The Normandy had taken flight.

Finally, things could get back to normal. No more upheaval as Liara discarded propriety as she tried to undo a thousand years of tradition.

Still, there was one more unpleasant duty to perform.

Alaya activated her omni-tool. "Dona."

The reply was instantaneous. "How may I serve, Matriarch?"

"Have my car in front of the residence in 15 minutes. I'll be going to Armali this morning."

"Yes, Matriarch."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

The view of Armali held little allure for Alaya. After all, she had seen it many times. When her driver was close to the financial district she took down the privacy shield. "There's no need to park, Nelssa. Just drop me off in front of Mosoth Tower."

"Shall I circle Matriarch?"

"No. Return to the residence."

"The residence Matriarch?"

"Yes, Nelssa. I will be meeting with the barrister all day. I will notify Dona when I'm ready to depart."

"Yes, Matriarch."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alaya was working on her second drink. It wasn't helping any more than the first had.

She hated traveling with the public, and it had been some time since she'd had to. Once Nelssa was out of sight, she'd hailed a taxi to take her to the transit station. From there she'd taken a shuttle to Serrice, and another taxi to the restaurant. All had been on her personal accounts, nothing tying this visit to House T'Soni.

The Diplomat was priced far beyond the quality of the food, but had two features that justified the exorbitant cost. The first was the high backed booths, each with a self-contained privacy field. The second was the location, close to the Assembly. Many an accord had been hammered out at The Diplomat when members of the Conclave were unwilling to have their positions known publicly.

Only self control kept her from checking the hour for a third time, when the individual who ordered this rendezvous slid into the booth across from her.

Alaya swallowed after being affixed by the steely gaze. "Matriarch," she acknowledged with a nod.

The other asari reached out and flicked on the privacy field. "The Normandy has departed Thessia." She got right to the point.

"Yes." Alaya knew what was next.

"And Liara was aboard, Seneschal." The venom in the woman's voice was unmistakable.

"Yes Matriarch."

"You were instructed not to let this happen. Was I unclear?"

Alaya shifted in her seat. "We had no leverage on Liara, Matriarch. There was nothing that could incentivize her to stay."

"Nothing?" The other matriarch was incredulous. "House T'Soni could literally buy Armali, but you could offer Liara nothing that was a better alternative than heading into enemy fire?"

"I could offer nothing that she didn't want from Shepard!"

"Could you clarify for me why Liara is seeking refuge in the company of a Human?"

Alaya was confused by the turn in conversation. "Matriarch?"

There was a suffering sigh. "Liara feels more connected to Shepard than she does to the House."

Alaya was indignant, "I believe that's an oversimplification..."

"Enough!" The other matriarch slammed her hand on the table. "The House should be her haven, the residence her sanctuary. Would you care to explain why it isn't?"

"Matriarch?" The confusion was clear in her voice. "Liara and Benezia had been estranged for some time. Liara has had no contact with the House since..."

"No contact!? What am I hearing?"

"Benezia would have forbidden..."

The other matriarch shook her head. "Did Benezia ORDER you to not support Liara?"

"Well no, but..."

The matriarch's already angry expression turned darker. "Did it ever occur to you that Benezia likely assumed that Liara WAS being taken care of by the House? That Liara had kept in contact with her associates and confidantes, and that her needs were being attended through unofficial channels? That the House leadership was seeing to the needs of the T'Soni heir? Benezia would not have dreamed that Liara has actually been on her own for nearly sixty years. That Liara hasn't even touched her trust in over thirty-five, and that was to fund an expedition, an expedition that she went on ALONE!?"

Alaya paled. "Matriarch, I..."

The other matriarch reduced her volume, but that made her anger even more unmistakable. "Benezia would never have expected that Liara had no confidantes at the estate, and that House T'Soni had actually turned away from Benezia's only child. She would have believed that Liara was working out her anger with the tacit support of the House staff, and would someday return. That's not the message that Liara received though, was it? Benezia probably had no idea why Liara had gone so long without taking steps to reconcile. She thought she'd been cast aside. It's no wonder that she would become so attached to the first person to demonstrate that they cared about her in nearly sixty years." The matriarch paused before continuing in a threatening tone. "I blame you for this Alaya. You should never have allowed this to happen. The House needs to take care of its own, and you have failed Liara. Completely. If I find out that this is because of bigotry or some misguided belief that Liara needed to be punished for her dispute with Benezia, then I will destroy you."

When there was no response from Alaya, the other matriarch flicked off the privacy field. "You need to fix this Alaya, and I don't mean partially."

"Yes Matriarch," Alaya had turned an even lighter grey.

"Now get out of my sight."

Alaya couldn't get out of the restaurant fast enough.

The remaining occupant of the booth let out another long sigh.

"Dumbass."

A/N: Assumptions here include:
FemShep/Liara (Not yet LI, but well, you know)
Later ME1 - after Suspicions and Omissions
After Noveria, before Virmire

Shepard is:
Colonist / Vanguard / War Hero

NOW we're done. This story is continued in Discovery.