Summary:
Liara isn't able to handle what she's become
Reference:
This chapter has very specific callbacks to Chapter 16.
Since it's been a while, it might be worth a glance.
Spoiler for when you do - names are important!
(I expect many questions)
The buzz of Astella outside her windows was an abrasive presence. It reminded Liara of her apartment on Illium, where no manner of noise dampening had proven up to the task of keeping out all the sounds of traffic and weather.
She found the noise distracting in a way she didn't remember similar sounds being at her home in Nos Astra. The sounds could even be compared to the background hum of the Normandy, a tone that elicited soothing memories. A learned aversion to noiselessness only made sense. Once she'd taken her work as an archaeologist into the field, she had grown to find silence disquieting. No dig was ever completely still. In the open, there was the sound of wind whispering as it caressed the rocks. The dig itself would have its own voice. Despite the efforts of archaeologists, soil was notoriously difficult to stabilize. Dirt and pebbles would continually settle under the unrelenting force of gravity, seeking final stability at the base of every surface. Caves were the worst, resonating in harmony with the lightest of vibration. The tiniest drip could fill a cavern with echoes, distracting those who lacked the ability to tune out such noise.
Once, Liara would have missed them all. Ambient sounds were the background music of her life, helping her concentrate by pushing a higher level of awareness. On Thessia she'd made a habit of leaving her suite's windows open to hear the wind and surf. On the Normandy, a similar centering effect had been provided by the gentle whispers of Sarah's breathing.
She blinked, pushing thoughts of Sarah out of her mind, where they belonged. The traffic was an annoyance.
Such distractions were not welcome, yet she found her resolve crumbling when she tried to dispel them from her awareness. And that incessant tapping…
She glanced at her left hand, angered to find a stylus drumming an irregular beat against her desk. She snatched it away with the right, leaving the left to continue its motion unabated.
Liara's omni-tool chimed softly, the unobtrusive sound set to notify her when it was time to start her day.
She slapped it to silence, wincing as she jabbed her wrist with the stylus still in her hand.
Frustrated eyes blinked at the numbers as she let the stylus slip to the floor. Liara gave fatigue no quarter as she bought the display into focus by sheer force of will. 'So much for sleep,' she thought. She'd pulled an all-nighter. Another all-nighter. She didn't remember them being so debilitating when she was at university. Of course, she'd been younger then.
'Listen to you,' she abased yourself. 'You're a young maiden. Barely a hundred and eight!' Her inner voice sounded like a mix of Benezia and Shiala as she delivered the bitter rebuke. The last two years had caused her to lose all tolerance for any weakness she perceived in herself.
She refocused her attention on her terminal, trying again to force the sounds of traffic form her awareness. This was easy. Nothing. She'd studied for longer stretches than this more times than she could count. Those efforts had been laughable compared to her graduate studies, or her time spent in the field. There had been many occasions during her work with Matriarch Sulita when the professor had driven the team to collapse in an effort to complete an excavation before a grant's funding ran out.
No matter the difficulty, archaeology hadn't prepared her for her time on the Normandy. She's risen to that challenge as well. Her time with Shepard had forced her to her drive herself harder than at any time before. As Shepard had liked to teasingly remind her, being shot at was an excellent incentive to work harder, to move faster.
Compared to chasing Saren, espionage was should be effortless. Her trials were mostly bureaucratic in nature, as she pretended to be a data analyst while maintaining her obligation to Hackett and spying on the Shadow Broker. She ate enough to not arouse suspicion. She barely slept. When she left her desk, it was to continue working in her quarters.
Sometimes it wasn't enough. Unfortunately, not everything she needed was available on her "employer's" network.
On one occasion direct access had been required.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Easy. Let it finish. Just a few more moments," she murmured, again admonishing herself against impatience. Her eyes remained focused on the portable terminal to the exclusion of her surroundings. The maiden known to those around her as Jinli T'Vemi had developed the habit of talking to herself over the last two years.
Not that anyone in the room minded. Maiden T'Vemi had no small number of admirers among the Ratari corporate staff. They'd already demonstrated that it would take more than a peculiarity of mannerism to discourage them.
T'Vemi's arrival had sparked curiosity and excitement in the local maiden population, particularly those who had already been repeatedly rebuffed by the turians and salarians in the complex. The appearance of a new maiden was a welcome diversion for those maidens who had long since grown disinterested in each other.
