A/N: Hello and welcome back!

My apologies for the long delay, I had an intense week and my headspace was not conducive to writing.

Also, I have just come to the realization that I have been altering the spelling on the name of Melara's childhood friend. I have been using 'Bethalya' in some instances, and 'Bethayla' in others.

The correct name is 'Bethayla'. Eventually I will go back and correct the misspelled ones.

On we go!

The first thing that Melara became aware of was Lily.

She opened her eyes, feeling heavy and oddly comfortable, weighed down with sleep. Her first semi-conscious thought was to seriously consider simply rolling over, draping her arm over her wife, and going back to sleep.

Instead, she saw Lily, hovering only a few inches away, peering at her with the intensity of a pathologist examining a newly discovered and possibly deadly virus. Seeing her niece clarified things, and she groaned a little.

"How bad this time?" she asked. Her throat felt hot, her voice remarkably weak.

Lily smiled, relief on her face. "Bad," she said softly. "But you are going to be all right. How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy," Melara replied, then tried to shift a little. Her shoulders ached faintly, her lower back- but mostly her body just felt wrung out and weak. "I'm all right. Once these drugs wear off-"

"What you are feeling is not the result of any medication," Lily told her. "You were desperately ill, Melara. The wounds you sustained when that thing grabbed you and in the fall- those were nasty but easily repaired, all things considered. However, the creature had something on its claws- a type of cyberbiologic excretion that allowed it to cut through your pads. Unfortunately, it appears to also react very badly with hemocyanin. It was quite literally poisoning you, breaking down the proteins in your blood and tissues and causing a fever of such temperatures we had to put you in a cryo-container to try and stave off brain damage."

Melara stared at her, trying to wrap her mind around it. "How long have I been out?"

"Two days," Lily told her. "I was able to examine the body of the creature who attacked you. I took samples of the substance on its claws. Once I was able to determine what was causing your fever I was able to treat it. You will be all right, though you will likely be weak and lethargic for a while."

"A while? How long is a while? I can't be bedridden right now-"

"You will stay in that bed for exactly as long as Lily determines it is needed." Liara's voice drew her eyes as both her mother and her wife approached the bedside. The tone Liara had was one common from Mel's childhood- one that was not to be trifled with.

Dae came up, taking Mel's hand between her two and kissing her fingers. Looking to her wife, Mel shook her head.

"It's ok. I'm all right, Daenys…"

"You very nearly were not," Dae replied. "And your mother is right. You will not move a single finger from that bed until you are cleared to do so."

Mel let out an irritated blast of breath, but knew she was hardly going to win out against her family- especially since Lily had the power to strip her of her command altogether, and order her strapped down. Deep down, she knew it was probably for the best, even as grating as it was. She honestly wasn't sure she could even stand up, let alone do anything of use.

"Can you at least fill me in on what's going on? Have we learned anything?" she asked, irritation wrinkling her brow.

"You really should rest more-" Lily started, and Mel scowled. Before she could speak, Liara held up a hand gently and moved closer to her daughter.

"Mel, do you remember what you said before you lost consciousness? Do you remember mentioning the brasa, and a 'dark asari?'"

"Yes," Melara said, her dark eyes growing more intent as she remembered. "Yes, there was an insectoid intelligence there, when I woke up in the bay. It said nothing, but it changed its shape to appear asari. Not perfectly-but the mimicry was obvious. Then it just…walked away, leaving the Jabberwocks to kill me."

Her eyes moved back to Dae. "If you had not been there-"

"Shh," was all Daenys said, her eyes gloss as she kissed Mel's hand again. Lily cleared her throat, and Liara reached down, gently touching her daughter's face, before leaning over and kissing her forehead.

"Why do you ask?" Mel looked to her mother again. "What did she do? Did we catch her?"

"No. She…left. With the rest of them, back the way they came. We have taken measures to stop them returning for now. The rest you will be debriefed on later. For now, your duty is to heal and recover your strength, nothing more. Trust in your family and your crew. We will finish gathering information and by the time you are back on your feet, perhaps we will even have some answers."

Melara didn't like the way Vina was hovering.

She was there almost the moment Mel stepped out of the infirmary, a bit more rested than she would have liked but more than ready to get back to work.

