Chapter 26: What's Done In the Dark

Shouts alerted Karin Chakwas that there was a new level of hell fast approaching, not necessarily for her, but mostly for those that are about to get involved in this particular patient's care. The sounds echoed in the elevator shaft and she stayed ready at the door with her med-kit, jumping straight into the fray as soon as the doors rolled open. She hailed orders alongside Commander Shepard, who had been atop a gurney as she had refused to remove her hand from Dr. T'Soni's chest wound. They wheeled along to the infirmary as Dr. Chakwas got out her stethoscope and started a mental timer, referencing her wrist watch as she measured the asari's heart rate.

"Not good, already timed it," the Commander ushered raggedly, "I can't stop the bleeding, ran out of medi-gel. She needs blood. Do we have asari blood?"

"No, only for us," Karin answered calmly, "I need her in surgery so I can see what's going on inside of her."

"She'll die if she doesn't-"

"I know." Chakwas moved towards the plinths and looked at the quarian and turian who were steering the gurney, jerking her head towards the plinth. "Move her onto her side on the table and place her arm above her head." She looked up at the Commander. "Contact every hospital or clinic on Noveria and start searching for any blood they have, we will deal with the issue if it arises that they do not have her type."

"And her type is-?" Shepard carefully hopped off the gurney without her hand leaving the wound. Karin noted that the soldier was covered in them herself, but did not seem the least bit aware. When she took over and began to stack gauze on top of gauze to apply pressure to the wound, she helped herself to the quarian's hand and guided it to rest over the gauze, a silent command in her eyes.

"I'll know once I collect samples and run it in my machines. Or send me the address you visited on Thessia and I will request medical information from any nearby hospitals she may have visited on her home world." Karin clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth and shook her head when she got a better look at the wound. "We don't have time to wait for Thessia, we need to find blood here."

Shepard drew out a long strained exhale, struggling not to pace about as she circled behind Karin like a hawk. "Dr. Chakwas," she started again, "I don't know if I can secure asari blood on Port Hanshan - they won't be inclined to help. My Spectre status means nothing in a lawless world."

"Then make them be inclined to help," Karin looked up, inwardly grimacing at the reality of what kinds of doctors there would be on this accursed Port. "If not status or legalities, then credits."

The Commander lingered, and though she was still as expectantly stoic and emotionless as most times, her eyes betrayed her - as was her lack of purposeful strides or decisions. She was still trying to retain some kind of act, to remain professional as if there was nothing, but Dr. T'Soni had already enlightened the nature of the relationship back at the Citadel. While Karin sympathized, she needed blood and she needed the Commander's cold calmness now, more than ever.

Wishes came true, damned as they were, when the turian took the burden away from Tali as his own training for first aid took over. He reached across the plinth with his free hand and caught Shepard's shoulder.

"Commander... Her mother would be a match."

Something flicked like a switch in Shepard's eyes, in her demeanour. Without another word, the Commander regained her purpose and marched out of the infirmary with but a haunting order.

"Tali, please prepare the infirmary's storage room. I'll return shortly with Wrex and Lieutenant Alenko."

"Prepare it for what?" Tali rushed quickly.

The Commander stopped for a moment, sighing as she raked her bloodied hand across her matted hair.

"Things that will help restrain Matriarch Benezia - and whatever you can do to soundproof the room so that Liara doesn't hear if she wakes up."

This was a psychological gold mine that Karin had struck. She was trying not to tip off the observer she was observing intently, flagging potential concerns and studying interesting behavioural phenomenons.

Phenomenons to the Commander, anyways, no matter how normal and natural such things are to most other humans or aliens.

The first such concern to be flagged - though dared not mentioned - was the fact that Shepard was being an extremely difficult patient. She normally respected the process and allowed Karin unimpeded care, if only to recover as quickly as possible in a race to be patched up on the next dangerous mission. Now? Shepard would stall even the simplest bandage changes that would only take her eyes away from Liara for a minute, at best.

"It seems I will have to get creative here..."

Chakwas eyed one of the empty mobile plinths, then back at the bed where Liara laid unconscious, hooked up to machines and fluids to monitor her after her surgery.

"I do not have much room to work with. Perhaps I can employ the Commander to help me move things around?"

It was worth a shot, to see if Shepard would even be willing to move a single foot away from her chair.

"Commander, I can move one of the mobile plinths over to-"

"Not necessary," Shepard interjected absentmindedly, her focus in her observing Liara's chest for breaths unperturbed. "Thank you though, Dr. Chakwas."

"Does she know what I was going to suggest?" Karin was the slightest bit aggrieved, but she understood.

She didn't approve, but she understood.

