A/N: This scenes references and alludes to events and locations in the ME1 DLC Pinnacle Station.
"So this is General Ahern's retirement place huh?" Ashley lets out a low, appreciative whistle. "A bit out of the way, but I can see the appeal."
Liara watches the gunnery officer stride to the other side of the complex with Commander Shepard and turns away, staying put where she is. Sweat slides down her cheeks; the sun above Intai'sei is relentless. The fine, red dust ubiquitous to the planet limits her vision to what's standing in front of her eyes, which is a terrain that extends towards a murky horizon with neither flora nor fauna in sight—a big, empty wasteland. Although the occasional outcrop breaks up the monotony of the space, the plateau base on which the apartment sits has seemingly nothing else to offer in terms of excitement.
Luckily, excitement has never held much appeal for Liara, at least not the kind people immediately think of when the word is mentioned. She kneels down to sift the dirt through her fingers and imagines what treasures or histories lie beneath. They had passed a geological research station on the way here, and she was sorely tempted to ask Shepard if they could make a pit-stop. Obscure instruments jutted from the building's rooftop while an elaborate drill sat quiet and unused to the side. She had pressed her face against the Mako's small window as they drove by, admiring the familiar machinery. Discovery, not gunfire, is what sets her heart apace.
The fact that she's traveling with a Spectre on a military ship only heightens the disconnect between where they are now and where they could be in the next few hours. A feeble breeze picks up as Liara relishes the solitude for what it is: a breath secretly taken between each action-packed encounter. During digs, there were no stolen moments like these, but long stretches of time spent in isolation, back hunched over the ground with a trowel or brush in hand as she kept her fingers from shaking the artifact she was usually holding. Silence had been her constant companion until now.
A sudden shadow casts itself over Liara, who looks up to find Ashley with both hands on her hips. "We're going to go check out the inside of the apartment. You coming?"
Behind her some feet away stands Shepard, a stolid figure against this stark backdrop. She nods. "Yes."
"This way," Ashley says, turning around. The outline of her body immediately blurs in the hazy air as she walks away. Soon, she has to squint in order to make out their figures. Rising to her feet, the former archaeologist drinks in the harsh scenery, wondering when or if she'll get to do this again. The more this Saren plot thickens, the less peace and quiet there is. Or is she slowly growing used to the noise and chaos that comes from people, from company, from something other than the thoughts in her own head?
Liara wipes the sweat from her forehead and trails after them.