Chapter Twenty-nine – Sisters

Jules wandered slowly back towards the mess, wondering what array of tasteless rations were on offer for breakfast. She also wondered whether Liara was out of bed yet, and whether she would want to do anything about Kyla. Probably not. Liara was stubborn like that, a trait she suspected Kyla shared. Must have something to do with being one quarter krogan, she mused with a smirk.

Actually she saw a lot of similarities between Liara and Kyla now she thought about it. Ones she should probably keep to herself for now, or risk getting her head bitten off by both of them.

She was pulled from her idle thoughts by the sound of raised voices – or rather, one raised voice – as she neared the mess. She slowed, frowning as she edged her way around the curve of the corridor until she could see through the open doorway. She stopped when she saw Falere and Samara standing opposite each other in the otherwise empty room.

Samara was her usual calm and stoic self but Falere seemed to be in the middle of an angry rant, with both hands on her hips and a fierce glare across her brow.

"Don't lecture me on morality, mother!" she was shouting, "You're the one who's been fighting for Cadeyrn all these years! You've actually killed people for him!"

Samara blinked in the face of her daughter's wrath and calmly clasped her hands behind her back, "He threatened to hurt you if I did not."

"Oh so it's my fault?"

"I did not say that," Samara replied patiently but Jules could tell she was bristling slightly beneath her disciplined façade, "I am merely trying to explain that I had little choice."

"You had plenty of choice," Falere took a decisive step forward, bringing her nose-to-nose with her mother, "he put you at the heart of his operation, you could have torn it down whenever you wanted but you didn't. You put my welfare ahead of everyone else on Piares, did you even stop to think how that would make me feel?"

Samara tilted her head, blatantly confused, "I could not allow you to be harmed."

"Why?" Falere snapped, throwing up her arms as sudden genuine rage flared up behind her eyes, "You were happy enough to abandon Rila to the reapers!"

Jules watched the flicker of realisation on Falere's face that she had overstepped the line, but to her credit she didn't back down, holding her mother's gaze cold and fast. Samara's expression remained almost completely impassive, only someone who knew her well could have spotted the way her mouth hardened into a thin line and her eyes twitched just slightly.

After a moment of silence, the justicar spoke, "We will speak further once you have calmed down," she stated before turning on her heel and leaving. She didn't seem to notice Jules as she headed the opposite way down the corridor, leaving Falere alone in the mess.

Jules hesitated, briefly torn. She was tempted to go after Samara but she wasn't sure she would be thanked for interfering. She was even more tempted not to get involved at all, but she could do with some breakfast and, frankly, Falere was between her and food.

She sighed and wondered how she used to have the patience for all the crew dramas she had dealt with on the Normandy.

Falere had moved over to the window and was staring out glumly at the stars. She didn't seem to hear Jules enter but neither did she seem surprised when she spoke.

"Problems?" Jules asked. When the asari turned to look at her, Jules offered her a sympathetic smile. Falere returned it without much enthusiasm before wrapping her arms around herself and turning back to the window.

"No more than usual."

It was an answer that hid more than it gave away, Jules noted as she moved to stand beside her, "Not a happy reunion then?"

Falere offered her a small shrug, "I don't mean to seem ungrateful, but it's hard to be pleased about your mother murdering innocents in some arena when she could have been helping them."

"I doubt many of them were innocent," Jules reasoned, "but yeah, it surprised me too."

Silence ensued and Falere continued to stare out at the stars. Jules became aware of a slight tingle across her skin and a vague hum in her ears. It was an oddly soporific sensation that seemed to be lulling her into a state of calm; not like she was drunk or drugged or anything, just more relaxed than she would normally be. She realised she recognised the feeling from the night she had met Morinth. The same smell lingered in the air too like sweet perfume.

The realisation brought a sudden spike of panic and she took a hurried step away, trying to make it look casual as she felt sweat prickle on her brow. The reaction had been instinctive and she instantly felt ridiculous for it. The aura radiating from Falere was muted and barely noticeable compared to Morinth, it was obvious she wasn't deliberately using her powers to try and enthral her like her sister had. She must have had this effect on everyone, perhaps she had no control over it.

