Notes:

Anam Cara - Soul Friend/Mate (Gaelic)

Ionúin Álainn - beautiful beloved (Gaelic)

Leannan - beloved (Scots Gaelic)

Leannan fireann - a man who loves or is loved; male sweetheart or lover (Scots Gaelic)

Mo leannan - my sweetheart (Scots Gaelic)

Mo luaidh - my darling (Scots Gaelic)

Siame - "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian/Source: CDN)

Going Home

Residential Area, T'Sere Shipwrights, Dassus – 29 January 2194

Miranda Lawson gradually awakened, her pleasant dream about Jude's latest foray into, around and through the delicate pinnacles and needle-like spires of the Dancing Bird Straights, evaporating as her waking mind accepted the reality of their shared bedroom. She moved an arm over in the direction of her Asari bondmate's usual location in their bed; as expected, it met only rumpled blankets and comforter. Turning her head, she was finally able to coax her eyes into focusing on the softly glowing display of the bedside chrono – 0832.

With a slight chuckle at her apparent indolence, she slowly climbed out of the bed, raised her hands over her head and, standing on her tiptoes, stretched hard enough to induce a couple of audible 'pops' in her lower back, thus reducing the stiffness there, as well as in her shoulders and neck. Giving in to a tremendous yawn, she scratched an itch on her hip as she moved to the bathroom, there to relieve herself before stepping into the shower.

After relaxing under the warm water coursing from the rainfall shower head, she took her time towel-drying her hair and blotting the moisture from her skin. Pulling on a matching pair of lacy black panties and low-cut bra, she covered them with a pair of form-fitting black jeans and a long-sleeved turtleneck sweater; a pair of wool socks and over the ankle boots completed her ensemble.

She looked warily at the compact personal shield generator on her dresser. With a small sigh, she placed it on the seat of the chair beside the dresser, then used her omnitool to activate the device; it responded immediately, forming a shield around the chair and holding steady. Miranda deactivated it, picked it up and clipped it on her belt just above her hipbone. With a smirk, she thought of Judea's actions during the war, when she had reprogrammed the outer of two shields surrounding the Leviathan artifact in Doctor Garret Bryson's lab to act as a sensor. If any signals – at any wavelength – had emanated from the orb and penetrated the inner shield, the outer shield would have sent an emergency notification to the Broker network before imploding – rapidly shrinking the field and crushing anything within it.

She could still recall her visceral reaction to learning of that particular application for a personal shield generator; to this day, the Asari engineer's words of warning still rang in her head. After passing the hack to her omnitool, Jude had told her, 'Now you can remotely test it before you put it on again… every time before you put it on!' Miranda had taken Judea's words to heart – ever since that day on the Citadel, she'd spent the few moments needed to test her personal shield generator before clipping it on her belt, or on her back plate if she was armored up.

After listening to Kasumi Goto's description of disgraced former councilor Sparatus' torturous death – after the master thief had hacked his personal shield generator during his post-war invasion of Omega Station – she had thanked her lucky stars every day afterwards that Judea had insisted she check her own generator each time before equipping it.

Thinking about the intensity of Jude's golden eyes as she had said those words brought instant tears to Miranda's own eyes. And now, she's my bondmate… of all people she could have given her love to, she chose to fall in love with me… chose to bond with me! How in the world did I get so lucky?

Shaking her head in astonishment at her incredibly good fortune, she straightened the bed coverings, then strolled to the kitchen to fix her morning mug of black tea, accompanied by a cream cheese covered English muffin. While waiting for the water to heat up, she leaned against the counter and idly rotated the bonding bracelet on her wrist. Looking at the intricate engraving that graced the narrow band of gold inlaid in the surface of the platinum cuff brought a smile to her face. It was only thanks to her bondmate that she had agreed to the additional expense of having intertwining eucalyptus leaves engraved in an endless pattern around the circumference of the bracelet. One of the leaves contained the date of their ceremony – 21910514 – engraved inconspicuously along one the lines representing the edge of that leaf… as if she could even begin to forget that day! It had taken place at T'Sere's vineyards, the Saturday prior to Shepard's and T'Soni's Tuesday departure for Ilos; there had been so much going on at the T'Soni estate, she and Jude had elected to take their vows surrounded by friends and relatives that would have been unable to travel to Armali.

