I don't own either AvP or Mass Effect

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USM Normandy, Praesidium Docks.

"So, were we convincing?" Andeson asked as they entered the briefing room.

"I believe so," Meredith Vickers answered. "So was the Council. You were angry and belligerent, they were arrogant and dismissive. Exactly the stereotypes everybody expected to see. In particular, what Benezia and Saren would expect to see. It will not last forever, but I think you have bought yourself some time. Mind you, the human public is not going to be happy, though I think Commander Shepard's little outburst may help in that regard. Telling the alien's off and all that."

Shepard shrugged. "People needed to see the Butcher, I gave them the Butcher. Or, at least what everybody expects a Butcher to act like. As for the folks back home, that's up to Udina. With key people in the USM in the know, he believes he can keep things under control, at least for the moment. Mind you, I wonder what the Council promised him in exchange for that much effort, but that's another matter. Meanwhile, we have Council authority to enter Citadel Space if we have to." She jerked her head toward Detective Vakarian, who was standing against the wall. "That's where he comes in."

The turian nodded stiffly. "I can claim Spectre authority for the duration of this mission. Though I should warn you, the moment I do so, news will get out. A Spectre acting publicly is always a hot news item."

"So noted." Shepard sat down and leaned back. "In any case, that's for later worry. For the moment we don't need to use it. I understand, Ms Vickers, that you have a lead on this Benezia character?"

"Yes. Or, rather, on her daughter." Vickers turned her data pad around so they could take a look. It showed an image of a young asari. "Liara T'Soni, one hundred and six years old, which makes her early maiden stage. She is, apparently, a budding archaeologist, who, according to the latest information, joined an expedition to dig up prothean artefacts in the Artemis Tau cluster. I don't know which planet, but there cannot be that many with prothean ruins."

"Do you believe she would be aware of her mother's actions?" Anderson asked. "If not, she may not be much use to us."

Vickers sighed. "Impossible to say. I've met Benezia, though only briefly, but I know nothing about the daughter. Benezia must have had her late in life. That's rare for asari. They usually don't have children once they reach the matriarch stage. Still, even if she doesn't know what her mother has been up to, she may have ways to get into contact with her, which might be helpful to you."

"If she's willing to share them with us," Anderson objected.

"Oh, she'll share them," Shepard said. "Don't worry about that. But there is another issue I'd like to discuss. Just how does this Benezia fit into the scheme of things. Saren's a Spectre. Fine, I think I understand what that entails. But Benezia, from what I understand she's a political figure, but in what way and what kind of power does she wield? From everything I've heard the asari live in democracies. So, she's what? An elected official, senior civil servant?"

There was a snorting noise from Vakarian. "Hardly."

Vickers looked at Shepard. "In the past, she was all of these things, but she's well beyond that now. Benezia is a Matriarch, with a capital M. That means a lot more than just the final stage in an asari's biological development. The Matriarchs effectively control the asari republics, even though they have no official position. But their power is indirect."
Vickers shrugged. "I'm afraid that when we first started looking into alien government structures people were a little too eager to point out similarities. Inevitable, I suppose, because we tend to think within our own frame of reference. However, it has led to some misconceptions. Yes, technically the asari republics are democracies, but they're democracies in a style that humans largely abandoned as soon as we had to deal with populations larger than a small town.
When we think 'democracy', what we actually mean is a representative democracy, where people elect leaders and then expect those leaders to make the decisions. The asari republics don't function that way. An asari republic functions like an e-democracy, almost nihilistic. The government is very small, with only a handful of elected leaders, and exists primarily as an executive branch that directs the varies civil service organizations. There is no legislative branch the way we understand it, nor much of a judiciary. Instead, laws are approved by plebiscite. That means that every asari gets to vote a lot, far more often than humans. But they are no different from us. Most of them care little for politics. So, how do they vote? They cannot refuse because each plebiscite needs a minimum number of votes to be valid and the bar for those is usually quite high. If they don't vote, nothing gets done. So, they go looking for advice on how to vote. That's where the matriarchs come in."

"They look for guidance from older asari?"

