Chapter 39

Medbay – SSV Normandy SR2

Shepard sat on the medbay table with bandages everywhere. Her entire body was bruised from the yahg manhandling her during the fight. She was also correct in her earlier assessment of having fractured ribs as a result of him slamming her into the ground and then colliding with her at full speed. Of all the enemies she had ever faced, she hoped to never have to fight a yahg again. They were physically terrifying, wickedly smart, and only through quick tactical thinking had she managed to live. If she had faced the beast alone, she would no longer be around to fight the reapers.

Despite all of her current aches and pains, Doctor Chakwas fussing over her the entire time was actually the most painful part. The older woman knew her job was dangerous, but she was a tyrant when it came to overusing her biotics. She said her reasoning before. According to the doctor, with all the medical technology they have access to in the universe, anything on her body could be replaced or regrown. With stem cell research or cybernetics, they could regrow eyes, limbs, and organs or replace them entirely. But they still didn't have the technology to repair the brain. So, if her arm was blown off or she lost an eye, it wouldn't be too much trouble to grow them back or replace them. But if Shepard cooked her brain with biotics, then there would be no saving her short of having another run of the Lazarus Project.

Right now, the doctor sat at her desk nearby as she closely monitored the spectre's vitals with a focus on her internal temperature. Shepard in the meantime laid on the bed with another cooling pad on her head staring at the shattered omni-tool that the Shadow Broker had been smart enough to destroy during the first move of their fight. After she found her biotics weren't enough to counter his suit, she could have easily covered him with explosives and turned him into a festival firework display had he not. Apparently, his assessment of her combat style was more thorough than she realized as he took out her primary form of support.

This also had the side effect of leaving her dead bored as she lay on the hospital bed. At the very least she could have gotten some work done or shored up some reports for the Council. But instead she found herself staring at the ceiling to keep the fuming doctor next to her from strapping her to the bed out of spite. Turning her head, she looked through the windows into the crew deck to see the crew celebrating their victory. Grunt was pouting at the mess hall table on missing the chance to fight a yahg while everyone else talked animatedly about the situation. Except that the entire human Cerberus crew were left in the dark about what the mission had actually been. It was their understanding that they had just taken down a pretty big collector base and the ground crew were kept silent on the matter.

After a while of watching, she saw the figure of Liara step from behind the partition that blocked the elevator. She now wore a dress instead of her armor and was walking with a glowing smile. She locked eyes with the asari through the window, donning a smile of her own as the woman made a beeline for the medbay. As she stepped inside, she greeted the doctor.

"Karin! Thank you for taking care of her while I've been gone," said the asari with a friendly tone.

Immediately, any of the seething from Chakwas's tone melted away into a glowing smile as she returned the greeting. Standing up, she hugged the new Shadow Broker. "Liara T'Soni! You are a sight for these sore old eyes," said the technically younger woman as they held each other's hands. Then she looked at Shepard with a playful glare. "As for taking care of your bondmate, that part has been a lot more difficult than it was two years ago. I don't know what happened to that silent stalker from the Alliance who used to take out enemies from afar. But she's turned into a rampaging gorilla ever since Cerberus put those damn biotics into her."

Shepard stuck out her tongue, getting a chuckle from the asari. "Biotics can sometimes have that effect on people. As a species with inborne biotics, the asari commonly think themselves above everyone else. It doesn't surprise me that it can make some people think they're invincible," said Liara with a playful smile towards the spectre.

"Are you two done roasting me now?" asked Shepard with a glare of her own.

"For now," said Karin as she returned to her seat.

Shepard rolled her eyes as Liara giggled and sat on the bed next to her. Looking over at her bondmate, the asari smiled affectionately. "How are you, Jane?"

"I'm being forcibly detained by a tyrant for a situation I had no control over," said Shepard as she heard a snort from the doctor.

"Well, now I have control. So, do as I say," growled the older woman as she continued monitoring the vitals.

"You never let me do anything fun, mom," snapped Shepard back jokingly before she turned back to the asari. She gave her a simple shrug. "I mean, I've been deader, so I suppose I can't complain."

"I'm sorry for putting you in that situation," said Liara as her face downcast. "If we had just taken him out as soon as we got in, you wouldn't have had to do what you did."

"You're not wrong," said Shepard as she gently rubbed her bandaged ribs. "I apparently have a bad habit of monologuing."

"Wow, yeah…" said Liara as she looked down, likely recalling their time together. "You do monologue a lot."

