The best part of having the majority of a chapter written weeks ago is how fast you can update! Don't expect this to become habit though, I just happened to have the entire center section of this written since before I started writing anything else :) Also, as today is the fourth, and I am a proud American, and I live in the desert and its RAINING (in the desert, where we have like less that four inches of rainfall A YEAR), the next update might be a bit quicker too. Unless it stops raining. Or someone discovers how to use a charcoal grill inside. Or my sister's boyfriend actually does set off the M80 in the pool (my votes for this one). I also think I may have taken some liberties with Liara's familty history, but I couldn't find anything on it one way or another.
Bah, stupid spell check and my not actually looking when I hit "correct all". Thanks, Theodur.
The Presidium shone, the artificial light bouncing off the metal railings, reflecting off the glass. It was always one thirty in the afternoon here, the light coming from an angle to prevent most reflections from becoming blinding, and mildly diffused in case that wasn't enough, even with a cloudless sky. People milled about of the elevated paths; shopping, eating. Children ran past, screaming in joy as they chased each other. Liara took a half step out of the way as a group of young human school children almost ran her over. Their frazzled looking teacher gave her an apologetic smile as she followed and tried to reign them in. The group made their way over to the Conduit, which the residents of the Citadel still took to be nothing more than a rather fancy Prothean statue.
She could still remember the first time Shepard had walked with her past the Prothean relay, and the way Shepard had laughed at her when she'd spent the next twenty minutes lecturing the human and Garrus on the art and culture of the species that had created it. It was embarrassing, still, to think of how wrong she'd been. As she made her way down the stairs to her father's bar, she shot a quick message to Feron, hoping he'd been able to secure Eden Prime. She had a half dozen people in the vicinity, and hopefully between them they could help the colonists fight back if Cerberus did show up. As long as the capsule went undamaged, Liara was pretty sure they had at least a year before it began losing power. There were still days she pissed Javik's snide, holier-than-thou attitude, though, and hoped that it wouldn't take that long to go get him. He might even be friendlier if there wasn't a war on.
Liara slipped up to the bar, and waited for her father to see her. Aethyta was talking to an older Turian that Liara was fairly certain was trying to hit on the matriarch, and failing miserably at it if her father's face was anything to go by. She didn't bother to take the empty bar stool beside her, but rather leaned against the counter and waited. It wasn't long before her father extracted herself from the conversation with the Turian and came up to her.
"Well, well, well, haven't seen you in awhile, kid. Left Illium in a bit of a hurry." She pulled a bottle of Canadian rye out from under the bar. "You still drinking this crap?"
Liara smiled, nodding, "On occasion," she said. She could still remember the first time she tried it. Not long after Shepard had rescued her from Therum, she'd come across Kaidan drinking it with Shepard at the mess table. It was before he'd discovered her to be his rival, and he'd asked her to join them. She'd almost spit the stuff out, and had been fairly sure he had been trying to poison her. After Virmire, Shepard had drunk almost a bottle of the stuff by herself in Kaidan's honor. It hadn't been until after Ilos that Liara had found her own taste for Shepard's alcohol of choice. She'd drunk almost nothing else since Shepard's death in '83.
Aethyta snorted, and poured Liara a glass. "Tab?"
"No, father. I'm actually here to talk to you."
Aethyta stared at her for a long minute, then drank the whiskey she'd poured for Liara. "Shit, kid. How long have you known?"
"Long enough. Can we sit?" She waved vaguely in the direction of the cafe's tables.
"Did you know on Illium? Why the hell didn't you say anything?"
"No, not then. And I'm fairly certain that if I had the Matriarch's would have placed someone else as my tail. Someone who wasn't quite so understanding."
Aethyta poured another drink and tossed that one back as well before grabbing a second glass and the bottle. "Kyle! I'm gonna be gone for twenty. I'll be on the deck." She moved out from behind the bar, and strode off toward one of the vacant tables. Liara followed, smirking. Her father took a seat at a table mashed into the corner, blocked from view on one side by a large potted tree, and two others by the balcony railing. Liara slipped into the seat across from her. "So, what's with the sudden family reunion? Shit, that came out wrong. I don't want you to think I don't want to get you know you, or anything. I mean-"
"I know, Dad. I...I...is there anything you want to know?" This wasn't exactly how she'd planned. It wasn't that she'd forgotten that her father didn't know her, exactly, so much as she'd forgotten that Shepard had told the matriarch she was showing up. The look of utter incredulity on Aethyta's face was making Liara mildly uncomfortable.