And Jinli took "diverting" to an entirely new level. Many Ratari maidens had become experts in the study of Jinli T'Vemi over the last three weeks.
She was young, obviously, but that didn't prevent her from projecting capability beyond her years. T'Vemi carried herself with the regal bearing of a matriarch, the competence of a matron.
And the antipathy of a mercenary.
She rarely spoke without invitation, but when she found something worthy of comment, rooms would fall to silence to hear what she had to say. No one had seen her wearing anything but the most conservative of business attire. So far as her colleagues were aware, T'Vemi's personal wardrobe consisted entirely of full length business dresses and a seemingly endless supply of perfectly coordinating shoes. Occasionally she might be seen in a standard issue science jumpsuit, like she was wearing now, but she had never been observed in casual dress. She was a fountain of knowledge, more reliable in some ways than an extranet search. She would answer questions easily and clearly, explain the data behind her answer, yet make the questioner feel unintelligent for having asked in the first place.
Not many saw such behavior as a deterrent.
Despite a lack of encouragement, the questions came with steady frequency as interested maidens attempted to use T'Vemi's knowledge as an excuse to engage her in conversation. They were inevitably unsuccessful. She would reply to their inquiries, but ignore anything unrelated to the work at hand. She accepted no invitations or propositions. To the great confusion of her contemporaries, she avoided socializing in any form.
Blue lips pursed as T'Vemi watched her program complete another phase of the hack. A quick glance confirmed that she still maintained a somewhat surreptitious audience, but none had been bold enough to get close to her. It was a relief. Just because she ignored her admirers didn't mean she was unaware of the scrutiny. She'd even grown accustomed to it, although the attention did make her somewhat uncomfortable.
It was fascinating to Liara that now, when she most desired to be overlooked, she garnered so much attention. She was the recipient of more scrutiny than she'd ever had before. More even than when she was at university and had some modicum of notoriety due to her skyball exploits. Of course she'd had Carvkae then, and her teammate had taken it as her personal responsibility to ensure that no one interrupted her study time.
Her skills had improved since then.
Now she was able to keep potential companions at bay with a practiced glare. A glare and the series of succinct responses to the propositions she'd received had erected a barrier against interruption.
It was unfortunate that the majority of her colleagues were maidens. An unsurprising choice, as maidens hungry for new experiences were typically willing to work for unreasonably low wages. Such maidens brought with them a measure of social interaction that no manner of guidelines and policies could suppress.
The young scientist had proven a disappointment to them all, despite hopeful attempts.
She sighed. There were times when Liara thought it would just be easier if she were like other maidens, yet at the same time she was thankful she wasn't. Another glance verified that her audience demonstrated no sign of dissipating. Triusia, a young technician who had proven herself particularly optimistic, was practically panting. Liara narrowed her eyes, dashing the other maiden's hopes. 'Maidens,' she thought. It was obvious why they had the reputation they did.
At least neither Triusia nor any of the others demonstrated an inclination in approaching her. Interruption at this juncture would be unfortunate. The reason Liara her meal in the commissary at all was a devious one. She'd chosen to have her lunch against the wall that bordered one of the facility's secondary data storage areas. Her first hacking attempts had ended in failure, only successful in that she hadn't been caught. Now she had what amounted to direct access, and the hacking programs that she'd retrieved from Binary Helix were providing all the access she'd hoped.
She hadn't found anything about Feron, but she was gathering an immense amount of data about the Shadow Broker's operation.
She resolved not to appear smug when she presented the data to Farmop.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Her time on Nevos wasn't completely without danger. The trip to Noveria, while painful for several reasons, had produced the hacking tools Saren had developed to access Prothean data across Citadel Space. They'd cut through the Shadow Broker's network defenses as if they didn't exist. She'd accessed the data so quickly that the only reason she'd remained on Nevos as long as she had was to not be obvious she wasn't who she'd claimed to be.
"Information is never free." The memory of Farmop's voice was as clear to her as if the salarian had been standing at her elbow. Needless worry. Despite her certainty that Farmop was STG, he behaved more like a matron nervously hovering over her first child than a field agent.