With the chaos somewhat now tamed and calmed, there was time to record notes. Karin finished charting how the surgery went, how many sutures she needed, and the near-thoracentesis process that Shepard kept pushing for in her anxiety that there was fluid build up in Dr. T'Soni's pleural space, crushing her lungs in from the outside. All readings were normal, and the asari was a textbook recovery at this point. If only a certain soldier was not deprived of her logic, with her emotions running haywire, but it served multitudes of fascinating observations for Karin - and things she emphasized to ensure she'd touch on in her next psych check-up with the Commander.

"Dr. T'Soni's injury does not seem to have traumatized the Commander, but rather open a door to things she's not yet learned how to cope with. The way her anxiety is manifesting itself in her stern commitments to not leave T'Soni's side is as clear as it gets. She's still protective and on guard, despite the danger being over."

Karin glanced over at the storage door, grimacing a little to herself.

"But not far away."

It was no easy feat to induce a medical coma even with the help of biotics to restrain Matriarch Benezia, and Karin idly rubbed at her jaw, where one of her instruments had given her a good bruise when it flew at her for trying to sedate Benezia. It reminded her of something critical to add to the Matriarch's chart.

"She far exceeded the recommended anaesthetic dosage for an asari her age and weight. Her brain scans are nearly identical to that of Dr. T'Soni's acquaintances. What exactly is affecting their nervous system to such an intricate degree that even their chemistry and anatomy can adapt like this, to resist?"

Based on the accounts of those she's spoken to so far over what exactly happened in that compound, Matriarch Benezia held no qualms to inflict the injury and suffering that she had. Karin may not have been close with Dr. T'Soni, but she had trusted the Commander's judgment in that there was something affecting these individuals and forcing them to do things that weren't them.

Karin's gaze panned away from her terminal screen and over to the asari, where she had briefly caught Shepard dozing off in her chair. The doctor suppressed a sigh and glanced back at her screen. "You should take a bed and take your medication before you pass out."

There was a slight shift, then a clear of the throat to assume a steady tone. "I'm fine."

The sigh couldn't be held in for long.

"Commander," Karin exhaled slowly, "You may unintentionally cause more harm than good if you fall asleep close to her. I highly advise you at least take your medication as a precaution."

"I can't afford to sleep right now."

"She's safe here and-"

"Liara nearly died," her tone almost wavered, darkened, for a moment. She quietly cleared her throat and settled back in her rigid ways. "Matriarch Benezia is in the room beside us."

"In a medically induced coma, just as the others are. I'm keeping an eye on her through the camera Engineer Adams set up. Why not assign Lieutenant Alenko to keep watch in here for a while?" Karin twisted in her stool, striking the nail right on the head to ensure the stubborn soldier would get the sleep she dearly needed, and for good reason. "You won't be able to protect her if you are the one who will endanger her next."

Shepard's jaw clenched, staring blankly. The gears were turning in her eyes. The two stared until the Commander reluctantly conceded and engaged her omni-tool, calling the Lieutenant to the infirmary. After, she rose and walked over to the pharmaceutical section to help herself, then grabbed an open plinth near Dr. T'Soni, not bothering with any blankets - or unholstering her pistol.

"I'm sleeping here," Shepard insisted with the kind of tone that left no space for any debate. An implied order. "Please wake me if there are any updates."

"Of course, Commander."

Karin turned to her terminal, repressing her sigh of relief. She kept it to herself that she didn't at all intend to disturb what little sleep the soldier never gets.

"Where... Is that music coming from?"

Distant sounds plucked and gnawed at her. They were unsettling. She didn't like it - feared it very much instead. Voices she recognized accompanied the sounds, though, voices that only served to provoke the anxiety growing inside of her.

Hazy colours spun around her, blurring her surroundings. Mostly orange and yellow, drawing images of a sun, a... City? A sidewalk. The music became more clear, became louder, sharper, jovial.

Oh, sweet Goddess.

Jovial.

"No," Liara inwardly pleaded. "Not this, please."

The distant voices also sharpened, somewhat, and it sounded like an argument of sorts. One was logical, insisting the heavenly thing of shutting off the music. It was causing stress.

"Not just stress."

Trauma.

Two others joined in, one calm and emotionless, insisting music had been proven in studies to facilitate a speedy and healthy recovery.

"Not this music."

Another sounded disappointed in a theatrical way. The first and third voice Liara did not recognize, but the second voice had screamed Luce in every way imaginable. The asari had felt like she was drifting about, lost at sea, but the colours slowly bled into black and sucked her into a brief darkness. A gentle breeze on her face had nearly tricked her back into thinking that she was standing at the beach with the wind brushing her cheeks - until a chilling metal slipped into her palm and became the stark contrast that dragged her away from peaceful bliss.