Still, it was unsettling. Though if she hadn't had such a bad experience with a murderous ardat-yakshi in the past she would probably be finding Falere's company quite enchanting right now. The more she considered it, the more she realised how cruel that was. People must have been drawn to Falere all the time, captivated by her beauty and her grace and the magic that seemed to follow her in the air. It could easily have been mistaken for love. And Falere had to deny herself all of it to avoid becoming a monster.

Jules remembered Morinth as having a perverse sort of attraction, she was sensual and sordid in a way that could drag dark and forbidden fantasies from the depths of your daydreams. But Falere was different, there was a dignity and an intelligence about her, Jules wondered how many hearts had been broken over her since she had left the asari monastery.

She turned and viewed the asari in a new light and felt herself relax again, "If it's any consolation," she said softly, "she really cares about you. I didn't think I'd ever see a day when Samara put one person above the greater good."

"She's my mother, she's supposed to care about me. You can't expect me to thank her for it… sorry," she added as she caught sight of Jules' expression.

Jules cleared her throat, "I… take it you and Samara aren't close?"

She smiled grimly, "I don't feel like I know her, really. I was barely in adolescence when she left us in that monastery. We saw her twice in four centuries; one of those times was only because she was returning an ardat-yakshi who had escaped."

Jules frowned. In some ways Samara had always been a bit of an enigma to her. It was possible to know someone's personality without actually knowing much about their past, or the person they were before you knew them. That was how she felt towards Samara and sometimes hearing about the person she was before Jules knew her, was like hearing about a stranger.

"Did she really not keep in touch with you? At all?"

"Letters, now and then. But she wasn't there to see us become adults, by the time she found me after the war, we hardly knew each other."

"But you've been together for the past two hundred years."

"Fighting causes," Falere agreed, "we make a good team when we have a mission to complete, but how much of that time do you really think was spent talking?"

Jules opened her mouth but found nothing helpful to say.

"Can I… ask you something?" the asari said, tentatively. Jules felt herself smile, in the old days she had always been the one probing people with questions. Now it seemed like everyone else wanted to grill her instead.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"You were there when my sister died, weren't you?"

For a moment, Jules blinked at her, wondering if she was talking about Rila. Then she realised she wasn't.

"You mean Morinth?"

Falere looked round, surprised, "Is that what she was calling herself?" she smiled almost nostalgically but there was a bitterness to it, "That was our old childhood nickname for her."

Jules watched her carefully, "Didn't Samara tell you?"

She shook her head, "Mother never talks about her. She did tell me that you were there though, that you let Morinth enthral you."

Jules grimaced under the memory of Morinth's smell, her smile, her laugh, the tickle of her mind as she tried to weave her way into Jules' thoughts. It had never faded, she remembered it all in perfect clarity and Falere's presence only made it come through all the clearer.

"She didn't actually manage to enthral me," she said, trying to shake the feelings from her mind, "though it was a near thing. Samara once told me how strong willed I must have been to resist her; I don't think she realised how close I came to…" she felt a shiver run across her shoulders and shook it off, "anyway, what did you want to know?"

"I'm… not sure. Was it… quick?"

"Yes. And clean. Your mother made sure of that."

Falere nodded slowly, "Better than she deserved, I suppose," she didn't sound like she meant it as she said it and Jules turned to consider her quietly. Falere must have felt the scrutiny as she cleared her throat and added: "I know she was a monster, and the things she did were unforgivable. But she was my sister."

Jules waited. She got the impression there was more to be said but Falere seemed to want to be pushed for it. She looked past the asari towards the kitchen where her breakfast was waiting in vacuum packed bags. She could just smile politely and walk away, avoid getting involved. In the old days that wouldn't even have occurred to her; now it was sorely tempting.

But instead she sighed inwardly and pushed her hunger to the back of her mind, "What was she like?"

Falere gave a nostalgic laugh, "Rebellious, wild, insolent, fun. She used to take me on adventures, we'd sneak out in the middle of the night and go exploring deep into the forest. Or we'd head into the town and sneak into places we weren't old enough for."

"You were a rebel too then?"

"Only when I was with her. I was quite timid really, shy. Morinth made me feel strong and confident. She used to stand up for me in school, made sure none of the bullies ever went near me."

"You were close, then?"

