OK, so this one is also very long, though not quite as long, but I promise it's not becoming a standard. Just bear with me.

Chapter 54: Breaking the Shadows

All lights cast shadows
But shadows are not darkness
A memory of light
A mirror of its touch
If one only learns to see it

It was late in the evening on Palaven when Solana Vakarian received a video-chat request from her brother. That hadn't happened in so long that she knew before she even answered he was wanting to talk to all of them, so she called her parents over as she answered. "Well, it's about time you—what happened?"

Garrus winced from his seat on deck 1 of the Normandy. He had actually forgotten she didn't know about the scars yet. "It's, uh…kind of a long story."

"Could you maybe give your sister the highlights?"

"Let's just say I may have ticked off someone with a rocket launcher."

She groaned, shaking her head. "Honestly, I can't leave you alone for five minutes, let alone two years."

He smirked. "I missed you, too, Sol."

It was about then that Castis came to sit down with Solana and join the call. "Ah. I take it that happened during that 'target practice' you called about."

"…yeah."

"So why exactly haven't you come home yet?"

"Another long story. Had some business to take care of that, suffice to say, had to do with the Reapers."

Solana perked up when she heard that. "They're not already coming, are they?"

"Not yet. Why, is the hierarchy still not listening?"

Castis sighed. "They've taken a few precautions to bolster defenses and build up supplies, but they're drawing the line at evacuation contingencies. Not enough proof."

Garrus was starting to wish he had been recording the entire Collector base assault to send in as evidence, but it wouldn't have made a difference.

Before Castis could say any more, he turned to bring his wife over.

Garrus didn't bother repressing the concern with which he looked at her. "Mom. Are you OK?"

She sighed, waving him off. "I'm fine, Garrus. Some days are worse than others. You didn't call just to check in on me, did you? I want to hear how you're doing."

He couldn't help a smile as he saw his opportunity. "Well, actually…I'm with someone who wanted to talk to you." So he nodded her over.

One might thought the Vakarians' end of the line had frozen. The last thing they had expected to see was their semi-adopted human refugee sitting down beside Garrus. It was unmistakably her, the same sapphire eyes, the same artistic gaze and turian composure, the same soft brown hair draped over her left shoulder and right eye. Solana had known about this from receiving that message, but it was only now she saw the proof that she truly allowed herself to believe it. She only wished it wasn't a video call and that they were really reunited so she could hug her again.

The matron of the Vakarian family didn't react quite so well. "Castis, it's happening again—!"

"No," Castis quickly calmed her down, "I see her, too. She's…how?!"

Terra hesitated to explain. "I don't suppose 'long story' would cut it a third time?"

Solana just barely suppressed her laughter. "I guess we should've known dying would only slow you down."

Terra smiled. "I'm an honorary turian, aren't I?"

The conversation was limited to the simplest of reunions for now. They'd save the rest for when they were able to talk in person again, which Terra and Garrus both promised would be soon now that they were free to go back to Palaven. Well…once the ship was repaired from the recent crash and all, for which Joker was already taking them back to the Citadel.

However, there was one piece of news Terra couldn't wait that long to give them. She smiled as she took Garrus' hand. "You should know…we're mates now."

Solana, having already heard this, smiled to see it was true and accepted. Castis was stunned at first but seemed to realize it was a long time coming.

It was Garrus' mother who drew the most joy from the pronouncement. "You are. That's…I always knew you two were made for each other. I should've known…"

Terra grinned brighter. "We all should've."

"I'm very happy for you."

Terra agreed, leaning into Garrus as he placed his other hand on her arm.

It was only a matter of seconds after this, though, before she started weakening and nearly fainted, which isn't easy for turians to do.

Garrus, naturally, turned all his concerned attention to this, Terra reflecting it. "Mom?"

"I'm fine," she shook it off.

Castis was quick to step in, letting her lean on him. "It's getting late, we'll talk to you later." With that, he helped his wife to her feet and into the next room to lie down.

Once they were gone, Terra turned to Solana. "Sol, be honest with us. Is she OK?"

