What Was Lost

Chapter 6 - Confrontation

Shepard deleted the message from her datapad yet again. She had been trying to write a message to her mother, Hannah, all evening now. She wanted her to know what was going on and why she acted the way she did.

I hope she understands...

She had already written pardons for the whole crew. She didn't want them to have to pay for her decisions. She had also sent in a letter to Alliance command stating the same thing. It might not matter in a few days anyway, but I won't make them suffer because of me.

Shepard worried that she might not be in time. They had already lost almost a whole day thanks to Udina's machinations. Saren could already have the Conduit.

She shook her head. It didn't make a difference. She still had to try. So they were on course to Ilos. In a few hours, it would be over, one way or the other.

She picked up the datapad and started again. She had just written the first few lines when a knock sounded at her door...


Tali stood in the doorway, staring at Shepard. The human was obviously surprised to see her this late at night. Tali glanced past her, looking deeper in the room. Several datapads sat scattered on her desk, alongside a half-eaten meal. By contrast, Shepard's bed was untouched. She obviously hadn't slept yet. Looking back at the commander, she worried at the circles under her eyes. She looked so tired...

"Shepard, I..." Her voice caught in her throat. "Can I come in?"

Shepard stared at her a moment longer, then nodded and stepped back into the room. Tali followed her in and took a seat on the bed while the commander pulled her chair from the desk. "What's up, Tali?"

"I'm sorry to intrude like this, Shepard, but I couldn't stand it in my quarters anymore. I keep thinking about Saren, about the Conduit, everything... I just really need a friend tonight. I saw your light still on, and, well... can I just stay and talk?"

"Liar!" The little voice in the back of her mind whispered. "You know you want more than that..." She squashed the voice down. Shepard was her friend, she respected her choices and didn't want to lose her as a friend.

"Of course, Tali. I could use a break, myself." Shepard grinned ruefully. "I've been hitting a wall with this anyway."

"What were you working on?" Tali looked over at the datapads on the desk, curious about what kept Shepard up so late.

Shepard got a guilty expression on her face. "I was trying to write a letter to my mother, explaining all this. I didn't want her to have to hear about it from the newsvids or a courtmartial or anything. I just can't seem to get it right..."

Tali felt a little guilty herself. She hadn't written her own family about what was going on either. While she did have the geth data Shepard had given her from one of their missions, she still hadn't communicated with them in months.

"Shepard, do you think I could borrow one of those datapads? I think I have a letter I need to write, too..."


Liara gathered her courage and knocked on the door. She had been pacing in front of Shepard's cabin for a few minutes before she finally forced herself to knock. Before this, she had spent almost an hour debating whether she wanted to get the small bag from Feeling Blue out of her locker. She had decided this was the right time...

I said I wanted to wait, but this might be the only chance, the only time, we have. If it is, I want it to be special...

Footsteps sounded from within the small cabin, and the door whisked open. Shepard was there in front of her. Liara found herself drinking in the sight of the human. The commander was staring back, too. She felt her cheeks flush as she gazed into her enticing green eyes. The small scars on her eyebrow and upper lip. And the way her red hair, worn loose now that she was off duty, fell to her shoulders, like a crimson waterfall...

Before either of them could say anything, movement from further in the room drew her eye. Tali was sitting on the commander's bed, working on a datapad. She looked up and met Liara's gaze, then glanced down, her body language radiating embarrassment.

Liara turned her attention back to the commander. "Shepard, what's going on? I thought you and I were...?" She felt a mix of confusion, hurt and anger fill her voice.

"She just wanted to talk, Liara." Shepard replied quietly. "Honestly, I'm grateful for the company. I've been filling out pardons for the crew and trying to write a letter to my mother explaining all this, so I really needed the break."

Liara's jealousy faded as she took in just how worn out the human looked. The past few months had been so hard on her, and the few breaks she had taken obviously hadn't been enough. And the events of the previous day - Ashley's death, Udina's betrayal, their mutiny from the Alliance - still weighed heavily on her.

By the Goddess... she looks so exhausted. How long has it been since she's really rested? I'm so selfish, I came up here just thinking about me.

Liara walked into the room and shut the door behind her. She took a seat beside Tali on the bed and motioned Shepard over to join them. "Shepard, you look like you really need a break. Come sit with us and relax."

Shepard walked over and sat beside Liara, resting her head on the asari's shoulder. Liara put her arm around the human's waist, holding her silently.

