Notes:

Alban Hefin - Druid festival of the Summer Solstice, means 'Light of the Shore' (Gaelic)

FTL - Faster Than Light travel

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

STG - Special Tasks Group

Something Lost – Someone Found

Council of Dalatrasses Public Forum, Sur'Kesh – 23 Mar 2193

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon for the outdoor ceremony, where Dalatrass Baon presented both Commander Adus Kirrahe and Captain Samantha Shepard the Star of Sur'Kesh for the strength of character and personal fortitude each displayed as they stood for the true ideals of the Salarian Union. Baon's smile actually lasted for more than her usual brief flash as she approached the pair – each resplendent in their dress uniforms – and pinned the medals on each of their chests.

"Each of you displayed bravery beyond measure, taking on powerful Dalatrasses simply on principle, knowing very well you were in violation of Salarian law while standing in a rather precarious position on Salarian soil. There were no guarantees you would survive the conflict, particularly in hindsight, once we discovered just how broad the infection of treason had spread. You are both to be commended on your strength of will, to accomplish what was civil and just. While the Salarian Union has lost its innocence in the eyes of the Council and its members – perhaps forever, your actions have provided us the opportunity to redeem ourselves… and our honor, with our future actions."

She took a step back and bowed to them both. "The Salarian Union and I, personally, salute you for upholding the true values of our people. Thank you, and congratulations."

Liara and Rozina Kirrahe, who were seated together in the front row, were amazed at the roar of approval that suddenly erupted from a crowd that had remained surprisingly silent over the course of the presentation. Rozina leaned over to speak to Liara, raising her voice so she could be heard above the din. "And thank you, Lady Liara, for being so gracious as to provide me sanctuary while all this played out, so I may live to see this day and witness my mate's redemption in the eyes of the Union. I never believed it possible once your commandos showed up on my doorstep, bringing such dire news. I assumed I would be a widow by spring's end, not the partner of a hero."

"You are most welcome, Roz." Liara grinned. "Matter of fact, in a strange way, I am sorry to see the end of your stay with us. While the circumstances were anything but ideal, I have come to appreciate your work ethic and your willingness to step in and assist around the Estate, especially since you were under absolutely no obligation to do so! According to Lyria Tremi, you were a most welcome addition to our House. You do realize you and Adus are now part of the T'Soni family, do you not?"

"That is most gracious of you." Rozina flashed a smile. "It was an insufficient attempt to repay you for saving my life. We know Adus is always in danger… but me? We always knew there was some risk to being the mate of an STG commander, but this event was unprecedented. Or, at the very least, it should have been. I have no idea how or when our Dalatrasses decided it was tolerable to stoop so low in the name of the Union, as to make the killing of 20,000 Protheans an 'acceptable loss."

"As Adus and Samantha proved with their actions – along with the Council's support – there is no such thing." Liara frowned and her brow knit as she continued, "All I know is, thanks to them, most of the innocents caught up in the conflict came through this in one piece, including the majority of the stasis Protheans. They are in Aelia's hands now, just as the Salarians are now in the hands of Baon… and I do believe we will be so much the better for it."

"Do you truly believe that, Liara? After all you and Shepard have been through?" Rozina asked.

"I do. I have to. Otherwise, what did we fight for?" Liara smiled. "We are still here, and still fighting for what is right. Although this war is over, the Salarian and Prothean peoples will still need assistance as they recover, each from their own type of trauma. It is a process which, I honestly believe, will be ongoing for some time yet."

"I believe that to be a very insightful response, Liara, particularly in regard to the Salarian people. This poison has obviously been seeping through multiple generations, leading me to believe the base issues will not be so easily repaired. Between the war and all the political maneuverings that followed, I believe we all lost what remained of any innocence we may have possessed." Rozina flashed a sad smile. "However, with Valedra Baon now sitting in the lead chair, I believe our political fixes will come sooner than they ever would have with either Ereda Linron or Elania Esheel. It is both a change of leadership and policy I can very much look forward to."

Dalatrass Valedra Baon bowed deeply as she welcomed Shepard into her private office. "Thank you, Captain, for agreeing to see me. I know your personal time with your family is extremely important to you, so I truly appreciate you taking some additional time to speak with me."