"Look, bondmate, you were there shit talking him with me," said Shepard playfully as she flicked the asari's knee gently.

"You're not wrong. It might just be a Normandy thing. We'll need to work on that," said the doctor as she tilted her head. "So, are you ready to go to Thessia?"

"Thessia? What for?" asked Shepard as she raised her brow curiously.

"With the danger now far removed, I wanted you to meet someone," said the asari with a grin.

"Oh, right!" said Shepard as she held up a finger. "With the Shadow Broker gone, they're not in danger anymore."

"She went into hiding because the Shadow Broker had someone try to break into our abode once. But she's been staying with Serraia on Thessia out of everyone's sight," she said with a nod.

"I can't imagine that's comfortable. Meet someone at a bar, get some romance going, then all the sudden witness protection?" said Shepard as she shook her head. "Talk about a memorable first date."

"Now that the Shadow Broker is no longer a threat to anyone, I thought you could come with me back to the manor and meet-" said the asari, but she was cut off by the doctor.

"Absolutely not, Liara," said the older woman, her heated tone coming back. "Jane is currently being held together with duct tape and I don't want her moving from this bed until she's fully repaired and her brain has been thoroughly removed from her rectum.

Liara looked up at the now standing woman in shock. "Brain… in her rectum?"

"Look, it's a human phrase," said Shepard as she patted Liara's hand. Turning to the doctor in charge, she shrugged. "I understand what you mean, Doc, but I'm not going to be doing anything-" started Shepard, but Chakwas cut her off as well.

"How many diplomatic missions turned into fights for your life?" asked Karin with a glare.

"Ugh… stop being logical for a second," growled Shepard as she crossed her arms.

Standing up, Liara reached forward and gripped the doctor's hands for a moment. "Karin, could I have a word with you outside?"

Doctor Chakwas glared at her as well but gave in and shrugged. "Fine. You have five minutes to plead your case. You don't move from this bed," she ordered Shepard as she was led out of the medbay.

Shepard made a mocking imitation of her giving the order, then stopped immediately when Karin turned around with another glare at her. "What? I wasn't… doing anything," said Shepard as her face flushed at getting caught. After the pair finally left the room, Liara conveniently pulled Karen in front of one of the windows so she could see them but not hear them. "Good luck Liara."

The spectre sighed as she watched the pair talk for a minute through the window. Miranda approached from the crew deck as well. And as soon as she did, something had happened. Both Doctor Chakwas and Miranda seemingly gasped with expressions of shock on their face. Shepard's brows furrowed suspiciously as both women turned and looked at her through the window. When they saw they were being watched, they immediately looked away and continued their conversation. They stayed out there, with Karin's stern expression now gone and Miranda retreating back to her cabin on the other side of the deck.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked herself silently.

"Wish I knew," groaned Feron from another bed.

Shepard looked over at him, completely forgetting that someone else was in the medbay. "Oh… hey," said Shepard as she sat up a bit to look at him. "How are you doing?"

His voice, despite being dry due to likely months of torture and malnourishment, still sounded strong. It was a contrast to Thane's who had almost a breathless quality to it as if it was hard to breathe. Something she shouldn't be surprised at given his illness. "I'd say things are looking up for me," he said tiredly from his own bed. "Your human doctor says she may be able to repair all of the damage done," he said before groaning in pain. "At least… the physical damage."

"That's good to hear. But that's not the only healing needed," said Shepard as she rolled over to face him. "I'll make sure you get the doctors you need to get back to a hundred percent."

"Thank you…" said the drell as he held back a cough.

"You don't have to thank me. If it wasn't for you and Liara, I'd be some genetic collector abomination right now," said Shepard as she winced at the horror of what they could do to her.

"Yesterday I kept trying to think of ways to end my life because I saw only suffering in my future. Even when I slept, the memories of acid eating at my skin and bones breaking haunted me. Taking my life was my only recourse, and I had been trying to find a way to do it for months," he said as he finally turned and looked at her. She could see even in the dimly lit room that he had been crying to himself silently in the bed ever since he had been rescued, his eyes waterlogged and the bed next to his head stained wet with tears. "You didn't deserve what the collectors would have done to you, so I'd still like to thank you if you don't mind."

She nodded silently. "Let me know if you need anything at all."

