Convincing Patriarch to work with me was actually a little harder than I thought it would be.
But to be fair, if someone I knew from their early childhood came up to me and said I am the Shadow Broker and I have a job for you, I'm sure I'd also think it was a massive joke at first.
I mean, the story I told him of my just 'coming across' the Broker's base of operations by chance after running into some of his agents that just happened to have the coordinates does seem a little outrageous. He even played it up like it was the punchline for a joke, getting pretty annoyed I was being so 'serious' about this.
It took me waving hard credits in his face for him to start taking me seriously. Six million to be exact. Not directly deposited in his account, dad was always watching them for any sudden cash influx, but by giving him several new bank accounts whose collective balance totaled six million.
After staring at his new balance, questioning how I did that, and pulling up a few recorded vids of his glory days that I pulled from the Network, vids of things no one should have footage of, and I knew I finally had his undivided attention.
That's when I shared with him the 'truth' about the Reapers.
Well not the 'Truth' Truth, but significantly more than I've been telling all the crews working on the two Reaper wrecks so far. I basically told him everything sans for the Catalyst and the Leviathans themselves.
Reaper Indoctrination and the Cycle.
The Mass Relays and Citadel being of Reaper construction.
The Collectors being Protheans.
All the juicy stuff.
Sure, I lied about how I knew this stuff. I just said it was all already on the previous Broker's files and I was only now doing something about it. Thankfully, the completely unverifiable source of 'trust me, I found it in the Broker's files' still holds up even to century's old krogan warlords.
When he asked why I was trying to recruit him 'of all people' to be a lieutenant of my new Broker regime, I was happy to finally be able to tell the whole truth for a change.
Truth was I needed operatives that knew the real stakes of all this. People I could trust to put the survival of civilization as we know it ahead of profits or some power trip. People who can make the hard choices if push came to shove for the sake of every living being in the Galaxy.
He was quiet for a while, just staring at the dossier of the Leviathan I had made up for this sort of recruitment. His eyes burrowed into the reaper images, both exterior and a few interior shots, as if he was trying to figure out what he was even looking at. In the end, he said he needed some time to think it all over.
I respected his decision and promised to give him a week to process everything.
During that week, I had him under strict surveillance. I even went as far as to order some operatives to place explosives below his residence. Small enough that it would just take out his home, but still powerful enough to make sure that even if he did survive the initial blast that he'd be in no shape to fight off the agents sent to make sure he was dead.
As much as I want to just blindly trust Patriarch to see the bigger picture and not do something reckless with the information he has, I just couldn't take that risk. Not this early into my plans.
Thankfully, I didn't come to that.
At the end of the week, he called me up and said he was in.
Shadow Broker Dossier
Reaper Organic Dreadnought 1 - "The Leviathan"
Dr Namalf Dalban - Chief Researcher - Audio Log 12
We just finished dating the samples taken from the dreadnought the other day. Dr Bamor kept redoing it. Over and over the same tests, even though it was holding up our update to the Broker.
I didn't understand why he was doing it, until he showed me it.
Then I was the one running the test over again because it was too outrageous. But the same result kept coming back.
According to the VI's, this Reaper ship is over a million years old.
I've asked the team about their ship, to see if this was just a one off issue on our end, but they haven't even gotten that far in their studies.
But if this is true, then all our initial theories of the Reaper - Prothean conflict, even our view of the Protheans themselves, may have to be thrown out.
The Protheans dominated the galaxy fifty thousand years ago, connecting it with their mass relays and had no true challenge to their hegemony before the Reapers appeared. The conflict that followed was so violent and all encompassing that it ended in mutual destruction of both civilizations.
Yet how could they have even achieved their hegemony if the Reapers predated them by hundreds of thousands of years at the very least?
We'll be doing the tests over again tomorrow. Going to pull an all nighter checking all our instruments, the VIs, even reset the OS, everything to see if there was any way this is wrong.
Shadow Broker personal note: They're figuring this out a lot faster than I thought they would. At least I'll start to have a proper paper trail for the more outrageous Reaper stuff that exists beyond 'trust me bro'.
Weeks went by, Patriarch got accustomed to his new 'remote work' as he called it, and was already familiarizing himself with all the juicy Broker secrets.
At least, the secrets I allowed him to know so he could do his job properly.
I'd give him another month before I'm ready to 'hand off' the Reaper stuff to his oversight.
