention paid, the better; let it just die on the vine without bearing fruit."

"If that's how you want it, you've got it, Sharon." Samantha smirked, her voice lilting as if trying to get out of being in trouble. "By the way, have I told you how good it is to see you again?"

Sharon chuckled quietly, answering, "You know, sometimes you can be such a shit, Shepard."