"We are already here, so it truly is no imposition." Shepard smiled politely. "Thank you for the presentation today. It truly is an honor to receive the Salarian Union's highest award, even if I was only involved because a wartime friend called me for assistance."

Baon flashed a smile. "Only… a simple word to possess such serious implications had you refused Commander Kirrahe's request." She waved her hand toward the sitting area in her office. "Please, let us sit. I have managed to acquire a few Human treats and beverages for our chat. I do hope I selected appropriately."

As they moved to the table, Shepard chuckled upon seeing a rather large variety of drinks as well as various snacks. "Just a few treats? Have you tried any of these yourself?" she asked. "I encouraged Liara to try chocolate and now it quickly became a staple in the House. It becomes an instant emergency if Livos lets us run out."

"Chocolate, you say?" Baon glanced at the array before her and reached out, selecting a small treat for herself. Opening the package and popping it into her mouth, her eyes widened briefly as she swallowed. "My word. That is rather tasty. You can tell Liara I agree with her assessments, not just on the state of Salarian affairs, but on her choice of sweet treats, as well."

Shepard smiled and answered, "I'll do that," as she grabbed a similar candy and popped it into her mouth. "So, what do you need from me, Dalatrass? Certainly, you didn't ask for a private meeting simply to feed me chocolates."

"Ah. Straight to the point. How very Salarian of you, Shepard."

"I take that as a compliment, Dalatrass."

"As you should." Baon drew a deep breath and immediately continued, "I have a job offer for you. Being a Human Star of Sur'Kesh award winner bestows honorary Salarian citizenship upon you. As such, I want to hire you as the Salarian Ambassador to the Protheans, with full executive power to take any actions you deem necessary to prevent something like what happened on Jaëto from ever happening again."

Shepard, trying hard to not let on that Tevos had already given her a heads-up regarding this request, leaned back in her chair and sat quietly for a moment, thinking through her response one last time before actually beginning. "Wow! That would a huge honor but is also a huge ask. I need to speak to Liara about it, so cannot give you a definite answer today. You must know I am already on the Council's ambassadorial team to the Protheans… as the Ambassador's Military Advisor, which is obviously a great fit for me. It caters to my military specialties and allows me to travel with Liara, as the Cultural Attaché." She shook her head and continued, "So, I don't really know how I can say yes to your offer, no matter how great an honor it is."

"I have never been a politician… never had the desire to be one." Shepard grimaced as she continued, "The Reaper War forced me into such a role, to gather everything and everyone we needed to beat an adversary such as the Reapers. I am unsure if you realize all the offers that came my way during the war and shortly after. Both Liara and I are members of Clan Urdnot, and I am Battlemaster to Urdnot Grunt. The Rachni also asked me to be their Ambassador to the Council…"

"To which you obviously said no," Baon interjected.

"Correct." Shepard shook her head. "You know what? I said I couldn't give you a definite answer today, but I can… and I'm afraid I must respectfully decline your request." She smiled softly, thinking of Liara. "My place is at Liara's side, so as long as she continues to study the Protheans and continues to act as the Cultural Attaché to Ambassador Colis, that is where I belong. We fought incredibly hard to stay alive so we could be together and enjoy a future together, so that is where I'll be."

"I am intelligent enough to know when to quit, Shepard, as emotion-based reasoning is always extremely difficult to argue against." Baon sighed heavily. "And, while I knew your answer would very likely be to the negative, you must understand I had to ask anyway."

"I know." Shepard smiled, adding, "Just as you know Liara and I will always remain your allies in this fight for the heart and soul of the Salarian Union. Your people are unique to this galaxy, Baon, yet no different than the other races when it comes to divisions between major political and military goals. We each have our own internal wars to wage, and while I may turn down your job offer, if nothing else ever comes of this meeting, you should already know Liara and I continue to support your cause for a better world… both within and external to our coexisting races."

"Thank you for your candor and your time, Shepard, but now we both have better things to do." Baon stood and smiled. "Please, allow me to escort you back to your ship?"

"It would be an honor, Dalatrass." Shepard stood and took Baon's arm. "Let us demonstrate to everyone along the route we remain friends and allies."

