For the first time in what felt like a very long time Shepard relaxed. Upon her arrival at Tevos' rooms she found a late dinner prepared by Asari chefs, served in courses peppered with patient cultural lessons from the Councilor herself. When Shepard surprised Tevos with a few words in her own language, remnants of what she retained from her earlier inundation, the Asari was all smiles.
Shepard could see quiet delight sparkle in her eyes while speaking about her people and it was a rare pleasure to see her relaxed and entirely social. Gone were the barriers between two players of the game, replaced by a warm respect and mutual eagerness for understanding. While they had always worked together when possible and butted heads only when it couldn't be avoided, this was the first time Shepard actually saw the woman as a friend; so when a seemingly inevitable emergency arose in the form of a disturbance from Tevos' assistant they shared a look of veiled disappointment. Quickly on the aide's heels came Zhuang, full of apologies.
"Shepard, I did not wish to disturb you but you have a visitor. A very insistent visitor. He says it is imperative that you meet with him right now."
"Who is it?" She asked, rising from her seat and putting aside her napkin.
"It is a Turian on your list of those from whom you should hear immediately. Garrus Vakarian?"
She and Tevos shared another look, then Tevos nodded to her associate, "Bring him inside."
Despite the august company the two embraced, patting one another's back roughly, "Damn, it's good to see you Garrus. I've been meaning to reach out."
"Don't be ridiculous," came the reply, "I've seen you plastered all over the vids. Catch the bad guys, then we'll go paint the town red."
Shepard nodded and pulled back to look at one of her truest friends, "What's up? If you came planetside it must be important." Garrus glanced at Tevos meaningfully but Shepard shook her head, "It's fine. What have you got?"
Garrus just looked at her with earnest eyes. He had a few more scars, she saw, but many of them did, "You may ah…..you may want to sit down for this."
Shepard's eyes narrowed, "Just give it to me."
Garrus looked like he'd rather be anywhere else but here and that was alarming. She found herself hardening against the news, adrenaline flowing and her thoughts quickening instinctively. "It's Liara," he said miserably, "There's been an accident."
Just like that her legs were cut from beneath her. The adrenaline continued to hammer her brain, but it twisted into fear instead of courage, her thoughts spinning out of control as she broke into a sweat. The look on her face must have been obvious because Garrus took hold of her upper arms to steady her.
"Tali contacted me about an hour ago and I took the first shuttle," he said tenderly, "She was…"
"Was?" Shepard exclaimed before Garrus could continue.
"She's alive, Shepard, she's alive!" he assured her quickly, "She was returning to the Rachni ship when there was a problem with her suit. She made it back to the Normandy but..she..."
It was Shepard's turn to grab the Turian's arms and her grip was not a comfortable one, "But what?"
"She's hurt bad. Decompression."
Shepard let go of him abruptly, eyes wide, and this time Tevos braced her with a hand upon her shoulder. The Councilor's eyes slid to her assistant and with a nod she began motioning all of the attendants in the room toward the door. They followed respectfully and when the door closed Garrus helped Tevos guide a numb Shepard back to her seat.
"Listen to me," he said soothingly, "She's going to be fine. Karin is on the job and they got her into the medbay real quick. It will take some time but she's going to heal."
"Then what aren't you telling me?" Shepard asked, staring into his avian gaze, "Is it the baby?"
Garrus' mandibles worked and he grabbed her hands, working up the courage to say the words, "She's gone, Shepard. It was too much for her."
Shepard's head turned...she couldn't look at them. Her mind started searching for reasons, unwilling to surrender to the looming loss behind her eyes, "What happened? Why was she even in EVA?"
"They're on tight fuel restrictions. They have three ships they need to get to Arcturus and had to split the fuel between them," Garrus explained, "If anyone wanted to change ships they had to use suits and thrusters. Liara had just spent the day with Tali, she said."
Shepard nodded, recalling Liara's last message, "Yeah, okay, that's right. She told me."
Tevos murmured softly to Shepard and she dimly recognized some of the smooth Asari tongue. She spoke of the Goddess and purpose and knowledge and all that sort of drivel. Purpose? What purpose was there for this? Shepard thought, her jaw tightening visibly. "I...need to talk to Chakwas," Shepard managed to get out.
