The dull roar of rushing air filled Shepard's ears as she leaned against the edge of the minecart. Across the cart, Liara had her eyes closed and head tipped forwards as she sat on the floor, occasionally coughing and rubbing her throat. Shepard let out a tired sigh, contemplating sitting herself as she felt the telltale lethargy of an adrenaline comedown start seeping into her bones.

Before she could make her decision, she suddenly jerked forwards as the sound of metal screeching across metal filled the air. Looking over to her right, she saw Tali standing once again at the control panel as she applied the brakes. Squinting past her, Shepard stood into a sudden flash of daylight as they rounded one final turn. She held up a hand to cover her eyes, blinking the afterimages away as the cart finally ground to a stop. Next to her, Tali turned to face the rest of the group, proudly setting her hands on her hips as she proclaimed, "Alright, end of the line everybody." Liara stiffly pulled herself up off of the floor as Garrus stood behind her, stowing away his rifle. Slinging her own gun across her back, Shepard turned and casually vaulted over the lip of the cart to land on the ground in a puff of dust.

A short burst of squealing metal suddenly filled the air, followed quickly by a loud crunch. Shepard immediately dropped into a crouch, hand dropping to her pistol as she heard her team dive into cover behind her. As she scanned the room for threats, the minecart behind her suddenly creaked as Liara jumped out to land next to Shepard. "Shepard, it's alright, look."

Turning to look at where Liara had started to point, Shepard found herself looking at a crumpled pile of metal jammed into a new crack in the wall of the mine. As she watched, the hunk of smashed steel slowly peeled itself off the wall and fell back to the ground with another crunch, revealing a now much smaller minecart laying in pieces on the floor. A quick huff of laughter escaped her, and glancing back towards Liara she saw the doctor had begun to grin tiredly as well. Letting go of her pistol, Shepard stood again and casually nudged Liara's arm with the back of her hand. "Good thing nobody's around to bill us for that, right?"

Liara met her gaze with a grin, before a suspicious frown slowly replaced it. "I'm suddenly concerned about how often you must destroy other people's property if this is your first reaction."

Shepard blinked, memories of a pulverized bar from earlier that day surfacing mutinously. "I have no idea what you could be talking about."

From behind her, Shepard heard Garrus stand as he began to mutter, "I'm sure that cop doesn't know either," followed by the dull impact of a fist on armor and an indignant ow! Looking back over her shoulder, Shepard smirked at the sight of Garrus indignantly rubbing his shoulder and glaring at Tali as she nonchalantly rubbed her knuckles.

"Play nice you two, we're almost done here." Turning back to Liara, Shepard held out a hand in front of her towards the natural light filtering in from the tunnel before them. "After you, Doctor."

Liara blinked, looking between Shepard's outstretched hand and the open tunnel before them, before a sudden tinge of purple began to color her cheeks as she let out a soft, "Oh." Shepard felt her own face begin to quirk into an amused grin as she gestured forwards once again, causing Liara to flush even darker purple before turning on her heel and quickly walking towards the light. Following a few steps behind, Shepard glanced towards Garrus and Tali to confirm that they had started to fall in line as the group slowly made their way towards the mine's exit.

A short and mercifully uneventful walk later, Shepard found herself crouching as she hunched down through a partially collapsed section of the mine as it stood only with the help of a rotted wooden frame. Moving through quickly, Shepard exited out of the mouth of the tunnel, turning back to help pull the rest of her squad out. Once all three exited behind her, Shepard stood back to her full height, placing her hands on her hips as she took in the view before her.

A gentle breeze ruffled her hair as Shepard observed the hill of soft, golden-white sand before her as it sloped smoothly down into a calm sea. Every so often, large palm trees shot up out of the sand, large leaves rustling in the wind as the tropical sun beat down from above. Beyond the beach itself, a teal ocean stretched out towards the horizon, waves sparkling with reflected sunlight as they tumbled over one another. Shepard let out a low whistle. "Damn, still just as good the second time around."

Turning to her right, she saw Garrus and Tali also taking a moment to admire the lush shoreline ahead of them. Crossing her arms, Tali let out a wistful sigh. "Why do we only go to pretty planets on business trips?"

Garrus let out a low chuckle. "Shepard's never been to a nice place in her life without someone shooting at her or some building exploding."