"I thought I'd be asking you that. Never really thought you'd ever want to talk to me. Don't know what your mom told you about me. Fuck, kid, I honestly don't know where to begin."
"She didn't say anything about you. She would often become defensive when I brought it up. I thought it might be because..." She let the sentence trail off. She knew her father wasn't ashamed of her, that her pureblood status had never bothered her, but she'd never really considered if it had bothered her mother before today. Certainly her mother had known what she was doing. Though accidental pregnancies could happen during the Matron stage, they were rare. Asari were innately aware of their bodies, and her mother had never seemed the type to not consider every outcome before committing to something.
"It ain't got nothing to do with your blood, kid. We were together for more than a century, thought it was gonna last forever, and when it went bad, it went bad fast. Before you were born. But why are you here now? Just because I'm on the Citadel don't mean shit. They're still gonna watch you. Girlfriend like yours with Cerberus ties, that killed a fucking solar system of Batarians – not that I'd say anything on that, damn slavers – and your work on Illium. Can't say I really blame 'em though, what with your mom and Saren."
"It wasn't her fault," Liara answered automatically, "and I wanted to talk to you about her, really. I...I've been having dreams. About you, and mother."
"Fuck kid, I'm a goddamned bartender not a shrink. I don't do any of that couch shit, and dreams are just there to keep sleep from getting boring. I may be your dad, but I sure as hell ain't the person to be talking to about this."
"It's just...it was about Shepard...and...you always said I could come talk to you if I needed to."
"I did? When the hell was this? But fine, fire away. Don't know how much help I'll be."
Liara launched into a description of her dreams, leaving nothing out. By the end, she was crying, an ache in her chest as she thought of Shepard and the child, of her mother staring out at the water. She hugged herself, feeling suddenly very alone even on the crowded Presidium. The look on her father's face wasn't helping, either. She was smiling and shaking her head, obviously trying very hard not to laugh at her daughter.
"You need me to explain that to you? Come on, the galaxy's going to shit, you're being pulled in seven different directions and the only one you want to be pulled in probably collapses in a tired heap in bed after trying to save it. I mean, I'd want a little downtime with your namesake too if it were me, nothing to worry about but me."
"My...namesake?"
Aethyta slammed a hand down on the table and filled both glasses again. "Goddess be damned, she never told you the story did you? Damn mother's a fucking High Priestess, I spend fourteen months convincing her she'll just give you a fucking complex and then she doesn't even tell you."
"Tell me?" Liara asked tentatively, "Tell me what? My grandmother was a High Priestess?"
"Hell yeah, she was. I mean, I never knew her, passed on before I met your mom, but T'Soni's have been in the church since it began. Your mom was the first not to, decided playing politics was more fun or something. I don't know. Why do you think people listened to you mom? Why they never gave you shit cause I'm your dad? 'Cause you're a fucking T'Soni that's why. A T'Soni named after Athame's daughter no less."
"Athame was a Prothean." Liara said, then, because her mother always forced her to she added, "And we are all her daughters."
"No, we aren't. We are all her children. Big difference. I can't believe she never told you! Hell, I grew up on the story. Damn new generation had to have it pulled in the hope they won't start looking closer to home for a fucking lover. Assholes."
"I'm...not following, father."
"The Tale of Athame's Daughters. Tellak-Yedar'i." The last word was said significantly, with too much emphasis for a child's fairy tale.
"The connected ones are a just a story. They...they don't exist," Liara said, unconsciously reaching out to feel Shepard. The human was above her, on the far side of the curve of the Presidium, and Liara quickly brought her mind back to her self. They were just a story.
"Damn right they are. Not that that means shit, though. Your mother was obsessed with the stories. The young maidens, torn apart, able to find each other again whenever they want. She was such a damn romantic, especially when it came to you. So, she named you after the first one, even though 'Liara' hadn't been a popular asari name in four millenia."
"But..." Liara started before her father cut her off.
"Think of one asari Liara you know. There aren't any. There are six Aethyta's on the Citadel right now. Six. One of 'em ain't even old enough to eat solids yet. Four Benezia's, all older of course. But not a single Liara. And that's because it takes a certain kind of arrogance to name your kid after the Goddess' flesh and blood, but between me and your mom, we had arrogance covered. Not that I approved. Shit no. Wanted to name you Risa." Liara stared at Aethyta, so confused that she felt mildly dizzy. Her father sighed, looking at her. "Look, your dream is just reacting to something you probably heard as a kid, and expounding on your current situation." She sounded very much like the shrink she claimed she wasn't at the end.
