They were on Illium for five minutes before Shepard knew he hated it. From above, the planet looked gorgeous with its towering skyscrapers and bright lights that lit up the night, but on the ground the shiny exterior proved to be nothing but a facade. His ground team consisted of himself, Garrus and Miranda Lawson. Ever since he rejoined Shepard's crew, Garrus had been brought along on ground missions, both for his expertise with a rifle and to keep an eye on Shepard's he didn't fully trust Lawson, she had proven herself to be very effective in both combat and biotics, and she knew to follow his orders. "Omega with shinier shoes" was how she described Illium, and when Shepard heard the first advertisement for slaves presented as though the marketer was selling a new car, he believed it.
"Contact IndentiTech today," the cheery ad spokesperson said. "You've been a slave to your employees for too long. Shouldn't that be the other way around?"
"Wow," was all Shepard could say. It wasn't a statement of awe. He had been to Illium once before, when he was fourteen, but that was a standard supply run for food and toiletries for the colony of Mindoir; he never even left the ship. His father forbade it. Now he knew why.
Upon stepping off the ship, they were met by an asari with two mech guards.
"Welcome to Nos Astra, Commander Shepard," she said. "We've been instructed to waive all docking and administration fees for your visit. My name's Karina."
"Why did you waive the fees?" Shepard asked.
The blue woman smiled. "The order came from Liara T'Soni. She paid all fees on your behalf."
"Liara's here?" Garrus said.
Shepard was also surprised. Illium didn't seem the kind of place for the mild-mannered asari architect. "Are there Prothean ruins on Nos Astra?"
"No," Karina said, "Doctor T'Soni is one of Nos Astra's most well-known information brokers. She also asked that I direct you to speak with her at your earliest convenience. Her office is near the trading floor."
The last time he saw Liara, she was dodging electrical explosions while running to get to an escape pod on the Normandy SR-1. "Get the hell out of here" was the last thing he said to her. "That's right on our way," Miranda said. "We have time to pay her a visit, if you want."
"It would be nice to see Liara again," Garrus said.
"Of course we're gonna see her again." Shepard thanked Karina and the three of them walked through the hangar connecting the city docks to the outer walkway. Several stalls were set up, various species selling all kinds of wares, ranging from mechs to ships to environmental suits. Occasionally, he saw people bartering for "indentured servants."
They turned and found a stairway leading to administrative offices. At the top, an asari secretary sat at her desk, absently keying info into her terminal. She looked up and started when she saw the three of them.
"Ah! Commander Shepard! Doctor T'Soni's right through here." She got up and led them to a door mere feet away, clearly nervous.
"What does Liara need a secretary for?"
"Her workload is too heavy for one person, no matter how talented, so I handle her more mundane tasks: errands, small claims, legal disputes. I'm really honored to work with someone so skilled. She's looking forward to seeing you, Commander."
The door led out onto a balcony with a stunning view of the city of Nos Astra. Working space like this couldn't have been cheap. A desk sat at the end, loaded with holographic monitors projecting graphs and charts and God-knew-what-else kind of data none of them could make any sense of.
Liara was on the phone, video-chatting with a holographic representation of a man in a suit. Her back was turned, and she didn't notice the trio behind her. She didn't sound happy.
"Have you ever faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have."
Shepard and Garrus met eachother's eyes. They had heard the exact same words once before, spoken by Liara's mother on the planet Noveria. Right before she tried to kill them.
"Either you pay me," she continued, her soft, quiet voice somehow making the statement more sinister, "or I flay you alive. With my mind." The man on the other end blanched, then she cut the connection. Her features were hard and fierce when she turned around, but they softened the moment she saw the three of them. Her smile changed her entire demeanor, and once again she was the young girl Shepard knew. She rushed over to them and hugged him close, for a few moments longer than many humans would deem appropriate.
"I had heard you were alive, but to see you now. . ."
