AN: And we're back as promised with our perception of time significantly changed. We thought we had a lot of time until September and… surprise! The joke is on us. As stated before, Helena Author started a new job which will require her to do some globetrotting for the next few months. Due to that updates might vary from the usual schedule, but we will keep you up to date with when.

A few notes – this story will contain significant spoilers for Lair of the Shadow Broker. We will be incorporating certain elements from author Huntington's Bride's Shadow Play. The link can be found under our favourites. The author has given us permission to do so.

Also – the chapters will be shorter than they had been for Shattered Reality. Where almost each of the previous story's chapters clocked in around 10,000 words – this will be about half. We've found that 5,000 words are more manageable.

Chapter 01

It was a question she asked herself almost every day. She had thought that it was rhetorical, that there was no answer. There were many questions like that these days. Questions that stemmed from the most frightening places of her memory.

What am I doing here?

Helena didn't know and it was frustrating. Or that's what she told herself. When fear tried to wash over what calm she maintained, when terror tried to break through the clouds of her anger, that was what she told herself. She wasn't scared, she wasn't terrified, she wasn't even bothered by her nightmares, by screams that haunted her in the darkness.

No. She was simply frustrated because she had a question that didn't seem to have an answer.

What is an author in a created world?

She didn't think that she could answer that because this was not her world. But it was a world, a world created by her friend. Her friend that was as lost as she was. Pulled from their own reality, the two of them had come to the universe of the Mass Effect game more than a month ago. But not just the game, they came to Rinn's imagined fan fiction version of it. The story that had not yet been written, not completely. But the story which conclusion Helena knew. That Helena had helped fashion in some way. The story of an indoctrinated Katelyn Theresa Shepard.

A Shepard that failed.

"Helena?"

The voice made her shiver. The touch…

Helena blinked and stared at the person beside her, a dark-haired woman that looked of Latin origin. Of course, a lot of humans looked that way these days, their skin blended with various shades of undertones. It was what happened to humanity in the future, the appearance of aliens had turned away most bias to race and colour. It was something Helena appreciated about the future because she had come from a country where various forms of racism were almost an everyday occurrence.

"Helena, did you hear me?" The woman had her hand on her back, the other in the crook of her right elbow.

Hear you? Helena thought and blinked, pulling herself away from her thoughts. She shivered again and realised that she had let go of the blanket that covered the half-naked part of her body. Hear you? She tried to focus, get a grip on reality and try to remember the last words the woman had spoken to her.

I had been listening… sort of.

"I asked if it's comfortable, it's not supposed to pull anywhere. Can you move your elbow for me?"

Helena shivered again, noticed a dark hair on her pants and wished that she could pick it off. The woman's touch in her arm was giving off the slightest sensation of burning. It was imaginary, she knew it. That was what kept her from jerking away. I hate touch.

"I ah, I can," Helena said and took a steadying breath. She was sitting on a table like bed, used in therapy. "That I can, most certainly. Sorry..." She had to think for a moment. "Annie."

Annie. Dr Annie Proux. She was a doctor of physical therapy, of rehabilitation. This was only Helena second visit to her, but the woman had been very informal from the beginning, insisting on addressing each other on a first name basis. It wasn't that odd to Helena. Physiotherapists in her time didn't have a title, but science had become more specialised in the future. And Nos Astra only let in the best, only allowed the very, very best 'aliens' to practice. It was for their own good of course. The city, and planet, was asari controlled and they had hundreds of years to become experts in their field. Only a few non-asari scientists could make the cut and Annie seemed to have been among the select few.

The doctor was looking at her, waiting. She seemed to study Helena's features then glanced at her assistant, a young asari maiden with hopes of becoming a therapist herself one day.

"Helena, are you alright?" She said. "Is the brace hurting you? You have to tell me, the idea is not for it to be uncomfortable."

Uncomfortable? Your touch is uncomfortable.

