A/N: Just a heads up. I only work three days next week, then I am off work until Dec. 11th. I will TRY to get a chapter or two up during this time but I don't usually succeed in posting from home, so there may be a rather long hiatus between this chapter and the next. I'm aiming to get the next chapter up Wednesday before I leave but as I have to get everything at work ready for my absence, I may not have time.

Please, forgive me. I DID at least try not to leave it on a cliffhanger this time!

On with the show!

Gerty was studiously scowling at his helm as he input commands, swiftly writing lines of code. As he heard the helm door open behind him, he cleared his throat, only half-glancing at Irie as she moved and settled into the tiny and mostly defunct co-pilot's chair.

"I have rewritten her voice and appearance protocols to a standard VI default. Another two minutes and she'll be someone completely different."

"Do not make the changes permanent," she said softly. He looked over at her. Her eyes were slightly darkened, indicating she had been crying, but there was no other sign of tears or trouble.

"Ma'am?"

"She is your VI, and you have put a lot of loving work and care into her. I was wrong to call her a mockery. She is…a tribute, I suppose. At least to you. It is wrong of me to ask you to change that forever. Do not change her permanently unless it is your choice."

He searched her face, unsure, then nodded. "I have saved her appearance, voice, and personality profile on a separate line of code. I was going to wipe it but…maybe I'll hang on to it for now."

He quickly finished the changes and saved them, rebooting the VI. "There. Good as new. Or…default, anyway. I really am sorry about that."

"You did not do it intentionally. I am sorry for my reaction."

"Now you haven't got anything to apologize for. I can't imagine coming face to face with one of my parents in someone's banged up merchant ship."

She looked at him with soft sympathy. "You have lost your parents?"

"Yeah. My father died when I was just a baby. I don't remember him at all. My mother took me and raised me in Edinburgh- that's how I got this charming accent. She passed away in an accident when I was nineteen."

"I am so sorry for your losses."

"And I'm sorry for yours," he said.

Irie nodded, leaning back in the chair and looking almost wistfully out into the stars. After a moment, he colored and cleared his throat. "I…have to apologize again, but I'm trying really hard not to be terrified."

"Terrified?" she asked, looking at him.

"It's just…the VI records everything it hears or says automatically to a log. I know I left the room but that log was scrolling as I was fixing her coding, and-"

She sat up, visibly alarmed. "You heard what I said?"

"W-well, I kind of…half-read what you said, out of the corner of my eye. I was trying not too but…"

She said something he didn't catch, lowering her head and touching the bridge of her nose in a clearly exasperated pose.

"I'm really really sorry," he said. "I am, but like I said, I'm also trying not to be scared out of my mind. You seriously found…you found reapers?"

"Gerty," she sat forward, putting her hand on his arm and looking at him firmly. "This news cannot leave this room. You cannot tell anyone, do you understand? This information, were it to get out, would cause a galaxy-wide panic."

"It's already causing a ship-wide panic," he said worriedly. "No, no, I get it. I won't tell a soul, I swear. I mean, I can see why you don't want it transmitted but…you're sure? You really found reapers? Are they heading here?"

"I do not know. We do not have enough information yet." She sighed, dropping her hand. "My project is not classified. You already know the worst of it. I suppose it could not hurt to share the rest of the details."

"Trust me, I'm all ears."

"We have been working on a form of telescope which would allow us to look far deeper into the universe than has ever been possible, in real-time."

"I…am not a science geek, I'm sorry. A telescope? Don't we already have those?"

"Yes, but most telescopes are limited to the time and space in which they exist," she said. "For example, if I were to plant a telescope on Earth's moon, and try and look at the Andromeda galaxy, I would see the galaxy as it existed 2.5 million years ago, as that is how long the light leaving the galaxy has to take in order to reach my telescope lens."

"Yeah, ok, I see that."

"My telescope is different. It can look at Andromeda from the Oasis Research base, with only about a ten year red-shift variance. That is, I can see Andromeda as it looked ten years ago, as opposed to 2.5 million years ago."

"Wow, that's impressive," he said. "How the hell do you manage that?"

"We launched specially designed relay transmitters out into dark space just beyond the edge of our galaxy. Using enormous amounts of power, we can charge these transmitters to create an infinitesimal worm hole, a miniscule Fold in the fabric of space-time. It eliminates most of the distance between our galaxy and Andromeda by bypassing the space and time in between. We can then use the scope to peer through this Fold and see Andromeda with only that minor variance."

