A/N

Hi everyone! This one is being released a week early this month due to reasons. If you want to read ahead, another eight chapters are available on pat-re-on. Look up Bored Peasant's Written Works.

Extra special thanks to Amorac07, Antonio Villarrubia, Austin, Ben wanless, Brian, Chris, Christopher Herring, David C, Eligah Moreno, Endervslender, Ezoz, FallenMetalGod, Fireblade974, Freeman, Hyaaa B1tch, Jackson Terry, Jebusno2, Jermaine Key, JotunAltHist, Lasted, liquidpotato, Luke, Michael Scott, My Name is Klondike, Nathan Block, Nathan Duncan, Orangerazor120, Paul Fischer, Proxy, r4p16, Robert Tipton, Sam Tollefsbol, Sith_Paladin, sonic, Terror, The Senn Master, Thezombiegamer707, Tlingit97, Tristan d'conceicao, UtopiaKnight39 and Voidwolf 1994for their support. You are all awesome.

Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.

…

CHAPTER 49 – Awakening the Matriarch

(Shepard POV)

"Are you sure that the information that you gave me is accurate on her?" Jane asked, looking at Brock as they stood in the Med Bay.

It was time that they finally got around to waking up the potentially traitorous matriarch from her extended nap. Having her on the Normandy was taking up room that they didn't really need taken. It was also a drag on morale to continue watching her without being able to get anything from her.

Jane had borne through it though, with all the grace that was expected of her as a Spectre. She realised as well that she had become too reliant on Brock dealing with issues for her and letting him take the lead. After his injury, she had come to the realisation that she was not acting as the Spectre she was selected to be.

As a Spectre, she wasn't going to be passive. Not anymore. She was a confident and capable soldier, with enough Alliance political savvy to be promoted to Commander. While she had people who had helped her along the way, there had been a time when it was her chance to step out of their shadow and be her own star.

That time had come for her with Brock. He had taught her enough to be a more prepared Spectre than she would have been without his guidance. Now it was up to her to take her experience, his knowledge and combine it to make her a standout figure in the Citadel to represent humanity's ability to stand alongside the other races to the Council.

That didn't mean that Brock wasn't going to be helpful for her in accomplishing this. No one succeeded alone. Even Saren had needed the help of the geth and any number of mercenaries. As the leader of this mission, she would just be able to call upon the other members of her team to be able to perform their roles better. It wasn't much different than being a member of the Alliance Navy, only this time her team was much more varied.

As such, she had tasked Brock in finding out as much background information on Benezia for when they woke her up. It had taken him less than a day to get a decent amount of rather damning information, both from the extranet and his own sources. What it amounted to was that Benezia was in for a world of hurt, but it could also blow back hard on Liara even though she was innocent of the whole thing.

That wasn't how Jane wanted it to work out but her hands were a little tied here. Unless she didn't care about being a butcher, but that wasn't her way of being. She wasn't going to kill prisoners, even if she didn't like them.

Still, the information was damning and Brock had been the one to provide the worst of it from his own sources. Even the stuff from the Citadel sources didn't paint her in the best light, especially towards humans. It made her wonder how Liara had turned out so nice. Jane was expecting the older asari to be haughty, dismissive and resist the initial attempts to gain information.

Luckily, annoying people into getting information seemed to be Brock's specialty.

"It's completely accurate," he replied, looking up from his omnitool. "She isn't the first one that we have the records of people hiring pirates to attack others for them. And pirates being pirates, all of them understood the concept of blackmail. None of them were going to risk being attacked by the people that hired them. It became standard practice a long time ago for pirates to record all conversations that they have with those who hire them as an insurance against betrayal. It seems that little Nezzy here has been a bit naughty."

"The sort of misbehaviour that will attract harsh penalties from the Council of Matriarchs on Thessia," the asari in the room, Doctor Selaen who was apparently a well-regarded therapist that knew Brock, spoke up. The asari had been approved by the Council, who had known her by her reputation.

Brock nodded at her words. "Maybe they will even spank her! She looks like she could use a good spanking."

