Mother's Day

I don't own Bioware

SSV ORIZABA

CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS

2185

There's a bunch of roses lying on her desk. Hannah didn't know how they got there. The note simply says they came onboard during the resupply period at Arcturus. There's only one person in the galaxy who would ever give her roses on a day like today. A person who's supposed to be dead. She refused to believe the reports. Why couldn't her baby's memory be left in peace. But Steven and David both insisted that she was real, that she was back.

The roses made her believe it.

-To the most wonderful woman in the world. Happy Mother's Day—Christine.

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AMATESARU

The clunk of military boots on a tiled floor brought Lisa Williams charging out of the kitchen and straight into her eldest daughter.

"Ash, you made it!" She embraced her daughter. "I thought the Alliance would just send you somewhere else after Horizon."

"No...I got some shoreleave...and a promotion," Ash was almost shy as she revealed the symbol stencilled onto the sleeve of her fatigues. Silver wings on a blue field, the mark of the Council's chosen agents.

"A Spectre? They made my big girl a Spectre?" Lisa whispered as her fingers traced the emblem. Her eyes glistened with sudden tears. "Your father would be so proud of you. So would your grandfather."

"I know," Ash's voice trembled. "I guess I did it Ma. I made the name mean something again."

"The name never mattered," Lisa smiled. "It was the heart of the person who wore it."

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NOS ASTRA

ILIUM

ETERNITY

Every night she goes through the same old routine: Toss out the drunks, inventory the supplies, clean the bar, have a few drinks and go to bed. Nice and simple, the most peaceful living she's ever had. But tonight, there had been some human families around. They were celebrating something called 'Mothers Day'. It brought back memories. Bitter memories.

She should never have given her up, never should have backed down. Benezia told her that if she wasn't willing to be in her life, then she couldn't be in Liara's. A century ago, she had made a terrible mistake. She had chosen her power and status as a Matriarch over caring for her little daughter.

For a time, her wisdom and influence had been sought by every matron and maiden on Thessia. Aeytheta had sat on the Council of Defence, one of the most militant minded asari on the planet. Her acolytes had followed her every word. She had trained with her bodyguard unit, keeping her biotics and combat skills honed to a fine edge.

It had been meaningless without her precious little girl. She had feared the embarrassment that would come with a pureblood relationship. She had been foolish. After half a century, the loneliness had become unbearable. Eventually, she left it all behind, going into a voluntary exile on Ilium, working as a bartender. Her opponents had almost killed themselves with laughter. Let them laugh, she deserved their scorn.

"Excuse me," Aeytheta's head whipped up. Oh crap, there she was. Clad in a functional, yet attractive gown, those same freckles dotted underneath her eyes.

"Yeah, what can I get for you?" Her words came out with a tremble.

"Nothing," Liara seemed equally nervous. "My name is Liara T'Soni, my mother was Benezia T'Soni."

"I know who you are," her words were gruff. "Look, we're closed now. If you want to come back tomorrow..."

Her rebuke was cut off by the maiden collapsing into her arms, sobbing helplessly.

"Oh damn." Aethyta felt her own eyes dampen. "My Little Wing, all grown up."

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NORMANDY SR-2

XO'S QUARTERS

She's never had a mother. Just a test tube and a cloning tank. Maybe the way she viewed the world would have been different if she'd had someone to hold her as a baby, to pick her up when she fell, to tell her she was perfect because she was her child, not because of her genes. Her childhood was cold, educated, clinical. That's how she lives her life.

But that isn't all she is. She's a woman, strong and beautiful. She has the respect of her friends...and the love of a very specific man.

Jacob sometimes talks about his mother. He describes a strong, maternal figure. A woman who raised her family almost single handed. It's the reason that he left his father behind to be beaten down and killed by his crew. Jacob couldn't allow his mother to suffer through the humiliation of his father's trial. Better that he died as a good man, her husband.

"I think I'd like to meet your mother someday," Miranda whispers into his ear as he pulls the blankets up over them. He smiles back.

"She'd like you. You're the only one who knows how to keep me in line."

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STARBORD OBSERVATION DECK

-Mother, I know I shouldn't be sending you this message. I'll get in trouble with the Wardens if they find out about this. But I had to send you this. Warden Carystus told me that you finally caught up with Mirala. Part of me mourns deeply. Do you remember her? When she crawled into the vents because Rila told her there were monsters hiding there? I still remember the scolding you gave her. Or the day where she and I won our first Skyball tournament. You and Father took us out for dinner that night. We thought that it would last forever. But that was our last night. Father died two nights later.

-But I know that you did what had to be done. That ambition she had, the eagerness to see the galaxy, I knew it would make her capture impossible. She would never have let you take her alive Mother. She would not have wished it. In many ways, I think she ran because she could not bear to face you. She loved you so much, no matter how much she denied it at the end.

-What will you do now that she is dead? Will you come back to us? Forsake your oaths and live out your last years with us? I miss you more with every passing day. Just to see you one last time, to hear your voice, it's all I want.

-I know you won't though. In a way, you and Mirala are so much alike. You'd both rather run from your problems. I don't blame you for it, I just accept it. I pray for you every day. I pray that the evil will know justice. I pray that the Goddess makes you stronger every day, in mind and body. But most of all, I pray that you will find peace.

-Your loving daughter, Falere.

Samara lowered the pad. A single tear rolled down her face.

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A/N: I always thought Bioware underplayed the relationship between Samara and her daughters. The Shadow Broker dossier made me tear up.