Shepard Normandy February 23 2183
"Entering orbit, headed to coordinates. We should be there within the next thirty minutes. One hell of a view, huh Commander?"
"Yea, Thessia's a beautiful planet. I've only been a handful of times."
"Hell, that's more times than I could speak of. Of course, I wouldn't do great here. A bunch of blue babes wondering around, and i'm practically hollow bones from the waist down." I couldn't help but laugh at the picture in my head of Joker trying to seduce an Asari. "Sorry, just the thought. It's hilarious."
"Hey, come on. Not everyone is as lucky as you Shepard. You've lucked out and got maybe the best asari in the universe."
"Hey watch it. Maybe?" I really didn't know where me and Liara stood. But I knew I was closer than I was farther away. "Yea I mean, I have no idea if she's perfect underneath the lab uniform too. Unless you know, you wanted to send me you guys remake of Vaenia?" I punched his shoulder while laughing at his request, softer than I would anyone else. "Can it Joker. I'm ashamed that my pilot feels comfortable enough to talk about porn with me. Let along some that would include me. We haven't even gotten that far yet."
"Hey careful, I might start calling us friends Shepard." At the mere mention of the word, I would usually tense and turn cold. Instead, I gave the scrawny pilots shoulder a grab and a squeeze as we made our way through cloud cover. I had been thinking back to Andersons' words more and more since we left Noveria. They were true as anything he had ever told me. The closer I allowed myself to my team, the more loyal and willing they were. It even made me better in some aspects, but it was still too soon to call it positive.
"I gotta tell Garrus. He's been trying to get closer to you since we left Feros. He's gonna hate it when he hears this." I smiled. Maybe their wouldn't be any downfall of letting the crew get closer to the real me. After years of hiding away from getting close to anyone, I had started to forget how much greater it is when everyone likes you and respects you. Not that I needed them to like me, it did make everything more pleasant and smoother than I had felt in years. And I had to admit to myself that I wasn't that same kid on the streets.
"Holy shit, is that Liara's house? I mean I knew she was part of high society, but she's dam near a princess from the looks of this place." The house came into view under the dawn sky. There were multiple buildings surrounding either side of the main house which looked like something out of a high society movie, making Joker's statement more of a fact than joke. Surrounding that was acres upon acres of lush green, littered with natural waterfalls and water ways. One singular road winding through it to make a great scenic view. "How does it feel to be dating royalty Shepard?"
I shook off his words, trying to get my own bearings back. "There are landing pads right where the road starts. Put us down there." I observed as we descended, a few other roads leading to other great estates in the distant, none quite as large or spectacular as the T'Soni estate though. "Normandy crew, we are prepared for landing." I headed to my room to grab my bags for the couple weeks I had planned for us to be there; the crew deserved some shore leave anyways. I intended on the ship being completely locked down so that everyone got a chance to relax; it was likely we wouldn't get this chance again for the duration of the mission. It was the only time we had where we weren't actively chasing or being chased. On the way to my quarters, I ran literally straight into the young and visibly nervous scientist, grabbing her in my arms before she could fall backwards down the stairs. "Whoa, you ok there?" I met her gaze and watched as her anxiousness melted away.
"I- yes. I just have not been here in a very long time. I was actually looking for you Commander. Shepard. I mean-."
"Calm down Liara, you're rambling. What do you need sweetheart?" She turned her head and gave me a puzzled expression. "Sweetheart?"
"It's a term of endearment. What's wrong?" I felt the heat on my cheeks rise, realizing what I had just said.
"I...well, I wanted to know if I could help oversee my mother's passage to where ever it is she needs to be taken."
"Of course. I need to speak with Councilor Tevos. I'll make sure you're with me every step of the way." I felt myself grow tense, thinking about the conversation with Tevos I had a day earlier. I was still no closer to knowing what Tevos had planned for Liara.
"Shepard, one more thing. Once we are on Thessia and people realize that we are here, they will want to know what we are doing, why we are here, and everything in between, even down to what we had for lunch. Asari with powerful names such as myself are treated like the human equivalent to celebrities on Earth."
"That bad huh? Don't worry Liara, i'm with you. I can understand why that would be really hard for you having to deal with your entire life. Earth and most humans everywhere else treat me like a celebrity, I think most are just too intimidated to approach me for autographs though. It'll be fine."
