On the Normandy…
"Too close, Commander. Ten more seconds and we would have been swimming in molten sulphur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land on exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference" Joker joked over the radio.
"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" Liara said, confused and slightly offended.
"There's nothing like having a laugh with death" I joked, shrugging happily before leaning back comfortably in the seat.
Me, Jane, and the rest of the team were all in the debriefing room behind the galaxy map. It was the same room where we got the transmission from Eden Prime. A large plasma screen covered most of the back wall, blocked by a large metal railing circling around the seating platform and the slope up to the door.
From left to right in a circle it went: Jane, Ashley, Kaidan, me – control panel – Tali, Garrus, Liara and Wrex. Basically, humans on the left; aliens on the right.
Jane stood up and walked to the center of the room, gaining the crew's attention.
"He just pulled our arses to safety. I'm sure we can let him have a few jokes" Jane defended him, leaning on the platform; legs crossed and hands pressed against the panel.
"I see. Forgive me; I don't have a lot of experience with your kind, Shepard. However, I am grateful that you saved me from the geth." Liara thanked her with a voice of appreciation.
"What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?" Kaidan questioned her bluntly.
"Kaidan, she's just survived a geth encounter and an exploding volcano. Can you a least give her a few minutes breather before questioning her like she's a suspect?" I lectured him lightly, too relaxed to make a proper fuss over it.
"I…I guess you're right" he told me before turning back to Liara.
"Sorry…about that" he apologized. She nodded at him.
"I understand. If my species was being threatened to extinction, I wouldn't waste time in finding information," she told him, shifting in her seat.
"To answer your question, I only know that it was somehow connected to the prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the past 50 years trying to find out what happened to them," Liara told us. That got my attention.
"Did you say 50 years? How old are you exactly?" I asked her, curiously, shifting back into a seated position.
"I hate to admit it but I am only 106" she told me nonchalantly.
"Damn! I hope I look that good when I'm your age" Ashley said, laying her leg over her knee Smiling, I nodded in agreement.
"A century might seem like a long time to a short-lived species like yours, but to an asari, I'm seen as no more than a child. That is why my research hasn't seen the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to…disband my theories on what happened to the protheans" she explained.
"I've got my own theory on what happened to the protheans" I told Liara, thinking back on the image of the reapers.
"With all due respect, Lieutenant, I've heard every theory out there. The problem is finding evidence to support them. The protheans left remarkably little behind. It's as almost someone didn't want the mystery solved. It is like someone came along after the protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. " Liara continued; sounding deflated by the lack of evidence.
'Maybe someone did…or something' I thought.
"But here is the incredible part: according to my findings, the protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. The cycle began long before them" Liara finished.
"So then, who were the first to go?" I asked her.
"I don't know. There is barely any evidence on the protheans, even less on those who came before them. I cannot prove my theory but I know I am right" Liara said, determined.
"Well, I'm not sure about that theory but I know what happened to the protheans. They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines, the Reapers," I told her.
"The…the Reapers? But I have never heard of…how do you know this? What evidence do you have?" she questioned me frantically for information.
"There was a damaged prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It gave me a vision. The vision showed the protheans being wiped out by the reapers," I explained, repressing the images once again.
"Visions? Yes, that makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one that still works is extremely rare. No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime" Liara told us.
"But the beacon's were only programmed to interact with prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would have been confused, unclear. I am…amazed that you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process," she explained to me before turning to face Jane.
"You have a remarkably strong-willed sister, Commander" she said, admiration and curiousity in her eyes.
"Ugh, this isn't helping us find Saren or the Conduit" Ashley interrupted, annoyed.
"Of course, I'm sorry. My scientific curiousity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I have no information to help you find the Conduit, or Saren" she said, dejectedly.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you but I think it's better if she stays with us" I said, crossing my arms and legs.
"Why?" Kaidan asked next to me.
"Think about it: Saren wanted her for a reason. I don't know what the reason is but I think we'd be a lot better off if we bring her along" I explained. I turned towards Jane to see her thinking before slowly nodding her head.
"I agree with Lily. Besides, you're biotics could be useful" she said.
She nodded before quickly putting a hand to her head.
"Woah…I am feeling a little lightheaded," she said, wobbling in her chair.
"Are you okay, Liara?" I asked her, concerned.
"I…I should be. Its just finding out the truth about what happened to the protheans is…overwhelming. I think I just need to lie down," she told me.