"That is what I thought, but now I am not so sure. Father, what I have been trying to ask...who are Athame's daughters? I have never even heard of them. Why would I dream of them?"
"Fuck, kid, you're too old for bed time stories. Drink your damn whiskey and you better not fall asleep on me. Your sister used to do that – my first daughter, she's what...six hundred now? Something that like that. Couldn't stay up past the sex scene."
"You put a sex scene in a children's bedtime story?"
"I was kidding, Athame's tits you take everything too seriously." Aethyta leaned back in her chair, and when she started speaking again there was an almost song like quality to her voice. It washed over Liara and was almost instantly comforting, and the younger woman knew exactly why her sister would have fallen asleep listening to her mother speak, it was hard for Liara to keep her eyes open now. And she was not a child about to go to bed. "In the time before, when the Republics were young and corrupt..."
In the time before, when the Republics were young and corrupt, and the asari were weak and did not know of the changing seasons, and the power they held. When they did not know of science and math and art, Athame walked Thessia. The Goddess spoke to the people, and the people loved her, and in turn she taught them many things that would make the asari powerful. In this time, in a small coastal village there lived away from everyone a maiden. Her name was Salene, and she was considered by all who saw her to be the most beautiful asari to have every left the sea. She was graceful, and she shone with the power of earth.
It came to pass that Athame came to the village where Salene lived and spoke with the people there. Salene came to listen, for she had heard many things about the Goddess, and was curious. She sat in the crowd as Athame taught, and soon discovered that she had found her calling. As the Goddess got up to leave, Salene came to her and begged to become her acolyte. The Goddess did not often take those from the smaller villages, for they were needed in their homes, but the Goddess was taken in by Salene's beauty and allowed her to accompany her when she left the village.
For many seasons the two worked together, and Salene became Athame's most trusted of acolytes. They were closest, and loved each other more than anyone else. Salene had never been as happy as she was when she was with Athame, and found their time apart to be painful. But the Goddess was not mortal, and the Goddess was not asari. She had to return to her palace in the heaven's frequently, or she would lose her powers on Thessia. But as she and Salene became closer, it became harder for her to go.
Finally, as Athame was preparing to leave, Salene came to her and prostrated herself before the Goddess.
"Athame, Goddess of All, I beg you not to leave me," Salene pleaded, "I who love and am loved by you best, do not let me out of your sight. I yearn for you when you are not here, I am nothing but a shell if you are not here to guide me. Take me with you, O Goddess, that I may continue to love you even in your palace."
Athame looked at Salene, who she did love more than all her other acolytes, and was torn. For she could not take her to her palace where mortal flesh would be burned from the maiden's very bones. She knelt beside her love, hugged her to her chest that they may know each other well. "I cannot take you, my love," the Goddess told her, "You must wait for me to return. I shall not be gone long."
But Salene could not handle to be parted, and she wept against the Goddess and begged her not to go. And the Goddess loved Salene, and did not want to go, and so in that moment gave up her powers, her immortality, to be with the one she loved.
"I would never have asked such a thing from you," Salene said, touching the mortal skin of Athame, "Who now will teach the asari?"
"I have many Priestesses that can teach, and hundreds of acolytes to help them. And you know well that Janiri and Lucen will not let them fail. I am no longer needed by any but you." And Athame, who had once been the Goddess, kissed Salene to show her.
In the way of such things, Salene and Athame were bonded, and returned to the village where Salene was born. There they lived in love, with none knowing of Salene's bondmate's identity.
It was not long before Athame found herself with child. There was much rejoicing in the village, for children have always been precious. And when her time came, Athame had not one, but three daughters.
The first, they named Ardala, after the East Wind which brings the summer and all things beautiful. The second they named Irili, after the fearsome beasts of the Umbar plains. But the third they could not name. For Athame wished to name her Yeali, after the West Wind which is calmer than the east, and brings the winter, and Salene wished to name her Berisalt, which in the old tongue meant beauty. But neither name suited the child exactly, and so the child became Nameless.