He turned his head and looked back up to the ceiling with his eyes closed as the door to the medbay opened again. She didn't know if he was pretending to sleep to avoid interrupting their conversation, or if he was just tired. But she turned back to Liara who had a large grin on her face. Shepard looked over to Doctor Chakwas who had a mute look of disinterest. "You have two days. If you get into so much as a staring contest I will know. No combat, no arguments, no nothing. Do I make myself clear?"

Shepard's brows rose in surprise. "What the hell happened out there? You should be handcuffing me to the bed right now," she asked suspiciously as she looked between the pair.

"That's what I'll be doing if you don't follow my orders. Two days," ordered Karin before she plopped down in the chair. "It'll be at least two days before we get there anyway, so sit back and relax until we arrive."

Shepard looked to Liara questioningly. But the asari simply smiled and leaned forward, pressing her forehead to the spectre's own. "Doctor's orders, Jane. Get some rest. We have some time before we arrive," said the woman, flooding the redhead with love through the skin contact.

"Who is going to watch the ship?" asked Shepard as she broke the contact and laid back to relax.

"Ashley and your new crewmate Kasumi said they could hold things down on the Val'Eda while we're gone. Kasumi already seems to know a great deal about the information trade," said Liara as she tilted her head curiously. "You have quite the new squad."

Shepard's brow cocked at the renaming of the ship. "Yes I do," said Shepard as she huffed and closed her eyes. Liara patted her hand gently before walking off to visit Feron next, and Shepard felt sleep grabbing at her as the pain from the bruises and her shoulder ached.


XO Quarters – SSV Normandy SR2

The yeoman was extremely nervous about this one. All of her previous patients, with the exception of Jack, were so amenable and friendly towards others. But despite her seeing the woman transform over her stay on the Normandy, she wasn't sure how their talk would go exactly. She had known Operative Lawson for a few months before Shepard came back to life, and the entire time she had been a frozen, clinical, woman with the bedside manner of a corpse. Lawson only ever had one thing on her mind for as long as Kelly had known her, following orders.

But the yeoman had seen a transformation over the last few months. Heck, she could see Shepard's influence even as far back as the initial take off of the new Normandy. The ice that Miranda had formed around herself began to crack like the glaciers from Earth had centuries ago, allowing huge chunks of her armor to fall off. She had gone from stiffly messaging crew members with one line instructions about their duties to sitting in the mess hall and handing them out daily while laughing and joking with them.

As for why… well, she knew Shepard's influence was a powerful force. Jack herself had changed from a rampaging serial murderer into a slightly more restrained rampaging serial murderer who only killed people who attempted to murder Shepard and her crew first. She knew Shepard having command would have eventually changed Miranda. But she also knew that there was a moment when a switch seemed to flip inside the woman. One day, she was her normal, frosty, self. Then practically the next day, she was as warm and sweet as pumpkin pie towards the spectre. Perhaps she would find out why that was soon enough.

She finally looked up from her datapad into the dark eyes of the XO, who stared at her almost annoyed. "I know, I know," said Kelly as she raised her hands defensively. "But it's Shepard's orders."

"Which is the only reason I'm not hurling you out of my office right now," said Miranda with slight amusement, though Kelly had no doubt that her threat was true. "Shepard said we need our bases covered, so let's get to it then. What do I have to do to get you to leave?"

"Talk to me," said Kelly, almost chuckling at the woman trying to game the system.

Miranda inhaled, and then blew a long lock of her raven hair out of her face. "Ugh… fine."

"How are you?" asked Kelly simply to try and break the ice.

"Extremely busy. I've been running R&D with Mordin and EDI trying to figure out every angle of how we can beat the collectors. We've been brainstorming about what they've been doing with colonists, we've been trying to figure out how they saw through the Normandy's original cloaking, and now we have to figure out how to open these prothean pods without killing them. Honestly, I've been running on fumes and coffee lately."

Fascinated at the queries they had been studying, Kelly tilted her head. "Did you find any answers?"

Operative Lawson's brow furrowed. "The collectors originally used to collect people to study rare genetic mutations. They seemed interested especially in biotics. But they've changed course. Now they don't care about mutations and are taking humans en masse. They can't need slaves or fuel. Making a Dyson Swarm and using automated machines would be far preferable to feeble organic slaves and could be done without the risk of their ship being blown in half. So that leaves our genetics. There may be something in us that they're farming."

"That sounds like a horror movie," said Kelly as she scrunched her face.

"It could very well be," said Miranda as she ran her hand through her hair thoughtfully. "There's a comic villain named Brainiac. He's an antagonist in Superman comics. Do you know them?"