Thinking of those leaves and the tree that produced them, she found her mind wandering. I haven't been to my birthplace in ages – with the war long since over, I have to wonder what our visit to Canberra will bring me… sadness… regrets? No, not regrets. I had no choice – I absolutely had to leave there… take Ori and leave the poisonous influence of my so-called father. She shook her head at her memories of Henry Lawson. Best not to think about him, Miri! He cannot hurt you or Ori, ever again! Pushing those memories away, she refocused on her long planned for trip with her bondmate. I might even travel up the coast with Jude – see how reconstruction is progressing in Sydney… and Newcastle… perhaps go as far north as Brisbane. After personally witnessing the destruction done in London, she held no illusions the damage to her former homeland had been any less. Bloody Reapers pounded the entire east coast of the country… seeing how people are recovering should be cathartic for me.

She poured hot water into the teapot she'd prepared, then took a bite of her muffin while continuing to think about her former home. If I'd thought about it, perhaps I could have persuaded Kasumi to accompany us on our jaunt to Earth – I believe her home is only about 8000 kilometers north of Canberra. I think we'd all have had a lot of fun. That thought brought forth a chuckle. Who am I kidding? Kas doesn't need Jude to fly her anywhere… not when she has her own ship – besides, this trip is just for the two of us.

She poured a cup of freshly brewed tea for herself, added a small measure of Chandra to the fragrant liquid, then slowly sipped a bit from the mug. Damn! That's good! came the thought.

She moved into their living room, there to sit with her legs folded underneath her, at one end of the plush love-seat Judea insisted was the perfect size for cuddling. With both hands being warmed by the heat from the mug, she took a long sip of the exquisite brew and swallowed, enjoying the feeling of increasing warmth inside her stomach thanks to the hot tea.

The sound of the entry door sliding into its recess brought her head around. Judea walked through the opening, set her gear bag on the floor and made her way over to the love seat. "What's going on, my love? I expected you to be impatiently standing at the door, overnight bags packed and sitting beside you." She bent down at the waist in order to plant a loving kiss on a pair of succulent lips.

Miranda answered as her amantia stood and moved to sit beside her. "Bags are packed, darling. Just relaxing a bit… enjoying a cup of tea while waiting for you to return. Everything ready? Hesaldia fueled and waiting for us?"

"Pre-flight's complete. It'll be nice to fly her outta atmo for a change – stretch her legs a bit." Judea's golden eyes held a bit of concern as she asked, "You sure you're up for this, Miri? It'll be your first time walking on the soil of your birthplace since…"

Miranda interrupted. "… since I grabbed Ori and fled from Henry Lawson's detestable influence?" She looked first at the bracelet on her wrist, then glanced at the matching cuff on Judea's wrist. "It's time, Jude… past time. I need to see the place. More importantly, I want you to see where I was… created, even if there's probably nothing left but a crater in the dirt." She finished her tea – lukewarm by now. Silently rising and moving to the kitchen, she washed and dried her mug, then took a quick look around before rejoining her bondmate, who had grabbed Miranda's bags and was waiting at the door. With a huge grin lighting her face, she said, "Let's be off!"

Like the thoroughbred she was, Hesaldia made short work of the trip from Thessia to the relay. After an FTL burn across the system, they celebrated the fact that the relay was already aligned with the Widow System relay, so were able to make the jump without delay. Of course, their good fortune in the Parnitha system meant they were in for a lengthy wait in Widow, as the relay had to pivot approximately 140 degrees to align with Charon in the Sol System.

"Want a snack, Jude? I be happy to prepare something for you."

"A mug of Kaffe would be quite welcome, Miri."

Ten minutes later, Miranda entered the flight deck holding a pair of mugs, each trailing a bit of fragrant vapor. She carefully handed one to Judea, who gratefully received it, took a couple of sips, then closed her eyes and sighed in happiness. "Having an all-in-one Kaffe machine in the galley is a real luxury, Miri – one I hope to never have to live without."

