...though these theories are yet to be confirmed. However, Athame, as well as her aides Janiri and Lucen, were doubtlessly Protheans (fig. 28, 29, 30 - asari busts compared to reconstructed P. faces). The reasons...
A sound near your right ear makes you raise your head - and suddenly you're face-to-face with a creature that looks like a cross-breed between a dog and a deep-sea fish. A pair of oversized eyes, each as big as your palm and perfectly round, stare at you from a hairless, heavy head. There's an innocent sparkle in them, though the effect is somewhat diminished by the dozen or so knife-like teeth emerging from the muzzled maw.
Wait...muzzled?
"Urz!" a female voice calls sternly. A woman with red hair, scarred cheeks, and sunglasses grabs the creature's collar and drags it away. You recognize it now - a varren. And here you thought they didn't even allow dogs on the public transport.
The woman sighs. "Sorry. He can be such a pest sometimes." For a moment you want to answer her, but then she continues, "So, what were you asking?", and you realize she hasn't been talking to you. You drop your gaze to your datapad again but your concentration is broken.
"I was asking," - the voice is relayed through your in-ear translator and carries more than a hint of amusement - "when he is coming back."
"Hell if I know." You can almost hear the shrug if not see - the woman and her conversational partner are standing behind you, the varren is sniffing around somewhere.
A chuckle. "Oh, so you are perfectly fine with only Urz as company? No staring at old pictures of the squad or sentimentally stroking sniper rifles or-?"
"I swear, Liara T'Soni..." There is barely supressed mirth in the statement but you only register the name. Liara T'Soni. The Liara T'Soni?
You turn around but fall back in your seat without glimpsing more than a flash of blue.
You take a deep breath before risking another glance. The asari, who is now laughing with human, definitely looks like the pictures of T'Soni you've found on the extranet. Freckles and eyebrows - you'd thought it a photomanipulation the first time you saw it. At least it makes the chief expert on the Protheans pretty unmistakeable.
You keep staring at her for the next two minutes, wondering what to do, and silently hoping nobody notices your creepy behaviour. A cool voice startles you from your reverie as it announces the next stop. You have to act now or you'll miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to talk to your favourite author.
"Uh...sorry?" As you rise with the datapad clutched tightly to your chest, the two women - is it okay to call an asari a woman? You suddenly can't remember - stop their conversation. The varren sniffs your left boot. "I, ah, are you Doctor T'Soni?"
The asari smiles. "I am. And you are?"
"Err, a...a fan." You fumble with the 'pad.
The redhead snorts and mouthes something towards the asari, who responds with a stern glance.
"I apologize for my friend's behaviour. What can I do for you?"
Liara T'Soni is speaking to you! "I, ah, I'm just reading 'Prothean Influences on the Current Cycle...re-reading...and I was wondering if you could give me an autograph?"
Doctor T'Soni smiles, says "Of course," and accepts the 'pad as you hand it to her. The other woman watches amusedly, judging by the broad grin that distorts her scarred features.
The varren has moved on to your right boot by the time the Doctor hands the datapad back. "Here you go," she says with a smile. The other woman coughs pointedly, and there's that dirty look again. It's almost as good as your best friend's.
Redhead blows up her cheeks - that has to hurt, you think - and exhales loudly. "Well, I guess that's my clue," she says. "Leave the fame for the young 'uns, and descend into oblivion."
"Now you're being overly dramatic." T'Soni has seemingly fogotten you, and so has the varren who's looking back and forth between the two women.
The scarred woman shrugs. "Hey, I think I've earned that much."
"We all did, Commander," says T'Soni almost accusingly.
You're pretty sure the woman rolls her eyes behind the shades. "Yeah, but you have another nine centuries to be so. Either way, this is my stop, so...see you?" The woman doesn't wait for a response but simply walks to the doors, the varren following at her heels.
T'Soni stares after her, like pretty much everyone else on the train. When it stops and the doors hiss open, she suddenly unfreezes. "Shepard!" Wait...what? T'Soni hastens to the doors and leans out, you follow discretely. "I will never forget you, if no one else does."
The woman - Shepard - turns with a smile, pulling the glasses off in the same movement to expose bright green eyes. "By the godess, Liara," she says mockingly, "you still haven't figured out that humour thing, have you? See you next week. C'mon, Urz!"
And with these words, she vanishes into the sunny afternoon.