Daenys had gone upstairs to give Aleu his lunch and let him know that his Tatta was out of the infirmary and would be up to see him soon. He had been allowed to visit her briefly the day before, and she had done her best to reassure him. However, a rakir's sense of smell was incredibly keen- even a young one. Aleu had never liked false reassurances. His parents could not insist to him that Tatta had never been in danger of dying- he would smell the lie on them, and smell the lingering odor of severe illness on Mel, even if she was no longer in danger. Unlike most people who at least had the luxury of softening some blows for their children, Mel and Dae had never been able to shield Aleu in a like fashion.

So, Dae simply told him the truth, and Mel did her best not to insist she was 'just fine' when he came in to visit, though she did reassure him that she would be back to her strength in no time. That at much was honest, and did more to comfort him than any lie would have. That was yesterday. The boy would be much relieved to see his Tatta on her feet and back in uniform.

Liara was…somewhere. Melara didn't think much on her mother's absence, expecting she was either with Dae up tending to Aleu, or elsewhere conferring with Eír or acting as liaison with the Thessian fleet forces still around the planet and the Normandy.

That Vina was there was not of concern- in fact, Mel would have been surprised not to see her turian second in command. A lot had likely happened in the last few days and she would have much to go over with her captain, getting her up to speed and providing the necessary status reports. It was the way she lingered silently in the background of the mess that was out of character, and Mel felt an almost immediate tightening in her stomach the moment she stepped out of the infirmary with Irie at her side.

Irie herself was not quite so reticent, though she seemed slightly hesitant as she spoke as well, doing nothing to ease Melara's worry. "The surveillance we were able to retrieve was quite clear," she said. "The invaders came through the very anchor Leanne and the others were using to test the power draw. The data bears out that they opened the Fold and closed it again from their side. I had the anchor immediately dismantled."

"So we know they have Fold technology, and it seems they can use any such Fold anchor against us so long as its assembled, whether powered from our side or not," Melara said. "Given that you have the only anchors within the Milky Way, so long as we keep them dismantled they will not be able to invade in a like manner again- they'll have to come the old fashioned way. Either by travelling through dark space or using this extra-galactic relay system- if it really is there and usable in such a fashion- both of which will still take time."

"There is a possibility you are not considering," Irie said. "Mine may not be the only anchors. We have already discovered one of their ships, buried in frozen methane. That ship may have an anchor aboard it. It also may be possible there is another ship hidden elsewhere in this galaxy, as yet undiscovered, or a structure buried in ruins in some dark cave somewhere. A single anchor with a Fold only four feet in diameter led to this invasion. If there is any chance at all they find a larger one-"

"It wasn't an invasion," Melara said as they walked toward the lift. Vina silently fell in behind them, and Mel gave her a glance, before looking back at Irie. "If I know nothing else, I know military strategy. This was a scouting mission. They were gathering information. Even the shape shifting of that brasa-if it was indeed truly brasa- bears that out."

"How so?"

"It mimicked me, Irie. Took on my appearance, and from what you said it carried that appearance back through the Fold. There's only two reasons I can think of that it did that: one, that taking on the appearance of a native species would help it deal with the environment better, gain equal maneuverability and capability; and two, to show whoever was waiting on the other side of that Fold just what it was that we looked like, what they had to expect."

Irie pondered this a moment, then blinked. "Did it touch you?"

"Touch me? Not to my recollection, but it could easily have done so before I woke up and saw it there. Something carried me inside that hanger, after all. Why?"

"It could be a living DNA sample," Irie said. "I know it sounds far-fetched but we must consider even the fantastic, tech that may be beyond our very comprehension. It may be that its species can sample and then mimic the DNA of other species. This caused it to take on your appearance but also provides its people with exactly everything they need to know about the asari on a genetic level. It hands them our very coding, the blueprint of how we function."

"Great. Just what they need- more of an advantage."

She paused outside the lift doors, not stepping within just yet, and looking at Vina again. "And what have you got to report? I can see it sticking in your craw, Vina. Whatever it is, out with it."

The turian looked solemn. "We have…received a report. I am awaiting further verification on some details- I was hoping to have them before passing the report along, but-"

"What report?" Melara asked. Vina's mandibles flapped a little before she shook her head. She pulled out a data pad and passed it over.

