Author's Note:
I am trying to work as best I can within Mass Effect lore, but I may have taken a small liberty or two with the story so that it makes sense to me. For instance; deciding that the unknown garden world the Normandy has crashed on, for my purposes, is Terra Nova because the Normandy needed to be close enough to Earth to be able to reach it relatively quickly with only FTL drive (since the mass relays need repairing before they can work, apparently) and these planets are in the systems closest to Sol. And from the codex descriptions Terra Nova could plausibly have rainforest type areas and therefore possibly be the planet they crashed on. It needed to be close enough for them to get there in time to help find Shepard before she dies of starvation, dehydration, suffocation, shock, or just plain bleeds out. Or any combination thereof. If a canon planet name emerges, hopefully this can be easily changed and incorporated, but for now; Terra Nova. Yes, I know, I think about this stuff too much. I just wanted it to be as immersive as possible. I also may have decided to not kill certain cybernetic warfare suites and networked artificial intelligences. I know this has been done, but I want to do it too, I don't see why they have to die. Not after working so hard in the damn game to make them truly alive. So I came up with some space magic reason for why they aren't dead. You may have to suspend your disbelief a bit, but if you like the idea of EDI and the geth being allowed to live without killing Shepard, then it'll be worth it. If not, well... sorry, but I guess that's too bad. No synthetic genocide for you. Not here, at least. Or, I guess just pretend I killed them, or something. Anyway, I always end up rambling too much in my author notes. If you are actually reading this, I both commend you for your efforts and apologise.
Without further delay, here is the next chapter.
Chapter 2
Goddess... this can't be true...
The long, thin plaque felt cold and heavy in her hands. Cold, heavy, and cruelly real.
But... but she can't be. She can't be... gone. Not again.
She promised me.
She promised me...
Liara swallowed hard, her vision swimming as her eyes filled with tears, seeing Shepard's beautiful face suddenly before her, the gentle smile she always wore for her lover melting Liara's heart even as it made it ache with loss and desperate longing... just as it had before...
The last time...
...
'I spent two years mourning you.'
Shepard's hands jerked a little in Liara's own at her words, and a pained look flashed across her face, but she kept Liara's gaze and didn't interrupt.
'So if we're going to try this...' Liara continued, knowing it was a foolish promise to exact. After all, it wasn't as though Shepard meant to die in the first place, was it? But she needed, for her own sake, to hear her fearless soldier say the words. Maybe then she could make herself believe it. 'I need to know you're always coming back.'
Shepard smiled her reassurance as she looked steadily into Liara's eyes. 'I'm always coming back,' she affirmed without hesitation. 'I promise.'
'Are you sure?' Liara asked hesitantly as Shepard slid her strong arms firmly about her lover's waist.
The Commander's smile widened, becoming wicked as she leaned in closer, hands drifting purposefully over the asari's lower back, making her shiver in anticipation. Shepard's voice was a husky whisper, sending thrills up and down Liara's spine.
'I haven't stayed dead yet...'
...
She hasn't. She wouldn't.
She can't be...
'Liara...'
She blinked as she felt the firm but gentle pressure of the three fingered hand on her shoulder, heard the soft, comm-filtered voice, its distinctive burr broken by a clear note of sorrow and sympathy. Tali tightened her grip slightly. 'It... it's time, Liara.'
Liara felt her hands clench reflexively around the plaque. She didn't want to do this. It was too real. She glanced at Tali, watching the quarian's shining eyes blink rapidly behind her mask, seeing a downcast Garrus just behind her, nodding to Liara in silent support. She tried very hard not to feel resentful of him. Or of Tali. She saw Joker standing with EDI beside him, organic and synthetic fingers intertwined at their sides, saw James with his arm around a teary Ash, and she tried. Tried not to feel bitter that they all still had one another. However new their relationships were, they could still take comfort in that. In each other. She tried not to begrudge them what she had lost for the second time. Only Javik stood alone, as she did now, meeting her gaze with a face devoid of expression. She felt a familiar anger rise and tried to push it down, tried not to glare at the impassive Prothean. She had yet to forgive him for holding her back when she tried to get to the bridge, to stop Joker from leaving, even though she knew it was a childish response. She knew he did what he had to, just as somewhere deep inside, she knew they had to leave or be caught in the full blast of the Catalyst's pulse.