"Yes. She and Rila hated each other though. Rila had mother's discipline, she was never in trouble and always disapproved of Morinth, especially when she was 'corrupting' me. When we got our diagnosis, I knew Morinth would never play along, but I kidded myself she wouldn't become a killer," she went quiet for a moment, then looked up guiltily, like she wasn't sure she should admit to the next part, "she used to write to me. In the monastery."

Jules frowned, "Was that allowed?"

"No. If Rila had ever found out she'd have gone mad. She used to tell me all about the places she'd been and the wonders she'd seen. She left out the murders she'd committed along the way. Then one day she turned up in my room, asked me to run away with her."

Jules stared, "What did you do?"

She shrugged, "I was tempted. But I knew what she was by then. I loved the part of her that was my sister but the other part of her?" she shook her head, "I didn't want to see that. So I told her to go."

"You didn't tell anyone? Raise the alarm?"

Falere looked at her, "She would have killed them."

"So you let her go. Knowing she was going to keep killing."

A small frown formed on Falere's brow, "She was my sister," she stated again.

"Yes," Jules agreed, "I'm not judging you, Falere. I'm just making a comparison. You made a decision that you knew could lead to people suffering because you were trying to protect someone you loved," she raised her eyebrows, "do you see the point I'm making?"

A small smile twitched begrudgingly on Falere's lips, "Goddess," she muttered, "mother was right about you."

Jules decided not to ask what Samara had said about her, "It wasn't your fault Morinth killed people. Just like it's not Samara's fault that Cadeyrn enjoys throwing people in his arena for sport. Though I won't pretend I wasn't angry with her too."

"But not now?"

Jules shrugged, "She's my friend. Friends are rarely perfect but it's not worth losing them over. And that's from someone who's lost a lot of friends over the years."

Falere offered her a half-smile, "I'll take your word for it. Friends aren't something I've had a lot of experience of."

The sound of muttering drew their attention along with footsteps in the corridor outside. They turned and waited until Ereba appeared through the doorway, deep in conversation with herself as she frowned down at a datapad.

She was midsentence when she looked up and spotted them, "Oh," she said, slightly surprised, "hello," she beamed at them awkwardly for a moment, then looked at Jules, "I was just about to call you, Tevos called again, didn't believe you could still be asleep. I've patched her and Aria through to the comm room."

Jules folded her arms, "I don't remember telling you to do that."

"You may be my commander, but Tevos is still my boss," she said with an apologetic shrug.

Jules sighed, "Fine," she turned to Falere, "I'll speak to you later, in the meantime," she gestured widely to Ereba, "maybe you can make a friend," she smiled at them both and headed for the door, leaving the two asari staring at each other uncertainly.

…

Samara walked the corridors of the Janiri somewhat aimlessly. It was a curious ship, close enough to old asari designs to be familiar and yet it was very obviously built in a different era to ships from before the war.

She paused by a small, porthole window and gazed out at the stars. They were as silent and constant as ever, a pleasant reminder of how small she and her problems were in the grand scheme of things.

She considered Falere; her youngest daughter's fiery streak had often been a cause of conflict between them, even when she was a child. She had never had Morinth's open aggression but she was defiant in her own way and never willing to back down from her beliefs.

Quite right too, she mused and saw the thin trace of her own smile in the dark reflection of the window.

She saw the same quality in Shepard and – just like with Falere – it had caused disagreements between them in the past. Still, she couldn't think of anyone she would have been more grateful to see in Cadeyrn's arena.

She moved on from the window, contemplating the next course of action. War was brewing between Cadeyrn and Eisheth and – bizarre as it may have sounded – it was crucial that Cadeyrn won. His rule was far from perfect, but Eisheth would turn the city into her personal playground of horrors if given the chance.

She doubted Shepard was finished with Cadeyrn yet. It would be interesting to see how the situation played out now that she was involved.

She heard someone approaching from down the corridor. Footsteps swift and purposeful, breathing steady and measured, arms swinging by the sides in rhythm.

"Liara," she stated before turning to see she was correct. The younger asari was striding towards her, sapphire eyes glittering and a professionally stoic expression on her face.

"Samara," she replied curtly as she stopped in front of her, "how are you?"

"Well. Thank you."