The anxious salarian's counsel was irrelevant in this case. She was confident no one had seen through her ruse. Her counterfeit identity was impenetrable. Jinli T'Vemi existed in every way possible with the exception of never having been born. Liara was proud of the work she'd done in that regard. It would be a shame to let it go to waste in this single use. Perhaps she'd maintain the identity against the day she might choose to use it again? The idea was worth consideration. if she chose to accept the risk. She'd decided against such risk when she'd realized how much access she'd gained to the Ratari network. Just because she could access their every secret didn't mean it was a good idea. The fact that Farmop would approve of letting Jinli T'Vemi die with the mission did not help to convince her.
That was enough ruminating on the bothersome salarian. She turned her thoughts to the day ahead.
Ratari Distributors operated in a manner typical for an organization on such a lightly regulated world. Nevos' modest amount of governmental oversight left plenty of room to operate in a fashion that wasn't quite as unrestricted as Illium, but far more lenient than Thessia. Corporate espionage was just a normal part of doing business, so she convinced herself that she wasn't taking that great a risk. Being caught hacking a corporate network was less likely to get you killed or indentured than in the Terminus, but it didn't mean your employer would come to your aid if you were discovered.
Particularly when your employer was your target.
Which was precisely why Liara allowed herself so little time to rest. She planned to depart Nevos shortly, and was already focused on her return to Illium. She looked forward to demonstrating to the judgmental salarian that she was not simply an inexperienced maiden playing at being an information broker. She might be a member of the peerage, but when it came to intelligence gathering, she was also his peer.
He was certain to point out her delay, but she resolved to have none of it.
Yes, the distraction of Noveria had taken far longer than she had anticipated. She should have pushed harder, accepted no excuse. Matriarch Calille was more of an obstruction than a leader, barely able to hold her own against the pressure Liara could bring to bear. Binary Helix was merely a company, after all. It was a living mass of employees and shareholders. Her offer for House T'Soni to assume the debts brought on by the company's apparent malfeasance should have been met with gratitude. It should have carved a swift path to the information she'd needed, as well as to the ship left behind by her mother. Calille should have been enthusiastic at the chance to provide Liara what she'd wanted.
Instead the matriarch had thrown up one objection after another as Liara met the unexpected. Calille had been loyal. Loyalty to friends and family she could understand, but loyalty to a company? Loyalty to shareholders? Calille had struggled to find justification to avoid Liara's demands, but in the end could find none. She'd only managed to postpone the inevitable, and in the end Liara had gotten what she wanted.
But it should have been easy. Her foot tapped an angry rhythm at the memory.
Then there was the Megara, another nasty bit of business, that. Liara filed her mother's ship as one of a number of things she preferred not to think about. Like Shepard's death, the Megara was a manifestation of failure. That fact that it was a failure that she shared with Benezia made little difference. Liara's distraction had unnecessarily cost House T'Soni lives. She'd gone on to compound that failure in a way that had cost her the support of one of her trusted advisors.
Losing Denai had hurt.
The pain had been a surprise. Liara had been sure that she'd lost the capacity for additional heartbreak after Shepard's death.
Yet another way that she'd been headstrong. Her mother would have come up with a less final solution. The memory of her confrontation with Denai tormented her even now.
She forced the thoughts out of her mind. Regret, like exhaustion, was something she simply did not have time for.
Besides, releasing Denai had been an unpleasant necessity. Liara's authority must be unquestioned. At least the matron had accepted Liara's dismissal without argument.
Working herself to the edge of her limits kept her from dwelling on what she couldn't change. Such toil was a familiar ground for her, her typical response to stress or disappointment. Perhaps that was why she'd been so successful during her time on Nevos. Goddess knew she had placed herself under an inordinate amount of pressure. The potential risk of an encounter with Shadow Broker agents was simply one more of many.
If anything, completely submerging herself in the Jinli T'Vemi persona had allowed her to keep those concerns at arm's length. To live as an alias she'd crafted had been a challenge in ways that were new to her. Jinli T'Vemi had started her existence as fiction, and had become a valued Ratari employee.
She reread her report one final time before sending it to Pausa. The the work had to be adequate, her pride demanded it, yet not beyond the ability of the individual she posed as.
She waged a constant battle against her tendency towards perfectionism so not to reveal knowledge and experience beyond the level of her false identity. T'Vemi was a maiden, no way to hide that, but older than Liara's true age. She was old enough at one hundred thirty that being on her own wasn't worthy of comment. She had an education that Benezia would have considered less than adequate. The maiden had a propensity for distraction, but didn't socialize. Maintaining consistency had kept Pausa's expectations reasonable. Focus had kept Liara from exceeding those expectations by any suspicious amount.