Jane ignored the playful commentary, though she did consider what he was saying about the pirates. If he had been attacking pirate bases for two years, how much blackmail did he have in his possession? She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Are all the scans and restraints active?" she asked Doctor Chakwas, who would be actively monitoring said scanning equipment to determine if her brain patterns were working normally. There were a couple of very small sensors attached to the side of Benezia's head to check brain waves. With her hands secured, Benezia wouldn't be able to remove them.

"Everything seems to be in good order, Shepard," Doctor Chakwas said, looking up from her work. "The biotic restraining collar is working at full capacity, as is the secondary collar that Mister Nielson requested. Brain scans are active and running as we speak. She is fully restrained and is able to be awoken on your order."

Jane nodded, feeling a sense of anticipation. This moment had been a long time coming and now she was to get some more information that she desperately needed to know what Saren was planning. Considering the place that this asari held in his confidence, she was certain that the matriarch knew something of value.

"Are the recorders up?" she asked the therapist.

"Yes, Spectre Shepard," Doctor Selaen replied from her spot at the desk, a hover drone behind her while she was also holding a small camera linked to her omnitool. "I have the vid recorders running perfectly. We'll get everything she says."

Jane nodded. Now they just needed to see if they could get her to talk.

"Do it," she ordered Doctor Chakwas, tensing as though she was going to enter a combat zone. And she was, just not was she was as well-versed in. this was the arena of words, where she usually was content in letting Brock take over. But the businessman had wanted her to take the lead, saying that this was something she needed to get experience in.

She was grateful that he was on hand to assist, but she doubted he was just going to take over for her. That wasn't how he seemed to operate.

It only took a few seconds before the matriarch stirred, the drugs keeping her unconscious wearing off quickly. She twitched, then shuffled as if she was trying to roll over, only to be held down by the restraints. Her face furrowed in displeasure and she slowly opened her eyes.

She blinked at the bright lights of the Med Bay in confusion as she didn't seem to recognise where she was. She looked over to her left to see the wall next to her bed, then looked back over to her right, to see Jane, Brock and Doctor Chakwas staring at her.

She froze and tensed for a long moment, biotic energy beginning to whisp around her before the two collars glowed and the biotic energy died down. The matriarch looked panicked for a second before she visibly relaxed. Not that Jane was going to take it as acceptance. Someone as powerful as Benezia didn't just accept things not going her way.

"I take it that I have you to thank for the voices in my head going silent," Benezia said, her voice a little raspy from lack of use.

Jane nodded back to Brock, who flicked a couple of fingers in a lazy salute. "He did it," she said. "You should thank him if he managed to take you out from Saren's control."

Benezia fidgeted a little. "I see," she said, clearly not wanting to say anything contrite. "Are the restraints necessary? With my biotics being supressed, sure it is superfluous to also have me physically tied down as well."

"The restraints stay where they are for now," Jane said firmly. "I still don't know your mind set, nor your stance on many things. I don't trust someone that willingly threw their own daughter away before they equally willingly and knowingly followed someone into treason against the Citadel."

Some emotion finally flickered across the asari's face at the mention of Liara, before it hardened, then turned emotionless. "You don't know of what you speak," she said stiffly. "Your ignorance is nearly as dangerous as it is pathetic."

"That's mighty big talk for someone looking down the barrel of an execution squad," Nielson said before Jane could reply. "Not to mention the confiscation of every asset belonging to House Benezia, the suspension of your daughter's qualifications and at least three centuries of her being under house arrest at a facility likely to hold Ardat Yakshi as further vengeance against you because you were too much of a moron. I guess that you really did prefer Saren's dick to being a loving mother for Liara."

Now that broke through Benezia's stoicism.

"I did nothing of the sort with Saren!" she bit out, sounding furious. Jane could relate. Her fellow human certainly knew how to push buttons when he wanted to' she knew from experience. "And don't you dare talk about Liara! You have no idea what I've done for her!"