"Good," she folded her arms and shifted her weight onto one leg. It was a subconsciously defensive stance that Samara found unsurprising. She had been aware of Liara's wariness of her since their very first meeting, back before the war. It wasn't unusual for asari to mistrust justicars, though she suspected Liara's feelings may have stemmed from her fierce loyalty to Shepard. Samara had used her as bait to catch Morinth, an action Liara seemed to have taken personally even before she and the human were lovers.

Her attitude didn't offend Samara. On the contrary, she was glad Shepard had such devotion in her life.

"I've been looking for you," Liara said, "I want to talk to you about Cadeyrn."

"Of course," Samara agreed, ignoring the simmering barrier of hostility Liara was projecting between them.

"His ships manage to get past Thessia's satellite grid. Jules wants to know how he does it, I was wondering if you had any insights?"

Samara looked down thoughtfully, then turned and gestured for Liara to walk with her, "Regrettably not," she said as they began to move slowly down the corridor. The ambling pace Samara kept seemed to irritate Liara slightly, but she ignored the girl's discomfort, "Cadeyrn offered me few details of his operations. I tried to extract information from his people, but many of them were as ill-informed as I. He keeps his secrets closely guarded, even from his own staff."

Liara frowned, "What might loosen his tongue? Everyone has a weakness, or a price," Samara regarded her quietly, it seemed that the Shadow Broker in her was not completely dormant.

"He cares only for wealth and influence and he has numerous ways of getting both. I can think of nothing you could offer him. However, if he were in danger of having his power snatched from him and you were to aid him… he always rewards those he is indebted to. It is one of his few virtues."

Liara's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "I sense you have an idea, justicar."

"I assume you noticed the unrest in the city?"

"Between Cadeyrn's people and another gang," Liara agreed, "you think things are about to escalate?"

"Imminently. If you side with Cadeyrn, you may earn his favour and save Piares from a far worse ruler."

Liara stopped and her aggressive façade slipped for a second as she sighed and rubbed at her eyes, "Getting pulled into a gang war. Jules is going to love this. Is there any other way?"

Samara considered, "You could storm his base again, steal his secrets, tear down his operation and leave the city to the mercy of Eisheth. Knowing Shepard as I do, I doubt she will consider this a viable alternative."

Liara stopped dead and stared at her. It was hard to read what was glimmering behind those gem-like eyes so she waited for the girl to speak, "What if the Shepard you knew has changed?" she said carefully after a while.

"I don't doubt she has," Samara replied, "but at her core, her values and principles are still the same, wouldn't you agree?"

Liara continued to gaze at her quietly, "We could use your help in the computer room, we're trying to piece together everything we know about Cadeyrn."

Samara inclined her head and followed Liara down the corridor.

…

Jules had not rushed to her summons to the comm room. Instead she had picked out a suitably bland nutrient bar for her breakfast and eaten it while meandering her way through the ship corridors. When she eventually arrived, she found the flickering, holographic images of Tevos and Aria waiting for her. Aria was lounging back in an armchair somewhere – presumably on her own ship – looking fed up and bored in equal measure, while Tevos was standing with her arms folded. As Jules could have predicted, they were in the middle of an argument.

"I want it done discreetly, Aria!" Tevos was saying emphatically.

Aria just snorted, "Careful, it almost sounds like you don't trust me," she smiled, the gentle melody of her voice almost hiding the cold threat it was laced with.

Tevos' eyes narrowed, "I swear, Aria, if you compromise this mission playing one of your stupid power games-!"

"Games?" Aria interjected softly, "The HTA destroys Omega, kills my people and leaves me stuck with you and you think I'm going to waste my time playing games?"

"Whatever you're planning-!"

"Oh stop with the threats, Tevos, it doesn't suit you. And for the record I'm not planning anything; thanks to the HTA I'm nothing more than your willing servant, remember?"

Tevos glowered, "You're also a born liar."

Jules had to hide a smile as she cleared her throat in an attempt to alert them to her presence. As they turned to look at her, she offered them a grin, "Didn't anyone ever tell you two it's not good to argue in front of the children?" she said pleasantly.

Aria smirked, "Is that how you see yourself, Shepard?"

"No. I just assumed that's how you saw me."

"Shepard," Tevos interrupted, "we've been- are you eating?" she asked as Jules crammed the last of the nutrient bar into her mouth.

