Chapter 3-A Noiseless, Patient Spider

Even a soul submerged in sleep
is hard at work and helps
make something of the world.-Heraclitus


Liara almost tripped over the stairs as she walked up to the vidcomm room. She'd hardly slept since they'd landed. She'd kept awake through stimulant pills and by avoiding Dr. Chakwas. Every hour was consumed by work, work overseeing the rebuilding of the Normandy, work overseeing the Shadow Broker network. The Network was quiet. There was some new information being peddled, some new sources, but it was a fraction of what it had been before the Reapers. Feron had thankfully survived. She hadn't entered Cassandra's cabin since their first day, preferring to sleep in her own quarters. She would sleep there again when she found Cassandra.

"Dr. T'soni, what do you have to report?" Admiral Hackett asked over the vidcomm.

"We have completed repairs and will be leaving the planet shortly. What is the status of the Charon relay?"

"Six days to fix the Normandy? You run a fine crew. The relay was last used 20 hours ago so it has 2 hours before it's safe. We've had to set up a traffic control system, I'll make sure you're on the next scheduled inbound flight. I also have some news for you."

"Cassandra?" Liara said breathlessly, gripping the railing tightly.

"We found her. She's alive. Barely."

Liara closed her eyes and wept tears of joy. Her faith had been rewarded. The goddess didn't matter, what mattered was she believed in Shepard, and she'd never been disappointed when her belief lied there. She clapped her hands together. Cassandra was alive. That's all that mattered.

"I'll send you her coordinates over a secure channel. Her location is highly classified. Hackett out."

Liara ran through the war room and towards the CIC. She approached Traynor, diligently working as usual.

"Cassandra's alive!" She announced.

"Yes, doctor, we're just completing final... what?" Traynor snapped her head in the Asari's direction. Her mouth hung open, just waiting to form a smile.

"She's alive." Liara said and eagerly hugged the human. Traynor hugged her back and the two women jumped for joy and giggled loudly.

"I knew it!" Traynor exclaimed. They parted and suddenly realized the entire crew was looking at them. Awkwardly they stepped away from another.

"Shepard's alive!" Liara said, activating the intercom. "I want us off this planet in one hour."

The entire Normandy reverberated with cheers. Everyone high-fived another. It was a strange custom for the Asari to witness. If the crew was happy when they'd heard the Reaper war was over, they were absolutely euphoric over this latest news. The crew broke out into several renditions of "for she's a jolly good fellow" while they prepped the ship.

"Doctor, you should get some rest." Traynor said.

"I'm fine." Liara insisted.

"You can barely walk. You're only awake because using stims and for two days you've been avoiding Dr. Chakwas. You need rest."

"Maybe you're right." Liara said and headed towards the elevator. Yes, sleep was a wonderful idea. In her own quarters she fell asleep the instant her body hit the bed.


The Normandy made the jump without incident, though the jump took longer and the ship was less stable. Upon exiting the Charon relay the Normandy found the Sol system uncharacteristically crowded. There was a line of ships waiting to leave the Sol system. There were ships from all species; Krogan, Asari, Turian, Alliance, Quarian, Salarian, even Batarian and Volus. As the Normandy flew towards the Commander's secret location, they found the system littered with debris. Derelict Reaper and Geth ships drifted aimlessly. Some of these ships were under guard, waiting for overworked and undermanned research and salvage teams to appropriate them. No doubt smugglers and mercenaries had also grabbed their share. The system was littered with the debris of destroyed ships of all species, disposal was again the responsibility of the salvage teams, the material collected due to be recycled for countless reconstruction projects.

"Doctor T'soni?" Glyph's digitized voice awoke her.

"Yes, what is it glyph?" She said, stretching in her bed. She felt refreshed, awake, alive.

"I have been asked to awaken you by Specialist Traynor. The Normandy is due to dock with the Florence Nightingale in 20 minutes."