"Absolutely." Baon flashed a knowing smile. "No one shall ever come between. This I promise."

T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula – 22 Jun 2193

Fortunately, Alban Hefin actually fell on a Friday night, so the family was able to gather for the weekend and celebrate the holiday together. Liara's summer session had just begun that week, so her workload was still relatively light, with Rasha doing all the preparations for the summer's digs. As such, they had returned to the Estate for the weekend to enjoy some much-needed quiet time, away from the university. The evening had been pleasant, the daylight lasting a long time, with the holiday being the celebration of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

Even so, Liara and Shepard had managed to get to bed relatively early, so woke well rested on Saturday morning. It wasn't a holiday where they normally had a lot of visitors, but Aethyta and Mozia had come for the event, as well as Hannah and Karin. Hannah had made some comments about missing the beaches of Rio during the summer but felt the visit to Thessia more than made up for it, given the beautiful expanse of beach gracing the eastern border of the Estate.

They were all relaxing on the sand, enjoying a light picnic lunch and each other's company when Liara's omnitool pinged with an incoming message. She rolled her eyes, muttering, "Sorry, thought I had that blocked," as she lifted her arm to doublecheck her settings. Instead, she stared at the screen in disbelief, flashing a surprised look at Shepard and exclaiming, "By the Goddess! The Broker found Jastira! Alive!"

"Who is Jastira?" Hannah's brow crinkled as she continued, "And is this a good or bad thing?"

Liara looked up to meet Hannah's eyes, answering, "Jastira is my father's daughter." She suddenly shook herself out of her surprise and stood up. "I'm sorry, but I have to go share this news with my father!"

Shepard began to stand, but Liara shook her head. "No. Enjoy your family time with Mom and Aunt Karin." Her voice dropped in volume as she continued, "I am uncertain as to how my father will take the news, so it might be best relayed more… privately."

"If that's what you want, Li." Shepard slowly sunk back down into her beach chair. "You know I'm just a thought away if you need me."

"And I appreciate that, Siame. Thank you." Liara flashed a quick smile, adding, "I'll be back as soon as I can!" and took off toward the house.

She found her father quickly, as she and Mozia were relaxing on one of the couches in – of absolutely no surprise – the bar. "Dad…"

Just the tone of Liara's voice immediately made Aethyta sit up, her full attention on her daughter. "What's wrong, Little Wing?"

"Nothing, actually… but I do have news." Liara drew a deep breath. "I placed a query with the Broker – some time ago – with little hope it would actually provide results, but I just received an update." She paused a moment before blurting out, "Jastira is alive and living on Trategos!"

Aethyta sat in shocked, muted silence for a few seconds before exclaiming, "What in the blue blazes is she doing on that fucking ice hole?"

Mozia had to keep from laughing as she swatted her lover and asked, "Seriously? You get news your daughter is alive and that's all you have to say?"

In typical fashion, Aethyta grumped, "What the hell else should my response be? She's been alive this whole damned time, just a single fucking relay hop away, and didn't think to let me know? What the fuck is that all about? It's not like I'm the one that's been hiding!"

"This is news that should be welcomed, Thyta..." Mozia gave her a look that spoke volumes, but she said the necessary words aloud anyway. "I know you didn't part on the best of terms because of her attitude toward Benezia, but..."

"Best of terms, my ass! That Asari absolutely detested Benezia and couldn't let it go! She must have heard about her death, yet she couldn't forgive even then? At least enough to bother to contact me and let me know she survived the damned war? Fuck her!"

Liara was shocked, for multiple reasons. She had no idea Jastira held such animosity toward her mother… and Aethyta had never spoken a word about it. Now that Liara thought about it, Aethyta rarely spoke of Jastira at all, other than when Liara had specifically asked her about the child she had by the Hanar named Elorshin. The first question that came from her lips was, "Why did she hate my mother?"

"Ah, fuck!" Aethyta released a heavy sigh. "I would think that's pretty obvious, Little Wing." She paused and shook her head. "Initially Jastira was pretty excited to learn she was going to have a half-sister… until Benezia had banned us from all contact. She couldn't let that go and kept pestering me about it until I told her the whole story… and, with that telling, she decided that she hated Benezia with every single fiber of her being, because of how your mother treated me. I was a baby-gene donor, and once I had fulfilled my part of creating you… well… you know the story… and you know how much it broke my heart."

