John, Eternity Restaurant, Nos Astra Regal Towers, Upper Deck

"Is...is she...vibrating?" Jane smirked as she pointed at Tali with a bread stick.

"Umm," John looked down at the quarian. She had moved her chair to be closer to John. Very close. Not quite to the point of touching, or getting in each others way, but still, pretty close. As close as they were at the moment, John could hear the almost subsonic purr coming from her. "Not really, she's just on an emotional high."

"I would think so," Kelly smiled. "I'm amused I get a sister and a nephew in one go."

"What's a nephew?" Grunt asked as he very carefully used a human sized spoon on...whatever he was eating.

"A nephew is the child of one's brother," Hestalia explained. "As John is taking you into the Clan, he is effectively your parent. As such, Jane and Kelly would be your aunts. There is also a chain of responsibility if the parent is deceased, but you are adult enough that it doesn't matter."

"I...oh," looking down at his plate Grunt shifted slightly. "This is...awkward. I don't know how to react. Okeer's imprints didn't give me anything like this."

"That's why it's good for you Grunt," John leaned forward with a seriously. "You have a lot of knowledge. You know things, but you don't have experience. You don't have context for a lot of it. You need to live, out in the world and see, and do, new things. Find who you are. Beyond your imprints."

"Then...I look forward to learning from you…." Grunt turned his attentions back to his food. He had been watching how the others used the utensils and was copying them. Fairly well, even.

"So...mother," John turned his overly happy smile to Hannah. "I have a burning question for you."

"The farm on Earth," Hannah narrowed her eyes as she tapped a knife handle on the table. "We can to it at the pond. Maybe have a little getaway spot on the island itself so they can take a break between ceremony and reception….."

"Oh god...she's in the zone," Jane crossed her fingers in Hannah's direction. "Be careful, or you'll get wedding obsession fever!"

"Wait...we'll what?" Tali looked up and blinked. "What do human Bonding ceremonies entail?"

"Oh...a LOT," Kelly chuckled. "It isn't for you. Other than for legal purposes anyway. The whole point of the thing is for your friends and family to get together and have a massive party."

"And don't get into the resources issue," John raised a hand before Tali could bring it up. "Humans tend toward extravagance in weddings. It's an important event. Two lives are becoming one and are beginning their journey together."

Tali beamed at him as she nodded. "It is much the same for quarians. We just don't do the large party...part."

"We have the resources," Jane shrugged. "Interesting part will be getting the quarian ceremony done. And who from the Flotilla we invite."

"I'm thinking June...good time for flowers. Cake should be...well, two I suppose. Dextro and levo…" Hannah continued, off in her world.

"I...I don't know if we will be able to have the quarian ceremony," Tali looked at her lap for a moment. "I can't imagine finding a Captain in the Flotilla willing to do it."

"Couldn't Jane do it?" Kelly asked. "Seems like a work around."

"Mmhmmm," Jane shook her head as she chewed and swallowed frantically. "No..well, sort of. But I won't."

"If Jane did it there would be a legal hole to have it invalidated," John sighed as he sat back. "Jane's quarian status is is tenuous and tied up in the Alliance treaty that doesn't exist."

"Exactly," Jane nodded. "And if John and Tali are able to find somebody willing, we will have to jump through every hoop, dot every 'i' and make the thing as air tight as possible."

"You don't think Shala would do it?" John took Tali's hand in his own. "I know the last time you spoke, there was some tension, but she has to have calmed down by now."

"You don't know Aunty Shala!" Tali laughed. "She holds grudges like a varren on a steak."

"Yeah, from what Kal'Reeger told me, Shala was livid. She even went directly to Admiral Xen in an effort to push the matter," Jane spoke as she ate.

"I'm sorry, this section is currently reserved," the calm voice of the concierge carried over a lul in the conversation. "If you would like to make an appointment-"

*Blam*

A shot echoed through the room as a scarred krogan stepped forward and fired a second shot into the poor turian.

The left side of the krogan was raw, pink and oozing. The eye on that side was missing as the gore slowly ran down his face. Behind him came nearly a dozen low life reprobates, from nearly every species. They carried a motley assortment of weapons from the heavy shotgun the krogan carried to an assault rifle, pistols, one salarian actually had a broken off bottle in hand.

"Tracking you down was pretty easy there quarian," the krogan pointed at Tali. "Destroy my ships? Take my slaves? If you had a next time, I would say to be sure you finished off what you started!"

"Tali, have you taken up marauding without telling me?" John scowled at his mate.