But until then, I still had a 'hands on' approach to anything Reaper related. From the biggest discoveries, to the smallest updates.
"...however, advances into the interior of the craft have been limited."
The screen shifted to a small camara floating through the bowls of the Reaper.
"Per your orders, all surveying of the ship's interior has been performed with remote operated drones and mechs. Even so, there have been unforeseen setbacks. If I can direct your attention to the video. "
Screen shifts to the point of view of something floating towards an opening in the Reaper superstructure. Lights flash on as the craft crosses the threshold inside. It passes down a hallway to a-
The camera feed cuts to static.
"What you just witnessed has happened to every drone we've sent into it. We barely get ten meters into the Reaper before it gets hacked by whatever makes up the ship's internal security systems. I can't even begin to count how many we've lost to it so far. Drones with a hard connection seem to work fine, but we lack enough cables to do more than two explorations at a time."
"On the matter of those defenses, what was first believed to be some internal security system, seems to be far more malicious than reactive. It is our belief that the ship's automated systems are maintained by a supremely advanced computer system, potentially overseen by an AI."
"As a precaution, we have physically disconnected all networked devices from one another at the forward outpost. We are also-"
"What are you doing in here?"
The sudden voice made me jump in my seat. My knee hit the bottom of my desk when I moved to get up, shaking my terminal and all the other stuff on it. Taking off my headphones, I saw Liselle at the doorway, smirking at my reaction.
From her clothes, I assume she's off duty and was about to go clubbing with her posse.
"Well?" she pressed, arcing her head to look at the video behind my head, "you've been watching that stuff for hours. What is it?"
"Hours?" Impossible. I'd only sat down to watch some of the newest findings from the 'Reaper Teams' after lunch and it was only…Oh.
"Time flies when you're having fun," she saw me glance at the time, "so what is it?"
"It's a…." I quickly replied, pausing the video report from the Reaper while trying to think up a good excuse. "...a sci-fi vid,"
"Sci fi?" She did not look convinced, giving the screen another look over. "Uh huh….What about?"
"It's…" ugh this was such a bad excuse. "A footage sort of thing,"
"A found what?"
"Yeah, you know, a found footage film. A film that is made to look like it's just normal footage," I had no idea if that was actually a thing in Citadel space. "It's immersive."
"And people pay to watch stuff like that," she again cocked her head to the side, trying to get a good look at the frozen image of a Reaper. "Like, using real credits?"
"Yes, Liselle, real credits," I felt like I was being judged.
She was quiet for a moment, processing, then sighed. "Goddess you really need to get laid."
"Oh shut up!" I didn't even register that I used my biotics to throw something at her, but she did heckle like a hyena when she moved out of the way.
"I mean, you got all this pent up energy and you waste it on this nerd stuff," Liselle made an overexaggerated gagging sound, also dodging the second projectile thrown at her. "Aren't maidens like you supposed to be into cool stuff?"
"This is cool stuff!" I wanted to kick myself a bit for getting this emotional over a 'found footage' film. I mean, I knew it was super secret Shadow Broker stuff, but Liselle…
"No, it's actually kinda sad, and I'm actually embarrassed being in the same room as whatever you're doing is," Liselle rolled her eyes. "Look if this is all just some weird cry for help, you can tell me, and I promise I'll only make fun of you a little bit."
"Fuck you!" another thing flung at her, another set of goblin-like hyena laughs.
"See, you're all pent up, it's all you can think about." she snickered, clearly feeding off my annoyance. "But I am a generous sister, so all you need to do is say the word and I'll find someone you can easily wrap around your finger."
"Did you want something," other than annoying me? It took everything to not feed the blue gremlin. "Or did you just come in here to be annoying?"
"Actually, yeah," Liselle properly entered my room, with a far more 'serious' expression. "I just got off from a call with Mom, and she said she wants to see you."
Liselle's comment actually made my brain skip a beat.
"Wait," did I hear that right? "You mean like, meet mom, in person?"
"No, she wants you to go to Illium just so she can call you there," I swear I could hear her huff at Liselle's words. "Of course she wants to see you in person."
"Isn't this all a little..sudden?" I quickly registered the planet. "Wait, why Illium?"
"Well she tried to see you on the Citadel," wait she did? "But apparently someone was in too much of a hurry and slipped the net before she could meet you."
