Chapter 1: Return to Illium

Upon arriving on Illium, Shepard decided to go out and see Liara by himself. As it appeared at the moment, all Shepard was going to be doing was give Liara some information. No shooting required. But Shepard did pack his usual arsenal just in case.

Shepard made his way through the crowds of humans, Asari, and Volus and made his way up to wear Liara's office was, also noticing that her Asarti receptionist was not there. Curious, Shepard walked in and saw Liara working in a manner that reminded him of Miranda's usual position on the Normandy. Liara looked up from her work and smiled at Shepard as he walked in.

"Shepard. It's good to see you again. What can I do for you?"

"First…" Shepard asked as he took his seat. "Just out of curiosity, where's your receptionist?"

"Oh, you mean Nyxeris? I recently uncovered evidence that she was…working with the Shadow Broker. I…spoke to her about that"

The hesitant pause in that last bit told Shepard everything he needed to know, but Liara also added, in a cold detached sort of way: "Her barriers needed practice. Practice I'm afraid she won't be getting"

Shepard nodded understandingly. Liara's become even colder then I thought Shepard thought grimly, remembering how when he had first met her she was totally harmless and innocent. Well, he supposed that almost being killed several times and facing down a threat capable of ending all life in the galaxy had a tendency to rob one of their innocence. Amazing then that he remained so upbeat and friendly most of the time…

"Anyway…" Shepard said, returning to the task at hand. "I know you're looking for the Shadow Broker. Cerberus gave me some data on where to find him. Interested?"

"Absolutely! I had no idea…" Liara drifted off for a moment before standing up. "Let me see what you've got."

Shepard showed Liara his, or rather Cerberus' findings, and Liara scanned them over with an intensity that he hadn't often seen in her.

"Hmm…it looks like a leaked transmission between Shadow Broker operatives. Some hints as to the location, and…"

As Liara was saying this, a Drell suddenly appeared on the data-pad, catching both Shepard and Liara's attention. He resembled Thane's son Kolyat only with a different skin tone. Shepard looked at Liara and could see her expression grow grim and serious.

"It's about Feron…" Then her expression became one of hopefulness and relief. "He's still alive"

"Who's Feron?" Shepard asked

Liara paused before saying softly: "He was a friend. He helped me recover your body from the Shadow Broker"

So the Shadow Broker had tried to grab him when he was dead. Not exactly a pleasant revelation. Shepard had to ask: "Why did the Shadow Broker want my corpse?"

"He was going to sell you to the Collectors but Feron and I stopped him. Feron sacrificed himself to save me"

"So you rescued me? Then how did I end up with Cerberus?"

"Well, they gave me intel to help recover you. They actually put Feron with me in the first place. After I got out, I gave you to them. They said they could bring you back"

"You kept me out of the Collector's hands. Without you, I couldn't have come back. Thank you"

"I didn't know how you'd feel when Cerberus restored you. If you'd feel betrayed or…well, they did bring you back, and now they're giving me a chance to find Feron"

Shepard thought about it. What Liara had said was true, and it was things like these that had kept him from being too hostile to the Illusive Man when he'd been forced to work with him. He was a snake, and Shepard didn't like his organization, but they had brought him back from the dead, and spent two years and over four billion credits to do it, so if nothing else, he had been grateful for that, even if it wasn't for altruistic reasons.

And without them… Shepard thought. I'd have never met Miranda…

So in the end Shepard concluded that while Cerberus was evil, they weren't without their moments.

Still don't regret jumping ship for one second though…

Liara finally set down the datapad and sighed. "After two years, I hadn't even dreamed…"

"It sounds like you and Feron were close" Shepard observed.

"It's funny…he betrayed me more then once. He was double-dealing for Cerberus For the Shadow-Broker…but in the end, he sacrificed himself for me…I owe him"

"Well I guess any friend of yours is a friend of mine. What's the next step?"

"I…I don't know. I need to prepare, to think. I'm going home. Use my terminal if you need any local intel"

And with that, Liara grabbed something off the table and exited almost hurriedly, which caught Shepard's attention. He made a mental note to be ready in case things took an ugly turn, and then asked Liara as she was exiting: "You OK?"

"I've spent two years plotting revenge…now I have the chance to make it a rescue"

"Let me help" Shepard offered. "I can come by your apartment"

Liara nodded. "Okay. Hopefully I'll have a plan by then. Thank you Shepard."

As Liara left, Shepard considered his current position. What had started out as a simple delivery of information had turned into a rescue mission. Now he knew he would need back-up. He radioed the Normandy: "This is Commander Shepard. Tell Executive Lawson and Legion to come to my position ASAP"

"Understood Commander"

Shepard considered his choices. Miranda, he suspected, was due partly to personal bias, but she was more then skilled enough to back up the decision. As for Legion, he was the one non-hostile Geth Shepard had ever encountered, and through him he had gotten a completely different view of the synthetic race. He easily rivaled Garrus as the best sniper on the squad (something he would never say to anyone else, least of all Garrus) and was also just good with tech as Tali was (also something he would never say to anyone else). And he, the Soldier, was a perfect complement for their tech and biotic-heavy abilities. In the end, a fairly evened out and balanced squad.

This shouldn't be too hard.

Author's Note: Oh, Shepard. Haven't you ever heard of tempting fate? Anyway, yes, I know it's a short chapter. Don't worry the others will be longer, I promise.