A/N: Bioware owns all. Strictly for personal amusement.
I have taken some AU liberties with Kopis.
Thanks for the reviews and messages and special thanks again to Bebus.
Title courtesy of The New Pornographers.
You can't tell what
The controls hide
From the door that locks
From the outside
But you'll know why
One day when
When you cross the line
Chapter 26 – The New Face of Zero and One
"Abby went to see her and she was told not to bring us anywhere near lockup."
As soon as Shepard was safely in her new apartment on Omega, she made a vid call to her old classmate, Lynn Williams. There was one responsibility she had remaining on Earth and she was going to keep her word. "Lynn, listen to me. We've known each other a long time. I am trying to get her out but I don't think it's going to happen. I tried hiring her a lawyer but she refused."
"Jaye, I don't get it. Why is she isolating herself?"
Shepard put the memory of her and Ash's final conversation out of her mind, instead concentrating on her promise. "It's a scary place, it does strange things." She tried to see Ashley before leaving Earth, but her friend wanted nothing to do with her. "But I made her a promise years ago. If anything ever happened to her, I would make sure you were taken care of."
"Abby is going to quit college and get another job. I told her I would quit too and help but she told me no, instead to concentrate on my degree." Lynn was almost in tears once more. She had spent the previous hour talking to Shepard, asking all the questions her oldest sister refused to answer. She had nothing concrete to go on but news reports and a public defender who gave little information. "Maybe at least Sarah will have a good life. All mom said was that they could send less money home now with only three of us."
Shepard steadied her emotions. "You're all staying in school, keeping your part time jobs, and nothing is changing." She would do right by her friend, even if Ashley would have no idea. "Tell them you won the lottery or something, I don't care what. But I'm wiring you account information. I'll make sure all of your tuition is paid for and then some extra. The last thing she wanted was for either of you to do what she did."
"I can't take this. We can't take this."
"You can and you will. I made her a promise. But she can never know. She's mad at me already. I don't want her to think she has to forgive me for keeping my word." Shepard looked at the screen, seeing Lynn's resolve break as she observed a light glimmering at the end of the tunnel.
"I won't tell her but this only lasts until I finish college, three years." Shepard's former classmate crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Take it or leave it."
"Deal."
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Kopis
Sonax Industries set up a small mining expedition on Makhaira's largest moon, Kopis and found a mysterious artifact that Benezia T'Soni paid looting rights for. Not many scholars were interested in ancient and extinct races, so the cost was minimal and often netted her profitable business investments in the process. Providing help to her daughter's science projects was not done solely for the benefit of Liara, Benezia reaped rewards as well.
Liara's research vessel was required to land a distance away from the outpost due to the lava pools. Sonax had sent a hovercraft to pick up the doctor and her escort as the vehicle could only hold four people in the cramped space. After Shepard's other two attackers had turned up dead, each from an all too convenient overdose, C-Sec closed their investigation, considering the matter solved with all assailants in the morgue. Shepard however, had added another reason to the list of "reasons to act paranoid."
Liara was wearing one of the new sets of light armor the couple had purchased while on Thessia. The bodyguard had insisted she had at least minimal protection and they compromised on heavy duty leather which would still give her the comfort and ease of movement to carry out her field work. The topic of the archeologist carrying a pistol was still being 'discussed' however.
"Where is Dr. Cayce?" Liara had committed to memory the details of her perspective meeting and precisely what was to be transferred. Dealing with her mother's disappointment over the years, trained the reflex in the younger asari to follow Benezia's instructions exactly. "She was expected to greet us."
"She's waiting for you in the artifact room, Dr. T'Soni." Their guide began walking towards a hallway further into the compound. "Just this way."
As the couple was led through a series of winding corridors, Liara quickly joined her mind to Shepard's, long enough to communicate a quick message, 'I love you.' She felt warmth from her love as she broke the meld.