Her bondmate nodded in agreement while gazing out the forward viewport at the arcane machine – among the first to be reconstructed at the end of the war. Its rotational motion was slow to the point of being virtually undetectable against the backdrop of distant stars in the infinite blackness of interstellar space. They each sipped their Kaffe as they watched and waited. After about 45 minutes, the relay's rotation gradually came to a halt, prompting Miranda to take their mugs back to the galley. Returning to the flight deck, Judea had her strap into her seat before joining the queue in front of Hesaldia, departing for the Sol system.

Earth, Sol System, At Large – 29 January 2194

Upon arriving in-system beside the Charon relay, Judea entered coordinates into the flight computer, then sat back in her chair as Hesaldia set out for Miranda's homeworld. After slightly over 90 minutes of FTL travel, Judea took over manual control for the insertion maneuver into Earth's atmosphere; before the heat from reentry cut off her comms, she contacted Canberra approach control for an approach vector to the spaceport.

Once clear of the ionization induced by the heat of reentry, she reestablished contact with Canberra approach, which directed her to maintain an altitude of 3000 meters AGL until she was 1100 klicks due east of Tasmania. From there, she was instructed to descend to 2100 meters as she turned to approach the spaceport from the east; her speed upon crossing the coastline was to be no greater than 900 kilometers an hour, at an altitude of 1500 meters, until within 5 klicks of the spaceport. At that point, she could make a visual approach to her landing zone.

Judea acknowledged the instructions; as she activated her approach lights and beacons, she smirked at Miranda. "I can guarantee you that no one at the spaceport has ever seen a ship like the Hesaldia."

Immediately after Judea docked the ship, Miranda traded her heavy wool sweater for a summer-weight blouse with elbow length sleeves, and her wool socks for a pair made of cotton. She tried to warn Judea of the summer heat in Eastern Australia, but the Asari assured her bondmate she would be quite comfortable in her commando leathers. With a shrug of her shoulders, Miri opened the hatch and stepped out of the ship.

After a customs inspection of the ship, which left the two officers in open-mouth wonder at not only the beauty of the sleek spacecraft, but of actually meeting the Asari engineer responsible for its creation – '…you actually designed this vessel?' was just one of the comments she heard from the awe-struck men. They were just as stunned when Judea opened the cargo hold and unloaded their skycar – a Mark II 2187 Blackout. When Jude admitted its top speed was just under 650 clicks, their mouths fell open anew. "That's a sweet ride! If ya don't mind, what's the bloody price-tag for this thing?"

"Brand new, out of the crate, it's 750 thousand creds."

A 'Wow!' and a 'Bloody 'ell!' were the immediate responses from the two men, with a follow-on envious comment of, "Ya must be doin' pretty well to be able to afford this ship 'n' that skycar," coming from the younger of the two men.

Judea shrugged as she replied, "I'm employed by the manufacturer – T'Sere Shipwrights, in Dassus, on Thessia, so I receive a rather significant discount on the price. This skycar is my design as well, and I'm always thinking of improvements I can make whenever I'm piloting either craft. It's to my employer's benefit that I fly them both."

One of the officers applied an approval sticker to the canopy, then turned to Judea to say, "You can remove it when you depart the country." As the two officers slowly walked away, both of them occasionally looked back over their shoulders in disbelief that they'd been fortunate enough to meet the supremely talented – and drop-dead gorgeous – Asari design engineer.

Miranda chuckled as the pair moved out of earshot. "I'm not sure if they liked the ship or the car better… but I know for certain they really enjoyed looking at you."

Judea chuckled at her bondmate. "You're a strikingly beautiful woman, Miri. I wasn't the only one getting side glances from those men."

"Yeah, I suppose so… and it's fine…" Miranda scowled as she added, "… so long as all they do is look." She chuckled as she added, "No touching allowed!"

"I don't think we need to worry about that, Love." Judea chuckled and waved a hand towards the Blackout. "Come on. Our packs are loaded… let's get going so you can show me all the sights!"