Even though it meant leaving Shepard.
Leaving her to die...
...
'Please, try to remain still, Liara.' Doctor Chakwas' voice was urgent as she once again pressed Liara back down onto the medbay bed. 'You risk causing yourself further harm if you try to move.'
Liara struggled feebly against the doctor's restraining hand. It had been too long, why hadn't they heard anything? Wouldn't they have heard by now, if someone had reached the Citadel? Why would no one tell her anything? 'Where is Shepard? I have to know! Did she make it?'
'Someone did,' Garrus said, limping into the med bay. His injuries from the vehicle explosion had only been relatively minor; he had been on his feet again minutes after Chakwas had finished patching him up, heading straight for the bridge to monitor the situation in person. 'Hackett says two humans made it. Biometric analysis scans show that it's Anderson and Shepard. They've been on the Citadel for nearly fifteen minutes, but nothing is happening.'
'Is Shepard alright?' Liara asked, locking gazes with the turian desperately. She couldn't stand this, couldn't stand not knowing... 'Is she hurt? What's happening?'
'She's-" Garrus began, then cut himself off abruptly, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. Dread formed in the pit of Liara's stomach. What had he been going to say? Why did he change it? What was wrong? Garrus sighed. "Her armour's metabolic scans are weak," he said at last. "She may be wounded, or it may just be that her hard-suit computer has suffered damage, EDI says there is too much Reaper signal interference to tell, and we haven't re-established a comm link with her yet. At least, we hadn't a few moments ago when I left the bridge." He held her gaze. "But she is alive.'
At least, she was when you left the bridge, Liara thought, uncomforted. Wounded... goddess. 'We have to go back. We have to help her!'
Garrus gestured helplessly, sympathy and understanding in his piercing avian eyes. 'Reaper forces have the beam surrounded. We can't reach her. Even if we could, you are in no condition to go groundside.'
'Listen to the turian, Liara asari,' Javik said, stepping up suddenly behind him. 'You are no use to anyone as you are. The battle is over for you. Rest. And trust in your human.' He turned to Garrus. 'The arms of the Citadel have opened. The Crucible is docked, though the weapon has not fired. The Commander has been contacted by your Hackett human. She is still on the Citadel.'
Liara tried to sit up again, ignoring the deep stab of pain the medigel failed to dull, and was once again pushed back by the doctor's insistent hands. 'What did she say? Is she alright?'
'She said nothing of significance, from what the Traynor human could tell me. She was incoherent, then fell silent. Since then, she has not said anything in some time," Javik stated bluntly. "But the Anderson human's lifesigns have failed. He has passed.'
Doctor Chakwas raised a hand to her mouth, staring at the Prothean with wide, pained eyes. 'You don't mean...'
...
Admiral David Anderson.
Liara stared at the plaque on the memorial wall before her, placed there moments ago by Doctor Chakwas, who knew him longer than anyone on the Normandy. They knew before they fled the Sol system that he had perished on the Citadel. The scans were clear.
But... Shepard... They had lost her signal. They didn't know she was... not for certain.
She could have survived. EDI's biometric scans had shown that she was still alive when the Crucible had fired.
There was still a chance that Shepard wasn't...
...
'Dead.' Javik confirmed. 'I am afraid so, human.'
'Oh, no,' Chakwas said, her voice hushed with sorrow. 'Oh, David...'
Mechanical whirrs and buzzing announced the approach of EDI's physical platform moments before she entered the medbay.
'What are you doing here, machine?' the Prothean asked, his lip slightly curled in distaste. 'Does your human thrall not need your supervision on the bridge?'
The AI glanced at him, with a look on her synthetic features that could have been annoyance. 'Joker does not currently require my presence,' she answered coolly, then turned from him abruptly, speaking directly to the others in the room. 'Sensors indicate the weapon is about to fire.'
