The End and the Beginning
Mass Effect and all related characters are owned by Bioware.
Chapter 10
A view of swirling, violet-colored dust outside the shuttle's windows appeared as the small craft entered the Serpent Nebula. Liara had decided to return to the Citadel. Dr. Delinea would likely possess information on the people responsible for Shepard's disappearance. Liara had deduced that tracking down the individuals involved with Shepard's disappearance could give her a lead on Feron's whereabouts. Delinea was the only person whose location was known, so Liara's only option was to begin her search with the doctor.
A light slowly flashed on the communications console. Liara spun her chair around to face the console and check her messages. Garrus had told her that he would inform her of his status after a few days. The last she had seen of him, he was disappearing into the shadows of Omega's dark alleys. Liara silently hoped he had escaped and was on was way back to the Citatdel. She touched a few keys to activate the console. She had one unread message waiting. She felt relieved when she saw the message was indeed from Garrus. She eagerly tapped the key to play the message and a holographic image of the familiar turian illuminated the semi-darkness of the cockpit.
"Liara, I'm glad you managed to escape from the Blue Suns. Our little firefight made the news, but nothing about Shepard was ever mentioned. I think the Suns are trying to save face. They also mentioned how the asari commando Liara T'Soni destroyed a platoon of Blue Suns almost single-handed." Garrus's image smirked. "So thanks for stealing all my publicity."
"It turns out that docking bay was part of Aria T'Loak's territory. Needless to say, she was pretty upset at the Blue Suns' encroachment. Apparently, she has had to drive them out before, and this time she decided to make an example of them. She and her men raided their headquarters and slaughtered a lot of their mercenaries. I hear she personally kicked Vido Santiago off Omega, and he's one of the Blue Suns' major players. She allowed the Suns to continue operations on Omega, but warned them never to mistake her leniency for weakness. Of course, I heard she used more colorful language than that. Personally, she's not someone whose bad side I would care to get on."
"Anyway, I think I'll stay on Omega for now. This is a place where I can make a difference. I look around and see so many people being exploited, murdered and bullied by all the criminal organizations. They can't fight for themselves, so I'll step in and fight for them. I've already met several people willing to help me. I'm trying to build a network of contacts and informants to help fight the injustices practiced here on Omega. It will take some time, but I really think that I can make a difference here."
"Well, I better go. I'm planning to use the money you gave me to help set up my operations. I hope that's alright, but if you want your money back you just need to ask. I have enough people following me. I don't need an anrgy asari archaeologist chasing after me to collect my debts." His image smiled. "Good luck Liara. Contact me if you need anything."
As the hologram faded, Liara couldn't help feeling worried about Garrus. She knew of his reputation for vigilante-style justice when he was working for C-Sec. She just hoped had hadn't gotten in over his head. She couldn't help but smile at his offer to return her money. Garrus knew very well that she would never ask for a refund. He would certainly need those credits more than she did. She also knew that even if he lacked money, she would never have been able to dissuade him from his present course of action.
Liara engaged the shuttle's autopilot and rose from her seat. She needed to finish examining the data from the OSD she and Feron had recovered. Liara made her way to the shuttle's main computer console. The shuttle had been designed with the main computer room just aft of the cockpit. Presumably, so a person could utilize the console in privacy. She had to commend Garrus for his taste in selecting shuttles. He must have expected they would be working together after escaping Omega. He had known Liara would want someplace quiet to examine the data they would need to find Shepard. However, it was obvious that neither of them had anticipated their search would end this soon.
The console beeped as she slid the awaiting OSD into the drive. Liara felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her as she brought up the data files. She remembered all those weeks spent aboard the Normandy, poring over the research she had done on the protheans from the past fifty years. She had found many subtle connections in the data that had previously escaped her notice. Many points that had been a mystery began to make sense now that she knew of the Reapers and their involvement in the protheans' extinction. She had always had a talent for unearthing subtle details, making connections where there seemed to be none, and cataloging the information. However, most of her scientific colleagues had dismissed her theories because of her youth. Liara had defiantly explained to them that she would continue her research alone, if necessary. She left them to pursue her theories of outside forces being responsible for the protheans' demise.