Having checked the local regs for flight restrictions, Miranda directed Judea to fly west from the spaceport, over the twists and turns of the Molonglo River… "Stay above the bridges, Love." As they passed Springbank Island, Miri directed the Asari to bear north, across West Lake. "You'll need to gain some altitude – we're gonna fly over Black Mountain."

Judea complied, slowing her speed somewhat as she increased their altitude. Setting the VI to maintain 20 meters beneath their hull, she slowed their forward motion once more, so they could see landmarks below. Miranda, after craning her neck a bit, finally spoke up. "We're now above Black Mountain; it's Henry Lawson's private reserve – or was, anyway – until his death on Horizon." She looked around a bit more, then pointed to the remains of a paved road. "There's the loop road and the lookout – what's left of it, anyway. Doesn't appear to have been restored." Looking further north, she sighed. "That blackened crater is the remains of my childhood home, Jude. There was a government owned communications tower – one-hundred-fifty-seven meters base-to-top, perched atop our house – which used to be the Executive Briefing Center. Henry bought the place from the city, along with all the land surrounding the building." She chuckled as she recalled, "He closed off all the public access entrances and converted the Briefing Center into a damned ostentatious mansion, with a massive upstairs laboratory complex."

Pointing to a small peak roughly five klicks east of the crater they were flying over, Miranda added, "Those are the remains of the Mt. Ainslie lookout – appears it was also blasted to 'ell."

By this time, Judea was slowly circling the crater. "I'm going to set us down on that flat spot near the northern edge of the basin."

She eased the Blackout down until they were hovering a half-meter above the surface, then set the craft down so gently Miranda wasn't even sure they had touched down. Smiling at her bondmate, Judea raised the canopy and opened the side doors as she quipped, "All ashore that's going ashore."

Miranda snagged a blue hand, placed a quick kiss on the knuckles, then pulled the Asari to her so she could plant a kiss where it would be the most enjoyable for both of them – Judea's succulent lips. "I love you, Judea Voni."

She received a quizzical look in response, accompanied with, "I love you as well, Miranda Lawson," before turning and climbing out of the vehicle. "Watch your step, Siame – the surface is kind of slippery."

Miranda walked around the nose of their speeder and, upon stepping up beside her amantia, observed, "It's actually rough glass, Jude; damn energy weapons melt everything they touch." She shaded her eyes with one hand as she held on to Judea with her other. Gazing slightly west of north, she pointed to a pair of nearly indistinct complexes. "Looks like North Canberra Hospital has been rebuilt. Beyond that is the University of Canberra… looking like they're not quite done with the complete campus rebuild, yet."

They each continued to look around for several minutes, until Judea broke the silence. Waving a hand towards the northeast, she asked, "Do you suppose we can find someplace to have lunch down there? Someplace with a bit of shade?"

With a huge grin, Miranda replied, "It is a bit hot, standing on this glassy surface with the sun beating down on us. And, I must admit, I'm a bit hungry myself, so I think that's an excellent idea!" She was already moving toward their air car as she said, "Let's go see what we can find."

In response to a suggestion from Miri, Judea flew the Blackout back down to the southeast – towards the river and the highway bridge between city hill and Parliament House. "There's a small peninsula jutting out from the north shore, just west of the bridge. The large building at the very end is a museum and, even though the building has been rebuilt, many of the displays and artifacts within were destroyed. I'm not sure the new curators will ever be able to replace them." She shook her head in disgust and continued with her narration. "Anyway, a viewing deck existed on the west edge – and Lawson Crescent."

A pair of beautiful golden eyes gazed inquisitively at Miranda. "Henry owned that as well?" came the query.

Miranda chuckled grimly. "Edinburgh Avenue became Lawson Cres as it crossed southbound over Parkes Way. Apparently, Henry had more influence in this part of the city than I knew about." Looking at the guide she had open on her omnitool, she added, "And, it appears there's a small bar and grill near the entrance to the carpark. We should be able to find something there suitable for an Asari's palate."