"I suppose you are right. I see how most humans look at you and even some asari. But what about my mother? Surely, the asari do not know about her situation. The moment we step out of the ship and people realize I am here they will start to question and record what is happening. Upon seeing my mother in a cryopod, it will only suffice to gain more attention, this could end up being a national affair." I thought for a moment. I honestly hadn't prepared for this. It hadn't even occurred to me with Liara's shy and quiet demeanor, that she had spent a great amount of time under her own people's magnification. But then again it made sense as to part of the reason why she loved archeology so much. "The councilor has a plan for that i'm sure. I'll give her a hail. Until then we can have everyone from the main team who wants to go on ahead of us leave after our conversation with Tevos. I'll make sure no one speaks to any journalists." She nodded her head, agreeing with my sentiment even if she didn't catch on to the old saying. "And I meant what I said, you'll be in the call with me. Go ahead and take care of anything else you need to, i'll go talk to everyone, let them know what to do. Don't worry Liara, i'm going to make this whole situation as painless as possible. I promise."
She smiled up at me almost lovingly, and I fought hard not to buck my eyes at my ending sentence. It had been a long time since I had let anyone get close enough for them to experience this kind of energy from me, and yet there I was, trying my hardest to fix every need Liara had like a dog trying to please its owner; going so far as to break one of my most important rules to self for the second time; never promise anyone anything. In that moment, I realized just how amazingly strong the need for Liara's attention and affection was to me. 'I'd break that rule every time for her.' I said to myself in an even more astonishing moment. Meanwhile in the world outside my thoughts, Liara hooked her arms around my neck and pulled me into a soft and quick but still very emotional kiss. For the first time in this life far away from the one I had as a child, I was having a public display of affection without hesitating or awkwardly breaking off before it could be done. The feeling was uncharacteristically intoxicating from its usual dreadfulness. I almost felt taken into a different reality where everything was different; that I wasn't in the military, I was just an ordinary woman in a relationship with an ordinary asari, granted Liara was anything but. It gave me the sensation of being at home; something I of course never knew or understood, but in this moment it made such clear sense to me.
She broke off, and scurried back down the stairs pass two crewman who, unknown to me, were intently listening and watching the conversation. One coughed into his hands and stared down in shame in preparation of my berating. The other was locked in a terrifying vice grip of my initial take of her, unable to look away like the saying, 'a deer in headlights'. I stared at the two with a blank expression on my face, one moment before relaxing my jaw into a clumsy grin. 'Yeaa that's about to shake up a lot of those, 'Shepard's the most ruthless commander i've ever had talks', I thought to myself as I walked passed the two dumbfounded statues.
Liara Med bay Storage
I was more pleased than surprised at myself at the encounter earlier. Thinking, if I had just been more affectionate and straight forward with Shepard from the beginning, maybe the things that happened with Ashley would have never transpired. I was still feeling some kind of emotion behind the whole situation, even though I made it appear like it was nothing to me; I wanted to stay as far as possible from my budding dark side. I grabbed a few things I had waited to pack until the last minute and threw them in the small duffel bag. I had more comfortable clothing at home, and besides, I knew I would have to dress up everyday that I was in Thessia. Anything less and I could have a very unpleasant impact on the T'Soni name. In that instant it dawned on me, the outcome of this situation was likely to end with me as the head of the house. I knew one day it would happen. Just not one so soon and sudden. I tried to take a few deep breaths to no avail. I knew the responsibilities that were about to be thrown at me and it gave me the most unpleasant feeling. Stepping in once again to save me, Shepard's voice came from the other side of the door lighter than usual. I opened it to get a look directly into her piercing eyes.
"The councilor is here. I thought we were expecting a call but it turns out we're having a face to face. Are you okay?." I nodded as she motioned me to fall in line behind her staring into her back as I tried to keep up with her pace. Her shoulder and back muscles hugged the thin shirt which became more of an accent to the perfectly sculpted shapes. Her arms bulged slightly in the tight muscles I had just rubbed my arms across not too long ago. I tripped up the first stair and she whipped around, balancing me back upright before I could hit the ground. Having Shepard swoon over me was sending a fiery heat from my chest right down to my thighs. I tried to shake the thoughts as we made it to the briefing room where Councilor Tevos waited for us.