"Still, I think the Doc should have a look at you" I told her.
"I…I guess it wouldn't hurt to be examined by a medical doctor. Thank you, Lieutenant" she thanked me.
"Please, only people in the Alliance have to call me Lieutenant. Just call me Lily," I told her. She nodded, understanding
"Okay…Lily" she said before leaving the room.
"That's it for now. Dismissed" she told us. We all stood up and left the room.
Before I left, Joker's voice was heard over the intercomm.
"The mission reports have been filed, Commander. Want me to patch you through to the council?" He asked her.
She turned to look at me. I shrugged.
"Put it this way, sis: you'll eventually get the lecture from the council. Might as well do it now" I told her. She sighed before telling Joker to patch them through.
"See ya later, sis. Good luck with the council" I told her as I left the debriefing room.
I turned around the corner and down the stairs to the mess hall when I caught Garrus entering the elevator.
"Hey, Garrus" I said, joining him in the elevator.
"Hey, Lils. How's it going?" he asked me.
"Pretty good, considering" I told him as we stood in silence.
"So, then…what do you think about Liara?" I asked him.
"She seems okay, but I don't completely trust her…I think she knows something that she's not telling us" he explained to me.
"I know what you mean. She seems too…innocent, in a way," I added.
"Exactly" he agreed. We stood again in silence.
"So, then…I'm curious" he began. I turned to look at him.
"About what?" I asked him.
"Is there something between you and Kaidan?" He asked me. My eyes widened in shock.
"Umm…why do you want to know?" I asked him, blushing lightly.
"Just curious" he said but I could tell there was a hidden motive in the question.
"No, there's nothing going on between me and Kaidan" I told him.
"Oh" he said. He sounded a little…happy, which slightly confused me.
'Damn, how long is this elevator going to take?' I thought.
"So, then…what made you think we were together?" I asked him.
"It's just…the way you too acted around each other, especially Kaidan…it seemed like there was some chemistry," he explained. I nodded, but still a little confused.
Finally, the elevator doors opened, revealing the crew quarters.
"Well then, Lieutenant. I guess I'll be speaking to you later" Garrus said as he walked towards his room. I watched him for a second before shaking my head and walking to my private quarters. You've gotta love the privileges of having a Commander for a sister.
A large single bed sat in the corner of the room opposite the door with a large oak bedside table holding a lamp with a rectangular lampshade.
A large oak wardrobe was in the adjacent corner of the bed, next to the bathroom door. The corner adjacent to the door was home to my small dark wooden vanity, where a canifex pistol was hidden in a small compartment in case of emergencies. There was another one in the bedside table but I'm not sure if Jane's moved it when she was doing an inspection.
Feeling completely drained from the mission earlier, I dropped onto my bed. I sighed in bliss as I stretched the kinks in my body. I promise, the minute the mission is done, I'm going on shore leave immediately.
I laid still for a few minutes before my eyes fluttered close. I was asleep in a few minutes.
In my dreams, I was plagued by the vision on Eden Prime. The horrible feeling I felt when I first watched it returned as I thrashed in my bed. It seemed like it carried on for a century.
I gasped as I sat up; sweat covered my body as memories of the dream began to fill my mind.
'So much for my beauty sleep' I thought grudgingly as I swirled on the bed so my legs hung off the side before standing up.
Immediately, the familiar sound of the alarm clock appeared in the room.
'Damn you, Jane' I mentally glared at her before heading to my closet to hang my wrinkled clothes from yesterday and changed into casuals.
I stretched my arms as I walked out of my room and towards the elevator.
"Hey, Lily" a voice said behind me. I turned to see Ashley smiling at me.
"Hey, Ash. Good morning" I yawned at her.
"By the sound of that alarm clock, I'm guessing you're not having one" Ashley remarked.
"Jane tell you about it?" I asked her as we walked into the elevator together.
"Yea" she giggled as the elevator doors closed and began to lift.
"Yea, yea, laugh it up" I rolled my eyes.
"So, anyway. Have you spoken to Liara yet?" She asked me.
"No, I didn't talk to her yesterday because I thought she might've needed some rest" I told her.
"Well, I'd talk to her if I were you. I think she's hiding something from us," she told me.
"Yeah, me and Garrus noticed that too" I told her as the elevator stopped. The doors opened, revealing the mess hall.
"Well, I don't know about you but I'm getting a snack. You coming?" she asked me.
"Maybe later. I going to have a talk with Liara" I told her.
"Alright" she said before walking towards the tables.