Memories of scenic, rolling hills of grass lept unbidden to Shepard's mind as her left arm suddenly twinged. Slapping on her best sarcastic grin to hide her sudden wince, she drawled, "Well, misery does love company." Flicking her eyes across the beach again, she continued, "Alright, you two do a sweep across the beach, I gotta talk to the doctor for a second."

Garrus unslung his rifle as he replied, "One secure beachhead coming up." Tali followed behind, happily running forwards as Garrus followed at a calmer pace.

Shepard watched them leave for a few seconds, confirming where their path would take them. Just as she started to turn away, a soft pressure on her left arm drew her attention. Looking down, she found herself holding her left arm to her chest as her other hand rubbed over the scars that covered the limb. Shepard frowned, following the lines of torn skin as they spiraled down from her wrist most of the way towards her elbow as her arm pulsed with another dull ache.

Before she could stare too long, a sudden movement to her left drew her out of her little reverie. Dropping her arms to her sides and turning to look, Shepard found Liara had turned away from the scenic view, now facing the mine they had just exited instead. In her hands, she had produced a small notebook from somewhere and was scribbling down notes furiously, brow furrowed with concentration and lower lip held between her teeth. Welcoming the distraction from her line of thought, Shepard stuck her hands into her pockets before casually strolling over as she called out, "Something on your mind?"

Liara flinched, nearly dropping the notebook as her wide eyes snapped over towards Shepard, who lifted both her hands up a calming gesture. "Goddess, you startled me." Placing her pencil back into the book, Liara snapped it shut and shoved it into her back pocket before turning fully to face Shepard, hands clutched together in front of her. "I apologize, I've been told that I can have a rather one-track mind sometimes."

Shepard found herself smiling warmly as her hands returned to her pockets. "Hey don't worry about it, I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that." She gestured towards where Liara had stowed her notebook. "Writing anything interesting in that?"

Nodding as an excitement lit up her features, Liara quickly fished out her notebook as she replied, "I was just trying to catalog everything I could remember about the Prothean ruins I saw before we were attacked." She flipped through several pages before stopping and turning the book around, revealing a drawing of the small metal artifact currently hanging around her neck.

Peering towards the book, Shepard felt her brow raise slowly as she took in the level of detail Liara had managed to incorporate in such a quick sketch. "Damn, T'Soni, I hadn't taken you to be an artist." Looking back up towards her, Shepard caught a fleeting glance of purple-flushed skin before Liara ducked her head in embarrassment. "Anyways, that thing must be valuable for how much trouble you went through to get it."

Still avoiding eye contact, Liara began to write in the margins around the drawing. "Well, I'm sure it must be worth a good amount of money, but that's really not why I wanted it." Her eyes flicked up to meet Shepard's briefly before moving back down towards the notebook. "I am a historian at Serrice University, and all of my research focuses on Prothean history and extinction." Her pencil continued scratching away at the paper, and Shepard felt her brain begin to go numb as she realized that what she was writing was completely unrelated to what she was saying.

Not noticing Shepard's amazement, Liara continued, "I actually came here to investigate the ruins here for any traces of information on Prothean masterworks, but unfortunately I only spent a short time here before the vorcha appeared." Suddenly, the pencil stilled against the paper as she looked up towards Shepard with a frown. "I'm sorry, I just realized that you might not know much about the Protheans."

Shepard shrugged, awkwardly scratching the back of her neck. "I mean I know what everybody knows about them, right? Ancient aliens long dead that left behind incredibly advanced tech and ruins all over the place, and all that stuff."

Liara nodded, tapping her lips with the pencil thoughtfully. "All of that is correct, if somewhat vague. The Protheans did exist tens of thousands of years ago and had technology that still vastly outpaces our own, which we know from the many ruins that have been found across the galaxy." She snapped the book shut again as her features began to light up with an energetic smile. "What I'm here to investigate, however, are the Prothean masterworks."

Shepard frowned. "I've never heard anyone mention those before."

"You probably wouldn't have, because most people don't believe they exist." Liara glanced over her shoulder, as if about to share an embarrassing secret. "Masterworks are rumored to be Prothean artifacts, so powerful and advanced that they put what we have found of their technology to shame. In fact, many believe that several cultures may have worshiped these objects as magical, even back during the Prothean period." Pausing again, Liara bit her lip self consciously. "However, nothing fitting this description has ever been found, so many Prothean scholars have dismissed them as myth."

Shepard nodded along, starting to pop her knuckles as she mulled over this new information. "Okay, so if nobody has ever seen one of these things, where did all the rumors come from?"