She glanced again at her omni-tool, the numbers less blurry now. She had nearly an hour before Pausa expected her report, thank the goddess. Plenty of time. It was almost too easy. She'd even be able to respond to her messages before catching the transport to Illium.
Her hand was still shaking.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Agent Pausa opened the new file on her datapad. Was it the tenth? Eleventh? She'd lost track. She would have lost interest even sooner if the information in the reports weren't so dammed good.
T'Soni might as well be an efficiency expert given the level of detail she'd put into her work.
She'd had to give T'Soni something to do, after all. It wasn't enough that the Broker hadn't wanted her harmed, they'd practically presented the maiden a formal overture of hospitality, not that T'Soni had had any idea.
Pausa couldn't remember ever putting someone on the payroll for the purpose of breaking into her own systems. Might as well get some benefit out of her. And if the maiden lost a little sleep, who really cared? She certainly didn't. Besides, the Broker wanted T'Soni to believe that her attempt at deception had been successful.
There had been benefits. The Broker had been correct as always, and T'Soni was as good as his word. She'd managed to gain high level access to every system she'd touched, and had only been flagged once along the way. If she weren't an adversary, she'd be a valued asset to Pausa's team. The matron could see what the Broker saw in her, even if she didn't understand why he'd permitted her to harvest the data she had.
She ceased ruminating on her unusual "employee" as she returned her attention to the report. The Broker's data trove wasn't her concern, but this, this was useful. T'Soni had found yet another way in which Ratari could leverage their existing relationships against each other as a means to improve profitability. Pausa was impressed. Despite T'Soni's presence as an undercover agent, Pausa continued to think of her in terms of being a member of a Great House, and as such, predisposed towards ethical business dealings. These recommendations however, were deliciously cutthroat. By playing their suppliers against each other, Ratari might double their margins in as little as three years. Perhaps this was why the Broker had been so accommodating. He would be the benefactor of such an increase in revenue.
There was clearly more to T'Soni than met the eye.
She wondered if the Broker would be as pleased with her once he discovered that T'Soni had accessed all his local data, not just what he'd meant for her to find.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
"What did you say?" Her voice was harsh as it tore from her throat, but Liara made no effort to keep the acid from her voice. 'So much for rest,' she thought. Her transport was due to board in less than an hour, and she'd looked forward to sleeping through a significant portion of her travel to Illium. What was the point to leaving a matriarch in charge of her estate if she was incapable of making a decision?
Benezia had been fond of an idiom that seemed appropriate. Something about hopes and wishes. She'd hated it as a child, but now she longed to remember it.
Alaya failed to react, merely blinking at Liara's outburst. "I simply inquired as to your anticipated arrival, Peeress."
This was one of those times when Liara was certain that matriarchs existed only to torment her.
"Yes, yes," Liara replied impatiently, waving the miniature representation of Alaya to silence. "I understood the question, despite the fact that I made it clear I would be remaining on Illium for the foreseeable future." Her glare intensified. "What did you say after that?"
"Only that Denai believed once you had completed your errand on Nevos, that you would-"
"Stop." Liara cut her off. "You've spoken to Denai."
"Of course, Peeress." Alaya's response was cloaked in the formality she was known for, yet her answer volunteered nothing that might alleviate the maiden's annoyance..
"Denai has returned to the estate?" Pressed Liara. She cursed herself for not anticipating this contingency. It seemed her confidence in Denai's obedience had been undeserved.
"No…" Alaya paused, seeming to know that Liara was hinting at something, but was seemingly unaware as to what that might be. "She has not been to the estate since her return to Thessia. To my knowledge, she has remained on board your mother's ship, using it as her base of operations." When Liara did not respond to this information, she continued. "Denai has not been out of contact, and has made occasional visits to Pineios Station. My belief is that she awaits your arrival before seeing to the disposition of the Magara."
"Is that what she told you?" Liara's voice was a flat monotone.
"No, Peeress." The corner of Alaya's mouth ticked up a notch as the matriarch seemed to realize that Denai was the trigger behind Liara's mood. "Again, we have been in regular contact since the ship docked. She has not revealed the purpose behind her actions, and I have not inquired."