Well that's…a revelation.
"Okay how was I supposed to know she wanted to meet me? I've never communicated with her before!" I defended myself.
"Yeah, yeah I know," Liselle gestured for me to calm down. "And she didn't exactly know you were coming either. Otherwise she'd have had something ready before you arrived. Mom is pretty big in Citadel Space."
"Like, how big are we talking?" That was something I always wondered.
"Big, big," she answered as if that was all that needed to be said.
"That doesn't answer anything."
"Yes it does. It absolutely does," before I could say anything, she cut me off. "Look, father and I have been talking with mother for months by this point about you meeting her; back when you were recovering from playing Justicar. She's just getting all the last details in place so you can see her on Illium before you go back into service."
"Can't we all just save a lot of time if you just told me who she was? Or maybe just let me call her up right now?" This all seemed so overcomplicated.
"Sure it's simple, but it's not how mom wants to do this," Liselle shook her head. "Look, it's complicated."
"Then make it simple," how was this so fucking hard? What was with all this cloak and dagger stuff? Mom is important, I get that. She slept with Aria T'Loak, a Criminal Warlord, I get that too. Maybe when I was 'younger' I could excuse not being told, but I'm god(dess) damned spec ops commando who gets trusted with classified information as part of my day job. I'd like to think it was clear enough that I could handle some 'sensitive' information.
And all that's before we take into account my new 'side gig'.
"I can't," she mumbled something under her breath, "look all I can say is that it'll all make sense when you meet her."
I wanted to keep pressing her, maybe wear her out, but decided against it. One way or another I'll know in a couple of months. Was I just getting upset because even the Shadow Broker's Network did not have a clue who my mom was? Probably. When you have the galaxy's secrets at your fingertips, the few things you don't know become so aggravating.
"Fine," I tried to pivot to a topic Liselle might be able to talk about. "So am I going to, like, see some half-sisters or something?"
"Maybe?" she shrugged. "I don't know. Eventually. Probably not when we meet her. And trust me, that's for the best."
"Sounds like there's a story."
"More than one," she sighed, pinching the ridge of her nose heading out of the room, "so many fucking stories."
Weeks turned to months, and I was again back on Illium for the long awaited family reunion.
Naturally the first thing I did when I landed in Nos Astra was tell the girls I was back, pick up some stuff from our dorm, drop off some sensitive stuff in a Shadow Broker safehouse in the city, and head over for my meeting.
"Look, I said I'm sorry, but this is a 'family thing' I'm dealing with right now," I tell the girls over the comms. I tap my foot impatiently as the elevator ascends towards the hotel's penthouse where 'mom' was staying. While I probably could find out who she was ahead of time via Shadow Broker stuff from that info alone, I decided against it.
If I already waited a few months, I can wait a few more minutes.
It was nice to travel across Nos Astra as just a regular civilian.
Well, as regular as I can be.
"No we understand," Lynyxa assured me."I'm just surprised the commander's letting you off the hook right now. With the Councilor here, it feels like it's all hands on deck."
"Probably because I'm still using my days off," I shrug.
Right. Tevos, the asari councilor, was on Illium for some big 'thing' or something. I honestly didn't pay attention to the news. All I knew for sure was that the executive committee of the city was getting all the bells and whistles out for her.
That meant commandos on every street, all decked out in squeaky clean armor to both keep the peace and show off Nos Astra's wealth and strength like a bunch of peacocks.
"First time I've seen it," Kyra quipped in the background fiddling with something going by the clicking sounds. "Alyxia tried to pull the same thing. The commander was not having it. Chewed her out in front of her whole squad."
"Wait who?"
"Alyixa," Kyra repeated the name as if I should have known it."The almost matron girl a few doors down."
"Wait, are you talking about that girl with the crazy claw mark tattoos across her face?" That hyper competitive girl always gave me the creeps with the way she looks at me. From that alone, I'm pretty sure she wants to either beat the shit out of me, or fuck me.
Maybe both if the rumor mill is right.
"No. The other 'few doors down'."
"Oh, you mean the one who scowls all the time," I liked her a lot more! Not the most talkative, but always cordial and professional. Maybe a little too straight laced. I mean for god(dess) sake, when Krya complains about someone following the rules too closely, you know something is wrong.
"Yeah her," Krya confirmed. "Had some romantic date with her boyfriend all planned out, even put in extra shifts to get more time off, the commander was having none of it."