Kelly stared at her wide eyed. "I do. Honestly, I'm surprised you do too."

"Joker won't shut up about them," said Miranda with a chuckle. "He keeps trying to guess the motivation behind the reapers using old comic book villains. While I feel like that's rather reductive, the one that actually had me wondering was Brainiac, who in later continuities would hijack a civilized world's media and download all information from using their planetary internet. Once he had information on every single living thing there was to know on the planet, he would exterminate the world, killing everyone and everything he hadn't taken as a sample."

"You think the reapers may be collecting us and putting us into a library, or some kind of cosmic zoo?" asked Kelly, bewildered at the prospect.

"I honestly don't know," said the XO with a shrug. "If you think about it, our brains are the most powerful super computers in the universe. There is no more complex structure than the brain. Organics, with all our flaws and mutations, are still more advanced as organisms than the geth or even the reapers. Maybe it has something to do with that." The operative didn't seem satisfied with the answer and just seemed to pout.

Kelly smiled briefly before deciding to change the topic. "I also noticed you've opened up a lot more since coming aboard the Normandy. Is the atmosphere here more welcoming to that, or did something happen?"

Miranda gave her a stern eye for a long moment. "I suppose it can't hurt to tell you," she said, having made up her mind. "When I was first given the order and the price tag for bringing Shepard back to life, I thought we were wasting our time and money. For the credits we used to bring her back, we could have bought and paid for an entire fleet of ships to do the job she was supposed to do."

"I'd heard about that. It was rather pricy. In the millions?" asked Kelly curiously.

"Add three more zeroes," said the XO placidly as she brushed her hair from her face.

"Billions!?" the yeoman practically screamed.

"Now you get my original dilemma. I thought the Illusive Man was paying billions of dollars for a mascot for humanity," said Miranda with a shrug. "While I wasn't exactly friendly with others to begin with, that definitely put me in a foul mood."

"I can see why," said the young woman as she took notes.

"But since coming aboard the Normandy I've discovered that Shepard is far more than just an inspiring face meant to rally the galaxy against the reapers. She's a far greater asset than even the Illusive Man intended, and I'm almost certain he underestimated her when he tried to keep influence over her. I've seen her instantly soothe a krogan big enough to eat her whole. I've seen her single handedly win a fight against a species with hyper advanced technology. And I've seen her, from scratch, learn to control her biotics so well that she could smack me in the back of the head from across the room before I could blink," she hissed, her voice more ranty than clinical anymore.

Kelly watched in amusement as the woman went over her frustrations. "Far exceeding expectations then?"

"Far exceeding," said Miranda with a grin this time. "While it may be frustrating figuring out how she does it, it also gives me hope like I've never had before. Thinking of fighting the reapers is grim and usually ends up in trying to imagine how we can sacrifice some of humanity to preserve the rest. After all, how do you fight thousands of ships that big and destructive? How do you fight an enemy that can turn your own against you with indoctrination?"

"As someone who stays on the ship the entire time, I can only imagine," said Kelly with a shudder.

"Seeing Shepard work makes me think we could be genuinely victorious. We could do more than just survive, we could win. And having that hope kind of helped me lose my barbed skin," said Miranda knowingly before taking a drink of her coffee.

"And was there anything else that happened recently?" asked the yeoman, scoring herself another of the woman's furrowed glares.

"She helped save my sister from getting kidnapped," said the woman as she looked down at her desk. Kelly was almost certain she was thinking about her sister at the moment. "Shepard helped me when I needed it the most. That's not something one forgets."

"And how is your sister doing?" asked Kelly as she immediately latched onto the topic.

The yeoman was surprised by the glowing smile that lit the woman's face. "She's a troublemaker. She keeps trying to hack into my email to find out what I really do because I can't exactly tell her who I work for," said the woman with a giggle.

"You can't tell her you work for Shepard?" asked Kelly as she tilted her head curiously.

Miranda seemed surprised for a moment before shaking her head. "No… she knows I work for Shepard. Or… work with Shepard to…" she stuttered slightly before stopping and restructuring herself. "She knows about Shepard. But she doesn't know what me and Shepard are doing."

"I see. You originally meant the Illusive Man," said Kelly, getting a nod from the operative. "Do you really even work for him anymore? Do any of us?"

"What does that mean?" asked the XO with a perturbed expression on her face.

