Here's some Nexus Network goodness for you all. Sabinus' mom is a special lady.

[hider=Meeting the In-Laws]
[I]Palaven, some years ago…[/I]

[color=cyan]”Y’know, I’ve heard Palaven was a bright and shiny planet that wants to give me skin cancer, but you never told me it was going to burn out my retinas.”[/color] Tanya said, shielding her eyes as she looked out of the terminal window at the surrounding space port. The entire planet was shiny, impossibly so, and the architecture was largely the straight, hard angles that turians seemed to favour, as if curvature was offensive. She wore long sleeves and pants, gloves, and a wide-brimmed hat that covered her face and neck, along with the strongest sunscreen they could find at the duty-free. She was finding that her decision to forego any kind of sunglasses was a poor one. An arm came around her waist, pulling her close to Sabinus, who gave her an affectionate squeeze as they looked out at the Palaven horizon together. 

[color=cadetblue]“You’re lucky we’re not doing any sight-seeing today, you’d need a more protective outfit.”[/color] he said, looking down at his shorter partner, seeing mostly dark hat brim and the faintest suggestion of a chin. He breathed out, his vocal chords vibrating in a faint [I]hmm[/I]. 
[color=cadetblue]”I honestly didn’t know if and when I’d step foot on Palaven again, you don’t decide to lose yourself on Elysium if you plan on moving around on a whim. It’s still beautiful, still home, just… there’s a bit of discomfort being here. I left for a reason.”[/color] he admitted, staring out into a familiar skyline he was never sure when he’d see again. The thought it was going to be the very last time was sobering. 

[color=cyan]”It’s like Terra Nova for me. I haven’t dared thinking of returning there since the standoff.”[/color] Tanya replied, avoiding loaded words that would bring back what she had done. [color=cyan]”The place was the only home I’d known for so long. I close my eyes sometimes and I feel the warm desert heat, the music the neighbours played, the festivities downtown. It hurts knowing that I’ll never have that again, but… I have you, and you have me. You’re not facing this alone.”[/color] 

The turian chuckled, almost pitifully. [color=cadetblue]”Oh, trust me. You’re going to wish I was. My parents aren’t exactly the easiest to get along with. Don’t be surprised if mother interrogates you.”[/color] from his tone, Tanya couldn’t tell if he was joking or entirely serious. 

[color=cyan]”You never mentioned what they thought of you dating a human.”[/color] Tanya observed, picking up her bag again as they headed towards the terminal’s exit. Sabinus was quiet for a few moments, something that wasn’t exactly uncommon. He did not mind taking a few moments of silence to provide thoughtful answers. He was not the kind of man who spouted off the first thing that came to his mind or acted out of strong emotions.

[color=cadetblue]”Honestly? Couldn’t make heads or tails of it, I think that’s the expression. Mother seemed curious, although my father muttered something about it being the fate of those who lived off-world. I think he’s more pissed off that he’s not getting grandchildren.”[/color] He replied after a spell.

An impish grin crossed Tanya’s face as she playfully shoved an elbow into Sabinus’ flank. [color=cyan]”Well, it’s never too late to adopt a kid and abandon it on their doorstep.”[/color]

That earned a surprised and barely restrained snicker. [color=cadetblue]”Spirits, there’s something wrong with you.”[/color]  he retorted, playfully winking. [color=cadetblue]”We’ll see if there’s time to swing by a local orphanage if they bring it up.”[/color]

From the terminal, it was simply a matter of chartering a skycar, the fee covered by the veteran’s association for members of turian society who were injured in the line of duty, and they shot off through the Cipritine skyline, the sharply angled skyscrapers appearing to be flat blades cutting through the golden air. Tanya was transfixed; she’d never thought she’d find herself on the turian homeworld, and though she’d had her fair share of encounters with turians over the years, it was always on something of a home or neutral turf. Here she truly felt alien; there weren’t many non-turians on Palaven on account of its harsh ecosystem and high solar radiation that gave almost all the indigenous life metallic carapaces. She smiled to herself, reflecting on how awful it must have been for the earliest spaceport metal detectors when they received their first turian passengers coming into human worlds. 