"And when you did this, you saw reapers."

"Yes. We had our first successful session this morning, and we discovered reapers around Andromeda. We were only able to get a single close up image, and we have no information as to whether they are in motion or dormant."

"So they could be putting the Andromeda galaxy through a similar Cycle as they did ours..."

"Or they could be coming from the Andromeda galaxy to here, to see what happened to their brethren."

"God, I feel sick," he said, covering his face momentarily.

"As do I. The Council must know about this discovery immediately, but to transmit even on secure channels risks the Broker or others getting ahold of the intel. If it leaks into the populous there will be a major panic. I cannot afford to wait until we know what the reapers are doing- the fact of their existence alone is cause for alarm. Still, we must know more."

"So you asked your assistant to look at the dwarf clusters while you were heading to the Citadel."

"Yes. Questions must be answered. Are they moving? Are there more around the dwarf galaxies as well, or do they just focus on major spiral galaxies? Is it every galaxy in our local cluster? For all we know, it could be that every galaxy in the known universe has their own reapers, perpetuating their version of the Cycle. If so, the scope of their crimes is even further beyond reason."

"If they come here, how are we going to fight them?" he asked. "If they keep coming, how could we possibly fight them? They've never been able to get the Crucible to work again- for God's sake, they do tours inside the damned thing. It has a bloody gift shop! And even if it did work, will they just keep coming and coming, in infinite numbers-?"

She touched his arm again. She understood his fears- they were her own, as well- but she felt she had to console him. "We cannot get ahead of ourselves with speculation. This is why I did not want others to know. It is horribly frightening. But we have no more information other than the fact of their existence millions of light-years away from us. Even reapers showed no ability to travel that amount of distance any faster than we were able too. The ones that invaded here had to use FTL and the relay system the same as we. They are not going to show up tomorrow, even if there are ones closer than Andromeda. Until we know more we cannot lose ourselves to panic. Not yet."

"Your sister is a soldier, isn't she? She's a Spectre, a hero, like your father was. Would she be able to fight them if they show up?"

"My sister and my father have a great deal in common, but let me make this clear- they are two separate individuals. I know if she had to, Melara would fight to the bitter end, possibly even win, but that alone and the fact of her heritage is not enough to guarantee any level of success. My father was an incredibly strong and incredibly unique individual. There is no replacement for her. The rest of us can only do what must be done and hope it is enough. My sister will fight. As will I, and my mother, and this entire galaxy. But as I said- they are not arriving here tomorrow. Right now we must stay rational, gather more information, see what the reapers are actually up to. For all we know, what I saw were dead reaper shells that pose no threat whatsoever beyond curiosity. We know little to nothing at this point, so we may as well assume the best."

He nodded, still feeling sick. He could feel her eyes on him for a long moment before she spoke again.

"When I go and see the Council I will need you to come along with me."

"What? Why?"

"Now that you are aware of the situation they need to know that, and be reassured that you are not a risk, and do not intend to go passing the information around."

"I wouldn't do that! I don't want a panic any more than you do."

"That is as may be, but I do not know you beyond in passing, Gerty. They do not know you at all. They will need that reassurance."

"Bloody hell. Fine. I'll 'reassure' them I won't go blabbing around."

"Thank you."

He grunted with a nod, then looked at her. "Hey, you still look beat. You should get some rest."

When she paused, he scowled again. "I'm not going to go transmitting any- good fuck. Some trust would be nice. Here. Tune your omni-tool to my helm. If I try to transmit anything it'll let you know instantly, ok?"

She colored a little bit, but he noticed she still tuned her omni-tool. "I did not mean to upset-"

"No, whatever, it's fine. I get it. Just…go get some rest."

Irie rose from her seat and retreated back into the small quarters. On the way, she passed the VI standing in the middle of the mess. It now looked like any other VI, gold and amber and completely artificial, bearing an unrecognizable face. She said nothing to it, and it completely ignored her.

Going into the room she shut the door then lay down on the tiny bunk. Emotional exhaustion, coupled with physical, drew her quickly down into sleep despite her racing and troubled thoughts.

She never realized that, in all the excitement, she'd completely forgotten what day it was.

Melara was no less tense that evening as she stood in the Nest. Dae had long ago noticed that when her wife was tense, she always became the 'captain'; adopting a stiff military posture with her hands clasped behind her back. That she was doing so in preparing for a conversation with her mother…even this conversation…was troubling.