Helena bit her tongue hard and stopped the shiver that threatened to erupt in her right elbow. "I'm good," she said. "Sorry, just thinking. You asked me to move my elbow?"

The physiotherapist nodded, studying her critically. Helena wondered what she knew about her, what had been carried over with her files. She had been on Illium for two weeks, spending most of her time in and out of hospital as the doctors finished Miranda's reconstruction. Her muscles, tendons and nerves had all but completely regenerated. Skin had been planted over her wound. But that was just half of the journey, half of the rehabilitation. The truth was that she still faced weeks of therapy to get to use the shoulder again. To learn how to control her own body. The muscles might've regenerated, but they might as well have been a part of someone else's body. Helena couldn't move them. The nerves tingled and ached, but refused to obey her.

They had to be taught.

Helena was strangely detached about the whole process. She had to because otherwise the constant attention would've driven her mad. Besides, she had other things with which to occupy her mind.

What is an author in a created world? She asked herself again as she carefully moved her arm, allowing herself to feel the unfamiliar sensation on her shoulder and neck. What am I in this one?

"That's good," Annie murmured. "Any discomfort?"

Apart from the usual…

"No," Helena said and tried to smile. "It feels fine."

Annie smiled at her, but Helena got the feeling that she didn't quite trust her answer. Well tough.

"As I've explained," the physio said with a friendly smile. "Last thing off at night, first thing on in the morning. With this you won't need to wear the sling anymore. You're going to need helping putting it on at first; I was hoping that Dr T'Soni would be here today."

Helena tried to study the brace that had been strapped to her shoulder and upper arm, but decided to wait until she had a mirror. "She has business to attend to," she said. "But she'll be fine. I'll have help."

The physiotherapist raised her brow and made a note on her datapad. "I'll follow up," she said. "Now, as I've explained to you, I've programmed it with a set of exercises. We're going to run through them now. At first, they will be automatic, you just need to program in the time that you are ready. I need you to do them twice a day. When I see you again, we'll see how the muscles have responded and adjust the setting. The idea is to guide your muscles into becoming responsive. To trigger the nerve pathways. Do you remember?"

Helena did and didn't particularly like Annie's tone. When they first met, right after her last surgery, Annie had explained to her what her treatment would be like for the next few months. Helena had paid attention on that day and even if she hadn't she'd still have been able to put two and two together.

But Helena nodded none the less and smiled, hiding her irritation. She couldn't blame Dr Proux for checking up on her. She had been distracted throughout the meeting, but she couldn't help herself. Her mind was… everywhere.

"I think I'll just go over it again," Annie said. "And I want you to explain it to Dr T'Soni. You are still living with her?"

Not for long, Helena thought happily but nodded.

"A mate's joining us," she said, giving voice to the thought that had been her biggest distraction all day. "My mate. She's coming in from abroad." Abroad was a vague term in the future, it could've meant anywhere within the known and unknown galaxy so people rarely asked for specifics.

Annie smiled, seemingly genuinely happy for her. The doctor's fingers were moving over the edge of the brace, checking for folds. She still had her hand on Helena, but had shifted it to her upper arm.

"Tell me when it hurts," she said. "See if you can follow my movement. That's nice, is it a visit?"

Helena hesitated, then smiled and shook her head. "No," she said, unable to hide her excitement. "It's permanent. Rinn is… she's coming to live here. Work here. She's… a good mate of mine."

Annie's eyes met hers again and she smiled. "That's very good to hear, Helena," she said. "If she's going to live with you, I would suggest bringing her to the next session. It's good that your... mate knows what needs to be done."

The thought made sense, but it still made Helena cringe. In a way, she wanted Rinn to have as little to do with her arm as possible. Not because she didn't trust her friend, but because she felt that the woman hardly needed a reminder of what had happened in the mine almost two months before.

But one of the hardest lessons she's learned since coming to this created world was that she needed help. And, if she swallowed her pride, there was nothing wrong with that.

