A/N: Bioware owns all. Strictly for personal amusement.
Please enjoy and leave me some love if you like it. :)
Title courtesy of Taylor Dayne.
Chapter 11 – I'll be Your Shelter
Liara cherished this time more than any others. Each day Shiala would pick her up from school, take her for a fizzy drink, and then once home, Liara would be allowed to spend time with her mother alone. Benezia T'Soni promised her only daughter precious time every day to do whatever it was she wanted. Usually they played various games with the Matriarch always looking for opportunities to train Liara in life lessons. Today though, her daughter just wanted to talk.
"If we are going to talk then we may as well practice meditation at the same time. Sit across from me Little Wing, just like Shiala showed you."
Liara did as her mother bid, smile spread across her face. Sharing consciousness with her mother was a thrill, she felt how much her mother truly cared for her, she felt the purist form of love. Once their minds joined, all conversations became internal.
'Mother did you know that Tevana has two parents? Her father is Asari too. She made me promise not to tell any one else. She would not tell me why though. Is it because she does not live only with her mother?'
'No dearest, many live with their bondmates, sharing a life together. But because Asari partners are usually a different species, many couples tend to live places other than Thessia. In Tevana's case, there are those who are closed-minded to the idea of two Asari parents, frown upon it.'
'Why mother? Why exclude our own species?' Liara knew the details of Asari reproduction methods as Shiala had explained the basics to her during their private lessons.
'Their ridiculous belief is that by not including alien DNA patterns, we do not enhance our own species as a whole.'
'Who is my father?' Liara felt Benezia immediately break the meld.
"Never ask me that again." The Matriarch rose and headed out of the room. "Shiala, Liara is ready for her biotics lesson."
Therum
If there was one word to describe Therum in Shepard's mind, that word was "hot." Put a heavy suit of armor on and it became almost unbearable and she could not wait to hop in the shower the very moment she returned from the ruins each day. Liara's ship was parked at the main processing facility of EAE who tended to all of their transportation to and from the dig site as well as offering additional armed escorts. As usual, the power of Benezia T'Soni's ample bank accounts produced results.
On day one, Liara had seen the perspiration pouring from her escort who was constantly chugging water from the cooler to remain hydrated. She suggested what she thought was a logical solution. "Shepard, why don't you put on my armor while we are here? You will not be as hot."
Apparently for her escort, bugs were more of a concern than the heat. "No way. If one of them lavapincers pop out, I am not losing an arm or leg to those claws. I'll wear my heavy suit and deal with the sweat." The four foot long Therum insects left her bodyguard a little unsettled even though Shepard insisted she saw one that looked to be twice the size. Thankfully, the deeper they traveled into the excavation pit, the cooler it got.
After six days of gathering, scanning, and cataloguing, even Liara was ready to head to somewhere a little less remote and scorching. The data feeds to the ship were being run through programs by Traynor while Liara and Oriana did the field work. Dr. Ryan had also taken two days to survey the local animal and plant life with Kaidan anxious to provide an escort. Shepard stayed by the Asari's side at all times but kept one eye open for local crustacean population.
As Liara was taking readings of a small artifact she uncovered, she recalled the events of the previous day and began laughing to herself, quietly at first but the image already burned in her mind forced the volume to increase.
"What's so funny T'Soni?" It was as if Shepard already predicted what the answer would be.
"Oh I suspect you already know."
Shepard sighed.
Liara was never going to let her forget what happened even if she hadn't snapped a few pictures with her Omni to mark the occasion. "So tell me Shepard, what did we learn on our first archeological dig?"
The human remained silent, shaking her head while trying to prevent a smile from forming. It was funny, at least now. Liara had become a quick study on how to tease someone and more and more took the opportunity to show off her newly acquired skills. At least Shepard had gotten her to promise not to tell anyone else. This is why she graciously let Liara have her fun.
"We learned not to touch any mysterious buttons on control panels or else we end up in little blue bubbles, correct Shepard?"
"I didn't touch it. My rifle bumped it by accident." She remembered how she leaned back against the control panel, the tip of her rifle accidentally hitting a button. Next thing Shepard knew, she was floating in mid-air supported by some blue energy field bubble. Liara laughed and scanned a few images before releasing her prison but the few minutes seemed like an eternity. Since that moment, Shepard didn't go anywhere near the control panel.
"I believe that detail is unimportant." Liara paused and giggled to herself, clearly enjoying the moment. "Having company on digs is much more entertaining than being alone." She smiled at her bodyguard who surrendered a smile of her own in return along with a heavy sigh.
Liara noticed a sudden change in her escort's expression, she looked alarmed.