"Never John! I would never cut you out of my marauding," Tali assured him as she withdrew the light pistol from her handbag.

"There you have it!" Kelly stood up, her arms wide for emphasis. "You got the wrong quarian party! Might as well move on."

"Feh," the krogan spat a mix of phlegm and orange blood on the ground, and partially on Kelly's boot. "Did you really think all my people were on those three ships? I have a small army around this building! I'm going to take my sweet time opening that suit to-"

Instead of words, the krogan's next sounds were more of a semishriek, mixed with a gurgle and the sound of crunching bones as a purple biotic streak that had once been Kelly impacted his face with nearly ten tons of force.

The krogan's head snapped nearly all the way around as the bottom jaw was ripped fully from his face. His mangled body flew back, crashing aside tables and chairs and impacting into the wall, embedding it's plates in the metal.

Kelly paused for a single moment before pulling her biotic power into her fist as she slammed in into the ground. A divot the size of a beach ball was ripped from the ground as shock wave blasted out from the epicenter of impact. Pirates and scum were thrown bodily through the air, only to end up in much the same shape as their boss.

Slowly, Kelly stood back upright, her biotic aura seething and flexing as she breathed deeply.

"Or maybe we should do it on Mindior….We have so many friends there that would be disappointed if they couldn't make it," Hannah sighed as she looked over at Hestalia. "Then we could give John and Tali some time at the farm as a little honeymoon?"

"You're ability to focus on a single thing like that boggles my mind Hannah," Hestalia sighed as she brought up her omnitool. "My people noticed what was happening and took care of the twits on the south side. There was a surprisingly large number of them."

"This was probably my fault, huh," Jane sighed as she picked up the last bread stick. "I was looking forward to that raspberry chocolate mousse too."

Chuckling, John picked up a glass as held it in her direction. "My sister, the one woman catastrophe." Then with a single gulp he downed it. And immediately began coughing. "Dear lord, what is this? Paint thinner?"

"Uh, no," Grunt walked over and picked up a bottle. "They didn't have any ryncol, so I had to make do with this turian whisky."

"John!" Tali rushed to him. "Keelah! We need to get you to a doctor! Something!"

"Tali," John coughed a couple more times as he wrapped his arms around her. "Honey, I'm fine. Was just strong. And tastes terrible."

"But...John….that was dextro alcohol! It should be killing you!" Tali pushed him back as she began scanning him with her omnitool.

"I feel fine," John shrugged. "Little buzzed is all."

"How is this...I don't even…" Tali looked from her omnitool to John then threw up her hands. "I give up."

"Hey! Look at it this way, we can eat the same things now!" John laughed as he pulled Tali close again. "And this time, Jane gets to pay for the damages!"

"So...this is probably the best time as I am going to get," Kelly swallowed hard as she stepped her way out of her small crater. "Dad...Jane, Johnny…."

"Oh shit, are you getting married too?" Jane snorted. "I'm a pirate now. I can make them 'go away'."

"Jane...seriously, if either of us are going to be eliminating Kelly's significant other, it will be me," John chuckled as he crossed his arms. "I can do it legally and everything. Make a show of it."

"You guys are assholes," Kelly threw a handful of rocks at her siblings. "No...I've been offered a fasttrack to N7 school...and I have accepted."

There was nearly a minute of silence as the family processed the information. Grunt and Tali simply looked around mildly confused.

"NO!" Hestalia was the one that broke first. "No! You can't! You're just a baby!"

"I'm not a baby! I'm not a child! I am a grown adult!" Kelly stomped her foot, adult like. "I am a marine, and an officer. Now I get to do what I dreamed about and become the best of the best!"

"Well...fuck," Jane blinked. Then frowned and punched John in the shoulder as hard as she could.

"OW! Jane! What the fuck!" John recoiled, gripping his wounded arm.

"This is your damned fault!" Jane moved to hit him again, but missed as John dodged. "She's trying to be like you, you dumb shit!"

"Kelly...you don't understand," the strength seemed to leak out of Hestalia as she dropped into a chair. Her hands covered her face as she wept. "You aren't an adult! You are barely a child!"

"Goddess...dad…" Kelly squatted down in front of Hestalia. "You just saw what I can do. I held off Collectors for six hours before I even had a biotic amp. I'm not a child. I can do this!"

"You're asari, Kelly!" Hestalia looked up. Her hands wrapped around the back of Kelly's head as she pressed her forehead to Kelly's. "This isn't some racist bullshit. You are not human. You may have citizenship in the Alliance. You joined the marines against my wishes, when my back was turned. But this is not the point! You are only adult for a human. But, YOU ARE NOT HUMAN!"

