Part 2, Chapter 4, Matron:
A loud clang sounded throughout the launch. A shiver raced down Liara's spine. Normally space flight didn't bother the Asari Matron, though this trip was different. She looked down at her eight year old daughter Samara. This was her first time off Thessia. Liara didn't want anything bad to happen. Calm Liara, she thought to herself, space travel is safer than flying in a taxi on Illium, that's for sure. Especially if Shepard is driving, she added to herself.
Samara smiled back at her mother, she was having a great time. Her eyes darted back and forth taking in the entirety of the Alliance launch. Another hollow knock and Samara's eyes looked at the hatch. Docking was nearly complete. She smiled.
Liara heard mumbling from the forward section of the launch. The pilot was speaking softly into the communications unit. He then leaned over to Shepard and spoke. Victoria nodded a few times and climbed out of the co-pilot's position with a dancer's grace. Liara's heart warmed as she watched Shepard lock eyes with Samara and break out in a wide smile, "We're connected. Ready?" Samara nodded emphatically in reply.
Ten years, Goddess, it's already been ten years, Liara thought to herself. What was that human expression, Liara wondered to herself, oh yes, 'time flies when you're having fun'. Fun indeed. She smiled. Ten years ago today Citadel forces declared victory over the Reapers. Celebrations were planned on nearly every populated world in the Milky Way. Here in Alliance space the anniversary had come to be known, descriptively, as Victory over the Reapers Day. Victoria and her family had been invited to participate in the VR Day, oh how the humans love their abbreviations, festivities.
The Alliance and most of the Council had originally wanted the Slayer of the Reapers to make an appearance on the Citadel, delivering some sort of key note speech at their celebration. Victoria wasn't having any of that. Fortunately for her, Councilor Anderson hadn't decided to retire just yet and told the Alliance brass and the rest of the Councilors to shove it. The humans certainly like their euphemisms, she thought to herself. Victoria had a much more personal form of celebration in mind.
Young Samara offered her father her 'combination cover' seemingly from nowhere. When did she get her hands on that? Liara thought to herself that Samara might have inherited some of Shepard's more stealthy traits. Goddess, she'll be a handful in a few years.
With a flourish Victoria twirled the cover in her hand and placed it upon her head. She flashed an inquisitive facial expression to her daughter, cocked her head to one side, and raised her hands palms up. Liara understood this to be one way humans said how is this? nonverbally.
Samara gave her mom two thumbs up and pronounced, "Look'n good!" Samara had adopted English idioms much more readily than her mother.
Shepard knelt, as well as she could in her 'dress blues' skirt, and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Why don't you go over to your mother and watch your mom work." Liara's heart warmed whenever she watched Victoria and their daughter. She loved the girl so utterly. It seemed like Victoria forgot all of her sadness when they were together.
Liara fell in slightly behind her mate. Their daughter tucked in just behind her. The hatch clicked open. There was a barely audible hiss around the edges as air pressures equalized. Victoria rolled her bad shoulder and popped her neck loudly. Suddenly, unexpectedly, there was an ear splitting whistle. It held tone, increased in frequency, decreased in frequency, and stopped suddenly. A moment's silence followed then a rustling and the loud clap of 25 pairs of boot heels clicking together. Liara watched the hairs on the back of Victoria's neck stand on end. She hasn't seen the inside of Normandy since the war, how is she taking this? Liara thought to herself.
Admiral Victoria Shepard [Retired] stepped forward and through the airlock. Liara followed. Victoria stopped, turned, and snapped off a textbook-perfect salute to the Alliance Ensign affixed to the bulkhead. Then she turned again and snapped off an equally perfect salute to Normandy's commander, "Permission to come aboard Captain Moreau?" Liara recalled a previous conversation with Shepard; Joker only holds the grade of Commander, but a master of a ship, regardless of rank, is addressed as Captain. Shepard seemed to love sharing the traditions of her service with her.
"Granted Admiral," Joker returned Victoria's salute as best as his skeleton allowed and cracked a grin, "Welcome home skipper." They shook hands. Joker looked Liara in the eyes. He smiled, genuinely glad to see her, and said, "And you too Lady Liara," he winked. "And it looks like you brought the Mk-2. Nice to meet you."
Samara piped up, "Nice to meet you too Joker." She looked at Shepard, "He doesn't seem like that much of a jerk, mom."
Shepard and Liara winced simultaneously and the Normandy's crew burst into laughter. Joker just smiled and leaned close to Victoria, "I hate to break this to you skipper, but she doesn't look a thing like you."
What is that supposed to mean? thought Liara. As if on cue, EDI spoke up from a nearby terminal, "As you no doubt have noticed, Captain Moreau, Admiral Shepard's daughter is Asari." EDI paused, seemingly for dramatic effect, "Also, Admiral Shepard is female."