Dae had set a few things out, looking around as a soft chime suggested Mel's call had been answered. Her bondmate activated it, and Lily's hard-light body appeared nearby.

"I was just about to call Mama," Mel said to her. "Do you have time?"

"Yes, I have a while."

"How is the baby doing?" Dae asked as she came up to Mel's side, laying a soft hand at the small of her wife's back, just above her tightly gripped hands. She tried to send out comfort, relaxation, and love in an attempt to loosen her posture, but if Mel felt it she gave no real sign.

"He is still holding on. No better, but no worse as of yet."

"I am putting in the call," Mel said, activating her omni-tool. "Linking you in."

A moment later another soft chime sounded, and two hard-light figures appeared in the room beside Lily.

Liara T'soni was seated in a chair, as serene and elegant as always. She was wearing a loose and fairly casual dress, which did nothing to hide her very swollen belly. She kept a hand rested on it throughout the conversation, the other fiddling almost obsessively with something around her neck. Though both her daughters were matrons- one with a grown daughter of her own- Liara was not yet herself a matriarch. She had given birth to Irie notably young by asari standards, and had become a grandmother at the age most asari were just starting to think about their first children.

She smiled warmly when she saw the group there, rising from her chair and immediately moving forward to embrace Melara. "My sweet little one," she said softly. "It is good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Mama," Mel replied. "How are you feeling? Is everything going all right?"

She held her mother by the shoulders as she looked down at her belly, and Liara smiled. "I am just fine, Mel. I have a few weeks to go yet, and we have both been strong and healthy."

"You're taking it easy, resting enough-?"

"I am just fine," Liara repeated. "I have been pregnant twice before. This one at least kicks me less often than you did. You were quite acrobatic."

Mel cleared her throat a bit, smiling slightly in embarrassment. "Mama…"

"Dae, it is wonderful to see you," Liara turned and hugged Daenys as well. "And it is good to see you are back aboard the Normandy. My daughter does not seem complete unless you are by her side."

"I hope that is true," Dae said with a happy smile.

"I know that it is."

"Hello, Grandmother," Lily said, stepping up. Liara turned to hug her too, fussing over her momentarily. Then Lily looked over at the silent figure standing behind Liara, almost as stiff and square-shouldered as Mel was. "Hello again, Sam. It is good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Lily," the human woman replied, then cleared her throat, nodding stiffly at Melara. "Captain."

Mel just looked at her, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly. In reply, she felt a slight pinch from Liara's hand where it rested on her arm. Grudgingly, she nodded a greeting. "Doctor."

Another pinch and she inwardly sighed. "I hear your work is going well," she said conversationally.

"Yes, as well as can be expected," she replied.

"We have continued to make some discoveries," Liara said. "Sadly, no more of those particular artifacts at least, but we are chasing some rumors-"

"Mama, those 'rumors' can wait for a while."

"I did not mean I am running around the Traverse eleven months pregnant, Mel. I am not putting myself into harms' way. I meant digging through data, old records. Mundane, boring, safe desk work. Hardly interesting at all."

Her light teasing made Mel huff again, but the small smile showed it was not taken badly. Feeling Dae's light touch Mel remembered merely catching up was not the purpose of this call. Remembering that brought into light a glaring absence.

"Wait a moment. Where is Irie? Was she not going to connect in?"

"I attempted to call her at the research base, but her assistant told me she was unavailable," Liara told her.

"She couldn't have forgotten."

"She has been working long hours on that project, and I know she felt she was close to success. She was very excited about it," Liara told her. Mel activated her own omni-tool and attempted to contact her sister's. When she received no response, she frowned.

"She's not answering. Her assistant didn't say anything more?"

"Only that they were extremely busy and that she was unavailable. She is probably neck deep in the final stages of her work, about to make a breakthrough," Liara said. "She can be forgiven for forgetting."

"It's just not like her," Melara said with a frown.

"I am sure Mama is fine, Mel," Lily said kindly. "She has been working for decades on that project. It is her dream. If she is close to making it work she will be lucky if she knows which month it is, let alone which day."

"Perhaps she has found a romance," Dae said, trying to ease her bondmate's concern. "She may have different stars in her eyes than the normal ones out in space."

Mel gave her a dry look, and Lily's giggle didn't help. Though the young asari doctor missed her father Evik, he had died just over two decades before. It would do her mother good, she thought, to find a new love.

Liara, however, looked over at her grand-daughter. "What of you, Lily? Have you found someone that has put stars in your eyes?"