"True," he confessed easily. "I have no idea how you contacted her university on Thessia to have her papers on prothean expansion through the third age redacted. I also have no idea that you tried to bar her from entering the field on any prothean sites, meaning that the only ones she could get to were the dangerous underfunded ones, like Therum. Oh, and I certainly have never heard that you censored her after her article about progenitors to the protheans having existed and been destroyed, which went against the established narrative of protheans being benevolent missionaries. I have no clue about any of those things."

Benezia's face went horrified for a moment. "How did you..?" she stammered before cutting herself off and glaring at the businessman. "I don't know how you learned this, but I don't expect a human to understand why I did those things for my daughter."

"Oh we understand plenty," Jane said, cutting in. "You willingly attempted to force your daughter to give up on her dreams when she was discovering that it would expose the reapers to whom you gave your allegiance."

Benezia flinched. "That is not what happened," she denied hotly. "I saw the path that Saren was walking and attempted to aid him for the purpose of convincing him to leave it, or at least temper what he thought. However…"

"I suppose that does make sense," Brock cut her off. "After all, you are a known racist and have publicly denounced humanity multiple times, even making several condemning declarations when the Alliance acted militarily to prevent the Hegemony supported pirates attacking human colonies. It's almost like you were wanting humans to be converted to slaves. Which would align with the worst of the galaxy's beings and confirms what I said. You really don't give a damn about Liara."

"Why do you keep saying such nonsense?" Benezia demanded, her voice rising in volume.

"Because if you cared for her at all then you wouldn't be condemning her with the legacy of the worst treason in Citadel history," Brock said flatly. "She will live in the shadow of your malicious, pro-slavery hatred. Everywhere she goes she shall be shunned for her entire existence. The Republics, if they survive whatever the reapers do, will never let her stain be forgotten. All of her work will be dismissed. All of her triumphs ignored. Her children and their children will be outcasts from society, all because little Nezzy thought she was on top of the galaxy and yet was taken down by one of the humans she so despised. All it would take is me leaking the vids of you ordering slaver attacks against your fellow matriarchs and the house of T'soni will be ripped out of asari society, root and stem. You will be spoke of in derision for a millennia before you are forgotten and become nothing. Liara doesn't deserve that at all."

As he spoke, the mask finally began falling from Benezia's face as she actually seemed to comprehend how her actions would impact her daughter, flinching harshly when Brock mentioned the vids. Brock's words, spoken with such intense derision and mocking, had managed to break through that frustrating sense of entitlement that matriarchs seemed to surround themselves with and the walls of delusion were finally being smashed down through Brock's sledgehammer-like bluntness.

Jane couldn't help being impressed.

While she hated how he could destroy that sense of calm in another person, such as herself, she couldn't help admiring how it worked against those that put themselves on pedestals. It was something she wouldn't mind learning.

But for now, it was time to play good cop to Brock's bad cop.

"There is a way to prevent Liara from suffering," Jane said, making her tone more soothing. "You can help us to bring down Saren's plans. Help us to stop him. Tell us everything you know about him. You told us about how his voice was in your head. Explain all of that to us so that we know how to prevent it happening to our people. Everything that you can give us will go so far into letting us make sure that Liara doesn't get tarred with the consequences of what has happened."

Benezia looked conflicted, though she didn't' speak up immediately. Jane wondered if it was because of her inborn dislike of humans or any other reason but she couldn't help feeling a little frustrated.

The sound of a door hissing open interrupted them as Liara stepped into the Med Bay from her room behind it.

"Mother," she said softly. "You need to tell them."

All of Benezia's defiance vanished at the sight of her daughter. "Little Wing," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

"I've heard everything, Mother," Liara said, her voice strained. "Everything that stands to happen to me because of your actions. Everything you've done to harm the Citadel. You need to tell Brock and Spectre Shepard everything. Saren must be stopped. And they are the ones to do it."

The tears began to fall slowly, leaving tracks down her face as she stared unblinking at her daughter. She opened her mouth and closed it, clearly struggling to say anything.

"It's hard to look at her and wish her to suffer," Brock said softly. "Don't do it for us. Do it for her. Do it for your Little Wing."

The tears came faster and Benezia nodded finally. "I… I will tell you," she said, her voice sounding choked. "For her."