Pain stabbed at her lungs when she sucked a sharp breath in and she coughed, her eyes snapping open. Her hands slapped over a strange contraption strapped to her mouth. Blurry faces rushed to surround her, firm hands grabbed her wrists and held them away from her face. She glanced over at the one responsible for removing the mask from her mouth: Dr. Chakwas.

"Dr. T'Soni," Chakwas smiled reassuringly, "How are you feeling?"

Liara's gaze lazily panned over at the one who held her wrists: Helen. Behind her, Lucy waited with a blank expression but expectant eyes.

Part of the asari wanted to lie and say 'fantastic' as a dig at a certain stubborn human, but she'd been far too exhausted and felt like she had been thrown in some sort of meat grinder. Her arms fell slack and Helen carefully lowered them back on the plinth. Her eyes fluttered shut and all she could do was groan.

"Somebody please turn that Goddess-awful music off."

"What?!" Helen nearly shouted, earning a swift reprimand from both Dr. Chakwas and Lucy. Helen grumbled, but thankfully, the music died a swift death. "I thought it'd be a good memory for you."

"I thought so too," Lucy sullenly mumbled.

It took all of Liara's willpower not to laugh at the insanity of these audacious two. The music that Shepard had danced to, consequently traumatizing everybody on the Normandy? Had Helen lost her mind and blocked off this traumatic memory herself?

Oh, and one other important question.

"Why are you here, Helen?" Liara rasped weakly. She had no energy to cope with theatrics when the marine exaggeratedly slapped a hand over her chest - who soon caught on and smiled apologetically, shrugging with a surprising humbleness instead.

"Been checking in on you. We've been worried, you know? Lucky is waiting for you to come back to bed."

Liara didn't bite her lip in time to stifle her smile when Lucy had rolled her eyes in the back.

"And I've been helping the Commander learn how to actually dance, while we've been waiting for you to wake up from your beauty sleep."

"I already know how to dance," Lucy answered stoically.

Everybody wisely chose not to challenge that remark.

"Alright Sergeant Lowe, time for you to go," the Commander ordered, but not with her usual sternness. There was something almost... Gentle about her, about the way she had looked at the deflated marine. But all she did was jerk her head towards the door. "Dr. Chakwas will need to run her tests in peace. You've permission to update Petty Officer Chase about Dr. T'Soni's condition, but nobody else, is that understood?"

Helen snapped her heels together and saluted. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

"Dismissed."

Those bright green eyes zeroed back in on Liara, and she swore shivers raced down her spine for it. Before Lucy could approach the plinth, however, Dr. Chakwas blocked her and came over with a pressure cuff. The doctor hadn't even batted an eye or wavered when she had issued her own order.

"You heard yourself, Commander. I need to run my tests in peace."

Oh, the look on Lucy's face. Liara sucked in her bottom lip and smiled sympathetically when the stout soldier looked shattered.

"I need to overse-"

"Outside, Commander. I will report to you when I am done and then you may enter the infirmary if I deem the patient is well enough for conversation."

"But-"

"Doctor's orders, Commander. Please do not interfere with Dr. T'Soni's care."

It was as if somebody had slapped Lucy, and honestly? Liara was kind of enjoying this - but not enjoying the pain that accompanied even the slightest movements. She hissed when her arm was lifted a pitiful inch just for the cuff to slip around her bicep. She empathized with the way Lucy lurched protectively, and Dr. Chakwas remained stern when she had looked over at the Commander, before at the door. Lucy sighed and reluctantly marched out.

"I will be right outside the door. Please report with haste when you have concluded your tests, Dr. Chakwas."

"Of course, Commander."

As soon as the door slid shut, the older human had a kind of clever look to her eyes, a subdued smile that played on the corners of her lips as she worked. She glanced down at Liara as she began to pump to inflate the cuff.

"This will be the only time you will get peaceful rest. I do have questions I need to ask, but do try to conserve your energy and be short with your answers so as not to put additional strain on yourself. Firstly: do you know who you are and where you are?"

Liara nodded, her voice weak and hoarse. "Normandy." She glanced down at the cuff, grimacing at how tight it was. She let out a small breath of relief when the pressure deflated. "Liara T'Soni."

"Good. Do you remember how this happened, why you're here?"

"I..." Liara glanced down at herself, but the sheets covered her chest. Her eyes burned in an instant. Her throat tightened. She lost her voice and she squeezed her eyes shut as she tearfully nodded, mouthing the word silently. "Benezia."

Dr. Chakwas sucked in a slow breath. "Yes."

Tools clattered noisily. Liara didn't have the courage or strength to ask anything and kept her eyes closed for the entire time the doctor worked on her, suppressing her whimpers over the sharp sting of a needle worming into her inner elbow.