Judea glanced at her amantia and grinned. "You know I enjoy pretty much anything you like to eat, Miri." Having received the coordinates for the carpark from Miranda's omnitool, Judea checked for local traffic, then spiraled the Blackout down to its entrance. Once grounded on the pavement near the Crimson Jewel Bar and Grille, the pair exited their speeder and strolled arm in arm to the modest building. Upon entering, Miranda – after taking a quick look at the menu – ordered for them both. "I'd like two orders of the Aussie Barramundi – one with the Mediterranean tossed salad with balsamic dressing, the other with chips... along with a couple of glasses of Cooper's pale ale." She paused, then added, "On a tray, if you would – we'd like to enjoy our meals out on the deck."

Miranda paid for their food and drink, then turned and leaned against the counter to wait; a short time later, the young fellow that had taken her order reappeared with a large serving tray, loaded with their meals and two frosty glasses each filled with a pale, carbonated amber liquid. "I'd be happy to carry this out to a table for you."

Miranda grinned at him. "That'd be lovely. You can set it on the table closest to the edge of the deck." Judea accompanied Miranda out as she followed their server – the table was perfectly placed to catch the slight breeze coming in from the river, and the large, centrally-mounted umbrella offered welcome shade from the summer sun.

After they each took a long pull from their mugs, they began eating; Jude filched several of Miri's deep-fried chips – "These are very tasty!" – and, in response, Miranda helped herself to a couple of forkfuls of her bondmate's salad.

Judea placed a chunk of fish in her mouth, chewed, then washed it down with a generous swig from her mug. "That's some really excellent beer, Siame!" She cocked her head and, after studying Miranda for a few moments, observed, "You do realize all that land up there…" waving a hand in the general direction of Black Mountain, "… is probably worth an enormous number of creds, don't you?" She stirred a forkful of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers around in the dressing, popped it in her mouth and chewed as she thought about Miri's inheritance.

Miranda's reply was preceded by a humorless chuckle. "I expect Henry left it all to Ori, if he even thought about it at all." She nibbled on a chip as she pondered Judea's question. "I suppose we ought to pay a visit to city hall, look through their records. It's been what?… seven, eight years since Henry's death?"

She opened her omnitool and entered a quick query. In only a few moments, she announced, "Inheritance rule here is three years, which applies only if a beneficiary for the property has not been named. If that is the case, the property would remain with the executor, and taxes would need to be paid on the property, per tax laws current at the time; if no decision was made during that time, tax rates in the fourth year would be adjusted to the current rate."

"Where do the creds come from, Miri?" Judea's brow crinkled as she asked, "Is it possible the entire estate has already been forfeited for unpaid taxes?"

"The estate's liquid funds are placed in an escrow account upon the death of the owner of record – in this case, Henry Lawson – of which there was a rather significant sum. So, each year thereafter, the account was debited the taxes due. Hypothetically, that would continue until either an inheritor comes forward or the funds are exhausted. Should the latter happen, the entire estate, would revert to the city, and there'd be no legal way for myself, or Oriana, to assert a claim of ownership." After downing the rest of her beer, she poked around on her omnitool a bit more. Looking intently into Judea's golden eyes, she added, "However, according to the tax records, all payments have been made by the estate, so no foreclosure proceedings have been started. Based on what I knew of Henry's financials, there should be enough funds remaining in escrow to pay the city taxes for years. No worries there, for sure."

Miranda raised her empty glass – two fingers held above the rim to indicate two refills – in order to catch the attention of the lone waiter patrolling the patio. Upon receiving a nod of recognition, she set the glass down. Eating the last of her chips, she looked intently at her bondmate. "Would you be willing to bring Oriana here so she can assert her claim to Black Mountain?" With a grin, she added, "I seriously doubt she has any desire to settle down here – my feeling is she'll either find a buyer for it or sell it back to the city." A pair of frosty, liquid-filled mugs appeared on the table and their empties were whisked away, as were the credit chits Miri had set beside them.

Judea smiled as she took a long pull from her mug, blotted the foam from her upper lip and replied, "Whatever she needs, Darling. Assuming, of course, that it is something she actually needs to be here for, in person, which I simply can't imagine. Bottom line, however, is that both of you should get something positive from Henry, after all the misery he put the two of you through, and I am happy to help in any way I can."