Liara's smile grew wider, and Shepard blinked as she began to suspect that the doctor had been hoping for this specific question. "Across hundreds of planets and every major civilization, historians have found records referring to objects of incredible, almost divine power. While descriptions vary wildly, the fact that every major culture has legends of such artifacts has convinced me, along with a very small minority of Prothean researchers, that these masterworks must have existed at one point."

She turned back towards the mine entrance, her expression suddenly mournful. "I had been hoping to find Prothean writings about the topic here, actually, since no researchers have truly investigated here." She looked back towards Shepard, lips quirking into a wry grin. "I guess now we know why."

Shepard cocked her head to the side, curiously asking after a moment, "So did you find anything?"

Liara shook her head, sighing morosely. "Unfortunately, I didn't really have a lot of time to look around." Holding up the small metal sculpture hanging off her neck, she continued, "This is really all that I found of value, but I suspect it is little more than a pretty piece for a museum somewhere."

Shepard bit her lip as she scratched the back of her neck again. "Damn, now I wish we had picked you up earlier. We found a whole room full of glowing markings all over this one wall, you would've loved it."

Liara's brows jumped up in shock. "You mean you actually saw Prothean writings with your own eyes?"

"Yeah, I mean that's what it looked like, at least. We found this alcove just full of lines and glowy runes, about this high," she explained, now motioning with her hands to convey the size, "and all of it just glowing that sort of light blue like everything else down there." Realizing what a piss poor job she was doing to describe it, Shepard stepped back and started looking around the sand surrounding them. "Shit, maybe I can find a stick or something and try to draw it real quick."

Snapping her notebook shut, Liara quickly placed it back in her pocket once more. "Shepard, I may have an easier way for you to explain yourself." Looking up from her hunt through the sand, Shepard found herself stopped in her tracks by the sudden shyness suffusing Liara's features. "I could join our minds together, if you would allow it, and you could just show me your memories of what you saw."

Shepard's mouth fell open as she suddenly found herself at a loss for words. She had heard rumors about the asari melding process, mainly from leering marines in overcrowded barracks back during her Alliance days, but never had considered for herself what it might be like. "Isn't that something that romantic couples do with each other?"

Liara's cheeks flamed purple as she stammered, "No! I mean, yes- but not specifically in that scenario, though it often is used for that I suppose?" Closing her eyes, she cut herself off to take a deep breath as her lips pressed together into a thin line. Shepard watched as she let out a loud sigh before meeting her gaze once again. "Melds, at their most basic form, are a simple connection of two minds to exchange information. Anything beyond that, such as what information is exchanged or how intense the exchange may be is completely up to the participants."

She began to wring her hands together nervously. "For something like this, it would be very surface level, and I could guide you the whole time to make it easier. That is to say, only if you'd be comfortable with this, I can see how it could feel violating or-"

"I'll do it." Liara's mouth snapped shut with a click as her mouth formed a surprised little oh! Shrugging, Shepard stuffed her hands back into her pockets to avoid fidgeting under the doctor's stare. "I mean, if I can help you find the one thing you almost got eaten over, I might as well, right?"

Blinking, Liara's face slowly broke out into a shy smile as her posture relaxed minutely. "I would very much appreciate that." She took a step forward, coming to stop directly in front of Shepard. Reaching out, she gently placed one hand on Shepard's right arm. "Are you ready?"

Nervously glancing down to where her hand rested on her bicep, Shepard resisted the sudden urge to flex. "Yeah, absolutely." She looked back up to meet Liara's gaze, only to find the doctor's blue eyes suddenly very close. "Do I need to do anything, or does it sort of just happen?"

Liara smiled reassuringly as her eyes began to darken. "All you need to do is relax." Shepard found herself suddenly entranced by the change, the nape of her neck beginning to tingle as Liara's eyes went completely black. "Relax, and embrace eternity!"

Shepard's vision went black as the distant sound of rolling waves faded away. All sensation of any kind stopped, leaving her feeling as if she was floating in the dark. A mild surge of panic swept through her at the sudden loss of any sort of stimuli, forcing her to try to employ the mental equivalent of taking a deep breath to force herself to relax.

