Olive Branch in Transit

Without the caretaker gremlins the Citadel was a long way from even being habitable by more than a few emergency personnel. Given the size of the station, a galactic cycle would probably pass before it was fully operational again… and even then who knows at what capacity.

Sheppard’s choice left the Citadel a dead husk floating in geosynchronous orbit around Terra and above London. Anything beyond an emergency crew of personnel was asking for trouble. In addition, there was the problem that over eighty percent of the station’s inner workings was unknown because of the council’s ban on studying the caretaking species.

That was on account that they died the moment they were touched by any entity.

So Garrus and Tali salvaged what limited tech they could find on the way back to the Normandy. It was still a long way from fully operational, itself; But it got them to the Lazarus Station ahead of everyone else.

During the flight. Miranda showed up in the Commander’s old quarters that Liara was currently living. She never thought of moving her items to another quarters. The rest of the crew were loath to bring up the subject and even Admiral Hackett seems content to leave her in Command of the Normandy for now. The idea is that it was temporary anyhow.

“Liara you are wrong by the way.” Miranda said while startling a morose Asari Shadow Broker.

Liara glares at Miranda, daring her to finish the statement, “The galaxy is in short supply of doctors at the moment. Medical or otherwise, and it would be foolish to ask you to be anywhere but with me reconstructing Sheppard’s burnt flesh.

“Unlike last time, yours will be one of the first, if not the first, face that Sheppard sees when he awakens.” Miranda said uncharacteristically sympathetically to Liara.

The atypical gesture threw Liara back. She was prepared for Miranda to be as cold and calculating as she always had been. Saving her sister’s life seemed to have been the lone exception to that rule.

However, Miranda is now looking at Liara as something of a kindred soul if nothing else. “I should hate you… but you are making it difficult to do that.”

Miranda smiles with a smirking expression, “I get it, Sheppard told me after we took down the Shadow Broker about your conversation… ‘big tittied bimbo’ I believe the words were or something to that effect”

Blushing Liara looks away somewhat ashamed her vulgar comments had made it to Miranda’s ears. It seemed especially foolish given Sheppard’s ultimate choice and explaining that her fear of his rejection of her was abundantly misguided.

An epiphany pops into Liara's mind as she recognizes that Sheppard has repeatedly shown her recurring fear as misguided. Of course, now that she had chosen to let a little one grow within her from her time with Sheppard in the past, she could just blame it on hormones. Given that she has been letting the same fear repossess her mind, she admits she needs to find whatever lesson her higher self has been trying to teach her. That would be for later though.

“I… Look I am sorry about that” Liara was anything but sorry really but she accepted Miranda’s offer of friendship and agreed with her first statement. Liara would be there when Sheppard had eyes to open again. “This is just bringing back a lot of old memories I would rather forget.”

“You should avoid that…” Cryptically adding is Miranda.

“Say what?” Liara asks with a confused expression. Her time with Sheppard has colored her choice of words when speaking English.

“Trying to forget the past is a mistake, Sheppard taught me that in many ways. First was in his reconstruction. Ironically, Timmy {The Illussive Man}, kept me from altering his memories in any way and I am grateful he did. At the time, I failed to realize how every moment of the past helps define who we are. To ‘regret’ anything is to devalue who we are today.”

“I…” At a loss for words, :Liara failed to have a response to that.

After a moment of silence hung in the air, “I just wanted you to know, that a romantic rival fails to be me in any way.”

The declaration from Miranda, causes Liara’s eyes exploded and moisten. She stood and moved over to Miranda gently touching her face. It was her turn to be shocked. It was completely different attitude than what Liara was expressing before.

“I know, I was being silly before. I… As I said, seeing him like that brought back bad memories. But you are right about avoiding making the choice to regret any part of our past.

“There was a time several years ago, when Spectre Ashley **** Sheppard to choose between her and me. At the time, I… Asari culture tends to be accepting of polyamorous romantic partners in any given union. When you live for a millenia, people can drift apart as they grow. Therefore it can help soften the shock when someone leaves.

“I guess I just let my fear compel me to see Sheppard as replacing me with you… and… I doubt I will ever allow myself to grow separate from Sheppard.”

Miranda giggles at the idea which causes Liara to arch an eyebrow, “I could never replace you Liara. That is part of the reason Sheppard and I would always just be friends. Maybe friends with benefits but still just friends. See the degree to which my father manipulated my genetics left me infertile. My sister was far more lucky in that regard and escaped that genetic damnation.”

Now responding to Liara’s overtures, her hips are being tightly held by Miranda as she gently presses into Liara. That causes her to smile warmly but for more reasons than just physical.

“You literally brought a man back from the dead. Yet you resign yourself to not being able to have children…?…”

A moment of silence passed before Miranda smiled, it was the third time in a matter of moments and she so rarely ever smiled for anything. Nonetheless, this was a warm and genuine smile from her heart.

“I never thought of it that way and while you are right; I am still at a loss for how to fix the issue.”

“That’s because you are a soldier and politician at heart Miranda, not a scientist or doctor. If you approached it with the same determination as rebuilding Sheppard the last time, you will see it as I do, just a trial to adapt, improvise, and overcome.”

Squeezing Liara into Miranda, she continues her warm smile, “Am I to take this as meaning you forgive me and will help me overcome…?…”

Liara kisses Miranda softly on the lips for a prolonged period of time before breaking distance between them, reluctantly. “More that I trust Sheppard implicitly and he obviously saw… he ‘sees’ something in you that makes me more embarrassed about how I acted before.

“The human concept of jealousy over mates and wanting monogamous relationships escapes us Asari. While I could never see myself with anyone but Sheppard, I know him and he would never have sex with you unless he saw a future with you. Or more appropriately now, with us.”

The ship’s intercom buzzed with Lieutenant Kelly Chambers {yes it is a departure from the vanilla story}, “Liara, I thought you would like to know we are out of FTL transit and docking with Lazarus Station. It seems Admiral Hackett already had ships on the way to repair the facility when he first contacted us.”

Liara smiles absentmindedly at Ms. Chambers. It took a great deal of convincing Ms. Chambers that she was safer on the Normandy than anywhere else in the galaxy. However, Sheppard had a way of convincing people to see things his way.

Abruptly Miranda laughs now more boisterously than before, “We are already making plans for the future and we haven’t even started.”

Miranda is eyed speculatively by Liara, that causes Miranda to backtrack a little, “I am sorry, yes I would like to get to know you better too Liara.

“Sheppard had mentioned that encounter during your first run to Ilos. I told him I would cut his balls off if he tried that with me… and here I am accepting exactly that. He is far from the only one who has a way of getting people to do what he wants them to do.”

Liara grabs Miranda’s hand after slipping her jumpsuit back on. It was standard military uniform while on mission in the Earth Alliance. It helped her feel more close to Sheppard, and so it was an easy change to make for Liara at the time. Now it was just habit.

Miranda was pulled along back to the lift by Liara, “Come, I hadn’t expected the personnel from Hackett so early but I did use my Shadow Broker resources to dock my ship with the station. Outside of the Normandy, it is probably the most advanced starship in the Galaxy.”

With surprise Miranda asks without thinking, “I thought you rammed it into a collector flag ship?”

Smirking Liara replies, “I did, but have you seen Collector ships Miranda? They aren’t exactly tiny. My crew managed to subdue its skeleton crew after the rest of their fleet left due to Sheppard’s actions during the war. I am unsure why they left it but I was far from going to let the opportunity go to waste.”

“Are you saying what I think you are saying? A collector ship is docked with Lazarus Station?”