"Goddess. What a horrible impression she must have of my mother!"

"Worst part is she extends that antipathy to you, without ever having met you. She couldn't understand why I would agree to Benezia's terms and ignore you, so she simply decided you weren't worth fighting for, I guess… because I was no quitter. If I gave up on you, she assumed it was because you weren't worthy of my attention, and nothing I said could change her mind. She'd simply respond that my actions spoke louder than my words."

Liara frowned and asked, "So, she doesn't know we've reconciled?"

Aethyta shrugged, "I have no idea, Liara. I haven't spoken to her since she left to become a commando. She joined a squad and never looked back."

"And how old is she now?"

"Shit, I don't' know." Aethyta paused, a thoughtful frown hovering on her face for a moment before she added, "Four-hundred-fifty-something…"

"So, I have a sister who has hated me since before I was born."

"No." Aethyta shook her head. "You have a half-sister you have never met, who couldn't give two creds about you. It's Benezia who she hates."

Liara frowned. "Why did you never tell me any of this, Dad?"

"Oh, gee, I don't know, Liara." Aethyta rolled her eyes and chuckled, suddenly finding a bit of humor in the whole situation. "Maybe because when we met, your mother was dead, Shepard had just returned from the dead, and we thought we'd all be dead soon enough, because the Reapers were on their way to cleanse the galaxy of advanced organics? Not exactly great circumstances to be speaking with you about my love-hate relationship with Jazz."

Liara stood silent for a moment before quietly answering, "I see your point." She paused in thought for only a few seconds before asking, "Would you mind if I attempt to contact her?"

"Good luck with that." Aethyta immediately scoffed at the idea. "If she hasn't contacted me, I very much doubt she'll be happy to hear from you. More than likely, she won't even take a call or read any message you may send."

"Then, just perhaps, Shepard and I need to make a trip to Trategos during my next school break. Care to come along?"

"Long way to go, just to have her spit in your face in person, Little Wing." Aethyta shook her head. "I wouldn't make the effort if I were you. She certainly hasn't."

"And I should let my failure be equal to hers?" A teasing smile flirted about on Liara's lips. "That is not the attitude that won us the war."

At that, Aethyta had to chuckle. "Alright, alright. If you can convince Shepard the trip is worth making, I'll come along..."

"As will I," interjected Mozia, continuing, "… to make sure you don't make a total ass of yourself, Aethyta Beuss."

Trategos, Pelion System, Nimbus Cluster – 7 Sep 2193

It was hard to believe, but just two days after they had discovered Jastira to be alive-and-well on Trategos, they celebrated little David's second birthday. After that, the rest of the summer seemed to fly by and, before they knew it, August was upon them. Liara and Shepard's fifth anniversary fell on a Thursday, so they waited until the weekend to celebrate it, followed by a quick trip to Earth – Rio to be exact – at the end of the month, to celebrate Hannah Shepard's promotion to Vice Admiral, and her assumption of command as Commandant for the Interplanetary Combatives Training Center, commonly known as 'N-school.'

The final exam for Liara's class fell on the fifth of September, a Thursday, and she had the final grades submitted for all her students by Saturday morning, the seventh. Nearly as soon as she tapped the 'submit' button, she and Shepard, joined by Aethyta and Mozia, boarded the Aletheia to head to Trategos. With the cluster's relay being in Pelion, the trip to Trategos was relatively short and, even with the trip via FTL, they arrived before dinner time.

"Captain Shepard. Doctor T'Soni. It is my pleasure to welcome you to Trategos. I am Matriarch Telana D'Corili, planetary governor of our little ice world. I wish you would have given us a bit of advance notice, so we could have properly welcomed two esteemed dignitaries such as yourselves. But, too late for that now, so we'll just have to make do. If I may be so bold as to ask, to what do we owe the pleasure of your rather unexpected visit?"