"I'm hungry," she mumbled through chews, then made a point of swallowing and tossing the wrapper aside, "I had a very long day yesterday."

"Yes. Ereba filled us in. Good work, I didn't expect so much progress so quickly."

Aria snorted, "Forgot who you hired, did you?"

Tevos cast her a cold glance but otherwise ignored her, "Ereba says the eezo from Thessia is being shipped to a moon. Aria is going to investigate it."

"Discreetly," Aria added, throwing Tevos a fake smile.

Jules looked between them and wondered – not for the first time – if they were both hiding something from her, "You have any theories about what's going on here?" she asked.

Tevos shook her head, "These rumours you're hearing of a Thessian Order are… troubling."

"Troubling? Why?"

"Oh c'mon, Shepard," Aria rolled her eyes, "the name alone is creepy enough, even if they didn't have a network of stealth satellites around Thessia."

"It's certainly not what I was expecting to find," Tevos agreed, "what do you plan to do next, Shepard?"

"The crime lord who captured me has technology that gets him past those satellites, I'm going to get it off him."

Tevos nodded, "Good. But we should try to find out as much about this Thessian Order as we can before we go to Thessia itself."

"Agreed," Jules said, then frowned as she realised something was missing, "where's Grunt?" she asked.

Tevos and Aria exchanged a glance and Tevos cleared her throat, "He… hasn't been in contact yet."

Jules blinked, "Meaning?"

"He isn't returning her calls," Aria said with a smirk.

Tevos shot her a glare, "He does seem to have fallen out of contact for the moment. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"How sure?" Jules pressed, folding her arms. On the one hand, it would be typical of Grunt to ignore requests for a report before he was good and ready to give one. On the other…

"Why not ask that love-struck wife of his to call him," Aria drawled lazily, "he'll probably pick up the comm for her," there was a deriding edge to her cold smile that Jules didn't like but she ignored it. Arguing with Aria was often a pointless exercise.

"If we don't hear in from him soon, we'll investigate," Tevos decided, "for now you both have your tasks, we'll speak again soon."

The image of Tevos abruptly dissipated. Aria's lingered just long enough to cast Jules a devious smile before the call shut off and Jules was left alone. She sighed and wandered out of the room.

Working with Aria and Tevos brought back unsettling memories of working with Cerberus during the hunt for the Collectors. That prickling paranoia that everyone on the ship knew something she didn't, forever wondering if the Illusive Man was telling her everything or if she was just a pawn in some game she didn't even know was being played.

It didn't help that Tevos and Aria seemed to be as suspicious of each other as Jules was of both of them. Grunt was the only one she was sure she could trust and the fact he seemed to have disappeared wasn't doing much to alleviate her concerns.

She should really go and find Liara. She had no doubt the asari would be at work by now. But something held her back and instead she found herself wandering the corridors, trying to avoid the rest of the crew as she mulled over everything in her mind. Eventually she knew where she wanted to go.

…

Kyla lay on her bunk, staring at the ceiling. Despite being exhausted, she hadn't been able to sleep. She had spent most of the night teetering on the edge of consciousness, occasionally tipping over into unsettling dreams of her mother, Liara and even Benezia before their accusing faces chased her back to consciousness. Her last conversation with Liara was particularly raw and her dreams seemed determined to play it back for her in a continuous loop until being tired was preferable to being asleep.

Egret didn't seem to have the same problem. The kid had been asleep the second her head hit the pillow and hadn't moved since. Kyla listened the steady sound of her breathing and tried not to think about Liara.

She'd known this would happen. What else could she have expected from Benezia's daughter? It probably would have gone better if she hadn't just blurted it out like that, she supposed. Tact never had been her strong suit. Maybe she should have told her sooner.

But it wouldn't have changed anything. Liara was a snob. She was never going to accept Kyla as her sister. And Kyla didn't care. Why should she? It's not like she wanted some stuck up scientist with no sense of humour in her life.

"Ah, shit," she muttered as she realised she had thoroughly failed at the 'trying not to think about Liara' thing.

Egret's breathing was disrupted by a yawn and the bunk creaked as she stretched. Kyla glanced over and saw the younger asari rubbing her eyes. She took a moment to look around as she tried to figure out where she was, then her eyes fell on Kyla.

"Morning," she mumbled.