"Thanks for ruining my joke EDI," said Joker, "Also, haven't we talked about debasing the captain in front of his men?"
"Of course Captain Moreau. Welcome back to Normandy Admiral Shepard. Dr. T'soni, a pleasure as always. Pleased to meet you Samara." Samara smiled, she had been looking forward to meeting an AI.
"Uh, Admiral, would you like to review the troops before my ship makes more jokes at my expense?" Joker smiled and hunched slightly. The strain of standing up straight was telling on his face.
"Of course Captain." Shepard walked up and down the line of assembled crewmen. A few faces were familiar; she paused to greet them personally. She returned to Joker's side and turned toward the assembled, "You have a fine crew Captain, and the best ship in the Navy. It's a personal privilege to be among you again, and to join you at the head of the Parade of the Tall Ships. Happy VR Day."
"Hip hip!" a crewman shouted to Liara's surprise, "Hurray!" responded the crew in chorus.
"Hip hip! Hurray!"
"Hip hip! Hurray!"
Shepard flashed Liara a lopsided grin and winked.
"Crew," Joker raised his voice, "man your stations. Parade starts in an hour." The assembly broke up leaving Liara, Shepard, Samara, and Joker alone in the forward section of the ship near the helm. "They don't let me fly the thing personally anymore," Joker seemed somewhat sad. "Still, a skipper at my age, that's pretty good." He shot a sideways look at Shepard, "We didn't all jump three grades, get a star, and then a pension in the space of a month." Shepard stuck out her tongue, Samara mimicked her. "Do you want me to give you the tour? Pretty much everything is where you left it. Fish are still alive. You can just wander around if you like. I'll stay out of your hair."
"Thanks Joker, I'd like that. Join you in the CIC in an hour?"
"Sure thing skipper, and it's good to see you again."
Liara spent the next hour touring Normandy SR-2. The last time she'd been aboard, and not engaged in mortal combat, was the night she and Victoria had killed the Shadow Broker. She blushed slightly at the memory. They visited the crew deck and spoke with Mess Sergeant Gardner, still there a decade after the war. He seemed genuinely glad to see the Admiral and absolutely fawned over Samara promising her a tasty treat for after the parade.
The medical bay seemed a bit less homey without Dr. Chakwas. Age had finally caught up with her and she had accepted a teaching position on Earth.
Samara marveled at the AI core and would have chatted for hours with EDI had they not wanted to see the remainder of the ship. As they left, EDI whispered to Liara that she hoped her assistant was still proving useful, and that she (it?) was still glad to have made an appearance at the wedding.
Upon reaching the engineering spaces, Shepard's demeanor changed. There were no familiar faces here. The war had been particularly cruel to the engineering crew. Leaving her wife and daughter behind, Shepard walked towards the mass effect core. She stopped and placed a hand on a bulkhead, "The ship fitters at the yard did an amazing job. You can barely see the repair."
Samara didn't understand. She walked up to the bulkhead and placed her hand upon it as well. Liara did understand. She wasn't aboard the Normandy when it had happened, but she'd seen it in the bond. It happened at the Second Battle of the Citadel. A primary circuit linking the main fusion reactors to the Thanix Cannon had overloaded and blown out. The temperature inside of main engineering had risen by nearly two thousand degrees within a second. A kinetic barrier had gone up to protect the mass effect core, but it hadn't protected the crew. Shepard still vividly remembered standing in the CIC watching Tali'Zora vas Normandy scream as her environment suit melted to her skin. Crewmen Daniels and Donnelly had died much more quietly. Garrus was in gunnery control where the damage was less severe. He lingered for three days in the infirmary before he died.
Shepard turned and looked at her beloved. Her normally vibrant eyes looked hollow. "I don't want to be here anymore."
The parade itself was actually quite enjoyable. Normandy joined with her sister ships of Wolf Pack 6 and an assortment of other warships from her squadron. They made low level passes over the Martian and Lunar colonies, Shepard still hadn't taken her to see the Prothean ruins on Mars. Shepard closed her eyes in what looked like quiet reflection as they passed the space where her mother was killed. Then they made high altitude over flights of several Earth cities. New York's Central Park was green once more. Tokyo twinkled in a kaleidoscope of colors. Earth was healing. Samara was awed. She had never seen the human home world before.
When the day's festivities were over, and Samara had suffered the inevitable sugar-crash from Gardner's chocolate cake, Admiral Shepard and her family departed the Normandy. Liara watched her shake hands with Joker, snap off a perfect salute, salute the Alliance Ensign, and join her on the launch.
When they were clear of the Normandy and on their way back towards the Charon Mass Relay, when she was sure Samara was asleep, and when she was sure the launch pilot was absorbed in his duties, Victoria Shepard placed her head on her wife's shoulder and cried.