"They were going to Azure,"
Lynyxa added. "And since the cancellation date already passed, she wasn't able to get back her deposit. For the luxury suite she picked out, I'd be annoyed to lose those credits myself."
"Wait, how do you know that?"
"Yeah how do you know that?" Kyra echoed my question.
"If she didn't want people to know, she shouldn't have made the reservation on a potentially compromised extranet connection."
"Compromised….wait are you tapping the entire floor's extranet?"
"So what hotel are you meeting your mother at?" she dodged my question with one of her own.
"Blue Tower," I dropped the issue, looking out the elevator's window as it neared the top. "Does it say more or less that I can see Azure out the window of the elevator?"
"Wait, Blue Tower? That super ritzy hotel?" Kyra questioned.
"Yep," I watched as the elevator's indicator moved closer to the top. "Mom's rolling in the credits, apparently."
"I thought that the whole place was under lockdown because the Councilor is staying there?"
"It is? They let me in," now that she mentioned it, there were an awful lot of skycars and gunships zipping about, and I had to do three separate security screenings. But to be fair on that last count, I'm pretty sure my cybernetics and amp were lighting up their equipment.
"Aleena," Lynyxa spoke up, "who exactly is your mother again?"
The elevator stopped with a soft chime and the door slid open.
On the other side, flanked by a handful of commandos and attendants stood…
"Hello Aleena," a woman in a beautiful dress whose face and voice I recognized immediately. After all, I saw it plastered on holograms and heard it on the way over. "It's so wonderful to see you."
Councilor Tevos was my mom.
My mind just shut down from the realization.
"Aleena? Are you still there?"
"..I'll call you guys back," hanging up.
I just…stood there. Just…taking it all in. No doubt looking like some gasping fish.
"Your sister told me how you were complaining about not being told who I was," Tevos (Mom?) eventually commented, walking over to me. "I hope you can now see why that was the case."
"Yeah." I fumbled, doing my best to get my words straight. After all the planning I did in my head for this meeting, what I would say, how I would say it, it all just went right out the window when reality came knocking. "…um, I don't really…What should I call you…I mean um…cause you're…you know…the…and also…"
Without a word Tevos wrapped me in a tight hug. She held it for a few seconds before pulling back with an embarrassed look.
"I'm sorry," she gave a sheepish smile. "I know that was sudden, and we're practically strangers, and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable but I just… I haven't held you in over a century. Not since I handed you over to your father."
"No, no, it's fine," what do I even say to all of this? "this is all just…"
"Surprising?" she offered, offering a comforting smile. Different then the ones I saw on the vids and holograms. More genuine I think.
"That's a word I'd use," I dumbly nod, "I just have so many questions."
"I assumed," smiling, she gently took me by the hand. "But there's no point in just standing around."
She led me into her suite, her attendants and guards following a respectful distance behind. Eventually we reached a sitting room, where she shooed her attendants and guards outside and gestured for me to take a seat on an ridiculously expensive looking couch.
"So…" I awkwardly sat down. "You being here on Illium…the whole meeting for-"
"The meeting with the colony leaders was going to happen eventually," she said. "I just moved the date up so I could be here when you were here. And not in so much of a rush."
"Oh yeah," I nervously laughed, wondering just what she saw me do on the Citadel. Hopefully not the whole Keeper thing. "Sorry. Liselle mentioned you were going to reach out to me."
"Nothing to be sorry about. What happened, happened, but here we are now," she took her seat across from me. "And I want to know everything about you."
"Everything? Haven't Liselle or dad told you anything about me?"
"Well of course they have, and I've kept myself up to date on your life, but I want to hear it from you," Tevos (Mom?) gave a sly look. "And you didn't hear this from me, but your sister and father are hardly the best sources of information. Far too prone to over exaggerations."
"R-really?"
"Oh Goddess, you have no idea," she rolled her eyes. "But I want to talk about you, not your father. There is so much time I have to make up for."
Wasn't this moving a little fast? I mean it did feel nice to be loved, to have this over half of my life returned to me. But at the same time, as my heart was telling me to be happy, my brain kept reminding me that I've only truly known this woman for all of a few minutes.
"Now, tell me about yourself." she leaned back, ready for me to regale her with my 'life' I guess.
"Well," I shifted a bit, trying to drum up something to say. "I…like Galaxy of Fantasy."
