The most I can give
Xandi Sue Shepard approached the security camera that covered the walk way. She looked straight into it's lens.
"Liara stop recording me please I want it to be a surprise," she knew in a few minutes the words would be erased from where ever the recording was kept. Perhaps Liara would replace it with a few of the more ludicrous sound bytes from the Shepard operating system that had appeared during the spectre's time being deceased. Satisfied that Liara was doing as she asked she called an air car and travelled to an office three blocks away. Traffic was surprisingly light considering it was the start of the Illium work day.
"So that is what I want," she finished explaining to the asari behind the desk.
"While you aren't the first to voluntarily go into such a contract I must say the specifics of this are unusual," the alien woman said. "Most of the time the contracts entered into are either to gain a skill or more physical in nature."
"I just want to know can it be done?"
"Yes I believe so," the asari said. "We will have to be careful with the wording, while Illium isn't in citadel space we find it best not to interfere with spectre business if it brings them here. We don't want this arrangement to bring undue attention from the council because a single sentence suggested you entered into the arrangement under coercion."
"That's understandable," Shepard said. "Of course I would like to be involved in the writing myself, to make sure the wording is intimate enough to convey why I have chosen to do this."
"Very well," the asari said with a smile. "Now I believe we need to talk about costs."
"Enough to cover the salaries of every one involved in the process plus, lets say 5000 credits."
"That's an outrageous price," the asari said. "For something this delicate I believe we are owed closer to a quarter of a million."
"You'll take my offer," Shepard said. "You and I both know I have no problem using my spectre status. Also you'll make sure all of this remains confidential, because if it doesn't the recipient of this gift contract will likely be angry with you, she probably knows things that would make this company bankrupt in less than a second."
"You raise a very good point," the asari said. "How about just the five thousand credits and I'll do all the paper work myself. In fact the company doesn't even have to be involved so the only record will be the contract its self."
"I like the way you think."
A few hours later it was done and the contract existed as a physical thing Xandi could actually hold in her hands. It was good that the asari had needed some quick money for her own purposes. Xandi decided she would ask Liara what the woman had spent it on. For now though it was time to deliver the contract. Carefully she made her way to Liara's Illium office were they had first been reunited after Xandi's large brush with death. Liara wasn't there at the moment though, she was still on the hidden ship that served as the nexus of the shadow broker's information network. There was a lot of data to sort through after all. She really hoped her sexy little scientist would find something that would help in the coming fight against the reapers. Shepard placed the contract in the dead drop in the hall outside Liara's Illium office and then made her way to the nearby bar. Once exchanging pleasantries with the asari matron who worked the bar and ordering a drink she made her way to a quiet spot on the balcony were she knew no one would disturb her. She opened a comm link on a channel only she knew about.
"Hey Liara," she said in a contented voice. "You can start keeping an eye on me again."
There was no answer but she knew Liara was listening and watching.
"I got you something nice," Xandi said. "Left it at the place. I wish you were here right now or rather I wish I was there. Make sure Feron doesn't touch my stuff that I left there. I love you."
A few days later Liara was actually in her Illium office finalising some details to have it closed. She had been at it for afew hours and decided it was time to take a break. Time to see what kind of present Xandi had bought her. She had already retrieved it this morning but responsibilities came first. Which was why as much as she wanted to she hadn't immediately gone to Xandi's side upon her return to life. Why they weren't together at this very moment. She began to read the contract Xandi had left.
Contract of Indentured Servitude
The holder of the is contract, Doctor Liara T'soni, is entitled to the Lifetime Service of Xandi Sue Shepard by the way of gifting said service. The indentured servitude of Xandi Sue Shepard begins immediately as soon as this contract is received by Liara T'soni.
It is the contract holder's responsibility to
1. Provide lodgings for the indentured servant
2. Allow indentured servant to fulfil her duties as a spectre
3. Be patient with her when she doesn't understand a significant archaeological discovery
4. Help her become a better person
5. Support her emotionally when the memory of certain instances become to much
6. Love her despite her many flaws
It is the Indentured Servant's responsibility to
1. Provide any kind of manual labour
2. Ensure spectre duties are fulfilled quickly so she can return to the contract holder's side with minimum delay
3. Finish her current part time external education through the University of Thessia and receive her qualification to go on archaeological digs in order to assist the contract holder
4. Live for at least another 160 years, barring unforeseen illness and catastrophic natural disaster.
5. Tell the contract holder every thing about her troubled past and be open about how certain current events are really affecting her.
6. To Love the contract holder, honour her and obey her except when she is being totally unreasonable and preventing sexy fun time.
7. To always try to be the better person the contract holder has inspired her into being
This contract only expires upon the death of the contract holder, Liara T'soni. The signing of this contract has been witnessed by a third party to show that the indentured servant has gifted her service of her own free will.
The document continued on for another page with the various legal jargon that was required for Illium's guzzied up ethical slavery called indentured servitude. The bottom of the document was signed by Xandi Sue Shepard, Liara noticed the cute way Xandi always made the X much larger than it needed to be in a secret acknowledgement of the fact she used to be illiterate. Next came the signature of the third party observer. It always surprised Liara that Jacqueline Naught had such feminine hand writing. She would have to ask Xandi how she convinced her to do it considering the subject matter in those poems that kept getting rejected. The final signature was of an asari who worked at one of the companies that dealt in the indentured servitude contracts. One of the more reputable ones at least. Liara smiled to herself, this must be Xandi's valentines gift. She turned the document over to find Xandi's own hand writing.
The most I can give to the one I love is all of me