"Imagine for me that Shepard defeats the reapers once and for all. Every last one is dead, the galaxy is free of the cycle, no more scary alien starships," started the psychiatrist, getting a nod from Miranda. "Are you going to go back to Cerberus?"

Miranda opened her mouth for a few moments before closing it again. When she did finally speak, she was still confused and fractured. "I… why wouldn't I…"

"I'm thinking about a career helping people with mental health in the colonies," said the yeoman as she shrugged. "With the experience I have out here, I've seen what they have to endure living on fringe worlds and having to fight off pirates and raiders. I think they could really use my services out there." Kelly leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "So, what does Miss Miranda Lawson want to do with herself once the war is over?"

Miranda stared at her for a long moment before looking down at her desk again. She knew that the XO was debating with herself. Cerberus would claim that humanity would always need them, but the truth is that Miranda had seen more of Cerberus than anyone else on the ship. And it was unlikely that she'd let go as easily as Kelly felt most of the crew was already doing.

Finally, though, Miranda answered. "I honestly don't know…"


Serrice Transport Station – Serrice – Thessia

As predicted, it took around 30 hours before they finally arrived at the asari homeworld. Shepard had only been there twice. The first time wasn't a pleasant experience, as she had to fight off an entire army of asari gangsters trying to take out a high profile judge. And despite the lack of explosions and gunfire, the second time was also pretty intense as all the fighting she did was political. Despite that, her battle across the Conclave gathering table came out positive as well. Either way, she would love to be able to just… be here without any kind of conflict this time.

As they stepped off Lia's transport shuttle, Serraia stood waiting for them at an unfamiliar location. Shepard, while most of her bandages were hidden, felt slightly embarrassed at meeting the woman again in her Frankenstein-like state. That said, she supposed never meeting her again would have been worse.

"It's always a worry when an asari bonds with a species with such a short lifespan," started the Matriarch as she knowingly grinned at Shepard. "Going into such a relationship, you almost prepare yourself for the grief of their death ahead of time. But it appears Liara has gotten lucky and bonded with the only human incapable of dying."

"Very funny," groaned Shepard with a pleasant, if not tired smile. "It's good to see you again, Serraia."

"You as well, Jane," said the matriarch as the two of them very gently greeted each other in the asari manner. "I've heard you've been keeping busy on Illium. Our house gained a great deal of leverage over Jona Sederis when you eradicated most of her mercenaries," snickered the woman as Aethyta stepped up as well. Serraia turned to her and bowed her head politely. "Aethyta."

"Serraia," said the sassy bartender with a smile. "Been a while since we last spoke."

"Your daughter followed in your footsteps it seemed," said the matriarch as she looked to Liara. "She told asari high society to go to hell."

"That'a girl," said the woman as she patted her spawn on the back.

Liara just smiled at them both. "I'm glad I was able to make you both so proud," she said before turning to Shepard. The spectre immediately noticed the woman had a worried look on her face. "Jane… before we go inside, there's something I need to explain about Serraia's bondmate…"

Shepard eyed the doctor curiously. "Is she human?"

"No…" said Liara as she looked around nervously. "She's an asari matriarch."

Shepard's brows rose as she turned to the much older woman. "That's rare from what I've heard. Congratulations for also telling asari high society to go to hell."

"The tide is turning in our favor," said Serraia with a shrug. "More asari are coming out as bonded with asari than ever before. After we gained spaceflight and discovered other species, I mean."

"Glad to hear it," said Shepard as she turned to Liara curiously. "So, what's the deal with her?"

"She's a bit eccentric and…" stuttered the asari. "Wants to be human…"

Shepard was taken aback at the claim. "I'm sorry?"


Ahhotep Estate – Serrice – Thessia

Shepard could hardly believe her eyes as she saw the building she was about to enter. The estate was fairly large, though not as large as the T'Soni estate before Serraia had taken over. But if the spectre had woken up right where she was with no memory of how she had gotten here, she'd have thought she had time travelled before believing she was on Thessia. In front of her was what looked like Ancient Giza on the Nile River back on Earth. A large pyramid stood before her with an entire courtyard filled with obelisks and statues of mythological creatures from Egyptian mythology. A great sphinx stood on either side of the doorways into the pyramid itself with the only difference being that they had the pharaonic headdresses altered to show the asari crest that was built into them.