Just as the void started to become unbearable, a sudden warm sensation surrounded her, as if a cozy blanket had been draped over her mind. Flinching away from this new mental pressure, Shepard found herself now surrounded by new fragments of thoughts and sensations, dancing around the edge of her consciousness like flickering wisps of light in the dark. Overwhelmed by this assault on her being, Shepard pulled her mind in around herself as tightly as she could, imagining herself closing her eyes and hugging herself tightly. Another wave of alien thought moved through her awareness, and suddenly a gnawing fear of her thoughts leaking out of her head like a sieve took hold. She found with a jolt she couldn't remember why any of this was happening to her. Why had she agreed to this?

Shepard, please try to calm down. Shepard froze as this new voice rang out in her mind. A tiny bloom of relief started to shine where paranoia had rooted itself a moment ago. Liara was here with her; she had said she would guide her through this, right?

The current of thought surrounding her mind flickered again, lights all around her dancing and changing colors. I can only guide you if you let me in. Relaxing further as the voice spoke again, Shepard tentatively expanded outwards, pushing into the warm presence around her rather than retreating from it. The presence shifted again in reaction to this, changing to reflect what Shepard realized was a pulse of approval. Very good. The meld must be an equal effort on both sides.

The warmth built around her as Shepard suddenly felt the distinct sensation of being drawn forwards towards something, as if being pulled out of herself. Mentally gritting her teeth, she forced down the knee jerk reaction to retreat back into herself, instead pushing forwards and expanding herself out as much as she could. Another wave of approval swept over her, encouraging another mental push until with one final heave Shepard felt something in the back of her mind give way, the last barrier between Liara and herself finally dissolving.

Light exploded out in every direction, constellations of flickering thought surrounding her in a sea of consciousness. Wonder swept through Shepard as she took in all of Liara's mind before her, built of crystalline spires of knowledge and history, connected with webs of precise intent as each and every bit of knowledge the asari had learned was carefully filed away for later use. Beyond all of this exquisitely intricate framework made from a lifetime of study, a simmering, pulsing energy suffused the canvas of Liara's mind in a rich sapphire glow. Peering closer, Shepard found herself taken aback by this intense passion, a roaring flame made from a thirst for knowledge that fueled Liara's mind.

It was all Shepard could do to simply take in this vista of the asari mind in astonished silence. As she struggled to process this new experience, another wave of fragments of emotion and half-formed thoughts blew past faster than she could process, and slowly it dawned on Shepard that this was only a distant glance into Liara's mind. Even so, looking out across Liara's mind, there was only one way for Shepard to accurately describe what she saw.

Beautiful. Panic flared as her own traitorous voice echoed out across the mental connection. Liara's mind immediately flared with bashful awkwardness, compounded by the embarrassment now radiating from Shepard. Desperately, she began searching around for any way to communicate and explain herself.

Before she could broadcast anything else, Liara's voice reverberated through her mind. Just picture the memory you want to share, and I will be able to see it. Thankful for the offered distraction, Shepard immediately thought back to the alcove she had found back in the mine. Before her, an image of the alcove suddenly appeared in crystal clarity as once more Shepard took in the intersecting neon lines made of intricate Prothean runes passing through each other.

Perfect, yes, just focus on that. The mental pressure around her increased as Liara brought her attention to bear. Suddenly, within the memory Shepard felt her eyes begin to flit around on their own. A spike of alarm shot through her at the uncomfortable sensation, until Liara's presence around her shifted once again as her eyes continued to move. Shepard swallowed her growing trepidation as she realized she had become a lens through which Liara was examining the alcove herself.

Mentally sighing, she chose to focus on Liara's mind around her rather than focus on what it felt like to have remote-control eyeballs. To her surprise, she found their mental link lighting up like a fireworks display as infectious excitement coursed through them both. The crystalline framework of Liara's mind went into overdrive, thoughts and theories flying around and colliding as she ravenously scoured Shepard's memory. The flow of information quickly became overwhelming as Shepard stubbornly kept her memory fixated in her mind, but even as the strain increased she found herself reveling in the thrill of discovery pouring over from Liara like a tidal wave.

Just as she started to suffocate underneath the weight of countless hypotheses, the memory before her dissolved into mist, before the warmth of Liara's mind inside her own withdrew with a snap as the connection was severed. Light flooded into Shepard's eyes as she blinked them open, finding herself once again on the tropical sands outside the mine. Squinting at the sudden return of her eyesight, Shepard massaged her temples as her brain now felt oddly cold, like taking off a thick blanket right after you had gotten it all warm and cozy. She gave her head a quick shake to center herself. Lowering her hand, she glanced over towards Liara to check how she was doing.