"Your readings are good. I apologize, but I'll still be taking more blood tests as some of your organ values have been abnormal. Are you experiencing any headaches?"

"N-no." Liara reluctantly opened her eyes and glanced down at her elbows, where they'd sported some bruises from needles. She cringed at the IV threaded into the back of her hand. She glanced up and watched the doctor's back as she worked and recorded her findings in her terminal. "Is my mother...?"

Chakwas sucked in another slow breath, terse with her answer that gave off a feeling that she was not inclined to say more.

"She is alive."

"But more than that, she can't say. Will Lucy actually tell me, or is she ordering everybody on the ship not to say anything about the matter to me?"

Curiosity compelled Liara to know, but at the same time, she was terrified of the answer. She didn't believe that the Commander would have taken kindly to a hostile threat - not with all her talks of neutralizing threats.

"But Dr. Chakwas said she is alive..."

What specifically did that entail, though? As bad as it was, Liara did not think Lucy would be above torture.

"Especially if it's to gain information about Saren."

Her innards gnarled gruesomely, and nausea clawed up her throat. She closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing when the slightest sharp kick of a breath had diffused pain along her ribs. She tentatively lifted up her blanket to take a look at her wound for herself, cautious in her movements as she rolled up her gown. A hot surge of anxiety shot through her at the sight of a large gauze pad wrapped around her ribs, under her breast. She immediately let go of everything and hid the sight with the blanket, shyly looking away when she had noticed that Dr. Chakwas was observing her.

"The worst is over," the doctor said sympathetically. "I've removed the chest tube yesterday and your wound has been healing remarkably well. Recovery is best when I can help you get up on your feet as soon as possible for rehabilitation, but it will still be a delicate transition."

Liara couldn't help but grunt and groan a little. She knew exactly what was coming and what was going to impede recovery, and no strain or pain to talk stopped her.

"Explain that to Lucy instead."

"I have been. I'm relieved you're awake so that you can assist me with that," Dr. Chakwas chuckled. "No arguing between you two. Doctor's orders."

"Tell that to Lucy too."

"Believe me, I have been," the good-natured doctor laughed quietly again. "As I've said, this will be the only time you'll get a peaceful rest. The Commander has completed only one mission while you were out, and that was because it was an emergency. I suspect even another emergency will not tear her away this time, now that you're awake."

Joy.

With that, Liara made it her mission to close her eyes, empty her mind, and pray for sleep to take her for as long as possible.

Piano reverberated across the dark sea. An ocean of stars greeted her from above and Liara sighed in content as floated on her back. There was a calmness that washed over her, consumed her inside and out, no troubles to be found for miles. There was something that haunted from the horizon, but she refused to acknowledge it, refused to even look in that direction. It promised an unbearable and agonizing truth if she did.

Familiar melodies weaved into her soul, stitching and painting an old memory. A storm outside, trapping her in a cave with her fellow colleagues on a dig. The little piano song she learned to play to keep her restless mind occupied with something. The abundance of thoughts used to be as scattered as the rain, a whim that carried her as wistfully as the tunes her fingers danced on the keys.

Soon, it was a loop she sank into, being pulled underwater. She didn't panic, could breathe in it instead, but the darkness was pervasive. The horizon glowed in the underbelly of the sea.

Dark purple exploded, blotted the water, and though the pain burrowed in her ribs, it was muted. She looked down and patted herself, watched as strands of her burgundy blood would thin out and meld together with the sea. For a fleeting second, an image of her mother's face flashed by her mind, and she promptly cast it out. Her lungs squeezed tight and she could no longer breathe underwater, but neither was she sucking any of it in. She was suffocated by something else.

Faint voices drifted into her consciousness, promising a reprieve, guiding her back to the surface of the water. It all turned black when that chilling metal slipped into her hand again. The sensation disappeared when her eyes fluttered open, confused to see that the sterile white lights were significantly dimmed.

"Dr. T'Soni," a low voice whispered beside her. The sounds of the piano stopped abruptly.

Liara's head lulled over to the side, where the illuminating green optics stared at her without blinking. She glanced down when the chill of metal curved over her finger, observing the synthetic hand that gently cupped her knuckles.

"How are you feeling?" Lucy inquired tenderly. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine," Liara lied, then shook her head, forcing past the lump lodged in her throat. "Don't need anything." She licked her dry lips. "Piano, please?"

On command, her favourite song burst back into life. She melted in relief on the bed. Lucy stealthily moved in the dark infirmary, where something sounded as if it was being poured. She returned with a cup of water and pulled her chair closer to the plinth.