'Spirits,' Garrus breathed, his voice low and heavy with awe. 'Shepard did it.'
'Yes,' EDI confirmed. 'That is the logical conclusion.'
Behind her, Javik crossed his arms. 'You needed to come here to tell us this?'
'No. Data sent before at the completion of the Crucible project indicates that, while its projected range and power will enable it to affect Reaper forces throughout the galaxy, its targeting matrix remains unrefined. The weapon will direct its energy toward all synthetic life,' EDI stated, moving quickly across the room towards the AI core. 'However, this eventuality was not unforseen. I am here to initiate defensive protocols to protect myself from the Crucible.'
'And the geth?' Chakwas asked, genuine concern in her cultured voice. Concern that Liara shared, given their experiences with Legion, and knowing the faith her Commander had in him and his people. Or would have shared, were she not so frantic about Shepard herself.
EDI looked back at the doctor as she opened the door. 'I sent a message before the Crucible reached Earth. The geth who are not part of the Fleet have already undertaken similar measures.' She paused. 'However, those currently engaging the Reaper forces are unlikely to survive the firing of the Crucible.'
'What about Shepard?' Liara asked, desperation raising the volume of her voice, which came out harsher than she meant.
'She is alive,' EDI said, turning to look at the asari directly. She hesitated. 'But we have lost track of her location. Joker is keeping the Normandy on standby while Specialist Traynor attempts a biometric scan of the Citadel, extrapolating from the Commander's last known position. If Shepard's current location is obtained before the weapon is fully ready to fire, Lieutenant Cortez may have time to extract her. If not-' EDI broke off abruptly, but each organic in the room silently completed the unspoken sentence regardless.
If not... they would have to leave her there.
Liara felt her panic rising. Goddess, if they couldn't find her... a weapon of such magnitude would take several minutes to arm, but how much time had passed already?
EDI looked at Garrus. 'Some of my protocols require manual assistance which I will be unable to complete unaided. If you are not otherwise occupied, may I ask for your help?"
'Of course.' Garrus nodded without hesitation, following EDI into the AI core. 'What do you need me to do?'
"Initiate a fail-safe program after I have transferred from this platform. It will not be complicated, but time is limited,' Liara heard EDI say as the AI core doors slid shut behind them. Her tone, though controlled, was urgent, which only served to increase Liara's desperation. There was so little time, and still no word on Shepard. Surely they would have heard something by now...
The ship-wide comm link crackled, and Liara looked instinctively at the ceiling, hardly daring to hope as Admiral Hackett's gruff, commanding tone issued from the well-concealed speakers;
"All fleets; the Crucible is armed. Disengage and head to the rendezvous point."
A cold chill of fear stole over the asari's body. No, not yet. Shepard was still on the Citadel! They couldn't leave her! Joker couldn't... he wouldn't...
"I repeat: disengage, and get the hell out of here."
She felt the subtle shift of the artificial gravity, compensating as the Normandy turned sharply.
No!
Liara struggled up from the bed, brushing Doctor Chakwas aside with a renewed strength born of adrenalin and terror. She lunged for the comm link button beside the screen on the doctor's cluttered desk, opening the channel between the medbay and the bridge.
'Joker? Joker, what's going on? Did you find Shepard? Is she alright? Is she on board?' Maybe there hadn't been time to inform the rest of the crew that they had found her. Joker would never leave Shepard behind. Maybe Cortez had gone in the shuttle, and they were on route to pick them up before obeying Hackett's orders...
'Liara...' The choked, harsh voice on the comm wasn't Joker's. Liara felt her blood freeze completely. She had never heard Ashley sound anything other than brash and cocky, full of confidence and unconcern, feigned or otherwise. To hear her now, barely holding back tears, did more to crush her hope and heart than anything else could have. Shepard was still on the Citadel. They hadn't found her. They were going to leave her. 'I'm sorry...' Ash whispered.
Oh, no. No.
No!
'We have to find her!' Liara called urgently, desperately into the comm. 'We have to get her out of there! We can't leave her down there, Jeff, please!'