"What has science done?" asked Shepard sarcastically as she saw the depth to which the asari matriarch had gone to completely plagiarize an entire ancient human culture. As they approached, Shepard watched the doors open and inside, controlling the doors were no doubt servants of the estate, some wearing little more than a sandy colored loincloth while others wore high-end looking dresses made in the same fashion. All of them wearing similar headwear to the ancient royals of Egypt. It was then that her eyes fell upon the woman herself.

She sat on what looked to be an Egyptian-styled throne inlaid with pearls and other gemstones as well as having carvings of the iconic ancient hieroglyphic language. The asari matriarch sat in it with a white hedjet crown on her head. She also had tattoos of the Eye of Ra over her literal eye and an ankh on the back of her left hand. Shepard looked up at the smile on her face before turning to Liara with a look of sheer oblivion on her face.

Trying to keep her voice down, Liara nodded gently. "I know, Jane…"

"Does she know that the pyramids were graves?" asked Shepard as she looked around the room and saw that the entire thing had artistic renderings of ancient wall carvings with the humans replaced by asari.

"I very much doubt that…" said the doctor as she turned to her bondmate and gripped her hands. "Jane, I'm an archaeologist. I know how… utterly horrifying all of this is. But please remember what Karin said about conflict. And please try not to get thrown out before I can even make introductions," said the asari in amusement.

"Would Serraia get offended if I started roasting her over her appropriation?" asked the spectre quietly as well.

"She'd probably thank you for putting her in her place. But I'd rather get to why we came here," said Liara as she nodded towards the back.

It was then that Shepard realized that this place was likely where Liara's partner had been in hiding. To be honest, if she wanted to hide away from assassins, she could think of few places more effective than the back room of an eccentric asari cosplayer's estate. Just being in this recreated throne room was already overwhelming her senses. "Understood."

Finally, they turned back and saw as the asari matriarch was stepping down from the dais upon which her throne sat. When she reached the floor that they stood on, she greeted Liara warmly. "Welcome to my home, Noble Liara."

"Thank you, Noble Nephthys," said Liara as the two greeted each other with the asari embrace.

Shepard groaned inwardly at the woman using the Egyptian goddess's name for her matriarchal namesake. She knew that when asari women entered the matriarch stage of their life, they essentially dropped their last name and chose the name that they would be known by in asari society. Many asari used their first name, as had been the case with Benezia. But many decided on something that meant more to them than their own name had, such as Samara. And apparently this asari had chosen to take her name from Earth mythology.

Reaching up, she rubbed her furrowed brows, making sure to hide the act before the pair had split apart. Finally, the matriarch addressed her. "And you are Jane Shepard! I've heard so much about you!" said the woman as she reached forward for the embrace. Shepard sighed, and let out all of her awkwardness in one large breath. Taking her hands out of her jacket pockets, she just saw her as the woman who had been helping Liara. When they finally embraced, she felt excitement and joy at the meeting, no doubt because the asari had very few interactions with actual humans due to her responsibilities here on Thessia.

When they finally split apart again, Shepard smiled at her. "It's good to meet you! I got to meet Serraia when I was here a few years ago, but I never got a chance to meet her partner."

"That was a very tense time for Noble Serraia," said Nephthys as she grinned at her. "So, what do you think?" she asked almost timidly as she waved her arms around the room.

Shepard gave her a painful grin. "It's very eye-catching," said the woman as she looked around.

"I know! I started studies on human cultures last year and it was all I could do to stop myself to sleep and eat! Human cultures are so expansive and fascinating!" said the matriarch, sounding more like a maiden than the older, wise leaders that matriarchs were portrayed as.

"Is that right?" asked Shepard curiously, wondering what she found so fascinating about the human situation.

"Of course! Asari culture stagnates rather quickly for me. We live such long lives that cultural changes are likely to happen less often as a result. But humans only live for a century, maybe a century and a half. Culture moves so fast that the entire span of your Egpytian civilization fit within three asari lifetimes," she said, still grinning at the morbid fact.

Shepard then realized how right she was. In the span of a single asari life the human world transitioned from the conquest of Genghis Khan to landing on the moon. The cultural changes in that span of time would have been vast and numerous, especially to an asari who would be able to experience the entire thing first hand had they been on Earth. "I suppose you're right. On one world you could have witnessed the Song Dynasty and the American Revolution, two very distinct parts of history."

"Part of the asari curse is that with our long life, we don't have any safeguards to the stubbornness born in every sentient species. We find something we like, and we usually stay liking that for our entire lives. So, when you mix that with living for a thousand years, our culture moves at the pace of one of your Earth turtles," she said and shook her head. "It takes three to five hundred years for something to fall out of cultural trend. Your people had created a hundred different music genres in the span of time it took the asari to stop commonly using autotune in ours."

