"The Protheans. Their technology and art continues to intrigue and inspire some of the most brilliant minds in the galaxy, even to this day."
That is what Dr. Liara T'Soni idly wondered as she gazed at the Prothean Mass Relay Monument, located on the Presidium of the Citadel. The monument was an awe-inspiring sight to behold, despite the fact that Liara had studied the technology extensively when attending the University of Serrice, back on the asari homeworld of Thessia. The asari inwardly smiled as she studied the imposing structure, her gaze roaming over the piece of art, her cerulean eyes brightened with wonder. A few minutes prior, Liara had delighted in informing an inquisitive young male turian about the history and nature of the Protheans. The archaeologist was pleased. "It is encouraging that the young are taking such an interest in the Protheans", Liara mused. "Such mysterious and wonderous people...who knows what we can learn from them?" Indeed, the very structure that the asari was currently standing in was possibly the greatest achievement of the Prothean people. The Citadel itself. Liara glanced around at her immediate surroundings, smiling in awe as she did so. In spite of the fact that the station had been constructed some 50,000 years ago, it still served as the political and cultural heart of galactic society. A perfect testament to the Protheans' continued influence over the galaxy.
Her interest in the Protheans is not the reason as to why Liara currently finds herself loitering in front of the Mass Relay Monument, however. "She is late, as per usual", Liara chuckled to herself. The asari was referring to her lover, and the woman that means more to her than any other individual in the galaxy. Commander Kate Shepard. Liara and Shepard had organised a date a few hours earlier, and the human had instructed the asari to rendezvous in front of the monument. Liara had made a conscious effort to adorn her slender form with the most beautiful clothing that she owned, in order to evoke a desirable response from her beloved Shepard. Attired in an elegant dress designed by expert asari tailors, Liara's stunning appearance was a sight to behold. Impatiently leaning against a guard railing, the asari wondered if Shepard had allowed their plans to slip her mind. She was a very busy woman, after all. As a Citadel Council Spectre and a renowned Alliance soldier, Shepard had an abundance of responsibilities that served as a priority over her personal life. "I am sure that she will arrive shortly", Liara reassured herself. The archaeologist thought back to the day that she had first met Shepard, on the planet Therum. The Commander had saved Liara from attacking geth, accompanied by an imposing and intimidating Krogan Battlemaster. The asari had felt indebted to Shepard ever since that day, grateful that Shepard had saved her life. Liara had later learnt that the Commander had been exposed to an ancient Prothean beacon, and had some kind of vision implanted into her brain, something which deeply intrigued Liara. At that point, she had never expected that her feelings for Shepard would develop into romantic attraction. She had found the Commander so fascinating, and was eager to learn more of the woman behind her "Hero of Elysium" moniker. She was drawn to Shepard's personality, and to the woman who...
"Geez, Liara. Can you not go five minutes without studying something related to the Protheans?"
Liara's head snapped around, turning toward the source of the voice addressing her, before smiling warmly at the instantly recognisable figure of Commander Shepard. The human had a playful grin etched on her beautiful Asian facial features, her full lips curled into a devious smile as she regarded her asari partner. Liara folded her arms, still grinning at her human lover. "Commander, I had stated before that humans are creatures of action that relentlessly pursue their goals. Quite appropriate that I was fortunate enough to meet the one human that struggles with punctuality", Liara joked. Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm standing here right now. Aren't you pleased to see me, Liara?" The asari chuckled to herself whilst shaking her head, before proceeding to approach the human Spectre, and planting a tender kiss on Shepard's full lips. "Have you been busy at all today, Shepard? I apologise if our date has resulted in you being forced to abandon any of your important duties. I know that you are an extremely busy woman, and it would be wrong of me to-". "Liara," interrupted Shepard, "I have cancelled all appointments and commitments that I had planned. Relax, I want to spend the day with you." The asari smiled warmly at Shepard in response, before offering her hand to the Commander, which Shepard accepted, and then beginning a leisurely stroll down the Presidium, hands loosely clasped together. Liara glanced at her partner's attire, and felt a surge of attraction within herself. The Commander was clothed in a formal dress, not too dissimilar to Liara's own. Prior to this day, the asari had only ever seen Shepard wearing her combat armor, or casual Alliance attire. The change of dress excited Liara, as it was rare to see Shepard wearing something that augmented her beauty in such a manner. Strolling alongside the human, hands clasped together, Liara gazed up at the artificial sky display of the Presidium, the gentle singing of birds flying overhead the only thing disturbing the tranquil silence. She glanced at her human lover, admiring the human's chin-length jet black hair, her delicate almond shaped dark eyes, and her full lips. Shepard had caught Liara's examination of her appearance, and responded with an amused grin.