"Thank you for the personal welcome, and apologies for not sending advance notice." nodded Liara, bowing slightly in deference to both the Matriarch and her position on the planet. "Honestly, we are here on a personal matter so I didn't even think about it but, perhaps, it is one in which you could give us a little bit of assistance." She stopped and waved their companions forward. "First... and somewhat in explanation of our visit here, let me introduce you to my House Regent, Matriarch Mozia… and to my father, Matriarch Aethyta Beuss."

Liara immediately saw the expression change on Telana's face, and the light in her eyes as she replied, "Goddess. I never would have put the two together… but you are here to visit family, yes? Or is my assumption that Jastira Beuss is a relation incorrect?"

"No, you're right." Aethyta said gruffly. "She's my daughter… and it's been awhile since we've spoken. Until a very short time ago, I didn't even know if she'd survived the war."

"Ah. So, you are estranged?" questioned Telana. "But yet, when you discovered she was alive, you came here posthaste."

"Yeah. I guess you could say that." Aethyta sighed and continued, "I'm sure you heard the uproar regarding Benezia T'Soni being a traitor… then not… actually being the hero who got Shepard the information she needed to stop Spectre Saren Arterius from letting the Reapers in the back door… and buying us the time we needed to at least attempt to get ready for their arrival and the war they brought with them."

"We did hear all of that in the news, yes…" Telana met Aethyta's eyes as she asked, "but what does that have to do with Jazz?"

"Jazz?" Aethyta asked. "So, you not only know her, but know her well enough to call her by her nickname. Anyway… Benezia was the cause for our estrangement. Then, after the war, I never heard from her… not even a note to say 'Hey, if you care, I'm alive,' and I had no idea where she'd gotten herself off to, so I couldn't exactly send one her way."

"Jazz is currently second in command of my Colonial Guard… so, yes. I know her very well." Telana paused and shook her head. "I would hate if you came here, only to have her refuse to see you, but that is her option. So, I will call her and ask if she is willing to meet with you. That is all I will do. I will not encourage her in one direction or the other unless she specifically asks for my input. Fair enough?"

"Sounds better than what I had planned..." Aethyta shrugged, a small smile on the corners of her lips. "I was just going to get an address and go knock on her door."

Things didn't exactly work out as planned. As a way to make up for the rather informal welcome, even though it was no fault of her own, Telana insisted on treating them to dinner at one of the small restaurants in the city. As they were ordering dessert, a strained voice came from behind. "What, in the name of the Goddess, are you doing here?"

Aethyta's eyes opened wide, and she stood, albeit slowly, turning to look into the face of the daughter she hadn't seen in many years. Mozia quietly whispered her name, "Thyta," in a cautionary tone, reminding Aethyta to be on her best behavior.

"I just learned you survived the war… and…" She shrugged and swallowed, "I needed to see how you were… are. Can you blame a mother for wanting to see a daughter she believed dead at the hands of the Reaper hordes?"

"You could have just called."

"And would you have taken the call, when the identifier popped onto the screen?"

"Hmph." Jastira met her mother's penetrating, interrogative gaze with quiet confidence. "Good point. Probably not."

"So, here I am. A bit harder to ignore in person than simply being able to press the 'DISMISS' button." Aethyta chanced a smile. "You look good, Jazz. And, apparently, you've done well in the commando corps as well, rising to the deputy commander position in the guard."

"All I needed to do to get that job was survive the war."

"And that's a load of crap," Talana interjected. "You fought like a mother Varren protecting her pups! And turned out to be a natural leader, coming up with the strategy that saved our asses during the war."

"What?" Aethyta asked, her interest obviously piqued. "What strategy was that?"

Jastira raised one shoulder in a half-shrug. "Hit and run tactics, like you taught me. We certainly didn't have the force strength to charge right down the gullet of the Reaper attacks." She glanced at Shepard as she said those words, returning her gaze to her mother as she finished, "So we used our cutting subs, hiding beneath the sea ice until we identified a weaker target. Popped up, took 'em out, and slipped back into the seas to mask our heat signatures. We didn't make any major dents in their force numbers, but they couldn't stamp us out either, so we ended in a stalemate."

"And kept them busy looking for the sub fleet, instead of wiping out our safe havens!" added Telana. "They could have obliterated the ice caves in a few seconds... but every time they attempted to set up the launchers, Jazz and her group popped up and launched explosives and drilling missiles at them." She stopped and smiled. "I was just so damned proud of them!"

