Illium
Chapter 4 - Fear
Nos Astra's trading floor is a nightmare. Too many people and so much noise. Sophie and her team stick out like sore thumbs and it isn't long before they reach a mass of people blocking their only route through to Liara's office. A crowd formed of many different people: humans, asari, turians and the odd volus are looking up at a large blue screen; they all seem to be fixated on a section of the screen which shows a line graph with a clear ascending trend. A box appears to the right of the graph and murmurs start among the gathered people, a large number appears in the box and a deathly quiet quickly falls over the trading floor. The tension grows as Sophie looks up to see what could be so transfixing but as she does the figure starts to plummet and frantic shouts instantly occupy the air. The graph's ascending line changes to one of sharp decline as the number in the box settles. The crowd dissipates and the faces the commander does see are more than a little unhappy.
The trio move through the dispersing people and reach a set of stairs that lead upward. Sophie stops at the base of them and looks up. Liara's office is at the top and all she has to do is climb them to be reunited with her love. "Something wrong, Commander?" asks Miranda venomously. Sophie ignores the remark as she takes in a deep breath; she starts to climb the stairs two at a time just to get to the top quicker. As she reaches the small landing Liara's assistant, Nyxeris, spots them.
"Ah. You must be Commander Shepard. Liara's expecting you, go right on in." Nyxeris presses a button underneath her desk and the office door's interface turns green. Sophie stares at the door. She knows Liara's on the other side, she knows she has to go in for the mission's sake but she's more afraid of what the past two years have done to the shy asari she fell in love with and the relationship they had. She can hear the concerned whispers behind her and the sound of clicking as high heeled boots fall on the staircase behind her.
"Shepard?" asks Garrus as he steps in front of the human. "You in there?" he questions further, giving the woman a shake with one talon. Sophie's head lifts to look at Garrus; she nods in answer to his question. "Well it sure didn't seem like it. You sure you're alright?"
Sophie looks around and notices that Miranda is absent "Where'd Miranda go?"
"She said she'd wait on the Normandy until you'd sorted your 'personal business' out" answers Garrus. He then adds "I'll ask again, Shepard. Are you alright?"
"Liara's on the other side of this door, Garrus. Of course I'm not alright." the human sighs "What do I even say? What if she's moved on?"
"Liara was obviously hit hardest by your death, Shepard. Everyone saw it and everyone tried to console her. She disappeared and she did a good job remaining hidden for this long. I doubt she'd change but we won't know unless we go in." Garrus nods his head reassuringly.
"I'll go in alone... at least for now." says Sophie shakily.
"Alright, if you insist." replies Garrus before heading down the stairs.
Sophie approaches the door and presses the green interface, the door slides open and she steps inside...