Athena wouldn't calm. Liara felt impatience from her through their bond, felt the frustration that came from needs not being met. She projected soothing feelings to her as she nursed and gently stroked her daughter's back with gentle fingertips, but her own attention was torn by the conversation she was having at the same time.
"I wish I knew," she said, Feron's own usually calm demeanor roiled by the topic at hand. "She hasn't been very communicative since her vacation."
"Something must have happened," Feron concluded correctly, though Liara didn't want to broadcast her troubles with Jack and confirm it. "And I don't mean to speak negatively about her. She's just been so reliable that the change is troubling."
"It's alright," Liara said firmly. "I should be able to pick up my portion and more, besides." She tilted her head and looked at him sincerely. "I think we should give her some time."
Feron was mid-nod when he looked down and away at something, an audible tone coming across the feed. "I don't remember the last time you took a vacation," she said. "You're due."
The crooked twitch of his lips told her the thought had been on his mind. "I'm putting something together. Will let you know," he admitted.
Liara smiled brightly for his benefit and also in real relief. She was truly thankful for everything Feron had done both before and after he'd taken his role as the third Shadow Broker, and wondered if the personal time she'd taken away from the job left him with a sour perception of her. She had no intention of letting him down but it was then that Athena detached and began to cry, and she looked down at her daughter with concern.
"I'll get back to it," Feron said after a moment.
She felt her cheeks burn but put on a serene face before replying, "Of course. I'll check in soon."
After he disconnected her back straightened with pride. She wasn't going to feel badly for having the child for which she'd so desperately longed. Athena's face was screwed up in anger and she wailed until Liara gently shushed and embraced her. With full skin contact the bond between them quickly enveloped her awareness, floating together in a dim, warm, comfortable place where nothing could touch them. There she could feel some of Athena's emotions as she did her own and it took no time at all to recognize that the little Asari was feeling keen...loneliness? She must be missing Shepard, or even Aethyta, who'd spent so much time with her the last couple of days. The thought that her daughter was already missing people made Liara smile and she began to sing softly to her until her crying ceased.
They sat there in soothing silence until Liara felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Tali's face watching them tenderly, and the Quarian spoke softly so as not to ruin the moment.
"I just got a message from Garrus," she began. "He said they're on their way back and should be here soon."
Liara nodded happily, but she continued.
"He also says that while we shouldn't be alarmed, Shepard didn't exactly come out of their mission without a scratch. He thinks it would be best if you met them in the medical wing? I can take care of Athena and the kids...he says it's a little too early to be exposing them to this kind of thing."
Alarm blossomed in the back of her mind. Any wound that required medical attention this long after the fact must have been fairly serious. "Did he say what happened?" she asked as she checked her systems for any missed messages from Shepard herself.
Tali straightened and crossed her arms with an imperious sniff. "Only that I was right and they landed themselves in a Salarian trap I could have gotten them out of, if I'd been there."
Liara smirked at her words. "Well, it seems we have grounds for uncle Garrus to stay behind, next time, don't we?"
"Oh," Tali crooned, holding her hands out for Athena, "You better believe it."
Liara walked into the clinic housed in the eastern corner of the estate and nodded to Doctor Caleios, who rose from her seat in greeting. From here, medical care was provided for everyone living or working on the grounds. Thankfully for them all there wasn't much to do under normal circumstance and the place was empty.
"Good afternoon, Liara. How can I assist?" the teal colored Asari asked smoothly, one hand cupping the other as she waited for an answer.
"Hello Lyisse," she replied with kindness in her eyes. "It seems my bondmate is returning with injuries. Can you call in a medic or two and prepare our diagnostic equipment for her arrival?"
Concern furrowed the Doctor's brow. "Of course. Did she mention how she was injured?"
"No," she said in a clipped voice. "I have no details as yet." It bothered her that Shepard hadn't called her personally, but she assumed the woman was wrapped up in whatever political fallout remained from the mission.
"We'll be ready," Caleios said, nodding, before beginning her preparations.
She put away the concerns crowding her mind like stormclouds and stepped outside for some air. It was a peaceful day and the sun shone above with an ever present seabreeze cooling her skin. Shredded clouds moved in the opposite direction of that breeze, high, high above.
Time crawled as she waited, leaning against a stone railing. A notification from Glyph on her Omni provided a welcome distraction and she pulled up the flagged report. An explosion of some type had taken place on the Citadel and toxic gas was forcing an evacuation of the Tower. She was composing a message to her agents for details when she heard the telltale hum of a shuttle engine drawing closer. She took a moment to finish her thoughts before moving to the landing pad expectantly.