Shepard and his crew had been the first people she had met that listened to her theories. Together, she and her new friends had uncovered what was perhaps the greatest discovery in the history of any galactic species, and still no one would accept the facts. None of the council members-with the exception of Anderson-would believe anything as terrible as the Reapers could possibly exist.
Liara let out a sigh as her fingers began to tap the keys on the console. She returned her attention to the task at hand. She still had a few hours before her shuttle reached the Citadel. Hopefully, in the meantime she would discover more about the people involved in Shepard's capture.
The progress made in the repairs to the Citadel's Presidium had been truly amazing. In just over two months, all the debris had been removed and most of the Presidium's aesthetic appearance had been restored. The walls were back to their pristine white. The previously burnt gardens and trees planted in the numerous parks had been replaced and replanted, and the lake that ran the entire length of the Presidium Ring was clear enough that she could see the metal plates making up the lake bottom. As Liara moved along the walking paths and traveled in the elevators, she could scarcely differentiate from the areas that had been damaged by Sovereign and the Geth. She did notice however, that if one was to go inside many of the shops, apartments, and lounges, only burned-out shells of the previously decadent rooms would be found. Still, the progress that had been made was impressive.
Liara pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. She didn't have time for sight-seeing. The young asari maiden set her jaw as she neared the hospital where Dr. Delinea had treated her. Thankfully, no one had recognized her as she made her way through the groups of diplomats and VIPs scattered throughout the Presidium. The last thing she needed was a crowd of fans following her through the streets. She did her best to look casual, while at the same time avoiding eye contact with the people she met along the walkway.
Finally, the hospital loomed ominously before her. She didn't know what would happen with Delinea, but she hoped the asari doctor would give up the information she needed without causing any trouble. Liara reached into her handbag and lightly fingered the pistol inside. She hoped she wouldn't need to use it. She wasn't wearing any armor. She didn't want to draw any attention to herself as she walked to the hospital or appear openly hostile to Delinea when she met her. She was wearing a kinetic barrier projector beneath her lab coat. She knew that if the situation turned violent, she probably wouldn't be able to deploy a biotic barrier in time to protect herself. The shields wouldn't last more than a few shots, but they would buy her enough time to raise her barriers.
Liara moved toward the hospital. She glanced around to see if anyone had been following her. Only a few groups of people loitered outside the hospital, and none of them seemed to take any interest in her. Satisfied that she had gone unnoticed, she walked to the hospital doors. They slid open automatically to reveal the hospital's waiting room. Only two asari and a turian sat in the chairs situated about the room. An asari receptionist crouched behind a desk with her back to the approaching asari maiden. She seemed to be looking through some datadisks in the cabinet behind the desk. Liara stopped in front of the reception desk and the asari noticed her out of the corner of her eye.
"What can I do for you?" the receptionist asked without turning around.
"I wish to see Dr. Delinea." Liara answered.
"May I have your name, please?"
"Liara T'Soni."
The asari receptionist turned to look at her visitor. Her eyes went wide with surprise and awe at seeing the famous woman standing before her. She fumbled nervously with the datapads she was holding, dropping several of them on the floor.
"By the goddess!" the asari exclaimed. "I can't believe it's really you! Of...of course I'm sure the doctor would be happy to see you! I'd heard you were a patient here once, but I never... This is such an honor!"
Liara began to feel very uncomfortable and glanced around the room. The three waiting patients were staring at her in awestruck silence. Liara felt herself blushing as she said, "Thank you. But I would like to see the doctor as soon as possible."
"Y-yes. You'll have to forgive me. My mother always said I was too excitable for my own good." the asari giggled nervously. "I'll call her right away."
The receptionist reached up and touched the communicator in her ear. "Doctor? I'm sorry to bother you in the middle of lunch, but Liara T'Soni is here to see you. She says as soon as possible...Yes ma'am...Alright...Thank you, doctor." The asari looked up at Liara and smiled. "You can go right up. Take the elevator up one floor and turn right. The Doctor's office is the third door on the left."
