Survival of the fittest.
Synopsis: It's been said that only the strong survive, the weak fall under their sword and perish without a second thought. But even the strong falter once in a while.
Author's Note: This is something I had cooked up several months ago and finally got around to sharing. It's set after the second game and I guess could be considered AU? Enjoy!
She had heard this saying several times over the course of her knowing Shepard. She finally knew what it meant. Upon first laying eyes on the Commander when she came to her rescue on Therum, Liara T'soni knew this woman was powerful; power rolled off the woman in waves like a biotic pulse left an Asari commando; commanded one's utmost attention and rivaled that of Shepard's superiors. It drew the young and naïve Asari to the impressive individual that was Commander Shylah Shepard.
The Shadow Broker's personal AI, Glyph, bleeped at her as she sat hunched over a console. "You have received a message, Shadow Broker." Blue eyes lifted from the tiny words scrolling across the screen in front of her to look at the floating ball that hovered beside her incredulously. She received numerous messages each day and had instructed the AI to not inform her of everyone after the 1000th message had come in. Without prompting, the AI spoke again. "It is from a one Miranda Lawson. XO of the Normandy SR2. Cerber…"
"I know who she is." Liara snapped at Glyph, cutting it off as rose from her seat, gaining Feron's unwanted attention in the process. "Send it to my quarters." She was already heading for the door as the AI responded with a "As you wish, Shadow Broker." Once out of sight of both Glyph and Feron, she was practically running for her quarters.
Slightly winded as she dropped into the chair at her personal station, her fingers flew over the screen, quickly inputting the needed information to pull up the message. It read: "Liara. I hope this reaches you. The mission to defeat the Collectors was a success, however, not without loss of life." It was here Liara had to take a breath, steel herself for what she dreaded most in the universe. "We lost several crew when they were abducted by the Collectors. The rest of us came away more fortunate." A sigh was released here. They were still alive. All of them. "I write you because…Shepard. She is alive but barely." The Asari's breath caught, heart jumping into her throat. "I have sent a similar message to Ashley Williams at the request of Dr. Chakwas, despite my reservations. We are picking Chief Williams up on our way to Hagalaz. Dr. Chakwas would like to bring Shepard there and asks that you have the medical bay ready. We'll be there in one day's time."
Liara allowed her head to drop, chin resting on her chest as tears leaked from her eyes. I'm going to lose her. Again. Only this time I get to watch her fade. She thought with a sob. Her head fell into her hands, shoulders shaking as she cried. She jumped when she felt a hand brush her shoulder before resting on it. "Liara…" Feron's voice soothed the distraught Asari some. She winced as she looked up at her Drell companion, reaching up to wrap her fingers around his hand. "I will take over for as long as you need."
Liara turned, rising from her chair to face her friend, face marked with tear tracks. "Thank you, my friend." She leaned up, pressing her lips to the side of his mouth. Words could not express how relieved she was when he offered no further questions. She didn't wish to speak of it, think of it. "They will arrive tomorrow some time. Until then, rest, Feron. I have things to do before taking leave." The Drell looked at her silently before nodding.
"Very well. If I do not see you again before you leave for the Normandy…Be well." Liara watched him retreating form unable to tell to tell him they were coming to the base, staring at the closed doors of her quarters. How was she to "be well" when her love was dying?
Feron meant well, she knew, but had never been good with words. He tried though, and for that, Liara was grateful beyond words. She returned to her seat out in the main part of the base after cleaning up and washing her face. Feron was nowhere in sight. Even the AI seemed to realize now wasn't the best time to address her as it quietly went about whatever it did while she worked silently.
Minutes melted into hours and before long, Glyph was informing her that the Normandy was in orbit. The only acknowledgement given was her rising from her chair to move to the communications relay, hailing the Normandy. "It's good to hear your voice, Liara." Came Joker's over the connection. A smile ghosted over blue lips. "Likewise, Joker. Everything is ready." Joker hesitated on the other end before replying. "Copy that. Dr. Chakwas, Miranda, and Mordin are prepping the shuttle and the Commander as we speak. Should be down within the next half hour."