"Councilor," Garrus said formally, "I'll take her back to her quarters if that's alright with you."
Tevos simply nodded, grief in her eyes, and allowed Garrus to help his friend to her feet, "Be at peace, Shepard. Liara lives and the future still beckons."
Shepard pulled her hand from the armor on Garrus' shoulder and straightened her clothes in an attempt to gather herself before walking from the room under her own power. Garrus followed behind trying his best not to look like a mother hen.
Zhuang stood by Shepard's door down the hall with a cowed expression when they approached. Shepard simply nodded to him as she passed and said, "Please cancel my appointments tomorrow."
"Of course," he said softly, "Please contact me if you need anything at all."
Once inside, Garrus closed the door behind him and watched her where she stood listlessly in the middle of the room. He studied her quietly, respecting her space, and simply folded his hands, waiting for her to absorb the news at her own pace. A detached part of her was thankful for him delivering the message personally while another selfishly wished to be alone. It was as if she were dreaming, perhaps since the blast of the crucible washed over her, except this wouldn't be a dream, would it? More like her own personal hell, an everlasting torment to be teased with everything within reach only to have it rot from within.
All of their conversations came back to her then, like whispers on the wind. All their hopes..their plans to raise a family ripped apart like paste jewelry, colored glass scattering on the floor. Still, Liara lived, and Shepard would waste no more time feeling sorry for herself; not until they could share the grief between them. Finally she returned to herself and sent an Omni message to Tali, Ashley and Chakwas requesting an update. Only then did she drop into a chair in the corner and wave Garrus over to join her.
"How have you been?" She asked, her face ashen.
"We don't have to talk about me. That's not what this is about," he said tenderly.
Shepard's chest lifted in a silent chuckle, "Actually I'd like to talk about anything else we can until I get the details. You mind?"
"Not at all. You know me, I can talk to a wall and have a good time," he replied with his version of a grin.
Shepard smiled, albeit wanly.
"They're wanting me make me the Primarch of the Euler system once things settle down. Can you believe it? Me? A Primarch?"
"Can't imagine anyone better for a colony this close to Earth. You've watched so many movies you may know more about our culture than some of us," she replied automatically.
He knew she meant it sincerely nonetheless and continued on in the same fashion, "Hard to really classify Euler as a colony system though; what with the Humans, and the Quarians, and the Geth that will be living there and all. I figure it's just a test run to see if I start an accidental war in someone else's back yard."
"Yeah," Shepard mused, "Speaking of war, I actually I had a question for you but just never had the time to ask."
"Name it," he said with grave earnest.
"We're almost done with our investigation but the Turian representative to the team has hardly said a word. He delivers on every ask but that's about it. I thought you guys would be all over this. Can you shine any light?"
"Yeah," Garrus said pensively, "I can, actually. It was a favor for Jacob. He wanted us to keep an open mind, so I put in a good word. Don't worry, our guy was relaying everything back to command as you can imagine. We just wanted to see where you went with it. We have no complaints or you would have heard them."
Shepard's face softened infinitesimally, "Thanks for the vote of confidence. I don't think you know how much that means to me right now."
Garrus smiled, "Well just point me to anyone bad mouthing you and I'll sock 'em in the kisser."
Shepard's smile grew by a fraction of an inch and Garrus reached over to put his hand on hers. She looked at her fingers and his talons intertwined on the arm of the chair and then up to his face.
"I sure have missed having you around," she admitted.
"Likewise. Listen, I've taken some time off so no matter what happens, I'll be here. Okay?"
Shepard nodded and squeezed his hand, her eyes beginning to brim before drops fell to her lap; she may have managed not to make a sound, yet, but there was nothing she could do about those.
Decompression ranked pretty high on her list of nightmares. That tended to happen when something killed you. Your soul remembers. Your cells remember. She couldn't help but picture Liara there instead of her, grasping for an air leak she had no hope of containing, feeling the breath stolen from her lungs, and that first touch of the void on her flesh, a cold so absolute it burned like the lick of flame. She saw Liara's face in agony and was consumed by grief. Grief and shame that she had allowed this to happen, that she had allowed Liara to risk performing an EVA; but who was she to command her? Wasn't she putting her at an even greater risk now? What a hypocrite she was!
Shepard put a trembling hand over her mouth and Garrus held onto the other tightly.
