The clearly exhausted asari lay back with her eyes closed as Chakwas ran her omni-tool across her body again. While she was confident in her knowledge of asari physiology, she wasn't exactly sure how the melding process worked or how a meld would affect an asari, either physically or mentally. However, the Commander had informed her of the fact that Doctor T'Soni had been trapped on Therum for an unspecified amount of time, so in addition to exhaustion, she was also more than likely dehydrated and malnourished. So in addition to applying her fellow doctor with a sedative to keep her asleep for a few hours, she had also attached a drip so she would receive some vital nutrients she had no doubt been lacking for some time.

Satisfied that the asari was comfortable for the time being, Chakwas took her usual seat and started writing up a new file for the latest addition to the Normandy. She had to admit that she was impressed with the team the Commander was putting together, in particular that he had next to no hesitation in recruiting non-human members, and that one of them was the daughter of a known ally of the rogue Spectre they were chasing. That put a tremendous amount of trust in that person and showed unbelievable self confidence in his own decision making. That's why he is now the CO after all.

Alenko popped in some time later, stating he could feel another migraine approaching. Chakwas felt nothing but sympathy for the Lieutenant. She could understand why he didn't want to undergo the procedure to have the L3 implant. Apparently he had told the Commander that the L2 implant allowed him more powerful biotics, the downside being his migraines, though he was lucky compared to others who suffered all sorts of psychological problems. Or death. Chakwas figured that he was also concerned about simply going under the knife, as the surgical procedure was not without risk, as while an L3 implant may not be as powerful, it would leave the Lieutenant without the chronic migraines. But there was always a possibility of being left brain damaged by the procedure. The risk wasn't high, but it was enough to put off many people from undergoing surgery.

Chakwas enjoyed the peace and quiet for a time as she updated a number of reports regarding the health of the crew. The Commander and his ground-team were escaping relatively unscathed from their ground missions, which she had to admit left her impressed. The only concern she had was sickness with the crew. Pressly wasn't feeling well and appeared to be on the verge of a case of chicken pox. Another crew member was starting to suffer from the effects of claustrophobia. That left Chakwas shaking her head in disbelief. Why sign on to serve on ships if you can't handle confined spaces? The Commander had been informed, and while he had not been impressed, the Normandy was currently heading back to the Citadel to drop off the crew member.

The sounds of movement nearby drew her attention away from her personal terminal, looking up to see Doctor T'Soni had woken up and was currently looking around the room. Chakwas approached the asari, taking out her omni-tool to check her over once again.

"How are you feeling, Doctor T'Soni?"

The asari grinned. "Please, you may call me Liara, Doctor Chakwas. And I'm very well, thank you. Much better after a rest."

"Very good. And in return, call me Karin. Everyone else on here calls me Doctor. Understandable, but it will be better than calling each other 'Doctor' all the time. It'll be like the beginning of a bad joke with the pair of us in here. Now, would you like something to eat and drink? I can ask one of the crew to bring something in."

"Oh, I should be fine for the time being. I think I just needed to relax and sleep. It has been a hectic few days."

Chakwas looked at her omni-tool and was happy with the readings. All her stats had stabilised and she appeared fully recovered from her ordeal. Quite impressive. "If you are feeling well enough, would you like to join me at my desk for a moment?"

The asari nodded and swung her legs off the bed, following the Doctor to her desk. "I must say that your knowledge of asari physiology is impressive, Karin."

Chakwas nodded and grinned slightly. It was always nice to receive a compliment from a fellow professional. "I've studied the basics of most of the known races in the galaxy. Asari are not too different from humans. Well, of course there are significant differences, but at the core, we are very much the same. The only thing I am unsure of is the effect of melding on an asari."

"Oh, usually it does not affect us in such a way. My exhaustion, added to the visions the Commander had stored in his mind, were what caused me to almost faint. To be honest, my experience of melding is limited at best. We are shown at a young age how to do it but…" Liara trailed off and blushed as she appeared on the verge of revealing something private. Chakwas didn't pursue as the asari was clearly embarrassed and perhaps slightly uncomfortable.

"So in what field did you obtain your doctorate, Liara?"

"Archaeology at the University of Serrice, on Thessia, the asari home-world. I've been interested in the fate of the Protheans since I graduated so have spent nearly the past fifty years exploring the galaxy for clues as to their fate. And what of yourself?"

"Do you know much about Earth geography?"

"Yes, many asari have taken interest in the human home-world of Earth. You're expansion throughout the galaxy has been tremendously fast. The asari are not concerned, as we understand that with the life-span of a human being significantly shorter than our own, your race appears to be in a real hurry compared to us, where we seem to take the long view on most events."