Liara thanked the eager asari and made her way to the elevator. When she arrived at Delinea's office, she stopped and took a few deep breaths to help calm her nervousness before she touched the holographic panel to open the door. It slid back to reveal a lavishly-decorated room with a large desk situated in its center. Bookshelves filled with datadisks and various medical texts lined the side walls of the room. An open balcony with a wide view over the Presidium formed the office's backdrop. Everything shined brilliantly, as if they had been purchased recently. It seemed the doctor was not above flaunting the compensation she had received after transferring the information on Shepard to the Shadow Broker. Liara entered, visually scanning the room as the door slid closed behind her. Dr. Delinea was nowhere to be seen.
"Doctor?" Liara called as she approached the desk. No answer.
She continued to make her way to the balcony. As she moved towards the opening, Liara raised her biotic barriers. She didn't want to expose herself to a sniper or any other kind of trap that may have been laid for her. She was unsure if the kinetic barrier projector she wore was powerful enough to stop a sniper's bullet or to shield her from an explosion. She ceased her forward movement before she stepped out onto the balcony. Dark energy swirled around her in bluish flames as she finished establishing her barriers. Satisfied that she was sufficiently prepared against an outside attack, Liara stepped out into the Presidium's simulated sunlight.
To her relief, no attack came as she inched her way to the edge of the balcony and peered over the balustrade to scan the ground below. Liara looked up and down the streets of the Presidium. There were crowds of diplomats, construction workers, and even a few keepers up and down the streets. It would be impossible to pick out one asari from the thousands of people moving here and there. Liara sighed in disappointment as she dropped her biotics barriers.
As she leaned against the balustrade, Liara noticed that the mass effect fire escape near the left end of the balcony had been damaged. Normally, the small device would project a mass effect field around an individual or a group of users and safely lower them to the ground below. The casing was cracked open and the internal components were exposed. The components had been melted and fused together, rendering the fire escape useless. She could still feel the heat emanating from the device. The thermal layers in the casing protecting the device were designed to resist the heat from a fire. Liara recognized this type of damage immediately. She had noticed similar patterns on Geth she had killed during firefights. It seemed Delinea had used a biotic warp-field to destroy the device after she had escaped to the ground below. Liara brought up her omni-tool communicator and punched in a number to a private channel.
The voice of Councilor Anderson echoed through the silence of the office, "Dr. T'Soni? This is unexpected. I'm glad to see you made it out of the Terminus Systems unharmed."
"Thank you, Councilor. I assume you have heard about what happened on Omega."
"Yes, Chief Williams caught rumors of it, and I sent her to Omega to investigate." Anderson sighed before adding, "Perhaps it's better this way."
"Perhaps." Liara answered sadly. "Councilor, I need your help with an investigation of my own. My need is urgent and I cannot give you all the details, but..."
"It's alright." Anderson interrupted. "It's probably better if I don't know. Tell me what you need, and I'll see what can be done."
Liara smiled gratefully at the Councilor's implicit trust in her. "I need you to help me prevent Dr. Delinea from leaving the station."
Anderson's voice was silent for a few seconds before he responded. "Alright, I'll get some people on it. I'll call you back personally when we have something."
"I am very grateful, Councilor." Liara said sincerely. "Thank you."
"Good luck, doctor." the omni-tool beeped as Anderson ended the call.
Liara turned away from the balcony and reentered the office. She noticed that the computer console on the doctor's desk was also damaged. Delinea hadn't had time for a memory wipe, so it seemed she had elected to destroy her console with biotics instead. She dug through the shelves and desk drawers for several minutes before giving up the search. She even used her omni-tool to scan the room for any hidden consoles or forgotten OSDs, but the readouts revealed nothing. Delinea had been thorough.
She leaned against the desk in disappointment. She now realized how unlikely it had been that the doctor would willingly confront her, but it had also been foolish of her to think that the doctor would leave anything behind. Liara would need to find Delinea and find out if the asari knew anything about the Shadow Broker or had any leads that could lead her to Feron. Liara pushed herself away from the desk and straightened her posture. There was nothing further to discover at the hospital, and she needed to find a way to prevent Delinea from escaping the Citadel. It was unlikely that the doctor would have any data stored away elsewhere for someone to accidentally stumble across.