"I... You have some options here. I can help you sit up, but it'll likely elicit pain. Alternatively, I can drink the water and feed it into you." She tapped the cup against her lips.

Within seconds, Liara flushed hot. Lucy's head snapped to the monitor measuring vitals and clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth. She set the cup aside and gently clasped the asari's shoulder - peculiarly with her synthetic hand, still. Liara didn't need any more signs than that to start keeping an eye out for the organic limb and deduce what mystery Lucy was trying to keep hidden from her now.

"I know it hurts," Lucy murmured tenderly, "Let me feed it into you, then."

"N-no, that's... Embarrassing."

Shepard's brow arched, maybe. It was hard to make out specific details, especially with Liara trying to keep a lookout for that which was stowed away.

"I don't understand. We have engaged in kissing before?"

"This is different," Liara stammered pitifully. "It's... It's not kissing."

"Hm..." The soldier nodded thoughtfully, and the protest seemed to backfire by fuelling her resolve instead. "Well, it's hydration, which is far more vital."

Lucy rose from her seat, showing that there was some kind of bandaging on her organic hand. She threw her head back and chugged the water, leaving Liara no choice when the soldier bent over and captured her lips. There was no fighting this fate or even stalling it, evidently, and Liara knew their stubborn streaks were going to butt heads at some point. She reluctantly parted her mouth and ignored the fierce heat beating away at her complexion, instead embracing the refreshing coolness of water trickling into her mouth, giving her time to swallow in between.

It was only when Liara had started to reach with her hand, feeling the IV tube glide along her skin, that she remembered she couldn't exactly be dehydrated with intravenous fluids being fed into her instead of some paltry water through her lips.

With the last of the drops gone, and subtle motions moving against her mouth instead, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. The biting chill of metal carefully cradled her face. Shepard breathed shakily when they took a brief break, her eyes firmly shut - they were almost always open to observe, no matter how sheepish it made Liara. Their foreheads touched, waxy strands of hair falling forward and pattering against the asari's face. Lucy sucked in a small breath before she pressed in a little more desperately, her synthetic thumb pacing almost obsessively back and forth over Liara's chin.

"I don't want to understand how you felt ever again," Lucy whispered in between kisses, encapsulating it all in it's own cryptic clue. She sighed and broke the kiss before Liara had the chance to think to ask for clarity. "Now I know why you were so troubled when you saw me get shot. Never again, you hear me? I don't want to understand ever again, Liara."

Eyes burned in an instant, and Liara swore the green glowed more vibrantly. She wondered why the infirmary was actually this dark, now.

"Promise me," Lucy pleaded frailly. "Never again."

What was there to promise? She was being asked the same thing that Shepard herself would not be able to promise. Of course Liara didn't want to get shot, but that wasn't necessarily something she could control. Seeing and hearing all of this felt just as bad as the pain embedded in her ribs, though, and she mustered her strength as she cradled Lucy's jaw.

"Never again," Liara promised.

Something clicked. Lucy held up her bandaged hand, where she held a small stick in her fingers. "Insurance," she stated with such finality, as if it were the answer to the most bizarre phenomenon in the universe. "This is now a verbal contract that you cannot dispute. You are never allowed on missions ever again. You are hereby instructed to remain on the Normandy at all times. You will have an escort and must first seek clearance from me before you can explore any ports and cities. That escort will preferably be me, unless I am involved in a mission, in which Lieutenant Alenko or Gunnery Chief Williams will then escort you instead. If they are involved in a mission with me, then permission to explore is automatically denied."

Liara stared blankly. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but what she did know was that she pretty much expected this from Lucy anyways. It must have said a lot about Liara following orders if the Commander felt the need to record some makeshift vague 'verbal contract' now - not that that would encourage Liara to listen any more than an order from a Spectre.

Instead of arguing, she reluctantly followed the doctor's orders in this matter instead.

"I'll deal with this issue another time. Instead..."

The asari reached out towards Lucy's cheek and smiled.

"Never again," Liara lied.

She was most definitely not just going to sit idly by if there is something that she can do to help this stubborn soldier.

"If she thinks she can use this to go back to 'operating' alone, she is wrong."

Relief overcame Lucy, and she almost seemed surprised. Her shoulders weren't as hiked up any more. She stowed away her sneaky little device and sat on the chair, nodding stiffly. "Good."

The synthetic hand came back into play, up until a pointed look directed at the bandaged hand - several pointed looks - had reluctantly entered the battlefield. Lucy's gaze suddenly fixated on some spot on the wall. Her mouth opened, closed, opened, closed, up until Liara reached carefully to squeeze what fingers weren't bandaged.

"Talk to me, Siame. Something already tells me this was not due to..." Liara's lips thinned in a frown, ignoring the memories that surged in a flash. "...What transpired at Peak 15."