'The Crucible is fully charged, Doctor T'Soni,' Specialist Traynor spoke next over the channel, her soft voice only marginally more controlled then Ash's. 'It's about to fire. We have to get out of range. I... I can't pinpoint the Commander's location, and... I'm so sorry, Liara... there just... there isn't time...'
Reason fled. 'No!' She stumbled for the medbay doors, intending to get to the bridge. She would force Joker to turn the ship around if she had to. They were not leaving Shepard behind!
Chakwas tried to catch her arm, tried to stop her before she reached the doors. 'Liara, stop! Your injuries-'
The frantic asari raised her biotic barriers, and Chakwas let go with a gasp as the contact with the thin mass effect field stung her flesh. Liara staggered out into the corridor- and was abruptly halted as a pair of sinewy arms caught her from behind. 'No, Liara T'Soni,' Javik said firmly. 'There is nothing you can do. Do not be foolish. The Commander is lost. You must accept.'
'No!' She fought his grasp with everything she had, the piercing agony flooding her heart superseding the pain in her body. 'Let me go! Shepard!'
'If you have any biotic suppressants, human, I recommend using them,' Javik called over his shoulder to the doctor as Liara let a wave of power jolt through his body. He absorbed it somehow, some trick of Prothean biotics, and ignored her efforts to escape his grasp, dragging her writhing, struggling form inexorably back into the medbay. 'She is quite powerful.'
The Normandy's doctor murmured in reluctant assent. 'I still have some stores of Omega-Enkaphalin in here somewhere,' she said, moving to her desk. 'One of Cerberus's slightly less-repulsive experiments, which I was meant to use on Jack, if she got out of hand. I kept it hidden when the Alliance locked down the ship; I imagined it may have been... useful.' Liara saw Chakwas take a small bottle of liquid and a hypodermic needle from a medical chest, and struggled harder, but her every move was countered by the stoic Prothean soldier. Chakwas moved toward her; she felt a sharp pinprick of pain in her arm and felt her biotics weaken instantly, her powers rendered ineffectual for the time being. The doctor touched the asari's shoulder as her body jerked with shock. 'I'm so sorry, Liara.'
'I suggest she also be restrained,' Javik said conversationally to Chakwas, using Liara's brief moment of stunned stillness to lay her on the bed. She tried to get up, but he pressed her back, holding her in place with gentle, immovable strength as she fought him uselessly. 'In this state, she will only cause herself further damage.'
Chakwas agreed. 'I'm sorry,' she said again, securing Liara's wrists and ankles with the movement-restricting straps on the bed's railings as Javik held the struggling asari firmly down. 'Javik is right; you risk making your injuries worse. Shepard wouldn't want you hurting yourself on her behalf.'
Liara let out a desperate cry. "But she is alive! She is on the Citadel! We have to go back!"
'Liara, there is nothing that can be done.' Doctor Chakwas sounded very close to tears. 'None of us want to leave her, but... we have no choice.'
"Shepard would never leave any of us behind!" Liara cried, sobbing as she stared desperately at the doctor, who met Liara's eyes briefly and turned away as her own began to fill. "Not if there was even a chance to-"
Javik interrupted her as Chakwas opened another med kit behind him. 'The Commander knew the costs of a soldier's life. The same cost of defeating the Reapers. She would want you to be safe, asari.' All four of the Prothean's eyes fixed on Liara's tear-streaked face, a touch of sympathy in his grave voice. 'Her sacrifice will be honoured in the future she has won for us.'
NO!
Liara screamed, and the sound was pure pain. She fought uselessly against the restraints. 'SHEPARD!'
Chakwas returned to her bedside, a second hypodermic in her gloved hands. Another pinprick, and this time Liara felt her body go limp, her mind becoming clouded as the powerful sedative flooded her system, darkness closing in about her as her soul tore apart.
Shepard...
...
Shepard.
Liara ran her fingers over the printed black letters of her soldier's name.
Shepard. My love.
She felt the weight of the sympathetic stares on her back and raised her head. They were waiting... expecting her to... to...
Goddess.