Solana sighed sadly. "Like she said, some days are better than others. You caught her at a good time, just dizziness and occasionally her mind playing tricks on her. Sometimes, there's mood swings and memory lapses or…even trouble breathing." She shook her head. "The treatments are buying her time, but we're running out of both."

"And you're calling us the second anything changes, right?"

Solana smirked. "Kind of the plan, yeah. Just like you two will be calling the second this goes anywhere."

Terra smirked back, glancing at Garrus. "There's not much further it can go."

"Ugh. What was that human term? 'TMI'?"

Garrus gave his sister a look. "We'll talk to you later, Sol."

"I'm sure." With a knowing glance and a brief wave, she disconnected.

Once the line was clear, Garrus turned to Terra. "Now what?"

She looked down at their intertwined hands. "We've got the night to ourselves."

He smiled. "I get the feeling that'll be happening a lot more now."

He was right, but she did still take the time to check in on everything over the COMMs. The crew were all back at their stations, fixing everything they could before they actually docked on the Citadel. Mordin, in particular, she took the time to talk to but for a different reason than everyone else.

"Not to worry, Shepard," he told her, "With mission over, can avert more focus to assisting Corpalis research. Results slow but promising."

Not tremendously good news, but good news all the same. She'd take what she could get.

"You have a lot of faith in that salarian," Garrus smirked after she hung up.

"You have to admit," Terra responded, "he did a lot for us the past few weeks."

"Yeah, he really did."

"Plus, we've actually had some really good conversations. He agreed with me that artistic expression is a core pillar of any society, got just as upset about the Collectors losing their culture as he did about the Reapers overwriting their biology." She smirked. "Apparently, he used to perform cross-cultural opera."

Garrus almost started laughing. "You're kidding, right?"

"Hardly. I wish I'd been recording."

He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. "We'll have to see if there are still a few ways we can lend him a hand."

She shrugged as she leaned back into his arms. "We can't exactly gather any more Collector tissue samples."

He simply slid his talons across her waist. "We're going after Cerberus now, aren't we? They might have something we could…reuse."

She gave it some thought as his every touch made her breath catch. "Maybe…if…" She finally shoved him. "You're doing it again!"

He smiled, leaning in so close that his mandibles fluttered against her neck as he whispered in her ear "Can you blame me?"

She smiled back, closing her eyes to take in the sound of the voice she loved so well. "No."

It had been such a long day that they wound up asleep in each other's arms not long after, not waking until EDI came over the PA to inform them they were approaching the Citadel. Even then, they stayed tangled up in each other until they were physically forced to separate so they could prepare to leave the deck.

While the crew set to work on finishing all the repairs, Terra said the entire squad could disembark to celebrate their recent victory. She sort of regretted that suggestion as she was struck with visions of Kasumi robbing half the lower Wards, Grunt started a half dozen bar brawls, and everyone getting away with everything because they were friends with a Spectre, but she shook it off. They weren't children and she wasn't in any position to micromanage them, so she focused on having some time off of her own. She wound up taking three hours to herself—one to speak with Anderson again and give him the good news that the Collectors were dealt with and she had indeed found a swift end to her relationship with Cerberus, one to sit on the Presidium and draw to her heart's content, and one for Garrus to meet her there and kiss her breathless. For the first time since her resurrection, she was content.

She was almost sad to head back to the ship until EDI informed her the repairs were as close to finished as they could get from the docks (either 22nd-century technology was better than she realized or she had the best crew in the galaxy, and she was banking on the latter) and that the AI had some news for her.

"What is it, EDI?" she asked once she was back in the CIC.

"Before I cut off all their access to our systems," EDI answered, "I was able to gather some data from Cerberus' computers. I believe you may find some of it interesting and perhaps even locate a place to begin disabling their operations."

Terra was really starting to get attached to this AI. "EDI, I can never thank you enough." She started going through the data almost immediately, but it was a lot of information to sort through. She finally resorted to sitting down at the galaxy map, leaning back against the railing as she sifted through the intel.

Garrus smirked when he found her there. "This where you go to unwind now?"