"Yes. Their culture has a lot of reverence for age and experience. So, while in theory, each asari has a vote, it is more correct to say that each family has a block of votes, directed by the family's matriarchs. If, that is, they have any. Many don't. So they go looking elsewhere for guidance."

"Wait." Shepard frowned. "Many families don't have even one matriarch?"

"No. Look, an asari can live something like a thousand to twelve-hundred years. But in practice, most of them don't make it. Take a typical asari. Somewhere between age 50 and 100, she enters her maiden stage. Now, emotionally, an asari maiden is like a human teenager. Volatile, emotional, and with the judgment of a lemming. However, there are two major differences. For one thing, it lasts much longer. Humans grow out of it in five to ten years. An asari stays a maiden for one or two centuries."

"I see. A lot of time to do something stupid and die."

Vickers nodded. "Exactly! On top of that, human teenagers are still under parental control. An asari maiden isn't. Legally, they're considered adults. Most leave home during that stage. Try to imagine: the mental and emotional equivalent of a bunch of thirteen and fourteen-year-old humans running around unsupervised, with full permission to drink, operate vehicles and basically do anything that any other citizen has a right to do. It's a recipe for disaster. And they're thrill-seekers. They flock toward jobs that contain an element of excitement, or danger. Many will spend some time as exotic dancers in bars. Never the safest of professions. Others join the military or find work as mercenaries. You can imagine how well that works."

"Children running around with guns."

"Basically, yes. And a lot of them get killed before they learn how to do their jobs properly. It's a major check on their population growth. Consider: asari are fertile for hundreds of years, and their gestation period is only about a year. In theory, a single matron could have a hundred children or more. In practice, a lot of asari die before they ever have the chance, which keeps the average number of children per asari down. Not all of them are like that, of course, just like not every human teenager is an idiot. Some just continue their education, or find normal jobs; but still, the majority spend at least a few decades kicking over the traces. Add to that the normal attrition from accidents and diseases and you get some ugly statistics. Now, I don't have exact numbers, but I suspect that about a quarter of the asari that enter maiden stage don't survive it. In fact, some don't want to. They deliberately go looking for death as soon as their matron stage starts. They don't want to grow up."

"An asari Peter Pan," Anderson said. "Forever a child."

Vickers nodded. "Oh, you have no idea how popular that story is among asari."

"You're kidding."

Vickers' lips twisted in a brief smile.

"You're not kidding."

"No. Both the idea of eternal childhood and the warning contained in that story find a lot of resonance among the asari. Incidentally, Commander, you may want to think about what these numbers imply for the asari mother-daughter connection."

"A lot of heartbreak, I would imagine."

"Oh, yes. It's a problem that comes with their longevity anyway. They're used to watching the people they care about die. Because of that, quite a few asari tend to shy away from deep emotional bonds, even with their own children. I don't know about this particular example, but don't expect the T'Soni mother and daughter to have a strong personal connection, just because they are genetically related. Some asari are very close to their children. Others barely acknowledge that they exist.
In any case. Let's get back to our hypothetical asari. Assume that she survives her maiden stage. Now she is a matron. They are far more sedate, but the phase also lasts much longer: at least five-hundred years. A lot can go wrong during that time. Accidents, disease, you name it. It's not as spectacular as the maiden stage, but there is steady attrition and a lot of them die before they become matriarchs. Again, no precise numbers, but my estimate is that the percentage of matriarchs to the total population varies from less than point one per cent in the newer colonies to at most five per cent on Thessia. Add that to the fact that asari count family only in the maternal line, and a lot of families don't have a single matriarch. So, they go looking for guidance elsewhere. For that matter, quite a few of the matriarchs themselves look around for guidance as well. That's where the other kind of matriarch, the one with the capital M comes in."

"Like this Benezia."