Lily immediately blushed, and Liara laughed gently. "I am just teasing you, sweet one. You have more than enough time for that."

It did not escape any of them that they were once again avoiding the entire point of this call. Sam stepped forward, lightly touching Liara's arm. When the asari looked at her, she gave her a meaningful look and a slightly arched brow. Liara nodded, gently patting her hand.

"I know," she said softly. "You would think after so long, this would not still be such a difficulty."

Looking at Mel she said, "I felt so horrible this morning," she said. "I woke cheerful, started making breakfast. It wasn't until nearly half the morning had gone by that I even remembered the date…how can I be upset with Irie for forgetting something I very nearly forgot myself."

"Mama, hey…you can't kick yourself for that. Bába wouldn't like it."

"No, she would not," Liara said softly. "I put on some old vids I still have, of her with you and Irie when you were small. That one summer we first went back to Virmire, do you remember?"

"I remember I nearly got a layer of skin peeled off with a wicked tongue-lashing after I got myself stuck on the cliffs for an afternoon, trying to raid one of the bird nests."

"Yes, you scared us both half to death with that stunt. Watching her smile, hearing her voice…seeing you two so small and happy with her. I thank the Goddess every day that I had the chance to know her."

"I remember once when we ambushed her behind the house with water balloons," Dae said with a smile. "When you were still on Thessia. She'd shown us how to make them the weekend before."

Mel grinned. "She wasn't expecting that. Three of us pelting her from the trees without warning…the look on her face. Ooh, I thought we were gonna get it."

"As I recall, you did 'get it'. She dropped all three of you in the pool, fully clothed," Liara said.

"Yes, and you did nothing to help us," Mel joked.

"You earned that dunking all on your own. I was not going to risk her doing the same to me."

They continued to talk, Liara eventually sitting down again, her hand once more clasping to the dog tags she still wore around her neck. They talked about their memories of Del- not her heroics or her battles or her career as a soldier, but about her as part of their family, part of their lives. They had gathered like this to do so- no matter where they were or how far apart- every year on the anniversary of Del's death. Lily usually just listened and laughed along with the tales. She had been very young when Del Shepard had died, not even walking or speaking yet. She never told anyone-not even her own mother- but she did have a single memory of her grandfather. It was the earliest thing she could recall, vague and foggy with distance and youth, but still very real. She remembered sitting on her grandfather's lap, feeling her arm around her, the warmth of her holding her close. She remembered feeling sleepy there, and safe, and looking out to see her mother and her aunts and her grandmother nearby.

That was all. It was only a moment, but it was all she had, and she clung to it closely.

This year was the first day this anniversary had been joined in by Liara's new bondmate. Samantha Williams was a human doctor, an archaeologist, and she had met Liara on a dig- one that had turned out quite interesting, in the end. Lily knew Liara had had a very difficult time at first, allowing herself to let Sam in, to realize that by caring for her and allowing herself to have a comfort and companion again, she was not replacing Del in any way.

She remembered Liara once saying that Del had made her promise that she would someday find someone else- but even that promise had not eased the heartache she'd gone through when it had finally come about. Now, it was good to see her grandmother happy and cared for, living her life and bringing new love into their family. That got her thinking about Irie again, and how she hoped her mother would someday do the same- that she would realize that finding a new love did not somehow invalidate the love, life, or happiness she'd had with Evik…it just opened the door for more.

They talked for a couple of hours. In the end, the small group joined hands and stood together in a moment of thoughtful silence, before Mel hugged her mother once more and urged her to get some rest. Goodbyes were exchanged, somewhat tearful, before Liara and Sam signed off the call. Lily followed suit a moment later.

Dae wordlessly hugged her wife for a long moment, before she softly kissed her cheek. "I will be downstairs if you need me," she said softly.

Melara nodded gently, listening as her wife departed the Nest before she turned to her small drink service. Silently, she carefully poured a glass of whiskey, then drew out a silver case. Opening it revealed a set of gold-label cigars. Selecting one as if picking a fine wine, she took it and the glass over to her small sofa, sitting down.

She had taken up smoking the cigars briefly around the time Del had died. The habit didn't stick, and now she only smoked a single cigar a year, and only on this particular day. It was her way of honoring her father.

Touching a nearby pad, she selected a song and directed it to play softly. She lit the cigar, the smell of the smoke immediately filling her with comfort, as if Del stood in that very room.

Taking the whiskey, she lifted it into the air in silent salute as the first strains of Blind Hope began to play.