Weak, I know. But I sure as hell couldn't just blab I am the Shadow Broker now can I?
Though I could have chosen something better. Or anything else…
"That's interesting," Tevos probably thought so too, but she didn't say or give away anything. Just a soft smile, and a nod urging me onward.
But only awkward silence reigned. Any words just dying in the back of my throat.
Fuck…
"Look I'm sorry," I nervously rolled my shoulders, "but this is just a little overwhelming. I mean, you're the Counselor and dad's…dad."
Tevos (Mom?) seemed to understand my discomfort and went along with the subject change. "Would you believe there was a time I would have married her?"
"Is it because she's…" is there a delicate way to say criminal warlord?
"Oh no," she interrupted, guessing what I was going to imply. "We met long before she entered that line of work."
"How far back?"
"Centuries. Back when we were maidens," oh, so a long time ago. "I was just a clerk at the Armali City Council, and she was a commando with a decade already under her belt. We met and just… hit it off. And yes I know how it sounds, the blushing sheltered maiden and the charming commando, like something out of a vid but that's how it actually happened."
"You were sheltered?" That's the first I've heard of this. Then again, I haven't looked at the dossier the Broker has on her because I never thought I was going to meet her (so soon).
"Of course I was, why would you- oh," her serene expression faltered just a bit."I'm sorry, Aleena. I just…I must have told this story a thousand times and I just… I forgot this is all new to you."
"Yeah…" I hated how awkward this was all becoming. But her comment on how they hit it off did get me thinking."So why didn't it work out? I mean, if you cared enough to have Liselle and me, why'd you two not…you know, get together?"
"It wasn't because we were both asari," she quickly replied. A little too quickly. Not that I ever thought she was one of those people that looked down on purebloods; she wouldn't have had two if that was the case. "We just realized neither of us were willing to make the necessary sacrifices to make it work."
"Sacrifices?" the way she said that word…
"I was working my way up as a politician, she was off galavanting as a mercenary. Both of us threw ourselves at our respective paths and refused to compromise on them. And so we…parted ways."
"But Liselle and me…"
"Yes, you and your sister," she agreed, sighing. "Please understand Aleena, that I've had many partners, and I loved and cared for each one of them. But aliens don't live as long as we do. Eventually all I have left are memories and daughters. I love and cherish both, but neither fills up an empty home after a grueling day of work. Sometimes…" she struggled with her next words, out of fear or embarrassment. "Sometimes I just," Tevos took another deep breath, "I just need to feel cared for."
"Excuse me?" Did I hear that right?
"I'm not a trusting woman, Aleena," she continued, still looking at the floor. "I'm hardly paranoid, but I can't just open myself up to some random person. And in those times when I am alone, and not looking for another partner, your father is… very accommodating."
"So what, if I'm getting this right, I- we were just, what, accidents?" Maybe I was just used to being 'special'. Reincarnated. The new Shadow Broker. I guess I just assumed my conception, or birth, would be more then just 'your dad fucked me so hard I forgot to turn on my biologically prefect birth control'.
"I…" for the first time, it was the matriarch who was at a loss. "I think there's nothing I can say that'll make this sound fair or right."
"Fucking hell," I whisper to myself, getting up just to move around a bit and burn an onset of nervous energy. "So after you had your fun, you just…gave me up?"
That came out a lot sharper than I intended it to.
"I had hoped we'd be able to put off this conversation for a while," she suddenly states, "at least until we were more familiar with each other."
"That's not an answer," with how my emotions were swirling about, I almost forgot I was talking to a Councillor.
This shouldn't be upsetting me as much as it is. Why was this getting to me?
"Because what you're asking doesn't have a simple answer," Tevos sighed, her expression unreadable. "When your sister was born, it was a scandal. It happened so soon after my previous partner's death that it made me look like all the grieving for him was just for show. To make matters worse, a number of matriarchs and up jump matrons pounced for the chance to bring down a rising star in the Republics. It made life…difficult for a time."
"For you?" I didn't even realize I asked the question, or how cold I asked it until I saw her shoulders slump into themselves.
"And Liselle," she continued. "When it came out she wasn't just an illegitimate child, but a pureblood on top of that, she suffered harassment and bullying. She had to change schools five times before she was even forty, never making any friends or connections with her peers."
"And then," I prodded her onward.