"There has been a second attack, on…a world within Thessian space. It happened roughly the same time as the invasion here at Oasis."

"What?" Irie paled as Melara started scrolling through the information, her brows tightly knit. "And we are just now hearing about this?"

"It seems the attacker was singular in this case, a Jabberwocky" Melara said, reading. "It killed several before it was taken out but no further attackers have made an appearance. An Alliance ship is already on sight to help secure-"

Then she broke off, her eyes snapping up to Vina as she saw the location. "This is accurate?" she asked. "You verified this?"

"Yes," Vina said. "Your mother is checking names-"

Melara said nothing, slapping the data pad into Vina's chest. Bypassing the lift completely she headed off at a jog toward the stairs. Vina caught the pad by instinct, then went after her, Irie on her heels.

Liara was in the CIC near the communications officer. As if sensing her daughter's impending arrival, she stepped away from the console and headed toward her almost before she had passed through the stairwell door onto the command deck.

"Mama?"

"She is alive, Mel," Liara said. "They did not include the names of those killed in the initial report. I have just verified. One died and another, newly arrived, was badly wounded- but Bethayla is alive."

Mel looked at Vina. "I want a course put in for the monastery. I want to be there yesterday."

"Mel-" Liara began, but Vina shook her head.

"You did not finish the report," she said calmly. "We are under orders to report to the Citadel as soon as you are recovered."

"There is already an Alliance team at the monastery," Liara said. "As well as some asari commandos and geth soldiers. The geth are maintaining security for the residents while the Alliance investigates where this Jabberwocky may have come from. It is in hand."

"There is nothing that I need to report to the Citadel that cannot be done over secure transmission," Melara said tersely. "Why do they need us there?"

"We've already transmitted a full report on what occurred here, as have the commanders of the Thessian ships. Councilor V'Dess was quite firm that she wanted you to debrief the Council in person as to what we encountered here at Oasis," Vina said.

Melara knew if Karina and the Council wanted to speak to her in person, they had very good reason. Still, every fiber of her being wanted to do nothing more than aim the Normandy's nose toward the monastery and head there at top FTL.

There is no reason. The situation is already being handled, Beth is fine, and seeing her again…seeing her again may not be the wisest idea.

"Then I suppose the Normandy is heading back to the Citadel," she said, then looked at her sister. "What about you?"

"Gerty and I will remain here," Irie said. "There is still much work that needs to be done here. With no assembled anchors we should be safe enough- even so, the Thessian ships are staying and providing a security force to keep Oasis safe."

Melara felt less than confident about leaving her sister at the ravaged research base- commando presence or no- and from the look on Liara's face she had the same misgivings. However, it was Irie's base, and there was little to no one left who really understood her work. Her expertise would be necessary.

Melara looked at her mother. "And you?"

"Sam and I must retrieve Ashley," Liara said. "However I do not plan to return home, not quite yet. We will make arrangements with the Alliance for temporary quarters in Brazil, or New York. You can bring Aleu down if you have a chance, after you have concluded your business on the Citadel. We can discuss then what our next move shall be."

"Aleu would like that. He hasn't been to Earth yet, and I know he'd like to see Ashley again."

"She would like to see him as well," Liara said. "She talks about him quite often. Calls him her 'Naphoo'. She still has not quite gotten the hang of 'nephew'."

Melara smiled slightly, then nodded. "Very well. Vina, find out what the Sekos are planning; if they intend to remain here or where they expect their next movements to be. I want a confirmed, reliable, and secure contact for them before we go anywhere- they love to disappear into the ether and that's the last thing we need right now. Irie, we'll get you settled back on Oasis but I want regular reports, and wellness pings every eight hours. You miss one…just one, and the Normandy is coming back here with an entire armada on its heels, am I clear?"

"Quite."

"Good. Mama, the same goes for you. We'll meet back on Earth and discuss what our next step is. Chances are it may very well rely on why Karina wants me on the Citadel in person."

Liara nodded. "We should be on Earth within the next three days," she said. "I do not intend to linger on Tuchanka after retrieving Ashley."