Terra smirked back, glancing between the rails at the map. "Maybe I should. Might even try drawing the map for myself. But sadly, no, I happen to be working again." She showed him the data, telling him what EDI had said.

Curious, he looked it over for himself. "Wait a minute. Look at this." He pointed out one data file in particular.

"Look at what? It's encrypted."

He sighed, decrypting it for her to show her what it was.

Her eyes widened when she realized… "Is that—?!"

"An intercepted communication between Shadow Broker agents? Yes, I believe it is."

Terra turned to the terminal by the elevator. "EDI, didn't Cerberus' network think Liara was working with the Broker?"

"Yes," EDI answered, "However, further intelligence following your meeting on Ilium suggests she may be actively working against him. In either case, she would likely be interested to know that Cerberus intercepted this message."

Seeing where this was going, Terra made an executive decision. This data was likely too sensitive to send over an extranet message, so it was time to talk to Liara in person again. "Joker! Set a course for Ilium!"

During the longer-than-usual preflight checks, Terra felt herself getting more excited at the prospect of seeing Liara again. Garrus stayed right there with her, though she couldn't tell if he was equally excited or just delighting in hers and standing by to contain her. Suspecting the second, she told him she wasn't Grunt and he didn't have to babysit her, to which he reminded her that she had willfully and aloud described the Collector base's explosion as "a glorious conflagration." The fact that she stood by the statement and specifically by its wording was just one reason he so admired her.

Upon hearing they were approaching Ilium to see Liara, Tali was the first to get ready. Terra and Garrus met her at the airlock when they docked, the three of them heading through the trading floors together. Given the way everything else was going, Terra smiled at the thought that this would be something like a crew reunion.

It started out that way. Liara was definitely happy to see all three of them. "What are you doing back here, Shepard? Don't you have a mission to complete?"

Terra smirked. "We kind of already did. I guess word hasn't quite gotten around yet."

Liara smiled. "So the Collectors are done for. I see I was right not to doubt you."

"As to why we're here…" Terra pulled out the datapad they had loaded their intel onto. "EDI managed to mine a few things from Cerberus' network. We found something about the Shadow Broker."

Liara perked up immediately. "You did? Let me see!" She pounced on the datapad like she once would've pounced on a Prothean artifact, scrolling through it at a pace few could match. "Intercepted communications…some notes as to the location…and…" She froze when she reached the last piece of the data, finding it was an image of a drell. "…it's about Feron. He's still alive!"

"Feron?" Terra asked, "Who's Feron?"

"He's…a friend. He…" Liara hesitated, but she knew better than to withhold information from the commander. So with a regretful sigh, she admitted it: "He helped me recover your body from the Shadow Broker."

Terra could tell without looking that Garrus and Tali were both stunned silent to hear this. She would've followed suit had curiosity not gotten the best of her. "What? What did the Shadow Broker want with my corpse?"

"He was going to sell it to the Collectors. Feron and I stopped him. …Feron sacrificed himself to make sure I escaped with you."

"Wait, but…if you rescued me, how did I end up with Cerberus?"

Liara's reaction to the question made it obvious what the answer was. She could clearly see Terra attempting to deny it, though, so she again forced herself to confess what she'd been hiding. "They contacted me. They said they could bring you back. …so I gave you to them."

Now Terra was the one stunned silent, falling back into the chair by Liara's desk as she attempted to process this, and Garrus was the one who reacted verbally. His reaction wasn't so much curious as incensed. "You did what?!"

Liara flinched back, clearly having expected this. "I couldn't just give up on her! You're telling me you wouldn't have done the same?!"

"I don't know! But that doesn't mean handing her over to Cerberus was OK!"

"The chances were so slim, I didn't think—!"

"Liara!" Terra finally cut back in, holding Garrus back, "I'm not mad at you."

Liara simply looked at her. "You're not?"

"No. You were just trying to look out for me. I can't blame you for being desperate." She glanced briefly between Liara, Garrus, and Tali, fighting the part of her that dared to imagine what she might do had she lost any of them. "I know I would've been."