"It's good to see you too, Liara. So. . .what's this about flaying people alive? Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"No, no. . .well, yes, but not with him. You have to be intimidating with these people, Shepard. Any sign of weakness could cost you billions, if you're lucky. Garrus, it's been too long."
"Glad to see you, Doctor. Remind me never to make a bet with you that I can't win."
She smiled sweetly at him. "That would be wise. I believe you still owe me two hundred credits, by the way."
Garrus' mandibles twitched. "I have absolutely, positively no idea what you're talking about. Have you met Miranda?" He stepped aside and gestured to the woman standing awkwardly apart from the group.
"We haven't met in person, no," Liara said. "But we are somewhat acquainted. Thank you for taking care of Shepard for me."
Miranda shook Liara's hand. "Honestly, he's been mostly taking care of himself."
"Wait," Shepard interrupted. "How do you two know eachother?"
"We don't," Miranda replied, "But it was Doctor T'Soni here who delivered your body to us."
"May we speak in private?" Liara asked Shepard. He nodded, and Garrus and Miranda left the room after saying their goodbyes. Liara sat down at her desk and gestured for Shepard to take a seat himself.
"Did you really give my body to Cerberus? Why?"
"It's a long story, but the short version is this: Cerberus weren't the only ones after you. The Collectors wanted you too. . .and they almost got you, thanks to the Shadow Broker."
That made Shepard uneasy. Whatever the Collectors wanted with him, he knew it couldn't have been good.
"Why was the Shadow Broker working with the Collectors?"
"Money, of course. The price on your body was enormous. Anyway, I managed to save you from the Collectors by getting your body to Cerberus. They were not my first choice. . .but they assured me that you would be kept safe. They're a pro-human group, and you're one of humanity's greatest heroes, so I knew they would at least respect your corpse. Of course, if I had known they planned to bring you back to life, I would have kept more in touch."
"Snatching me from the Collectors must not have made the Shadow Broker happy."
"No. But that is a story for another day. I cannot say much here. . .but the Shadow Broker isn't as safe as he thinks. I actually wanted to warn you about something else. Someone's trying to kill you."
"Yeah, I know; I just pull up a map of the galaxy, point somewhere, and half of that region usually wants to kill me."
"That's not what I mean. Shepard. . .I wasn't sure if I should tell you this. You wouldn't be here if you weren't on an important mission, and I don't want to distract you. Most of the galaxy thinks you just faked your death for some top-secret mission, but I know better. I was at your funeral. I know I'll be at your next one, no matter what, because humans live such short lives, but I don't want it to be so sudden and tragic. It's selfish of me, but. . .I guess I've changed a lot in two years myself. The one I'm warning you about is a batarian named Fazrak."
Shepard didn't know he had a funeral. The very concept took him by surprise, yet it made perfect sense when he thought of it. I wonder what they said about me.
"Liara, I'm sorry you had to go through that. But you don't have to worry. I've been dealing with batarians my whole life: Mindoir, the Skyllian Blitz, hell, last month I was poisoned by one on Omega."
"I know. In fact, you and Fazrak have met before."
It can't be. "What are you. . ."
"Shepard," Liara put her hand on his. "Fazrak was on Mindoir fifteen years ago. He was the slaver behind the attack that killed your family. And he's looking for you now."
It was good to see Liara again; he had always liked the mild-mannered asari, with her wealth of archaeological facts that never interested him whatsoever. Though she hardly seems mild-mannered now.
Garrus realized as he left Liara's office that he had never really been alone with Miranda before. The human woman clearly preferred to keep to herself on the Normandy, hardly ever leaving her office. What little he knew of her came from Shepard.
"I can't believe she wears that-that-outfit into a gunfight."
"I thought that was unusual, but I figured it was just some human thing. Her biotic barrier is strong, at least."
The conversation had led into a discussion on why human men seemed to enjoy human women with disproportional chests, and why Miranda was considered to be "genetically perfect" as far as her appearance went. I still don't see it. How does she maintain her balance like that?