"After she finished her general education at home, she asked me who her father was, I told her, and she was on a shuttle the next day. I got a call from your father a week later about her arriving at the station."
"That's it?" The whole thing seemed ridiculous. "You're a matriarch! You sent me away at birth because you couldn't be bothered to tell a bunch of kids to cut the crap with another kid!?"
That got a laugh out of her, "you can make people follow any law to the letter, but you can't make them follow the spirit of it. For every one girl who openly harassed her, twenty more quietly made it known she was not welcomed.I…I didn't want that for you," she took a deep breath. "So a month after you were born, I gave you to your father, and that was that."
"So you wanted me to live a life without bullying and harassment…on Omega."
"...yes."
"Omega," I repeated, "you thought the de facto capital for the criminal underworld was a better place to race a kid then Thessia?"
"No," she admitted, I could swear her eyes were starting to get teary, "but at least if you faced any issues your father could do what I only wish I could do to those banshees."
I was at a loss for words, and for a time, so was she. The tension is still thick enough to be cut with a knife.
This….
This isn't how I imagined meeting my mom….
Then again, I didn't really give any thought to how it was going to go. I've been so preoccupied with the Broker's Network and the Reapers that I just…kept putting off the very concept that I was going to meet the mother that gave me up or wonder why she would do so.
"So," Tevos started, finally looking up from her lap; her emotions reeled back into balance. " Where does that leave us? I'd understand if you want to just leave and put his whole meeting behind you-"
"No," I raise my hand, "no, I just… This is just a lot to process."
"No doubt," she agreed. "And you have every right to be upset."
"I am," no point in hiding it. "I just can't go from having an absent mom I know nothing about one day to knowing all of this."
"I know."
"And that's all before the whole hoisting an infant on your pirate warlord girlfriend because it's easier for you."
"I know," she repeated, her expression not changing.
"I mean…you have no idea how hung up I am on that last part," I felt the frustration slip out again.
"I know."
"And none of this excuses being absent for over a century!"
"I know."
"Like not even a fucking voice message!?"
"I know."
"Stop that! You don't! You don't know! I -!" It was only then I realized my biotics had been flaring up, the blue aura of gravity shifting almost illuminating the room. And if my hearing was right, the subtle shifting of feet outside the room indicated at least five commandos were ready to enter at a moment's notice.
At yet Tevos…Mom? She just sat there, calmly nodding along. Just..taking it. Not even defending herself just..accepting it.
"I just…I just…fuck," I hiss, killing the biotics and sitting back down to nurse my oncoming headache. "I'm sorry for getting like that. This is just a lot to process."
Why was this getting to me?
Why was this so upsetting to me!?
I didn't even know this woman!
"So," I moved the conservation along, wanting to put some distance from my outburst. "Where does that leave us now?"
"Still at the beginning," she smiled, "assuming, of course, you still want to try and make this work?"
Why did that sound so comforting?
"I- I just can't see you as my mother right now," I try to set expectations. " And even if I do, it probably won't happen this decade, or even this century. But," why was this so hard to say? "I'm willing to try and make this work. At least, as long as you're willing to put up with me being…me I guess."
"I wouldn't have asked for anything else," a real smile graced her lips. "And since we are still at the beginning, I believe you mentioned being a fan of a 'Fantasy Galaxy'?"
Fantasy Galaxy? The hell is she talking about-
Oh!
"It's Galaxy of Fantasy, not 'Fantasy Galaxy'," I corrected her.
"My mistake then," she looked to me to elaborate. "And it's a what exactly?"
"Well…it's an MMORPG."
"A what?"
"An MMORPG. It's an acronym for Massively Multiplayer…."
And so it was. Tevos, Councilor of the Citadel and me, Shadow Broker and commando child of her's and Aria T'Loak, spending the whole afternoon talking about MMORPGs and video games. A far cry from how emotionally charged our initial words were.
It was surreal.
Outlandish.
Outrageous.
And…oddly comforting.
After I left, hours after the sun had set with promises to keep in touch, I just couldn't see Tevos as 'Mom'.
And yet…I wasn't against her proving she was.
AN: Wanted to get this chapter out last week, but my poor (very poor!) scheduling and procrastination held me up. Mostly because I was worried the whole 'meeting' thing was going to come out terribly so I kept rewriting it.
Fingers crossed that it came out as 'acceptable'.