A/N: This was written at the last minute for N7 Day. So be warned, it wasn't made with high quality writing in mind.
I do not own Mass Effect.
The Shadow Broker's Ship.
"Liara, could I ask you something?"
Pausing as she typed orders to one of her agents at her station, Liara T'soni turned around, smiling as she saw her old friend Commander Shepard in the entrance to the room.
Raising a finger, she silently typed in the last part of the message, before closing the screen and turning off the panel.
"Now you can. Go ahead." She said, gesturing in a friendly manner to the human Spectre.
"You've been checking the ship out for records of the last Broker dealing with the Collectors, right?" Shepard asked.
"Not yet, actually. Me and Feron haven't had the time. Why?" Liara asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I was wondering why the Broker was working with them" Shepard admitted.
Liara looked rather taken aback by this.
"What do you mean? He wanted to sell your body to the Collectors so-"
"Not that!" Shepard said quickly. " I was wondering why he was still fighting us after I came back. He knew about the Reapers and all, so I was wondering why he wouldn't try to help us stop them, or at least the Collectors."
Liara frowned. "He was already dealing with the Collectors at that point. Perhaps he thought if he went through on their deal they'd spare him?"
Shepard snorted. "He knew about the Reapers, and how they operate."
"So you have an explanation for why the Broker would help beings which he knew would kill him even if he succeeded?" Liara asked bluntly.
"Indoctrination." Shepard said, just as bluntly, before realizing the flaw in that logic. "No, he couldn't have been indoctrinated, how could they get to him when he never... left this ship…"
Slowly, Shepard trailed off. Liara said nothing.
As one, the two looked around them and at the walls surrounding them. They were in the Shadow Broker's ship, home to the galaxy's greatest knowledge broker, with sufficient wealth that the Brokers themselves could afford to buy planets.
And suddenly, the people in that ship felt much less safe.
"...We were going to have a celebration on Illium for a few days for beating the Collectors. You want to get Feron and leave this place for a bit?" Shepard asked suddenly, watching as Liara swiftly brought up a screen and started sending the security drones out to scan for anomalies on the ship.
"Hm? Oh, yes." Liara replied, quickly getting up and heading for the door after tapping out a message to the drell. "I was just thinking about finding a new base of operations. Maybe within the next two days if possible."
"Yeah, I figured that." Shepard said quickly, following after the asari.
End.