"Wait. Just a second, Liara."
The abruptness with which Shepard halted surprised Liara, and she looked quizzically at the human Spectre. "Hang on, Liara. I need to speak to the volus in this office." Shepard stated, gesturing toward a door. "It will not take too long. I know that this is supposed to be our date, but it is very important. Sorry." The asari understood. Shepard was a Council Spectre, and a prominent soldier in the Alliance military. There were numerous responsibilities that these occupations entailed. Liara chuckled as she reassured herself that it was extremely unlikely that Shepard would ever leave her due to her duties.
"Very well, Commander. Just remember – I now expect you to spend an additional thirty minutes with me today due to this interruption." Liara quipped with a grin. Shepard chuckled, as the two women strode through the open office door. Liara was greeted by the curious sight of a volus standing behind a desk, with several computer terminals spread out in front of him. The volus seemed to be engrossed in his work, and extremely busy. Liara idly wondered about the nature of this individual's employment, and why it seems to be consuming so much of his time. Without warning, the volus looked up, noticing the two visitors for the first time.
"What's this? Ah. It is you, Shepard. Welcome back. I see that you are also accompanied by a rather beautiful asari, too." the volus greeted his two guests, with Liara ignoring the compliment regarding her physical appearance. "Hello again, Barla Von." Shepard replied. "Is there any new information that you can provide?"
"I am afraid not, Commander. The circumstances surrounding the information I gifted to you relating to Saren were unique. Any further information would cost a substantial amount of credits, you must understand. My employer is someone that you want to avoid angering." Barla Von replied. "I see no reason as to why he would ever wish to harm you or your companion here, though."
Liara observed the volus carefully, listening to his every word. The asari believed that Barla Von's affable demeanor belied a somewhat untrustworthy nature, one that she found quite disconcerting. Liara stood at Shepard's side, vigilant and suspicious of the volus.
Shepard spoke up. "Fine. I won't bother you any longer, Barla. Thank you for your time." With that, both Shepard and Liara left the volus' office, the pair eager to resume their date. Once again, Liara was free to enjoy Shepard's company, and admire the Citadel as the great Prothean structure that it was. She sighed, feeling contented and at peace. Without warning, Shepard suddenly stopped, and embraced Liara warmly, to which the asari eagerly returned the hug. "Liara, you know I never want to let you go, right? You mean the entire galaxy to me. It would tear me apart to ever be forced into leaving you behind." Shepard stated. Liara was pleasantly surprised at her partner's sudden display of emotion. The two parted, before staring deeply into each other's eyes. Liara admired Shepard's beautiful eyes, a gentle smile adorning her pretty facial features. The distance between their faces was narrowing, and as both Shepard and Liara were about to share yet another passionate kiss, the asari wondered if life could get any more perfect and...
Suddenly, a thundering nearby explosion rocked the Presidium, and interrupted the tender moment between the two lovers. Both Shepard and Liara turned toward the source of the blast, confusion, determination, shock and concentration etched on their respective focused facial expressions. Panicked screams could be heard all around both Shepard and Liara, as many nearby civilians attempted to flee the site of the explosion as quickly as possible. "Goddess, Shepard! What is going on?" Liara frantically inquired. A second sudden explosion rocked another nearby area, and both Shepard and Liara quickly approached the scene, eager to assist any survivors and determine the cause of the explosions.
"Come on, Liara! We have to help them!" Shepard yelled at her asari partner. Fire was beginning to engulf the Presidium. Without prior warning, the area's lighting unexpectedly failed, and the Presidium was dimly illuminated by the orange glow of the various fires now fiercely burning around Shepard and Liara as they rushed over to the site of the detonation. Screams and anguished cries of pain roared through the Presidium, the peace and tranquillity shattered in an instant. Just as suddenly as the blasts had occurred, beam weaponry pierced the exterior wall of the station, and gunfire could clearly be heard. "What the hell is going on?" Shepard yelled, as both she and Liara continued to run toward the scene of one of the now various explosions that had rocked the Citadel. Liara ran alongside Shepard, grim determination painted on her face. She resolved to help and save as many people as she possibly could. It was her duty.