"I could see that getting boring, fast," said Shepard, wondering if the woman before her had some form of asari ADHD. Her hyperactivity, her weird study of ancient cultures, and obsession over said topics led her to believe she may be experiencing such a thing.

"Exactly. But, you didn't come here to hear me ramble on about asari culture," she said before turning to Liara and nodding to her. "She's waiting for you. I will inform Noble Aethyta of the situation."

The doctor breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed Shepard's hand before pulling her away from the matriarch. Shepard still groaned as she was pulled into the hallway in back. Even if the woman was right that asari saw such cultural changes at a much slower pace, it didn't make it right for her to steal cultural iconography from those cultures and set herself up as an Egyptian pharaoh. Instead, she pushed thoughts of the woman aside and allowed her bondmate to guide her through the house. Much to her surprise, the rest of the house was rather normal for asari standards. It appear that only the portion they had entered through had the pyramid aesthetic to it.

Finally, Liara stopped before a door. Instead of opening it, Liara turned to Shepard and gripped her hands fiercely. The spectre eyed her curiously. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just anxious for you two to finally meet," said Liara with a small smile. "I've been waiting for this day ever since you awoke again."

"You really think we'll hit it off, don't you?" asked Shepard with a reassuring smile.

"I certainly hope so," said Liara before she turned to the console next to the door. Entering a complicated series of commands, the door finally opened. The doctor turned to her and nodded for Shepard to enter the room.

The redhead noticed immediately that the light was out in the room. "Is she sleeping?" she asked quietly as she stepped inside.

"She woke up a few minutes ago according to Nephthys," said Liara, her voice wavering slightly.

Shepard stepped further inside and looked around. "Sensitive eyes?" she asked, but she froze solid as the sound of a soft coo came from in front of her. She knew what the sound was, but her brain wasn't cooperating. The sound had broken something off in her mind, something that made her hands shake. "Liara, turn on the lights," she ordered immediately.

Doing as ordered, her bondmate slid her finger up the side of the door, allowing a dim glow to begin emanating from the corners of the room. And Shepard immediately felt her heartbeat increase by what felt like a thousand fold as she saw a small crib in front of her. Feeling her heartbeat in her ears, she stepped forward and looked down into the crib to see a tiny, infant asari. Unlike the one she had seen in the vision with Aethyta, this small creature had almost a full crest already, but it had grown away from the base of the skull, looking like small wings attached to her head.

Reaching down, Shepard felt her eyes watering as she lifted the small, yawning child from the bed and looked her in the face. She almost immediately noticed that she had almost spot for spot the same freckles that Jane had dotted across her own nose. After finishing her giant yawn, the baby looked up at her, her blue eyes curious. Reaching forward with a tiny hand, they grabbed her nose, almost immediately forming a meld with the spectre.


Shepard found herself somewhere else moments later. She wasn't on Thessia anymore, she was standing amidst the stars of the galaxy, her body an eternal flame with wings spanning eons of space time. She didn't know if this was her internal safe area, or if she was somewhere else in her mind entirely. All she knew was that she wasn't in control of it, and she couldn't control the fact that her fire was burning bright enough to light the entire expanse between galaxies.

As she looked down, she saw a small silver burning light at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Even having no experience or knowledge as a parent, she knew what it was. Reaching down, she gently cradled the flame, feeling her heart beat inside her fiery body faster as she did. Gently she took the small flame from the middle of the galaxy, causing it to dim as if her light made it brighter. Looking down at the tiny spark that she held in her hand, she knew. She didn't know if it was maternal instinct, paternal instinct, or some other natural force. But she knew that she would burn the universe clean of everything to make sure she lived a happy life. She wanted to protect her, to care for her, to keep her from seeing the darkness of the universe.

Reaching up, her arm crossing the gaps between galaxies, she slid her hand inside her own chest and placed the small silver flame where her heart would be. She would be there forever, and the universe would have to get through Shepard herself in order to bring any harm to this little one. With the silver flame burning inside her, she roared loud enough to turn worlds to dust and to cause stars to shatter. Her normally red flame burned brighter and brighter until the entire void was now burning with heat. It was in that moment that she burned away the last of the fog in her mind.


? - ?