I left the elevator and walked towards the med-bay. The doors opened, revealing the Doc sitting at her computer.
"Ah, lieutenant. The asari is in the other room if you want to talk to her" Doc told me.
"Thanks" I smiled at her before walking past her, towards the door on the other side of the room.
The door opened, showing said asari sitting at a computer next to a few crates. It was a very small room.
"Hey, Liara" I said, walking towards her.
"Oh. Hello, Lily" she said, standing up from her seat and turning to face me.
"Just checking up on you. How were you yesterday?" I asked her.
"Doctor Chakwas assures me I am going to be fine. I was impressed with her knowledge of asari physiology," she told me. I smiled.
"You're in good hands with Doc. She's the best one I know" I told her honestly.
"…I never got to thank you properly yesterday. If you and Shepard hadn't come, I'd…" she stopped but I got the message.
"Don't sweat it. I'm just glad we got to you before the geth did" I told her.
"So am I," she added. She stood silently before speaking.
"You and Shepard took a chance with me by bringing me onto your ship…I've seen the way your crew looks at me, they do not trust me" she told me.
"But I am not like Benezia. I promise I will help you defeat Saren ad the geth," she said but I could tell she was keeping something to herself.
"Me and the rest of the crew have only known you for a day, you can't expect them to be completely trusting. But you haven't betrayed us yet, so I'm going to take a risk and trust you. Don't make me regret it," I told her. She smiled at me.
"You won't. Thank you, Lily. If you ever need help, I'll be here" she said. I nodded at her as she turned away and sat down next to her computer. I turned and left the room.
"How'd it go?" Doc asked me as I walked past her. I stopped at the door as it automatically opened. I turned my head to look at her before giving a small smile.
"I think it went rather well," I told her before turning back and leaving the room the door closing quickly behind me.
I walked over to the table where Ashley and Kaidan were sitting talking. When they noticed me, they turned to me.
"Hey, Lils. How's she?" Ashley asked as I sat down opposite her.
"She's good. I still don't fully trust her but I think she's okay," I told her.
"Yeah, well I'm going to keep an eye on her. Just in case" Kaidan told us as Ashley past me a cup of coffee.
"Well, if it lets you sleep at night" I told him, accepting the cup with a smile as I took a small sip.
"Hey, Lily. Later, if you have the time, can we talk…privately" he said nodding his head towards Ashley who was drinking her own coffee. I nodded, curious about what he wanted to talk about.
"Lily, Commander wants you at the galaxy map. She wants a second opinion on something" Joker's voice sounded over the intercomm. A faint 'Thanks, Joker' was heard afterwards. I sighed before standing up.
"Guess I'll talk to you guys later, then" I waved goodbye, abandoning my coffee and went up the stairs and towards Jane who was staring blankly at the galaxy map.
"Hey, Jane" I said as I walked next to her.
"Hey, Lily" she replied, her eyes focused on the map.
"So, Joker said you wanted an opinion on something" I commented. It was then that her eyes left the map and focused on me.
"What do you think of the asari?" she asked me. I thought for a moment before replying.
"She seems okay. I wouldn't trust her yet but she seems safe" I told her. She nodded before turning back to the map, leaning on her arms against the railing.
"Why?" I asked her.
"We're setting off towards Noveria. It's a small research facility but Anderson suspects that it's the perfect place for the geth to attack" Shepard explained.
"Also, according to a few of my contacts on Noveria, an group of asari commandos came with a Matriarch a few days ago. It might not be the one we're looking for but it could be worth checking out," she said, looking towards me before noticing the look.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"Since when do you have contacts?" I asked; eyebrow raised.
"Hey, I may be amazing but I'm just one woman, I need help some times" she defended, shrugging before looking up at Joker.
"Hey, Joker told me he wanted to see you after we were done" she informed me.
"Well then, are we done?" I asked her.
"Yep. I'm done with you for now" she waved me off. I walked away from the map and around the ship control stations in the middle of the room.
"Oh, one more thing, sis" she said behind me. I turned my head to see her holding a cup of tea, or is it coffee?
"Hope you don't mind me having your coffee" she said, taking a sip. I stared at her shocked.
"When the hell did you get that?" I asked her, shocked and confused at the same time.
"Magic" she grinned before turning back to the map.
"Bitch" I mumbled.
'When the hell did she get that?' I thought, still confused as I walked up to Joker.
"Hey, Joker" I said, sitting in the chair next to him.
