25 November 2580, Point Sigma, Urien Verge Cluster
Aboard the Reaper Yevādi
For a long moment, I heard no sound but the low-pitched hum of the Reaper's mass-effect core. All our party had stopped to watch Shepard, stunned into silence by his words.
The Intelligence is dying.
"What do you see, Shepard?" I asked quietly.
He stood there, still communing with the sleeping Reaper-mind, his face blank but not quite so pale with shock as a moment before. "I've found why the Reapers have been so active, over the last few years."
I nodded. My daughter Aspasia had been the first to bring the news to my attention. At least three years before, the Reapers had returned to the galaxy, staying well away from densely populated worlds and busy trade routes. They moved through cluster after remote cluster, as if searching for something, sighted only by tramp merchants or deep-space Navy patrols.
"They've been looking for the Adversary," said Shepard. "Somehow the Intelligence discovered something critical. The Adversary isn't dependent on the mass-relay network. It has its own way to travel long distances around the galaxy."
"That makes sense," said Kalan, stepping close to join the conversation. "We know the valdarii can move through regions thousands of light-years away from any known mass relay. They've been using the relay network, starting in the Caleston Rift cluster, but we've never been able to figure out how they reach that far in the first place."
"They're using Morris-Thorne bridges," said Shepard obscurely.
Kalan's eyes went wide. "Wormholes?"
I frowned. "I didn't think those were possible."
"No, they're feasible," said Shepard, "although you need technology close to the Intelligence's level to build them. You need a lot of energy, and a form of exotic matter that doesn't occur naturally. The Leviathans used wormholes to travel around the galaxy, back in their heyday, before the first relay network."
"Keelah. That means the valdarii, and the Adversary, could be almost anywhere."
"Well, the valdarii are centered out on the other edge of the galactic disk, but the Adversary could certainly be anywhere. The Intelligence sent the Reapers out to try and find it."
"Why?" I asked.
Shepard glanced at me, puzzled.
"Why did the Intelligence go looking for the Adversary just then? You claim it's known about the Adversary for millions of years. Why wait until now to go looking for it?"
"I can't tell. Yevādi didn't get that information, any more than I did." Shepard turned back to the console, closing his eyes. "I think we can guess that the Adversary has been making more aggressive moves, ever since the valdarii showed up, or maybe for longer than that. Maybe it did something to scare the Intelligence."
"But now the Reapers have abandoned the search?" I guessed.
"Yeah. Just a few days ago, the Intelligence activated a directive in the Reaper-mind. Something like: Stop whatever it is you're doing. Run for the darkest, quietest corner of the galaxy you can find. Shut down and wait for further orders." He took a deep, shaky breath. "I remember that directive. It's very old, written into every Reaper-mind almost since the very beginning. In five billion years, it's only been activated once before."
"Sounds like a sauve-qui-peut," said Kamala. "Every man – or Reaper, in this case – for himself."
"That's exactly what it is. It's something the Intelligence would only issue if it thought its own destruction was imminent." Shepard stepped back from the console, disengaging from the Reaper. "The Adversary must have done something, mounted some overwhelming attack. For all I can tell, the Intelligence could already be dead."
"Or it could still be fighting," said Vara firmly. "Something that old and that powerful, it has to have a lot of tricks and fallback positions."
Slowly, Shepard nodded. "Yes. We need to act as if there's still time. Now I see where."
I cocked my head at him. "Where is that?"
To my surprise, he smiled. "The very place you've already aimed all of us, Liara. The Citadel."
For an instant, I didn't understand what he meant. Then I saw it, understanding striking me like a bolt of lightning. "The Citadel mass relay."
His smile broadened. "It's still there, Liara. Still a path from the heart of the mass-relay network, out into dark space. Right to the home of the Reapers, the central node of the Intelligence. That's where we have to go, if we have any hope of stopping the Adversary in time."
"The Citadel is effectively controlled by the valdarii, so long as Yao is still in charge there," said Vara. "Which I am quite sure is not a coincidence."
"Right," I said, ideas falling into place in my mind. "Yao prevents the Confederation from responding effectively to the valdarii. He also blocks access to the Citadel relay while the valdarii – or the Adversary itself – strike at the Intelligence directly. Then, if the Adversary wins, he can open the relay and let it through, right into the heart of Confederation space."
