Chapter 4: The Interesting Part About Culture

There was a weight lifted. Air to breathe. Shoulders relaxed. The promise of real food to fill the belly underway.

Shepard waited aside as T'Soni dealt with the food vendor, occasionally looking over for help when she had been cruelly tasked for surprising the soldier. Shepard pretended she didn't see those looks then, and it helped that the sunglasses masked where her eyes were. All she had to do was turn her torso a little to give off the illusion that she watched down the street. She was willing to give just one more shot after purposefully being fed that repulsive sludge.

Advertising caught her eye and she wandered over to the store's window, brow arched as she read quietly. "Asari confessions, volume 19: Blue Light District?"

She scanned the list of physical copies available in other volumes, what the stock was, and what was out of stock. She noticed 'True Blue' was out of stock and on back order. There was an abundance of volumes for 'Pureblood'.

"Is this a detective series?"

Shepard glanced over her shoulder when she heard footsteps approach her. She gave a small smile of acknowledgement as T'Soni came with a container in each hand, where mouth-watering smells tempted a good distance away. The soldier had learned very recently not to rely on that though. She waved over and thumbed at the advertisement. "Is this a crime show for the asari? Volume 26: True Blue seems to be doing quite well."

"Hm?"

T'Soni came up beside the soldier, her focus shifted to the advertisement. One blink, and her blue face turned purple.

"Uh..." Shepard cautiously laid a hand on the archaeologist's shoulder. "Dr. T'Soni, you're flushed. Are you feeling well? Do you need to sit down?"

"I-I'm fine." The shaking containers betrayed her. She abruptly shoved one into Shepard's hands and forced a smile, though she seemed wildly embarrassed. "To answer your question: no, it is not a crime show. It should be a crime for existing, however."

With that, T'Soni strode off down the street.

One last look at the list of volumes, and the soldier chuckled when she caught on.

"Volume 23: On Our Knees. So it's that kind of crime, huh?"

Shepard picked up her pace and decided - with great sacrifice - to drop the topic. She noticed the blushing asari tried to out-do her, and lengthened her strides as she offered a different subject to cease this competition before it got out of hand.

"So what kind of food is this?"

T'Soni shot an expression that seemed to be one of immense gratitude.

"Should I make a joke that she looks like she'll get On Our Knees to thank me? I don't want her to side with the enemy if I push her too far though. Then she'll make the same joke back as she's choking me with biotics."

Instead, they occupied a table and the soldier opened up her container, peeking up out of curiosity to see what T'Soni had ordered as she did the same.

"Yours is called Shirvan, a traditional-"

"No way." Shepard shoved her container forward. "The last time I ate something traditional, it tasted worse than poison."

T'Soni's brow arched with amusement. "Something in there sounds like a story I will have to hear someday." She gently pushed the container back with a chuckle. "You had a nonperishable version, and those are always horrible. I promise this one will be more savoury. It is made by steaming a variety of fish indigenous to Thessia, served with a spicy sauce. It was the only dish that vendor said they had available that didn't contain traces of eezo. We are in the district that doesn't attract many non-asari, so we were lucky to have at least that."

That intrigued the soldier, and she accepted the utensils offered to her. "Your food actually contains eezo, and nobody gets poisoned by it?"

"Not the asari." T'Soni waved her fork about and seemed to talk with her hands as she ate her own meal. "My species are naturals at biotics for a reason. Element Zero comprises much of Thessia, and non-asari citizens that live here must be wary with where they go if they wish to enjoy nature. There are only a small handful of lakes that do not contain eezo, and it is monitored daily by environmental specialists to ensure that the signs and warnings posted are current and accurate."

"I see... The asari sure are something else, opening up their borders to aliens and even accommodating them." Shepard hummed with a newfound growing respect. "Is this why so many are uppity snobs, though? Is their help out of pity or a genuine desire for equality? Do they think they're superior and are generous just to maintain that superiority?"

All questions that she felt she needed to answer with her own eyes, as T'Soni - for all her impartial understanding and wisdom - would still be biased. Maybe.

"It's taken a lot of work and I'm aware there were diplomatic incidents in the past," T'Soni continued, "But I cannot say much on something I don't really know the details of." She fished in her pocket for something and slid a bar across the table. "I was told athletes and military personnel favour this, though there is a warning that it may contain eezo. It's high-energy content is popular among biotics who need the intake. Maybe it is something that could provide more for you than the juice you had on Therum?"