Liara still shrunk back, but this time was clearly more from guilt than from their reaction. "I didn't know if you'd think even speaking to them was a betrayal or…" Her eyes fell briefly on Terra's necklace before she pushed the thought away entirely. "What's done is done, I suppose."

Garrus nodded. "Yeah."

With the argument over, Liara turned back to the datapad. "I've spent two years trying to avenge Feron, to make the Shadow Broker pay for what he tried to do to you. Now I have the chance to turn it into a rescue." She finally took the datapad in hand and turned to go. "I need to go over this, talk to some of my contacts…"

"Let us help," Terra quickly stood up, "We'll meet up at your place, go from there when you've found something."

Liara nodded. "Yes. Hopefully, we can follow this right to the Broker himself. …thank you, Shepard." Before she could stumble again, she raced out.

Tali watched her go. "…she's changed. I guess now we know why."

Terra shook her head. "I should never have died."

Garrus smirked. "That we all can agree on."

While they were giving Liara time to talk to her contacts, they took the rare opportunity to stroll through the port. Tali, enjoying the chance to see one of the worlds that was so prejudiced as to turn away the Migrant Fleet, started browsing through some of the stalls and admiring the scenery. Terra found a corner overlooking the cityscape and started capturing the horizon in her sketchbook. Garrus found the opposite corner and started admiring her. She didn't seem to notice the way he was watching her, so caught up in her work. He drew the same calming, self-assuring serenity from the sight of her that she did from a piece of music. She was always on his mind, permeating his thoughts, reminding him who he belonged to and with. Seeing her now, as subtly radiant as the sky she was attempting to recreate, he knew beyond all doubt that he loved her.

After Terra finished, she put her sketchbook away and called Garrus and Tali over to head on their way to Liara's apartment. Before they even arrived, Terra started to get that unmistakable feeling in her bones that something was about to go horribly wrong. As usual, she was correct on that count, though the odds were usually in her favor when it came to that particular instinct. Liara wasn't there. The police were.

And so was someone else. "Someone tried to kill your friend, Commander Shepard." An asari stepped down from the upper level and shooed out the cops. "Tela Vasir, Special Tactics and Recon."

Terra looked at her in astonishment. "A Spectre?" She hadn't expected to see any this close to the border of the Terminus Systems. She had barely met any of her fellow Spectre operatives unless she counted Saren. She couldn't deny she was excited at the prospect of working with one, but that feeling was vastly undermined by her worry for Liara. There was no doubt who had set up this hit on her. How had the Shadow Broker found out she was onto him when she'd only had the data for three hours?

Well, beyond the obvious answer of "Because he's the Shadow Broker."

Liara had known Terra was on her way, so she had to have left a message of some sort. The four of them carefully searched the whole apartment for some sign of one. Terra was the one who found a clue when she went to the upper level. On her bedside table, Liara had reverently placed a framed image of the Normandy SR-1 in flight. Terra couldn't help but pick up the frame to look at the picture, causing it to trigger a biometric scan and suddenly change to an image of a Prothean dig site. So Terra searched around a Prothean artifact Liara had placed in a glass case and found a data disc inside, containing a video call between Liara and the contact she had spoken with. The call said exactly where she was going—the Drakon Trade Center. Terra only needed to hear that to lead them all racing back to the skycar. Liara was in danger, and Terra was not losing another friend.

So she was rightly panicked when, within seconds of their arrival, the entire trade center exploded.

Vasir took the skycar up to the highest level while Terra, Garrus, and Tali moved in from the ground floor. All four of them were intent on searching the building for some sign of Liara or her contact. Terra was struggling every moment with the urge not to actually panic, telling herself Liara would have made it no matter how many casualties they passed. She set aside the struggle temporarily when they ran into opposition. The mercs were well-equipped and had a clear advantage in numbers, but they were nothing compared to the Collectors. Terra, Garrus, and Tali tore through them in mere moments. Even still, they showed up a few seconds too late to save Liara's contact, Vasir having already dispatched the merc responsible.

"Guess we're at a dead end," Terra groaned, shaking her head.

