Chapter 10

Shepard and Liara peeked their heads around the corner simultaneously as they checked to see if the coast was clear. Thankfully the hallway to the garbage disposal airlock was clear. The two women returned to the cart and began pushing towards their destination.

"Feron said he would meet us inside." Liara said.

"I still don't know why you had to call him." Jane said as she blew a strand of red hair out of her eye. "We could have handled it by ourselves."

"What is your issue with Feron?"

Jane grunted. "I wonder."

"What does that mean?"

"Nevermind." Jane said under her breath as they approached the door to the airlock.

The door slid open and Feron stood with his arms crossed in the doorway. The drell moved to one side to allow the women passage inside with the large cart. "What the hell was so important about a laundry cart? I found Galavorn's room. I could have had the blackbox if you hadn't called me here." The drell noticed Liara struggling with the cart. "Something tells me there's more than dirty towels in there. You guys didn't kill anybody right?"

"Technically Shepard killed him." Liara huffed as she finished getting the cart inside.

Feron groaned. "Way to go Shepard."

"Hey! He drew first!" Jane said.

"You sure about that Shepard? I'm betting you don't see so good anymore."

Jane stepped up to the drell making Feron take one step back as she advanced. "Excuse me? Would you like to know how I lost this eye Feron?" The drell flinched. "It was burned out of my skull! And honestly I don't have the time or patience for your crap!"

Liara quickly separated them. "Enough! What is wrong with you Shepard?"

Jane's jaw dropped. "What's wrong with me?"

"Yes. We need to work together here."

"Forget it Liara." Feron said placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let's just deal with this."

Liara reached up and softly removed the drell's hand. "Yes." The doctor removed the now blood stained towels from the bin. Suddenly the corpse's omni-tool started beeping. Liara's eyes widened and her hand recoiled. Feron reached out and opened the omni-tool.

A voice message played. "Patrick, the Boss is gonna arrive just before the meet. You make sure everything is set before Decker gets here or it's gonna be your ass. Meet me in the engine room tomorrow and we'll make sure everything is ready. Don't fuck this up!"

"Decker is coming to the meet." Feron said with a hint of fear.

Liara looked to Shepard. "So it would seem."

"He's just one guy. Liara I don't need to remind you of the things we've killed together."

"We have racked up quite the body count. But that was before..." Liara stopped herself and had to stop the instinct to cover her mouth with her hand.

Jane's shoulders sunk. "Before? Before what?"

"She's worried your not up to the task anymore Shepard. And I share her concerns. One fight with Mathis almost took you out. Decker isn't gonna be as easy to take down." Feron interjected.

"Feron! I didn't say that!" Liara protested.

"I'm sorry Boss, but she isn't going to do anyone any favors if she's over-confident. Listen Shepard, you were impressive, one of the best. But even the best can take a hit. And you've taken plenty. You're only going to endanger yourself and us if you think your still the woman you were 9 months ago."

Instead of anger, sorrow filled the Commander. She heard the truth in Feron's words. "Is that how you feel Liara?" Shepard asked. "You think I'm..." Jane's sentence trailed off as she placed a free hand over her patch.

Liara reached out to Jane but Shepard backed away. "Shepard, I didn't say that. Love, you know I believe in you but..."

"You're right. I'm uh...I'm gonna go grab a drink. You guys think you can deal with this without me?" Shepard didn't wait for an answer she just left the drell and asari behind and retreated back into the hallway.

"Shepard!" Liara called after her and began to follow but the drell's hand caught her's.

"Let her go." Feron said.

"Let go of me Feron!" Liara said pulling her hand away. "Why would say that to her?!" tears filled Liara's eyes but her voice didn't show any sign of them. "I have spent the last two months watching her cope with her injuries. And you may have just undone months of recovery!"

"I'm sorry. But she needs to have a reality check. I couldn't live with myself if she got you hurt."

"Don't apologize to me! Apologize to her! It isn't your job to worry about me Feron."

"Doesn't mean I don't." Feron said. "I care about what happens to you Liara."

"Yes, you're a good friend. But Shepard is more than my friend. Apologize to her. I will deal with the body."

"Alright." Feron conceded and left Liara alone with the body. The drell jogged through the hallways until he found Shepard standing alone leaning against a wall. "Shepard!" He called after her making Jane turn to face him.

"What do you want?" Shepard asked. Her tone carried defeat.

"Liara wants me to apologize."

"What exactly is your problem with me Feron? Still bitter about me saving your life?"

"You wanna know my problem? You stole the love of my life." Feron said.

"Stole? Liara made her own choice. Time to move on."

"She belongs with me. Not some has been marine." Suddenly Feron heard a conversation going on around the corner. Terminus Ring and Decker being the key phrases used and the drell cupped his hand over Shepard's mouth to silence her and remain hidden. Jane didn't seem to understand his actions and bit down hard on the drell's webbed hand following up with a knee to the groin. "Shepard, wait!"

But Jane didn't want to hear it. She tackled the drell to the ground and brought her fist down on his face in two hard punches. Feron kicked her off him and retaliated with a punch Jane caught. Shepard bent his arm away and delivered another hit to the drell's stomach. Feron threw hard punches her way but Shepard was able to dodge them all before Shepard knocked the drell on his ass with a biotic blast. Feron kicked at Shepard's injured leg causing her to fall to the ground and let of a cry of pain. Shepard rolled over on top of the drell and drew her arm back for another attack but was stopped when she felt a gun barrel press against the back of her head.

Liara closed the safety seal and pressed the airlock's release. The body was sucked out into the void of space and Liara let out a sigh of relief. She had expected Feron and Shepard to return already, she hoped that their delayed return was a sign the two were finally getting along.

T'soni made her way back into the hallway and after a thorough investigation found no trace of Jane or Feron. "Shepard!" She called out but got no response. Liara opened her omni-tool and began searching for her lost lover's signal. She picked it up as their omni-tools linked. "Oh no."

Notes- Sorry for the short chapter. I've unfortunately been busy. Hope you enjoyed it. And feel free to leave a review, we can be best friends if you do.