"My daughter…" she whispered, her voice cracking. She never even knew her but had loved her just the same. She had her pictured in her head from the first moment she knew of her existence; her Mother's nose and lips, Shepard's green eyes. Their child had sprung from the bleakest moment in their shared history and represented everything new and bright that would grow from it. She was hope even above the hope to which they had tenaciously clung, a vision of what could be..and now she was gone. "I wanted to name her Benezia," she said roughly, her heart tearing in two. "I wanted her to..." She paused. She needed to get a hold on herself. She was losing it and didn't even have all the facts yet.
Shepard stood abruptly and pulled her hand free, then moved to a cabinet and opened it, withdrawing an old looking bottle and then two glasses before settling back in her chair. She gazed at the label fondly for a moment only before cracking the seal and pouring two generous fingers into each highball. She sniffed and rubbed the tears from her face before holding up her glass to the Turian who then mimicked her.
"To my daughter and to her beautiful mother. Godspeed to them both, though their paths have parted," she said somberly before filling her mouth with the liquor. She hadn't had a drop to drink since before the Crucible and savored the burn of it down her throat.
Garrus followed suit, then asked, "What is this stuff?"
Shepard sat down her glass when her Omni chimed, "It's the most expensive whiskey in the galaxy Vakarian, so drink it slow." She stood again before she even started reading Ashley's message. There was no way she could sit still for this.
Shepard,
Dr. Chakwas is with her and I told Tali I'd keep you updated while she stays at her side. She's in serious condition but Karin says she'll pull through. She's still unconscious so we don't have the full story, but EDI reported that once Liara realized there was a problem she came straight for the Normandy, using a barrier to hold in enough of an atmosphere to keep herself alive. I don't know how that is even possible, but the Doctor says that the pressure inside wasn't high enough, so when she took off her helmet she started suffering from the bends. EDI says Liara managed to slow herself down and come into the airlock as soon as it opened but lost consciousness before the pressurization could complete.
Now, while we can usually survive that kind of thing, especially with immediate care, the baby wasn't as fortunate. Karin says that the bubbles that formed from the decompression bypassed her lungs and travelled directly into her brain. Karin told me to tell you that even if she had survived, the treatment itself may still have killed her. There was really nothing they could do. All I can say for all of us here is how sorry we are for your loss.
I know you must be asking yourself all kinds of questions about what could have been done to prevent this from happening, and I'd like to start by saying that we met all the safety regulations for the EVA's that were cleared; that wasn't the problem. This is going to be hard for you to hear but you need to know. This wasn't an accident, Shepard. Shortly after we were made aware of Liara's situation we received a distress call from the Hephaestus…
Garrus interrupted her pacing as he watched her expression evolve from sorrow to disbelief and finally anger, "Shepard, what is it?"
Shepard held up a hand while she finished reading about Ryan and Vedra and their shared contact that was believed to be in Terra Firma. She read about the coded messages that Ashley was now making sense of, and that Ryan had received one final message he never had the chance to read. Ashley believed it told him to cancel his plans to kill Liara. It said that the accident was no longer necessary because 'mama bear' was looking the other way, and Shepard knew immediately what that meant. Once they realized that the blame for the data theft was shifting away from their organization they decided it would be imprudent to provoke her, and that, she thought as her teeth ground, qualified as the understatement of the year.
The knowledge about her progress in the investigation also proved Barnes was in contact with whoever sent these messages. She typed out a response to Ashley advising her of the secrecy surrounding these events and that she would explain everything to her as soon as she could. She then sat down heavily, retrieved her glass and took another healthy swallow before calling Zhuang, who answered with an appropriately somber tone.
"Have you cancelled all my meetings yet?"
"Not yet," he replied, "I was attempting to find rescheduling options. Why?"
"Good. Don't cancel my team meeting. It needs to happen right on time."
Zhuang's voice was confused but to his credit he didn't argue, "As you wish."
Garrus sipped the whiskey calmly after she disconnected, "You wanna tell me what's going on?"
Shepard just stared at him thoughtfully and tried to stay calm, "More than anything, but I can't."
"Lemme guess," he offered, seeing right through her, "You need to break a lot of rules, cause some serious damage and put everyone's life around you at risk. I'm in."