"Speaking of which," Vasir asked, "did you find your friend's body?"

"You mean this body?!" All eyes turned to see Liara at the end of the room, arming a gun and aiming at Vasir.

"Liara!" Terra quickly stepped in, relieved and delighted to see her friend unharmed. Then she just barely caught herself from stepping into the line of fire and glanced in confusion between Liara and Vasir. "…something I should know?"

"This is the woman that tried to kill me," Liara answered.

Wow, Terra could not catch a break lately.

Vasir tried to talk them down, but Liara knew better. So Vasir showed her true colors and struck first, Liara just barely managing to shield them from the attack. Terra, upon seeing Vasir trying to run, raced over to jump the asari and wound up tackling her for the entire drop from the third story window, a scuffle Vasir finally managed to kick her out of, throwing her to the ground. Liara quickly jumped down behind them and chased Vasir out. Completely walking past Terra as she lied there in the middle of a pile of broken glass.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Terra shook her head. Garrus and Tali were right behind her, helping her back to her feet just as more of the mercs showed up. Terra was in a hurry now, not letting the mercs slow her down as she followed Liara's trail all the way outside to a skycar. Vasir just barely managed to escape before they caught up to her, so Liara readied another skycar for them to jump into. Terra quickly hopped in the driver's seat, letting Garrus and Tali climb in the back before setting out. Terra couldn't exactly say she'd done a high-speed chase like this before, but she got the hang of it fairly quickly, dodging and weaving around the Ilium traffic to keep up with their target. She had to sacrifice maneuverability for the speed to stay right on Vasir's tail, though, which the asari was clearly taking advantage of.

"Wait, we're not following her into that construction site, are—?" Liara started. Then, of course, they followed her into the construction site. "Oh, goddess…"

"You're the one who let Terra drive," Garrus shook his head.

"What?" Terra asked.

"Nothing!"

"Watch out!" Liara called as their path diverged into a tunnel, "She's got reinforcements!"

Terra just barely ducked under the gunfire to make the turn into the tunnel. "What kind of weapons does this thing have?"

"It's a taxi! It has a fare meter!"

Terra rolled her eyes. "We couldn't snatch one of the police cars?"

Liara tensed as she saw the Broker cars come back and open fire again. "Truck."

"I see it."

"TRUCK!"

"I SEE IT!" Terra waited until the last second to literally do a barrel roll and flip over the truck before hurrying right back into the chase. She took a moment to take pride in her aerial prowess and enjoy the thrill of the moment.

Which Tali quickly took note of as she attempted to shake off the feeling that the planet was turning upside-down. "You're enjoying this?!"

"Watch out!" Liara called as they came back into open space, "She's dropping proximity mines!"

"I noticed!" Terra said as she ducked around one.

"Well, don't slow down! You're losing her! Around that corner!"

"Do you wanna take the wheel?!" Before Liara could retort, Terra dove around another mine and got back on Vasir's trail…right into rush hour traffic.

"Oh, Keelah," Tali winced, "A head-on collision at this speed…"

"We'll be fine!"

"Truck!" Liara shouted.

"AGAIN?!" Terra growled to herself in sheer annoyance as she avoided the crashing vehicle. "Alright, that does it! Everyone hang on!" So she caught back up with Vasir…and rammed into her. Strangely, this was the behavior that the others decided not to audibly object to.

Also strangely, it was the one that proved effective, sending the asari tumbling down onto the roof of a hotel.

Terra landed the skycar close by and led her three companions into the battle against the mercs that came to support Vasir's withdrawal. Against four of the Normady crewmen, the mercs didn't stand a chance and barely slowed them down. In no time at all, they had caught up with the now-injured Spectre.

So Vasir reacted, taking a hostage. "All you had to do was walk away. Not it gets ugly."

The hostage was crying when the gun turned to her. "Please. I have a son."

"A son? I hope he gets to see you again. I hear losing a parent is just horrific for children. Scars them for life."

Terra could attest to that. She wasn't letting it happen. Signaling Liara behind her back, she stepped up to take action. "Is that it?"