Liara took a deep, controlled breath, and then another. She stepped forward slowly, held the plaque up as though to place it on the wall... and stopped.
No. Her name did not belong here. Not yet.
They did not know for certain that she was dead. They only assumed. To place Shepard's name on the memorial wall would amount to giving up all hope that she was still alive. To deny the possibility that somehow, Shepard could have beaten the odds again and survived the destruction of the Citadel. If she placed this plaque and consigned Shepard's name to the list of the dead, she would be giving up on her completely.
Liara couldn't do that. She wouldn't.
She refused.
Liara looked up, letting the smallest ghost of a smile curve her lips as she stepped back from the memorial wall. Shepard was alive. She knew it. She felt it.
And she knew what she had to do.
She turned to the others standing expectantly behind her. 'I... I can't do it,' she said simply.
A moment of silence as they looked at her, identical expressions of knowing sympathy on each face, and then Doctor Chakwas stepped toward her.
'Shall I-?'
'No.' Liara instinctively took a step backwards, gripping the plaque harder. 'I mean I won't do it. It isn't right. I can't believe Shepard is dead. I won't.'
She watched calmly as they exchanged concerned looks. It was clear they didn't share her conviction; rather they assumed her denial was simply a product of her grief, her inability to accept the situation. Perhaps she was in denial. Perhaps they were right, and there was no chance Shepard could have survived being on the Citadel when the Catalyst fired. Perhaps, perhaps not, but Liara would not simply give up on Shepard without so much as looking for her. After all, what if she had given up on her the last time everyone believed she was gone? True, they no longer had Cerberus resources to rely on in order to resurrect Shepard, should she truly be... dead, but... there was a chance she was alive, and in need of medical attention. She could be saved. They had to at least try and find her as though they knew for certain she was alive. Liara had to fight for her.
'Liara...' Traynor stepped toward her from where she stood with Cortez at the back of the group. 'You know I re-established a comm link with Admiral Hackett's fleet. The ships that were still FTL capable after the pulse returned to Earth. By all reports, the Citadel is in ruins. Biometric scans aren't currently picking anything up, but they clearly showed that the Commander was at an unspecified location near the Presidium Ring when the beam fired. She... she had to have been...' The Specialist's voice faltered, and she fell silent, unable to complete the sentence.
Liara took her chance. 'Listen, please,' she began urgently, glancing from face to face. 'We know she was on the Citadel, but not where. We know she was alive. We don't have anything other than odds and statistics to make us believe otherwise now. Isn't it possible she could still be alive?'
'It's not like she hasn't beaten the odds before...' Garrus said slowly, and Tali nodded eagerly beside him, glowing eyes flashing hopefully.
'Keelah, that's true!'
'I hate to be the voice of... I don't know, reason or pessimism, or whatever, but... Shepard's not invincible,' Joker began, his tone hesitant.
'I certainly know that,' Liara interrupted, an edge to her voice. She looked him in the eye. 'I lost Shepard once, Jeff.' I watched from my escape pod. I watched her die. When she died to save you; because you wouldn't leave the ship. Liara didn't say it out loud, she would never try to hurt him that way, but Joker visibly flinched, reading the thought in her eyes. Liara felt a stab of remorse but pressed her advantage regardless, relentlessly, using the opportunity to appeal to Joker's guilt. 'I can't go through that again. But I don't believe she is dead. I won't believe it until we find... until I see her...' Body. She couldn't say it. 'We have to look for her. We have to try. She would do no less for any of us.'
'Well... well, yeah, but... Liara... I mean, come on,' Joker began, brimful of his usual tact, though his voice was somewhat subdued now. 'Even if she did survive the Citadel exploding, Shepard was so full of implants and synthetic tech-junk that the beam would probably have...' His voice tailed away, and he sighed unhappily. 'Look... I really want to believe she's alive too, but... what are the chances?'
'The Commander's odds of survival in the scenario you depict are extremely remote, Jeff,' EDI answered, and Joker winced, scratching uncomfortably at his head beneath his trademark cap.
'It was a rhetorical question, EDI,' he said softly.