Shepard popped her Omni on and attempted to run some sort of scan. "The EAE patrol is late. He should have been here 10 minutes ago." She peered around the cavern then clicked her earpiece. "Tali, Ori, have you seen the patrol lately?" The mining company had their own guards set up to patrol their property. They were reliable every day, every hour, up until now.
The pair were excavating in a different part of the cavern, one floor down but able to be reached via commlink. "I didn't notice them. Tali says she didn't either."
"You two get to us now, and be quiet and careful. I don't like this." Shepard hit the alarm on her Omni, hoping the signal would permeate the mining cavern and alert Garrus for backup.
Shepard took Liara to a hidden vantage point where Tali and Oriana would emerge from the rarely used lift in the back of the mining shaft.
"I think you are being paranoid again. Maybe the guards took a different route."
"Benezia pays me to be paranoid Liara, remember? Better safe than sorry." She breathed a sigh of relief when the other two appeared, unscathed even if a little concerned.
"What's going on Shepard?" Tali, having spent time off world scavenging for her pilgrimage, knew all too well the possibility of unwanted company suddenly appearing. The two arrivals squatted down near Shepard and Liara, hidden from view at most angles.
"These guards were like clockwork, and now they aren't. We are going to take the back lift to the sublevel and walk out from there. Should we run into any trouble, Tali I need you to provide cover for Liara and Ori to drop singularity fields so we can pick them off. I only have my Carnifex and rifle so ammo is precious. Otherwise its slam and burn until Garrus and Kaidan get here," hopefully.
This was different from the jobs she did for Aria. Shepard had personal interest in keeping her crew alive; they were not just another mark to be protected. "Just follow me when I give the signal and stay in cover as much as possible."
Shepard began to creep towards the lift when they heard the grinding from the elevator at the other end of the cavern. She ducked behind a crate, but in view of her crew.
Two towering silhouettes shadowed menacingly off red stone walls, creeping ever closer, assault rifles in hand. "Dr. T'Soni. There is an urgent message for you." The voice echoed through the cavern.
As Liara started to stand up, Tali grabbed her arm and shook her head, understanding the possible danger they were in. Two figures donned in plain, unadorned armor were beginning to come into focus as they crept closer.
Liking the odds, Shepard held a finger up towards the other three and remained in cover. "She's down a few levels. I will tell her to meet you at the main facility."
"Why don't you come out and you can show us where she is." Their footsteps were getting louder.
"I don't think so." Shepard tossed a rock away from their location as a decoy and right on cue, the shooting started.
Waiting for a signal from Shepard, the two biotics tossed singularity at the same attacker catching only one of them in a helpless state. Shepard and Tali fired shots at the floating man while the other scampered for cover. His limp corpse crashed to the ground, armor clinking as it heaped.
Shepard waited for another break in fire before sprinting towards the flank, taking cover behind a rock formation. Holding out her arm, she activated incinerate on her Omni, a burst of flame shot out honing in on the assailant and drawing him out of cover. A few quick shots finished him off as his armor continued to glow from the heat, burned hair wafting in the air. "Let's go."
The four entered the back lift and began the climb to the surface. The two doctors took cover on the sides of the cart as Tali and Shepard took high and low point when the door slid open.
"Remind me never to call you paranoid again."
Liara and Oriana both looked a little flustered but were remaining calm despite their lack of experience. They quickly made their way up to the main floor where they discovered six more assailants who were more concerned with the entrance than they were with watching the cavern behind them.
Shepard signaled for the group to remain hidden around the corner while she figured out a plan to ensure their escape. This was not a group of trained fighters she had with her. While she had no doubt that her and Tali could handle the bunch, she did not want to risk the possibility of anyone getting killed due to lack of experience on the part of the two biotics. She knew she could not trust Liara to stand there and not try to help. Oriana would most likely follow her lead.
Thankfully not too much time passed before Shepard heard a rifle shot followed by panic from the armed mob. "Garrus, watch the crossfire" she tapped at her commlink. Turning back to the others, "Liara target left, Ori right. And whatever you do, stay behind the wall as much as possible. Go."
Two flanks attacking with three biotics made quick work of the armed men and soon corpses littered the entranceway. The heated air in the cavern was absorbing the smell of blood like a sponge. Kaidan and Garrus joined the others, thankful to have arrived in time.
"Get these guys searched you two. Tali and Ori watch behind us, we have the entrance. By the way, nice headshot Vakarian." Shepard was extremely impressed with the precision sniper shot that took down the first assailant. Apparently the ex C-Sec agent was the every bit marksman he claimed to be.
"You remind me of my sister Shepard, not too bad yourself." Garrus bent down to search one of the bodies. "Odd, scans coming up negative on an ID. No armor markings … Alenko strip that one down and look for tattoos."