Even though both of their assistants knew the true nature of their relationship, the rest of the crew seemed to not be privy to the actual intimate status and the pair maintained their professionalism in public. That did not stop either of them from teasing the other, Liara with her mini-melds and Shepard suddenly feeling amorous in a group, knowing that the asari could sense it.
A sealed door to an airlock in the back of the lab was their final destination, a single protective suit dangled from a nearby hook. Their companion pointed to the suit and then nodded towards the archeologist. "Dr. T'Soni, your suit is there if you would like to slip it on and proceed through the airlock. I apologize but we only have one in addition to Dr. Cayce's who is waiting inside. The room has been kept sealed to prevent any atmospheric contamination as per her orders but you are permitted to take your scanner in."
Shepard radiated caution for Liara who smiled and nodded in the bodyguard's direction. "Very well." The doctor quickly slipped the enviro-suit over her leather armor and proceeded into the airlock. As the door swished closed and created a seal, Shepard walked over to the window in an effort to at least keep eye contact on her love. The other door opened into the artifact room with no relic in direct sight however Liara's pace quickened when she rounded a corner out of sight.
"Now if you will excuse me."
The human turned and nodded her head as the guide exited the room rapidly. As the door swished shut, she heard one additional sentence.
"They're split up. Go get her now."
The bodyguard ducked behind a nearby console, remaining out of vision of the door and hit the stealth button on her omni. The door slid open and heavy footsteps echoed through the compound, distinctly familiar to armor plated boots. Taking no chances after her recent complacency in the Citadel, she peeked above her cover, still camouflaged by her stealth field confirming her suspicions. What the fuck are the Blue Suns doing here? Seeing three armored attackers with shotguns in hand, she hit the alarm signaling both Liara and the ship.
"Where the fuck she go? And only kill the human. The asari has to stay alive or we don't get paid."
She estimated a little more than seven seconds until visible. Shepard aimed her trusty Carnifex at the temple of one of the bewildered guards and took her shot, splattering blood, brain, and skull all over the wall behind him. He should have worn a helmet. Ducking back down to conceal her location in preparation for her stealth to break, she made sure she turned her emotion to danger, hoping Liara was close enough to feel it.
The other two assailants ran for cover, one not realizing he was stooping right next to Shepard. She took her gun to Blue Suns merc's head and pulled the trigger, turning her helm in an effort to protect her visor from blood splatter. Then her stealth field dissipated.
Shots sprayed all around her – she was thankful the console was providing enough protection from the bullets. Wait for reload ... As clicking replaced the pops, Shepard rolled out to the side, quickly scanning for the last attacker. Realizing he was far enough away, she unleashed incinerate and finished the job with a shot to his still flaming head.
She mashed the controls on the wall in a futile attempt to hurry the airlock mechanism. Faster, damnit! Making a mental note to install a silent mode on Liara's omni alarm, she prayed the asari was able to put her training to use, keeping herself safe. As Shepard rounded the corner, Liara was glowing blue with a biotic orb floating above her hand. "Thank fuck you're okay!"
"Goddess, you are hurt!" Liara and Shepard spoke simultaneously as the asari released her biotics and ran towards her love.
"It's not mine, I'm fine. The other three, not so much." The bodyguard glanced at a body lying against the base of a wall, mangled in a heap and wasted no time pumping two bullets into his skull, just to ensure he was dead. "What are you doing?"
Liara had run over to the artifact and grabbed the tiny orb, placing it in the satchel she had slung over her shoulder. "I could not leave this here. I am surprised it actually exists." The asari made her way back to her bodyguard's side.
"We need to get out of here." The escort checked her omni to see how many remained in the building. "Stay close but behind me and keep an eye out. There's only a few within range then we should be clear to the rover." Shepard grabbed Liara's hand with her armored glove and squeezed it tightly. "You are amazingly calm."
The scared scientist from Therum was no where to be found. "I am exceptionally annoyed that we keep getting attacked each time Benezia sends us for an artifact." Liara removed the enviro-suit as Shepard ran a quick scan on the dead man and claimed his omni.