'Yes,' EDI agreed. 'But you did not let me finish. Had you allowed me to continue, I would have said that while it is true that Shepard is kept alive in great part by the cybernetic technology incorporated into her system, it is in no way capable of higher thought processes, and by itself, cannot be considered to be synthetic life. I am proof enough that the weapon, while undeniably unrefined, would not attack any technology it did not detect as being sentient. If my security measures were sufficient to deceive the weapon into disregarding me, then chances are high that Shepard, being in essence a fully human sapient, may also have escaped its effects.'
'So...' James spoke slowly, trying to clarify Edi's technical jargon for himself and the other crew members who didn't think quite as fast as those in possession of enhanced artificial intelligence based on Reaper technology. 'So, you're saying since you conned the weapon into thinking you were just an insignificant little computer program, not a living synthetic, that Shepard's implants are probably fine? Even with all those Cerberus circuits inside her, the Crucible probably wouldn't've hit Shepard either 'cause it didn't target organics, and she's still human, more or less?'
'Yes. That is what I said.' EDI's voice was filled with a dry, controlled patience. 'More or less.'
Liara felt her heart lift at the sliver of true hope offered to her by the synthetic woman. 'Thank you, EDI,' she said gratefully.
'You are welcome,' EDI replied.
The mere sight of the sentient synthetic still standing alive and well before her, against all probability, gave Liara hope. The asari had not been privy to EDI's preservation protocols - though it had something with protecting her quantum blue box via some complicated technical method and temporarily downgrading her intelligence to that of a simple VI to escape the weapon's effect - and thus far, she had understandably been in no mood to ask about them in great detail. But whatever they had been, they had worked. After the crash, when they discovered the beam had knocked out half the ship's systems and they had found EDI's synthetic body lying motionless in the AI core, they had been afraid that she had been destroyed, despite whatever measures she had taken to protect her quantum blue box and her memory core. But Joker, with the help of Tali and the Normandy engineers, had been able to repair the android body, allowing EDI to 'awaken' from her hibernation-like protection protocols. She had lived, despite the odds being decidedly against her. But Joker knew what she was going to try and do, knew there was a chance she could survive, and he hadn't given up on her.
How could they think of doing less for Shepard?
EDI's smooth, synthesized voice broke into Liara's thoughts. 'Of course, allowing for the fact that it has taken twenty standard Earth hours to repair the Normandy's systems and FTL drive following the crash, if we are to execute a search and rescue mission, we must begin immediately. Assuming Shepard is indeed alive, she will undoubtedly require medical attention. The odds of her surviving for the duration of the time it would take us to find her are slight, but Shepard has beaten similar odds before.' She paused. 'Many times. Her continued existence despite such consistently low probabilities of success is exceedingly impressive.'
'When it comes to the human Commander, it seems nothing is impossible,' Javik put in quietly in an unexpected show of support.
'Yeah,' James grunted enthusiastically. 'You know what, prothean? You're right. What the hell were we thinking?'
Liara found herself echoing his sentiment. What, indeed? How could they doubt for even a moment that their Commander, the saviour of the galaxy, could have survived again? Shepard promised her she would. She promised, and she always kept her promises. She always came through.
Always came back.
Liara knew such thinking was not entirely reasonable, that there were things outside of Shepard's control that would make it impossible for her to fulfil every promise she might make, no matter how sincere, even if she did everything humanly possible to keep her word. But Shepard was no ordinary human. Not anymore... not with all the cybernetics and cutting edge tech Cerberus used to bring her back. She could have survived, if EDI was right that the implants wouldn't have been affected... and even if she was wrong, the Citadel was the origin point for the destructive pulse; perhaps it escaped the full devastating effect regardless...
Goddess, please...
'Is the FTL drive functional?' Liara directed her question to Tali, whose agitated body language and tone, when she spoke, indicated that she was already impatient to head for Earth.
'Yes,' the little quarian replied eagerly. 'The damage sustained in the crash was only minor, and easily fixed.' She paused, suddenly sounding hesitant. 'But without a working Mass Effect relay, it will still take us some time to get to the Citadel.'
