Chapter Twenty-eight – Long Day

"This isn't going to work."

"C'mon, Ereba, pessimism like that didn't win us the war."

In the cockpit of the Jiniri, Ereba frowned down incredulously at Shepard's voice coming through the comm, "It's not pessimistic to admit that something is literally impossible."

"We don't know it's impossible until we try."

"Yes, and rip a hole in the ship in the process."

"Ereba, stick with me long enough and you'll learn to trust me when I say something's going to work."

"Jules," Ereba heard Liara's soft voice in the background, "this isn't going to work."

There was an irritated sigh and a pause – during which Ereba assumed Shepard was giving Liara a look – before the human ignored both of their concerns and continued, "Is the cargo bay cleared?"

Ereba ran a finger down her forehead, there was clearly no talking her out of this, "You do remember the mess it was in when you left, right? We've cleared it out as much as we can but-"

"Good!" Shepard cut in, "Is everything in there secured?"

"Yes but-"

"Great. Open the loading ramp."

Ereba hesitated, "You're insane."

She thought she heard Shepard laugh, "Just trust me, okay?"

…

In the shuttle cockpit, Egret stared at the Janiri's cargo bay as the ship lined up in front of them and the loading ramp silently opened, revealing the interior. From this distance, and encompassed by the vast void of space, it looked impossibly tiny.

"This is never going to work," she muttered out loud. Behind her, Shepard gave a dramatic sigh.

"Would everyone stop saying that?" she leaned heavily on the back of Egret's chair, "Typical over-cautious asari, if this was a human crew…" she trailed off and Egret cast her a sceptical glance. She generally considered herself to be more human than asari on many levels and she still thought this was a terrible idea.

Liara apparently agreed.

"Jules, the Janiri isn't built to carry a shuttle," the asari said. She was squashed into the back of the cockpit with her arms folded and a frown on her brow and Egret couldn't help but shift uncomfortably. It was a bad sign when even Liara was doubting Shepard.

"There's enough room in the cargo bay," Shepard stated stubbornly.

"It's getting in that will be the problem. There's only three clear metres each side and less than one top and bottom."

"Exactly, totally doable."

"But risky."

Egret felt Shepard push away from the chair as she turned to face Liara, "What's the alternative? Besides," she lowered her voice, "if we pull this off, they'll never doubt me again."

"If?" Egret exclaimed, snapping her head round to stare at them.

"When," Shepard quickly corrected herself, reaching to pat Egret on the shoulder, "I said when."

For once Egret didn't care that this was the great hero she used to read bedtime stories about. She was pretty sure Shepard was a complete lunatic. She stopped short of saying so though, instead biting her lip as she turned back to her controls and prepared to… die, probably, she realised with grim certainty.

Shepard slapped a hand firmly onto her shoulder, "I have complete faith in you," she stated. Somehow, that didn't help.

Egret rubbed at her forehead and tried to fight the heavy fatigue that was settling behind her eyes. She couldn't even guess how long she had been awake now. The thought of her bed being on the other side of that cargo bay was about the only thing that made this idea remotely appealing.

She looked down at the comm, "Ready, Ereba?"

There was a pause, "As we'll ever be. I'll help you out as much as I can."

Egret hit the forward thrusters and headed straight for the open hatch. As they moved forward, the Janiri loomed before them. It really wasn't a very large ship, which in these circumstances was why it was so intimidating.

The curves of the hull shimmered and gleamed in the starlight and the brightly lit cargo bay came into clear focus. Egret saw that the crew had managed to clear out most of the crates, leaving a clear space in the centre. It looked to have been a rushed job though and numerous shelves and boxes had been hastily pushed to the edges and strapped down with ties. The result was not dissimilar to a teenager's idea of tidying their bedroom.

As they reached the open hatch, Egret felt her heart begin to pound faster and her breathing quickened to the point where she had to concentrate on it to keep from hyperventilating. Shepard's grip tightened on her shoulder; at first it was reassuring but eventually it became uncomfortable.

"Shepard," she muttered through gritted teeth, "you're cutting off the blood to my arm."