"Hmph," Kyla grunted, irritably.

"Fine. I won't ask how you slept."

"Not as well as you. You snore by the way."

Egret looked at her oddly, "No I don't."

It was true, she didn't. Kyla had just felt like saying it.

Egret sat up and flexed her shoulders, "What time is it?"

"Dunno. We're off duty anyway."

Egret frowned, "Are you alright?"

"Peachy," Kyla said flatly.

Egret looked tempted to press the matter but thankfully there was a knock at the door, "Come in!" Kyla barked before Egret could say anything. Her heart sank when it slid open to reveal Shepard.

…

Jules stepped into the tiny cabin and realised that the one she had been given was spacious and luxurious by comparison. Both Egret and Kyla were still in bed, Egret was staring at her in confusion while Kyla just gazed at her, half-interested before she sighed let her head fall back against the pillow.

"Shepard?" Egret queried.

Jules continued to watch Kyla for a moment, before she turned to the other asari with a smile, "Have you had any contact with Grunt?" she asked.

Egret blinked, momentarily thrown off guard before she answered, "Not since before we went down to Piares."

"Go to the comm room and call him, ask him why he hasn't reported in to Tevos."

"I can do that from-" Jules shot her a look, "comm room, right," she swung her legs out of the bed and pulled a hoodie on over her sleepwear before casting Kyla a final, questioning look and slipping out of the room.

Jules waited a moment, then moved to sit on Egret's bunk and leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees. The asari avoided her gaze, then finally looked her dead in the eye.

"I'm guessing she told you?" Kyla muttered.

"Did you think she wouldn't?"

"No. I bet little miss perfect tells you everything," she drawled dryly.

"Little miss perfect?" Jules chuckled, "She's far from that, trust me."

Kyla eyed her warily, then sniffed, "Come to tell me to back off?"

Jules frowned "She's your sister, why would I want you to back off?"

"Er…" Kyla made a point of thinking about it, "because she hates me, maybe?"

"Funny, she said the same thing about you," Kyla's face set into a stubborn glower that reminded Jules so much of Liara she had to stifle a chuckle, "I actually came to see if you're okay."

"Why?"

"You're a member of my crew," Jules answered simply, "it's a pretty exclusive club, you know."

"Yeah," Kyla muttered, "I hear most of the other members are dead."

Jules sighed, "You're going to make this difficult, aren't you?" Kyla didn't answer, "What have you got against Liara? Does she not live up to your expectations, or something?"

"Dunno. Do I live up to hers?"

Jules rubbed at the bridge of her nose. This wasn't getting her anywhere. She decided to try a different angle, "Aethyta never told Liara much about her life. But she did mention she'd had daughters with a hanar. Liara isn't your only sister, is she?"

Kyla's face darkened, "She is now," she muttered.

"Ah," Jules nodded, "I'm sorry. Did she die recently?"

She gave a single shake of her head, "During the war. She was a commando."

"Like Aethyta's mother?" Jules asked.

"Oh yeah," Kyla snorted, "following in grandma's footsteps, Aethyta was thrilled," Jules would have had to be deaf and blind not to pick up on Kyla's sarcasm as she said it but she softened a little as she shrugged, "she got over it though, Aethyta wasn't one of those disapproving mothers with great aspirations for their daughters."

"I can imagine," Jules agreed. It was surprisingly easy to picture the moody old matriarch she'd known as a mother. Though the image she got was not a conventional one.

Kyla frowned at her oddly, "Why the hell am I telling you this?"

"Don't worry, it's the effect I have on everyone."

"Hmph. Must be annoying."

Jules grinned, "What was her name, your sister?"

Kyla eyed her and seemed to consider whether to answer or not, "Nell."

"Older?"

"Younger."

Jules nodded, "I had a little sister once. She died on Mindoir."

"You expecting us to bond over our dead relatives?" Kyla asked dryly.

"Had a brother too," she continued, ignoring the interruption, "we were polar opposites though, couldn't agree on anything."

"Let me guess," Kyla mused, "you loved him anyway and put your differences aside to become best friends," she talked like she was quoting from a lifestyle column and Jules shook her head.

"No. We couldn't stand each other, I'd have happily killed him myself most days. Until he was gone."

