From: Garrus_VK2180
To: AndersonD2152
12-23-2184
Sir,
I hope we conveyed how urgent the situation is in our teleconference. Our mutual friend is currently staying at the med-clinic in a tri-valenced room, heavily sedated. The doc has some asari-made biotic dampener schematics he's repurposing for human physiology, but it's just a band-aide. She needs proper training and FAST.
From: Garrus_VK2180
To: AndersonD2152
12-26-2184
Sir,
What are our transportation options? I have some concerns I'd like to speak with you about on the QEC. Getting our friend off of Omega may prove tricky, if my suspicions are correct.
Please respond to me soon. I'm sure the council keeps you busy, but this is urgent.
From: Garrus_VK2180
To: AndersonD2152
1-3-2185
Sir,
Our friend is back on-base, pretty upset and apologetic about the unintentional damage. I told her not to worry about it, we have plenty of creds coming in.
Still, she is understandably scared of being helpless again. Without training, the doc is talking about trying a different type of inhibitor chip. It's her worst fear. I can't sit back and watch this happen. But the dampener is causing a great deal of grief and it's only a stop-gap. I'm not sure how much longer she can hold out. The blasted thing is literally burning through her skin – the doc has her on some sort of open-wound protocol given the infection risk, but it can't be comfortable. I don't know how she tolerates it.
From: Garrus_VK2180
To: AndersonD2152
1-6-2185
Sir,
I just hope you're alive.
From: Garrus_VK2180
To: LiaraT2145
1-6-2185
Liara,
Please meet me on the QEC ASAP. I have an urgent matter that I need a biotic's help with. It's about our mutual friend….
Twenty minutes later the QEC buzzed, and the pixels converged before his eyes, materializing Liara's lithe form.
"Oh thank the spirits you answer fast."
"What's going on?"
As best he could, Garrus articulated the past few week's events, not leaving out a single detail on the off chance any shred of information could prove useful. He didn't like her furrowed brow as she slowly turned the issue over in her mind. It didn't bode well.
"This is… recent?"
"The inhibitor was removed a couple months ago. Well, three now if you count the time she's spent sedated in the clinic. Honestly, Liara I have no idea what's going on. The doc says it's a lack of training and who am I to argue?"
"It could be any number of things. She checked out physically?"
"Yes. Trust me, this salarian knows his stuff."
Liara spread out the palms of her hands helplessly. "I'm not certain how much help I'll be… this is… beyond my experience. If I had more time, I could try contacting the matriarchs but I'm not exactly on their good side. And there are none I can say I trust."
"No. It has to be someone from the Normandy team. She's… Listen, someone's after her. I'd bet good creds on it."
"What?"
"Lately, whenever I bring her to the market, I swear we're being watched. And given what Krul has told me – that she's the most powerful human biotic in existence and now she's vulnerable. Let's just say I've got a real bad feeling about this. It has to be someone we trust implicitly. Even if you don't understand the problem, maybe just start with some basics? The spirits only know what the batarians taught her. Anything might do the trick!"
"I wish I could help… I really do. But I can't leave, have zero time, and it's not safe here… goddess… even talking like this is dangerous. My office is bugged. I'm at my apartment right now. I did a sweep yet I'm not Tali…"
"It's a risk, but I'm desperate Liara. Anderson, dropped off the map. Kaiden isn't answering my emails, usually doesn't anyhow. And the last one he sent was about needing 'space to mourn Shepard.' I know they go back to boot camp, but he needs to suck it up."
"You know how close they were. There's a lot of history there."
"Uh huh. Well, it's damned annoying right now."
"You…. Care about her. A lot. Don't you?"
"She's just not what I expected."
"You've mentioned that before."
"When we raided the Rotund, ignoring the big 'if we found her' thing, what did you expect her to be like? At best, I figured she'd be like Talitha. But assumed it'd be a lot worse, considering she'd spent two years as a ship slave. Probably chipped, only capable of rudimentary speech."
"I honestly hadn't put much thought into it, mostly I was worried about Shepard."
"It's not about Shepard anymore. Sure, that's why I started all this but… she's…..cool. Fun even. Somewhere along the line, I found myself enjoying her company. And did I mention that she saved me and my men twice? The second time was even more shocking than the first. We didn't return from an intel run and she not only came looking for us, but infiltrated the base when she learned we were in trouble. Spirits, she survived fourteen years of batarian slavery unchipped, only to have to hide like a criminal because of bullshit politics. And now this? She's terrified at the prospect of needing an inhibitor and I really can't blame her. I won't stand by and let this happen. All she ever does is run around trying to ensure she's 'useful,' never asks for anything. Never shows fear. But this? She begged me, shaking from a hospital bed. I can't watch her be reduced like this. I'd rather face Sovereign again." At some point, Garrus had absentmindedly begun pacing and clenching his fists. Finding himself at the wrong end of the bedroom, he promptly returned to the holo-projector where an infuriatingly patient Liara waited.
"Well, what about Wrex?"
"What about him?"
"In case you've forgotten, he's biotic too."
"He's the least discreet person we know, aside from maybe Joker."
"From where I'm sitting, he's the only option left. It can't hurt to try."
"Have you seen him head butt people?"
They ended the call and Garrus headed downstairs to have a chat with Jane. She practically quarantined herself in her room, fearful of her own power, of how close she came to injuring one of them. Part of him knew she'd been so thoroughly pummeled due to drawing the biotics into herself, saving their lives in the process. In total she'd broken twenty-two bones requiring several surgeries, and spent three weeks in the bone-regenerator at the clinic.
He rapped on the door. It was three in morning yet he was certain she was awake, and even if she wasn't, any news was good news at this point. The door creaked open and she sighed at the sight of him. "I take it Liara was a dead end?"
"Yeah but she had an … idea. There was one more biotic on the team that I haven't mentioned…"
"Oh?"
"Yeah… Wrex. He uhh… he was ground-side on nearly every mission with your brother."
"Okay… why do you look like you just lost your favorite rifle playing poker with Krul?"
"He's a krogan warlord and completely insane."
"That… that sounds perfect actually. I'm pretty sure I couldn't accidentally kill a krogan."
He wasn't half as optimistic as Jane at the prospect of housing Wrex under the same roof as Mierin, that was a fight waiting to happen. His turian compatriot lost his kid brother to Blood Pack thugs. Combine his history with the heavy-handed education all turians receive in primary school, and he became adamant that every krogan was a blood-thirsty maniac. But if that's what it took to get her the help she needed, he'd be damned if he denied her.