She could see Garrus through the front glass when the shuttle settled. He saw her as well and raised a slow hand in greeting before turning to leave his seat. Liara headed for the side hatch, nerves prickling as the door slid open. She saw a pair of medics exiting the clinic, heading her way, and moved forward to have a peek inside the darker interior.
"Shepard?" She called, unable to keep a note of fear from her voice.
"I'm here," she heard Shepard say and instantly relaxed. Garrus' face was the first one she saw, however, bruised and swollen.
"Hello, Liara," he said with a grimace.
"Garrus, you look awful. Are you alright?"
"Oh this is nothing. Just a spirited disagreement," he joked, but subtly moved between her and the step she was about to take toward the back of the shuttle. "Eh, listen," he added with a raised palm. "She's fine , okay? She looks rough but she's fine."
Liara's jaw clenched and her stomach did, too. "If she were fine you'd have no reason to say something like that."
He shrugged heavily. "I'm just letting you know, is all. Don't want you to worry."
But she was pushing past him before he could finish and found the woman already up and walking toward the door. Red hair fell across Shepard's face as she watched her step, but Liara's eyes must've had difficulty adjusting to the interior light...as her skin looked cast in shadow.
"Shepard?" she whispered, eyes wide and a hand gripping the edge of the door like a vice.
Familiar green eyes flitted to her face from under that auburn mop, but that was all Liara recognized as she straightened. Shepard's face was razor gaunt and full of unforgiving angles while her padded underarmor was torn, hanging loosely on her frame where it had once been blessedly filled.
She felt the air leave her chest at the shock of that sight and could scarcely draw another breath. "Goddess," she managed to whisper before her hands took Shepard's face gently between them. "What has happened to you?"
She wondered, just for a moment, if this was really her at all, the change was so stark. Her skin was hard and cold, more like supple metal than flesh; but the pained drop of Shepard's eyes at her words made her a believer once more.
"Not sure," Shepard said roughly before clearing her throat and lifting her gaze. "But I'm alright, Liara." She said it firmly, almost angrily; as if she were trying to convince herself at the same time. "I'm...alright."
Her lover's hands with overlong and dark slender fingers slid around her waist and pulled Liara into an embrace; though the alien body now fully in her grasp gave her as much concern as comfort. She slipped into the human's mind without hesitation and was astounded by the maelstrom awaiting her within. She felt a wall slam down over it all followed immediately by a gentle push of Shepard's will asking her to leave. She did so, though she couldn't help but feel rejection at the parting. What memory of it she took with her was heavily colored with anxiety and anger and….shame. When she leaned in to kiss her gently, a way of saying she understood, Shepard jerked her face away as well; leaving her inexplicably bereft.
"I…" Shepard started after seeing the pain in her expression. "I don't know if that's safe," she explained, then took her hands in her own and squeezed them gently. "I need to get checked out first, okay?"
She nodded roughly and pulled away, leading the woman by the hand to the exit and making sure she was able to step out without aid. She waved a medic over and pulled one of Shepard's arms over her shoulder; who smirked in response and waved the medic away but didn't move to break Liara's hold on her. Together they walked into the clinic, where Lyisse awaited.
The older Asari had hundreds of years with which to tame her emotions but even she was alarmed at Shepard's appearance, looking to Liara for an explanation she couldn't give. "Please," she said instead, motioning to a diagnostic table, and Shepard followed well enough on her own.
"I'll...just go see to Tali and the kids," Garrus intoned as the Doctor began looking the Spectre over.
Liara walked to him and put a hand on his shoulder, when it finally dawned on her that neither were wearing their armor. "This should be an interesting story," she said in a voice for his ears only. He lowered his eyes and nodded and she moved that hand to a mandible still covered in scars from the war. "Thanks for taking care of her," she murmured sincerely.
He nodded again, avian eyes narrowing and looking over at his friend. "No thanks required," he purred in his humble way before turning to leave.
They went through the process of getting her undressed and onto the table for scans, revealing that the dark skin of her face and hands wasn't dissimilar to the rest of her. She appeared desiccated, shrunken and tightened as if mummified, ribs and joints clearly visible. Liara ran her fingertips through Shepard's hair while the doctor and medics spoke to one another in quiet, urgent tones.
Shepard for the most part looked only at Liara, keeping eye contact throughout. Her expression was deeply unsettled, but she suffered their pokes and prods without comment.