Vasir looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"Vasir, I was trained as a turian. They're all about sacrifice for the greater good. I sacrificed hundreds of humans to save the Destiny Ascension—I unleashed the rachni on the galaxy! If you think you can manipulate me just by taking a sad, lonely hostage, you're gravely mistaken."

Vasir tried to stay in control, but she flinched. "You're bluffing."

"Yes, she is!" Liara made her move, biotics flinging a table at Vasir and knocking her off her feet to let the hostage run free.

All that was left was Vasir herself. It was easy to see how she'd become a Spectre, because she fought well even against the four of them and was definitely one of the most powerful biotics Terra had ever seen. Every time they had a clear shot, she charged across the battlefield and sent out bursts of her power to throw them off their feet or disable their shields. Liara was able to warp her barrier and stagger her long enough for the others to get a shot in, but it barely slowed her down. Of course, when the asari did finally manage to get a lucky shot on Terra, she learned why that was a bad idea. Liara and Tali reacted violently, yes, but it was nothing compared to how Garrus lashed out. Turians were territorial, after all, and did have talons. He pounced on her like a feral cat, tearing her armor open without even touching his gun. She just barely managed to throw him off before he tore into her flesh, but doing that led to an equal reaction from Terra. Five shotgun rounds and Vasir collapsed.

While Liara retrieved the data disc, Vasir made use of her last few moments to glare at Terra. "You're dead! The Shadow Broker's been in power for decades! He's stronger than anything you've ever faced."

You clearly didn't see Sovereign, Terra wanted to retort, but she settled for the similarly biting "Is that why you sold out the Council to work for him?"

"You think I betrayed the Council?! Like Saren?! The Broker's given me intel that saved lives and kept the Citadel safe. If he needs a few people to disappear in return, so be it."

"Spectres don't blow up buildings full of innocent people!"

"Sure we do. We get our hands dirty so the Council doesn't have to. Besides, I heard a few things about you and Cerberus."

Terra immediately knelt down to glare at Vasir with all the ferocity of a turian. "I have nothing to do with those monsters. As soon as I'm done with your boss, I'm coming for them."

Vasir scoffed. "Spoken like a true human. You…you'll never…" Before she could finish, her wounds got the better of her.

It didn't matter what she would've said, Terra told herself. It didn't matter what anyone thought of her. It only mattered what she did.

Liara was uncharacteristically quiet when they brought her back to the Normandy with them and let her set their next course with the data she'd recovered. That was partly because of the small argument she'd had with Terra on the way back to the ship that Garrus and Tali had definitely not listened in on so don't ask. Liara had changed while Terra was gone and, while she couldn't blame her, Terra didn't like it. In a way, it reminded her of the scars from Garrus' betrayal and how it had affected him. Liara was colder, casually and callously disregarding those in her path for the sake of her goal in a way that she would have shuddered to even consider two years ago. Terra could only hope that finishing this mission would help her friend like it had her mate.

They arrived at the Shadow Broker's base in a few hours, finding it was a ship in the middle of a constant thunderstorm. Charming. Terra, Liara, and Garrus got into the shuttle and moved in together, landing at one end of the ship and fighting their way up to the other. It was hard to see clearly between their helmets and the storm—it would've been hard to even stand up straight in the winds had they not had mag-boots to lean on—but the helpfully-positioned and easily-blown-up lightning capacitors helped quickly and without difficulty disable any opposition they came across. It was only when they reached the end and found that the door to actually enter the ship was sealed that they had to bunker down, Liara deploying a bypass program to override the lock.

"How long is that going to take?" Terra asked as they prepared for the oncoming assault.

"It's illegal even on Ilium," Liara answered, "It didn't exactly come with a manual."

"But you tested it, right?" Garrus asked.

"Watch out, they're coming from the right!"

"Tell me you tested it!"

"Can't talk now!"

The first wave was straightforward enough. The second was slightly harder but still no trouble for them. The third would have given them some trouble had Liara not been able to disable several of them with a well-placed singularity that she was then able to detonate with a warp, leaving the rest for Terra and Garrus to simply snipe down.