Liara gasped as Shepard flopped back into the bed. Both of them were naked and Shepard was sweating heavily as a warm grin plastered her face. "Goddess… that was… mind-numbing!" squealed the asari as she felt her legs shaking from ecstasy.

"Congratulations on feeling your first human orgasm," said Jane as she nuzzled gently into Liara's back.

"Do all human women feel this when they mate?" asked the doctor, bewildered at the feeling radiating her body.

Shepard eyed her curiously before thinking. "If men are involved, usually not," she said jokingly, but she only got a blank stare from her bondmate. "Sorry, human stereotype," she said as she waved the comment away. "It really depends on your partner. Some are more caring, more interested in giving you pleasure. Others couldn't be bothered."

"I see," she said before sitting up on the bed, feeling another shiver through her body. Shepard knew that Liara had only felt her own pleasure second hand, but it had apparently been enough to break their meld entirely. "I… do not wish to come off as childish or ignorant. But do humans procreate the same as turians?"

Shepard nodded, having had more than her fill of the biology from when she was a teen. "Mostly. The male impregnates the female through sex, fertilizing eggs that are kept here," she said as she pointed to her abdomen where her uterus would be if she had one. "The difference being that most turian women experience estrus, or a seasonal increase in hormones around four times a year. I don't know if it's smell or some other indicator, but the men somehow sense this cycle, and it triggers hormones in him that make them want to copulate."

"Dimorphic biology is incredible. To think this refined method managed to make it through millions of years of refining," said Liara with a fascinated look on her face.

"With human women, we typically ovulate once per month, or around twelve times a year. Our body supplies an egg for up to a week once per month, and we can get impregnated in that time," said the redhead as she sat up cross legged. She hadn't prepared to give a biology lesson after sex, but she loved seeing Liara learn new things.

"But human women don't experience estrus like turians? Do they have something similar?" asked Liara as she laid on her side and stared up at Shepard.

"We have menstrual cycles, which sometimes are the opposite. They're actually a nightmare for some women," she said, shaking her head and being grateful she didn't have to deal with that. "But we do experience arousal. It can happen at random times on occasion, but mostly when we're being affectionate with people we find attractive. That's where the human sex drive comes from."

"I see. So, if you were to get pregnant, it would take you around nine months according to Earth's calendar. That's slightly longer than asari who gestate for around… seven or eight months by the same calendar," said the doctor as she scratched her chin.

"Yes, but I'm not able to get pregnant," she said with a shrug. "But most human women are capable of pregnancy and they do gestate for about nine months."

Liara tilted her head curiously. It looked like she was about to ask about the oddity of her inability to get pregnant. But instead, she simply said, "I can," with an inviting look.

Immediately, Shepard's face flushed at the claim. "Indeed you can, good doctor," she said with a grin. She looked down at the bed, pushing away the primal thoughts that the doctor's simple words inspired in her. "Do you really want to?"

Liara smiled, her playful attitude from a moment ago gone long enough to dispel her worries it seemed. "Of course I do."

"Do you want to just in case… I… you know," asked Shepard, her insecurities showing again.

Liara looked at her in surprise for a moment. "Of course not!" she said, almost outraged. "I do not wish to have a child with you just to secure some kind of legacy," said the doctor as she laid her head in the spectre's lap. "Whatever the future may hold, I know you'll be a great parent. I love you and I trust you, and I know you and I have a lot of work ahead of us. But that shouldn't stop us from preparing for a future for when the reapers are gone."

"I suppose you're right," said Shepard with a small smile as she ran a finger along the asari's chin. "Do you think that day will actually come? When we don't have to work anymore?"

"I'm positive it'll come, and I'm also positive that once the last reaper is dead, you aren't going to stop working," said the doctor as she sat back up. Shepard felt her face glowing with heat once more as Liara grabbed her shoulders and pinned her to the bed. "Now, she me what else human women can do," she said before leaning down and kissing her again, their meld beginning instantly as she did.


As Shepard emerged from the meld with the infant, she looked down. She hadn't noticed the entire time they were linked together, but her face was now soaked with tears as she stared down at the adorable child they had created together. Letting go of her nose, the toddler simply said, "Pa… pa… Apa…"


CODEX ENTRIES

Apa | Translation | Asari Alai
An affectionate term usually used for a father figure by children of asari. Similar to 'daddy' from the human English language or 'sassa' from the quarian language of Khelish. Very few species have these pet names for fathers, typically due to how their culture views adult men.