Shepard was pleased with the overall composure of the entire crew. Although she expected it from the more experienced members but Liara and Oriana had also kept their wits about them. One learns to handle stressful situations when training with Asari commandos or running a blood soaked emergency room she surmised.
"You aren't going to like this." Garrus had walked over with a data pad in his hand. "Not one bit."
Shepard glanced at the mission details with Liara looking over her shoulder. It was an order to retrieve Dr. Liara T'Soni alive and bring her to the rendezvous planet, everyone else was expendable.
"Goddess." Liara eye's squinted as if she was questioning what she had seen.
"They have no identities, none of them. No adornments, no tattoos, it's like they don't even exist. This isn't some small time merc group looking to squeeze credits. We saw their shuttle parked outside when we got here, they must've just dropped down." Garrus shook his head.
Shepard radiated comfort for Liara. "We're heading back to the ship. You three …" she pointed to Tali, Kaidan, and Garrus "…search that shuttle and then find out what the FUCK is wrong with EAE's security that it was able to land without notice. If they give you shit, drop Matriarch T'Soni's name to the guy in charge. If they still give you shit …"
"Oh they won't." Garrus chuckled. "Will get you a report when we have all the facts."
Shepard hopped into one of the two shuttle vehicles parked outside and headed back towards the ship. Oriana was comforting Liara, who was now clearly shaken up.
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"I hope this is important. I was in the middle of something." Benezia T'Soni's voice was singing with annoyance.
Shepard had disposed of her armor quickly in the corner as Liara placed the call to her mother, then sat on her bed out of view of the vid screen.
"Considering I was just almost kidnapped, I would think it was important enough for you." Liara's anxiety with the earlier encounter was noticeable in her tone since they made it back to the ship. With one sentence from her mother, it seemed to double.
Benezia's eyes glanced upwards, thinking outloud, "So my source was correct."
"You knew mother!" Liara was now livid. Shepard had never seen her like this before.
"Not with any certainty. The information came from a new source. I did not know if they were reliable or not."
"Why did you not warn me?"
"You would not take a squad of commando's Liara. I gave you the best escort credits could buy."
"You should have told me. I am your daughter."
"Then think like it for once Liara." Benezia's voice was cold and booming. "If your actions alerted the captors, my potential good source of information would be exposed and I would lose it. I have faith in your protector, do you?"
"Of course I do mother, that is not the point." The anger was starting to melt into betrayal. Liara felt the tears start to well in her eyes.
"Then what is your point Liara?"
"Nothing."
"Good, maybe you are learning something then." Shepard was starting to fully understand the animosity Liara felt towards Benezia. "I was hoping you had taken her as play thing by now."
Shepard lost what little color she had in her pale complexion as her jaw literally dropped open.
"Play … thing?" Liara was stammering for words as the conversation progressed. Most of the confidence she usually possessed had fled. It was no wonder Benezia had a different impression of her daughter than others.
"Humans are more protective after bedding them, you should know this Liara. So have you yet?"
"Send what ever information you feel I am worthy of receiving. Good bye mother." Liara disconnected the chat, staring down blankly at the screen in front of her. She contained her tears until a pair of arms slid around her ribcage, turning her into a warm embrace.
Shepard eased the Asari's head down onto her shoulder, holding her tightly while caressing the back of her neck. Liara began to sob as her hands gripped onto the sleeves of Shepard's shirt.
"Shhh, shhhh, it's okay." Shepard rocked her slightly back and forth, providing her safety while she felt most vulnerable. The tears flowed for a few minutes until the human felt Liara's convulsions slow down.
"Now you know." Liara was quiet for a few moments allowing her words to sink in. "I hate how she makes me feel." Her hands maintained their grip on Shepard's shirt. She felt exposed yet completely comfortable. "No one has ever seen me like this."
"It's about time someone did, beautiful. I'm just happy it was me." They stood in silence a bit longer, each enjoying the sensation of their closeness.
"Shepard, you need a shower..."
The human laughed, breaking her grip as she took a step back. "I let you cry all over my shirt and that's the thanks I get?"
"Sorry. I am still trying to feel normal. I did not mean …"
"Relax Liara, I'm kidding." She reached out and touched her hand briefly. "I'll stay as long as you want, then I'll go hop in the shower."
"Go ahead, I think I am alright now." As Shepard left the room, Liara laid down on her bed, wondering how it was possible her mother could keep using her, manipulating her. "Stop it!" She scolded herself aloud. Instead Liara replaced the negative feelings with the sound of Shepard's voice, the word 'beautiful' echoing in her thoughts.
A/N: This is one of my favorite chapters even though I struggled mightily with the action sequence, it is so not my thing.