"Hey, Lils. How's life?" he asked, eyes scanning over the ship controls in front of him.
"Odd, confusing, and completely random" I answered.
"I figured" he replied.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked him.
"Nothing, really. I haven't talked to you in ages so I thought we could catch up" he said, glancing towards me before returning to the panel.
"Sorry about that. Life's been pretty crazy at the moment" I apologized.
"Yeah, I saw you when you came back from the dig site. You looked like you would drop to the ground and sleep at any minute" he told me, pressing various buttons on the controls.
"So you're saying I looked like shit, basically" I said, looking at him seriously.
"I wouldn't put it that way, but…yea" he replied.
"Right. Thanks for that" I said, sarcastically.
"Happy to help" he said, grinning at me.
I giggled at him.
"You always manage to make me laugh. Even if I'm in a shitty mood," I told him, smiling.
"Are you in a shitty mood now?" he asked.
"Maybe" I replied sadly.
"Why?" he asked confused.
"Jane nicked my coffee," I moaned.
"Awww, is the Commander being a big meanie?" he asked in a baby voice, making me punch his shoulder.
"It's not funny," I mumbled, holding back a smile.
"Ouch. Did you have to punch so hard?" he asked, rubbing his shoulder.
"Yes" I replied bluntly.
"Wow, and I said the Commander was mean" he said, turning back to the panel.
I rolled my eyes before deciding to do some work at the control station I was sitting at.
"So then, what do you think of Jane's crew?" I asked him, scanning over and at some points optimizing the systems.
"Well, I already know Kaidan…no comment" he said, making me smile.
"Wrex…well, I don't know what he's like but I know what krogan are like. Just keep him in the battle and he should be fine" he continued. I nodded, letting him know I was listening.
"Garrus seems okay. He worked at C-Sec so he probably wants to help people, meaning humans in this case" he said.
"Tali seems to know a lot about ships so she could be handy to have around. I haven't met many quarians so I can't really give an opinion" he carried on.
"And Liara I've only seen for a few seconds since letting her on the ship so no comment" he finished. I motioned for him to continue but he ignored me.
"Well?" I asked him.
"Well what?" he asked me.
"What about Ashley?" I asked. He turned back to the panel, not looking me in the eye.
"She seems…okay" he replied but he was obviously had a better opinion than that.
"That's it?" I asked him, unconvinced.
"Well…we've talked for a bit in the cockpit. She seems…really nice," he added eventually. I looked at him before giving a small smile.
"You like her, don't you?" I asked him knowingly.
"Yes, she's very nice" he replied.
"You like her, don't you?" adding emphasis on like. He sighed before glancing at me.
"Look, I'll admit it, she's cute, but I know her type. She's adventurous, craves danger. I'm a crippled pilot where my idea of danger is walking to the loo to take a piss" he replied. I looked at him sympathetically.
Joker was born with hollow bones; it's called Vrolik's Syndrome I think, where one wrong step and they completely scatter.
"Ah, don't lose faith, Joker. You'll find the right girl for you. It may not be Ashley but someday a girl will come along who will love a guy like you" I supported him. He sighed heavily, eyes closed, before looking at me with a smile.
"Thanks, Lily. You always know what to say to make me feel better" he replied. I smiled before standing up and hugging him at his side.
"Anything for you, bro" I told him before pulling away. He looked shocked before grinning.
"Thanks, sis" he said, making me smile.
"Anyway, I'm going to go get another coffee. Talk to you later" I said as I turned away and walked out of the cockpit.
I went back down to the mess hall and towards the coffee maker near Kaidan.
"Hey, Lily" he said as I walked next to him.
"Hey, Kaidan" I replied as I grabbed a cup from the cupboard under the coffee maker.
"We need to talk," he said as I put the cup under the spout in the coffee maker.
"About what?" I asked as the coffee began pouring into the cup.
"I've just spoken to one of the rear admirals at the citadel. They've received a report from Earth," he told me as the coffee finished pouring into the cup.
"Oh? What about?" I asked as I grabbed some nearby milk off the counter and poured some into the cup.
"There's a hostage situation at one of the international banks in London," he answered.
'Hmm. That's the city I grew up in…' I thought as I finished with the milk and put it away.
"Who took the people hostage?" I asked curiously as I stirred the coffee before taking a small sip.
"Your father" he replied slowly.
A few seconds later, coffee was spilt all over the floor as a broken cup rolled across the coffee puddle, reflecting my pale face.