"I think it looks good," Annie was saying, still talking about the brace. "I'll follow up with you tonight to hear if you're in any pain. It might need some more adjusting. Are you ready to run through the exercises with me?"

Helena's enthusiasm was very fake.

"Bring it on," she said, but her mind was drifting again, thinking about Rinn, thinking about her shoulder, thinking about Nos Astra and all its aliens.

A new life, she thought. A new reality. Even a new shoulder. She turned her gaze out of the window as Annie began to instruct her on how to conduct the exercises.

But to what point? What was the meaning of all of this? Why am I here?

It was something she couldn't wait to discuss with Rinn. Heck, she couldn't wait to have a face-to-face conversation with her friend. Two weeks weren't a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it felt like a lifetime.

And being here will finally allow us some privacy, Helena thought happily. Rinn and I might finally be able to have a decent conversation.

It was the colours that struck her. The cool white lights lighting the walkways; the softened pallet of the restaurants, shops and trade posts; the periwinkle skyline submitting to darker hues of blue as the dusk faded behind tall, intimidating buildings decorated by streams of the flickering whites and reds of skycar lights. Intimidating might have been the best word to use when describing her reaction to what she was taking in. Beautiful, inspiring and intimidating. A world in which she could disappear. A world in which she felt very, very small.

That's how Rinn felt as she walked out of the Normandy. Nervous, overwhelmed and very small despite her tall, broad-shouldered frame. She towered over most of those who stood around her and yet they all seemed far more at ease with their surroundings than she did. Perhaps it was because they were used to it, used to where they fit in it, used to being part of it all. Rinn felt none of that and she knew she wouldn't have even if circumstances hadn't made her even more foreign to the world - to any world. To the universe at large.

She tried very hard not to think about that and the now familiar, and completely sub-conscious, itch at the base of her skull where Miranda Lawson had inserted the cybernetic implant that allowed her to be herself. She tried not to think of the myriad of worries that bombarded her as hard as everything around her. What if it got zapped? What if it got hacked? What if? What if?

Shut up.

A hand came to rest on her lower back and her green eyes met that of Katelyn Shepard. The touch was meant to be comforting and Rinn felt both gratitude for the commander's understanding and resentment that she needed to be strengthened. That she couldn't just be strong on her own.

"Ready?" the ginger asked softly and Rinn gave a small nod. "Alright," Katelyn said, shifting the small, light-weight container in the crook of her elbow. "Let's go."

The pathways were clean. Perhaps not clean enough to eat from, as the saying goes, but pretty darn close. The Galaxy News Network screen the group walked past informed them that Delumcose Systems CEO Jaxum Borlin was actually a fake and that Rolan Quarn had been impersonating him for two years. The name meant nothing to Rinn, but there was this niggling sensation that she had heard or read something about that before. She made a mental note to look it up later.

Beyond the news screen, the hybrid could hear traders and customers inform, negotiate, argue and haggle their way into equitable transactions. Like walking through a multi-cultural city, Rinn picked up the races as one would have recognized languages. Turian, asari, human, volus, hanar – an interesting, though overwhelming, cacophony. She inhaled deeply taking in the scent of so many different races all together.

Along with a stronger, hardier body, Rinn had discovered that other things had changed as well. Her sight was no longer plagued with the slightest astigmatism that worsened her already bumbling form. Her hearing was sharper and her olfactory sense was also enhanced. It made sense. Husks were hunters. Frontline foot soldiers. Why would they not be equipped to stalk after their prey?

A few people paused to look their way. Some allowed themselves only a single glance while others stared outright. Katelyn's shoulders twitched and then squared again, walking as the soldier – as the commander – she was. Rinn frowned at their spectators, wondering what they were thinking.