"You noticed that too, huh?" The human handed the device to Liara who placed it into her bag.
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Tali was working on the final adjustment to the scanners installed on the ship and their brand new rover. Liara had given her the task of overseeing the installation process, trusting her with an assignment the scientist deemed 'vital' to her expedition.
A quarian still on her pilgrimage normally did not receive such responsibility and it only inspired Tali to make sure everything was in perfect working order, adding a special touch with customized upgrades. She prided herself on proving Liara correct when the doctor placed such trust in her.
The rumor mill about Liara and Shepard had lost its steam after the human had ended up in the hospital. No verbal confirmation was needed to know how they felt about each other. It was obvious to everyone that watched the two together that somewhere along the line, they had consummated their relationship. Tali had seen it happen time and again on the flotilla.
Instead, the attention of the crew temporarily turned to creating the most outrageous explanation for Samantha's broken nose one night at Flux, since the story that Oriana had accidently broken it during training just wasn't exciting enough.
"You were in a headbutting contest with a krogan and lost?" Garrus had been the first to speak up.
Joker took his typical approach to the guessing game. "That bartender from Apollo's likes rough melds."
"You were on the wrong end of a potato cannon."
Ori paused and then burst into laughter at Kaidan's unusual response.
"What is a potato cannon?" If Garrus could have wrinkled his nose at that point, he would have.
"What is a potato?" Tali was confused by the entire statement and then declared Kaidan the winner for the most extreme answer.
Once the scientist and her escort had returned from Thessia, the ship had finally left dock and the crew resumed business as usual. On the voyage over, Tali lent her expertise to Samantha who was yet unable to develop a cipher to decode the data Liara had collected from Horizon or Thessia.
"There is so much here and we can't seem to understand any of it." Samantha had been working diligently, more so than usual since the day Shepard landed in Huerta.
Tali surmised that the timing of her broken nose was too coincidental with the sudden disappearance of her crush on Shepard and Traynor's fling with the asari bartender. The only thing that the quarian was not sure about, was if Liara or Shepard was the one who actually caused the damage. "You'll get through, Sam. There's no one better at finding the best programs for the problem." Tali may be young, but having a father as an Admiral taught her when it was time to choose support over teasing.
Alerts rang from Tali's omni and the terminal Samantha was working on. "Bloody hell, we're being hacked." Traynors eyes scanned the terminal screen.
Tali had already started to run over to where the assistant was standing, knowing precisely what the customized alert meant. The engineer's masked features stared at the vid screen as she diligently clicked at the keyboard. "Impossible." The confusion was apparent in her voice. "It says the source of the hack is close by, and getting closer."
Not more than a few seconds passed before Garrus's sounded over the comm. "Shepard just hit her alarm and scanners show three vehicles headed towards us. Lock the ship down, now."
They had run the drill dozens of times during their time on the Citadel as a precautionary measure. Traynor was the first one to speak, a hint of fear crept into her voice. "I never thought those drills would become reality."
Tali ran for the lift, she wanted to deliver the details of the hackers personally to Garrus.
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Liara had followed Shepard through the twists and turns of the compound as they disposed of the few remaining Blue Suns in their way. If there was one thing she could emphatically claim about Benezia, it was her ability to find the best of everything and Shepard was a master at her job. The first thing the escort insisted on was a meld so they could communicate effectively while sneaking up on the mercs.
Both Shepard and Liara's omnis beeped simultaneously with a brief message from Garrus updating the ships status.
'Remind me to install a silent mode on these damn alarms.' Shepard quickly checked the radar on her omni, relieved that no sign of life remained inside the building.
'Bad news, there's at least six more outside. Wait here while I take a peek.'
The distance at which Liara could pick up on others emotions, and thus sensing a presence was limited. Even though the intensity of the emotion increased the distance, it was still relatively ineffective beyond a few yards. The distance for maintaining a meld was even shorter and as Shepard moved out of range, their minds also separated.