"I see we've met," came her wry reply, "You sure you don't wanna just head back to the fleet while your accommodations are a step above an 8X8 cell?"
Garrus snorted, "Cells don't scare me, Shepard. Whatever scares you scares me." He sat up in his chair and finished his drink, then looked at her with his steady blue eyes, "You need me? I'm here. You don't ever have to ask."
Shepard's heart swelled at his loyalty; he was her rock in a stormy sea. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "I'd warn you that Tali might be targeted if we did this but I'm afraid she already has been." She looked at him curiously, "What exactly did she tell you?"
"Just that one of her friend's friends flipped out and Ashley sent him to the next world. She knows something is going on but I don't think she has the whole picture."
"Yeah," she said quietly before her eyes widened with the realization that the Shadow Broker was out of action and her subordinates had no idea, "Shit. I need to talk to Miranda." She stood up and went to the bathroom to wash her face. "Come on, I'll explain as we go."
When Liara woke everything hurt, her lungs most of all. She took a few careful breaths through the mask resting lightly on her face and looked around the room.
Dr. Chakwas smiled and put a hand over hers tenderly, "There you are, my dear. Take it slowly. We're here."
Tali's gentle voice came from her other side and she turned to regard its source, "Hey, you. I know you want to be famous but somehow I don't think flying around space without a suit is the way to prove something."
She smiled at Tali's joking tone before she quite recalled what the Quarian was talking about. She remembered the pop of the helmet's seal and that first desperate breath of air so cold it burned. She remembered wondering if it was air at all when her body started to shudder and shake, and she remembered gritting her teeth together long enough to generate a field to slow her descent toward the airlock. The rest was shadow and pain.
She had survived. The plan had been ridiculous, the odds….Her body started shaking again but she realized it was from her laughter. It hurt, but she didn't care; her relief and amazement simply boiling over until she realized Tali had joined her in that mirth, gripping her other hand as she laughed, but looking at Karin oddly.
"It's a symptom of decompression. It will pass," said the Doctor, "Vertigo, nausea, euphoria, it's a bit like a night on the town except for the painful bits. Her body is simply reabsorbing the nitrogen." Then Karin looked back down into Liara's eyes, "You know where you are, darling?"
Liara nodded and swallowed so she could form a single word, "Shepard?"
Karin smiled sweetly, "Shepard is fine and so are you. She told me to tell you to get some rest, alright? She'll see you soon."
Liara nodded, relaxing, and Dr. Chakwas made an adjustment to some equipment beside her. She began to feel warm and sleepy and let herself slip into that comfort, away from the burning of her skin and joints.
When her breathing had evened out Karin looked pointedly at Tali, "We'll tell her everything when she's herself. There's no point in confusing the poor girl right now. Would you like something to eat?"
"Yes please," Tali answered politely, "I'm not leaving until she tells me she's okay."
Williams nodded to the Marine guarding the brig and he opened the door for her to step inside. Her eyes were immediately drawn to Vedra, who sat in her cell with a mixture of vulnerability and stubbornness on her face.
Ashley sent the guards out so they could talk privately and waited until the door was closed before pressing down the intercom to speak, "Vedra. What the…."
Vedra was off her chair and banging into the plexiglass before she could get the words out, "You killed him! How could you do that!"
Ashley's eyes narrowed in confusion, "Are you serious? He almost killed one of my people and was threatening a second. What did you want me to do, bring him some fucking tea?"
"He had no choice! They were going to kill his wife! Tali disabled him but you killed him anyway!"
"Oh really?" Ashley returned with vigor, "And we all knew about the poor guy's circumstances because you've been so forthcoming about the god-damned plot to kill my Asari. Right?" That shut her up, and Ashley wasn't done, "We've seen the messages, Ved. We know everything." Now she just wanted to watch, and she wasn't disappointed. Guilt and fear wrote their names on Vedra's face while Ashley waited patiently.
"I tried to talk them out of it," she eventually protested, "I tried to tell him to ignore them, but he wouldn't."
"Ignore who?" Ashley asked. Then, when she said nothing, "I need a name, Ved."
She shook her head immediately, "I can't...I can't.."
"What do they have on you? Talk to me. I can help!"
"How can you possibly help me?" she cried, eyes hard with disbelief, "They're all over the place!" Whatever hold Terra Firma had on her must have been important; she needed to be handled carefully if Ashley wanted her cooperation.