"And you see nothing unusual about how she is conducting herself?" Liara pressed. "You see it as normal for Denai to take up residence in my mother's ship, and wait for," she paused, realizing that she had no idea how long the Megara had been docked. "My return?" She finished.
"Denai is a member of the House's senior leadership," reminded Alaya dryly, "I consider myself ill equipped to judge any specific behavior as atypical or unusual. You yourself called her to Noveria when you secured Benezia's vessel. The fact that she returned with it, and with the Petite'aile, would hardly be considered an unexpected development."
"And the fact that she remains in orbit, out of contact with the rest of the House?"
"She has not been out of contact," corrected Alaya. "Unless you are specifically referring to communication with you. Denai has often maintained separation between her endeavors and those of the House at large." Now Alaya's tone hardened to a point just shy of disrespectful. "As do you." Her tone softened again. "Surely you trust her judgement. Teseka is with her, as are others in your protection detail. Am I to find their behavior suspect as well?" She cocked her hear at the question before pressing on. "If so, I would require more information about your plans and objectives than you have elected to reveal."
Liara stared at Alaya's image, somewhat taken aback at the matriarch's brazen comment. Such divulgence wasn't going to happen, even though she knew Alaya was correct. Alaya might be sworn to her, but Liara was very much aware the matriarch maintained other allegiances. Liara's plans for the House were too new, too fragile, for her to risk disclosing them to anyone about who's loyalty she wasn't absolutely certain. The potential outcomes were crucial. She couldn't allow Alaya's curiosity to risk the lives that would be lost if her plans weren't seen to fruition. She had to maintain focus, had to stay in control of her House. She simply had no other choice, especially since she had no idea if that horrid Lawson woman would be able to deliver on her impossible promise.
The possibility that Shepard might be alive, might yet return, was something else she wasn't going to trust to Alaya.
And the one person she had trusted with that information had disobeyed her at every turn. Denai knew what Liara was trying to do. More than anyone else, at least, Denai knew the goals Liara sought. That hadn't stopped her from contradicting her every decision. Goddess damn the woman!
Alaya was still looking at her expectantly.
"I had not planned to return to Thessia at this time, Seneschal. However, it seems that the House requires my attention."
Alaya nodded agreement. "You are the Head of House T'Soni, Peeress."
"As you are Seneschal, Alaya, and as such should be able to manage without my involvement." She glared at the miniature matriarch above her wrist. "Let me make clear that I am not pleased. Benezia would have expected to delegate this. She expected you to see to the running of the estate."
"Benezia was quite clear in her expectations, Peeress. Your mother was not nearly as given to keeping secrets as you. "
Liara had to choke back a laugh at Alaya's audacity. "Be that as it may." She brought up a departure schedule on her omni-tool, slightly obscuring Alaya's face. Illium was a few day's journey, but most of that time was simply exiting the Silean Nebula. Parnitha was closer than Illium, but not in any way meaningful, so far as relay travel was concerned. "Teyolia is not a relay system," she commented, stating the obvious. "I will arrive in a few days."
"Understood, Peeress. Your instructions?"
"You will await my arrival."
"And Denai?"
"You are to take no action regarding Denai," she paused. "Not that you would anyway."
She disconnected.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pineios was crowded, as she had anticipated. No matter. Liara was one maiden among thousands. She did nothing to draw any particular attention to herself.
A casual glance might catch the exhaustion in her eyes, a certain amount of lethargy in her step. Others might suspect the fatigued maiden a courier home from a long mission, or even a mercenary returning from the Terminus.
None would glance at this maiden and suspect she was the Head of a Great House. No high born would travel wearing an outfit so plebeian, or shuffling along in boots so heavily used.
The bag over her shoulder was in better condition, but nothing special. It likely contained similar clothing to what the maiden wore. There would be toiletries and a handful of personal items. A drink or protien bar might be present. Passing through customs was not an expeditious process, and this did not appear to be a maiden who could easily bear the sky-high prices of Pineios when she became hungry.
None would believe that her bag was brimming with the tools of spycraft, nor suspect it contained espionage from two different galactic corporations as well as the most notorious information broker in Council Space.
Her credentials told a different story.
Unknowing, she followed a path similar to the one followed by Carvkae shortly before. None intercepted her, nor attempted to impede her path. Her omni-tool, iris, and DNA provided all the verification required to travel from the passenger terminal to the Megara without saying a word.