Nameless and her sisters grew strong on the love of their parents. But all was not well outside their home. For with Athame gone, the heads of the Republics no longer listened to the Priestesses, and said that the Goddess had forsaken them, for her guides would not tell them where she was. War was brewing in the north, and as Athame listened, she wept.
So it was that after their daughters had been put to bed, Salene came to Athame who had once been the Goddess and prostrated herself before her again.
"Athame, I who love you best, who know you best, see your pain," Salene said, "And I know that you must go to them. Know that I shall always love you, and that you shall always be welcome here."
"I cannot go," Athame answered, "What of our daughters? They need their mother."
"I shall be their mother, and their father. I shall teach them of you, and how you love them. And they shall look out at the world and see it as beautiful, and they will see your love for them."
And so Athame brought Salene to her breast and kissed her brow. And when at last they stood, it was not Athame, mortal mother, that stood with Salene, but Athame, Goddess of All. And she kissed her lover and went to stand over her daughters.
She blessed them all, and said her goodbyes, and returned to her Palace so that she might regain her powers to save the asari.
Salene raised Athame's daughters, and told them of their mother, and they grew to be three beautiful, strong maidens.
Ardala was quick of wit, but just as beautiful as her father. But, she lusted for power, and when it came time to leave home, she went to the capital of all the republics. Here, many came to her, and she turned none away.
Irili grew strong and brave. So, when it came time to leave home, she became a proud warrior. And she traveled Thessia and slew all those things that hurt the villages. And she was wise, and compassionate, and sought only to do good in the world, and was soon known all over the globe. Many paid her for her services, and she owned a large home on the top of a hill where she looked down and waited for the next beast to slay.
Nameless was sweet, and kind, and had a heart the size of the sun. None could meet her and not be her friend. When it came time to leave home, she could not, and instead went to her mother's temple in the village and like her father became an acolyte.
It was here that Nameless met Yuterl, and as with all who met Nameless they became friends. But though she had spent many decades alone, and had not enjoyed the pleasures of being a maiden, Nameless found that she longed for Yuterl to look at her and love her. And Yuterl did, and their love was surpassed only by the love of Salene for the Goddess.
Though they were both but maidens, Yuterl and Nameless decided to be wed. Nameless wrote to her sisters and begged them to return for her bonding, for she could not be fully happy without the support of her family.
It was Ardala who received the letter first. And as she read she was unhappy. Certainly, her sister could not be happy settling down so soon. Not when there was so much to discover in the world. So Ardala went home, and found Nameless and cornered her in her home.
"Nameless, my sister," Ardala said, "surely you cannot be serious about this. Come with me to the capital. I will show you a world far beyond anything you can have here in this village. Come with me and leave this behind. You have many years to live, and you will not be happy if you spent all of them here on the shore."
And Nameless, not wanting to upset her sister, went to Yuterl. "My love," she said, "my sister wishes me to go to the capital. I love you dearest of all, but will you allow me to go. May we postpone our bonding so that I may go with my sister than she may be satisfied that I love you and shall be happy with you."
And Yuterl was not one to deny Nameless anything, and so Nameless and Ardala went to the capital.
The city was large, and sprawling. It was dirty and crowded and not anything that Nameless had ever seen before. As they walked the wide streets many asari came up to her and her sister, and offered themselves to them. Her sister turned not one away, and in this manner it took them many hours to reach Ardala's home. In her home they saw many guests, but Nameless was unhappy. Though many beautiful asari came to her, and loved her, none were Yuterl, and it was her love that stayed on her thoughts. Indeed, her thoughts became more and more focused on Yuterl as she tried to deny what her sister was.
For her sister was cruel. Many of the asari that came to her wished to be looked on with favor, but Ardala discarded them all as quickly as they appeared. For Ardala there was always someone new. This is the way of Maidenhood, and at first Nameless understood, but as the weeks passed in her sisters company, she found that she could not bare to see the way that Ardala treated those that came for her companionship. They often left broken, pleading to be allowed to stay.
And so Nameless left her sisters side and returned to Yuterl who welcomed her home with open arms. Nameless was home in time that they need not set a new day for their bonding, and Nameless sent out more letters to her sisters.
This time it was Irili who came. Irili could not believe that her sister, who had never faced battle, would be willing to settle down. For surely, there was much in the world that could threaten her, and it would be better to know how to kill it. And so she cornered Nameless in her home, as Ardala had done.