"Vool-bars?" Shepard read the package, smiling at the name. She put it in her pocket. "Thanks. I'll get Dr. Chakwas to run a scan on it to see how much eezo it contains, if any, and then I'll give it a try."

She broke off a piece of fish by twisting her equivalent-of-a-fork into it, then braced herself as she popped it in her mouth. Her eyes slipped shut and an appreciative groan bumbled out of her before she could think to stop it.

"Do you like it?" T'Soni asked eagerly.

There was mild PTSD involved as a traumatic memory played in the back of Shepard's mind as to what happened the last time that wretched question was asked.

"I do," the soldier replied as soon as she swallowed. She tilted her head to glance over. "What's yours? That meat smells amazing."

"Unfortunately, you cannot have even a small piece of this," the archaeologist chuckled. "It's Vaelyon-style roast. To my knowledge, it requires at least a week to be set up so that the meat can marinate in a paste mixed with amounts of pure eezo."

"See, now that's just heartless, Dr. T'Soni. You're flaunting something I can't have. Do you have something against humans or me?"

"I - no! I thought it would be..." Her face scrunched in concentration as she stared at her meal. She poked miserably at it. "I thought it would be good for both of us to have something different. I can go order Shirvan if me eating this troubles you."

It was a mild observational note, how far this particular asari was willing to go to accommodate. Was it culture, or the individual?

Shepard clicked her fork against the archaeologist's to lift that pouting face, and smiled softly. It felt good to play civilian, if even for a little bit, and normally the prospect turned her into an awkward mess when she had forgotten how to be a civilian. She made a mental note to bring the one who was far more awkward than her so that it could teach her how to relax again.

"I was teasing. I apologize, Dr. T'Soni. You don't need to do anything for me."

"Oh..."

There was a significant lack of anger, replaced by meagre acceptance of the situation instead. They fell into silence as they ate, the bustling city around them bursting back to life in Shepard's awareness now that she had no longer tuned it out in favour to observe. Why had she still, anyways? She had - mostly - made up her mind that the archaeologist was sincere, and not a security risk.

"But I've been fooled before. I have to remain vigilant and unbiased until evidence presents itself."

Though what that evidence would be, worthy enough to exonerate, she hadn't known. She wasn't delusional thinking that they would just stumble on the actual culprit in the university.

Shepard's gaze wandered as she took small bites of the fish, analyzing the sights and sounds. She wished she could take off the sunglasses to see things for what they really were, but the noise alone was more than enough to push her to her limit in tolerance. That ever constant headache she just couldn't get a break from was chipping away at her fortitude, steadily, and she had to keep reminding herself to keep her patience in check, before she accidentally snapped at someone innocent. Innocent like T'Soni, perhaps. The silence settled in between them was becoming a discomfort rather than a comfort, and the soldier searched on how to ease the awkwardness.

"So... If asari can eat eezo and are natural biotics, what are the native species like on Thessia?"

"Oh, the majority of native life possess biotics as well."

The rigidity in her shoulders fell apart the second her mind was intrigued and probed. It seemed T'Soni greatly enjoyed sharing knowledge.

"Take Glitterwings, for example. They are insects that I have found to be similar in structure to Earth's butterflies, but that is where their similarities end. Their physiology is entirely different than their anatomy, which I found peculiarly interesting how they can possess the same structure despite planetary evolution dictating different purposes for those structures."

"Like what? Wings that aren't meant for flying?"

There was no way that was true. Why the hell else would they have wings?

"Precisely," T'Soni nodded enthusiastically. "Glitterwings do not possess their wings to perform as a flight mechanism, rather, they exist to generate biotic fields to be held stationary during flight."

"Fuck. Biotic butterflies. Seriously." Shepard was mindful not to gape as stupid as she felt. "What's next, they can throw a singularity and biotically pluck out my eyeballs too? Make a biotic vortex to tornado my ass away if they fly around me?"

A wealth of information was regurgitated with ease, educating her about other examples of species that were similar in structure to the creatures on Earth - though many of them she had not seen apart from the ones transported to the colony of Mindoir's cautiously curated zoo. She only knew the animals by name and pictures in a book, intrigued that the archaeologist had educated herself on Earth's indigenous lifeforms as well. Perhaps it was necessary to know in her ventures for when she had stumbled on Prothean artifacts and architecture.

"One of these days, I'll have to talk to her about that vision I saw on Eletania, when I interacted with the artifact there. If the Protheans observed and studied humans, it might aid her research."