Cipritine struck Tanya as the strongest argument for humans that compared turians to birds; everything seemed like it was silver and impossibly shiny, as if the entire society was what would happen if magpies became the dominant species on Earth. Everything seemed impossibly advanced, especially compared to the human standards she was accustomed to. She excitedly watched the city pass by and looked over to Sabinus, who had a stern and somewhat rigid expression. She could tell he was anxious. Taking his large two fingered hand into her own, she offered him a reassuring squeeze. [color=cyan]”Don’t worry about all of this, Sabinus. I’m a real charmer when it comes to parents.”[/color]

He grunted, his eyes fixed on a tower in the distance that was approaching fast. [color=cadetblue]”Uh-huh. How many were turian anti-insurgency agents?”[/color]
[color=cyan]”Just the one. I heard she’s really going to like me. Say, do they have a car or appliance that needs repairs? That old party trick usually breaks the ice.”[/color]
[color=cadetblue]”You can ask them yourself; we’re here.”[/color] He sighed, straightening out his coat. [color=cadetblue]”Showtime.”[/color]
Tanya took Sabinus’ hand in both of hers, forcing him to face her. [color=cyan]”Sabinus, this is the last time you’ll get to see your family again. This is your chance to say goodbye and make amends, your parents know it too. They wouldn’t have invited us to stay with them for the month if they didn’t care about you. You’re a good man, I know it and they know it. Besides, I’m a big girl; I can handle a few snarky comments.”[/color] she reassured him, kissing him on the half-mandible. That made him smile. 

[color=cadetblue]”Well, I suppose you have a knack for winning over turians. Thank you, I know I should be excited about this, seeing them again I mean. Time has a way of distorting your vision, and I know I owe it to them to try.”[/color]
[color=cyan]”So, which one’s theirs?”[/color] she asked as the skycar came in to the central landing area of the massive tower. Sabinus grinned, looking Tanya in the eye. [color=cadetblue]”Oh, just the 236th through 238th floors. We turians aren’t fond of large individual estates, but partitioning large sections of buildings is our way of wealthy indulgence. Helps us reconcile the needs of the community before the individuals with displays of wealth and status. It’s kind of like the quarians if they weren’t trapped on small ships with limited resources and had room to expand.”[/color]

Tanya blinked, looking around at the opulent-looking masonry and shaped alloys of the landing level. [color=cyan]”You grew up here? Makes my two bedroom, single floor, 5 cell prefab home on Terra Nova look like a shithole in a post-apocalyptic dystopia vid.”[/color]

The skycar landed in the drop-off zone, settling down with well-practiced hands. The shift from momentum to a complete stop was barely felt. Tanya went to tip the driver, who looked at her with a puzzled expression. 
[color=cadetblue]”Oh, we don’t do that here. Tips could be looked at like bribes under certain circumstances.”[/color] Sabinus explained, heading out of the car.  Tanya followed suit, apologizing to the driver with genuine embarrassment. After retrieving their belongings, she looked around at the cavernous landing area, shaped like a hollowed out and squared off Mayan pyramid in the center of the tower with generous lighting on each of the “steps”. It struck Tanya as a luxury hotel, although it was more simplistic and practical than what she’d expect on most human worlds. The architecture was refined enough to seem pleasing to the eye without seeming excessive. Turians were nothing if no-nonsense people.

As they stepped through the open doors that headed into a lobby that contained a communal area, small convenience store, and a fitness center, a familiar-looking pair of turians stood in the way, and from the colour of the female’s eyes, it was definitely Atia and Quinnus Tannyx, Sabinus’ mother and father. Atia was garbed in a black and white business suit, giving the impression that even in her own home she made the effort to appear authoritative, and Quinnus in a pleasing-looking purple jacket. His facial structure definitely was more in line with his son, save for Sabinus’ nose and eyes. 

“Welcome home, Sabinus. We’ve been checking on your voyage daily, I trust it went smoothly?” Quinnus asked.

[color=cadetblue]”About as well as you can expect from public shuttles from halfway across the galaxy. Mother, father, this is-“[/color]

“Tanya Carson.” Atia interrupted, looking over Tanya with an unwavering stare, as if diagnosing a medical patient.  “Age 48, Earthborn, naturalized Terra Novan citizen. Former Systems Alliance Marine, 6th Fleet, 63rd Division. Served as infantry and mechanical engineer, a decorated veteran of the Mindoir campaigns with a Distinguished Service Medal. Honourable discharge on the 7th year of service, went off the grid to work as a mercenary after being reassigned to reserve units after Mindoir due to untreated post-traumatic stress disorder. Ended vocation as a mercenary after an incident on Terra Nova where Belle Carson and other Terra Firma party aligned individuals held up a Systems Alliance recruitment office and Belle Carson was neutralized when she refused to release a hostage she was holding by her own daughter. 

“After being cleared of criminal charges due to acting in the defense of others and holding a funeral for her mother, Tanya Carson would go on to Elysium to isolate herself from her previous associations and used what little credits she retained from mercenary contracts to open an automotive repair shop where she remained until she caught the attention of the Andromeda Initiative. That brings her here, at the cusp of entering my home, on the arm of my only son.” Atia bowed her head as a sign of respect, although it was hard to tell if it was a formality or genuine. “It is my honour to welcome you into the family, as Sabinus might not have returned to us at all had he not come into your life.”