Liara crossed the room and pressed the door's red holographic panel. The door beeped but the panel remained red and wouldn't respond. She touched the panel several more times and even tried to force the door open manually, but she wasn't strong enough. It seemed the doctor had set the office door to lock an intruder inside, giving herself time to escape. Liara brought up her omni-tool and initiated a door hacking program that she had installed while on the Normandy, but the program was very basic and meant for simple locking systems. Unfortunately, she didn't have the technical skills to manipulate the program in the proper manner to make it compatible with the lock.
"Where is Tali when I need her?" Liara asked herself aloud.
She stepped back to consider her options. She could blast the door down with biotics, but all the alarms in the hospital would sound. C-sec would arrest her before she could exit the building and she would spend the next few hours answering questions. She also had to consider the unnecessary stress an alarm would put on the hospital's patients. She didn't want anyone to die simply because she needed to escape from a room she had been foolish enough to walk into. She could call for help from the balcony, but again she would spend too much time answering questions after a rescue. She might have to call Anderson and have him send someone to open the door, but that sort of rescue would also take too much time. The doctor must have realized that someone might come after her eventually, and she had devised plan to escape the Citadel.
Liara returned to the balcony. In addition to the mass effect field projector, there was a collapsible ladder inside the Presidium ceiling panels above the hospital roof. If she opened the wall panel on the left side of the balcony, she would find a lever to release it. However, this would also trigger an alarm, so the ladder was also out of the question. She peered over the edge of the balustrade at the ground below. The balcony stood nearly ten meters off the ground. It was too high for her to jump without injury. There was a small tree and some flower beds below, but they wouldn't be sufficient to cushion her fall.
As she pondered the space below her, she remembered a biotic technique she had studied while growing up on Thessia. By using dark energy, a person could decrease their own mass and literally float safely to the ground below. It required intense training to achieve mental focus to manipulate the biotic field in a precise manner to control one's descent. If she lost her concentration for just a split-second she would fall. If she used too strong a field, she would levitate upwards, risking a fall from an even greater height. If the field was too weak, she would simply fall to moment she stepped away from the balcony. She dismissed the technique as frivolous long ago, but recent experiences alongside Shepard had given her a new outlook on the usefulness of such an ability.
Liara had never seen the technique performed before, except in some silly action-vid about Asari Justicars. She had only been about twenty at the time-still a little girl by asari standards. Liara had asked her mother afterward if she would teach her to"fly like a justicar." Benezia had laughed and told her to wait until she was older. She remembered the next day when she had spent hours jumping off the sparkling green rocks hanging above the smaller of two ponds on her mother's estate. She had tried desperately to use her biotics and focus the dark energy to slow her fall, stretching out her arms as she jumped, imitating the justicars she had watched in the vid. However, the most she had managed to accomplish was to pause for a split-second in mid-air before plunging into the icy water below. As night began to fall, her mother had come out to find her. An rather amused Benezia had tenderly ordered her daughter to come inside for bed. Her mother had laughed and smiled as she wrapped an exhausted and shivering Liara in an oversized bathrobe.
"Did you see me, mommy?" Liara had said excitedly. "I almost did it! I almost flew! It felt like I grew little wings!"
"I saw." Benezia answered. "But it is a difficult method to utilize, even for me. But I promise that someday I will teach it to you, and you can test out those little wings." Benezia had taken Liara's hand and led her down the slowly darkening path toward the warm glow of their house. From then on, "Little Wing" had been Benezia's nickname for Liara.
Liara pushed the memory away. While her mother had never had the opportunity to show her the technique, Liara had been taught its basic concept. Her biotic abilities had grown significantly since childhood, and she was confident she would be able to slow her descent to safely reach the ground ten meters below. She realized she was being somewhat reckless, but she didn't see any other option.