Truthfully, Shepard's attention had begun to wane as her memories took her back to that strange vision. Her headache pinged just a little stronger and she massaged her temple with a weary sigh, conjuring a misunderstanding between them when T'Soni stopped mid-sentence.

"O-oh, I am so sorry, Commander. Sometimes I get carried away. It is not often I find someone interested in my culture, but I will do better from here on out to try not to overwhelm you."

"No, no, it's not that, don't worry. Just a headache, not related to you." Shepard stopped massaging and offered an apologetic smile. "I don't mind and I enjoy listening. Personally, it gives me a break from doing all the talking and commanding that I do aboard the Normandy, or on missions. It's a nice change of pace for once." She gently tapped the archaeologist's food container with her fork. "Though, from all my observations since coming to Thessia, I have found that the most interesting part of your culture is you, Dr. T'Soni."

For some reason, T'Soni's complexion was gradually darkening, and she gaped the way the soldier tried not to. An amusing prospect itself. The archaeologist recovered with a swift clear of the throat and renewed all her efforts into staring at - and mumbling to - her food.

"Th-thank you, Commander..."

"Did I say something that's made her uncomfortable? She almost seems sad about the compliment instead. Odd."

"Liara? Liara T'Soni, is that you?"

Momentum was broken as the two lifted their heads from their meals, eyes following the source of the voice that approached them.

Shepard glanced over again to observe T'Soni more than the new asari, watching as confusion melted way to excitement swiftly. The soldier's thumb flicked a small switch protruding just before her holster.

"Matriarch Iryxetia?"

"There's a mouthful," Shepard mused. She returned to eating in hopes to keep a low profile, and her cover didn't last two seconds.

"Yes, it is! How nice it is to see you again, Liara. Who is your friend, here?"

There was a moment of uncertainty, the soldier noticed, when T'Soni's eyes swept back to her. A timid, apologetic smile. Pupils dilated, sheepish. Why wasn't she introducing Commander Shepard?

"Oh. Maybe she doesn't want to reveal that I'm Alliance. My uniform makes it obvious enough though, doesn't it? Does she want my first name, then?"

Regardless, Shepard turned in her seat and offered her hand to shake, which for some reason the Matriarch had stared at with a brow cocking up. She plowed through the unknown and reciprocated the gesture, though her handshake was significantly weaker, and Shepard minded her firmness before she accidentally caused a cultural misunderstanding of some sort.

"Good to meet you. I'm Xio," she clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth twice, "Mara Shepard."

With that, she returned to her food.

There was a second of glory as she stole a glimpse up at the archaeologist, who seemed to concentrate mouthing the name in silence as she aimed her apologetic smile at her asari acquaintance.

The Matriarch cleared her throat and gave it a try. "It is a pleasure of mine to make your acquaintance Xio," she clicked her tongue clumsily, "Mara Shepard."

Shepard hummed in appreciation and settled back into her efforts to be low profile as she pretended not to care for the conversation between the asari, struggling to stop her smile as she resumed eating. There were a couple moments she caught T'Soni shooting looks at her, still with that slight baffled intrigue in her eyes, as if she was contemplating the nature of the name. Fortunately for the soldier, she had perfected the art of flat delivery for better believability. Who the hell knew if Xio - click of the tongue - Mara was an actual name? Might be. The soldier just wanted to have a tiny bit of selfish fun at making someone else uncomfortable so that she wouldn't be the only one.

"I don't need her knowing my real name if I don't know who she actually is," Shepard grumbled inwardly.

Her skepticism had found itself a new target as she observed the Matriarch. There was nothing betrayed in her body language or the amiable way she held the conversation with T'Soni, who seemed very relaxed. It was a stark contrast to the ones she conversed with before in the museum. Perhaps they were actually close, rather than having to maintain appearances of closeness. One question was red-flagged though.

"So, Liara, what brings you back to Armali? Last I heard, you were out in a series of expeditions your university had sponsored."

"Uh huh. And this is why she's close to Dr. T'Soni."

Shepard had to keep herself from dragging the Matriarch back to the apartment for interrogation. She was running out of fish to pretend she was focused only on that, and was forced to lock eyes with the asari sitting across from her. T'Soni seemed to be at a loss for what to say. Shepard inconspicuously slid her foot along until it pressed beside the archaeologist's foot, then looked up at Iryxetia.