"I'm so tired, Liara." Shepard's voice was a choked whisper. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. They never believe me. And this time, it cost me Ashley and the others..." She started crying, her body shaking as the tears flowed.

Tali had put her arm around Shepard's shoulders too. The two women held the human while she cried. After a time, she slipped into sleep. Liara gently laid her back on the bed. She looked over at Tali. "Thank you, Tali. Thanks for being here for her."

"Of course, Liara. Whatever else, she's my friend, too..."


Shepard woke up to the sound of her comm panel paging her. She tried to sit up, but her arm was trapped by a warm body. Liara was also on the bed, snuggled against her. She gently disentangled her arm from under the asari, and sat up.

Tali was dozing on the foot on the bed, the young quarian curled up as she slept. She did her best not to wake them, and padded over to the comm panel. "Joker, what is it?"

"Half an hour to Ilos, commander. Just wanted to give you a heads-up."

"Thanks Joker. Can you comm the rest and have them meet us on the bridge?"

"Will do, Shepard."

She walked over to the bed and shook Tali and Liara awake. As they headed for the door, she stopped them. "I... thank you, both of you."

"Of course, Shepard. Thanks for letting me stay last night." Tali gave her a quick hug, then went out the door, to go get her gear ready.

Liara paused, taking Shepard's hands in hers. She rested her forehead against the human's, gazing into her eyes. Shepard's hands found her waist, holding her. "Shepard... after all this, we should work on what we were talking about the other night."

Shepard blushed, and smiled at her. "Funny, I was just planning on asking you on a date when we get back from this." She leaned forward, kissing Liara lightly on the lips. "I have a special order for you - come back to me, okay?"

"Only if you do the same."

Shepard watched her head off to get her gear, and got suited up herself. She focused, testing her biotics. The dark energy flowed easily. I guess the doc was right, time and meds and I'll be back to full strength soon enough. Dismissing the power back down to normal levels, she finished suiting up her armor, and went up to the bridge.

She got to the bridge, and stared out at the planet below. Geth ships circled it, though none had reacted to their presence yet. Not exactly the way I wanted to test the stealth drive... She could see vague outlines of prothean ruins dotting the surface.

"Commander, I'm picking up a faint power surge from one of the ruins. Think that's where we need to go?"

"Probably, Joker. Try to get us in closer for a better look."

"Will do, Shepard." Joker increased power to the engines, slipping the ship in closer to the waiting geth fleet.

The rest of her team joined her on the bridge. Liara flashed her a small smile and stood next to her. The asari reached out, taking her hand. Shepard squeezed it back. Their fingers laced together as they edged closer to each other.


Liara stared at the VI. An actual working Prothean VI, the first one ever found, and she had to leave it behind. It wasn't fair! She had waited her entire life for this moment. And there was no time for it. Shepard put a hand on her shoulder. "Liara, we'll come back here after all this is over, I promise. I'll translate whatever you like."

Liara stifled a giggle. Here they were on the verge of galactic annihilation, and Shepard still took the time to make her feel better. "You realize, that's going to be really hard for me to top for our second date, right?"

"You don't have to top anything, Liara." Shepard gazed at her, then winked. "Although, I wouldn't mind you being on top of me..."

"Shepard!" Liara blushed.

"Got you moving, didn't it?" Shepard smiled at her, and led them back to the Mako. "Come on, just kill a ton of geth, one crazy turian, and a homicidal super-ship, and we can take all the time we want here."


Tali groaned, opening her eyes. Fires burned fitfully in places, and cables sparked from the ruin of the Council chamber. She attempted to move, but something large and heavy was pinning her down. A large section of one of the pillars was holding her in place. She tried pushing it off her, but it was too heavy for her to lift.

She could see shapes moving in the distance, near where the elevators were. Several humans in Alliance-colored armor, a couple turians wearing C-Sec uniforms, and even an asari and salarian med team had just entered the area. They spotted her movements and headed over to where she lay trapped.

Liara was pulling herself out of the rubble too. She was bleeding from a gash on her forehead, and her armor was cracked in several places. She cradled her arm, and was limping slightly. She stumbled over to Tali, and tried to lift the rubble off her.

The rescue team had reached them by now, and between them, managed to free Tali from the debris. She stretched, feeling sore and bruised all over. She stood up, and checked her suit. No leaks, thankfully.

The door to the area opened again, and Captain Anderson hurried in with another small rescue team. He strode over to them. "We heard about the tower getting hit. Where's Shepard?" He looked around, worried.