Liara set down her handbag and stepped on top of the desk inside the doctor's office. She decided that a few practice jumps were needed before attempting the real thing. She moved to the edge of the desk, holding her arms straight out from her sides for balance. Dark energy swirled around her as she prepared to step off the edge. She counted to three and leaped outward from the desk.
Her body halted in mid-air a meter off the floor. She hung there for a few moments before she looked down and realized that she was simply floating in place. Taking care not to lose her mental focus, she reduced the dark energy field around her. Doing so increased her body's mass to an adequate amount for the Citadel's artificial gravity to begin pulling her downwards. As her feet lightly made contact with the floor, she released the dark energy field around her. A wave of dizziness enveloped her as the dark energy swirled away in bluish flame. Liara leaned back into the doctor's desk to steady herself.
The mental strain to intricately manipulate the biotic field and keep herself aloft had been extreme. She had held herself above the floor for far too long. It had nearly caused her to loose consciousness. A weaker field would be needed so she could quicken her descent to the ground. The challenge would be to strike the precise balance needed to reach the ground safely and keep herself from passing out from the mental strain of maintaining the biotic field for several seconds. Liara knew she was an exceptional biotic. It was a fact her instructors had constantly reminded her of during the years growing up on Thessia. She had always been able to reach the goals they set for her more quickly than her fellow students. But she had never before attempted this levitation technique.
She remembered the lessons her mother and her instructors taught her: Biotic ability could be likened to physical ability. If a muscle had never been used to perform a certain task, it would be unable to accomplish the task initially without a great amount of strain. The muscle would require repeated efforts and recovery periods for it to strengthen and adapt to the new task. The difference with biotics was that the strain was on the user's nervous system rather than their muscular system. An individual required more time and effort to adapt to a new biotic ability than to a physical ability.
Liara stood upright as her dizziness began to subside. She retrieved her handbag and walked back out of the office to the balcony. She couldn't afford to do any more trial runs at levitation. The strain would exhaust her to a point where she would be unable to pursue Delinea after reaching the ground. She couldn't afford to delay any longer. Every minute she spent trapped at the hospital would give the doctor time to get farther and farther away. Councilor Anderson might find a way to delay her, but there was no way to be certain.
She leaned out and peered down from the balustrade. There was a small tree to the left and some shrubs growing on the right. In the center was a flower bed full of multicolored flowers from different species' home-worlds. She dropped the handbag containing her pistol into the midst of the bushes. It would take all of her attention to control her descent, and she didn't want to risk losing her mental focus by carrying anything with her. She would aim for the edge of the lawn just past the flower bed and try to avoid drawing attention to herself.
Liara cautiously climbed on top of the balustrade. She took a few deep breaths to help calm her nerves. She felt a wave of dizziness and anxiety wash over her as she examined the distance between the balcony and the ground. She looked out over the Presidium to find something else to concentrate on. Her gaze fell on one of the fountains situated in the middle of the Presidium's lake. Watching the constant stream of water leap into the air helped elicit a calming affect in her. Finally, after a few moments of contemplating the fountain, she felt she was ready. Dark energy swirled around her once again as she prepared for her "flight" to the ground.
"Alright." She said to herself. "I can do this."
A rush of vertigo enveloped the asari maiden as she leaped from the balcony. Liara kept her eyes locked on the fountain as she adjusted the biotic field to begin floating downward. She felt the strain on her senses as she fought to maintain the field. Seconds were minutes as she felt herself approaching the ground below. Her senses began to dull and her vision began to darken as unconsciousness threatened to grip her. 'You're not going to make it!' Liara's conscious screamed at her. She quickened her descent as she fought the primal urge to panic. She knew she couldn't be more than a few meters from the ground.
As she fought to regain control, a sharp pain suddenly ripped thorough her left leg. Her body tensed at the unexpected sensation. It hadn't been enough to make her cry out, but the pain caused her to lose concentration. The bluish flames of dark energy surrounding her vanished. She seemed to linger in mid-air for a split-second before the station's gravity pulled her toward the ground below. Her mental focus was completely broken , and had been replaced by the sheer terror of falling to her death.