"Sorry," Shepard said quickly and pulled her hand back.

"How am I doing, Ereba?" she asked.

"You look clear on all sides from here. Just keep her steady and you'll be fine."

Egret edged the shuttle forwards, half expecting to hear the scraping of metal at any second. But all remained quiet as they passed through the hatch; the next task was landing in the cleared space that, frankly, looked barely big enough.

"Be careful setting down," Liara said softly, "this deck wasn't designed to have a shuttle land on it."

Egret took the advice on board as she lined up the shuttle as best she could and gently lowered it to the floor. Something crunched loudly as the port thruster crushed a metal crate, making Egret jump so violently she almost took off again.

"Don't worry," Shepard said quickly, "probably wasn't anything important."

The shuttle touched down completely and Egret breathed a heavy sigh as she shut off the engines, "We're down, Ereba."

"Well done. I'm re-pressurising the cargo bay now. Rhys wants to see you all in the med bay. No arguments."

Egret sat back in her chair, "Are all our missions going to be as eventful as this one?" she asked no one in particular.

Behind her, Shepard chuckled, "Oh, this was just the warm up."

…

Rhys was whistling when they entered the med bay, his bright eyes so cheerful and alert that Jules felt exhausted just looking at him.

"Shepard!" he greeted her with a wide, alien grin.

"Doctor," she replied with less enthusiasm, "you look… cheerful."

"That's because while you were running around getting yourself shot at, I was enjoying a full night's rest followed by a hearty breakfast," he peered at her disapprovingly and then pointed to the bed in front of him, "sit," he commanded.

She ignored the instinct to refuse – just to prove she was the one in charge – and instead did as she was told, hoisting herself up onto the bed and letting her legs dangle over the side. The rest of the squad filed in behind her, looking tired and lethargic now that the adrenaline and the excitement had worn off.

"Take a seat wherever you can," Rhys told them, "the nurses will give you a once over then it's food and bed for all of you."

Liara hopped onto the bed beside Jules and Rhys began running a scanner over both of them, "Cuts, bruises, friction burns," he tilted her head to get a look at the cut at her lip, "I can see being your doctor will be a full time occupation."

Jules smiled, "I promise you'll never be bored."

"Who are our new guests?" Rhys nodded to Falere and Samara who were being looked over by one of the nurses.

"Samara and her daughter Falere, we rescued them both from a crime lord."

"Of course you did," Rhys agreed, then seemed to do a double take and looked at Samara more closely, "not the Samara?"

"Mhm," Jules agreed, "it's a small galaxy. She gave me the friction burns," she jerked a thumb towards her back and gave Rhys a grin. He blinked at her for a moment then shook his head.

"I won't ask."

"It's too long a story anyway," Jules agreed, suppressing a yawn, "anything happen while we were away?" she asked lazily.

"Well, there's been no gunfights or kidnappings; in fact it's been positively dull compared to your adventures. The crew has been gathering sensor data from across the whole system and I believe they've also managed to decrypt those coded files from the freighter."

Liara perked up at that, "I wonder if they found anything useful," she muttered.

"Not your concern, Doctor," Rhys told her sternly, "not until you've had a decent meal and a long sleep anyway."

Jules and Liara exchanged a glance and Jules was pleased to see a small smile from the asari. She was fairly sure they were both being reminded of similar lectures they'd received from Doctor Chakwas, in another life.

"I do have something to ask you, Doctor," Jules said.

"Rhys will do," he reminded her casually.

"Alright," she agreed, "theoretically, how would a non-asari access their biotic abilities without an implant?"

"Theoretically?" he took a moment to think, his glowing eyes narrowed curiously, "they wouldn't. It's impossible. Our bodies just aren't built for biotics like an asari's. Why?"

"Because they exist," Jules stated bluntly, "by all accounts, in this part of the galaxy people don't need biotic implants."

"Really? Fascinating," Rhys pondered, "do you know anything else?"

"Only that the first non-implants probably came from Thessia, descendants of the survivors who were stranded there, presumably."