"Tali was right," Ashley lied, "You don't know what a Spectre is, do you?"
"Of course I do," She replied sulkily, looking in fact like she had no idea.
Ashley began to explain slowly, "Listen, Spectres are empowered by the Galactic Council to investigate and handle threats against the Galaxy that are too important to wait for normal bureaucratic processes. Shepard was the Vanguard against the Reapers when no one else listened because she was empowered to do whatever it took to guard us against them. Does that make sense?"
"So?" Vedra retorted defensively.
"So, when I say 'empowered' that means I can do a lot of things, some that might not normally even be considered legal, just as long as I believe it's critical to the task. What Ryan did and what this phoenix guy told you to do is interfering with a mission deemed critical to the survival of the galaxy. I can't have this continue, Ved, and I'll tell you something else. I already know who's at fault, I just don't have proof. You can give that to me. You and only you can free my hands against this person and everyone they call friends to make sure this never happens to anyone ever again." She paused, waiting while it sunk in, "I know you tried to stop it. We have that in writing. You were coerced, right?" There it was, a look of doubt in her brown eyes. "Tali told me that you argued with Ryan for her sake. You never wanted any part of this, did you?"
When she still refused to answer, Williams sweetened the pot, "Cooperate with me and I'll reinstate you, alright? I need your skills in Arcturus, Ved. We all do. You are a skilled engineer and a worthy officer. Help me and I'll help you. Don't you wanna save the world?"
When Vedra put her face in her hands she knew she had her. She nodded, tears beginning to spill down her face, "His name is Charles. Charles Saracino."
"Thank you!" Ashley exclaimed and pulled up a stool. "Let's start at the beginning, okay? When did you first meet him?"
"Okay," she said, sniffing as she went back through her memories, "I met him at a benefit for orphans when I was really young. I don't remember much except that we were supposed to make him some fancy cards to thank him for getting us placed. That's when I moved in down the street from you, with my foster parents..."
"I have completed my analysis, Commodore. After studying the messages sent to and received from the user Phoenix13 I have gained a better understanding of synonym, allegory and metaphor. Using improved algorithms I analyzed the remainder of the stored messages for similar threats and found none. There were a few about which I would prefer some clarification and I've sent them for your review."
"Thanks, EDI. I'll take a look," Ashley said, putting the final touches on her own message. Shepard had instructed her to keep the matter quiet, not sit on her hands, and Vedra's words had put the final pieces into place. Saracino had taken the girl under his wing along with who knows how many vulnerable children who were in a position to need things. He then used those favors to leverage more from them until he had them either so indebted they couldn't pay or they were in trouble with law and depended on Saracino's silence for their freedom. This appeared to be common practice throughout the party, a tactic brought into play by Saracino himself once their apocalyptic warnings began to fall on deaf ears. Woven through it all was a healthy dose of 'mentoring', rife with TF's isolationist policies. Building a network like the one Terra Firma was flexing was no small feat, but Ashley suspected that the loss of their leadership would free a host of people from entanglements they never wanted in the first place.
Not for the first time Ashley wished she were back home so she could serve the political leader a cold slice of vengeance, but she took comfort in the fact that Shepard would deliver it for her. She almost felt sorry for the bastard as she hit send.
Vedra had cooperated fully, would be prepared to testify if needed, and had been sworn to secrecy. The official story was that Ryan suffered a mental break and was a tragic loss on a heretofore flawless mission. Between Vedra's testimony and EDI's somewhat guilty burst of industriousness Ashley was certain there were no other conspirators on board, so they were clear to move forward. They needed Vedra's skills in Arcturus, not in the brig, that part wasn't a fabrication; and Ashley made up her mind to give the engineer another chance. She was sure Tali wouldn't be too upset to give up that vaunted seat on the Hephaestus, especially since she hadn't managed put her ass in it, yet.
Now if only Shepard would reply and assuage her curiosity about why she had been interested in Terra Firma in the first place. She felt some serious trepidation, disturbing the woman's grief, but Shepard knew better than anyone that if Saracino wasn't stopped this wouldn't be the last of it. Not much else she could do from out here but care for her people and get them ready for the next jump. First, though, she'd check on Liara.