"Dad…" Kelly pulled away, both hurt and confusion warred on her face.

"You are twenty. Your mother is forty-nine. John and Jane are twenty-nine," Hestalia pointed to each person in turn. "They will all die. They will grow old, while you do not. You will watch everybody you love change, and die, and you will be left behind. That is what asari must learn. Time passes differently. Humans look to the future, their long term plans are a casual idea for us. I love your mother and you, and John, and Jane, more than I have ever loved, or cared for anything. But for me? They will be gone in an eyeblink."

"Hesti," Hannah, sighed as she lay a hand across her husband's shoulder.

"I know," Kelly sniffed, trying to hold back her own tears. "I know. I've had to think about it. John and Jane and Mom, and now you. You are all out risking your lives to save this shit hole of a galaxy. Any of you may die at anytime. Hell, John's died once already! If Something is coming that can destroy all life, then it doesn't matter how old I am. It doesn't matter if I've come to terms with being alone. I'll be dead along with all of you anyway. And if we do die? We die together. As a family. As a clan. Hell, we even have a krogan and a quarian! Couple more and we'll have a full set!"

Hestalia looked at her daughter and cried. She clung to her wife, and cried knowing that her baby was right.

Xera, SR-2 Normandy, Med Bay

"I hadn't looked into his implants in a while," Xera shrugged. "Lot going on. I have a private project I'm doing for one of the crew that got weird. I'm trying to figure out my own implants, and I need to find a way to adjust your immune system."

"But...Xera!" Tali's hands did their cute little twisting thing again. "Is he going to be alright?"

"He seems fine," Xera gestured to where John was sitting as Karin scanned him. "Karin can handle him right now.. And really, when she's done, he should go see Mordin about the implants. That's right in his strike zone."

For a moment Tali's eyes narrowed. She was in a little bit of a huff. Standard Bond reaction. Besides, Xera could faintly feel the frustration.

That was another thing. As Tali's Bond seemed to grow, her's got fainter, more distant. It was still there. Still painful and raw. It was sort of like drowning slowly. You can see that patch of light that would save you, but you just can't reach it.

"Either way, I have been recalled to the Fleet. Got the message this morning, but wanted to see the festivities before I looked for passage out," Xera said casually. "Probably be good to get me off your helmet for a while."

"What?!" Tali and John exclaimed, almost in unison.

"It isn't so dramatic," Xera rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "They thought I was dead for a good...what? Two months, give or take? I really should have reported in a long time ago."

"You don't need to book passage Xera," John hopped off the exam table after receiving a quick nod from Karin. "I told you before that we would take you. Besides, I need to have a discussion with some people there."

"Well, I was prepared to argue, but if you'll be going after the Admiralty Board again, I sure as hell am not missing it," Xera laughed before pointing to John. "You go see Mordin. I'm going to try to get my project worked out before we get to the Fleet."

"How much more do you need to do?" Karin asked as the doors closed behind John and Tali. "I thought you had finished."

"With the work, sure," Xera hung her head. "Now I have to figure out how to tell her."

A look of understanding crossed Karin's face. "Yes, that is usually the hardest part. When I told Hannah, it broke my heart."

"Yeah? How did you get through it?" Xera looked up to the human.

"Alcohol," Karin chuckled ruefully. "Lot's of it."

Jacob, SR-2 Normandy, Armory

Maybe it was a lie. A fabrication to throw him off. Or something from Cerberus to keep him in line. The Illusive Man throwing a bone to his straying dog.

He opened the message again and read it. The words hadn't changed. They hadn't changed the last eight times he looked at it either. It wouldn't change if he looked at it eight more.

But the mission was too important to divert for something that had a much higher chance of being a trap than it did being legit.

Again, this gnawing at the back of his mind was distracting, and could cause a problem by itself. His head had to be fully in the game or somebody might get hurt.

"Damnit," Jacob spat as he slammed the avenger rifle he had been working on down onto the bench. Parts broke and scattered as the frame itself bent. "Fuck."

"You seem to be having an issue," a voice made of gravel came from behind him. Turning, Zaeed stood the the armory doorway, leaning against the bulkhead. "Was going to ask you if you thought converting Jesse to a heatsink rifle would be worth the effort. But seeing as how you dislike the current avenger model, I think I'll hold off."