As she fell, thin tendrils seemed to whip, scratch, and stab at her from all directions. Liara madly grabbed at them. Everything was a blur and she didn't have time to deduce what it was she grasped for as the tendrils either slipped through her fingers or broke off in bunches within her tightly clenched fists. She struck the lawn feet-first and tumbled backwards, landing on her back with limbs splayed out in a spread-eagle fashion. The six tips on the back of her head crest sunk into the soft soil of the flower bed, putting an end to her desperate plunge from the office above. She lay there for a moment, trying to catch her breath and stared blankly up at the tree she had just fallen through.
Dull pain crept into her right ankle as she sat up. Liara reached out and gingerly touched the tender flesh above her shoe. The pain intensified at her touch, and she could feel the affected area begin to swell. She chastised herself for her foolishness as she brought up her omni-tool.
"How could I have been so stupid?" She whispered to herself as she switched the omni-tool to med-scan mode. "Killing myself would not help Feron in the slightest. Now, I may have completely lost any chance to question the doctor before she escapes."
Liara completed the scan of her ankle. Fortunately, no bones were fractured, but her ankle was badly sprained. A small dose of medi-gel would be enough to alleviate the swelling, and begin repairing the damaged tissue. The medi-gel would also help dull the pain so she would be able to walk without a limp a few seconds after administering it. She still had a few packs of medi-gel inside her handbag. She deactivated her omni-tool, and began crawling on her hands and knees toward the bushes to retrieve it.
Liara found her bag beneath the nearest bush. She retrieved one of the small packs of medi-gel. She peeled away the adhesive layer covering the underside of the injector pad and placed the pack firmly against the skin of her ankle. The injector pad was covered with thousands of microfiber syringes which penetrated the skin and injected the medi-gel into the body directly at the sight of the injury. She sighed in relief as she felt the pain subside almost immediately. The tissue would be repaired and the swelling would be gone within a matter of minutes. Liara was glad she didn't have a fracture. It took several hours to repair broken bones.
Her head spun with a slight dizziness as she rose from the ground. A sign that she was still fatigued from the controlled fall she had just botched. She would need to practice the "floating descent" technique. Perhaps after she found Feron she would have a chance to train further in its use. She shifted her weight to rest on her injured ankle. She was relieved to find that only a dull pain lingered as she took several steps along the inside edge of the flower bed.
Her omni-tool beeped and she glanced down at it to find that Councilor Anderson was finally returning her call. She quickly activated her comm function. This time the councilor was transmitting via video-link. Liara thought she noticed him smirk before quickly resuming his usual stoic expression.
"Liara, I contacted C-Sec and they have locked-down the doctor's shuttle. Her docking bay is at the coordinates I'm sending you now." Liara's omni-tool beeped as it received the information. "I informed C-Sec that I suspected she was smuggling red sand onto the Citadel."
"But she might...I mean I am trying to recover information from her." Liara explained with frustration. "Now she may have destroyed it."
"I see. Well, there may still be some hope. C-Sec hasn't told her anything. As far as Delinea knows, she is in a holding pattern and awaiting approval to leave the Citadel." Anderson smiled. "New security protocols have been established after the battle with Sovereign and the Geth."
Liara's face brightened. "Thank you very much for your assistance, Councilor. I'll leave for the docking bays immediately. I should go, but I also wish to thank you for your trust in this matter."
"Don't mention it. Shepard trusted you with his life. I think I can trust you not to ruin my political career within its first few months. Although, that may not be so terrible." He snorted. "Good luck, Dr. T'soni. Oh and by the way, doctor."
"Yes?"
"You have a flower sticking out from the top of your head." Anderson smiled and abruptly ended the call.
Liara's hands automatically went to her head. Her shoulders slumped and she sighed with embarrassment as her fingers brushed against the stem and soft petals of a flower. She reached to the back of her head to dislodge the floral hitchhiker. A clump of soil had caught between two of the protruding points of her head crest and had pulled the flower out of the ground like a gardening tool, roots and all. She removed the flower and wiped the dirt from her head. Curiously, she examined the flower as she gently rolled it between her fingers. It had long, white, slender petals that were speckled with tiny blue flecks and attached to a golden center.