Jane felt satisfaction rolling through her. Liara coming in hadn't been part of the plan. In fact, Liara had opted to not come in before Jane could tell her to not be part of the interrogation. Still, having the daughter appear had turned the mother from deliberately antagonistic to seemingly compliant.

"Why did you join Saren?" Jane asked.

"Saren came to me," Benezia said. "He spoke many things of how the Citadel was turning away from its true purpose. He said that he had a plan to move forward that would help save the Citadel from itself. Many of his ideas reflected my own, but were… more extreme."

"Such as his hatred of humanity and the impact that we are having across the galaxy?" Brock asked.

Benezia's brow furrowed. "Among other things, yes," she confessed. "I have been around for a very long time. It is the nature of the asari to wait, to consider, to weigh the consequences thoroughly. The other races, with whom we have had a long partnership spanning centuries, have become accustomed with our pace. The lower races don't have enough power or resources to expand rapidly, which made it easy to accommodate them.

"Humanity…" she paused as she considered her words. "Humans were different. You had grown and expanded on your own to control more than a dozen worlds and outposts before you made contact with the Citadel. Your pace was comparatively rapid, considering the short time you have been travelling the stars. Despite its brevity, it had been ingrained in you to accomplish as much as you could in as short a time as possible. It made your pace difficult to match, and therefore crucial to control."

"Probably came from the Roman Empire's days," Brock muttered under his breath, but just loud enough for Jane to hear. "One year consulship and all."

"But the pace had been set and once set, was difficult to restrain," Benezia continued, unaware of the byplay as she looked at Liara. "Humans continued their expansion, and followed their own morals too quickly, not conforming to the Citadel. It bred a conflict with the Batarian Hegemony where the other races had sought peaceful resolution."

"You mean that you sought to appease the batarians at the expense of your own peoples," Brock countered loudly. "The Citadel could have done so much more than they have done. The Asari Republics alone could have done so much more than the humans have done. You just don't care enough to do anything. After all, if you can avoid a million deaths now, who cares about the billion lives that would be stolen over two hundred years."

"A simplistic look," Benezia began to retort.

"But a truthful one," Liara cut her mother off. "I watched multiple meetings of the Matriarchs who argued for the same thing as what Brock just said. You yourself have allowed the violating of more asari over the last few centuries than what would be lost if you had just once argued for the Republics to take a stand and fight back."

Benezia winced at the accusation. "That was never my intention," she objected.

"It doesn't matter," Doctor Selaen cut in. "Intention doesn't matter. Results do. You have complicitly allowed the enslaving of hundreds of thousands of slaves across multiple races. I would have to wonder if you actually condone it."

Benezia's face paled. "I would never!"

"But you have," Brock interjected.

"We're getting off track," Jane said, cutting off further argument. "Benezia's willingness to enslave her own people wasn't the question. The question was why she joined Saren. She has made her narrow-minded thoughts on humans quite clear. I want to know why you joined Saren."

Benezia pursed her lips at the dig Jane couldn't help giving her, but decided to move on.

"Saren had expressed his thoughts on how to return the Citadel to its path," she said. "But his ideas were more extreme. I have known him for a decade. I thought that I would be able to temper his more extreme beliefs. But…" she trailed off.

"But what?" Jane prodded.

"Saren has a ship," Benezia said. "Sovereign. It's tremendously large, like nothing I have ever seen before. And while I was on the ship, it felt like Saren was trying to take over my mind. At least, that is how I would describe it looking back," she amended. "At the time, it felt like his words were warm and comforting, spoken directly into my ear. When I was alone with my thoughts, it felt almost like he was still with me, speaking his words into my mind. In time, his ideas took over mine. All I wanted to do was follow him on his path. I could see it happening, but I convinced myself that I was still in control. Now that voice is gone. So, for that at least, thank you."

Jane exchanged a quick look with Brock as they heard that.

"This is sounding more like indoctrination," Jane said slowly. "Or mind control."

"Indoctrination," Doctor Selaen said. "Mind control would be forcing her against her will. This was a subversion of her will."