Chakwas chuckled lightly before responding. "I can see what you mean. It is difficult for us to even comprehend the life-span of an asari. And some krogan apparently live even longer. Remarkable! It's only in the last century that the majority of humans have started living past one hundred years and the average age that most live to is still only around 150. Anyway, I was born in a nation known as the United Kingdom. It's part of a geographic area called the European Union. I studied Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge before further study at the King's College School of Medicine in London. Once I completed my training, I immediately joined the Alliance as they are always desperate for doctors, and I wanted to do my part. Plus, it gave me the chance to explore the galaxy." Chakwas opened her drawer and pulled out a datapad, placing it on the desk in front of the asari. "Standard procedure for all new arrivals on board an Alliance vessel. I hope you don't mind and it's nothing too personal. Even Wrex, the giant krogan who stands around the hangar bay all day, came up to complete one. He grumbled a lot about it but I still managed to get something out of him."

Liara chuckled at the description before picking up the datapad. "No problem. And completely understandable. Anything to help in the long run as I have no idea what the Commander actually plans to do with me."

"I assume he'll ask you a few questions and may want to test your abilities in the field. May I ask a question, which I must admit is intriguing me about you?"

Liara arched an eyebrow but nodded. "Sure."

"As you've said, you're quite young by asari standards. Now I may be generalising quite a bit here, but from what I know of asari culture, which is probably quite limited, you are not the age one would expect of an asari to be out digging in the dirt, alone on the edges of the galaxy."

Liara put the datapad back on the desk, but nodded her head, obviously understanding to what Chakwas was referring. "Most maidens' waste decades upon decades of their youth working as strippers, dancing or working as mercenaries. I actually wanted to do something worthwhile with my youth before I even thought about settling down and thinking about a family. The only problem is that due to my youth, any work that I do produce and publish is generally ignored because, by asari standards, I'm still considered a child."

"I assume much of your work is regarding the Protheans?" Liara nodded. "If that is the case then I would inform the Commander. He may be interested in reading what you have written."

A genuine look of surprise crossed her face. "You think he would?"

Chakwas smiled. "Don't underestimate the Commander, Liara. On the battlefield he's incredibly tough, fierce, almost uncompromising in how he deals with the enemy. But once you get to know him on board the ship, away from the explosions and gunfire, you'll find his persona is completely different. It's quite surprising how quiet and thoughtful he can be. And he's far more intelligent than he's given credit for."

"He sounds incredibly complex."

"I think he just tries to keep the two worlds separate."

The conversation quietened as Liara started to fill in her details while Chakwas carried on with her own paperwork. She laughed to herself at the description. Paperwork. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen a piece of paper, let alone any sort of book or newspaper. Everything was electronic in the 22nd Century. Eventually Liara finished filling in her information, handing the datapad over and, with a cheerful goodbye, walked out into the mess to grab something to eat. Chakwas wondered if she would appreciate human food, though as the Commander had already obtained local produce for Garrus, Tali and Wrex, she figured he would attempt to provide Liara with some comforts of home. Still, at least she could eat the food that made up a human diet. The galaxy had a real sense of humour when they created turians and quarians and their completely opposite dietary requirements.

Having filled in all Liara's details on the Normandy database, she finally tore her eyes away from her screen and looked out the window in the mess. Liara was sat down eating a meal, the Commander standing on the opposite side of the table. He looked up and noticed Chakwas looking through. He nodded his head in her direction, before obviously saying something to Liara, as he then walked around the table towards the med bay, Chakwas watching his progress all the way.

"So I hear our resident asari is all okay?" he asked once he'd taken a seat across from the doctor.

"She's resilient, I'll give her that. She's had a good rest and all she really needs is a good meal and rehydrating and she should be completely recovered in a day or two."

Shepard just grinned. "You're full of surprises, Doc. I mean we have a quarian, turian, krogan and now an asari. And you can treat them all. Is there a race out there you don't know much about?"

Chakwas thought for a moment. "Hanar. I know next to nothing about them. Though that's not terribly surprising. As a race, they generally keep to themselves."

"You mean those big jellyfish looking things? Would you like me to recruit one so you can learn something about them?"

"Recruit a hanar?" Chakwas laughed. "Commander, be serious!"

Shepard just grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Anything to help, Doc." The Commander got to his feet. "Anyway, thought I should just pop in and get your opinion about Liara."

"The only suggestion I can make is not to tax her too hard, too early, Commander. Other than that, I believe she's more than capable of holding her own."

"Excellent. Thanks again, Doc," Shepard stated, a slight grin again before he turned and walked out.

"My pleasure, Commander," she replied, turning her attention back to her terminal. The work never ended.