The group looked around, and for the first time Liara heard fear in Jack's whisper.
"Oh God."
The entire squad looked where Jack was looking, and in the shadow of a single tree, two large red eyes and a malicious smile looked back at them. The creature stepped out of the shadows, opposable thumbs decorated by long claws gripped the boulder above Jack. The creature's wolfish face shined in the light, the iron exoskeleton acting as fur. The creature's long, cat like tail swing out from behind it, and the canine snarled. It seemed to laugh.
"Jack… what do we do?" Miranda whispered with horror.
Before the human could reply, the creature screamed.
When it did, Liara swore it sounded like Normandy screaming.
The shock sent tears down Liara's face, and confused her. The entire squad scrambled away from the creature as it jumped down from the boulder, five others followed behind, each bearing their shark – like teeth and snarling. The four biotics huddled together, confusion covering each of their faces.
"… Normandy." Liara whispered, and just like that she could picture the baby when she was first born, the warmth and comfort that she had to push out of her mind. She knew the texture of her skin. The green in her eyes. The way she smiled when she knew she was right. Liara looked up at the creatures and summoned the most powerful biotic warp she could muster. The pack alpha was thrown into the very tree it had entered from and yelped.
Just like that the rest of the squad was alive and fighting. Miranda captured two of the wolves in stasis, Jack raged forward and punched a creature in the jaw with such biotic force the massive things jaw snapped. Grunt rushed after her to help.
A sudden pain in Liara's shoulder made her cry out as she was lifted from the ground by a pair of teeth. The creature shook her once and Liara felt her bone crush under the force. When she landed on the ground again, she looked over to see Miranda battling with the creature that had picked her up. She snapped the creature's neck with a throw to the face.
Just as Liara gained her footing a creature screamed at her again, the terror of her child's yelp sending cold through her bones. The creature charged, and Liara threw it back with stasis, just as another creature jumped on her back. Liara pushed him off with warp and was about to smash his hideous face in when a hallucination turned the creature's face into the face of her lover. Shepard looked up at Liara with pleading green eyes, as if she was horrified.
"Liara?" The woman breathed in terror, and Liara hesitated just long enough for the creature to bite her arm. With the hallucination gone, rage returned to Liara and with the creature still on her forearm, Liara screamed at it, yanking it off of her with throw, and then hitting it with such a brutal blow that the creature fell onto a boulder, and it's head splattered over the rocks.
"Liara!" Someone yelled from behind her, and Liara turned around to see the face of her mother, staring back at Liara with huge, tear filled eyes. The older asari screamed at her. "You killed me Liara! YOU KILLED ME!"
Liara scrambled back on the rocks, tears pouring down her cheeks, blood oozing from her shoulder and arm.
"No… mother…" Liara reached out towards the woman, and when she touched her mother's cheeks she felt the odd sensation of fur.
"Its just a dream." Liara whispered, and sent as much biotic power as she could muster through her fingertips. She watched her mother's face disappear, and the creatures face which Liara held in her hands turned a sickly blue, as it fell onto the rocks, dead.
When Liara looked up, the remaining creatures lay dead across the rocks. Jack was staring at Liara with huge eyes, Miranda was crying over her blood filled hands, and Grunt was still smashing a dead creature with his bare hands.
After a long silence, Grunt stopped hitting the creature and the entire squad stared at each other.
"There's… more of these?" Liara asked Jack through sobs.
Jack nodded, a deadly numb look in her eyes.
Miranda wiped her hands on her pants and looked at Liara.
"Oh God Liara, you're hurt."
Liara looked over at her shoulder. She hadn't realized the bone was sticking out of her flesh sickeningly, and large teeth marks oozed with her purple blood.
"We have to get her back to camp." Jack barely mumbled as Miranda ripped her shirt to tourniquet Liara's wound, "We have to go now."
"What about those creatures, aren't there still more?" Liara held her forearm which was also bleeding heavily as Jack wrapped it with a spare cloth.