"So, you are claiming that you were indoctrinated by Saren?" Brock asked. "You, a centuries old asari matriarch?"

"I am aware how it sounds," Benezia said, sounding a little frosty. "But I am telling the truth. That is how it felt when I was on his ship. It wasn't just me. My entire retinue was the same."

"Yes," Jane replied. "We saw how Shiala acted."

Benezia blinked. "Shiala? You mean, she's alive? But she was given to the thorian!"

"Oh, she's alive," Jane said. "She's been placed into the custody of CSEC but she was alive when we last saw her."

"I see," Benezia said, wilting slightly. "That is good to hear. I had thought that she was gone for good."

"Yes," Jane reiterated. "It seems that after Mister Nielson here got the thorian to fix your mind, the thorian believed that Mister Nielson was a threat to it and attacked. Mister Nielson and my ground team managed to destroy it, and when they did, Shiala was released."

"You destroyed the thorian?" Benezia said, looking shocked and slightly outraged. "It was a creature that had existed since the time of the protheans. How could you do this?"

Brock didn't even look guilty as he shrugged. "I didn't want to," he replied. "I was trying not to actually. But that's all I am giving you at the moment. Maybe, some other day if you earn it, I will tell you why."

She pursed her lips but fell silent and leaned back against her bed.

"Who are the reapers?" Jane asked into the silence.

"The reapers are a race of beings that will herald in a time of order," Benezia said immediately. "Or so Saren believes. They will do so by cutting out the chaos and returning the galaxy to its proper place."

Jane raised an eyebrow. Going by the visions she had received from the prothean beacon, she doubted it was as honest as that. "Surely you didn't believe that?" she asked.

"I… I don't know," the matriarch confessed. "While I don't believe it will be as simple or peaceful as I would like, the galaxy does need order restored to it."

"I believe the protheans would disagree with you," Jane retorted. "Oh, wait, they can't."

Benezia winced slightly. "Indeed." Liara didn't say anything but her expression did look worried for a moment.

"Where is Saren now?" Jane asked after a few moments of silence.

"He is still trying to organise supporters to prevent the Citadel being able to stop him. "You stopped the rachni, I presume. He was working to cure the genophage to draw the krogan to himself. That and he is also preparing to go to the Conduit."

"What's the Conduit?" Jane asked.

"I am not entirely sure," Benezia confessed. "I would tell you more if I could, but Saren did not share his counsel with me, I was merely a servant to his cause. All I know is that it will aid Saren in bringing about the return of the reapers. But I do know that it is suspected to be on Ilos. For that, Saren needs the Mu relay."

Liara jerked back. "But access to Ilos was lost during the Rachni War!" she exclaimed.

Benezia looked at her daughter with a fond but sad smile. "Yes," she said. "The Mu relay that gave passage to Ilos was lost when it was pushed away from a star that went supernova. But we do know that the rachni controlled that area of space at the time. When I had the rachni queen in custody on Noveria, I took the knowledge from her mind." She winced again. "I was not gentle. Saren was going to send geth ships to look for the Mu relay in the systems that are close to where the relay was suspected to be. Depending on how long I have been unconscious, I do not believe it will be long until he is ready to travel through it, if he has not already done so."

That was a concern. "Do you remember where the Mu relay is?" she asked urgently.

Thankfully, Benezia nodded. "I do, yes," she replied. "I am sorry, Little Wing." She looked over at Liara. "I should have been stronger. But I did have moments when I was able to mostly cast off his influence on me. During one of those moments, I recorded the destination on an OSD. But you will need to work as quickly as possible. I transmitted the information to Saren several minutes before you found me on Noveria." She frowned. "I don't know where the OSD is now."

"I have an OSD here," Doctor Chakwas spoke up, holding up a black OSD that had been sitting on her desk. "Is this the one?"

Benezia looked at the device for a moment, then nodded. "That is the one. It has the last known position of the relay, along with what little information we have on the supernova that knocked it out of position."

"I can have some of my people look into it," Brock offered.