Suddenly, various bipedal, bug-like aliens appeared, armed with bizarre looking assault rifles whom were killing any innocent civilians in close proximity. Both Shepard and Liara halted, morbid surprise and shock fuelling through their bodies. "Collectors?" Shepard exclaimed. "What the hell are they doing?" Liara's gaze roamed over the insectoid forms of the attackers. "The Collectors? Why would they attack the Citadel?"
"I don't know, Liara. But we're going to stop them." Shepard exclaimed. The human Spectre unholstered a pistol concealed in her dress, and Liara flared her biotics. "Come on, Liara! We have to hurry!" The pair quickly dived behind cover, around ten meters away from the numerous Collectors now firing at them with their assault weapons. Both Shepard and Liara simultaneously emerged from cover, Shepard firing her pistol and Liara unleashing a biotic Warp attack. Both seemed to be ineffective against the insect attackers. "We have to keep trying, Shepard. We cannot allow them to seize control of the station." Liara exclaimed. Shepard responded in the affirmative with a simple nod of her head. "Ready, Liara? Go!" The pair once again emerged from cover, Shepard firing her pistol and Liara unleashing her biotics, desperately attempting to stop the attacking Collectors. Unbeknownst to them, a single Collector had been preparing to fire it's beam weapon at the pair. It readied the weapon, took aim, and fired. Shepard screamed in pain as the beam struck her in the gut, whilst Liara grunted in agony as she sustained a wound to her leg from the Collectors' gunfire. Both women collapsed to the floor.
"Shepard! Goddess, Shepard! Are you okay? Say something, please!" Liara pleaded to her partner. "Liara..." the Commander breathlessly and weakly responded. "You...you have to go. Save...yourself!"
"I can't leave you, Shepard! Please! You must carry on!" Liara tearfully exclaimed. "Shepard!"
"Liara, save yourself."
Liara felt a presence behind her, and snapped her head around to witness a Collector of considerable stature ominously standing over the pair of them. The alien glanced at Shepard, before kicking the wounded Liara aside who was protectively shielding her lover. The alien clamped it's digits around the critically wounded Shepard, before beginning to drag the human Spectre away from Liara and towards the area from which the Collectors had first emerged.
"No! Shepard! Please! You can't leave me!" Liara cried. "Shepard!"
Shepard had now been dragged around five meters away from Liara's position. The wounded Spectre looked up to the asari, preparing to address her partner.
"Liara...Liara, go. Now."
Without warning, another cataclysmic explosion fiercely rocked the immediate area around Shepard, causing Liara to flinch and shield her eyes, the heat painfully scorching her face. The asari frantically returned her vision to Shepard, but was horrified and sickened by the sight that greeted her. Whilst still being dragged away by the Collector, Shepard's skin tone had deteriorated into a deathly pallor, her flesh ruptured and lacerated by glowing, crimson scars exposing muscle tissue. Her eyes, devoid of all life, were now illuminated by a seemingly synthetic red colour. Shepard was unresponsive, and consciousness had long since departed from her body. Liara was horrified, nauseating disgust and despair surging through the asari's body.
"Shepard!" Liara wailed. "I'm so sorry!" Tears streaming down her face, her voice hoarse.
"I'm so sorry!"
Liara awoke with a start, her cheeks wet with tears. Disorientated, she sat up in bed and glanced around her apartment in frenzied confusion and despair. Many different words and thoughts were attempting to establish dominance in her tired, tormented mind. Shepard. The Collectors. The Shadow Broker. Cerberus. Lazarus Project. Shepard...
Shepard.
Liara felt a deep pang of loss, guilt and misery strike her heart. The asari glanced over at her deceased lover's framed dog tags on her bedside table, standing beside her photograph of the Normandy. She reached out with a long, slender finger, lightly stroking Shepard's tags. "Goddess." Liara whispered. "I miss you so much, Shepard." The asari turned her head to glance at the window, and the night-time Nos Astra skyline visible beyond the glass. The archaeologist-turned-information broker lamented the death of her lover, her face contorted in sadness and agony. Every single time she closed her eyes, she could see the warm smile of the beautiful woman that she mourns, and continues to love.
"I'm so sorry, Shepard."
Laying back down in bed, Liara vacantly stared at the ceiling of her apartment, her thoughts consumed by Shepard, and her death. The gentle blue light emanating from her fish tank overlooking her bed illuminated the asari's body. Liara buried her face in her tear-stained pillow, and gently sobbed.
"I'm so sorry."