When all was ready, Liara raised a finger to draw the Doctor's attention. "Run all the scans you need," she said confidently, "But please give us the room while you do so. There are things we need to discuss."
"As you wish," Caleios replied with concern, "But some of these diagnostics utilize wavelengths that shouldn't be applied haphazardly. Give her some space?"
Liara nodded, and the doctor and medics walked into Lyisse's office, shutting the door behind. She found a rolling chair and slid it just outside of arm's reach, taking a seat where she could see Shepard's face clearly.
A sensor buoy above the table came alive and began rotating different lenses over the woman, moving up and down the length of the table with only some light visible to the eye. They sat there for the first thirty seconds or so just watching one another, speaking in a language other than words. Liara was the first to break the silence, as it seemed Shepard was unwilling to give voice to her thoughts or feelings.
"My father left early this morning and said you would know why," she said calmly, projecting peace and understanding, "Can you tell me what happened as far as that goes?" Liara hoped the rote recollection of events would open the floodgates.
"Yeah," Shepard said after a moment, jaw working. "Valern is dead and...the Salarians know all about the Convergence."
Liara nodded, but her gaze never strayed from Shepard's tightened eyes. "What else?" she prompted.
Her lungs expanded on the table but only slowly released, filled with suppressed anger. "Linron's alive, Liara. She killed Wrex. Nearly killed me."
Questions filled her mind at the words, angry questions, but it was important that they both focused on topics separated from personal feelings. There would be time for more, later, when they were truly alone and Shepard could bring down her defenses. "Clan Dulak...is innocent?" She asked for clarification.
"Yeah," Shepard confirmed with flashing eyes. "This whole thing was her plan."
There were moments in a person's life when cold hard facts resonated with the universe and put frustrating puzzle pieces into place with such violence that all you ever thought you knew suddenly snapped into new places and positions. It was both painful and freeing, but it also bade the reconsideration of everything she thought she knew about current events.
"There was no hint of this in any intelligence available to me," Liara admitted breathlessly before focusing on the Spectre once again. "What can we do to stop her?"
For the first time in this exchange Shepard's eyes reflected something other than uncertainty, turning cold and hard before she murmured, "It's already done."
She took a measured breath and put all the assurance she could in her eyes for Shepard to see. "Then it's over," she said simply.
Shepard's eyes tightened in argument, but before she could speak the skin of her abdomen lit up in a brilliant, luminescent green; eliciting a gasp from them both at the sight. A band of the color travelled up her torso in time with the movement of the buoy sensor and faded very slowly after it passed. Liara couldn't help but yelp, "Are you okay?"
"I…no, I'm fine," She protested, tilting her head in clear confusion.
Liara hopped from the chair and strode quickly to the doctor's door to open it, then gestured to the table with concern. "You need to see this," she hissed.
Lyisse and her aides stepped out to see the last of the color fading slowly and then rushed over to see the results of the scan on a nearby monitor. After a few presses on the interface she also tilted her head, a concerned curiosity lighting her aged face. "This is...interesting." Then she looked between them both before adding, "I assume your private conversation is paused for now?"
Shepard spread her hands, a sarcastic bent to her brow.
"A moment if you please," the Doctor intoned before beginning to scroll. The moving sensor wasn't finished, but no other wild colors were currently appearing. When she finished she looked at them both again, brow furrowed.
Before Liara could offer a private consultation, Shepard shattered the fragile atmosphere with words. "Just say it," she said in no uncertain terms.
"The bio-luminescence is a reaction to radiation," she said clearly to Liara. "But," she continued, looking at Shepard, "Human physiology doesn't normally react in that fashion."
After a moment's pause, Liara asked the question that hung over them all, "Then why is this happening?"
Shepard interrupted with a monotone voice, fingers balling up into a tight fist. "Because I'm not human, anymore."
Liara now stared daggers at them both. "Would someone please bring me up to speed?"
The Doctor spoke while Shepard stared at the ceiling. "She's correct. These genetic profiles don't correlate to human DNA. They don't correlate to anything the system recognizes."
Before she could finish the sentence Shepard had swung her legs off the table and was rising, pushing away the medics' hands to do so. "Get me a robe," she ordered them before turning to Lyisse. "Listen, there's something I need you to do as soon as possible."
Already having the Asari's full attention she began again. "I…" she started, "I need you to test my saliva." She paused after, an incongruous flash of a grin breaking through her concern like a ray of sun through the clouds before disappearing again. "And I…" she added, "Never thought I would ever say those words but please; I just need to see if it would be…harmful to others."