Jane looked over and saw that Brock was talking to her. "I have quite a few smaller ships and crews that would be willing to try find out where the Mu relay is so that we can focus on the mission," he continued.

She nodded at that. While she would prefer to look for it herself, she knew that she was better served fulfilling other missions to give her resources until Saren popped his rotten head up from whatever rock he was hiding under.

"Do you know where Saren is now?" she asked Benezia.

Unfortunately, Benezia shook her head. "No. I know that he had several locations that he would hide, but I don't know where they are. I was kept on Saren's ship and was not able to access the navigational data. I think now that it was a deliberate decision so as to increase his control over my mind, by keeping me in close proximity to whatever he was using to twist my mind.."

"How is you mind now, compared to how it was before?" Doctor Selaen asked.

"My mind is quiet now," Benezia replied instantly, her face clearing as she looked over at the asari doctor. "Before it was like… teeth on my ear, his fingers on my spine. I couldn't escape his voice, even after I had departed his vessel. Whatever the thorian did managed to removed that from my mind, which I must thank you for. But it leaves me concerned that he could continue doing it to others. And now, there is no thorian to fix the issue."

Jane nodded. It was a legitimate concern; if an asari matriarch, a being known throughout the galaxy for their mental prowess and their wisdom, was capable of being indoctrinated, what chance did anyone else have against it?

Not that she expected the asari to accept that, even if the other races might. The matriarchs held an ancient belief of superior wisdom, gained from a long-lived life. They wouldn't like thinking that it didn't matter how long they lived, they could still be susceptible to indoctrination. Somehow, she thought it might tickle the salarians' funny bone. If they had one, that is.

"That is a concern," Jane admitted. "Unfortunately, the thorian decided to be the author of its own demise. I would suggest that we look at the next big question: what do we do with you?"

Benezia froze for a moment. "What do you mean? she asked cautiously.

"Despite this revelation of you being indoctrinated," Jane replied, "the fact remains that you were a willing party in joining Saren in the first place. Saren committed treason by aligning with the geth, attacking a Citadel aligned planet with the geth, killing a Spectre, helping resurrect the rachni and planning further attacks against the Citadel. We might as well include curing the genophage while we are at it. You, as a member of his team, are going to be considered as an accomplice if nothing else. An accessory to treason still warrants massive penalties. You likely face death, if not all of the punishments listed by Mister Nielson.

"The problem is, I don't trust that Saren hasn't got someone on the Citadel that would be able to break you free once you are there. I don't trust the Council of Matriarchs to not try bury the chance of you being indoctrinated which would likely mean your hidden execution. I don't trust the salarians or others to not want to know about how to perform indoctrination. But I don't think keeping you here on the Normandy at the moment is the best option. And," she added with a frown but refrained from wincing, "I am not sure that I trust everyone in the Alliance to treat you completely fairly if I were to give you to them to stand trial as an accomplice to Saren after the attack on Eden Prime."

A silence came over the group as everyone considered the option. Originally, the plan had been to give Benezia over to the Council, but Tevos especially had sent a list of concerns that would mean it wasn't the best idea until things settled down a little more.

Liara didn't speak up, though Jane could see her hands clenching. Whether she was trying to sort through all of the emotions tied into this situation with her mother, or fear for the possible consequences of her mother's actions, Jane didn't know. It could be either or several other options.

Doctor Chakwas didn't look up from her screens and her face was blank, not giving Jane anything.

What was interesting, was that Brock and Doctor Selaen were staring at each other, frowning. After a few seconds, Brock looked over at Shepard and tilted his head. His eyes flicked to the matriarch, before returning Jane.

In that moment, Jane made a decision. "I think that's all for now," she declared. "For now, you are going back under sedation and remaining her," she told Benezia. "We will assess our options and see where we stand."

Everyone nodded, including Benezia who probably realised it was the best option she was going to get at the moment. After a few more seconds, the drugs kicked in and Benezia was out like a light.

"Recordings have stopped," Doctor Selaen reported.

"As have my scans," added Doctor Chakwas.

"I believe that I shall retire to my room," Liara said softly, her face twisted in a complicated expression as she turned to head through the back door of the Med Bay.