"I see it was too much to expect your crew to be left out Shepard, hopefully that doesn't backfire on us."
"This plan involves Liara's mother. She deserves to be here."
"Ah. A badass with a moral compass. Anyway, my plan is simple and I am sure you all would like if I got to the point yes?" We both nodded at the woman as she looked between us, a glint in her eye as she looked on at me that I could not pinpoint.
"We are going to tell Thessia that Lady Benezia is dead." I flinched at the notion and Shepard cursed at the woman while pointing a stern finger in her direction. "Are you out of your fucking mind Tevos? What happens when Benezia wakes up? What exactly is your plan here? It was one thing to tell Saren she was dead, but this is taking it too far." She seemed more amused at Shepard's outburst than afraid and that alone was enough to make the heat rise back into my chest. Just as I opened my mouth to berate her she slid up a hand and began explaining her plan.
"Will the two of you stop and let me finish. As I said we will tell Thessia that Lady Benezia is dead. That will keep her safe from Saren until we can proceed further with her... condition. Meanwhile that puts little Liara here in the position as head of household. A lot of people will debate the topic but nothing will be done to see otherwise. After all you are the next and only one in line to carry on the household's name. That will give you access to information even I am not allowed to see or know. By luck, I have a source within with a limited peak into what the high priestess hold dear. Similar to humans and the ancient Vatican. Along with that you'll have other more material resources and revenue, which will be absolutely necessary if we are to make it anywhere against the reapers."
"But I know nothing of carrying the T'Soni name. Simple politics and the little all children to be next in line are taught. This plan will depend on me having all of the skills of a capable head of house, which I have very little. It would also require me to spend a a great deal of time in meetings and diplomatic situations and that will not be possible as my real expertise is needed here with the Commander."
"I think you're selling yourself very short Liara. And for anything you're truly lacking in, i'll help you make those decisions when it is time. You won't have to worry about the smaller more menial tasks as after we give a full interview with Thessian news, everyone will know of your plan to avenge your mother's death before becoming fully enthralled with the role she has 'left' you. Every once in a while, their is a need for a rebel to take on the role as head of a great house. It gives the family's name attention, and gives the house a chance to change and adapt with the current time and shed the old ways. It is one of the secrets to all great, long-lasting houses. And the T'Soni house is well over due for one. This will work perfectly for my plan, and you still get to be under the Commander." I choked back for a moment before thinking. 'What does she mean under the Commander? Surely she can't tell. I shook my thoughts. It seemed she really did have it all planned out. And I wasn't inclined to try to put a solution together myself. Not for beating the reapers and definitely not for taking over as the head of my house. Still, it made me wonder why she was being so open. What was her motive?
"Well what about Benezia? What are you going to do to her?" I was brought back to reality by Shepard's voice she had been quiet for a minute, likely in deep thought about Tevos's plan too and trying to work an angle on improving some small detail only she would notice that would inevitably play a key role in our mission.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to kill Matriarch Benezia. If that were the case, you all were more than capable of that yourselves. I am going to take her to the high priestess'. They believe they have the answers to help, so we are going to start there. If their plans fail we're going to go with something a bit more... scientific. I have great faith in the priestess'. Of course you'll come with me to deliver Benezia to them, you can bring Shepard as well but none of the other crew. Where we will be going is ancient and very sacred to the asari."
"Well wait a minute, if it's so ancient and sacred, shouldn't I hang back to? It's not like they need me to fight some demons or something, right?" She laughed at herself, but I could tell her question was more real than her voice led on.
"No Shepard. I wasn't referring to you as coming as Liara's commander, I was talking about accompanying us as her bondmate. You are her bondmate correct?" Her eyes flew open and so did mine after brief and awkward eye contact with her and then back to Tevos. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I spoke. "No. Me and the commander are not bondmates. We uhm well-" She cut me off and finished my sentence with words I did not possess myself. "So you two are still in the courting stage? Do yourselves a favor and stop pretending like you aren't going to end up together because there's so much at stake' or whatever lame excuse you both are hiding behind, and just go ahead and do it. It's painfully obvious to everyone who has to be in both of your presence. And i've only seen you two together once."