"Thank you, glyph. I can't wait to see Cass." She said, bursting with hope. Even if her condition was serious, she was alive. If she'd made it this far, there was no way her situation could worsen. She took the elevator up and stood next to Traynor on the CIC.

"Thank you, Samantha. I slept very well" Liara said.

"20 hours straight. You're welcome." She replied cheerfully.

"I can't wait to see her!" Liara said.

"Me too." Samantha sighed, a tinge of sadness. She looked around and approached Liara, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Though, I'm worried just how wounded she'll be. We were told her condition was serious but we weren't given any details."

"I believe in her." Liara said firmly.

"So do I, but I'm worried."

Liara swallowed hard. "She's fine."

The Florence Nightingale was a hospital ship orbiting Neptune, escorted by three Alliance cruisers, the Kyoto, Rawalpindi and the São Paulo. It had once been the SSV Kinshasa, an aging heavy freighter. During the Reaper war it had been converted into a hospital ship, designated for critical and special cases.

Liara walked towards the airlock as the Normandy docked with the hospital ship. The entire crew was bursting with anticipation. Most were eager just to be off the ship, even if a hospital ship wasn't the ideal starting point for shore leave. She saw Joker in the cockpit. He was ragged, dark circles around his eyes, dishevelled, his beard unkempt and the smell of his body odour filled the now solitary cockpit.

"How are you doing, Joker?" She asked.

"I'm doing good." He said, false enthusiasm as obvious as the dishevelled beard on his face. "I'm in sole command of the ship, just like the old days. Keeps me really busy. "

"I think you should come with us to see the Commander. Getting out of the cockpit will be beneficial to you."

"Thanks Liara, but I'll be okay. There's still some kinks that need to be worked out."

"They can wait."

"Do you know what can happen if the navigational inputs are off by even the tiniest fraction? We can shoot right into a planet or get too close to a supernova. It's pretty nasty and I'd hate to lose the ship because of a misplaced decimal."

Liara sighed and walked over to Ashley, standing by the galaxy map.

"Commander Williams? At the risk overstepping my bounds I'd like you to order Joker off the ship when we dock."

Williams looked at Liara. The two had often interacted given the nebulous command structure of the Normandy. Shepard had named Liara his XO despite her status as a civilian. Williams was the ranking officer on the ship, and an Alliance officer on an Alliance ship. But they respected and liked another and so never came into conflict.

Williams nodded. "Good idea, Liara. I'm worried, too. I'll see if he can get some time off for some R'nR. Thanks."

Liara went back to the airlock, her entire being consumed by feverish anticipation. And everything she heard served only to increase her tension and the feelings of anticipation, the grinding of the docking arm latching onto the Normandy, the loud hiss of the airlock. She fought hard to compose herself. I'm here, Cassandra. I'm here.

The doors opened and facing them was an Alliance Captain. Below her epaulettes were Caduceus badges. Her uniform was marked with stains and tears, her eyes lined with dark circles. Her voice was loud but weary.

"Greetings crew of the Normandy. It's truly an honour, I'm Captain Sanderson. I'm to remind you the location of Commander Shepard is classified. We are keeping her in a secure area of this ship to ensure her safety and privacy. This ship doesn't have much in terms of amenities, we're understaffed and over-capacity. We have a QEC room and a prayer hall and a cafeteria. Areas of this ship are indicated by various signs. Be careful when walking in the hallways to not interrupt any medical procedures or disturb any patients. If there are no questions, follow me."

Liara followed at the head of the crowd, walking anxiously. She hurried to catch up with the Captain. The hallways were brightly lit, the walls and floors were pristine and unstained. Lining the halls were various labs, storage rooms and cleaning facilities.

"How is she?" Liara asked Captain Sanderson.

" I assume you're her partner."

"Yes, I believe that's an appropriate human term."

"She's been here two days. We found her on the Citadel, what's left of it, anyway. Barely alive, third and fourth degree burns over most of her body, numerous puncture wounds, many broken limbs and bones. Only her cybernetic implants have allowed her to survive, otherwise she would've bled to death or died of exposure. We had to operate to remove shrapnel and bullets. She's in a coma and hasn't regained consciousness. Scans show her brainwave activity is above normal for a comatose patient. My hypothesis is that her implants are keeping her unconscious until her body fully recovers. Similar to how some animals slow down their metabolism during hibernation."