Liara always felt some sort of loneliness after breaking an extended meld from her love. Their souls and thoughts fit so well together, she couldn't help but feel incomplete as they broke.
The bodyguard returned and pulled Liara back into a room so they could speak. "I count eight and they're all in cover." She keyed in a quick response to Garrus before continuing. "No more melds, you need to keep your strength." Shepard removed her helm and took a few deep breaths, her hair soaked in sweat. "But they aren't in Blue Suns armor. I don't get it."
Liara noticed her bodyguard's eyes gaze off into nothing, an expression she often took when deep in thought.
"In fact, they're in plain armor ..." Shepard's brows furrowed as her lip curled into an annoyed sneer at her realization. "... just like Therum. What the fuck is going on?" The human shook her head in disbelief as the omni sang again. "Fuck! This thing needs a vibrate mode."
Liara watched Shepard's eyes scan the message in record time before looking up. "What is it, love?" The doctor was too angry at the entire situation that being scared was not even a thought in her head. She had confidence in her bodyguard and herself, especially after hurling the merc from the artifact room into the stone wall with such devastating force.
"I don't think they're on our side. Tali says these guys were trying to hack us weeks ago." She tossed her helm across the room. "Jesus, I can't breathe in that thing, it's making me light headed. And we need to talk to Kasumi about getting you this stealth program too." The protector sighed and then explained the plan of attack, ending it with a quick kiss on Liara's cheek. "I need you to keep a bubble on us while I am shooting, at least until I whittle them down some. The drone will keep some stunned but we have to be careful." Her eyes glanced back to the radar momentarily. "Listen, Liara, if for some reason we don't ..."
Liara interrupted her immediately. "Stop, now." She brushed her fingers across Shepard's brow, unsticking the human's sweaty bangs from her forehead. The asari softened her tone. "I have faith in you, Jaye."
"Yeah well, I love you anyway." There was no joking in her voice, only sincerity and seriousness matching the dire straits they were caught in.
"And I, you. Now shall we go punch their asses?" Liara's lips puckered and she momentarily flared her biotics in a show of readiness.
Shepard allowed herself a moment to chuckle at the asari's attempt at a human expression. "Yes, let's go punch their asses."
Liara returned Shepard's smile and followed behind as they made their way to the entrance. They flanked either side of the entranceway as the human activated stealth mode once again on her omni and disappeared. Liara was expecting the sound of a discharging Carnifex but nothing happened. She felt Shepard's hand lightly tapping the side of her head and taking the cue, she melded.
'Jack's out there. I bet she's here to help us. I took aim and saw her slinking away from the group, trying to flank them.'
'That does not make sense, Jaye. How would she know to be here? Perhaps she is trying to get a better angle inside.' Since Liara's own mother had been leading them into traps, she was assuming a more cautious demeanor.
Shepard was insistent. 'She's a lot of things but no way she would turn on me. Not when she owes me, she hates being in debt to anyone.'
Liara provided the logical response. 'If you are dead, she does not owe you.'
'It doesn't matter if I think she owes me, she would still think she did even if I was dead.' The human paused and she reappeared, hidden from the view of the assailants. 'Going to pick off one on the left side and watch Jack. Hopefully she's really on our side. When I point, blast in that direction.' Liara felt Shepard break the meld, a slight feeling of hope had crept into the human's mood.
The bodyguard took to one knee, motioning Liara to her side. Once again, Shepard aimed her Carnifex with the widest angle she could find and fired a split second after she yelled one word. "Zero!" She looked up at Liara and mouthed the word 'bubble' who followed the order.
Shepard peeked out through the protection of the biotic field toward the original direction she had seen her old acquaintance, noticing she and another had also opened fire.
Liara felt relief as the human maneuvered her back to the inside wall, taking cover in the doorway. A drone shot out of the escort's omni and darted to the commotion outside. The asari maintained her bubble of protection as Shepard once again took position and fired a few more shots. She felt happiness pouring from the human as she pointed ahead.