Kyla looked at her, "So what? You're telling me that if a long lost sibling suddenly appeared you'd welcome them with open arms? Regardless of who they were or how they treated you?"

Jules frowned at her. She refused to believe all this was because Liara wasn't the most social person in the galaxy. There was nothing she had done in the past few months that could have prompted the kind of bitterness Kyla was displaying right now.

"Okay, listen," she said, committing herself to one more try, "I will be the first person to tell you Liara's not perfect. She's stubborn, impatient and hates not getting her own way. She doesn't always bother to make time for people, her morals sometimes come down on the wrong side of ethical and she can probably hold a grudge longer than anyone. Not to mention obsessive, she gets so lost in her own work that she forgets that there are people who actually want to spend time with her. And yes, sometimes she can be a snob."

Kyla blinked, "Shit. Why do you stay with her?"

"Because she's my best friend. And my family. And nothing she does annoys me. If anyone else did some of the things she does it would annoy me. But not her. I love her."

"Hmph," Kyla folded her arms, "that's very sweet and everything, but how does it help me?"

"Because all of that stuff I just mentioned, it's just the surface. It's what everyone else is allowed to see. But if you take the time to get to know her – and I won't pretend she's easy to get to know – but if you really take the time, you'll find there's so much more underneath. Because the real Liara is the warmest, funniest, kindest, loyalist friend you could ever hope for who would go to the end of the galaxy for you if you asked her to. Do you really want to pass up the opportunity to have her in your life?"

"Hey, she's the one who won't even talk to me!" Kyla snapped.

"You haven't exactly gone out of your way to be friendly either."

Kyla faltered for a moment, then sighed, "Yeah, well. Somehow, I don't think Liara is going to want to be friendly with me. Not when she finds out the truth."

Kyla was so obviously trying to goad Jules into asking that she almost didn't want to, but her curiosity was peaked so she frowned and said: "What truth?"

Kyla hesitated, chewing on the inside of her mouth as she caught Jules' eye. She watched her for a moment, as though gauging what her reaction would be.

"Does, er…" she began, then stopped, then sighed irritably, "does she ever wonder why Aethyta was never around when she was a kid? I mean, did Aethyta tell her anything?"

"Yeah. She said that she and Benezia had different political views."

"That's it?" Kyla blew out a sigh and shook her head, "She always had a crappy imagination, especially when it came to lying. Did Liara buy that?"

"Not really," Jules shrugged, "she didn't want to pry. They didn't know each other very well."

Kyla looked away guiltily. Guilt seemed an odd reaction for her to have and Jules frowned suspiciously, "Why did they split up?"

Kyla gazed up at the ceiling, as though she could see her memories being played out up there. Jules settled back for what she imagined was a long story.

"I wasn't born to be one of life's overachievers, Shepard," she began glumly, "I'm not funny, or charming, hell most days I'm not even that nice. I'm not patient or thoughtful and I'm just smart enough to know I'm not that bright. I might win more fights than I lose but even that's more from stubbornness than skill. Honestly, everything I did, I was always average."

"That's not the word I'd use to describe you," Jules said, "and self-pity doesn't suit you, so I assume you're going somewhere with this?"

Kyla smirked, "Everything I wasn't, Nell was."

"You resented her?"

"What?" Kyla frowned, "No. I was happy being the way I was. I didn't want to be some prodigy, having decent grades and a high paid job never equalled success in my book. Aethyta didn't care about any of that either, she just wanted me to find some corner of the galaxy that made me happy. As soon as I was old enough I went out looking."

"And did you find it?"

She snorted, "I found Omega. A place you can be as mediocre as you want so long as you can shoot a gun and you're not too morally concerned about who you're aiming at."

"So you joined one of the gangs," Jules assumed, "what did you specialise in?"

"Drugs. Buying, selling… taking," there was something in the way she looked away as she said it that made Jules suspicious and she leaned forwards slightly.

"Were you an addict?"

Kyla rolled her eyes at the word, like she wanted to argue. But she didn't, "There was this new drug they'd synthesised that enhanced people's senses. Made them faster, smarter and stronger. It was also addictive and deadly if you took it for long enough. For a while everyone on Omega was taking it, it fucked them all up so badly that Aria banned it, destroyed the recipe and killed everyone who knew how to make it."

"Aria banned something?"