"Nameless, my sister," Irili said, "surely you cannot be serious about this. Come with me to my home, and we shall fight the many beasts that threaten the villages. You shall learn many tricks, and kill many beasts. You have many years with which to live, and you will not be happy if you cannot protect your home."
And Nameless, not wanting to upset her sister, went to Yuterl. "My love," she said, "my sister wishes me to go with her to her home, where we may fight the many beasts that threaten the land. I love you dearest of all, but will you allow me to go? May we postpone our bonding so that I may go with my sister than she may be satisfied that I love you and shall be happy with you."
And Yuterl was not one to deny Nameless anything, and so Nameless and Irili went to her home in the mountains.
There Irili taught Nameless many things about fighting, and then they went out into the plains to hunt her namesake.
For many days and nights they sat and waited for the beast to appear. On the evening before the day that Nameless was to be bonded, she wept alone thinking of Yuterl, and how she would be happier there with her love.
Irili saw this. She felt an ache for the pain she was causing her sister and said to herself that should the beast not appear by noon, she and her sister would return to the village that her sister may be bonded.
At dawn, however, the beast did appear.
With all her training, Irili charged the creature, and Nameless followed behind. Together they stopped the beast in its tracks, but Irili faltered as she hit uneven ground and the beast was let free of his prison. It charged at Nameless and impaled her on its large tusks.
In fury, Irili killed the beast, and ran to her sister who lay on ground staining the grass violet.
"My sister," Irili cried as the life slipped from Nameless, "What have I done? Mother! Mother please, come and help your daughter!"
And from the shadow of the clouds Athame appeared by her daughters' side. She took one look at her youngest, and most beloved daughter and a rage the likes of which the Goddess had never felt before overwhelmed her.
"Today was to be the day she was bonded," the Goddess boomed, "Why is she here on these plains, left as a sacrifice to the beasts of the land? Why is she not in the arms of her lover?"
"Ardala and I knew she was too young. She is so small, and she had not experienced the world. I wished only to make her happier."
"You have killed her," the Goddess replied, and felt nothing when Irili broke into tears.
But death is not something that would hold a Goddess back, and so it was that Athame was able to save her youngest. With gasping breaths, Nameless looked at her mother, "You have saved me," she said, "I can find no words to thank you mother."
"You may thank me by marrying she who is your love," the Goddess answered, and lifted her child in her arms as she had done when the maiden was a small baby. Then, she took her to Yuterl, who looked on in shock as the Goddess appeared at her door.
"Yuterl," Athame said, "she is very weak. I ask that you do what you have always done, and care for my daughter. And know this, she is no longer Nameless. She is Liara, which is courage. She is Liara which is bright warmth of the sun. She is Liara, which is love."
And so the Goddess left, and Yuterl did what she had always done and cared for Liara.
But the Goddess was not finished with her daughters. She went to Ardala and told her of what had happened. And as she was there, she saw what her daughter had become, what she had tried to make Liara become and struck out against her.
"Ardala, look around you. This is not what it means to be asari. You have been blessed with many gifts, and yet you squander them. How many children have you sired, young though you are? And you claim that it is Liara, your sister, that does not know the meaning of asari? Know this, child of mine, from this day forth, your children shall be cursed. Let all who know cower in fear, for none that you love shall live. When your heart opens to them, you shall lose them. All of your line shall bare this burden, though I grant you this reprieve for I know you were acting in what you thought were your sisters best interests. Not every child shall be marked thus, but they shall have the curse within them, and their children shall bare it, and theirs. And in this manner for all time your sin shall be known."
And so it was that Athame created the Ardat-Yakshi.
And then the Goddess went to Irili, who wept over her sister.
"Mother," she cried, "What have I done. I ask that you curse me as you have my sister, that I may be punished for what I have done. I only wished to help my sister. I only wished to teach her that which would help her"
And Athame was moved.
"I shall not curse you thus, but I give unto you a purpose. Learn from your mistakes, go out and fix them, and help others do the same." Athame laid a hand upon her daughter's crest. "Earn your own forgiveness, for I forgive you already."
And so it was that Irili became the first of the Justicars, fighting, not in her mother's name, but Liara's.
And the the Goddess returned to Liara, who had grown quite strong under the care of Yuterl.
And at their bonding she stood before them.
"My daughter, you are the light of the future. To you I have a gift. A gift that you may never be separated from your love again. Though you go your separate ways, though you journey may leagues apart, you shall always know of the other, and you shall always be able to find your way back. And so too shall your children, when they find they who they love most, be so blessed."