Across from her, Liara blinked blearily a few times as the last of the inky blackness around her pupils drained away. Her eyes focused after a few seconds before she turned towards Shepard, the two making eye contact as they lingered only inches away from each other. A sudden gust of wind shifted the palm leaves above, and Shepard's mouth ran dry as Liara's large, cobalt eyes sparkled like polished gems in the light of the sun. Eyes trailing downward, Shepard took in the asari's rumpled white button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up to her toned forearms and collar shifting in the wind with the top two buttons undone, revealing a pair of enticing collarbones.

Shepard's mouth went dry as she abruptly snapped her gaze back up to meet Liara's, whose brow pinched in confusion. She felt a pressure on her arm, and belatedly she realized that Liara was still resting her arm on her bicep. A strong swooping sensation hit her hard in the gut, forcing Shepard to swallow thickly to try to force down a blush. "Did–" she began, before stopping to cough once awkwardly. "Did you get anything from that?"

Liara stared at her blankly for a second before a blinding grin spread across her face. "It was incredible!" She stepped back and released Shepard's arm, instead pulling her notebook back out as she frantically started writing down notes. Distressingly, the lack of contact did little to ease the tension in Shepard's stomach or the warmth of her cheeks. Biting a lip between her teeth, she did her best to ignore this and focus on Liara as she continued, "The entire mural appeared to contain the same message, over and over again."

Latching onto the new topic, Shepard quickly asked, "Could you read what it said?"

Holding out her notebook, Liara pointed towards the bottom of one page with her pencil as she read aloud, "The Ring of Life has been sealed away, never to see another day. If you wish to hunt each part, then this is where your search must start. Through the jungle and inside the tomb, this is where you must face your doom." She frowned, holding her notebook back up as she read the page again. "This is where your search must start…"

Shepard began mindlessly popping her knuckles as she mulled over this new information. "I mean, I'm no expert but a 'Ring of Life' sounds an awful lot like a Prothean artifact to me."

Without looking up from her book, Liara responded, "Oh it absolutely is. In fact, the Ring of Life is one of the more popular stories people tell when discussing Prothean masterworks. What I'm concerned about though," she continued, flipping to another page, "is that the mural clearly references a location, but refrains from actually indicating where to look." With a sigh, she closed the notebook and started tapping her lips with the pencil, a dejected look on her face. "Perhaps we missed a second mural?"

Shepard switched to popping the knuckles in her other hand, getting down to the third finger before suddenly stopping. "Maybe it wasn't written down at all."

Liara turned towards her, curiosity faintly peeking through her frown. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that maybe they made the message into a mural on purpose." She reached a hand out towards the notebook, and to her surprise Liara passed it over without question. Shepard opened it up to the last page, where Liara had sketched out the mural next to where she had written out the phrase. "See, look at how they made interconnecting lines out of the repeating message. Doesn't it seem familiar to you?"

Liara squinted down towards the page, furrowing her brow in thought as her lips pressed into a thin line. Her eyes roved over the curved lines, crossing over each other to form a series of overlapping circles. A moment later, her face lit up in triumph. "It's a star chart."

Shepard felt her own face break into a matching grin. "That's exactly what I thought, too. We'd have to go back to my ship to check with the nav computer, but I'd be willing to bet money on a jungle planet sitting in a star system that looks just like this one. We could even give you a ride, if you want."

Liara blanched, shaking her head as she replied, "Oh, no, I couldn't ask you to do that for free." She dug one toe into the sand as she shifted her weight. "I don't really have enough money to hire you all for another job, either."

Shepard waved her hand dismissively. "Ah, don't worry about it. You hired us for security while you hunted down these masterworks, right? Seems to me like you're still looking, so as far as I'm concerned the job hasn't ended yet." Liara stared at her silently, lip bit between her teeth. Feeling a sudden bout of nerves, Shepard shrugged again. "Unless you want us to just leave now, I guess."

A slow, small smile gradually spread across Liara's face as she tilted her head to regard Shepard silently. After a moment, she averted her eyes, looking instead towards the ocean waves crashing in the distance. "I suppose I could try enlisting a security detail, for once."

Shepard chuckled, trying her best to ignore the immense relief sweeping through her. "Well, I guess we have some maps to check out, yeah?" Turning towards the beach, she quickly found Tali and Garrus milling about at the water's edge. Cupping her hands to her mouth, she shouted, "Alright gang, back to the ship! We got ourselves a contract!"