Soon enough, their feet found familiar steps as Katelyn led them through the front entrance of Liara's offices. The realisation sent a shiver through the hybrid and she swallowed down a nervous lump, all while trying to ignore the knot in her stomach. She wasn't sure what they'd find. The locale would be different, that much Rinn knew. It was one of the things she had considered peculiar before they had found themselves stuck in this galaxy. There would have to be a front door – and there was. There would thus have to be a front desk, more than one office, perhaps a conference room to the side. She had never nailed down the image in her mind, but she somehow knew that what was upstairs would make more sense to her. Even if the question why did not. This existence was, at least to some extent, her own. And while she knew that she had no real control, she also knew that there would be small changes that made the place her own. Even though she didn't know Katelyn fully, what she guessed about Katelyn ended up being true. As she learnt, so it was. At least with Katelyn who was her own character after all, and at least in the small things. So then why not in something as simple as office space?

But it was not the change of office space that worried her, but rather the asari somewhere in it. Katelyn's Liara was... warmer… That much Rinn knew. She loved the commander. She would fight for her – the story would have demanded that. Beyond that, however, the hybrid did not know what she'd find. The asari wasn't her own creation and wasn't a personality she had remotely figured out. And Liara's character in the story was also based on the future Rinn no longer remembered. No longer had access to due to the nanocytes stuck to her synapses and wherever else. She couldn't form any picture as result and the uncertainty unnerved her a little. A part of her was excited. She had been fond of Liara as the archaeologist. Insanely naive – almost to the point of irritation – the asari still had held a quality that tugged at Rinn. A quality that no doubt pulled at Katelyn too. But Liara as the information broker? There wasn't enough in the initial ME2 that gave insight. Apart from Katelyn running around hacking terminals for her, the asari became more a shadow than a friend.

The front desk was empty, but the commander didn't pause, walking past what seemed to be a conference room and directly into an open office nearby. Liara T'Soni stood near the door, her eyes bright despite her otherwise neutral features. The asari's presence made her height deceptive. She didn't feel small, but she was only about as tall as Katelyn was, well short of Rinn and the other occupant who stood deeper in the room.

Helena did not look the same as she had before the mine, but then she never had since then. Still that difference seemed to be more pronounced. She looked smaller. Diminished, the word came to mind. Yet she stood as straight-shouldered as her injury allowed, keeping her right arm close to her body, its hand hidden in her pocket. She had her chin up and her eyes were clear, observing. She was always watching, always listening.

She might be good at information brokering.

When their gazes met, she smiled at Rinn, though it too seemed unsure. Maybe she's just in pain. The hybrid returned the unsteady smile with one of her own.

Liara's face softened ever so slightly as her and Katelyn's eyes met. Rinn felt a shift in the air, subtle but there. In her story, she knew the two loved each other, just like something was growing between Katelyn and Samara. For some reason though, her past self had leaned towards the latter pairing, but she didn't know why. It didn't make sense now, seeing these two together in the office, but the nagging feeling remained. Perhaps it was simply that their path wasn't as simple. Perhaps it would take longer with more questions, more reasons for them to be together or not. Perhaps Samara's presence was only there to strengthen Katelyn while they fought through the indoctrination. Rinn tried not to frown as she puzzled it over, then stowed it away in the back of her mind while Liara inclined her head to the ginger.

"Commander."

"Good to see you again, Liara," Katelyn smiled warmly at her friend.

Rinn turned her gaze from the two to take in the office. It had the hints of ME2: The wide desk, the view of the trading room floor, the large screen on the back left where Liara had bullied someone, using Benezia's threat.

Have you ever faced an asari commando…?

She frowned at the memory, then turned her mind back to the office. It wasn't smaller, but the space was better utilized. It looked more comfortable, less sterile. It felt like a place of business, but not as cold and concrete as the game had had it.

She let her eyes trail back to the desk, then up at Helena who was standing quietly beside it. Her friend was watching Katelyn intently, scrutinizing her in a manner not all that different from how she had when both were still bed-bound in the Normandy's infirmary. Helena could be friendly if she wanted to be, but it seemed that she had not yet made that choice around Katelyn. She finally turned her attention to Rinn and gave her a smile. The gesture soothed the hybrid somewhat.