"She's almost an archetype. You see, some asari decide early on that they want to be movers and shakers. Usually, that decision comes during the middle to late maiden stage. Those asari attach themselves to an important, powerful political figure. A capital M Matriarch. For decades, they hang around her. They listen to her teachings and act as her errant girls, bodyguards, even enforcers. Once they reach the matron stage, most of them leave, but by then they are set on their course. They look for government jobs, become diplomats, civil servants, and compete for the few elected positions available in an asari republic. Meanwhile, they promote themselves. They publish articles and books on political subjects. They give speeches, lecture at universities and most of all, they look for allies and followers. They build up a network of people who agree with them, who support them, or owe them favours.
By the time they reach the matriarch stage, they are embedded within a political machine that revolves around them. Then, once they are matriarchs they get the pay-off. With their support basis firmly established and the added authority that comes with their age, they suddenly find themselves at the head of a vast following. Thousands of asari now look at them for guidance. They are now the new generation of capital M Matriarchs, the ones that everyone, including the normal matriarchs, will follow."

Shepard nodded in understanding. "They control the votes."

"Exactly. Someone like Benezia, who is highly respected even among the other bigshot Matriarchs, can deliver millions of votes in any plebiscite, not just in the Republic where she herself lives, but in many others as well. Which means that all the matrons that manage the day-to-day rule of the Asari Republics will try to court her favour. Imagine the power that comes with that position."

"So much for democracy."

Vickers shrugged. "It's not an unknown system among humans. Every human democracy has had people like this, professional demagogues, union leaders, religious leaders, star reporters, all kinds of celebrities who can sway large numbers of voters and use that to wring concessions from the politicians. That's where the whole concept of endorsements comes in."

"Alright, but what does that mean for me? Should I anticipate interference from the Asari Republics."

"Tough to say. They won't be happy about this. To see a highly respected figure like Benezia publicly condemned will hurt the reputation of all asari. Then again, Benezia's loss is the other Matriarchs' gain. If they smell blood, they will look to pick up her support base, and in private be quite happy that you eliminated her. But that's for the future. For the moment, at the very least Benezia will have her acolytes. Scores, perhaps even hundreds of them. All asari maidens, many with commando training, experience as mercenaries, or both. There will be a number of older asari as well, people who have attached themselves to Benezia permanently and act as her representatives. On top of that, she is personally rich, with a wide range of investments. She will have access to a lot of money, as well as people everywhere who either owe her favours or want her to owe them."

Shepard whistled softly. "Not good. Still, I suppose at least the political part of her power is limited to the Asari Republics or at least Citadel Space. If I can catch her outside that region, we'll just have to deal with her commandos."

"'Just,' she says" Anderson smiled grimly. "Those are the most-feared special forces in Citadel Space. Don't underestimate them, Shepard."

"Oh, I won't, but that's something I'm trained and equipped to deal with. Political pressure, that's a lot tougher to fight." She shook her head. "But that's for the future. Right now, we need a plan of action and for lack of a better lead, I will track down the T'Soni girl. Detective Vakarian here will be along for the ride, which shouldn't be too much of a problem. Basically, we're exchanging one turian Spectre for another. We still have the dextro-aminoacid food left over from Kryiks stay. But we'll have a couple of other guests as well."

"A couple?" Vickers' eyebrows rose. "I understand that the quarian will be travelling with you for at least part of the way, considering you promised her transport home, but-"

"It's more than that," Shepard said. "If all I wanted was to send her back where she came from, I could have put her on a transport and washed my hands of the whole affair. I need insight in the geth, and she's the closest thing to an expert I can find within about ten thousand parsecs. There hasn't really been time to sit down with her and pump her for information. Besides, right now I don't even know what questions to ask. But keeping her on board for more than a few days creates problems. We need to set up a sterile room for her, which is what she and Dr Chakwas are doing right now. Not a lot of space on a frigate, so you can imagine the kind of shoe-horning that will take. As for our other guest, you remember our new krogan buddy, Urdnot Wrex? He's picking up his gear even as we speak."

"You're bringing him along?" This time Vickers seemed actually shocked.

Shepard grinned. "I'm hurting for ground forces. We lost several marines on Eden Prime and we didn't have a full complement, to begin with. Even with Chief Williams joining us, we're still short. Having a big krogan with a big shotgun will make up the difference quite nicely. Plus, he can walk around in places where a group of humans would attract too much attention. Besides," Her grin faded. "I don't trust him."

"You think he was too eager to stick around," Anderson asked.