"Their attacks are disorganized," Liara noted, "They'd be more effective if they all attacked at once."

"Please don't give the mercs ideas!" Terra snapped.

They kept their eyes on the door until the fourth wave arrived, finding that the bypass was nearing completion now. So, naturally, it was when the fifth and final wave came around that things got tricky.

"This last wave looks like a big one!" Liara warned.

"You just had to give them tactical advice!" Terra sneered.

"Well, now there will be fewer to deal with inside."

"Yeah!" Garrus scoffed, "Keep dreaming, T'Soni!"

They fought harder, making use of all the tactics they had and slowly withdrawing to the door. When it finally opened, they all three raced through and closed it behind them to cut off the fight. And, immediately after they did so, a squad of mercs emerged at the other end of the entrance hall and opened fire on them.

"There's still more?!" Liara cried as they ducked behind cover, "How many guards does the Shadow Broker have?!"

"Told you," Garrus shook his head before sniping down their opponents to clear the way.

The halls were too tight to attempt flanking the mercs that came at them next, but there was still enough cover for them to keep the fire they took limited to their shields. Liara was still able to immobilize the targets so Terra and Garrus could easily remove them, so it didn't take long for them to get around to the control room.

And it was there that they found Feron. Liara instantly raced to the control panel. "Feron!"

The drell looked up at her from his cell. "Liara?"

"Hold tight, Feron, we're getting you out of there!" She quickly started putting in the release command.

"No, wait—!" Before he could warn her, the signal went through and the chair shocked him.

Liara withdrew, sorrow in her eyes. "Feron…"

Terra stepped up, appalled. "What are they trying to do to you?!"

Feron shook it off as best he could. "This chair is linked to the Broker's info network. You'd have to cut the power to release the locks. Pull me out now and my brain cooks."

"Then we're going after the Broker. Time to end this."

Liara agreed. "Don't worry, Feron, we're coming back for you."

The Broker's office was around the corner and down the hall. Not much opposition remained in their path. It was down to them and the Broker himself. So they entered the arena.

There sat the Broker, a large creature unlike anything they'd seen before, safe in his titular shadows. "Here for the drell? Reckless, even for you, commander."

Terra scoffed. "Blowing up that trade center on Ilium wasn't exactly subtle."

"A necessary risk."

"No, it wasn't!" Liara snapped, "Neither was caging Feron for two years!"

"You had to know we'd come after you for that," Terra agreed, "And for working with the Collectors."

"It was a mutually beneficial partnership. Fortunately, the Normandy's IFF will allow me to salvage the remains of their base."

Terra was about to exclaim "over my dead body," but it struck her as too ironic.

The Broker glanced at Liara. "You travel with fascinating companions, doctor." Then his gaze turned exclusively to Garrus. "Your friend's bounty is unclaimed."

Forget irony. Terra immediately extricated herself between Garrus and the Broker. "You lay so much as one finger on him or my ship and I'll yank all those teeth out one by one!"

"Such attachment. Is it truly because you love him or simply because you're only a scared little orphan without him?"

Garrus stepped up with a growl, ready to swap places with Terra the second it was clear he needed to. "Mess with her and I'll yank out something a bit more vital than those teeth!"

"Your threats are pointless. I know your every secret while you fumble in the dark."

"Oh, really?" Liara cut back in, "You're a yahg, a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their home-world for massacring the Council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which means you probably killed the last Shadow Broker and assumed his title for yourself. He probably took you in because he wanted a slave…or a pet. How am I doing?"

The Shadow Broker took a few seconds to glower at her. Then he stood up to his full towering height and, with a ferocious growl, punched his desk in two and threw one half straight at them.

Terra only had time to react on pure instinct. And, like always, her instinct reached for her mate. So she grabbed hold of Garrus and dove out of the way, only noticing after they had safely escaped the assault that he had been reaching to do the same for her and that Liara had managed to withstand it through the use of a hastily deployed biotic barrier.

Before they were even back on their feet, the Broker drew his weapon and the fight was on.