With a heavy sigh, Lucy relented. She bent over and rested her forehead against the back of the asari's hand, fingers weakly hooked together. There were several long and strenuous minutes, as if the soldier was weighing the pros and cons of her answer. It finally came with another long breath.

"It's... This has to be between you and me, the crew cannot know this." Lucy rose her head, eyes stern. "Is that understood?"

"Do I want to know what she has been telling them to explain her hand away?" Liara mused worriedly, but nonetheless nodded.

"I did not handle your injury very well."

With that, soon after, Lucy's gaze fell with her head and she weakly squeezed the fingers hooked on hers. Liara's brow arched, her mind caught off guard, her heart twisting with empathy. She squeezed back and looked back up at the ceiling, taking a moment to anchor her emotions to the whimsical melody of the soft piano serving as ambience in the infirmary.

"I see," Liara murmured as evenly as she could.

It wasn't all that she could see, and it slowly twisted a dagger into her heart instead. She sighed and closed her eyes as she held on tight to Lucy's hand.

"She's lying, isn't she?"

And Liara was certain she would not like it if she found out why, even if whatever was being hid was to protect her - but Lucy was neglecting to remember something pivotal.

"I did not get into my chosen profession so that truths would remain buried."

"Again!" The Commander's voice rebounded off the walls in the gym, where the stench of sweat pervaded fabric and drenched mats. Liara curled her nose and had half a mind to suffocate herself with the pillow she had to hold to her chest to support herself before she moved about. She enlisted the aid of Lucky's tail by gently uncoiling it from her throat in order to press it up against her nostrils.

Marines toiled away endlessly, tiredly, in maneuvers meant to challenge their hand-to-hand combat. Lucy was running out of poor souls to demonstrate the moves she was teaching, and even Gunnery Chief Williams had lost her spirit to be the abused helper. From the bench, Liara could hear the endless sleuthing of curses originating from Helen in the corner.

These sessions were frequent during the week, regardless if the Normandy was travelling, docked, or if the Commander had just completed a mission. There was no rest for her. The only information Liara was able to wrench out of the ship's main source of scuttlebutt - Helen herself - was that this was all due to a 'facet' of a mission that had gone wrong that had involved civilians, the only mission the Commander undertook while Liara was still in her brief coma.

"I wonder if it was that mission that Lucy did not take well."

It was not something Liara did not think she could wrench truthfully from the stoic soldier herself, nor anyone that would otherwise dare disobey what was likely an order given to them to say nothing. Slowly but surely, however, she was receiving stitches of information. Dr. Chakwas revealed that the Commander had only completed one mission, and now it seemed as though the Normandy was grounded because of the outcome.

"It was an emergency - another attempt at a slave raid?" Liara watched the lines of marines practising throws and deflecting punches, using the momentum of them instead in order to drag the opponent to the ground. "I feel like Lucy would be training them with weapons instead of defensive maneuvers, though."

No rest for the wicked, it seemed, but at the very least it helped Liara keep her mind engaged and the memories far away, ignoring the twinges of pain that would shoot out at her ribs.

That, and the way Lucy would coddle her excessively when they were alone.

"I expected nothing less from someone who was already over-protective prior to this..." Another image surfaced, squashed down immediately. "...Incident."

Helen's exaggerated groan broke Liara from her muse, and she waved sympathetically when the poor marine had somehow found herself thrown at the asari's feet.

"I envy you right now," Lowe rasped weakly. "Death by a thousand bruises for me, at this point."

"Hang in there," Liara chuckled, taking a look up at the clock. "I think there's only 5 minutes left."

The marine grunted and grumbled as she slothfully pushed herself back up when Lucy had ordered to return to sparring immediately, and poor Helen lumbered away back to her demise. Liara caught the Commander's gaze and made a show of engaging her omni-tool, firing off a quick message to Lucy.

[X-05 T'Soni: Go easy on them before you kill them.]

It wasn't long before Lucy's inquisitive gaze had turned into a deadpan one, and Liara smirked at the way she could finally deign and interpret the emotions so clearly even on a stone-faced expression. The soldier's sarcasm was easily triggered, practically dripping with it in just a single word sent back.

[CDR Shepard: Really?]

[X-05 T'Soni: Really really.]

[CDR Shepard: I do believe it would be in your best interest to look after yourself, Dr. T'Soni. Or are you eager to tempt punishment?]

There was heat waiting to consume Liara's face at that, surely, but she valiantly fought not to let her embarrassment show - or where the more tawdry parts of her mind was taking that. She lifted her head and pinched her elbow in against the pillow a little firmer as she typed back, daring something she knew would make the soldier back down.