Liara fell back to her childhood commando training instantly, bolting out and tossing a biotic wave a split second after finding her target. From her peripheral view, she saw an unarmored, tattooed biotic standing next to another armed figure destroying the line of attack from the far flank.
Blasts of biotics and bullets rang in the air with an occasional "Take that, you fucks!" sounding from Jack's direction.
As Liara rotated between biotic blasts and bubbles on Shepard, she watched Jack from the corner of her vision.
There was reckless abandon in the other Biotic's assault, either not caring that she was exposed to return fire, or completely confident in the armed companion providing her cover. At one point, she even looked towards the doorway, bloodlust spread across her face, "hey, Shepard - just like old times!," screeching like a lunatic.
Liara couldn't help but smile as the remaining adversaries were eliminated. This was the only human she had ever seen who could match an asari with biotic power.
Shepard quickly reloaded her weapon before running over to meet their saviors with Liara in tow. "What the fuck are you doing here?" She held out her hand, vigorously shaking the tattooed Biotic's hand.
"Saving your ass, what's it look like?" She looked towards Liara, "and your ass too it seems."
Liara smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you. Thank you to you both." She glanced at the tall helmed figure next to Jack. From the armor, Liara deduced she was human, and she was female.
Shepard broke her grip with Jack and held her hand out to the stranger. "Yes, thanks."
As the helm was removed, a wave of sweaty black hair fell loosely around the woman's broad shoulders. Shepard was stunned.
Liara recognized the steely gaze meeting her love's eyes, she had seen it once before in Afterlife, right after she and Shepard had just met.
"Ash?"
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The outer shutters were closed immediately as step one of their lock down plan went into effect. The ship could withstand a nearly endless assault from conventional small arms as long as the airlock remained sealed. Tali and Samantha were both stationed at terminals, ready to counteract any hacking attempt on the door.
But Garrus knew the main problem was not the ship itself, it was getting Shepard and Liara safely aboard. They had basic defensive weapons which were not designed to be used on the ground. Their visitors brought two rovers with a total of eight passengers, all armed yet not assuming attack positions; one vehicle had not yet shown up.
Garrus maintained the 'truce', keeping in contact with Shepard and Liara in order to figure out the best plan. The doctor and her bodyguard had apparently found two allies amidst the assailants and the four were on their way back in a hovercraft. The turian contemplated a solution to the current problem while he waited for notification that his boss's entourage were getting close.
Then the other side made the first move, in the form of a message on an open frequency.
We received notification that an attempted kidnapping was underway at the outpost not far from here. Have you had any problems? The Suns have been hitting a lot of compounds here lately. We would like to offer assistance if needed.
Garrus didn't have to ask Tali to verify that the source of the message was indeed the source of the hack, she communicated it immediately, followed by, "... and I have a plan."
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Ashely hadn't spoken a word. She just nodded lacking any hint of emotion. It was almost robotic, Shepard had noticed. However Ashley was with Jack and the two had certainly turned the odds in survival's favor.
Jack had quickly informed the couple of the double cross plan. They were auditioning to be part of a military group who had hired the Suns to carry out a kidnapping and murder. Liara was then going to be rescued from the Suns, thus gaining trust for their mysterious employer. They had no idea why, and any attempts to warn Shepard were not successful.
Shepard and Liara sat in the back of the rover with Ashley riding shotgun. Jack was the one who drove, insisting that that Shepard's driving was more deadly than a nest of thresher maws. As soon as the couple were left alone, Liara had joined their thoughts.
'Are you alright?'
'Just a little stunned. Save your power, we still have a fight ahead of us.' Shepard felt the love pouring from Liara as the meld ended. Garrus said they had a plan but they only got one shot and it was unknown how many assailants, if any would be killed. She just had to give the signal when the group was in position.
The rover parked a good distance away from the front of the ship where the most protection was provided by the rocky terrain. Before beginning the final part of the voyage on foot, Shepard covered the plan, making sure to let Liara feel how confident she was in their chance of success.
