I wake up in a bed, a medical platform. I'm wearing a Cerberus uniform, and there's some small stabs of pain as I sit up. My recollection is groggy, but I know I've been here before. Cerberus... has Miranda rebuilt me again?
"Miri?" I call hopefully.
"Interesting, Commander, that the first person you thought of was not me. I think I may be hurt." Liara is standing behind me, dressed in the science officer's uniform she was wearing when we first met.
"Well, you'll admit, Doctor, the surroundings do lend themselves to thoughts of Project Lazarus. Am I to rise from the grave yet again?"
Liara's smile fades as she sits next to me on the bunk. "That remains to be seen."
Not what I expected to hear. "But I'm better. Wherever I was before," the dark, the pain, "I'm not there now."
"You don't know where you are," Liara corrects me soberly. "Neither, for that matter, do I. This is a memory, Shepard."
"You mean I'm dreaming?"
"You could say that. And since I only know what you know, I cannot provide the answer you are looking for."
"If this is my memory of this place, how come you're here? I'm sure I would recall if you had been around. I definitely could have used the help."
"You did fine with Miranda and Jacob," Liara smiles as she brushes my hair back out of my face. I catch her wrist, and pull her hand round so I can kiss her palm. She slides her hand across my cheek, cups the back of my neck and pulls me closer. Our lips meet, and she kisses me deeply, an action I reciprocate enthusiastically. When we break for the sake of breathing, her eyes are almost black. I nearly pushed her over the edge. "Excited, are we?" I grin.
"You drive me wild," she replies, drawing away and straightening her tunic, a prim, fussy gesture that just makes me want to jump her even more.
"Backatcha," I parry, reaching for her again. She hesitates for a moment, then yanks me in with one hand; I always forget how much wiry strength lurks in her body. I train and train and train, and I build muscle and muscle memory that makes me capable of taking on a krogan (or even a yahg) in CQC, and yet Liara, if given the opening, can throw me around like a child. Without ever benching even a kilo, or using one single solitary photon of all that biotic power. As she kisses me she murmurs "Embrace eternity," and the galaxy rushes in to meet me.
I'm back in the dark. The pain has receded, and I recognise that I shouldn't try to move. So, no sight, no touch. It's hot, and I'm terribly, terribly thirsty, and so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. There's a damp, warm sensation in my side, and I can feel something trickling down, tickling and itching at the same time. I can smell dust, charred flesh, and blood, a nauseating combination that should have me trying to cough up my guts, but my body doesn't have the energy to spare. Vaguely, I'm aware that this is not good. "Liara," I murmur weakly, "if you're here I could do with a hand."
No response.
"Liara?" I try again, putting as much force as I can muster into my voice. "Liara! Help me!"
Nothing.
"Damn it, please, Li." I summon the last of my energy for one more attempt. "Liara!"
Faintly, in the distance, I hear the sound of rubble sliding. A curse word. A light flares in my eyes, and then an excited babble breaks out. A hand touches my forehead. "Li... is that...you?" But my energy is gone, and I slide back towards the dark. Just before I slip away, I hear her, feel her cool lips against my cheek.
"Forgive me, Rachel. It was the only way to help you. Now keep fighting. You have a promise to keep."