"And you, Katelyn," Liara was saying. "We have to make this a habit."

"Hopefully we can arrange that," the commander replied, giving the asari's arm a gentle squeeze. Then she looked at Helena. "Hi, Helena," she greeted and Rinn could hear reserve colour Katelyn's tone. "I trust you are well?"

The same sense of reserve, no, formality manifested from Helena. "I am. I'm not sure about Dr T'Soni." She smiled and it seemed genuine. "Hello, Commander." Helena's eyes touched Rinn again. "Hey."

Rinn felt her tongue lock like an athlete stumbling at the starting blocks and managed a garbled 'hi'. She suppressed a grimace, instead rewarding her friend with a rueful smile. Very smooth, Rinn.

Katelyn and Liara quietly witnessed the exchange – much to the hybrid's dismay – and the commander straightened, turning her head to the asari. "I don't believe you two have been officially introduced. Liara," Katelyn gestured to Rinn. "This is Erinn, or better known as Rinn. Rinn, this is Dr Liara T'Soni."

"A pleasure to meet you," the asari smiled a business-like smile and extended her hand.

Her right hand.

Rinn's hand clenched for a split second as ice cold horror trickled down her spine. Don't be foolish. You have a hand. You can do this. She forced herself to take the asari's as naturally as possible. Liara's hand was smaller than hers. As such, even the stub of her ring finger easily slipped over the other's palm. See? How hard was that? Idiot.

"You as well," she said with a nervous smile. She made sure her grip was firm and was pleased to feel the same from the asari. A lot could be belied by one's handshake. Rinn would rather have it be crushing than some kind of weak, floppy thing.

Liara let go of her hand, as if there was nothing strange about it, and stepped back smoothly. That in itself consoled the hybrid. As Helena approached, Katelyn gave a soft cough, drawing Rinn's attention to the commander and the container still in her arm.

"Oh!" Rinn exclaimed softly, dropping her shoulder bag and the case containing her guitar quickly so she could take the gift from the commander. She turned to Helena. "I... thought you might like this." Carefully she took the covering off, allowing her frowning friend to see it for the first time. It was a glass tank, hardly containing a couple of litres' worth of water and within swam a small, vibrantly-coloured fish.

"We got this on the Citadel, though it actually comes from here," Rinn rambled while Helena blinked at the her friend's eyes widened. "It's fine as it is now. I mean, it doesn't need a tank or anything right at this moment. And it also likes other fish, so it's not territorial or anything... I think..." She broke off as she noticed how Helena's face absolutely lit up. "I... hope you like it."

"No, no, no it's perfect," Helena crouched, examining it closely. "No," she shook her head, seeming to realise what she said. "I mean, yes. Rinn, it's wonderful. Are you sure it's alright? Does it have the right water and everything?"

The hybrid smiled down at her friend. "Yeah. Kelly's been keeping an eye on it and says it's fine. I got some stuff in my bag for it and instructions on my omnitool. We're set."

"Fantastic," Helena breathed and straightened, giving Rinn's shoulder a grateful squeeze. The dark-haired woman took comfort in that.

The hybrid gave her friend a sheepish grin. "Kelly also assured me that it should be able to survive you. That was a key requirement."

Helena harrumphed. "I'll have Kelly know I'm the woman who had an eight-year-old gold fish." She exchanged a look with Liara. "And I've got just the spot for it." She smiled at Rinn. "Want to take a trip?"

Uh, where?

The hybrid felt proud that she didn't utter her first reaction, but she still frowned at Helena; then looked at Katelyn and Liara in question. Was this already planned? The commander also looked a little perplexed when Helena gave her a small smile.

"We'll see them again," her friend said to no one in particular and it struck Rinn that she had intended the two of them to go alone. "You don't have to say goodbye now."

May we?

Liara made no objection as Helena took the fish from Rinn. The hybrid noted how carefully the ginger cradled the container, unconsciously biting her lip in concentration. Her right hand had come out of her pocket to steady it, but she didn't move anything more than her elbow. Then she motioned to Rinn to follow her back down the stairs.