"Yao was elected President less than four years ago," Miranda pointed out.
Shepard snapped his fingers. "That must have been what scared the Intelligence. What prompted it to send the Reapers out to find the Adversary. Having an enemy agent turn up right on the front doorstep, in control of the Citadel."
"Removing Yao isn't just preparation for the real battle," I murmured, catching Vara's eye and getting a determined nod in return.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Grunt demanded. "If we've found out everything we need here, let's get back to the galaxy and find some asses to kick."
Kamala nodded. "I'm with the krogan. We've got enough people on our side already, maybe even the turians if the Primarch is willing. Let's go confront Yao."
"What if he refuses to step down quietly?" asked Miranda.
Everyone looked at me. For a moment, I felt confusion, but then I realized why.
I helped build the Citadel Confederation. Am I willing to use extra-legal means to attack it?
"I concur," I said, my voice calm. "We meet with the Primarch, as we planned. We call on all our allies. Then we march on the Citadel. We won't offer any violence. We'll only be there to ensure that a vote of no confidence is called, and we'll make it clear that we plan to abide by the results. At this point I don't think there's much doubt as to what those results will be, once we've presented all our evidence to Parliament. If Yao refuses to step down and permit a new government to form, or if he moves to prevent the vote in the first place, then he is the one breaking the law."
"Can we get all that done in time?" Vara wondered.
I glanced at Shepard. He shrugged.
"I don't know. Vara, you were right earlier. The Intelligence isn't something that the Adversary can just take down all at once. Otherwise the Adversary could have done it long since, any time in the past fifty million years or more. My higher self should be able to hold out for a few days, maybe even a few weeks." I could see confidence, as it crept back into his face. "Besides, it may have been a long time since I was a military officer, but one thing I do remember. It doesn't always help to arrive on the scene as fast as you can, if you've had to leave most of your force behind. Let's take the time to do this the right way."
My bondmate nodded in agreement. "Let's go, then."
"Can we bring the Reaper with us?" rumbled Grunt.
Shepard chuckled. "What are you thinking, Grunt?"
"Eh. Just seemed like a good idea to have it in our pocket, Battlemaster. Might make a good argument at some point. Assuming you can wake it up, and still make sure it won't try to eat us again."
"I probably could, at that." Shepard stood silent for a moment, considering the idea, but then he shook his head. "No, it's not a good idea. It's tempting, to show up back in civilized space riding a Reaper. It would certainly get us everyone's undivided attention. But we're going to have enough trouble convincing the rest of the Confederation to trust us. To trust me."
Grunt gave a magnificently cynical snort, but he nodded in agreement.
Shepard looked around at the Reaper's innermost chamber once more, resting a hand on the access console, almost a gesture of benediction.
"If we can save the Intelligence, then Yevādi will come when it's needed. All of them will."
Of all that has changed, this seems the strangest: to see Shepard treat a Reaper with something like fondness.
"Let's go," he said at last.
26 November 2580, Interstellar Space
I spent long hours on the extranet and the QED channels, conferring with all our allies: Matriarch Thekla, Urdnot Bakara, three or four salarian dalatrass who had committed themselves to our cause, and now Primarch Ardzarun. Slowly, something like consensus emerged.
In three days, Normandy would arrive at Palaven for a war summit. Then, escorted by a small fleet of asari, salarian, turian, and krogan ships, we would set out for the Citadel. If all went according to plan, we would arrive on what the human calendar called the last day of November.
Hopefully we would have enough force on hand to demonstrate that we were serious, but not enough to trigger an armed confrontation with the Confederation. Or with the Alliance, for that matter, since any ships within striking distance of the Citadel would also be within striking distance of Earth.
It was very late in ship's evening before I could emerge from the comm center. As I made my way to the galley for a quick late-night snack, I took a moment for prayer.
Goddess, let reason prevail.
I reached the master cabin just after midnight, yawning and wanting nothing more than a hot shower and at least eight hours of sleep. Then something made me stop and look around the room.
The silent and unoccupied room.
Vara, where have you gotten to now?