"I've completed my tour of duty and am awaiting further orders, so I have been travelling around home worlds. I asked Dr. T'Soni if she could show me around Thessia, as I'm planning to purchase property in the future, when I am ready to settle down. Your planet is beautiful, and I have been enjoying my time here. Nothing like Tuchanka or Palavan. It's nice to not have to be able to wear an enviro-suit for radiation protection like I had to when I visited those planets. Sur'Kesh was too crowded even with their breeding rules. Amazing planet too, though it would be difficult for one to relax with danger in every corner even in the domesticated parts of their jungles. You can also still see that they are recovering from the pollution and waste from their earlier developments."

The Matriarch stared.

"I may have overdone it," Shepard thought with a mental shrug. "Better to overload her with useless information than underwhelm and leave room for doubt."

"I... See..." Iryxetia finally stated. She turned her attention back to T'Soni with a more readily available smile. "In that case, you should show her our beaches, Liara. Skymeadow has multiple spots that are eezo-free and are not frequently crowded."

"That is a wonderful idea, Matriarch Iryxetia, thank you very much," the archaeologist agreed quickly. She closed her container and rose from the table. "We are a little pressed for time, so how about we go now?" Her eyes fell on Shepard. "Xio," two precise clicks, "Mara?"

"Well, she picked that up real quick."

It was a dire battle inside of her whether or not to tell T'Soni the truth after they left here, but for now, the soldier followed lead and remained ever stoic. She threw out her container in the garbage nearby as the other asari said their farewells, offering a nod to the Matriarch as her own goodbye. As soon as they parted ways, the archaeologist who seemed to be burning with the question had immediately pounced on her with pure conviction.

"That cannot be your name."

Shepard's brow arched, and it took a fair amount of discipline not to reveal her amusement. "No? It cannot?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I know it is not."

"Mm hm... Interesting..." The soldier stuffed her hands in her pockets and smiled. "How do you know?"

"You are not the only one observing others. You smiled at your fish."

"It was a very happy looking fish. Am I not allowed to appreciate my food?"

"Commander, you were smiling the whole time after you 'introduced' yourself."

"I was appreciating it the whole time."

The art of flat delivery seemed to exasperate the archaeologist, and it brought out an even easier smile from Shepard. She chuckled when T'Soni dropped the topic with a defeated sigh.

"Let's go to mother's home and see what we can find there. Then we can travel to Serrice to my university. If we have time, I will show you around some of my favourite attractions there."

"Alright. Sounds good."

Shepard glanced over her shoulder before she took a hand out of her pocket and skimmed her fingers over her pistol. She flicked the switch to re-engage the safety. The threat was done and gone. She was able to relax again and take in the sights of the city, doing her best to ignore the sounds as they grew more vibrant with time. She caught up with the archaeologist who seemed the exact opposite of her and took a shot as to what might have been concerning.

"I lied about my name, but I didn't lie about this planet or that I'm enjoying my time here, Dr. T'Soni."

There was a moment of silence, of contemplation softly twisting the features of the archaeologist's face. Then she smiled, but it seemed something else lingered behind it.

"I'm relieved to hear that, Commander." She seemed to contemplate again. Honesty came out with the nature of her true smile, where it was sorrowful instead. "I hope that you will find what you are seeking so that you no longer feel the need to lie about anything."

That would remain to be seen. The soldier nipped her tongue about it though, sensing there was an understanding anyways. She was more so troubled by how weighed down T'Soni appeared though, as the asari lead the way with hunched shoulders and a creased forehead. No doubt she was reserving her true thoughts in the privacy of her mind, as Shepard had. She had a feeling she wouldn't be able to draw that out - or rather, she didn't quite know how to draw it out that didn't involve a blunt hammer to the nail approach.

The mission had been strenuous, a constant monitoring of herself and potential threats whether that be in the form of bullets or words. But with time, her mind was slowly being made up that her scrutiny of the archaeologist was based on unfounded and unfair assumptions. These little moments between them of getting to know T'Soni had helped more than the soldier gave credit for. It may not have been necessary information related to the mission, but at least she could go on future missions knowing she wasn't going to find a knife in her back or her other teammates' backs.

Before they set out to investigate Matriarch Benezia's home, Shepard checked in with the Normandy and her crew via comm-link to make sure everything was running optimally, and to remind everybody not to cause any trouble. They didn't need to know that she was seeking her own. Not yet.

She held her reservations over just showing up at a known enemy's house. Even if they did find one or two people that weren't currently following Benezia, there was a chance that they were still loyal, and maybe they remained there to guard secrets.

They hailed a cab and the city buzzed by the window, a wealth of a noisy life contrasting the silence inside the cab. A stack of papers was procured from the small bag T'Soni carried and offered to the soldier.