The two retreated from the water and started making their way up the beach, Tali's hands moving energetically as she responded to some inaudible conversation. Turning back towards Liara, she motioned with her head to follow. "Right, let's introduce you to our magnificent ride."

Liara crested a gently sloping dune of sand, sighing as she felt yet another grain of sand slip into her boots. She had spent the last ten minutes laboriously hiking across this lush tropical beach, boots sinking uncomfortably far into the sand with every step. A dull, pulsing pain had begun to build at the base of her skull as the dose of medigel from earlier began to wear off, and every minute or so the gash across her shoulder twinged. Shepard had insisted that her ship was close by and had led the group unfalteringly forward in silence, everyone too tired to speak much.

Finally, Shepard came to a halt, spreading her hands wide as she announced, "There she is, as glorious as ever."

Coming up to stand next to her, Liara peered forwards down the beach. Dumbfounded, her mouth fell open as she turned towards Garrus and Tali. "By the Goddess, is that for us?"

Garrus grimaced, mandibles shifting uncomfortably as Tali began cackling next to him. Voice heavy with resignation, he patted firmly patted her once on the shoulder as he grumbled, "Yep, that's our ride."

Sitting parked on a wide and particularly flat section of the beach was what looked to Liara like an oversized shipping container with wings strapped to the sides. The main body of the ship was a single, massive steel rectangle, several hundred feet long and at least fifty feet wide. About halfway down the body of the ship, four massive wings suddenly shot out of the hull, two to each side and with large thruster engines mounted to each on rotating axes. This created the disorienting effect of taking the back half of a space-faring warship and gluing it onto a large steel brick. The side of the hull was covered in various intersecting scorch marks where weapons fire had clearly peppered the ship, but underneath it all the name Normandy was clearly painted on in large block letters.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Liara turned to find Shepard staring at the ship with the proud smile of a parent.

"It, uh…" Liara coughed, stalling for time as she racked her brain for something positive to say. "It is very unique." Turning towards the other two, she did her best to keep from grimacing as she asked, "Can it, well, fly?"

Tali nodded. "Oh, sure it can. I mean we try to fly in atmosphere as little as possible, but it got us here just fine, right?"

Liara nodded along, lips pressed tightly together in concern. Shepard, seemingly oblivious to the rising panic of the team, energetically resumed walking down the beach as she called out behind her, "Let's get a move on, people."

As they approached, the entire front of the ship began to tilt open to function as a massive cargo loading ramp. The door slowly creaked ever closer to the ground, squealing the entire way as metal hinges angrily made their lack of lubrication known. After about ten straight seconds of this, the bay door slammed into the sand, and in the silence that followed Liara heard Garrus mutter, "Spirits, this is embarrassing." Undeterred, Shepard strode forwards into the ship as her crew filed in behind her. Bringing up the rear, Liara stepped forwards off of the ramp just as it began to raise itself once more, closing noisily behind them.

Looking ahead, she saw that she now stood in what appeared to be a single, gigantic cargo bay comprising the entire frontal section of the ship. Various crates, piles of electrical cables, and open toolboxes scattered the deck, all left in random positions with no real sense of organization. The center of the bay had what looked like docking stations for multiple vehicles, but each station lay empty, instead used to store precariously balanced crates of ammunition. Towards the left side of the bay, Liara spotted what looked like a makeshift armory, complete with weapon racks full of various firearms and a grease-covered table covered in partially deconstructed rifles. Beyond this, several mats were laid out across the floor next to piles of barbells and weights, and distantly Liara thought she could make out a punching bag hanging off of a mount.

"Alright, welcome to your official Normandy tour." Liara blinked and turned to find Shepard facing her with her hands on her hips. Behind her, Garrus and Tali had walked off into the ship as they began to unload their equipment. "This is basically where we keep everything that doesn't fit in any other place in the ship, so if you have anything you wanna put down here feel free to claim a space."

Shepard turned as she talked, motioning for Liara to follow as she began to weave through the maze of equipment. Hurrying to catch up, she carefully stepped over what looked like most of a soldering kit. "Thank you, but I tend to travel as light as possible."

"Well, now you have an excuse to start picking up some souvenirs." Shepard stopped at the far end of the cargo bay before pulling up her omni-tool and calling out, "Joker, get us off this rock." Immediately, the floor began to shake as a deep rumbling sound filled the air. The ship suddenly pitched to one side, nearly flinging Liara into a workbench before Shepard braced her with a grunt.