And so it was that Athame created the Tellak-Yedar'i.
And Liara and Yuterl lived many happy centuries together, and had many children. And not once, though they both traveled far and wide, were they ever alone.
Liara grabbed the bottle from the table and poured herself another drink. She'd heard plenty of folk tales involving the Goddess, but this had to predate any of them. Though the Athame doctrine had long fallen out of practice, the stories were still told. Athame teaching Alune mathematics was a cultural favorite, and had been the basis for one of Liara's favorite vids as a child. There was nothing inherently contradictory about this story and those she'd been told as a child, but it just felt out of place with them. Athame was a Goddess, yes, but she hadn't created the Justicar order, or the Ardat-Yakshi. And she certainly hadn't created the Tellak-Yedar'i.
They didn't exist.
She reached out with her mind again, feeling the comforting presence of Shepard at the base of her skull.
But that was different. That was just a chemical imbalance in her brain.
And the Ardat-Yakshi were just a genetic disorder, she reminded herself.
"That's where my mother got my name? But why?"
"Beats me, kid. She always had a fondness for the story, though. Aren't many who know it anymore, those that did have forgotten it. I mean, who wants their all powerful protectors coming down to do the nasty with young Maidens? And then to have her tell everyone that fucking and fighting aren't always the way to go. Well, goes against what the asari stand for now, doesn't it? But yeah, that's all your dream was. Nezzy probably told you the story once when you were no bigger than a seedling, and you forgot. Do your own thing, or what-the-fuck-ever."
"Thanks, dad," Liara answered without much feeling. It didn't sit right with her. Her mother had never told her this story. Had never told her that her grandmother was a High Priestess. Benezia had always seemed to have a bit of a soft spot for the old religion, but Liara had always taken it to be her trying to connect with her daughter. A daughter that had no interest in the now, and had seemed so firmly stuck in the past.
She remembered what her father had said the first time they had met, about making Benezia let Liara go her own own, of not stifling her. And her mother had complied, had encouraged, even, her choices. There had always been that desire, that small comment, that Liara should follow in her footsteps, but it had never been pushed.
Aethyta wouldn't know, and Benezia was no longer around to ask. Coming to her father hadn't solved anything, it had simply made things more confusing. With a sigh, Liara changed topics, wringing out little things from her father, things she'd always wanted to know, or already knew but thought her father might like to talk about. Benezia's indoctrination, Liara being a quarter Krogan (it still didn't work that way), whether she and Shepard were happy.
At first, Liara thought that she had imagined her lover's name being spoken behind the plant she had her back to. But then it was said again.
There was a commotion up by the shops, and both father and daughter turned to look. From the C-Sec office a half dozen turian agents rushed out. They pushed the milling crowds out of their way, one of them unholstering his gun as he did. As they passed by the table, Liara heard the one in the lead talk into his Omni-Tool. "That's right. Shots fired at the Embassy. We have at least one man down, but reports are scattered. Yes, I already said, we have confirmation it was Shepard."
Liara felt cold, her body shook as she listened. Shepard. But Shepard was fine, of course Shepard was fine. She'd know if Shepard wasn't fine. Though she had just spent the length of her father's story convincing herself otherwise, she knew that if anything had happened to the spectre she'd know about it. There was no what she couldn't.
"Kid, go. Follow 'em. That doesn't sound good." Aethyta stood up, taking both glasses and the bottle with her. Liara didn't have to be told twice.
She moved with a speed she didn't know she had, weaving in and out of the people staring at the officers that had passed by them. She caught up quickly, and tried to get their attention. They ignored her, rushing to the skycar lot at the far end of the Presidium.
"Yeah, I've got two teams in marked cars on their way now. I'm taking a third, unmarked, in case they try to run. No, I haven't heard if they're trying to leave, I can't get any reports out of there at all."
She reached out to tap the officers shoulder, when a large hand descended on hers instead. She turned, almost jumping out of her skin. She looked up and relaxed slightly.
"You want to tell me what's going on?" Garrus asked.
"Shepard went to see Udina," Liara said, not bothering to wonder how the turian had found her, "and I think she may have shot him. Or someone. Or something. I don't know." She wouldn't let the panic win. Shepard was fine. She knew Shepard was fine.
"Come on then, T'Soni. I know a short cut."
She smiled gratefully at him, and followed.
The story her father had told her, the story of her name, was already forgotten.