I activated my daimon with a thought. {ARGOS, where is Vara?}
{I apologize, Doctor T'Soni, but Matron Vara has asked not to be disturbed.}
My lips went tight, remembering what had happened the last time Vara had gone off to do something impulsive by herself. Admittedly that had worked out in the end, but still . . .
{Priority override, ARGOS. Where is she? What is she doing?}
{She is in Mr. Shepard's cabin. They are engaged in conversation of a highly personal nature. I would not advise intervention.}
This evening is becoming stranger by the moment.
I hadn't missed the AI's reticence. ARGOS had plenty of experience interpreting the behavior it observed from organic beings, and it knew Vara very well. If it chose to be evasive when questioned, it probably had a good reason.
I considered just taking that shower and going to bed. Goddess knew I needed that.
I trust Vara. I'm sure she has good reason for whatever she is up to. Perhaps she's just having a late-evening conversation with Shepard and has lost track of time. She'll turn up eventually.
Or not.
I had been doing some observation myself, watching how Shepard and Vara behaved around each other, if only to see that our uncomfortable circumstances didn't cause undue suffering for either of them. I worried about both of my loved ones, but thus far I had seen no serious trouble. I might have expected as much. All three of us were mature adults, fully capable of setting our emotions aside when they weren't likely to be useful. At least that was the theory.
Still. I could see something going on between the two of them. Glances exchanged at odd moments, Vara suddenly becoming reticent in the middle of a conversation, Shepard's expression shifting slightly when she entered the room. It didn't look like a liaison in the making – they both were always perfectly correct – but they were far from indifferent to each other.
I decided it was time to find out what was going on.
Down two decks in the lift, along the short access corridor, a terse nod to one or two asari crew encountered along the way. I confronted a closed door.
I signaled for admission. Waited, in increasing confusion. Signaled again.
Come on, Shepard, you know who's out here. Open the door!
Finally, after a full minute, the door opened.
I had never been in Shepard's cabin, not since he took up lodging there after Mindoir. It was a small place, not quite three meters across and five deep, one step up from the bunkrooms shared by ordinary crew. He had a single bed, a small table and two chairs, a closet for his gear, a tiny personal refresher, and almost no free space.
Shepard and Vara sat together at the table, the lights low so they could sit in half-shadow. He had changed into his civilian clothes, she into an elegant dress in black silk. They leaned close together as if in intimate conversation, their hands piled up in the middle of the table.
It seemed like exactly the kind of situation I might have found myself in, with either of them. Finding them in it, without me, caused my mind to stumble for a moment.
"Hello, Liara." Vara didn't so much as glance in my direction. Her voice sounded cool, rational, and entirely without fear.
Much to my surprise, I didn't even feel angry. Surprised and confused, yes. Angry, no.
"I don't suppose either of you would care to tell me what in the name of the Goddess is going on?"
Shepard chuckled and gave me a fond smile. "That's Liara. She always has to be sure she has the truth of the situation before she decides how to react to it."
"I may override that natural tendency before much longer," I warned them.
Shepard looked at Vara, his eyebrows high, an unmistakable this-was-your-idea gesture.
She turned away from him, cocked her head at me. "Liara, this is what I've been thinking about for the past few days, in the privacy of my own mind. Ever since we left Thessia for the last time, I suppose. At first, I couldn't be sure that it had any chance of working. Then, once I thought it might, I didn't see how to approach Shepard about it. Now I have, because I think we may be running out of time."
I shook my head in exasperation. "Vara T'Rathis, I think you had better treat me like a callow maiden and explain yourself, because for the first time in centuries I have no idea what you are talking about."
"All right."
She took a deep breath, glanced at Shepard once more. He nodded in encouragement.
"I have a proposal for the two of you," she said at last. "I propose we attempt to set up a triad."
Sometimes, a single word can upend everything you thought you knew.
Shepard and Vara both watched me, holding their breath, waiting to see my reaction.
I clapped one hand to my forehead. "Oh Goddess. I have been utterly dense."
They both relaxed at once, with almost comic timing. I might have laughed at them, had I not been in such turmoil.
"I did rather wonder why you didn't seem to see the possibility," said Vara quietly.
