Chapter 3

Rena and Tally walked through the amusement park that looked more like a carnival. It was the big tourist attraction that Eden Prime had, the two siblings loved to spend free time here. Rena held tightly to a stuffed Krogan that Tally had just won her by throwing a baseball at stacked plastic Reaper ships. "Luke will love that squirt!" Tally couldn't hide her giggle as her sister held tightly to the toy.

"It's mine!"

"Relax, I doubt Luke would want it anyway!" Tally smiled thinking of Wrex's young son. They hadn't seen the family for almost a year but still held weekly video calls to check up on them. Wrex was one of their mother's oldest friends.

Rena reached over holding tightly to Tally's arm. Her gaze sat just down the row where a group of Asari Rena's age was standing.

Noticing the change in her sister she put her hand around the small child's back. "Are they still picking on you?" The silence from the young Asari was all the confirmation Tally needed. "You know you're just as good as they are!"

Putting her little head down Rena had to hold back tears. "Then why can't I control my biotics like they can."

Spotting a small bench Tally pulled her sister by the hand, pulling her over to the seat she sat down with her. "I don't know Rena, but I think it's kind of like how I'm not so good at school. We each have something were good at."

A tear escaped onto Rena's shirt. "I'm not good at anything."

Reaching over Tally lightly rubbed the stray tears off her sister's cheek. "Sure you are!"

Rena just shook her head.

"You're an amazing sister!" Still getting no response Tally continued. "You can beat me at Skyllian Five!" Tally paused. "But remember our rule…"

Rena finally let a smile cross her pouty lips. "Don't tell mom's you taught me to play!"

"Good! See add another thing your good at keeping a secrete!" Again Tally paused before her face turned a little more serious. "Rena, people suck sometimes."

Confusion filled the small Asari's face. "But why?"

"I don't know…All I know is this…one day you're going to look back and think of them laughing at you, and it's going to be a distant memory because you are going to be some famous fisherperson who caught the biggest whale shark on Thessia!"

Rena burst into laughter. "I don't want to do that anymore!"

"Well you can do whatever you want."

"I want to join the Alliance!"

"Except that" Tally's eyes squinted thinking of the memory of her momma storming upstairs the night before.

Rena somberly stated "You said anything."

"I guess I did. The Alliance does let other species in now, so I guess they might take you." Tally paused. "You know our rule." A huge grin crossed both their faces.

"Don't tell mom's you said that."

"Great! Want some cotton candy?"

"Hum I don't think so how about we go do the fishing game?"

"Oh I thought you didn't want to do that?"

"Shut up!" Rena was now bouncing as she headed to her favorite attraction with Tally trailing close behind.

Tally walked into Liara's study where her momma sat grading papers. Liara was the biotics teacher at the local Asari academy that had been built on Eden Prime after the war. When they moved to Eden Prime, Thessia was still in the process of rebuilding their almost destroyed world; Eden Prime however, had been one of the first worlds ready for a great population that major schools would bring. Liara had jumped at the chance to teach at the school when Shepard had been stationed on the planet. Tally knocked lightly on the door frame as Liara looked up and smiled at her oldest daughter. "Come in."

Tally sat down in front of Liara's wooden desk. Taking a deep breath she solemnly asked "Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

"You know you can." Liara pushed the data pads away she had been working on. "I actually wanted to talk to you as well. I trust the park was fun?"

Tally shook her head thoughts of her sister's torment ran though her head but she had made a promise not to tell their momma. "Yeah…it was great."

Liara noticed the hesitation in her daughter's voice, but wouldn't pry.

"I won't join the Alliance if you don't want me to." Tally had done a lot of thinking and she realized she couldn't hurt her momma, if going to college was what would make her happy that's what she would do.

It would have been so easy for Liara to hug her daughter, tell her she was so happy she would be going to college and never have to fear about her being shot at. However, a brief flash of Benezia's disapproval about her becoming an archaeologist and the fight that had ensued made her stop dead in her tracks. "Sweetie, I love you and I want you to be happy. It's not about what I want." Liara paused. "However, can we make a compromise?"

Tally wasn't sure what was going on or if she was being played, all she knew was this was not what she was expecting. "Perhaps?"

"Go into the officers program, graduate from that, become a Second Lieutenant. I don't want you to have to have the same life your mother had." Liara gazed as if looking through Tally to the small folded Alliance flag still in its triangle box, given to her after Shepard had 'died' the first time. A reminder she kept to always be grateful for what you have. She also knew that most officers never witnessed combat like Shepard had because of her N7 training. Liara pulled out a data pad and handed it to her daughter. "That has all the information about a school on Earth that was set up after the war. It's a six month accelerated program. It's harder than boot camp, and they hold you to a higher standard." After the war so many officers had been lost the Alliance had started the elite school. To this day some of the brightest young officers came from this program.

Tally stared down at the data pad in her hands, scrolling through some of the images of the school. She really didn't know what to say.

"I'm not saying you have to do this, the choice is yours, but after I did some research this seems like a good fit for you. I would appreciate if you at least thought it over."

"Momma I will, I'm just not sure I could even get in. I'm sure it has a wait list…"

"I might have made a few calls and there might be an opening for the fall term." Liara let a slight smile cross her lips. She had told Shepard they had to stay out of their daughters assignments but that didn't mean she couldn't stack the deck a bit.

"I don't know what to say!" Tally was almost speechless. She had walked into the office thinking she would be talking to her Momma about colleges and now she was talking to her about an officers program and joining the Alliance. To say it made her head swim was an understatement.

"Then just say you'll think it over before you make your decision."

A smile crossed Tally's lips. "I will." She stood to leave the room, before she did she almost ran into her Momma's arms pulling her up out of the chair she had been sitting in for a deep hug. "Thank you so much."

Liara took in a deep breath, Shepard and Tally always had the same woodsy smell to them from hours of enjoying the planet they called home. "I love you little wing." She smiled it had been ages since she used her own pet name on their first born.

Pulling away Tally's face held a slight red tint from the blush crossing her cheeks. "I love you too."

"Now, go find your sister for me, it's time for our extra practice."

"Can she for-go that today?" Tally was worried for her sister after the events at the park. Knowing how much she despised her biotics she wanted to instead let her have a break from it.

"Did she put you up to this?" Liara was getting a little annoyed worried with her youngest daughter's lack of wanting to try with her biotics.

"No, she really didn't I just wanted to tell her about the school." Tally waved the small data pad in her hands.

Liara realized she had been played, it was a trait both Shepard women had pausing she corrected herself, it was a trait all three of them had, including Rena. Lightly kissing the forehead of her oldest she smiled. "Of course."

As Tally excitedly made her way out of the small office, Liara glanced down at the five by seven frame that held the last family photo of the four of them taken just a few months prior. Shepard stood proud hugging her from behind, as the children sat on their knees in front of them. All dressed white it had been a fun afternoon, especially when Rena had fallen in mud on the way to the restaurant after the photo shoot, and looked like: Liara paused for a moment thinking to herself 'what had Tally called her? Oh right a cow' it had been one of those memories she and Shepard had longed for as the war had taken its toll on the duo. Pulling away from the memory Liara plucked the frame from her desk holding it tightly to her chest. "Goddess, please keep her safe." A single tear fell from her eye as she silently hoped she had done the right thing.