"Liara," Jane called out, making the youngest asari in the room stop and look at her. "Thank you. I know it must have been difficult, but I don't think that she would have been anywhere near as responsive if you hadn't come in."

Liara hesitated, before giving a slow nod, departing without saying a word.

Once she was gone, Jane turned to Brock and Doctor Selaen. "What were you two thinking?" she asked.

Brock gave out a sigh. "If all we need to do is hold Benezia somewhere secure until a decision is made or she stands trial, there are a few places that I can hold her. We have a few off the books places that wouldn't be hard to convert into a short-term detention facility."

Jane gave a slow, thoughtful nod. "I see," she said. "That might be our best option. Could your people rendezvous with us somewhere instead of the Citadel?"

Brock nodded. "I can have a pick up and several escorts meet us somewhere for this. It makes no difference if they meet us in wild space or on the Citadel."

Jane nodded. "Good to know," she said. "I'll think about it."

Brock nodded. "In the meantime, I need to send a message to my aid to have people start looking for the Mu relay. Hopefully, it won't take too long to get a hit."

"I need to report all of this to the Council," Jane said, pushing back any decision on Benezia for now. "In the meantime, we are going to continue as planned. I have no idea exactly how they are going to react to it." She hesitated. "Though, I will just say, that I will likely put my thoughts in that I believe Benezia was indeed being subject to an effective form of indoctrination."

Surprisingly, the other three people all nodded too. "Same here," Brock said, speaking for all three of them. "Combined with the difference in her brain scans both before and after her treatment by the thorian, I would be willing to assume that she was telling the truth on that score."

Jane nodded, feeling a little relieved that she wasn't alone in her belief. While it sounded impossible that someone could be that thoroughly indoctrinated, they had a sample size of two, both who can describe how it felt on Saren's ship. And there was no denying that their brain patterns had been altered, or at least, Benezia's had been. It just seemed like it was the least far-fetched possibility to consider.

Not that it made things easier for Jane.

Eventually, she huffed out a heavy sigh. "Alright, I am off to my quarters. I need to process this. I will let you know what I decide about keeping her secure."

With that, Jane made her way out the door to go write her report.

She just wanted to shoot something after that. That Dantius mission couldn't come soon enough.

…

(Beau POV)

There were many things that Beau had encountered in the galaxy. Many of them were dangerous, such as fighting slavers and preparing for a galactic annihilation. Others were strange, such as that one random encounter with an overly muscled salarian bounty hunter on Omega who was asking for directions.

Some were funny, like the time he had managed to see Hectar and Ely get drunk and try to start break dancing. It honestly looked like Hectar had overloaded his own omnitool and was accidentally electrocuting himself. Beau couldn't help grinning to himself anytime that he remembered that day.

Then there were the bizarre things that they encountered, like the elcor that they had seen on the Citadel that had wanted to be a ballerina and was even wearing a tutu. The alien had been so enthusiastic about starting an elcorian ballet company that Brock and Beau hadn't had the heart to say no or talk her out of it. They had simply wished her good luck and moved on, unsure of what to say without bursting out laughing.

And then there was the situation that Beau found himself in currently; the perplexing.

He wasn't sure why, but the Balrog's newest resident had developed a fascination with popping up any time that he went into the crew quarters of the ship. It didn't matter if he was alone or with other people, she would pop out of nowhere to start talking to him. Nothing antagonistic. Not at all, in fact. It was more of her pestering him with questions

Part of him wondered if she was interested in him; she was certainly acting like it. It was almost like when girls had shown interest in him as a teenager. Which tracked, he supposed. After all, by asari standards, she was not much more than a teenager, even if she was probably centuries older than he was.

The main part of him was sceptical. After all, this was the daughter of the Pirate Queen, Aria T'loak. Everything that woman did was done with a purpose. He severely doubted that her daughter, who lived with her on Omega, was any different. He just wasn't sure what it was.

His security minded brain told him that she was attempting to get him to lower his guard to get him to give her greater access to the ship, or to reveal something classified to her. It wouldn't matter how hard she tried though; he would never reveal anything that threatened their people or their mission. If he did, Brock wouldn't need to kill him like those few who had betrayed them in the past. Beau would do the job himself out of shame.