"I'm not sure." I stood there, hand still massaging my forehead, staring as if I had never seen either of them before. "I suppose it's just that I've never been in love with more than one person at the same time before. First there was Shepard, but then he died. Then there was Miranda, but that didn't last. Then I finally admitted to myself how I felt about you, and thank the Goddess you were patient with me for so long. You've been my bondmate ever since, for centuries, and until now I haven't even been tempted to look elsewhere. I know some asari experiment with triads and larger groups, but it simply never occurred to me to consider it for myself."
Shepard was blinking in surprise. "Wait, back up a moment. Miranda?"
Vara chuckled. "Yes. It was rather amusing to watch. Also, rather heartbreaking."
He continued to look as if he had just taken a blow in a sensitive area. "You had a relationship with Miranda Lawson?"
"For about five years," I said. "It was certainly a very interesting time . . ."
"The two of them were much too similar in some ways," said Vara. "Two very strong personalities, equally brilliant, equally ruthless about getting what they wanted, neither of them inclined to back down when they disagreed. You should have seen them fight. Epic. So was the make-up sex afterward."
"Vara!"
Shepard threw back his head and laughed. I could only stand there, my face flushing deep purple, and wait for the fit to pass him by.
"Oh. Oh, dear." He finally got control of himself. "I'm sorry, Liara. I just never thought Miranda, of all people, would be interested in an asari. Although I can hardly fault her choice."
"You were almost right," I told him. "I think I was the only non-human lover she ever had."
"Altogether fixated on human males," agreed Vara, that amused tone still in her voice. "With that one prominent exception."
I shook my head in frustration. "Much as I adore discussing my past love life, I really think we should focus on the current situation."
"Quite right." Vara glanced at Shepard, then back at me. "Liara, I'm sorry it took me so long to work up my courage. You can see why I didn't want to talk to you about this. Not until I was sure."
"Yes, I suppose I do." I finally came unfrozen, taking two steps and sitting down on the bed. "You knew I would agree. To have both loves of my life, freely, without hurting either of you in the process? How could I say no?"
"Well, I couldn't be sure you would agree," said Vara. "It bothered me that you didn't even seem to consider the notion on your own. I wondered if that meant you would be opposed."
"No. I'm not opposed to the idea." Then I frowned. "But then, I'm not the one who has to make the hardest commitment here."
Vara only nodded slowly.
"I'm not sure I follow," said Shepard.
"Shepard . . ." Vara stopped for a moment, glancing at him and reaching out to touch his face with one tentative hand. "It's true that some asari engage in long-term triads. The catch is that the relationship must always be based on mutual affection, desire, and respect. The triangle is always equilateral, or sooner or later it fails."
I nodded. "In theory, I could have started a new liaison with you, even while remaining bonded to Vara, the two of you not touching at any point. I think you wondered about that, back in that cabaret in Armali. I don't know if humans could manage such a thing, but it simply doesn't work with asari psychology. It would eventually have shattered my relationship with Vara, no matter how hard she tried to accommodate herself to it. In turn, that would have poisoned my relationship with you. In the end, none of us would have found any joy in it."
He nodded slowly, perhaps remembering what he had learned about one asari mind, long ago.
"There it is," said Vara. "I love Liara. I know you love Liara. The question is whether you and I can love each other, in the long run."
"Hmm," he rumbled. "I seem to recall that humans aren't to your taste."
"Generally, they are not." She gave him a slow smile. "On the other hand, I think I might make an exception in your case. I said as much to Liara, the day I met you."
I smiled, remembering that long-ago day in my office on Illium.
"You've been a good friend to me. I've always held you in the highest respect," Vara continued. "It would not be difficult at all for me to find desire for you, for your own sake."
Shepard chuckled. "That has got to be the most asari declaration of love I've ever heard."
"It's not love yet," she said, rather tartly.
"I think it is. You're just not willing to commit to it yet."
He leaned close to her, pausing just short of her face so he could taste her breath, and then kissed her, very gently but also very methodically. When he drew back, I felt a flash of pleasure at the sight of her face. Some layer of her reserve had fallen away, and she was looking at him with the smoky eyes I knew so well.
You are not as cautious as you want to seem, my love.