"You mentioned her cybernetic implants?"

"Yes. It's amazing to observe, they're accelerating the healing process. Her extremities for example have replaced the burnt skin with healthy, unblemished skin. I think she'll be fine in due time. Her healing would be quicker were it not for our shortages of medigel. We've had to prioritize what we have. Unfortunately, due to her regeneration she's received little."

"Medicine often comes to cold arithmetic." Liara observed.

"Indeed." Sanderson said.

After turning down the last of a long series of window hallways they came to the room where Shepard was being cared for. The door was labelled "maintenance" but that was a poor disguise, because guarding the door was none other than Zaeed Massani.

"Well, it's about bloody time." He greeted them with a big grin.

"Didn't take you long to find work, did it?" Garrus said.

"Yeah, well. Seems like a nice quiet job. I'm doing this on my discount rate."

"I didn't think you had a discount rate." Garrus said.

"Funny, that. This is the only job I've ever had a discount rate. Plus, Samara's the other guard on night duty. I spend almost as much time looking at her as I do guardin' the Commander. She's got such lovely tracks of land!"

"I didn't know she owned property." Liara said innocently.

Traynor and Zaeed chuckled. "Never mind, lass." He nodded his head. "Go on in, only 3 at a time. She deserves better than a bloody broom closet!"

Massani stepped aside. Liara bolted past the door, Garrus and Ashley followed her. The Room was indeed small and cramped, even three guests was pushing the capacity of the former broom closet. Liara imaged crying for joy but when she saw Cassandra she cried in horror. Cassandra lay prone on the bed, dozens of intravenous lines running into her body. She was wrapped in white bandages. Her face was charred black, her nose seemed to be burnt white and disfigured. Her silken black hair was frayed. She knelt at the bed and cried aloud. She grabbed Cassandra's hand and rubbed it against her head. It was then she noticed that doctor was right. Her fingers were clean and pristine. The healing extended to the palms of her hands. There was hope. But seeing her like this was a vanguard of despair. One she had to fend off. She desperately squeezed Cassandra's hand.

"Cassandra? Can you hear me? It's me... I'm back. You're almost there. Just one final leap to make. And when you make it, I'll be there to catch you, my love."

Garrus knelt down and gently touched Cassandra's arm. His mandibles trembled ever so subtly.

"I never thought I'd see the day when you were uglier than me but here we are. There's no Shepard without Vakarian. Since I'm here, that means you need to be here and you're not going to be saving me a spot at the bar. I'll see you soon."

Garrus walked out of the room. Ashley knelt over the Commander. She struggled to hold back her tears.

"I'm so happy you're alive... God, I'm so not good at this. You know me, I'll just use somebody else's words:

A noiseless patient spider,
I mark'd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul."

She gently squeezed Shepard's other hand and quickly left the room. Tali and Traynor came in next. Samantha gasped audibly. Samantha looked at the Commander's body for a few moments before bursting out and running away. Tali knelt near the Commander's scarred face. Her knees wobbled, the sight of her Captain so scarred and incapacitated shook her.

"Keelah! I knew you'd make it through, Shepard. I... I'll make sure when I'm back on Rannoch they name an entire continent after you or something. Write some new poems about you. You deserve that at least. Keelah se'lai."

Cortez and Vega came in next. "You gave us a scare there, lola but me and Cortez here now better, don't we, amigo? You know, the way you look now, I take back every time I ever flirted with you. A guy's got to have standards, eh?" Vega was quiet for an instant and resumed. His tone lower and serious. "I don't know how long we'll be here, if we'll be here when you wake up or even if you can hear us, wherever you are. But it was an honour and a pleasure, ma'am."