So the little asari was out of luck if she thought that she could seduce any secrets out of him. He wouldn't have made it far in N school if all it took for him to throw security away was a pretty face or a see-through shirt.

"Mister Clarke!" an annoyingly familiar voice called out to him. It was like Beetlejuice, he thought. He had cursed himself by thinking about her too many times and now his thoughts had manifested her.

He turned to see the asari in question walking towards him from the galley, one of the places she had free access to. He would give her that much credit, he supposed as she strode towards him. She never tried to go anywhere that she didn't have access to. He was making sure of that.

"What do you want this time?" he asked flatly.

She gave him a coy smile. "What? I can't just be happy to see you?" she asked, her tone flirtatious.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't do that," he bit out.

She took a step closer to him, entering his space. "I don't know what you're talking about," she countered with a smirk.

He put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back a step. She didn't fight it, but her smile widened after he did it. It was like she had wanted him to do that. It made him feel like he lost a battle.

"Fine," she relented slightly. She crossed her arms underneath her bust and cocked her hip out, emphasising her curves. "I wanted to ask if I could come with you when you drop the kids off at the orphanage. We've been sitting in the dock for an extra three days and I could use the chance to stretch my legs." She struck a pose that was meant to show off her legs, wrapped in skintight pants.

That was another thing. She clearly had a thing for children. She had spent any moment that she wasn't bothering him with the children that they had rescued. When she asked what was going to happen with them, he hadn't seen any harm in telling her that they would be taken to the orphanage on the Citadel where they would stay until they could be returned to their families. She had been extremely interested in knowing that they would also be treated psychologically to help them deal with the trauma of being kidnapped. What almost got her vibrating with excitement was finding out that during the first year of being freed, we would be making sure that the children were able to receive therapy free of charge if the parents or living relatives couldn't afford it.

Still, coming to the orphanage wouldn't mean that she would meet Brock, as he had already left the Citadel on the Normandy. It was part of the reason for the delay in leaving the ship. Not the main one though. They needed some extra time to acclimatise the children to being around large crowds before they moved them out to the orphanage. Normally it wouldn't take so long, but a few of the children were getting panic attacks at the thought of leaving the ship. It had taken an extra couple of sessions with Doctor Selaen before they were willing to try.

"Very well," he conceded. Unless he wanted to be deliberately antagonistic, there was no reason for her to be kept on the ship. She wasn't a prisoner; she was under protection though. It just meant that he had to guard her on the Citadel. "You'll come with me, and when I leave, you will leave with me."

She threw him a coy look. "And maybe we can stop at some place to eat before we come back to the ship? Just you and me?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to see what her game was. Was she trying to throw him off, or just trying to be cute? He had no idea. Still, eating real food and not shipboard foodstuffs, even if they were the best foodstuffs available, wasn't an unreasonable request. He just didn't like how it was phrased.

"We can get some food," he said slowly. "But it won't just be us. Doctor Selaen will be joining us. We are dropping her at Ilium as a favour after all the work she has done for us."

The asari in front of him pouted. "Oh, how cruel of you," she grumbled. "Asking me to share like this. But I suppose it's fine, this time." Her pout vanished and she brightened. "I will just have to get you all to myself next time! Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to get ready and spend some time with the children before we depart."

With that, she flounced off to her quarters before Beau could even hope to reply.

He let out a slow, pained sigh. If it wasn't for the fact that she was Aria's daughter, he might suspect that she was flirting with him genuinely. But surely someone raised at the Pirate Queen's knee was working on agenda. He just needed to stay on guard to find out what it was. He would not give in.

No matter how good her legs and arse looked.

…

A/N Please Review and Follow/Favourite as you like.

I heard the comments. Unless absolutely necessary, for all chapters that haven't been written yet, I will make sure to not just do the side people in the universe. I will do a mix at best, like I have in this chapter. Anyways, I am worn out so I am off. I will see you all next time! Stay safe, friends!