"Could their bodies have evolved to let them survive the eezo on Thessia?" Liara suggested.

"Over a few millennia, perhaps," Rhys agreed, "in just a few generations? Doubtful. You'd have to bring me one of these people to run tests on if you want any answers, Shepard. Or a body, whichever's easiest for you."

Jules concealed a smile, "I'll see what I can do."

With access to far better medical equipment than Cadeyrn gave his fighters, Rhys managed to patch them up quickly enough before sending them all to the mess hall. The rations they got were plain but Jules didn't taste it anyway, she was too busy thinking about other things. What was she going to do about Cadeyrn? How were there non-asari biotics without implants in asari space? Who were the Thessian Order and where the hell were they shipping eezo to? Mostly though, she just wanted to know what was going on with Liara and Kyla.

They all wolfed down their food in a similar, half-asleep stupor before heading for their beds. Jules told Ereba to find somewhere for Falere and Samara to sleep and then told them she'd catch up with them later.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she dragged Liara into their cabin and shut the door on the rest of the ship, leaving them alone.

As Barbet had warned, the cabin was a bit small for two but by no means cramped. The bed was smaller than a double but since they didn't take up much room together, it was plenty big enough for the two of them. It was crammed at the end of the room, beneath a sloped window that offered anyone lying on it a view of the stars, reminding Jules of her old skylight on the Normandy.

The rest of the room was just big enough for a desk and a chair; a wardrobe was built into the wall and next to it was a sliding door. Jules opened it and peered inside to find a tiny but fully stocked bathroom. It was a far cry from the fish tank and leather sofas she used to enjoy on the Normandy but it didn't matter. If she had ever had a taste for luxury she had lost it long ago and right now, the standard of her living quarters was the furthest thing from her mind.

She turned to see Liara had slumped down onto the bed, resting her head in both hands, "I could sleep for a week," she mumbled through her palms.

"Sounds tempting," Jules agreed, wandering over to join her, "but first, are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

…

Ereba led Falere though the Janiri's endlessly curving corridors, passing numerous cabin doors along the way, "You're in luck," she said, to avoid the kind of awkward silence that can develop with someone you've only just met, "we had to leave some of our crew behind at the HTA detention centre otherwise we wouldn't have any free rooms," as she heard the words coming out of her mouth, she realised how they sounded and quickly shot Falere a look, "sorry! I didn't mean that to come across as being heartless."

The other asari gifted her a delicate smile. Everything about Falere was delicate and elegant; she seemed to glide as she walked, every movement measured and precise and when she talked there was an attractive gravel to her voice, low and eloquent. She was a proper asari, brought up in a time before the war. So was Ereba, of course, but she didn't really feel like it these days. Hell, she'd spent so much of the last two centuries around aliens she'd lost most of her asari grace and instead picked up habits from humans, turians, probably even krogan.

She hadn't really noticed it before, but next to the classic beauty and dignity that Falere was radiating she found herself becoming increasingly self-conscious about her own mannerisms.

"So…" she started with hopes of changing the subject, "is your mother really going to be alright in that side room? There isn't even a bed in there, we were going to use it for storage," when Ereba had offered the justicar a cabin, she had refused, instead picking out the empty side room and claiming it would be adequate for her. Ereba hadn't had the nerve to argue but she did think it was strange.

Falere just smiled, "It has a window, that's all she wants. She can go for weeks without sleep anyway."

"Really?" Ereba frowned very ungracefully and mentally kicked herself for it, "How?"

"Intense meditation," Falere explained, "it's a justicar technique. I've never mastered it myself."

"Wow," Ereba mused, impressed, "she's like a real matriarch then. When my mother hit her matriarch years all she did was drink endless cups of tea and complain about the state of the galaxy. That's when she wasn't criticising me on my relationships, of course. Is Samara strict about your love life?"

For some reason that question seemed to amuse Falere and she smiled to herself for a moment before she answered, "Very."