Then those green eyes were locked tenderly onto Liara's again and despite the fact she felt this whole encounter might very well be a nightmare she also strangely felt everything would be alright; a thought confirmed when Shepard's hand unclenched and slipped into hers, fingertips tugging softly at one another. The medic arrived with one of the soft silken robes Shepard insisted on keeping around and she seemed quite grateful to cover herself with it.
Liara wanted to ask her how she did that, how she could clearly be in the midst of chaos and still engender calm in everyone around her, but there was no time. "Shepard," she asked gently, hesitant to break whatever spell of confidence enshrouded them, "What kind of Salarian 'trap' caused this? What do you think it is? How do we fix it?"
"Right," she said with a widening of her eyes in acknowledgement and a lengthy sigh. "Context. It was a focused EMP blast intended to kill me, or rather the nanomachines that keep me alive. It failed, obviously, but while I was incapacitated this," she continued, motioning to herself with a sweeping hand, "Began to happen." She turned her darkened face to the Doctor. "I'm no expert but it seems to me that it's some kind of defense mechanism."
Liara struggled with the implications but saw the Doctor's eyes widen in understanding.
"That would explain the reaction to radiation," she sounded out. "There are many creatures that develop resistance to lethal levels of it. The Turians have a carapace laced with resistant minerals, for example, and bioluminescence can serve as a sink for it, preventing damage to the organism." She blinked several times before adding, "I would like to run further," but Shepard interrupted.
"Just the one, thank you," she said. "No offense but I only wanted to confirm my suspicions. We need to see a specialist I know."
Liara's heart sunk. "She still isn't returning calls," She warned with a narrowing of her eyes.
"Well," Shepard replied with an arch of her brow while the Asari doctor retrieved a swab stick, "I guess we'll just have to kick her door in."
They waited, hands clasped, while the Doctor took a sample and performed an analysis. "While the substance is substantially more acidic," she said finally, stepping toward them, "There's nothing I can see to pose any kind of threat." She stopped before them then, a soft smile rising at the sight of their tender attachment. "It may taste different," she suggested gently to Liara, "And while I wouldn't recommend persistent contact I don't think there's any cause for alarm."
It took a moment for Liara to realize just what was being said, but she felt her face flush once she did and glanced at Shepard to see her grinning wryly. She rolled her eyes and thanked Caleios before pulling her partner toward the door leading to the living quarters.
"I know what you're doing," Liara said with amusement as they walked, ignoring the innocent look on her face. "This is far more serious than you're letting on."
Shepard hummed, "I think you're underestimating how much I wanted to kiss you on the shuttle." Liara stopped and Shepard grew closer, some of the mirth in her eyes replaced with clear insecurity. "If you're not scared of me, that is."
She tilted her head. "Why would I be scared of you?"
"Oh," her bondmate said with a self-conscious chuckle, "Well you saw how fast Garrus left." Her face sobered. "He's terrified."
Garrus hid it well, no doubt for Shepard's benefit, but that fear had infected her nonetheless. That wouldn't do. "I'm sure he just wanted to kiss Tali as badly," she said with forced confidence, then put her hands on either side of Shepard's painfully slender face to meet her gaze directly. "You don't look well. That's the truth," she said. "But I see you , Jordan. Not what you've temporarily become."
"But…" she started, "What if it's…" but Liara resolutely pressed her lips against hers to silence her. The skin there was cool to the touch but quickly slickened by her tongue. Lyisse was right, she tasted bitter...metallic even, but it wasn't enough to stop her from slowly claiming every bit of Shepard's mouth for her own. She could feel the woman relax in her arms with the warmth of it and broke the kiss only with regret, finding her bondmate's eyes lidded with kindled want.
"If it's permanent," Liara finished for her in a husky voice, "I'll buy you a brand new body. There've been quite a few improvements over the years. The important thing is..." she continued, hands wandering slowly down her back, "There's nothing wrong with you ."
She saw the words work their magic, a genuine smile finally curling her lips. "I know what you're doing," Shepard echoed back at her. "And it's working." She took a deep breath and released it, then said, "Still don't want the kids to see me like this, though."
"I don't think it's a good idea for them to go to Omega with us anyway," she confirmed with a nod. "I'll work it out with Tali and Garrus. You need some space to take care of yourself tonight."