Tanya, to her credit, didn’t visibly recoil from the blunt assessment Atia had given her; Sabinus had prepared her well for his mother’s mannerisms. Interrogating prisoners was no different than interrogating people who became integrated into her life, and Tanya had years to come to terms with the fact that people would be using her mother against her. If it wasn’t batarian related or a demon from her own mind, Tanya was an extremely difficult person to unnerve. Instead, she grinned and replied, [color=cyan]”You forgot recovering alcoholic and semi-professional painter. I hope having to shoot my deranged mother in the face isn’t a detriment in an otherwise glowing career path of scorching earth and regrowth, but from what I’ve heard about your career in the hastatim, it’s not uncommon to have to do the same thing to extended family. Greater good and all that, yeah?”[/color]

Atia chuckled, a dark rumble that sounded cavernous with the turian’s natural vocal flange. “On the contrary, I quite admire your resolve and ability to put aside personal emotions for the greater good, as you put it. I am not without heart, I have sympathies for your mother’s fate, but despite your… uniquely personal attributes, I feel that you would have had an exemplary service in the Hierarchy. My son chose well. Please, let me take your bags. You must be fatigued from your travels.”

Tanya didn’t resist the offer, holding it out like it was a briefcase of credit chits, which the turian took. [color=cyan]”I appreciate that. Of course, mom was a bit troubled and fucked up after I came back a bit of a mess from the Alliance, so you’ll have to take me at my word that considering that was the first time I’d seen her in years, I’d have preferred to sit down and look at one another over coffee than down a gun sight.”[/color] she said, looking around casually. The way she was working her fingers, like when she was operating her omni-tool, told Sabinus that she was struggling to maintain her composure. As much rehearsal as she might have had for this moment, she was still struggling with the raw emotions of it all. However, she changed track, and Atia having been satisfied at the human woman’s resolve, elected to let that line of conversation dissolve.

[color=cyan]”Beautiful building you call home, by the way. This reminds me of a lot of places that I’d been turned down a room for the night. You’d think military service would pay better.”[/color] she observed, and the four headed down the corridor to a glass lift at the end of it. [color=cyan]”Did you take the house over after evicting the previous owner from having ties to Facinus?”[/color] she asked cheerfully.

Sabinus tensed up, not at all anticipating the backhanded compliment and insinuating Atia had destroyed a person’s life to get ahead. Instead, his mother laughed and actually seemed… amused? He shared a look with his father, whose smirk and continued silence meant he was happy being the observer, as per usual. 

Atia replied, placing a hand on Tanya’s shoulder. She towered over the human. “You are bold and sharp-tongued. I like you, Corporal Carson. You stand your ground and look for weaknesses in your adversary’s defences... There’s a fire in your spirit that I rather admire, I do admit. But no, the suite is mostly thanks to Quinnus’ work and smart investment practices. He’s the planner in our marriage, I’m the doer. Where I see weeds that need to be plucked from the garden, he’s the one who finds ways to prevent them from coming back. It’s complimentary, shoring up weaknesses. From what I’ve studied about the dossier I’ve had compiled about you and Sabinus’ infrequent messages to us, I can see that he found that in you.”

Quinnus finally spoke, walking astride of Tanya. His disposition was far more casual and relaxed, and if Atia was a viper waiting to strike, he was an elephant, self-assured that nothing challenged his security. “I’ve actually taken quite an interest in your paintings, Tanya. My wife found your art portfolio and store; try to conceal your surprise. The one called, [I]Shit Happens[/I], I think it was? The one with the asteroid smashing through the Citadel? That is cathartic for me. You would not believe the amount of hurdles Citadel authorities make you jump through, even with high Hierarchy clearance, to access the historical archives. It’s improper for me to say, but I’ve often wished for a scenario such as that to clear away the bureaucrats that are the bane of my career. Is there a reason you composed that particular piece the way you did?” he asked, earnestly excited. Quinnus was the imaginative one of his parents, Sabinus recalled.

[color=cyan]“Honestly, I just have things pop up in my mind throughout the day, and sometimes it lingers long enough for me to get onto a canvas.  I guess I just thought it was an amusing enough thought that the unassailable and invincible seat of galactic government was just taken out by the most mundane of galactic coincidences. It’s like an upscaled auto wreckage, it happens every day, but once in a while it’s close enough to matter.”[/color] she explained.

[color=cadetblue]”She’s also done a few rather unflattering portraits of her former crewmembers who are joining the Initiative. She mailed them off to their families as a sort of farewell prank that they will be 600 years too late to stop.”[/color] Sabinus interjected. He’d asked Atia to hunt those particular addresses down, and a look of recognition crossed her face. They stepped into the lift after another enamored couple stepped off of it, heading into the fitness facility.

“You had me use government resources to track down addresses across the galaxy so you could play a joke on your friends?” Atia asked quizzically.

[color=cyan]”What’s the point of having sort of in-laws if you can’t abuse some old fashioned nepotism?”[/color]

The glass doors closed.

“I knew I was going to like you.”

[/hider]