"Hmph," Ereba nodded, "I know the feeling. Even when I was a grown woman my mother couldn't stop poking her nose in. No one was ever good enough in her eyes. Thank the Goddess she didn't live to see me marry a krogan."

"You're married to a krogan?" Falere asked, curiously. Ereba was used to that reaction, krogan and asari didn't typically make a good match. But then Charr hadn't been a typical krogan, she remembered with a smile.

"Widowed. He died in the war."

She came to the last door of the corridor and keyed in the code. The door slid open and they entered the cramped little cabin beyond, just big enough for the two beds squeezed into it.

"It's not very roomy," Ereba apologised, "but you've got it to yourself. I put some spare clothes in the locker," she gestured to the locker above one of the beds, "nothing fancy but they should fit."

"Thank you," Falere said as she looked around. She didn't seem too bothered about the lack of luxury though she might just have been being polite.

"How long are you staying," Ereba asked. Falere and Samara's presence on the ship had yet to really be explained, let alone what they were planning to do next.

"I don't know. I… don't really know what we're going to do now."

Ereba nodded slowly, "Well… you're welcome for as long as you need to stay."

"Thank you," Falere said again.

Unsure of what to say next, Ereba held her gaze for a while. Falere had remarkable eyes, they sort of shimmered like they were constantly shifting between shades of blue and silver. There was something strange about them, almost magical.

Ereba cleared her throat, "Right. I'll leave you to it," she decided, "call me if you need anything, I'll be… flying the ship."

Falere gave her a gracious nod of her head, "I will. Thank you, Ereba."

Ereba smiled awkwardly and left. As the door slid shut behind her she let out a long breath and relaxed. This instantly made her feel stupid. She was far too old to be getting intimidated by people just because they were more refined and gorgeous than her. It was more than that though. There was something about Falere. Something different. Something… strange.

She shook the thought from her head and walked back towards the cockpit. It was probably nothing.

…

"Aethyta's daughter?" In their cabin, Jules sat down on the bed next to Liara and stared at her. The asari met her gaze wearily and nodded, "And she just… blurted that out?"

"More or less," Liara muttered, "we were arguing and…" she trailed off and Jules didn't need her to elaborate any further.

She sat and thought about it for a while. Kyla was Aethyta's daughter. She thought back over Kyla's recent behaviour, her strange resentment towards Liara, her inappropriate comments and general lack of tact and she realised, with a smile, how little it surprised her.

"That… explains everything," she chuckled softly, "I knew she reminded me of someone. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner."

"Why are you smiling?" there was a harshness in Liara's question that made Jules frown and she realised the asari was glaring at her like she was crazy.

"Liara, she's you're sister."

Liara's face darkened, "No she's not," she stood and paced the length of the room. Considering the room was tiny, whatever effect she'd been attempting was somewhat hindered and she ended up just standing at the door with her back to the bed.

"Alright, half-sister," Jules offered instead.

"She's not even that. There is no genetic link between us."

"And family's all about genes now, is it?" Jules kept her tone light. Liara was tired, and upset, and in those circumstances she had a habit of becoming short-tempered and irrational. Though it was a side of her the rest of the galaxy rarely got to see, it was one Jules was all too familiar with.

"She's not my family," Liara stated stubbornly.

"Of course she is. Her mother was your… father," Jules frowned even as she said it, "pretty sure that's a sentence I've never used before."

The joke didn't do anything to lighten Liara's mood as she turned back with a scowl, "We are not related, Jules. You know asari don't put the same importance on our fathers as other races, we don't see them as our family."

Jules raised an eyebrow, "That might have been true once, back before you ever encountered aliens, but you and I both know that since then you've become part of a galactic community with vastly different ideas on parental roles and you can't pretend that hasn't influenced your own culture. Aethyta definitely saw you as her family."

"Aethyta's dead," Liara stated coolly, before turning back to face the door. Jules sighed and willed her tired legs to stand. She moved slowly across the room and placed a hand on Liara's shoulder; when Liara didn't react she slipped her other arm around her waist and rested her chin on the other shoulder. Liara didn't yield to the contact but she didn't flinch away from it either.