"Here, you have some time to read, if you'd like. It will take us about 34 minutes before we reach mother's home."

Shepard accepted the paper, noting how T'Soni appeared nervous. The asari rubbed her hands together, her leg fidgeted, and a host of expressions flicked by like a shutter camera. She seemed desperate to find a focus in the life outside the window. Sympathy guided Shepard's hand to squeeze the archaeologist's shoulder.

"Try not to work yourself up, Dr. T'Soni. We might not find anything or anybody at all."

"I'm worried about that most of all," the asari admitted. "Because then that implies that my mother has manipulated all of her followers and may be well aware of what she's doing."

"A calculating enemy is the worst kind of enemy to fight against, especially if they've had ample time to plan and make back-up plans. Give me krogan any day." She grimaced a little at her recent memory of being given a krogan. "Give me a bomb too, next time."

Shepard almost asked if there was a possibility that Matriarch Benezia could be considered to be an intelligent sociopath, but judging T'Soni's fragile state, an insensitive question might rattle what was left of her composure even before they set foot in the house. The soldier didn't know what else to say though. She offered another squeeze and then rested her hand near her pistol as she begun to read. Her fingers twitched for it when the cab stopped at their destination.

The door opened, and it opened Shepard's eyes when she took stock of the house.

Rather: mansion.

Her gaze shot to the archaeologist. "How did you not get lost in there as a kid? Did you have to walk around with a map?"

T'Soni offered nothing but a tense smile and exited on her side of the cab. She was so nervous that there was almost an audible jitter to her movements, but a melancholic reminiscence took over her when they stood at the gate of the estate. She engaged the VI to unlock the gate, leaning forward for it to scan her face. Shepard stayed silent to let it all sink in and be absorbed by the asari, where a tearful sheen glossed her eyes at the VI's greeting, recording presumably made by Benezia.

≤Welcome home, Little Wing.≥

The gate slid open and exposed a majestic garden for an entryway. Shepard stayed vigilant, her hand always ready and near her pistol while she studied their surroundings for threats. The garden was eerily still, and exotic smells from flowers were carried in the wind. T'Soni stopped to take stock of the garden, but not for nostalgia's sake.

"Someone is taking care of these flowers. They die very quickly and easily if they are not maintained on a daily basis." She looked over at the soldier, who nodded in silent understanding.

Shepard took out her pistol.

"What are you doing?" T'Soni hissed, staring.

"Oh. This seems frowned upon." The soldier stared back, confused. She nodded again, hopefully not in another silent misunderstanding, and put her gun away with an awkward shrug. "Just sounded like - nevermind, let's keep moving and find out who's here."

With luck, maybe her pistol would stay in her holster.

"Lead the way Dr. T'Soni, but I'm going to follow you from the shadows inside, okay? Try not to look for me when we're in there. Say something with 'Shirvan' if you need me."

"Alright. Maybe that's for the best. If it's someone I know, they'll be more inclined to tell me what's going on with mother than with you there."

They crossed the garden. Training propelled the soldier forward first, trying to scan the interior through windows. She eventually noticed the pointed look aimed at her.

"You're acting suspicious, Commander."

"Just making sure we're not walking into a trap. You can't say this isn't suspicious too."

The archaeologist sighed. "Yes, but... Just try not to scare off whoever is here, okay? Please?"

"No guarantees," Shepard smirked, "But I'll do the best that I can."

As soon as they entered inside, the soldier assimilated with the shadows and crouched to stay low, grateful that there was an overabundance of things to hide behind. She followed T'Soni along a freakishly gigantic hallway and was immediately convinced that the asari - as a child - needed a map for this place. No wonder her apartment was small and simple.

The sunglasses made it difficult to pay attention to finer details. Shepard stuffed them in her cargo pocket, embracing the dull pounding growing into a sharper ache. Pain was a reminder that she's alive.

"Hello?" T'Soni called out. "Is anybody here? It's Liara. I've come home."

They passed a room that seemed to function as a storage, an armoury. The archaeologist frowned at it. She picked up the pace as she continued to call out down the hall.

Shepard took a quick detour into the armoury and swiped a gun off the table, running a quick scan on it with her omni-tool to learn it's specifications. It was flagged as a shotgun with its shells packed with microscale submunitions. Nothing more was offered apart with CLASSIFIED stamped at the end of her screen. Still, it was better than just a pistol. It would be good to bring it back to the Normandy for the engineers to study it and figure out what their enemies were using.

Meanwhile, she would figure out what their enemies were not using as an arm wrapped around her throat.