Shepard also nodded and slipped an arm around her waist so they could continue walking. "This Convergence thing," she said in a decidedly more serious tone, "I don't have any idea what it's gonna look like. We need to travel as low-key as we can."
Liara smiled mischieviously, bringing a bemused look to her lover's face. "Thankfully," she lilted, "One of us has a good start on a disguise."
An embarrassing amount of food and drink later Shepard was feeling a bit better about herself; at least until she finally beheld her full body in the bathroom mirror. Liara was too kind to make any comparison to the Reaper creature-things that paraded in her mind's eye but she wondered if there weren't samples of Reaper improved DNA stored somewhere for a side by side. If there was, she figured, Lawson would have it.
She seemed to be moving around just fine now, anyway, and at least her eyes and hair looked the same. As far as she could tell, she was still herself in the important ways. Eventually she stopped staring, got into the shower, and gave herself a good scrubbing. In the end, the idea that she was just a brain in a jar that could be moved from one container to another was probably more difficult to grasp than her appearance but hey, this was a brave new world.
While dressing she subconsciously reached for her faded, worn hoodie, then looked at it fondly before putting it away. They needed to leave sooner rather than later and be incognito while doing it. She sorted through several different options, all of them hanging too loosely on her frame before giving up and choosing one of Liara's grey long sleeved tees and a pair of shrunken cargo pants. With a cap she might be able to blend into a crowd, at least.
Shepard strolled past the Asari's office on her way to the living room, but paused and stepped inside when she saw her busy at her terminals. Liara turned her head briefly toward her in recognition but returned her attention to the screens right away. On one of those screens was a reporter speaking expressively while a crowd of people pushed past one another in the background.
"What's that?" Shepard asked, peering closer at it. "Looks like the Citadel."
"It is," Liara confirmed before looking at her." "It appears the station is being evacuated."
"What?" she asked with a furrowed brow, "Why?"
She shrugged and went back to what she was doing, which was arranging transport and waystations for their journey. "My sources can only tell me that there's been an explosion followed by a toxic gas leak of some kind. The evacuation is for everyone's safety until they can get it under control."
Most of the Convergence elected to stay on the Citadel after the war ended and they represented a majority of the inhabitants there. Tevos' words to her on her last visit came back in a rush, about the ability for protection coming from within the Convergence itself.
Shepard just stared silently at the back of her head for a moment until the Asari turned once again, blue eyes finding hers. "The whole station ?" she protested. "That's millions of people!"
Liara's blue fingers stopped moving for a moment in consideration and she turned in her chair. "There are corridors and workspaces that connect throughout the wards, and the source of the leak appears to be near the base of the tower." she reasoned.
"Yeah," she responded with a nod, "And each ward is designed to be able to seal its own environment. If the arms were open as they usually are, nothing from the tower should ever get to the wards or vice versa."
"So," Liara said, "There's either more than one gas leak or…"
"Or there's no gas leak at all," she finished for her. When the Asari tilted her head she followed up with a hand raised in explanation. "Who do you think might want everyone not in on the joke off the Citadel?"
Liara's eyes first widened in surprise, then narrowed in disbelief. "But why would they do that?"
"I don't know," she answered with a rise of her brows, "But I think they're getting ready to defend themselves."
"Against whom?"
Shepard sighed, "The Salarian Union maybe? Maybe they got word of something about to happen, or hell, maybe the Salarians were the ones that set off the explosion." She shook her head. It was pointless to speculate. "I don't know," she repeated, "But whatever's happening there isn't going to stay on the Citadel. I think it's time we disappeared." If only she'd been able to talk to Aethyta before she left. If only...The thought froze as she realized she felt the pulse of that very groupthink gently humming in the back of her mind...something that couldn't happen with none of them around.
If Aethyta was gone…
Without warning Shepard darted out of Liara's office, leaving her to gasp and rise from her chair. She stopped in the living room long enough to open the liquor cabinet and palm her Carnifex before bursting into the room where she felt that presence. Athena's room.
The slamming open of the door and the flood of lights awakened the child and she began to cry. Shepard looked all around, behind the door, behind chairs, bookcases...but there was no one to be found. She took a breath and willed her heart to stop racing, turning to the crib only to realize that the presence she sought within the share was inside .
Liara entered after her. Shepard heard her asking what was wrong but there was no room for other thought. She set the pistol down and moved to the crib, smoothly lifting her wailing daughter and shushing her with a soft voice and kisses before pulling her into an embrace.
"Shepard!" Liara cried in frustration. "Tell me what's wrong!"