Liara felt herself nod before mentally smacking herself, knowing Joker wouldn't see the nod. "Alright, Joker. We are not going anywhere." The communication was cut and she soon flopped herself back down at the terminal she'd been at all night. Her eyes, while on the screen, didn't see the words present. Her mind was elsewhere. What had caused Shepard to be in such a condition? Why did Dr. Chakwas insist she be moved here? Was there any hope?
She jumped when the AI spoke to her left. "Shadow Broker. A shuttle has been dispatched from the Normandy." She shifted and rose, wondering how long she had been lost in thought as she moved to meet the shuttle crew. Upon the arrival of the shuttle, half the Normandy's ground crew arrived with it. Miranda and Mordin helped Dr. Chakwas secure Shepard as they removed the gurney she was on from the shuttle. She was soon greeted by the faces of an Asari Justicar, a Krogan warrior, and face of Ashley Williams as they piled from the shuttle.
"Liara. We should get her to the med bay." Miranda's voice cut through the fog at seeing the new faces arriving at her home. She blinked, her eyes trailing to the pale face of her lover. Aside from the pallor of her skin and a few scratches on the visible patches of skin, there appeared to be no reason for her state. "Yes. Of course." She turned, calling for the AI. It appeared in a sparkle of light, addressing the Asari. "Please show these to their rooms. And then to the med bay." She ordered before motioning for the three in charge of Shepard. "Follow me."
Once there, she remained out of the way by the door, looking on as they hooked Shepard up to the machines. A hand fell on her shoulder and she jerked, head turning to look into the face of Ashley. Blue eyes met with chocolate ones, both holding a sadness that neither could understand. Reaching up, Liara placed her hand over Ashley's, squeezing gently before moving over to where Shepard now lay. "What is wrong with her?" She asked as Williams joined her on the left. A blue hand brushed the prone woman's forearm while another hand touched her knuckles.
Liara's head canted, watching the way Ashley brushed her fingers over Shepard's skin, worshipping the soft pale plain under her touch. Dr. Chakwas' voice shook her from her thoughtful meanderings. "We don't know exactly." She stood on the other side of the bed, looking between Asari and human. "We've run every test we could think of. Samara has even joined with her." Liara tensed at those words. Another Asari joined with her love?
"Do not worry, Dr. T'soni." Came the calm voice of the Justicar as she and Grunt entered the med bay. "As soon as the joining was completed, I was removed from her mind. Forcefully." The pair moved to stand at the foot of the bed, eyes on their Commander while Liara looked at her. The elder Asari had the same air about her that had attracted her to Shepard. She shivered.
"We've brought her here because you have far more sophisticated equipment at your disposal." Miranda's accented voice cut in. Beside her, Liara felt Ashley's weight shift towards her, their shoulders brushing. "What if Liara tried joining with her?" She suggested, looking between the two in charge of Shepard and Samara. The Justicar appeared thoughtful at this. "When I was pushed out, it felt as if she didn't want me there. Perhaps if you did join, she will recognize you and you may glean what information the doctors require from her subconscious."
Ashley's brow arched. "So in others words, it couldn't hurt to try." She surmised. Samara's head gave a slow tilt, affirming the words. Three sets of eyes then landed on Liara and she could feel the weight of their gazes. She nodded slowly, eyes shifting to Shepard's face. "Alright." She winced at the shakiness of her voice at the one word. What if it didn't work? What if Shepard's mind forced her out as it had Samara?
With a determined frown, she moved to the head of the bed, her left hand lifting to gently brush her fingers over the pale forehead of her love, careful to avoid any scrapes and bumps that may be there. She exhaled softly, closing her eyes a moment before they popped open, black as night as she formed the bond between Shepard and herself.