"This isn't at all what I expected," he said quietly, leaning back in his chair once again. "Liara has always been the love of my life. When the Intelligence sent me back, I cursed it for tempting me to visit her as a living man once more, when I knew the two of you were involved, and had been for centuries. I didn't see a place for myself in her world. I spent fifteen years trying to forget what she and I once had. Without much success.
"Since I've joined you on Normandy, working with both of you to solve the galaxy's problems once more, I've concluded that this is where I belong. Except for that one thing, but that was enough to rob me of any joy in the rest of it. I've been glad to see the two of you together and happy, but it still made me feel like an exile from everything that had once made my life worthwhile.
"Now you've found a way for me to join you, to be with both of you? The love of my life, and the one she loves and trusts, the one she chose to be her partner when I couldn't be there?"
He smiled warmly.
"Like I say, it isn't what I expected. It isn't what I would have planned. But I don't think it will be at all difficult to love you both. Let's make the attempt."
Then something occurred to me, and I had to hold up a hand to stop the proceedings. "Wait. Shepard, I seem to recall that this kind of relationship is not common among humans. Especially humans with your religious beliefs."
"It's more common than it used to be," he said. "I see your point, of course. The rock-ribbed Lutheran community I grew up in would have been horrified at the idea."
"You have no doubts?" Vara murmured.
"Not really." He shrugged. "Remember, that was more than four hundred years ago. In that time, I've seen hundreds of different worlds, dealt with a dozen other sentient species, fought in world-shattering wars. I've died. Twice, in fact. I've been uploaded into a galactic-scale Intelligence, and then been raised from the dead yet again to serve as an agent of that Intelligence. You might say I've acquired a different perspective. I still believe in God, maybe more now than I did in my first life, but my understanding of God has changed. I'm no longer convinced it has much concern for the fine details of human custom. I don't consider that an obstacle, if this is otherwise something we can make work."
I found myself blinking hard, trying not to get distracted by what he had just said.
For once, Vara showed less discipline. "Wait. Shepard, you've been part of a five-billion-year-old Intelligence that spans the galaxy, and you still believe in the existence of something you're willing to call God?"
Shepard laughed, a clean sound of pure delight. "It's not much like the God that Pastor Christensen talked about on Sunday mornings, but yes."
I stood and stepped over to their table, holding out my hands to invite them to stand with me. Vara rose from her seat, sliding into my arm around her waist, resting her head contentedly on my shoulder. Shepard stood and loomed over us both.
I reached up to caress his face, the first time I had touched him since Thessia. Something deep inside my heart relaxed, the turmoil of the last few weeks finally subsiding.
Vara looked up into my face, and then back at Shepard. "Are we resolved?"
I nodded. "I am."
"So am I," said Shepard gently. "Whatever happens, tomorrow and for as long as we have, we face it together. The three of us."
"Good." Vara reached out to take Shepard's hand once more, the gesture not at all tentative. "I'm so glad."
We stood there for a long moment in silence. I simply enjoyed the comfort of their presence, both of my loves there with me and no conflict remaining between us.
"So," murmured Shepard after a time. "What happens now? Do we formalize this in some way?"
"Eventually," I told him. "I assume you have even less interest in a human ceremony now than when you and I first bonded."
He chuckled. "We would have a hard time finding a minister willing to do it in the first place. No, if you asari have a ceremony for this, that's fine with me."
"There's no time for that," said Vara, suddenly all pragmatism once more. "The next few days are going to be critical. I think we need to begin now."
Shepard blinked. "Are you suggesting . . ."
"I certainly am. You need to join us tonight. Both of us." She gave him a challenging grin. "That's also probably not what you would have planned, but there it is."
I thought quickly, and came to the same conclusion. "Shepard, I think she's right. We need to have this resolved before we jump into the fire again. Not to mention that I haven't entered into your synthesis yet, and that may be important."
He frowned, thinking through the implications. "Damn, you're right. We don't know in every detail how the Adversary's influence works, but anyone who comes close to President Yao is likely to be a target. You need to be protected. Let's stop by the medical bay so Vara can bleed for you."
"I don't think so." I gave him a very direct look, and tried to ignore Vara's chuckle at my side. "I want the technology from you, Shepard. In fact, I insist."