Good. She was saving her words for Denai.
One last wave of her omni-tool and the hatch slid aside, revealing the interior of the ship she'd hoped to never see again.
She stepped inside, passing Teseka who was apparently guarding the hatch.
"Peeress," greeted the maiden. At least that's what Liara thought she heard. There was a buzzing sound that drowned out the commando's words. Liara put a hand to the bulkhead to steady herself as she shook her head to clear it.
A glance to Teseka revealed a concerned look. The maiden's lips were still moving but Liara couldn't make out any words. She looked around in confusion, not understanding why Teseka gave no indication of hearing the goddess damned noise.
Liara looked away from the useless huntress, shifting her gaze towards the command console. Kapheria rose from her chair, itself practically a throne, and looked at her quizzically as she took a step forward.
"Peeress? What are you doing here?"
Odd. The matriarch's voice was quite clear even over the infernal buzzing.
Liara steadied herself, standing as straight as she could, waving the matriarch against coming to her aid. Kapheria wasn't who she was here to see.
She turned right, away from the bridge, leaving the command center behind. Faces turned to her as she passed, all familiar. Some were welcoming, Liorian flashing the smile that was much more rare than one from Kapheria.
She continued into the corridor towards the staircase amidships, never one to take the lift to drop a single level.
She passed Ateza and Saire on her way, earning polite nods from both Etalis huntresses, looks that were far more welcoming than she received from Lieutenant Sairni. The huntress shouldn't look at her like that. Who did she think she was? She might be in charge of her mother's protection detail, but Liara was the heir! She put her hand to her head, almost stumbling at the top of the staircase as the buzzing in her aurals intensified to a pain that burned from her forehead to the tips of her crest.
She squeezed her eyes shut, the slight from Sairni forgotten in the moment.
Long seconds passed before she felt steady enough to start down the stairs. She was almost to her destination. Her mother's office was only a handful of meters from the bottom. Everything would be fine. It had been a long time, but her mother would know what to do.
Her confidence was short lived as it took her nearly a minute to make it down the stairs. A few members of her mother's crew passed her, but she managed to keep them away with glares.
She didn't need their help.
She finally made it to the bottom, the hatch to her mother's office beckoning from only a few tantalizing meters away. She smiled as she pressed her face against the cool bulkhead of the corridor. It seemed to help the pain somewhat, even if the buzzing had grown until it was almost a shriek.
She focused for a moment, gathering her strength for a final push to her destination. Her lips pulled back in a victorious smile as she launched herself away from the bulkhead, nearly sprinting for the hatchway, collecting herself just as she entered.
Her eyes scanned the room, seeking Benezia. This was her private office, after all. Her holiest of holies.
It was difficult to see. Her mother was a blur in her vision, behind her desk, busy as always. More annoyingly her view was blocked by two others, others who should not be here!
She turned to the asari on her left, starting in recognition. "Denai," she said in recognition, her face turning into a scowl. She was angry at Denai, although she didn't remember why.
"Peeress," Denai answered in response, although Liara was already turning away from the matron in her efforts to reach her mother. The motion brought her face to face with the other asari.
"Goddess, Liara," whispered the other, angering Liara even more. "What's happened to you?"
"C-Carvkae?" Stuttered Liara in confusion as the pain in her head continued to intensify.
"Yes," confirmed her former teammate as she moved forward to take Liara by the shoulders. "It's me, I'm here"
Liara tried unsuccessfully to pull free from the stronger maiden's grasp. Her mother was leaving, the tunnel she'd entered closing behind her. "Let go of me!" She screamed. "You're not really here!"
"What?" Carvkae looked from Liara to Denai in confusion as Liara struggled in her grip. "Of course I'm here."
"No you're not!" Insisted Liara. "You're still alive! Now let me go! I need to get to my mother!"
Denai moved to assist Carvkae with the struggling maiden.
"Benezia is gone, Liara. You know this." Denai's calming tone went unheard as Liara's scream filled the room.
Carvkae barely kept her hold when Liara collapsed against her.
A/N:
Assumptions here include:
FemShep/Liara
Post ME2 beginning / Post Redemption comic / Pre Shepard resurrection
Sarah Shepard is:
Colonist / Vanguard / War Hero
As always, thank you for reading. Feedback is welcome and desired
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