Liara jerked up, dropping Tali's arm in panic. She started towards where the Council platform had been, before one of the medics held her back. "Oh Goddess, she... she..." The scientist's words choked off, her face a mask of fear and pain.

Tali hugged herself. She has to be alright! She just has to! She stepped closer to Liara. "They'll get her out safely, Liara. I know they will."

Something moved from further in the debris. A figure was limping towards them. The fires and sparks cast it in an eerie red glow. It can't be Saren! Keelah, he can't still be alive after all that! She stared at the figure, hope and apprehension at war inside her.

Shepard looked awful. She had several cuts on her face, her armor was missing several pieces, and a large chunk ripped from her left leg armor, blood flowing from it.

Liara had already shaken off the attending med tech and was rushing towards the injured human. She hugged Shepard tightly. Tali joined them, relief filling her. "Keelah, Shepard, you scared me so much."

Shepard smiled faintly at them. "So did you. The last I saw was that pillar crashing down on you. I thought..." She shook her head. "Then, when I was pulling myself out from under it, I heard someone shout 'I found them'. Such a relief."

She reluctantly stepped aside to let the medtechs get a better look at Shepard's leg. Liara, who had the commander's arm in a death grip, guided the injured human over to a small piece of rubble so she could sit and let them examine her properly.

Saren was dead. Sovereign had been destroyed. The council was saved. And they had all lived this time.

It was finally over.


Shepard sighed. The doctors had finally let her go with some stitches and bandages, after much arguing. She'd had to have Joker fake an emergency call from the Normandy to get out from the med clinic. Unfortunately, the fake emergency had turned into a real one. Anderson had found her on her way to the Normandy, and dragged her back to the embassy.

Apparently, the Council had scheduled an important meeting for her in a few hours. The details were sketchy, but she doubted it would be anything good. It never was. In the meantime, she was stuck in the embassy, just waiting.

Bored.

She didn't even have her crew to talk to, either. Udina had insisted that this was 'purely a human matter', and forbidden them to come with her to embassy. So it was her, Udina, and Anderson, waiting in uncomfortable silence in the office for the Council to call.

To divert herself, Shepard was browsing a list of restaurants on the Presidium. So far, she was having no luck there, either. Trying to find the perfect place to take Liara for their first date was proving to be a frustrating experience.

She had already reviewed a couple dozen of them so far, but none of them seemed right. She wanted this date to be perfect. There's so much I don't know about her still. I need this to go well. I suppose I could always just steal the Normandy again and really take her to Ilos...

She sat back in the couch, frustrated. God, why can't I do this... I've had dates before, this shouldn't be this hard.

Dates... yeah...

She had dated before, but this time, something was different. Liara. She mattered, mattered in a way that no one else ever had before.

"I'd suggest this one," Anderson's voice snapped her out of her daze. She looked at where he was pointing, about two thirds of the way down the datapad.

"Captain! Sorry, I was just..." She looked up, composing herself. "Just killing some time is all."

"It's fine, Shepard," Anderson laughed quietly. "Take her there. Trust me, she'll love it."

"Oh God, am I that easy to read?" Shepard blushed.

"I've seen how the two of you look at each other. It's pretty obvious."

"You don't mind?"

"Of course not," He smiled over at her. "I hope you two are happy together." He pulled a small card out. "If you do go there, give them this and ask for a table with a view. Hopefully my name's still good for a few favors."

"Thanks, Captain, I think I'll give it a try." She paused a moment. "Any idea what this urgent meeting is about?"

"No clue," He looked amused. "Given our track record with the Council, since we saved the galaxy, they'll probably courtmartial us and put us before the firing squad."

"Shepard? Anderson? They're ready for us now." Udina called from the other side of the room.


Liara looked down at the note she had found sitting on her desk in the room. Handwritten on actual paper, it was definitely an extravagance in an age of datapads and extranet. She had already read it multiple times.

'Liara -

I'll pick you up at 1900 tonight for dinner. I'm looking forward to seeing you.

-Alexandra.'

Liara smiled to herself. Only Shepard would put down Citadel time on something like this. It was charming, in its own way. She studied the little card again, gently running her fingertips across the writing. She could almost picture Shepard sitting at her desk, writing multiple drafts, trying to get it just right, discarded copies scattered around.

Just right...

She gulped, and walked back over to the closet. She still needed to figure out what she was going to wear. She wanted something to make this night special...

*Next Chapter: Intermission - Shepard has some downtime before the Normandy heads out again. The Collector ambush.*