A flash; screeching; the sound of gun fire. She had literally stepped into the battle that caused Shepard to be put into the condition she was in. She stood in awe as she gazed upon the battlefield. The huge humanoid Reaper hung from the ceiling while Shepard, Miranda and Kasumi fought with the Collector's. "Target the tubes!" Shepard shouted, pointing to the orange cylinders attached to the Reaper. Seconds later, the metallic mass was tumbling past the platforms to the abyss below.
But as she watched, Shepard didn't relax. It was as if the human knew this wasn't over. "Fall back!" She ordered, falling back to the middle platform as the platforms began to shake. Had she been present, Liara would have fallen over as Kasumi had in her scramble to follow Shepard's order when the Reaper's form appeared over the platform, looming over the group. "By the Goddess…." She breathed, gazing up at the malevolent creature in awe and fear as Shepard and her team opened fire on it fearlessly.
Shepard, you cannot stop us. Liara's eyes cut over to the glowing Collector, brows rising at the words. Shepard said nothing, returning fire to the enemies alongside her companions. Now focused on the Reaper, Liara looked on as Shepard danced a dance of the dangerous Vanguard she was. Biotics didn't affect the Reaper, but they would still be thrown with deadly accuracy at the Collectors without ever taking her complete focus off the Reaper.
She looked on as the Reaper charged its attack, the mouth of the beast swirling in fiery hues. Shepard was preoccupied by the Collectors this time. "Look out!" Miranda's warning was too late for Shepard and Kasumi. The beam hit them squarely in the chest, sending them sprawling to the floor below. Liara could see the remnants of the beam lingered, dancing through Shepard's armor as Kasumi regained her footing and covered Shepard as she regained her wits and pulled herself to her feet. "Time to end this…" The human growled, removing the heavy artillery she carried with her. The beam rifle quickly brought down the human Reaper and it fell, bringing the platform the team stood on down with it.
She gasped as she came back to herself, feeling a strong hand on her shoulder as she swayed. Blue eyes shifted to Miranda. "How many times was she hit by the weapon?" She questioned. Miranda blinked at the suddenness of the question. "Twice. Why?" Liara shifted, glancing around those present. "She showed me the fight. Flashes of it. She knew it was me." She glanced at Ashley, whose hand still remained on her shoulder, before moving her gaze over to Samara, who looked as calm as ever.
"When you rebuilt her…What did you do?" The question held a hint of malice as did Liara's face. Miranda looked stunned for a moment before going into explanation of what the Lazarus Project involved. Cybernetic implants to reconstruct the Commander's skeleton, reconstruction of the skin, and fluids to restart the blood flow and internal organs. A wave of Liara's hand cut her off. "The cybernetics. What of those?"
Miranda frowned, unsure of where this line of questioning was going. "Standard implants that were...Tweaked, for the lack of a better term, with element zero to help speed up the rebuilding process as well as strengthen her Biotics. What are you getting at, Dr. T'soni?" The Australian's voice hardened then, her eyes chilly. She was trying to help the Asari's lover and she was being questioned like a criminal?
Ashley spoke up then, cutting off the two from turning this into something more. She wanted to get the bottom of this but those two weren't going to make it easy if they kept that up. "Are you saying that the implants might have something to do with this?" Liara's mouth twitched, forcing herself to look at Ashley as she nodded. "Ms. Lawson said she was struck by the Reaper's weapon twice. Whilst joined with her, I witnessed each one of the team get hit at least once, while the only one it had any real effect on was Shepard. Even the first time it hit her." She gestured to the woman.
Miranda's frown was back. "I noticed this but merely suspected that it was because her shields were down. We never thought to look at the implants.." Her eyes cut over to Dr. Chakwas and Mordin. Mordin moved forward then, one hand on his chin, looking down at Shepard. "Yes, run diagnostics on the implants. Not sure of effects the weapon might have due to not being able to study more fully, however." He chirped before moving off to do something on a console nearby.
"You guys do that. We'll get out of your way." Ashley chimed in, tugging at Liara's shoulder. "I'm starving. Show me where the grub is?" Liara looked reluctant to leave, but knew she would be of no help and only get in the way. She turned away and led Ashley, Grunt and Samara to the common area.