Vega saluted and left the room. Cortez knelt at her side. "When I first came aboard the Normandy, all I could think about was my dead husband. You made me feel like I was part of the old crew, even if I was just a new guy. You made me believe that there was still something worth living. And now that there is a tomorrow, you won't see me moping around anymore. Thank you."

Cortez stood up and left. Liara watched as various other crew members came and had their brief words with her. Liara watched Cassandra's unconscious body intently, alert for any sign that any of this was getting through to her. Liara knew it was and that it was helping. She thanked everyone who came to speak. Every single member of the crew came to speak to her, except Joker who was remaining onboard the Normandy despite his orders. It was exhausting for all involved and Liara was quietly relieved when the last of the crew left and she was alone with Cassandra. She sat by her side, holding her hand, and listening to the sound of her rhythmic breathing. A few times nurses came by to check in on her vital signs and to refill her saline solution.

"Liara? Samara's here. I'll be getting some shut-eye. See you in the morning." Zaeed said.

"Thank you, Zaeed." Liara said.

"Hello Samara. You're looking rather ravishing today."

"Thank you, Mr. Massani. Good night." Samara said coolly. She walked into the room as Zaeed walked away, eager to partake in a well earned night's rest.

"That mercenary is a singularly unsubtle man." Samara remarked.

Liara chuckled.

"It is good to see you here." Samara said. "Your presence here will aid in her recovery."

Liara nodded. "I believe so too, though I'm not sure how. What happened to you?" Liara asked.

"After spending some time with Falere I made my way to Earth. My role in combat was support, keeping up kinetic barriers. I was in London for the final push towards the Conduit, though I was part of a diversionary group. After the Reapers' fall, I volunteered my services for reconstruction. I was among the first on the Citadel. There... were a lot of dead. I've seen more death in the past few weeks than in several centuries as Justicar. I was the one who found Shepard's body. It lay underneath many tons of rubble. I scarcely recognized her. It seemed only natural that I guard her while she recovers. I did swear an oath, after all."

"Thank you." Liara said.

Samara nodded modestly. "When she awakes and recovers I will return to Lesuss to spend my final years with my only surviving daughter. I enjoyed spending time with her. Perhaps before my time expires she may forgive me. I think the last of the Justicars deserves a quiet retirement."

"There aren't many Justicars left?" Liara asked with surprise.

"No. I'm the last Justicar. The others were murdered or corrupted by the Reapers. It is... perhaps just that it is so. A new era has arrived and holding onto vestiges of the past can have negative consequences."

"I never believed I'd hear those words from a Justicar."

"The events of the past few years have been a revelation to me. On the Normandy, Shepard used to question me about the Justicar code and our ways. She often argued with me the finer points of the code, seeing them as unjust, inflexible, unsuited to this world. I politely dismissed her objections, thinking them the product of impetuous youth. But her objections reminded me of one of my earlier Justicar tasks. Do you recall the Principality Rebellion three centuries ago?"

Liara nodded, she'd read about it.

"I was tasked with bringing to justice Onya T'arik, a petty gang member who'd engaged in some acts of violence and thievery. She was poor, her acts were more misdemeanours than crimes. I assassinated her in her home. While I carried out her sentence I became aware that she had children. Four, the oldest not even an adolescent. They witnessed their mother being killed. These children knew her only as a mother, who loved them, raised them, fed them, clothed them, loved them, not as a petty criminal. I orphaned four children. Each of those children grew up and followed lives of vice and crime. Three of those children were done in by me. Each of them cursed me as they died. I wonder if I was responsible in some way for the way those children turned out. You were there on Lesuss, had Shepard not intervened... That was another revelation for me. Perhaps it is for the best for the Justicars to fade away into history." She sighed sadly.

"I often talk to Shepard while she sleeps. I imagine she enjoys my talks more than she does Zaeed's. I pray that she hears me so she knows how much she affected me. "


Author's Note: Ashley's poem is a Noiseless, Patient Spider by Walt Whitman. Apologies for the sudden ending to this chapter but it's the only way I could end it.