[X-05 T'Soni: I'm eager to tempt a conversation to learn and understand why you're actually running these sessions in between missions.]

With that, the glow of orange upon Lucy's arm had dissipated, and she clapped resolutely as she barked the end of the session. There was a collective groan of weary cheers as marines toppled on the ground to catch their breaths, up until they were dismissed for their showers. Helen looked eternally grateful, not tempting her own fate as she passed by with a quick whisper.

"I saw your omni-tools there, thanks for makin' it 2 minutes left insteada 5. You're a god-send, Liara."

"You're welcome," Liara chuckled, disengaging her omni-tool as she leaned back to rest on the wall. She waited until the gym emptied, and all that was left was just her and Shepard. The soldier had a subtle smirk as she approached, though her glare fixated on Lucky multiple times along the way. Peculiarly enough, there was something lacking in the hostility between the pyjak and Commander Pyjak, but there were many other questions that Liara needed to catch up on. She reluctantly held out her hand, the new routine between the two, and held the pillow against her more firmly as Lucy helped her rise from the bench.

"It can be a conversation for another day," Lucy murmured, gesturing towards the door. "You should focus on your recovery first, instead of asking questions."

"Asking questions does not hinder my recovery."

Lucy sucked in a sharp breath. Her bandaged hand slid along the small of Liara's back and pushed along tenderly. "Let's get some food. I've bought us cans of-"

"Shepard."

"Liara, please. I cannot always divulge classified information to you."

"Is it classified because of protocol, or classified because you just don't want me to find out?"

At that, Lucy stopped and turned to face the asari, frowning a little. "Are you implying I'm lying to you?"

"Yes." Liara bit her tongue before her own concerns overtook her and made her rash. She captured the bandaged hand in her own and elected a more neutral response. "I'm implying that I am not the only one who needs to focus on recovery. I would rather get my information directly from you instead of trying to get something from others."

"You could also rather not do your no-boundary thing. This doesn't have to be an expedition. It's not an archaeological dig, Liara."

"You are the expedition itself, Siame." Liara reached up and gently cradled the soldier's cheek in her palm. "I have learned I need to dig the truth out of you because you bury it, and that hurts you, will hurt us too even without you meaning to. We... Our relationship... Please, we must be open with each other. We need trust and honesty."

"So you are implying that I'm lying to you."

"You cannot lie if you do not tell," Liara blurted, thanking the Goddess that she could at least still be diplomatic even if her mouth went off without her brain. "I do not need to be shielded or coddled, you know this already. So please, won't you let me be here for you, as you are for me?"

Lucy stubbornly looked over to the wall. "I'm not keeping score of who's helping who. You can help with something else if you feel compelled to return something to me."

"This is not a pick and choose solution, you know that." Liara sighed and relented a little, leaning back. "I will understand if you are not comfortable speaking about whatever is troubling you to me, Shepard, but I hope you are speaking to someone about it."

"I am," came the swift and firm answer, one that was hard to deign if it was truthful or not.

"I can only think that it would be Dr. Chakwas helping her with this."

"What I am accomplishing here is not a passive-aggressive resolution to deal with - what, I am assuming that you are concerned I am not otherwise resolving my menial issues?" Lucy gently ushered along with her hand on the small of her back, her decisive stride returned to her as she moved as fearless as she always had when she was right in her world. "This is training to prevent these issues from reoccurring in the future. If you must know, what I can declassify and divulge is there was a mission where we have failed civilians. Not all of them, but any loss is a catastrophic loss. We were to save them. We were forced to neutralize some instead, for the greater good. This way, I am providing all my marines the tools and confidence to be able to resolve any situation peaceably. As you already know, peaceful solutions are the best solution, after all."

All well and good.

But.

"None of your issues are menial. Ever." Liara murmured, stepping out to the side to be out of range with the hand ushering her along the back. She quickly snatched Lucy's hand in her own and stood her ground, searching the flighty eyes and waiting until they landed back on her. "Thank you for trusting me with this, Shepard... I understand all of this more clearly now. Please let this serve as the evidence you need that you can talk to me about these things, no matter how 'menial' they seem to you."

No matter how menial Shepard was trying to make it seem, to not be affected. That bandaged hand betrayed that stance the soldier took.

"I..." Lucy groped with words, staring down at their hands. She sighed and nodded reluctantly. "I'm sorry for hiding this from you, despite dragging you here for these sessions. I just want you to recover quickly and get back to our sense of normal, and in doing so, determined that this information isn't vital to share."

"Anything that involves you..." Liara let go and stepped in, resting her hand over the soldier's chest. "Anything that involves you is vital to me, Shepard. If there is ever a time where you are deciding these things, then maybe it will help you to think: would you want that information from me? If it is vital to you, what is happening to me, then I assure you that it is safe to assume the same is said for me."