Ashley remained silent as she covered the rear during their trek. Even though Shepard picked up no extra life signs on her omni, the group remained vigilant while scanning the area with each of their senses. Had Shepard not been so concerned with keeping her love safe, the silence from her former best friend would have been burrowing into her skin. It was easy to push all questions aside with duty and Liara on the forefront of her mind.
The ship was the only thing between the group and two enemy vehicles. The four were hiding behind a large boulder, pools of bubbling lava littering the solid ground.
"You guys ready?" Shepard saw Ashley and Liara both nod while Jack responded with a hearty "Fuck, yes! Let's blow some shit up!" She sent Garrus the message to deploy, and the group waited for the signal.
The time ticked on, testing the patience of Jack the most. She began to noticeably fidget, creating biotic balls in her hand just to dissipate them a second later.
The echo of metal grinding could be heard in the distance. Shepard smiled at Liara. "Go time." With all eyes pointed at the ships hold opening, the group moved from rock to rock, getting closer to their destination.
Shepard spied a sniper off to the side, away from the rest and pointed in the direction, notifying her companion.
Ashley took to her knee and aimed her rifle. "Say when." It was the first words she spoke, her tone as neutral as her face had been.
There was a high pitched buzzing sound and then the beam of a mining laser emerged from the open hold, sending one of the vehicles tumbling into a puddle of lava, consuming both metal and the passengers.
Ashley took her shot with a word from her former friend, shattering the snipers skull into bits. Liara tossed singularity fields into the remaining group in order to allow for easy targeting but Jack's shockwave sent some of the bodies hurling through the air.
An additional vehicle appeared from the distance, kicking up dirt as it sped to aid. It was then that Shepard noticed something unexpected. The grinding stopped and the Mako, Liara's brand new rover sped down the loading ramp.
"What the fuck is Tali doing?" Shepard had told Garrus to close the hatch back up after the laser was fired. It would take time to recharge and she didn't want to risk the ship being boarded. The quarian using the Mako to ram the armed attackers was not part of the plan.
Jack was inspired by the carnage and ran ahead, hurling shockwave after shockwave, trying to angle her shots to topple vehicles and attackers alike in the path of the destructive Mako.
Shepard glanced at Liara and then Ashley, "stay here, cover us." She ran a little bit ahead, shooting her Carnifex and reloading it as quickly as she could. The escort didn't risk using incinerate with Jack running around so haphazardly out of fear of setting the crazy biotic on fire.
Then she heard it. A large bang from behind. A grenade. She turned and saw Ashley's armored body covering Liara's, remnants of an explosion where they had just been located.
A wordless anguished howl erupted from her throat. Her heart was torn between a dull red rage and a blinding fear, before she spotted an outlet, the cause of her torment.
A lone figure was readying another grenade and Shepard unloaded an entire clip into him while sprinting towards the only two people she had ever cared for.
They were moving, both of them. A refreshing wave of relief cleansed the fear from her bones as she approached.
Ashley rolled off Liara with a pistol pointed up in the direction of the approaching footsteps, dropping it when she realized who it was. Blood was seeping out of the human's legs; shrapnel had torn into her armor.
Liara appeared unscathed as she turned over, except for scratches on her hands and face. "Goddess, we need to get her to Ori."
"I'm fine." Ash tried to stand, but her legs were wobbly and she collapsed back down on the ground.
Shepard turned quickly to see Jack and the Tali-driven Mako mopping up the rest of the mysterious militants. She ran another scan for other hidden attackers and saw none. "Liara, do you have enough to float her to the ship? We can't put any pressure on her legs."
Liara nodded and began watching their backs for any sign of movement, standing vigil over Ashley just as Shepard was. "Yes, tell me when."
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Ashley Williams was lying on her stomach in the sickbay bed as Dr. Ryan finished treating her wounds. She had heard the grenade rolling towards their position and pushed Liara down, covering her as much as she could. Heavy armor would protect herself but the asari was only in leather and would not have lived through that blast.