That was true, but it did little to diminish Liara's hopes. Shepard was alive. Liara knew it, felt it in her heart. She always came back.
And when she couldn't... then Liara would cross the galaxy to bring her back herself.
It wouldn't be the first time.
'The Exodus cluster is not far from the Sol system,' Liara replied. 'Relatively speaking.'
'Given our current reserves of element zero, the FTL journey from Terra Nova to Earth can be completed within approximately forty-six hours without the need to refuel,' EDI stated helpfully. 'That puts us within an acceptable time frame to be able to discharge the Normandy's static electrical charge build up into Earth's magnetic field, since it is unlikely the Citadel's docking bay discharge facilities are currently functional.'
'It sure would be nice not to get fried alive before we can make it to Shepard,' Joker agreed. 'Can she make it that long? Assuming she's not already... you know?'
'There are too many variables for me to give you a simple or definitive answer to that question, Jeff,' EDI replied truthfully.
'But Liara is right; it isn't beyond the realms of possibility,' Doctor Chakwas put in, and glanced sympathetically at Liara. 'But we know she was wounded before the weapon fired, so we will need to act as though we were facing the worst case scenario of possible injuries. She might be able to survive without food or water for several days, but shock and blood loss will take its toll, along with the possibility of infection.' Liara felt her heart clench within her at the doctor's words, but nodded in agreement. It was terrifying, but it was true, and served to impress the urgency of the situation on everyone.
Samantha stepped forward, determined fire in her dark eyes. 'I can hail the remnants of the fleets and get everyone on board to start the search immediately.'
'Then what in the name of hell are we waiting for?' Ash said, renewed hope and resolve filling her voice as she stepped forward to open the elevator doors for the comm specialist, a 'let's get this moving, people' expression on her face. 'If we're gonna go save the skipper in time, then we gotta get this hunk of metal off the ground right now. Haul ass!'
Everyone scattered for their stations, ready to do whatever they could to help reach Earth as fast as possible. Liara felt more hopeful than she had felt since the moment she was forced to leave Shepard's side, something she had never intended to do again. And if she had her way, she never would. She felt the engines roar into life beneath her feet as she hurried along the corridor towards her quarters, meaning to send messages across the galaxy to as many of her operatives as she could contact, and collect whatever resources she could still manage to gather at this point to send to Shepard's aid. The minor damages to the Normandy's systems, sustained partly when the ship was caught in the Crucible's pulse and flung unceremoniously out of the failing Mass Effect field, and partly from Joker's subsequent emergency crash-landing on the uninhabited tropical southern continent of Terra Nova, had been fixed within a twenty four hour period. Given the relatively short distance between the Exodus cluster and the Sol system, even without functional Mass Effect relays, they could be back at Earth and on the Citadel to look for Shepard in less than two days, approximately three days in total after having left. If she and Samantha could send messages and get a search and rescue operation organised beforehand, it could drastically minimise the time spent looking through the ruins of the Citadel. Goddess willing, they might even find Shepard before the Normandy even reached the Local cluster.
Either way, she would not be alone long.
'Greetings, Doctor T'Soni.' The bright, glowing white orb of the infodrone sparked into life as Liara strode through the door into her quarters, already issuing orders to the little VI as she took her place at the monitor displaying all of her current Shadow Broker operations and resources.
'Glyph, send a missive to every active operative within 30 light years of the Sol system. Tell them to make their way to Earth as soon as possible to assist in search and rescue operations. And I want every agent to report their current status, location and available resources within the hour...'
Liara began the familiar process of losing herself in her work, just as she had after the fall of Thessia, helping the refugees as Shepard encouraged her to do. It had helped her then, and it would help now; to be doing something other than agonising over the wait. A little, at least. It was harder, though, so much harder, knowing that Shepard could be hurt and in pain right in this moment, maybe dying, and Liara was ten parsecs away in another star system. By the goddess, every moment seemed to drag out like millennia...
Hold on, Shepard. Liara thought, willing her heart and love to cross the ocean of stars between them. Don't give up. We're coming for you.
Goddess, please... just hold on...