"That's fair." Lucy looked down at the hand on her chest, seemingly stuck for some reason. Her gaze then panned up to Lucky, her eyes... Different? She did not seem to hesitate when she leaned in for a kiss, and it stumped Liara, honestly. She leaned back instead, looking up at Lucky in confusion, and then at Lucy.

"What happened while I was-"

"No more questions," Lucy interjected with a slight chuckle. She stole her kiss, then stole Liara's hand and pulled her gently. The soldier looked over her shoulder with a proud smile. "All you need to know is that Lucky and I have been negotiating and reached a reasonable resolution."

"Negotiating. With a... Pyjak..."

Skepticism was really at an all time high now. For now? Liara wasn't going to spoil this victory, and the elation soared quickly when the realization settled in. Lucky nor Lucy displayed any signs of aggression - no hissing or spittle or swatting from either of them. The pyjak chittered happily and Commander Pyjak had even hummed parts of a familiar piano tune every now and then, in their mission to return to the infirmary for Liara's routine check-up. Instead, however, they went towards the asari's quarters that she shared with the marines.

"Shepa-?"

"I just remembered I have a matter to attend to, I won't be long. I'll come back here to take you to the infirmary."

"I can walk just fine on my own, you... Aren't really doing anything different, you know."

"You need an escort at all times in case you experience any symptoms or dizziness. Can't be too careful."

"I could ask Lowe if she wouldn't mind-"

Lucy tensed, and her terse ways came out. "I'm escorting you, that's final. Just... Relax here, okay? Helen can tell you all about her dancing lessons." A beat. "I learned nothing, by the way."

"Because you cannot dance. I am willing to bet Helen has been blindfolding herself to spare herself further trauma," Liara mused in amusement. She reluctantly conceded, though was slightly confused why she felt Lucky vibrate on top of her crest, a sign that he was not happy with something. She was ushered in her quarters soon enough and laughed at the sight of half-dead marines scattered about, groaning collectively as they prodded sore muscles and bruises.

"Well... At least I finally have freedom, for however long. I don't have to hear Lucy's fretting with the way her eyebrows pinch, anymore. Maybe this isn't so bad."

Shepard arrived in the infirmary, her gaze connecting with Dr. Chakwas. The doctor pieced what the arrival meant with the lack of a specific asari, and Shepard heard the beeps of the door locking behind her. Dr. Chakwas retrieved a different kind of med-kit hidden away, opening it to check and ensure she was stocked with what they needed.

They shared nods, and Shepard began to unravel her bandaged hand as she strode for the med-bay's storage room, re-wrapping it the way she would when she'd box with her heavy bag. She input the code in the door and used her clearance to open it, revealing Lieutenent Alenko at the far corner of the room, watchful and focused on one of the cryo-pods in the room.

"Commander," Alenko saluted, his gaze falling on Dr. Chakwas. He frowned with what Shepard had eventually learned was disapproval. "Are we going to try to make her talk again?"

"She will." Shepard finished wrapping her hand nice and snug. "I understand you have qualms over this, Lieutenant Alenko. I will not order you to stay and you will not be reprimanded if you leave. What I do ask is that you make your decision now, in case if I need Wrex here for his biotics instead." Her gaze lifted, wearily, as she bore back at the tired soldier. "I do not like this any more than you, but we need to find out what she knows of Saren's plans."

Alenko sighed and crossed his arms, looking hesitantly over at Dr. Chakwas. It was clear the doctor had her opinions over this as well, but they had no choice. Chakwas began the pod's thawing process, ready with a needle to sedate and subdue alongside Alenko's biotics.

Shepard fixated her gaze on Benezia, that dreadful feeling beginning to snake around her guts as she waited for those familiar eyes to open.

She couldn't ever stop seeing Liara's eyes when she had.

"Get ready," Shepard announced, her hand ready on her pistol, calling on her meagre biotics to assist if need be. Something sank in her chest when Alenko whispered.

"Does Liara know about this yet?"

"She wouldn't take this well. I understand. I don't think she would understand. I don't think she would care that I do not want to do this, but I must. The Cipher means nothing if I can't beat Saren to the Conduit. Nothing will mean anything once the Reapers are set upon us. This is for the greater good."

How long was she going to keep lying to Liara and to herself?

"This... This is for the greater good. To save the many instead of the few. I will not be able to even save the few if the Reapers are... This is for the greater good."

She tried to stay focused on the task at hand, renewing her mantra when the needle sank in Benezia's neck.

"This is for the greater good."

The haunting eyes drowsily lulled open. Shepard shook her head to answer Alenko.

"This information isn't vital to share."