"We can't get rid of the rest of them with you bleeding out now can we?" Jack stated as the squad stumbled back to camp.
Liara limped towards the med bay, which Miranda had claimed as living space and sat on a table.
"Momma?" Normandy poked her head through the door as EDI walked in, and Joker touched her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Mom just needs a little patching up, come on kiddo." Joker lead the girl away from the bloody scene and Liara watched the child's eyes follow her the entire walk out of the med bay.
"Liara, we have no medi gel, and my databases claim that the only way to stop the bleeding with our current supplies would be by means of old fashioned cauterization." EDI looked at the woman with concern as Liara lay back on the bed.
"You're joking." Miranda gawked at the synthetic.
"No, that is all we have, any other typical procedure would increase possibility of infection greatly. These wounds are too deep." EDI stated helplessly, and looked at Liara with sympathy.
"Just do it already before she fucking bleeds out!" Jack yelled and Liara jumped, this sudden jerking causing a great pain in her injured arm. Liara yelped and the entire squad went silent only momentarily.
"Do it." Liara whispered, and EDI left for a few minutes, returning with a small metal rod. EDI used incinerate, letting the synthetic fire heat the rod until it was glowing.
"Do we have any painkillers?" Miranda asked in terror.
"We have none in stock, any natural painkillers on this planet are too far away, it would take hours to retrieve anything useful. By then it would be too late." EDI stopped the flame and approached Liara. "Doctor, you might want to hold on to something."
Jack knelt next to Liara, and Liara gripped the woman's hand, anticipating the pain she knew was coming.
"Someone will have to hold her down." EDI's words were sad and guilt filled.
Miranda flew to Liara's other side and held the asari in place.
"I'm sorry Liara."
"Just get it done with!" Jack yelled at EDI and looked down at Liara, who had turned to watch as EDI approached her shoulder with the heated rod. "Don't watch," Jack commanded and Liara turned away, slamming her eyes shut.
The room filled with the scent of burning flesh, a sizzling sound ringing out as the rod hit flesh.
Liara's body jerk against her will, her nails dug into Jack's skin and Liara's blood curdling scream filled the halls of the Normandy.
"Mommy, how long must we stay inside?" Normandy looked up at her mother who was sitting on the edge of the bed, re-wrapping her still healing shoulder. The entire squad had stayed inside for three days out of fear of the wolf creatures. Liara's wound needed to heal before the squad could attempt to hunt the creatures out of the territory again. The rest of the biotics didn't seem to mind, their own emotional wounds needed healing and strengthening as well.
"I do not know Normandy, We have to stay inside until Mommy and the rest of the biotics can get rid of all of the bad creatures." Liara touched the child's head softly when she finished wrapping her wound.
"That creature hurt you." Normandy frowned and looked up at her mother with concern.
"Its alright darling, I'll get better." Liara stated and turned away from the child to look for an item in her dresser.
"Mommy I want to go outside and catch that creature."
"Normandy, I need you to stay inside with me, its too dangerous." Liara continued to shuffle through the shelves.
"But mom, I want to go outside! I'm sick of being inside!"
"I understand Normandy, but I need you here with me, okay?" Liara closed the drawer in frusteration and rubbed her forehead. She sighed into the silence and turned around to face her daughter.
Only when she turned around, the little blue girl was nowhere in sight.
She'd never answered Liara's question.
How long had Liara pondered in the silence before realizing her daughter was not in the room with her?
Ten minutes?
Half an hour?
"Normandy?" Liara called, a sudden panic running through her. Liara ran out of the cab, dashing through the halls, yelling Normandy's name. Other squad mates heard Liara's calls, and somehow instantly knew what was happening. Joker ran down the emergency stairs, and Ashley from the lower levels.
"She's not in the upper decks!" Joker panted, clutching his legs.
"She's not in the lower decks either!" Ashley cried, and Liara's heart dropped. The worried mother ran to the outside entrance, in just enough time to see her precious daughter disappear into the foliage.