She felt herself blush at the thought of how ridiculous she must have appeared while speaking with perhaps the most politically influential human in the galaxy. She returned to the flower bed and replanted the flower in the exact same divot from which it had been pulled. When finished, she stepped back to examined her work.
"At least it's pretty." She said with a smile and a shrug.
Liara stepped off the hospital lawn and hurriedly made her way to the nearest taxi.
A crowd of disgruntled travelers pushed past as Liara entered the shuttle bay on Zakera ward. She could hear many of the different races complain about humans in C-Sec and how the new policies were ruining their lives on the Citadel. Liara glanced around the shuttle bay and saw dozens of shuttles had been locked down and where being searched by C-Sec officers. One of the officers turned and walked toward her. He was large human with blonde hair.
"Hello, ma'am. I'm sorry, but this entire bay has been locked down by council authority." He flashed her a pleasant, apologetic smile.
"Yes, I know." Liara replied. "I am here at Councilor Anderson's request."
"Oh good...I mean he told us he had a special agent en route to resolve the situation." He extended his hand in greeting. "Officer Eddie Lang."
"Liara T'Soni." She introduced herself as she shook his hand.
"Oh wow! I thought you looked familiar." Officer Lang exclaimed enthusiastically. He released her hand and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry, I suppose I should be used to meeting famous people by now. I once met Shepard in the wards near Flux. I know better than to ask what's been going on with him lately, but I hope he's alright. He seemed like a decent guy."
"Yes. He has touched many lives. Including my own." Liara smiled sadly at him. "May I see the doctor now? She is why I'm here."
"Yeah, her shuttle is right over there." He pointed to a small green turian shuttle. "She's still inside waiting for us to search her vehicle. She gets on the radio every few minutes and demands that we let her leave. We tell her that we're conducting searches on all vehicles in the area, and she will remain locked inside until we search her vehicle as well."
"Then I should speak with her immediately." She smiled at him warmly. "Thank you, Officer Lang."
Liara shook his hand again, then turned and walked cautiously toward the green shuttle. As she reached the shuttle, Officer Lang disengaged the door lock to allow her access. The entry hatch was on the far side of the shuttle, out of sight of the C-Sec officers. Once she was in front of it she readied her pistol, checked her shield projector, and began to deploy her biotic barriers. Fortunately, she felt very little strain as the dark energy gathered around her. She was relieved to find that she had recovered from the mental fatigue caused by her foolish actions at the hospital. She double checked to make certain all her defenses were in place, she wasn't taking any chances with Delinea.
Liara opened the hatch and called inside. "Dr. Delinea!" When there was no answer, she calmly continued. "I know you have been drugging your high profile patients and selling their secrets to the Shadow broker, doctor! I know you did the same thing to me, but I assure you I am not here seeking vengeance!"
"You think I'm stupid?" Delinea finally answered from inside. "I know you're here to kill me!"
"No. I'm here for information. Nothing more." Liara assured her. "I know you didn't realize who the Shadow Broker was dealing with. You were just trying to make a few extra credits by selling him information. You probably thought he would simply sell the information on Shepard back to the Alliance and make a tidy profit, right?"
"Alright, let's say I believe you." Delinea called back. "What do you think will happen to me if I betray the Shadow Broker? Hell, even you could be his agent for all I know."
"You know that isn't true!" Liara answered. "You know how close I was to Shepard. You know I unknowingly formed a bond with him. As a fellow asari you realize its significance and what he means to me. I would never harm Shepard any more than I would harm myself."
Delinea's voice was silent for a moment before she answered. "So what now? The Shadow Broker has abandoned me. Otherwise he would have warned me as soon as you arrived on the Citadel."
"He counted on you to destroy his data and he expected me to kill you." Liara said. "That way I would have no leads to follow, and I would be unable to rescue my friend."
"I heard about the drell." Delinea answered. "He's probably getting exactly what I will get when the Shadow Broker finds me. You really think you can rescue him? He's probably already dead."