"Nice work!" Shepard gave her a nod of recognition. "Other worlds tried tactics like that and ended up dead… so you were doing something different than the rest, even if it was because you had a natural way to shield your heat signatures. Reapers could find electronic shields… but ice? No way to read energy outputs through that. First I've heard of anyone even attempting such a thing, so good thinking."

"Coming from you, Captain, that is high praise." Jastira looked at her, only a slight tip at the edges of her lips showing how pleased she was by the comments. "Thank you."

"Praise given where praise is earned." Shepard smiled in return. "It takes the right kind of leader to come up with effective counter-tactics for such a powerful enemy."

Jazz actually chuckled, "Like Doctor T'Soni and her super-weapon, that turned out to be nothing more than a massive-energy reprogramming wave that used the entire Citadel as a battery? Talk about unique counter-tactics!"

She finally returned her gaze to Aethyta. "And you, Dad… what you did to convince all those Matriarchs to go dark? With strategic strikes, as necessary, when the Reapers got a little too close to something – or someone – you didn't want them to find? What my teams did was little more than that. Distractions at the right time to protect important infrastructure and places where we had large numbers of people hiding."

"You did good, kid." Aethyta smiled. "I'm proud of what you accomplished here."

"You know, I almost called you after the war ended. I knew you were on Earth, at the hospital in London." Jazz shook her head. "I mean, it was all over the news, about Liara being missing and you sitting steadfastly at Shepard's side, refusing to leave her. It all made for quite the story."

The happy expression on Aethyta's face fell away. "Almost… but didn't. What stopped you?"

"At the beginning, we were all super busy. Rebuilding. Sending all our dead to the Goddess." Jazz closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. "But I couldn't help but to think about Benezia… and about how much better prepared the Asari could have been if she had just listened to your arguments! She had influence! If she had used that to change our system, instead of chasing that damned Turian Spectre around…"

"Hold it, right there." Shepard drew her gaze and continued, "Benezia chasing Saren was the first indicator the Reapers actually existed. From that point, the Council and the leaders of nearly every race denied the facts in evidence. They even tried to blame the attack on the Citadel on the Geth!"

"You mean it wasn't?" Jazz looked back and forth between Shepard and Liara.

"No, it most definitely was not." Shepard adamantly shook her head. "It was the Reaper's forward agent… the monitor who would signal to the rest it was time to reset our technological clock."

"Its name was Sovereign, and it had indoctrinated Saren… and then, my mother." Liara had sat quietly up until that point. "But, even then, she had shielded a small part of herself away from Sovereign's influence. She managed to bring that little bit of herself out when we caught up to her on Noveria. She is the one who told us where Saren was headed, enabling us to follow him and, eventually, defeat him at the Citadel."

Shepard added, "What people don't know is that the Citadel was actually a relay. Had we not caught up to and stopped Sovereign, the Reapers would have arrived in our galaxy that very day. We wouldn't have stood a chance. Benezia prevented that."

"I see now why they built a new Council station, instead of repairing the Citadel!" Jazz was shocked at the sudden revelation. "Could there be more Reapers? Can they come back?"

"We don't think so, but there's no way to know for sure, Kiddo." Aethyta slid softly back into the conversation. "That's another one of the reasons I'm here. If the Reapers did nothing else, they taught me life is too damned precious to waste even a day. You wouldn't listen to any of the reasons as to why I let Benezia dictate terms to me in regards to Liara, but none of that matters anymore. Liara and I once again share our lives together. If she let me back in as her father… don't you think you could let me back in as your mother? At least be willing to give it a try?"

"I suppose I can do that." Jazz looked at her mother and continued, "But, if we're going to do that, I need to tell you a few things before you visit my house."

"Oh?" Aethyta cocked her head, her curiosity peaked, and asked, "Things like what?"

"Things like I'm bonded to an Asari named Kinlivi Rana, and father to her ninety-three-year-old daughter, Lenedra, who is in commando training on Thessia as we speak."

For once in her life, Aethyta was completely unable to come up with any type of smartass response.