"You knew she had other daughters," Jules muttered softly, "and you can't pretend to me that you've never wondered about them because I've been inside your head. Kyla may not be family to you now but I bet she could be, if you take the time to get to know her."

Liara kept her defiant scowl but something seemed to relent inside her, "I doubt it." she muttered moodily, "She doesn't seem to like me very much."

"Maybe not," Jules admitted, "but from the way she's been acting, I'd say she has very strong feelings about you, probably conflicted ones. Aethyta didn't even tell you about her, not properly. That's got to sting," Liara didn't say anything but she leaned back a little into Jules' arms and linked their fingers across her stomach, "you're exhausted," Jules said, "why don't we get some sleep and figure it all out in the morning?"

Liara hesitated, then looked back at her over her shoulder, "Can I meld with you tonight? I don't want to dream alone."

Jules smiled, "If that's what you want."

…

Asari dreams were painfully realistic. Sometimes Liara's dreams took her to her own memories which she would relive in perfect detail the likes of which her conscious mind could not rival. Sometimes they took her to hypothetical scenarios which had never happened but were never far from being possible. The settings were always real places she had visited, the people ones she knew in real life and the laws of physics always seemed to apply. They were vivid and accurate but, more often than not, despairingly unimaginative.

In contrast, human dreams were bizarre and nonsensical; abstract in the way they could shift and morph with no warning, worlds phasing into one another, people appearing as strange caricatures of themselves, places so familiar in feeling and yet completely unrecognisable from their real world counterparts and yet somehow, to the dreamer, nothing would seem amiss.

The first time Liara had dreamed with Jules, she had found it disorienting to the point where she had broken the meld to escape the strange images and vowed never to try it again. But over the years, she'd come to enjoy the ridiculous and illogical worlds Jules' subconscious could conjure up; especially on nights when she knew her own dreams would only force her to relive something she didn't want to or confront someone she didn't walk to talk to.

That night, she knew she would have been plagued by Kyla, or if not her then the boy she had melded with. She didn't have the strength or the desire to face either so, as they nestled down to sleep, she folded herself completely into Jules' consciousness and let the human's strange dreams take her away from reality.

They flew over the mountains of Thessia at first, before it changed into Mindoir and they found themselves in Jules' childhood home. Tali was there, for some reason, and so was Garrus. At some point it became the Normandy and they competed in a race against Aria across the Terminus.

Liara's mind wasn't beyond influencing the dream and Kyla did make an appearance. But she was a wild, farcical version of herself who insulted everyone and annoyed the whole crew, eventually resulting in Tali throwing her out of the Normandy's airlock.

After that they ended up on Earth where they had sex on a beach – she didn't know which of their minds conjured that one up – and then single-handedly brought down the HTA with help from Mordin and some vague plan of his involving seashells.

By the time Liara woke, they had travelled across half the galaxy and seemed to have lived a whole lifetime. She drifted slowly back to consciousness, feeling the meld begin to slip away from her as she did. She didn't want to let it go, but holding a meld for so long did take a toll and she couldn't concentrate enough to stop it from fading.

Whispers of Jules' thoughts still lingered though and after a moment, she became aware of Jules' eyes opening, followed by a brief moment of confusion as she saw the stars above them through the window. Then she remembered where they were. Then she remembered their conversation last night and she looked down to blink at Liara sleepily, followed by a tired smile.

"Hey," she mumbled.

"Hello," Liara replied.

"You're feeling better," Jules observed through the fading remnants of the meld, her turquoise eyes were gleaming blearily from sleep and Liara brushed the red hair back from her forehead to see them more clearly, "it's because Tali kicked Kyla out of that airlock, isn't it?"

Liara buried a smile against Jules' chest. What always amused her the most about sharing Jules' dreams was that she remembered the dreams in perfect clarity, while Jules seemed to forget most of the details and could only ever recall flashes. She wondered idly what else Jules remembered about this particular dream and Jules must have picked up on it as she frowned for a moment.

"Did we have sex on a beach?"

Liara smiled, "Yes."