"What goes on between me and Liara is no ones business." She took a slight step closer to me, proving Tevos' point. "Well, I'm not sure if Liara's told you but she is very high in the asari people. So, once someone catches on to you flirting, it'll be the only thing anyone is talking about. So you can either admit it now and we can add it to the plan, or hide any indication that you two are dating." The room was silent and I started to wonder why Tevos was being so personal as if we shared a connection I was clueless to. She was usually always so professional and rigid. At least from the few occasions where Benezia had ceremonies at our home, and she was there. "We'll talk about it later...alone. Let's get back to this plan of yours." Shepard cut in, motioning the woman back on task.
"Yes of course Commander. Like I said we'll be taking Benezia to the high priestess' but telling the public that she is dead. This will hopefully lead to Saren not looking for her and in turn weaken the indoctrination that is over her giving the priestess a chance to work with her mind. This could be our only chance to get Benezia back. For right now, she has cocooned a part of her mind somewhere deep in her subconscious. That is how she would still be able to break away from the indoctrination. The more time she spent with Saren, the more it took over until she was only able to break away for a very brief moment of time. The sedative I gave you to inject in her is essentially an irreversible coma, the only way she will be able to fully revert back is if the indoctrination can be somehow...erased. I understand how this might sound but this entire idea was Benezia's. She went to the salarian councilor to have an STG unit find a way to prevent indoctrination. Their overall results failed. But what came out of those results succeeded. Through deep meditation, older asari are able to lock away a part of themselves. This skill is usually best in people who find it important to hide away certain information or even feelings during a meld. Asari and people who join with asari often are able to tell when a presence is in their mind other than their own if the presence isn't very stealthy, or so powerful it doesn't care to be seen. Benezia is using that skill as we speak to keep on to the part of her presence that is untouched. In the state she is in, it is much easier for her and much harder for Saren and ultimately Sovereign. The reapers only want entities that are physically and mentally aware. A person in a coma is useless to them, so the connection between them weakens. If the priestess can find a way to push the indoctrination 'out', so to speak, Benezia would be able to wake herself up. Right now, the battle she's fighting is going to be the same for all of us if we don't come together soon."
"Well that covers a lot, but what about when we defeat Saren and Sovereign? If she does wakes up, she can't just hide forever."
"She won't Commander. By then, the people will believe the reaper threat, and we can tell the true story. Or at least as true as we can tell it. We'll cross that bridge when it gets closer."
"Alright you've made your point Tevo's. What do we need to do now?"
"Head to the T'Soni estate as a crew. Not just the two of you. Or Liara can ride with me alongside Benezia and my security."
"I will stay with the crew of the Normandy."
"Very well then. Once you all have made it to the estate. I will meet you all there. We won't be saying anything to anyone until tomorrow. Where we will go to Thessian news and break the information about Benezia's death. Shepard should be there too, considering she will be known as Benezia's killer. So you better start thinking of a very convincing story. Don't worry, once people hear the story, you won't be hated. It'll also give you two a safety net. If someone does spot you two being affectionate, as long as it's not completely obvious, it can be written off as a Commander helping a grieving crewmate. It wouldn't hurt to show a little softness to the rest of the crew, it'll blend better if you are." I could see the visible flinch in Shepard's body at the words.
"Their will be a full funeral ceremony for Benezia, which means guests will be coming for days from all over, and we still need time to execute the other side of the plan. I suggest you all be prepared to stay in Thessia for about three weeks."
"Three weeks? Tevos I can't dedicate three weeks to this, and it be approved by Alliance Command."
"Well luckily you don't need approval from them."
" No I don't, but the Alliance personnel do. And I won't ask them to break regulation. Even though they wouldn't complain about the added extra week of shore leave than I planned, it could look bad on their reports on future assignments."
"Perhaps we could leave the Alliance personnel onboard your ship that last week. Have them do some calibrations and restocking or whatever. That way they technically aren't on shore leave. But your shore party needs to stay with you."
"I suppose I could take the heat for Williams and Alenko."
"Alright it's settled then. You all can head over when you like and I will see you in the morning." Shepard nodded her head as Tevos headed to the door. When it was just the two of us alone, Shepard planted a kiss onto my lips and looked down at me with a goofy smile. "What are you waiting for Princess T'soni, let's head out."