Terra quickly pulled Garrus behind a pillar while Liara took cover on the other side of the room. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," he answered. Then he ducked as a bullet whizzed around the pillar and past his ear. "For now."

"We need to take this guy down fast."

Liara agreed, sending out a warp attack to weaken the Broker's armor. It staggered him just enough that he had to stop firing for a moment, allowing Terra and Garrus to lay into him with their assault rifles and Liara to make use of her pistol. The Broker finally took a step back and activated a sort of barrier, all the gunfire headed his way afterwards bouncing off. Terra, however, saw a fatal flaw in the protection: he couldn't move while it was up. So she stowed her rifle and leaped in to punch him, making use of cybernetic strength. He did recoil from the hit, but then he raised a shield and used it to throw her back into the nearest pillar. Garrus saw this and saw the gun coming back up trained on her while she was dazed. So he moved in, a few well-placed shots around the shield doing enough damage to draw the Broker's attention. Which, in turn, left his back exposed to another warp from Liara that wore down the rest of his armor. Terra recovered just in time for him to raise the shield again, giving her another chance to punch him and even whack him with the butt of her rifle. Once again, he pushed her aside, this time throwing her into Liara.

From the floor, though, Liara saw something… "If you can get him to put up that shield again," she whispered to Terra while Garrus was covering them, "I have an idea."

Terra nodded discreetly before readying her rifle and diving back in. While Liara snuck around the side out of sight, Terra opened fire with incendiary rounds, Garrus at her side with armor-piercing shots. They both had to duck down when the Broker opened fire again, but that gave Garrus time to ready a concussive round. When next he had an opening, he leaned over to fire the shot and the Broker was again staggered, his shield out from in front of him for all of three seconds, more than enough time for Terra to empty an entire clip on him. Once they had worn him down, he traded his physical shield for the barrier and…

"LIARA, NOW!" Terra called.

Too late, the Broker saw Liara standing off to the side, seizing hold of the skylight overhead with her biotics and shattering it. As the glass crashed down, the barrier was fully exposed to an entire sky's worth of lightning. The Broker inside the barrier was vaporized in seconds.

Once it was over, Liara went over to check on Terra and Garrus, still panting from the effort of her final strike. When she saw they were both OK (and that, even if they weren't, they had her covered from checking on each other), she went over to cut the power long enough for Feron to escape. Almost immediately after it came back online, the Broker's network came alive with COMM signals from agents across the galaxy. Liara stared at the signals in panic, sure that they were closed in, sure that…that…

…sure of what she had to do.

So Liara stepped up to the COMM terminal, accessed the Broker's ID-disguised line, and spoke for all to hear: "This is the Shadow Broker."

Those were the last words Terra expected to hear her friend say. She stared at the asari in shock as she assumed her new title, not even noticing how Garrus was reacting. It was only when she heard Feron hobbling into the room and also coming to the shocked realization that Liara was now the Shadow Broker that Terra brought herself to say something. "Liara, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"If I don't, we lose this entire network," Liara stated, "And with it, I can…I can give you…" All of a sudden, the weight of her decision and everything that had led up to it crashed in on her, tears forming in her eyes that she quickly turned aside to hide. "…I can…"

"I'll…" Feron said hesitantly, "…go start on the repairs."

Terra turned to Garrus, nodding to him to let him know she would take care of Liara from here. Once Garrus had nodded back and turned to help Feron out, she stepped over to hug Liara without a word.

Liara accepted the embrace, leaning on her friend for strength. "I…I spent two years mourning you and Feron…and now I've got you both back…"

"I'm here for you, Liara," Terra assured her, "No matter what."

Liara clung to those words. Terra took a moment to comfort her as she slowly came to terms with how much her life had changed in the past hour, as she settled into her new position. With a final promise to keep in contact, she watched as Terra turned to leave the ship. Liara couldn't help but watch her go, watch as she found Garrus waiting for her outside and they walked off hand-in-hand without even noticing, as if that was their natural position. As if they were simply made to be together. Liara smiled, knowing her efforts to restore her fallen commander had all been worth it. "Thank you, Terra. For everything."