She seemed to think about it, "Hm. We've never had sex on a beach."

"I'm sure we could rectify that one day, if you wanted?"

Jules made a face, "Urgh, no. Think of all the sand, it would get everywhere."

Liara laughed, "Knowing our luck, the next time we're on a beach we'll probably be fighting bad guys anyway."

"Probably," Jules agreed. She shifted onto her side, sliding one arm around Liara's waist and shuffling in until their noses were touching. Jules gazed at her for a moment, then narrowed her eyes, "what do you want to do about Kyla? And don't say anything involving airlocks."

"Why should I do anything about her?" Liara asked. The look she got in return was answer enough but Jules was smart enough not to mention the word 'sisters'.

"Because you're in a squad together and you need to be able to work as a team."

"She's been the one causing all the problems," Liara replied, stubbornly.

"She was the only one who knew the truth."

"Yes. For months. Don't you wonder why she didn't say anything sooner?"

"You're not seriously suggesting she has some kind of ulterior motive in all this?" Jules looked at her sceptically and Liara knew how unlikely it sounded. She didn't really believe it either, but it would have been nice to paint Kyla as a typical bad guy. They were good at dealing with bad guys.

"She probably just wanted to get to know you first," Jules said, tracing the outline of Liara's jaw absently, "can't be easy to walk up to a total stranger and say, 'hey, I'm you're long lost…" Liara narrowed her eyes sharply, "father's daughter'," Jules finished with a sigh, "and let's face it, you're not the easiest person to get to know."

Liara made to protest but Jules stopped her with a you-know-I'm-right look, so Liara just scowled instead, "Whose side are you on?"

"Yours. Always. But Kyla's a part of my crew and I have to be on her side to," Liara reacted swiftly, snatching Jules' hand from her waist and flipping promptly onto her other side, "don't turn ov-" Jules began too late and cut herself off with a dramatic sigh.

Liara – now facing the window – scowled out at the void of stars falling away before her. There was a moment of silence before Jules shuffled up behind her and hooked her chin over Liara's shoulder.

"Look," she muttered, "you can be as childish and as moody as you like when it's just the two of us, but you know you can't avoid this. You need to talk to her."

"She's not my sister, Jules," Liara retorted, "I don't understand why she should mean any more to me than the rest of the squad," she knew she was being deliberately obtuse. She even hated herself for it, but she didn't know what else to say.

She could see Jules' reflection in the glass as she pondered how best to respond. She could feel the brief, familiar echoes of her thoughts but the meld had grown too weak to interpret them, "She knew Aethyta better than you ever got to," she began slowly, "she's centuries older than you, she'll have been around when Aethyta and Benezia were married. I know you have questions about what happened between them. Even if she doesn't know the answers… it's something you both have in common."

Liara waited. She thought about it. She considered admitting to her curiosity about Kyla and Aethyta. But even as she was thinking it, she found herself shaking off Jules' contact and shuffling closer to the window, "I'm not talking to her," she heard herself declare. It was a bit late to go back on it after that.

She felt Jules' forehead bump against her shoulder blade as the human finally gave up, "Fine," she conceded before rolling onto her back. Several unsettling minutes of silence ensued before Liara felt Jules' knuckles brush absently against the small of her back, "I need to go and catch up with the crew, figure out what we're going to do next."

Liara nodded silently.

She felt Jules shift closer to her again and a kiss was pressed to the corner of her jaw, "You going to be alright?"

"Yes," Liara stated. She didn't feel like she could really say anything else.

"Okay," Jules sighed, but as she made to stand up, Liara reached back to catch her hand and turned to look at her.

"I'm not angry at you."

Jules smiled softly, "I know."

…

Jules jumped in the shower, dressed and left the cabin while Liara was still in bed. It felt wrong leaving things like that but she clearly wasn't willing to talk about it yet and Jules had yet to beat her when it came to stubbornness.

Once she calmed down she might realise she liked the idea of having a sister. It had been so long since either of them had any family to speak of besides each other. Even she and Liara couldn't be everything to each other all of time.