The hybrid gave Katelyn another questioning look and the commander smiled at her, giving her a small pat on the shoulder. "Go on," she encouraged.

Rinn bent down quickly, gathered her things and with a final nod set off after her friend.

Watching the two leave, Liara spared a glance at Katelyn, studying the commander's features as her gaze followed – not Rinn, but Helena. Something seemed to be bothering her, but when she turned back to Liara, the look vanished to one of cautious amusement.

"So, you let her travel on her own?"

Liara smiled slightly and motioned Kate deeper into her office. "I can't chaperone her all the time," she confessed. "Firstly, I don't think she would like that and it's simply not practical. My people know to keep an eye out for her, she is safe Katelyn."

Katelyn nodded, but her gaze returned back to the corridor. "Rinn is as well," she said quietly. "We've tested the signal before we came. It's stable."

Moving to her desk where she already had some tea set out, Liara sat down – not behind it but on one of the guest chairs so that she could sit beside Katelyn.

"And the software you told me about?" she queried. "The program that monitors the signal?"

The thought seemed to darken Katelyn's mind as she took the seat opposite Liara's. "Miranda said that she'll install it on Helena's omnitool, give her the ability to monitor her friend. And on yours of course, if you require it."

In a way, Liara felt as if she did, but she shook her head. "I'll leave that to Helena," she said. "Ultimately I guess she would be the best judge." When she saw Katelyn's questioning look, she sighed. "It's a trust thing, Katelyn," she pointed out. "Helena and I have… an arrangement."

Katelyn nodded slowly, her gaze wondering again as if she was picturing the ginger standing in front of her. "How has she been doing?" she queried. "Helena I mean. She looks… tired."

Liara took a moment to consider the answer, pouring her and the commander each a cup of tea. "She's had a long day," she said. "And she was at the physiotherapist this afternoon. I still need to forward the report to Officer Lawson. Is she coming?"

Katelyn smiled briefly, nodding as she did so. "Her one contact is leaving town tomorrow," she pointed out. "So she decided to follow up with her first. She should be here shortly."

Liara had to keep herself from smiling as she nodded. "Hopefully not too quickly," she said as her smile briefly slipped into place. "It will… give us some time to catch up. Or… not catch up, we speak a lot, but I mean…" She trailed off and felt silly. "It's just nice to have you here, Katelyn. I'm glad you decided to stay a few days."

The commander nodded, her gaze warm. "As much as we can manage," she said. "I would like to see Rinn settled. Make sure that she's… alright."

For that, Liara was grateful as well, but she didn't point it out lest Katelyn mistook it as distrust towards the hybrid. She still felt uncomfortable taking responsibility for the woman, knowing that she was like a loaded gun without a safety. But she had told Katelyn that she would and she would stick with it.

Besides, like Helena, she had found a place for the hybrid, one she hoped would be satisfactory.

"If she's like Helena," she said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. "Then I'm sure she'll settle in just fine."

Katelyn's eyes were surprisingly sad as she leaned forward. "That's just the thing, Liara," she said quietly. "Something you have to understand is that Rinn and Helena are nothing alike…"

"So in summary, Oriana is fine and doing exceptionally well adjusting to her new home," Lanteia was saying, seated at the opposite end of their private booth in Eternity. "It is becoming more difficult to be discreet however. Now that she knows you're looking out for her, she has a knack for spotting my people. She's a fast learner that one, I can tell that she's your sister."

The asari smiled warmly, but Miranda didn't return it. She had known Lanteia for a years and they had… an understanding. The best way to describe Lanteia was to say that she was Oriana's secret handler. Miranda had not trusted Cerberus wholly with her sister and had employed the asari ex-mercenary nearly ten years ago to keep an eye on the younger woman. That investment of hers to ensure that she had someone outside the Cerberus payroll to watch out for her sister's wellbeing had paid off, but a part of her could never really trust the asari. The alien had access to her greatest weakness.