Stepping forward, Liara embraced her daughter tightly. She did not have to say anything for Melara to feel the relief in that grip- the relief only a mother could feel after fearing they would lose their child. Melara hugged her back just as tightly.

Sihra was in the cargo bay when she smelled him. The scent crawled up the back of her neck, setting the hair on edge. She narrowed her eyes, but didn't look up from the manifest that she was checking off.

"Dangerous for you to be down here, boy," she said as the scent grew a little stronger.

"How did you know I was here?"

She rolled her eyes, glaring over at where he lurked behind some lashed down crates. "I can smell you," she said in a low, irritated voice, before turning her attention back to the manifest. "Everyone else here couldn't smell rotten fish if it were under their noses, but my nose works just fine. I smell you clearly. Like weak milk and…detrak."

"Well…I can smell you too," he said. "You smell…unhappy."

"If I am unhappy it is because I am being pestered by a pouchless whelp while I am trying to work."

"No. You always smell unhappy," he said evenly. She heard a rustle and looked over to see he had climbed the side of the crate and was now perched on it. "Besides, I'm not pouchless. The Ubuuta said so. She said I was-"

"I know what she said," Sihra snapped, glaring at him. Across the bay, Private Laws blinked and looked their way. The boy recoiled ever so slightly and she snorted.

"You are foolish and weak, afraid of noises."

"I'm not afraid of noises," he said defiantly. "You're the one that's afraid."

Dropping the manifest aside, she bore her teeth, her hackles lifting as she turned to fully face the boy. "I am Sihra of the House of Utchibahn, former Prilekk to the Ubuut and Protek to the Ubuuta. I have faced more death and killed more foes than a worthless scrap of ukka like you will ever understand! I am afraid of nothing!"

"Aleu, you are not supposed to be down here," Laws said, setting her tools aside and heading over, casting wary glances at Sihra. "You know this part of the ship is off limits to you."

"You are afraid," Aleu said, climbing down off the crate, his eyes still fixed to Sihra. "It's ok. Mama says it's ok to be afraid. Being afraid doesn't mean you're weak-"

Sihra snarled again. Laws grabbed hold of Aleu's shoulder and firmly steered him toward the lift.

"C'mon. Back to the lift, big guy. Let her do her job."

Aleu did not resist, stepping into the lift. Laws stepped in with him, hitting the command for the Nest and blowing out a breath. "Kid, you're lucky she didn't skin you."

Aleu shrugged. "She wouldn't. I'm smaller and weaker than she is. Hurting me would have meant she was weak too."

The private eyed him. "You've been listening to your educational tapes again. Listen, kid…I don't know how it is among rakir, but among most other species, it's considered bad form to call someone out on being afraid."

"Well, she is," Aleu said. "Unhappy and afraid. She always smells unhappy, but I haven't smelled the afraid before. I could smell it in here when I came down. I can smell it in here now. She was in this lift, and she was afraid."

Laws lifted her brows at him. "She was afraid…of the lift?"

He nodded, all four of his nostrils fluttering as he sampled the air. "Yes. It is a…trapped-fear. She doesn't like being in here. It makes her feel trapped."

"She's… you mean, she's claustrophobic," she said, then shook her head. "Aleu, sweetheart…listen."

She knelt down, looking in his eyes. "Yeah, she probably is a bit claustrophobic. She was taken away from her people, tied up and locked in a metal box for months, slowly starving and dying."

"Like my mother," he said quietly. "I mean, the one who had me, before Tama and Tatta saved me."

"Yes. Being in the lift probably makes her feel like she's back in that box again. It isn't very nice to make fun of something like that."

"I wasn't making fun," he said.

"Maybe, maybe not, but it was a bit cruel nonetheless. Not that she was behaving much better. Why were you down there anyway? You know that there are certain parts of the ship you're not allowed to go in without an adult with you. Your parents are going to be upset that you disobeyed and went down into the cargo bay."

He looked away, one ear flicking a little. "I wanted to see her," he said in a half mumble. "I never get to see her."

Laws inclined her head a little, letting out a soft sigh before she gently touched his shoulder. The lift drew to a halt at the Nest, and she straightened. "C'mon," she said kindly. "Home sweet home."