Surprisingly, given the topic, Miranda chuckled. "The funny thing is, neither of us needs it… and I don't even want any of Henry's ill-gotten gains. I'll suggest we sell the property and donate to a charity…or two."

Now it was Judea's turn to laugh, "Or a dozen? I'm not sure only two charities could spend everything these properties are likely worth."

Miranda smiled and took a nice long, refreshing drink from her own mug of ale. After a moment she replied, "You're likely spot on with that assumption, but we'll just have to see, won't we?"

Canberra, Australia, Earth – 01 February 2194

"You're kidding, right?" Oriana's voice reflected complete disbelief. "There is absolutely no chance I would ever return to that place, Miri! Even if the place had been completely rebuilt!"

Miranda smiled. "We figured as much…but Jude did come up with an excellent suggestion. You assert your rights as sole heir and claim everything. Hire a company to clean it all up and dispose of all the debris, then get every last meter of it appraised. Our guess? You'd have enough to start your own music school, if you wanted to. If not, we can probably find any number of worthwhile charities that would be ecstatic to accept donations from the Oriana Lawson Foundation."

Oriana chuckled. "Have you been drinking, Miri? 'Cuz it sure sounds like it!"

"Well, I will admit Jude and I are having a wonderful time, and we've sampled beverages from a number of different establishments over the past three days while we've chased down all the information you would need."

Miri paused to take a breath, giving Judea a chance to jump into the conversation. "It truly is a rather sizeable sum, Ori…even by our standards. We were confident you didn't want to donate it all to the City of Canberra, so figured we needed to tell you about it while we were still here. Also, we would be amenable to you having a lawyer draft a Writ of Permission, giving Miranda legal authority to act on your behalf. We'd be happy to handle the deed transfer before we leave at the end of the week. And, if you don't have a lawyer, we can speak with Liara. I imagine she could get the writ done and sent to us in a single day."

"You're not kidding, are you?" Oriana's laughter had died away as she listened intently to her sister–in–law. "I honestly thought both of you were drunk and simply pulling my leg!"

"No joke, Ori." Judea smiled. "We wouldn't tease about numbers that large."

Miranda found her voice again and added, "And that's after years of taxes have been pulled from the cash portion of the estate, Ori. Henry was a member of the ultra-elite here. He even had a number of streets named after him in Canberra!"

At that, Oriana laughed again. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. He was always an incredible egomaniac." She rolled her eyes and shook her head at the same time. "I say we do it, if for no other reason than to truly cut him out of our lives forever… bury him in the dust of the past." Ori paused for a moment before adding, "Actually, I would love to provide documentation outlining his demise…his work for the Illusive Man and his delusions of Human dominance in the galaxy. Get the names changed of all those streets named after him… totally eliminate him from existence, present and past! He doesn't deserve any of that recognition!"

"I would love to do so, Ori…but I'm afraid that would expose us for what we are; illegal genetic clones. I hated Henry with every fiber of my being, but not enough to ruin what remains of our extended lives. Getting rid of his name is simply not worth it."

"You're right on that count, Miri." Oriana drew a deep, shuddering breath and nodded in agreement. "So, yeah… I guess we have to leave that one be. However, I will give Liara a call and ask her about that Writ. I think it's a great plan. You sure you want to spend what's left of your time there chasing this down for me?"

"Absolutely!" answered Miranda. "Though… I might want a say in which charities you plan on donating to?"

"Oh, you'll have more than that, my dear sister!" Oriana's expression shifted to a wide, somewhat snarky grin. "I expect you to be half-owner of the newly formed 'Lawson Charitable Foundation,' and to help me select the board of directors!"

Judea turned her gaze towards her bondmate; upon placing a loving kiss on her cheek, she observed, "Now look what you've done, Siame. Our little vacation and sightseeing trip has turned into so much more!" She shook her head and chuckled in mock resignation. "A board of directors? Seriously? Would it not have been simpler to allow the city to claim that property?"

An instant, empathetic and simultaneous "No!" from both women set Judea to laughing at the pair, who were now looking daggers at the Asari; raising her hands in an effort to appease them, she chuckled, "Okay, okay! Goddess! Remind me to never again oppose the Lawson sisters."