A/N: For Chapters 13 and 14, I tried something a little different - an interlude to look at a different aspect of Shepard and her crew.
Vignette: Liara T'Soni
Dr. Liara T'Soni had been brought aboard ship initially because Shepard didn't want Saren getting his hands on her. The simple reasoning was that if Saren was interested in her, so was Shepard. At first, Shepard was uncertain what to do with the asari. T'Soni was shy, and kept to herself most of the time. Most of the crew was wary of having her on board, especially in light of her family ties to Saren's right hand. Wrex and Tali were initially the most accepting, and Shepard made every effort to make her feel comfortable.
Every now and then T'Soni would awkwardly express a seemingly clinical interest in Shepard and her visions, which usually resulted in light teasing from Shepard. Once Liara figured out that the teasing was good-natured and even friendly, she visibly relaxed around the commander. She resolved to make herself a valuable crew member, pulling on every bit of commando training she'd received in her youth to contribute to combat situations.
Liara practiced using her biotics regularly, and was pleased with how quickly she improved. Her biotics had always been exceptionally strong; had she not chosen academia, she would have been a very fine commando. With repeated use, she was even more dangerous on the battlefield. Knowing that she could not rely on her biotics alone, she had Wrex help her improve her accuracy with a pistol. He was happy to help, although she suspected that he did not really need to use his hands to adjust the direction her hips faced quite so often.
Shepard would occasionally come by Liara's room to chat. Initially Liara assumed that Shepard was interested in her in a more personal way. She was well aware of humans' fascination with the asari. Humans, male and female, were under the impression that asari were both promiscuous and skilled sexually. When she was trying to explain that this was misinformation to the commander, she was very embarrassed when Shepard laughed and replied, "I'm well aware. Believe me, I've had many asari who were definitely not skilled sexually."
She was relieved but not a little disappointed when Shepard, sensing her discomfort at the subject, smiled and said, "Don't worry, T'Soni. I'm not trying to get in your pants. You're very beautiful, but I'm. . . Let's just say, I'm not looking right now."
When Liara went down to the storage hold that first time to meet Wrex for target practice, the tall, dark-haired marine at the weapons bench caught her attention. Following her gaze, Wrex chuckled and said, "That's Chief Williams. Nice, eh?" Liara's cheeks darkened in embarrassment, but that didn't stop her from saying, "Very."
It wasn't long before Williams offered to take care of Liara's weapons for her. She explained that she enjoyed the work and talked about how she found the surety of working with a pistol or a rifle soothing. Liara couldn't help but think that talking with Williams was anything but soothing. Definitely not that. Unfortunately, before she could work up the courage to attempt any flirting with the marine (Had she ever actually flirted in her life? Definitely not since university.) she realized that the commander and the chief spent a good deal of time together. So much for that. It didn't stop her from thinking about Williams though, sometimes, when she was alone. . .
At least she was able to form a comfortable enough friendship with both Shepard and Williams. She really did like them both. She began spending more time in the mess with the two of them, along with Wrex, Garrus and Tali. She was gratified when it appeared that she'd earned the trust of her new companions, despite any initial suspicions. Things seemed to be going fairly well for her aboard ship.
And then Noveria.