"My father might be alive," Jacob said quietly as he leaned against the workbench, a hand rubbing at the mounting headache in his forehead. "It's been ten years of nothing. Then suddenly...poof. The emergency beacon from his ship pops up."

"Probably a trap," Zaeed nodded.

"I know."

"You're going to go anyway, right?"

"I...don't know," Jacob admitted as he frowned at his boot. All these years he had felt it was behind him. He was done with all of this crap, that it was fully scarred over.

"Tell Shepard. See what he thinks. He's a good Captain and has good guts for this type of thing," Zaeed jerked a thumb toward the bridge. "Just saw him come up on deck anyway."

Jacob stared at the door for a long moment before sighing.

John, SR-2 Normandy, Bridge

"Jane, when are you headed out?"

"Almost done with restock and minor calibrations, so about a day, why?" Jane's eyes narrowed behind the visor of her quarian suit.

"I'm conscripting you under my authority as a Spectre," John waved his hand in the air, making a rough shape. More like a sick squid than anything else. "It's important."

"Shit, alright. Knowing the kinda shit you deal with, I assume there will be some killing to happen?" Jane half smirked as she rubbed her hands together.

"In theory, it's a rescue for a ten year cold ghost," John made a small face. "I have some business at the Flotilla, and would rather not put this lead off in case it goes dark again."

"You know how I hate ghost stories john," Jane sniffed. "But I'll do whatever this is. But if my ship comes back from the depths of hell as some sort of tentacled demon ship, It's coming for you first."

"Okay," John laughed as he shook his head. "I kinda thought you would be over that by now."

"John," Jane said softly, yet dangerously.

"Anyway," John stood up and went back to business. "I'm sending a team with you. Jacob, Zaeed, and Mordin. It's Jacob's father that you are looking for. He has the details and will brief you himself. Other than that, this is your show. Do what needs doing."

"Yes, sir, Spectre, sir!" Jane saluted off her nose, then flipped him off and hung up.

"Fucking sisters…."

Miranda, SR-2 Normandy, XO's Office

"Garrus...I have some intel for you," Miranda gave the turian a serious look.

"Ummm...okay?" raising a brow plate, Garrus gave her an expectant look.

"Well, shit, if you aren't going to sit, I'll stand…" Miranda sighed as she stood, clasping her hands together.

"Okay...now this feels serious," Garrus looked more concerned now. Which was not what she was going for. She was never good at this bleeding heart crap. It would be a lot easier if she could just be her usual bitch about it….

"I've put out some feelers after you helped me with Oriana, and everything…." Miranda paused searching for words.

Garrus nodded casually. "How is the squirt settling in?"

"Oh! Well! She's doing excellent. She's much better at the social life than I ever was," Miranda gave a small pained, yet proud look, before shaking her head. "But that's not what I have to tell you…"

"Alright," Garrus nodded. "Lay it on me."

"I have a lead on Sidonis," Miranda said simply.

She stood and watched the emotions ripple across Garrus's face. In the time they had been spending together, she had begun to get a decent grasp of turian expressions. And right now, she saw all of them. Shock, hate, anger, fear, joy, rage, depression, worry…. All of them.

"Don't….don't get too worked up," Miranda held up a hand. "It's just a lead. I'm tracking it down, and I think it will come to something. If not Sidonis himself, at least another solid lead."

"I...thank you," Garrus said in measured tones. "I was worried it might slip through the cracks, with everything going on."

"I wouldn't let you down like that," Miranda gave him the warmest smile she could. "Shepard wouldn't either. He gave me the resources and put me on the track. But...even if he didn't, I would do it anyway. For...for you."

"For me, huh," Garrus smiled. Warmth breaking through the angry shell that had come over him when he heard Sidonis's name. "Why would you do something like that for me?"

"I…" Miranda froze. She felt herself flush, but couldn't get her mouth working. She just stared at an increasingly amused Garrus.

"XO Lawson sometimes speaks about you in her sleep," Edi informed Garrus, as her orb appeared over the holopad on Miranda's desk.

Still frozen, Miranda's expression of embarrassment shifted to one of horror as her eyes widened, and her mouth fell half open.

"Does she now?" Garrus gave Miranda a small smirk. "Does she say good things."

"Most of her comments are sexual in-"

"ENOUGH EDI!" Miranda screamed. "Off! Go away! Shoo!"

As Edi blinked away, Garrus looked at Miranda calmly and blinked once. "Off? Go away? Shoo?"

"I...panicked," Miranda panted as her eyes remained locked on the holopad.

"So….about those dreams…."

"Dammit Garrus!"