The ship was quiet as she moved through it. The rest of the squad were probably still in bed, she'd told them they were all off duty for now which had always been code for 'have a lie-in' back in the Alliance. She made her way to the cockpit and found Ereba with her feet kicked up on console and an open pack of rations in her lap as she scrolled through a datapad. Jules assumed she was looking at the sensor data they were collecting from the system, as she got closer she saw it was actually an asari romance novel.

"Do you ever leave this cockpit?" she asked playfully as she entered.

Ereba didn't even bother to look up from the datapad as she shrugged and replied: "Sometimes."

"You are allowed to take proper breaks, you know?" Jules added, nodding to the novel, "You can even eat in the mess, if you really want."

"I prefer it in here. No one bothers you." she paused and looked up, "Present company accepted."

Jules smiled and shook her head, "You sound like Liara. On the original Normandy she used to eat all her meals in the cupboard at the back of the med bay. She only ever came out for missions or to talk about the protheans."

Ereba tossed the datapad aside and swivelled her chair round, "I'm guessing you want a report?"

Jules folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe, "Go for it."

"Well, we've been gathering data from across the whole system and most of the ships we've detected seem to belong to merc groups. There are several operating here though all they do is fight with each other. We've also tracked several more freighters loaded up with eezo. They were all going from Thessia – or the sensor dead zone we're assuming is Thessia – to a small outpost in the Vernio System."

"That's one of the systems Aria was sent to?"

"Yes. They deliver the eezo to one of the moons around Tritogenith and then come back again."

Jules frowned, "I wonder who they're shipping it to. They're definitely not selling it to Cadeyrn or anyone else on Piares."

"I wonder who they are," Ereba added, "no communications go to or from the freighters and we still haven't been able to scan Thessia. Makes you wonder what the big secret is."

Jules gazed out at the stars for a moment, "Rhys said the tech guys had managed to decrypt the files from Cadeyrn's freighter?"

"Yes, but don't get too excited. It was all coordinates for landing zones, presumably on Thessia."

"The places he steals his art from," Jules sighed, "not much help."

"There is one more thing," a worrying smile formed on Ereba's lips as she turned back to her console and brought something up on the screen, "we intercepted this from Piares while you were asleep," Jules leaned forwards and found herself staring at an image of herself, taken from when she was in the arena with Samara, "it's a bounty notice," Ereba said, "Cadeyrn's put a price on your head."

"Not surprising," Jules shrugged, "not my best side though," she added, squinting critically at the picture. It was incredibly unflattering and showed her halfway through a particularly ugly grimace as she aimed a punch at Samara's jaw. As she read the notice, she saw the justicar was part of the bounty too.

"What about the station we escaped from, do you know if they managed to evacuate it?"

"I saw a few repair crews arriving, I think they brought a new power core with them. Life signs on board are still strong."

"Good," Jules muttered, thinking of the shae trapped in their glass tank. Being snatched from their home was bad enough but freezing to death in an unpowered space station was a fate no creature deserved, "how did Samara and Falere settle in?"

Ereba paused, "Alright… I think. I gave Falere the last empty cabin and Samara took the side room down from the mess. She said she didn't want a bed."

"I can believe that," Jules mused.

"I'd never met a justicar before," Ereba continued.

"Was she what you expected?"

She shrugged, "I spoke more to Falere than Samara. What… do you know about her?"

"Falere?" Jules kept her expression casual, "I only met her once, during the war. Why?"

"No reason. Not really. There's just… something about her. I can't put my finger on it."

Jules watched the asari for a moment, trying to think of the best response to avoid any suspicion. She didn't for one minute think Falere was a threat to the crew but she also didn't believe that knowing the truth about her would be in their best interests.

"Keep the ship cloaked," she stated, deciding to avoid the topic altogether, "I'll be in the mess if you need me."

"Actually," Ereba stopped her as she turned to leave, "Tevos called. She wanted an update from you as soon as you were awake."

"Really?" Jules asked innocently, "Good thing she doesn't know I'm awake then, isn't it?"