"Yeah, gives you an idea of how bad it was. It messed up the user's brain chemistry, caused all kinds of problems: coma, stroke, brain-damage, blindness, paranoia, I got off lightly all things considered," Jules frowned curiously and Kyla smiled, "my biotics weren't always this weak," she held up a hand and waggled her fingers as though to demonstrate. The faintest trace of biotic energy rippled across her palm before dissipating into nothingness.

"What's all this got to do with Liara?"

Kyla snorted, "She was about a day-and-a-half old when I called my mother. Aria had most of the gang killed for bringing that drug onto Omega. I was in hiding, in withdrawal from a drug that no longer existed and probably starving to death as well, come to think of it. Aethyta dropped everything and came to the other side of the galaxy to drag me out of the fire. Aria wanted me dead, Aethyta nearly killed her just to get me off the station. They came to some sort of agreement – I never found out the details – and she took me away to some backwater little planet where no one would judge or care."

Jules folded her arms and tried to imagine a fight between Aethyta and Aria, probably more entertaining than anything Cadeyrn's arena had ever seen, "Does Aria remember you?" she asked curiously.

Kyla shrugged, "Don't think so. If she does she hasn't said anything and I haven't exactly been shouting my mother's name from the rooftops, have I?"

Jules watched her quietly for a moment, "Was Aethyta angry with you? About the drugs?"

"No. She wasn't even disappointed. People make mistakes, that's what she said. I was just a kid."

Jules wasn't surprised, she remembered Aethyta as harsh, blunt and rough around the edges but not judgemental, "Why didn't she take you back to Thessia?"

"Benezia was famous, always in the spotlight; everyone would have known. Aethyta wasn't ashamed of me, she wasn't like that. She just didn't want me or Benezia having to deal with everyone else's opinions. Coming off the drugs was hard but it was nothing compared to the problems it left me with. I was in a coma for a while, then I had to learn to walk again. Then there were the nightmares, and the hallucinations, there were whole weeks I was delusional. Aethyta got me through all of it."

"How long did it take?"

"Years. I think we were three years in when Aethyta called Benezia and told her she wasn't coming back. They figured it wasn't fair on Liara for a stranger to turn up years after she was born and claim to be her father. They decided it would be easier when she was older so until then Aethyta stayed away. Because of me. By the time I could look after myself again, Benezia had gone off with Saren. Aethyta always thought that was her fault, for not being there."

Jules blinked for a moment, waiting for more, "That's it?" she questioned, "That's why you think Liara will hate you?"

Kyla scowled at her, "I robbed her of a father!"

Jules rolled her eyes, "Don't be so melodramatic. Do you really think Liara cared that her father wasn't around when she was growing up? Yeah she wondered who her father was and why Benezia never talked about her but it's not like she tortured herself over it. There were times she thought her father might be ashamed of having a pureblood child, but even that didn't really bother her."

Kyla glanced at her sceptically, "Really?"

Jules smiled, "Other people's opinions don't really matter to her."

"What about what happened to Benezia?"

"Benezia was indoctrinated, there's no guarantee Aethyta could have stopped that. It happened a long time ago, Liara's dealt with it."

Kyla snorted in an attempt to seem nonchalant, "She still doesn't like me. Apart from Aethyta we've got nothing in common."

"You're more alike than you realise," Jules told her, "trust me."

Kyla watched her for a moment, eyes narrowed. Liara pulled the same face when she was trying to figure out a counter argument. If you looked closely enough the similarities between them became frightening. So much so, Jules thought the scientists might have to revaluate their theories on the influence the father's DNA had on an asari child.

Eventually Kyla relented and opened her mouth.

Whatever she had been going to say, however, was abruptly cut off as a heavy impact shook the ship. Jules was thrown back into Egret's bunk and Kyla tumbled to the floor with a yelp. Another impact sent the ship lurching in the other direction and Jules hit the comm.

"Ereba! What's going on!" she demanded.

"Sorry, Shepard," an exasperated voice came back, "I took the stealth drive offline to recharge, I didn't think-"

"Report, Ereba!" Jules reiterated.

"Three ships just opened fire. We're under attack."

Sorry for the delay in updates, I'm in the middle of moving house so you might have to bear with me for a while. I will get back on track eventually :)