A high pitch whine rang out briefly before fading out of Liara's range of hearing, and just as suddenly as the commotion began, everything went still. Wincing, Shepard let go of her and rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry, the inertial dampeners don't always kick in right away during a burn." Turning, she thumped a panel on the wall behind her, causing a door to slide open. "Anyways, let's get you all checked in so I can show you where your bunk is."

Stepping through the door, Liara found herself standing in a significantly smaller room. In front of her, a circular table sat in the middle of the room, surrounded on all sides by various chairs and a ratty looking sofa off to one side. Further into the room was what appeared to be a kitchen, complete with various stoves, sinks, and an oven.

"Okay, this is the mess, so whenever you get hungry or just want a place to relax for a while, this is the place to be." Shepard idly scratched her chin with one thumb as she continued, "Also, we use this as a sort of makeshift conference table for any mission debriefings." She gestured towards another door over to Liara's right. "That over there is the door to the bunks, and the one on the other side is my cabin, in case you ever need to find me for something."

Liara nodded, taking in all the new information as it came. Despite only being a wall away from the cargo bay, this room felt like it came from a much smaller and cozier ship. Trying to puzzle out the distinction, her gaze fell upon a set of mugs on the mess table, each half full of what looked like cold coffee. This room, she realized with a small smile, felt like it had been lived in and made thoroughly comfortable, judging by the broken down state of the couch.

Shepard set out across the room with Liara following close behind. She watched as Shepard thumbed another panel on the wall, causing a door to slide open and reveal an empty elevator. Filing in behind her, Liara leaned up against one wall and began massaging the ache in her temples once more.

The doors slid shut as the elevator car slowly began to rumble upwards, causing Liara to wince at the sudden noise. Her headache pulsed once more as her limbs began to grow heavy, lethargy sweeping through her. Sighing tiredly, she rubbed her eyes firmly before opening them to find Shepard staring at her with concern laced across her features. "You feeling alright, doc?"

"Oh, I'm fine I'm just–" A jaw-cracking yawn interrupted her. "I'm just tired."

"Right." Shepard continued to stare, frowning with alarming intensity. Feeling her cheeks warm under the sudden scrutiny, Liara resisted the urge to look away. After an excruciating five seconds, Shepard sighed and turned away. "Well, let's get you checked in with our shipside doctor so you can find a place to sleep."

The elevator ground to the halt, doors opening with a soft ding! Stepping out, Liara found that once again the atmosphere of the ship had changed dramatically. Before her lay a cluster of consoles, monitors, and holographic displays, all of which were rapidly cycling through various tactical and positioning information. Each terminal was set up to be able to see the large galaxy map in the center of the room, which itself had a single terminal built into it. Striding forwards, Shepard quickly ran a hand over the map controls, shifting the display as she explained, "This is the CIC, and where I end up spending most of my time." She gestured forwards, and Liara turned to look down a long, tubular hallway shooting away from the command center. "Down there is the little hole where our illustrious pilot likes to hide, and back that way," she continued as she gestured towards a door in the wall right next to the elevator, "is where we keep the engine and anything mechanical like that."

Shepard stood from the map console as she turned back towards Liara. "Anyways, Karin will kill me if we don't get you to the med bay." Gesturing for her to lead on, Liara fell in step behind Shepard as she walked around the CIC towards a sectioned off portion of the deck. Bright, white lights filtered through large windows as Liara found herself looking in on a sterile medical lab that looked like it had been lifted straight out of a hospital floor plan. The door slid open as they approached, and stepping inside Liara was immediately hit by the chemical scent of disinfectant. Blinking at the sudden change in lighting, it took her several seconds to realize the room was already occupied.

Sitting on a rolling stool before her was an older human woman, silver hair falling to her chin and mouth surrounded by wrinkles from a lifetime of smiles. The woman stood, brushing off her spotless lab coat as she called out, "Ah, Shepard, back from your day at the beach, I see." Peering past her, the woman's brow raised as she made eye contact with Liara. "Would you care to introduce me to our guest?"

Shepard clapped Liara firmly on the shoulder, resting her hand there as she replied, "Karin, meet Dr. Liara T'Soni."

"A pleasure." The woman held out her hand, and as Liara shook it she continued, "Staff Lieutenant Karin Chakwas, at your service."

Shepard turned to Liara as she elaborated, "Karin here is our resident medical officer. If one of us gets our bell rung on an op, she's the one that gets us back on our feet."