"So," he began, uncomfortable, "I feel like I owe you thanks."
She kept her attention to the door and seemed not to notice he had spoken. "For what?" She finally said.
"Bringing Shepard back. You were in charge of the Lazarus Project, right? So you're the one to thank for all this."
"You mean flying into hell to save the galaxy?" She looked at him. "The Illusive Man was the one with the money and the initiative; he just put me in charge of the project. If I were the one truly calling the shots, you may not be thanking me right now."
His cop training went into high gear. She was testing him, seeing how he'd react, what he wanted from her. This woman doesn't trust easily.
He met her eyes and didn't look away. "Well, then I'm thankful you weren't the one calling the shots. And still aren't."
She smiled after a moment. "I'm not, am I? It's kind of nice, not being in charge. What was it like, serving on the original Normandy?"
"Well, it wasn't nearly as cushy as this one. I had to sleep in the hangar with a krogan and a racist. Though it was more mindful of turian needs." Despite being modeled after the SR1, Cerberus had designed the new Normandy with humans, and only humans, in mind.
"I meant with Commander Shepard."
"When we weren't being shot at, or running from an explosion, or driving a tank across environments that could kill us in seconds, or fighting geth on the Citadel, or taking really long and awkward elevator rides, it was nice."
"Was he always so. . .personal with everyone? He goes all over the ship every once in a while, talking to people one-on-one and asking them their life stories, why they're here, what do you think of the last mission, etcetera."
"Hah. Yeah, he was always like that. I think he just wants to know each person like he knows his ship: inside and out. Their motivations, where they come from, where they're going, their dreams and fears. There's a tactical advantage to knowing all that, if you think about it; he can judge what missions would be a bad idea to bring someone on due to a conflict of interest, or gauge whether or not someone is really loyal to him." Turian commanders didn't typically interact with their crew to such an extent; loyalty was never a question on turian ships, but if they did, Garrus could conceive of that being the reason why.
"Do you think he gives a shit about us and our problems? Or do you think it's just tactics for him?"
Garrus thought about that. "I think other commanders would do it for tactics, but Shepard. . .I think he really cares. Would another commander have gone with me to help me kill Sidonis?"
"Maybe, if he thought it would ensure your loyalty to him."
"Yes, but if that were the case, then would he have stopped me right when I was about to have my sweet, sweet revenge?"
Miranda had no answer to that. They spent the next few minutes watching the door, Liara's secretary typing away at her console. Nyxeris was her name, according to the tag on her desk.
"I still think he gets too involved," Miranda said at last. "There are some things people don't want to share, shouldn't have to share."
"You don't think a commander should know everything about his crew?"
"So you've told Shepard every regret and dark secret about yourself, then?"
It was his turn to be quiet this time.
"My point exactly. Everyone has those things they hide-including Commander Shepard." They didn't speak again. Garrus was thanking the spirits when the doors finally opened, until he saw Shepard's face.
He had seen his Commander shot, nearly crushed by rubble, trapped underground, defuse a nuclear warhead, and even take on a thresher maw. He had faced down a long-thought extinct monster, destroyed a mind-controlling plant, spoken to the dead, defied a self-proclaimed synthetic deity, and hung up on the Council-twice. Through it all, Garrus had seen every human emotion cross his face, from grief to fury to happiness.
Never had he seen Shepard pale.
"What happened?" Garrus was surprised at the level of concern in his own voice.
Shepard blinked and looked as if he hadn't noticed them before that moment. "Nothing," he said. He sounded distant, unfocused. "Nothing important. Let's go find the assassin so we can get out of here."
Author's note:
This was a long-ass chapter. I'm hoping the next one can focus more on Garrus. I'm going to be breezing through a lot of in-game time, so hopefully the pace doesn't suffer too much. Anyway, read, enjoy, tell me what you think!