"Perhaps. But then I will honor his death by working against the Broker." Liara said. "Listen. I can help you, if you just give me the information I need. I still have many contacts on Thessia through my mother. They could hide you until I stop the Shadow Broker. Even I wouldn't know your location."
Delinea's voice was silent for a moment she answered, "Okay, I'll give you what you want. I destroyed all the information, but I can tell you where to start looking."
"I am coming in then. Alright?" Liara asked.
"Alright."
Liara entered the hatch then closed it behind herself. She still carried her pistol; she wasn't taking any chances. The hatch was located in the middle of the shuttle, and a walkway opened to both the left an right about two meters inside. Liara stopped just short of the walkway.
"Where are you?" She called.
"In here." Delinea's voice answered from the left.
Liara turned left and had taken about two steps forward when the shuttle seemed to explode from behind her. The wall panel next to her blew apart, showering her with sparks. She felt the force of an impact on the barriers that protected her back. Instinctively, she spun to her right and dropped to one knee. She fired two wild shots in the direction of her attacker. For a moment, time seemed to stand still as she looked into the eyes of a stunned Delinea. The doctor looked down in shock at the fist-sized hole Liara's bullet had torn through her torso. Her shotgun clattered to the deck as the doctor fell flat on her back.
Liara gasped and rushed to her side. She needed Delinea alive. Without the doctor she might never find the Shadow broker. The wound was horrible. The doctor hadn't been using shields nor worn any armor to protect herself. The bullet had penetrated the ribcage just beneath the doctor's right breast. Lavender blood poured from the wound and the doctor began to choke as the blood filled her lungs. Liara looked on helplessly. She knew there was nothing that could save the doctor now.
"Why?" Liara asked angrily. "I could have helped you, dammit!"
The doctor looked at her with wide confused eyes. She could feel her life ebbing away, but she managed to take Liara's right hand and press a small object firmly into her palm. Delinea looked the asari maiden in the eye and gave her a weak smile, her teeth colored purple with blood. Delinea laid her head down and her eyes rolled back until they were completely white. Her body twitched once as her heart beat its last. Liara stood slowly and gazed down at the doctor's body.
"Goddess. How many more bodies will I have to walk over to achieve my goal?" Liara whispered sadly to herself.
She searched the rest of the shuttle. But the only thing she found unusual was that the shuttle's intercom system had been left on. Evidently, the doctor had used it to make it sound like her voice had come from the front of the ship. She found all of the computers had been wiped and there was nothing stored inside the shuttle. In fact, it seemed as if Delinea had never even used the shuttle. Satisfied that there was nothing else to find, Liara left the vehicle and went to speak with Officer Lang.
"I'll get the coroner down here right away." Lang assured her after hearing about the shooting.
"You aren't going to arrest me or ask any questions?" Liara asked.
"Councilor Anderson instructed us not to delay you unnecessarily." He answered. "It sounds like she lured you in and tried to kill you. You simply defended yourself."
She thanked the C-Sec officer and quickly made her way out of the shuttle bay. As she walked Liara wondered how she had come out of the shuttle alive. Delinea had been too close to have missed her by mistake. She had forced Liara to kill her. It had seemed the doctor had preferred death to risking being caught by the Shadow Broker. It was likely that there was someone in the doctor's life that he would use against her if she went into hiding. The thought chilled and angered Liara. Her thoughts went to Benezia and how Saren would have used her mother to manipulate her. Luckily, Shepard had rescued her from the Geth on Therum before she had a chance to find out.
Liara turned her mind back to the task at hand. She needed to see what was on the disk Delinea had given her. She sat down on a secluded bench just outside Rodam Expeditions and scanned the disk with her omni-tool. A single file on the disk contained a few lines taken from one of Delinea's private messages. The doctor had erased most of the message but left in the information Liara could use.
It read:
Captain Murtlan is now an agent for the Shadow Broker. He decided to set up his base of operations on Illium. He says it's because of the business opportunities there, but I think he just has a sick fetish for asari, but you didn't hear that from me. If you want to meet with him he usually spends his free time at the Eternity Bar here in Nos Astra.
Liara smiled. She had her lead.