"Yes, well, judging by how quickly you go through my supplies I'd say you could do with a little less bell-ringing if you don't mind." Shepard barked out a laugh as the doctor turned to Liara. "You'll have to forgive us for Shepard, Liara. I promise that at least one or two of us still possess our common sense."

Liara shuffled awkwardly, memories of fighting vorcha while suspended upside down surfacing in her mind. "To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm any better."

Chuckling again, Shepard shifted her hand as it continued to rest on Liara's shoulder. The warmth of her hand had started to bleed through her shirt, and Liara found herself suddenly struggling to focus as the heat slowly radiated out across her body. She blinked, realizing that Shepard was speaking once again. "Speaking of that, she got a little busted up during our extraction."

Chakwas immediately sobered, gesturing over towards an open bed. Stepping forwards, Liara sat across from the doctor as Shepard continued to watch from the doorway. Not looking up from where she was gathering her supplies, Chakwas called out, "I think it would be best to have a little privacy, don't you think?"

Shepard snorted as she stood from where she leaned on the doorframe. "Alright, I'll get out of your hair." Turning to look at Liara, she continued, "Find me whenever Karin releases you and we'll get you all settled in." Without waiting for a response, she backed out of the med bay, automatic door closing behind her with a hiss.

Clasping her hands together, Liara sat quietly as Chakwas finished collecting several different thermometers, syringes, and other medical instruments. Unable to bear the quiet as the doctor moved to sit next to her, Liara blurted out, "She seems very involved with the health of her crew."

The doctor's brow rose as she carefully began prodding around the gash on her shoulder. She paused for a moment as she slowly began cleaning dirt out of the wound before responding. "I met Shepard several years ago, back during her Alliance days, and even back then she had a reputation for being a very hands-on officer." Liara winced as Chakwas methodically cleaned the entire wound before she reached for a cloth to dry off any excess cleaning agent. "I've never seen someone quite so good at befriending the people around her. Also, please take your shirt off, it's rather a bloody mess."

Liara complied, unbuttoning her shirt and sliding it off to allow Chakwas better access to her various scrapes and bruises across her arms and shoulders. Tilting her head quizzically, she inquired, "I wasn't aware that Shepard used to be military."

Nodding her head, Chakwas sighed. "With the way she runs this ship, you'd think she still was." She looked up with a grin. "I'm not complaining, honestly. Most civilian ships are run too sloppily for my taste."

They sat in silence for a minute or two, with Chakwas efficiently moving from wound to wound, cataloging them all on a tablet while treating anything that needed attention. Drowsiness returning in force, Liara felt her eyelids begin to drift closed as her breathing began to slow. Just as she finally closed her eyes, Chakwas remarked, "I will admit that Shepard does seem particularly interested in you."

Liara's eyes snapped open. Looking over towards the doctor, she found her looking down towards her tablet as she innocently typed away. Clearing her throat, Liara stammered, "What do you mean?"

Chakwas looked up with a wry grin. "In my experience, Shepard usually is far too busy with takeoff preparations and mission reports to personally escort someone to my med bay for a few scrapes."

Liara stared silently at her, eyes wide with panic as her face flamed with an embarrassed blush. Chakwas' smile grew as she looked back down towards her tablet. "Well, it's none of my business, anyhow." She reached over to grab one of the empty syringes, flicking off the protective cap over the needle. "Alright, I just need to get a blood sample and take some biometric scans to start your medical profile, and then you'll be right as rain."

Liara nodded, holding out an arm as Chakwas began to swab off the crease of her elbow. Fighting the urge to close her eyes again, Liara held onto the promise of a nap in her future. The doctor stood, holding out a medical scanner in front of her, and as Liara sat dutifully still she felt her mind begin to wander. A vision of Shepard appeared, holding a hand out as she smiled from up above. Her eyes wandered past the extended hand, taking in thick, well-muscled arms and a scarred lips tilted in a roguish grin. Heat began to pool in Liara's stomach, and as if in response, the vision-Shepard before her winked.

Liara's eyes flew open as she inhaled sharply through her nose, her whole body now tingling with restless energy as the vision dispelled. Perhaps a nap was going to be harder to achieve than she thought.

A/N: the adventure begins, but for realsies this time! honestly tho writing this chapter kinda kicked my ass lmao. hope you guys enjoy my take on what the normandy would be if instead of a top tier warship it was the mercenary equivalent of a shitty space van. also you may have noticed in this one that i grew up reading the mind meld scenes in the eragon books.