She choked back the angry scream she wanted to let fly and took a few breaths before answering with a furious curl of her lip instead. "She's been infected. Athena's a part of the Convergence."
Shepard watched the knowledge affect her wife. Confusion set in first across her face, questions bubbling, followed by the firm set of denial. Her eyes swept wide right as she began considering the implications before her expression settled on shocked betrayal.
"She...she did it right here. In my house ," she said brokenly, a hand creeping up to cover her mouth. "She did it while I was here !"
"It's not your fault," Shepard said over Athena's cries. "If I'd just kept up with them," she growled, "I didn't even know they could spread this thing."
"But...why?" Liara half shouted, hands out wide. "Why her?"
She shook her head helplessly. "The only thing I remember is what they said while they were here. They have a plan and this must be part of it, somehow."
They stood there in silence for a moment, Athena still displeased but beginning to settle while their minds flew. Shepard noticed that Liara's hands were balled up in tight fists and moved to her side and pressed her forehead gently against her temple in understanding. It didn't take long for those fists to relax, even if still clawed, and she began comforting Athena as well; the three of them pressed close enough to feel one another through the bond.
Athena quieted. She might be changed but Shepard was too, and they were still okay. They took comfort in one another until Liara spoke.
"What does this mean for her?" she asked plaintively.
Shepard was tired of saying the words 'I don't know' and expressed that emotionally before speaking out loud. "They've got to have kids by now, some of them. Probably wanted them to be a part of it all. They wouldn't do that to their own flesh and blood if it was as horrible an experience as the initial infection." But I don't really know that, do I ? Replied her anger, which she quickly suppressed. "Kids...are resilient."
"She's been fine as far as I can tell," Liara whispered, "But I noticed she was lonely earlier, even while I was holding her. I thought she was missing you or Aethyta but…"
"She probably was missing Aethyta, in a way neither of us fully understand," Shepard said before sighing. "In the beginning, despite everything bad that was happening, there was a..." She fought for a description, "A togetherness with everyone; something I didn't want to leave. It was good." And it was a lie, said anger again, though she didn't agree with the instinct. It was only a lie because the Illusive Man was in control, and he was dead. That part was over, though she didn't exactly know what the Convergence's reality was like, now.
"Maybe that's what this is about," she answered as a continuation of the thought, which earned a rapid response.
"What?" Liara asked, desperately looking for answers.
Shepard turned to her, speaking quietly. "They keep asking me to share, and I keep saying no."
Her wife's face hardened. "So what then? They infected our daughter because they miss you?"
"No," she responded with a hint of amusement at the idea. "Your father kept saying there were things we needed to know. Things she felt couldn't be explained in words."
They both fell silent in thought then, lingering comfortably with Athena in their small perfect bubble of a world. Athena surprisingly picked up on their twinned concern, offering her own innocent version in the bond while her brow crooked in a decidedly perplexed expression. Was hard not to grin at that, really.
Liara finally broke the silence, but tenderly. "You think Athena has that information, then," she said.
Shepard shrugged. "It's the only explanation that makes any sense right now."
Athena was struggling in Shepard's grasp, her chubby arm reaching toward the window repeatedly. She'd been ignored in their last exchange to the point she made an exasperated noise, Liara acknowledging the need and looking where she reached, probably for a toy or doll to Shepard's mind.
While she didn't see anything that might draw Athena's attention, Liara broke from them to walk over and pick up a wrapped package on a table full of curios. Shepard recognized it as the gift Tevos had left them, forgotten in recent events.
She and Liara looked at one another with curiosity before she gestured with one hand. "Probably nothing," she said with a forced smile. "Open it anyway."
The paper parted to reveal a gleaming wooden box sealed with a latch, which Liara opened without preamble. Inside was a vial and an injector with a simple paper note. The asari parted the folded missive and read it before clenching her jaw and putting it back into the box, then took a breath before speaking.
"It's the cure," she said simply before looking at her directly. "A single dose."
Shepard could feel the message like a physical blow, even turning her head with the impact. Classic Tevos mindfuck, she thought to herself; but had Athena really been aware of it?
Her lover's face told her she'd been considering the same thing. "I'll finish our preparations," Liara said. "But Shepard," she added with uncommon sternness, "I need to know what effects this could have on her. My father has a lot to answer for."
"Yes," Shepard said with weight. "They do. It might not need to be said but Athena needs to come with us."
Liara looked at the floor with obvious guilt before meeting her gaze. "She won't be leaving my side for a good while."