"A bit. And he had a funny response when he heard that it was Saren I was after. I'm not sure if it was personal or just because Saren pissed of the Shadow Broker. Either way, I'd rather keep Mr Wrex where I can see him. If nothing else, I wouldn't be surprised if the Broker intends to send him after Saren anyway and in that case, I'd rather not have him running around on his own and potentially getting in the way.
In any case, we'll be having three non-humans on board for the moment. God only knows how the crew will respond. Then again, they managed to deal with Kryik without any incidents, so I suppose we'll be able to get along. One big happy family."

Anderson shook his head somewhat ruefully. "I'd never thought I'd say this, Shepard, but right now I'm almost glad I'm no longer in command. Ah, well. All I can say is 'good luck'. Meanwhile, we'll be keeping an eye on things here. Communication with the Council can go through us, at least for the moment. I'll also be in touch with Arcturus HQ. If you run into more xenomorphs, you'll need the right kind of equipment. In the old days, it was part of our standard kit, but those days are long gone. Still, they should have some of that stuff in storage. There might even be some new toys in the box. There were rumours, back in the day about new prototypes that were being developed, but after the First Contact War, focus changed and I don't know what became of those projects. I'll ask around, see if they have produced anything useful."

Shepard grimaced. "I'll settle for some nice acid neutralizer. We got lucky on Eden Prime that nobody got splashed. I talked to Chakwas, but we have nothing on board to deal with that. At least, nothing we could easily carry with us. I know, the autodoc can probably fix whatever damage it does, but that's only if you can get to it in time."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Anderson rose from his chair. "Well, I guess there is no time like the present. Let's do the transfer of command right now. Then I'll be on my way and you can start getting ready for departure."

-0-0-0-

A few hours later

The airlock was sealed and on the bridge, the docking clamps' control button glowed a bright green, indicating they were ready to be released. All over the ship crew members were at their duty stations. USM Normandy was ready for departure.

A brief tone sounded, indicating that the shipwide intercom had been activated.

"Ladies and gentleman," The voice sounded throughout the ship. "I'll keep this brief. I have some good news, and I have some bad news. Let's start with the good news. For once, the recruitment ads were right. We are about to embark on a journey of high adventure. We will travel the galaxy. We will visit strange new worlds. We will meet exotic new people. And we'll probably end up killing quite a few of them."

In the cargo hold, three non-humans exchanged glances.

"That's all the good news," The voice continued. "Now for the bad news. We are looking for the smallest needle in the biggest haystack ever."

The glances between the aliens turned to confusion.

"We are searching for two individuals, on one ship, who have an entire galaxy to hide in. Now, for the moment we have a lead to track down but make no mistake. If I have to turn over every Godforsaken rock on every Godforsaken planet in this entire Godforsaken galaxy until I find them, that's exactly what I will do. So, I hope that none of you has made plans for the immediate future, because any such plans are now on indefinite hold. Good luck, and happy hunting."

With a click, the intercom shut down.

Shepard looked at the pilot. "Too much?"

"Maybe a little, ma'am."

"Well, giving speeches was never my biggest talent. Release docking clamps, Mr Moreau, and take her out."

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A/N

A bit of an info dump I'm afraid. One of the things I really liked about ME was the amount of individualism among aliens. None of that one-character-trait-fits-all that you see so often in SciFi. In particular, the asari show enormous variation in emotional responses. Some are the coldest sociopaths you should ever hope not to meet and quite willing to throw their own family under the bus. On the other hand, you have asari breaking down in tears over the death of a partner, centuries earlier. It is really heart-breaking. Try to imagine how much emotional pain someone like that goes through over the centuries.

So, yes, Vickers has actually met Liara (See my first story Someone has heard them scream), but only briefly. It's not like they got introduced and it's unlikely she would recognize her face after all this time.

Regarding a reviewer's comment: Why do the Predators help Saren, who is a dishonourable criminal by their standards? Simple answer: They don't. Saren is a tool that they're using. As long as the end goal has not been reached, they'll make sure he stays alive. Once that is done, they might kill him to tie off a loose end. For that matter, they might even count on the xenomorphs to do it for them because sooner or later he'll lose control of them, or maybe they'll lock him and Shepard in a room just to see what would happen.