After hearing about Tony Saracino's untimely death, Ashley was offered a new job from Tony's brother, with a lucrative paycheck that she originally turned down. When the name of 'Jaye Shepard' was dropped in the same sentence as 'revenge', only then did she accept his offer.
She had tried to find her old friend and warn her before the attack on the Citadel but Aria T'Loak was less than helpful. Upon hearing that Shepard had survived the first ambush, she was relieved but was not going to pass up the opportunity to ensure Shepard's continued survival.
She clenched her eyes shut, recalling how she came to protect the person she spent four years hating. After their meeting in Afterlife, Ashley returned home and mentioned the encounter to her sister, Lynn. Shepard's old school mate had always been quick to defend Shepard without offering much of a reason, until that particular conversation.
At first, Ashley tried to tell herself that a promise was a promise and keeping that promise had little relevance to the status of her friendship with Shepard. But the disclosure that Shepard had supported her family made her think. She re-examined everything that had happened with a lot of nudging from her sisters and came to one conclusion. If the situation was reversed, and Ashley was offered a way out of jail, she would have taken it too.
Yet when she saw her old friend, when her old friend realized who she was, Ashley didn't know what to say. Too many others were around and it would have to wait.
Knowing that Jack was in debt to Shepard for some recent favor, Ashley had recruited the crazy biotic to her rescue mission and here they were.
Shepard and her new employer both remained, with Ashley's permission, as her wounds were treated and metal removed. Even though a few scraps of shrapnel had cut to the bone and into the muscle, permanent damage was unlikely but not totally ruled out. It was worth it. They were all safe and speeding ... somewhere. She didn't care where, as long as everyone was still alive.
The doctor was applying the last of the bandages as Ashley thought about what to say when she and Shepard were finally alone.
"I will monitor your movement over the next few days and hopefully you will be back to normal shortly." The doctor washed her hands before reaching into the locked cabinet for a bottle. "This is for the pain and if you need anything, please notify me. I am on call constantly." Dr. Ryan nodded her head. "It's nice to meet you, Ashley" and then she made her exit.
Ashley sat up, dangling her legs over the side, noticing her friend leaning against the wall.
The asari was by her side and was the first to speak, her face scratched up from the tackle. "My name is Liara T'Soni. It is nice to officially meet you."
Ashley smiled, she had been wary of the doctor's reception, especially after the meeting on Omega. She still didn't speak.
"I would like to thank you for saving me earlier. But first, I think you two need to speak so I shall take my leave." Liara smiled her way and then grabbed Shepard's hand quickly before turning to leave.
"Nice to meet you too, I'm Ashley." She found it easier to look at Liara rather than meet her former friend's eyes. The doctor returned her smile and exited.
At last, they were alone for the first time since that night. As Ashley finally went to speak, Shepard beat her to it.
"I'm sorry."
Ashley began to laugh and the tension in her broke. "I didn't fly all the way out here for you to apologize to me."
Shepard nose wrinkled, flashing that disbelieving look that Ashley grew to recognize.
"You two ... you're together?" She had no idea why she said it, the words just came out.
"Yes." Shepard shifted her weight to her other leg. Her voice was still tentative.
"I'm happy for you." Ashley stood up, the ache in her legs dulled from an injection. "I'm sorry - for everything."
"I can't blame you for being mad." Shepard finally smiled.
Ashley laughed. Her friend had relaxed a bit over the years. It wasn't just maturity, Ashley surmised, she thought Liara had a lot to do with it. "You've changed. You're not as angry as you used to be." She saw Shepard's smile widen.
Both remained silent, neither sure of what to say.
Finally Ashley said what she came to say. "Friends?" She held out her hand, hoping the gesture was returned.
Instead Shepard approached and then stopped just as her arms began to open. She looked scared and started to put her arms back at her sides.
Ashley understood her hesitation. But Ash had grown up and relaxed too, mostly thanks to some serious time spent with her sisters. She wrapped her arms around the smaller human and hugged her tightly.
Shepard gulped and choked back a tear. "Friends."