Her sister.

"Has she tried to approach you?" Miranda asked instead, keeping her voice neutral. "I still expect arrangements to be the same. I want no interference in her life."

Smiling amused, Lanteia nodded and took a sip of her drink. "I understand," she said, her eyes bright. "I should warn you though, she's curious, Lawson. She's curious about you. Now that she knows about you, she sees… everything. It's like… those old fashioned three dimensional pictures. At first you struggle to see it, but once you have the hang of it…" She shrugged and briefly looked up, scanning the room in an old mercenary habit. "You can't un-see it. You can't stop looking. You've shown her a pattern that she's been wondering about for a long time."

Miranda grimaced and thought about that, thought the wisdom of approaching her sister. She had been so… emotional after fighting Enyala and seeing Nikett die. It had not been difficult for Katelyn to convince her to approach her sister. She had wanted to do it for some time, but had always told herself that it was unnecessary. Katelyn's… encouragement had changed that for just a moment and she had thought at the time that perhaps she had been foolish to deny her sister the knowledge of her true origins and family.

Now, she wasn't so sure. The past couldn't be undone, however, and she couldn't wipe Oriana's memory. The risk of damaging her mind was too great.

So she found that she had to trust people more. She had to trust Lanteia to continue keeping it a secret. She had to trust Oriana not to make any mistakes and continue to seek her out. She had to learn to trust in people she had always considered beneath her and it was an odd space.

Katelyn had given her room to feel and, perhaps like those three dimensional pictures that Lanteia spoke of, now that she had allowed herself that space, it was difficult to draw back.

"All I continue to ask of you is to keep her safe, Lanteia," Miranda said and meant every word. "If she does manage to approach you, remind her that she should contact me with questions. Remind her that it is not safe to ask anyone else. Not safe to go digging. She is exceptional yes, but she is also normal. I want her to continue to have what she has now. A normal life. Her idea of mine is too romantic."

Lanteia nodded and drained her drink, hearing the finality in Miranda's tone and knowing her well enough by now to know that the meeting was over. "I will do so, Lawson," she said and winked. "As long as you can afford to pay me."

That was an old joke, but one Miranda wasn't willing to call Lanteia's bluff on. She paid the asari handsomely for the work that she did. Lanteia had said occasionally that she would do it for free as well, but Miranda wasn't willing to risk it. She liked their arrangement as it was. She didn't want to owe anybody any favours and paying Lanteia kept it professional.

The asari had turned to leave, they rarely bothered with formal goodbyes, but Miranda found that she wasn't quite done yet.

"Lanteia," she said, calling the woman back. "May I have one more moment of your time?"

The asari turned and for in an instant, she was all asari. "Lawson, I've been waiting for you to say those words for years," she said with an all too flirtatious grin.

"Don't start," Miranda said, but her tone wasn't as harsh as it had been in the past. "Did you look into that other matter?"

The asari's features became professional. "I have," she said. "My contacts couldn't find anything. If those people were traded as slaves within the last decade, they didn't go through any of our markets."

Miranda stilled a sigh and nodded. "Thank you, Lanteia," she said simply. "I appreciate you looking into it."

The asari smiled at her, no hint of curiosity about the subject visible in her eyes. It was one of the things Miranda really appreciated about her. Lanteia never asked unnecessary questions.

She stayed behind when the asari left the booth and simply sat there for a moment, listening to the murmur of the other patrons, listening to the rhythm of the music. The cacophony of noise made her feel strangely depressed as she stared at her wine, turning the glass around as she studied the movements of the yellow liquid. A reflection caught her attention and she looked up to see the couple who had been two tables below her get up and move to the dance floor, their features bright with excitement and their eyes suggesting that they were high on life and alcohol.

Miranda watched them until they reached the dance floor and then simply pushed her wine aside and left the club to join Katelyn's meeting with Liara.