Running Silent:

Fallout

…

An alternate ME3. Commander Shepard and her team are on the run from Cerberus and trying to make alliances before it's too late. In a galaxy with no reaper kill switch, how can they hope to defeat something so ancient and powerful? Their last hope is a desperate plan that may cost them everything. Shepard/Garrus, other side pairings.

…

Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to Bioware.

…

Liara ran as fast as her legs could take her. Shepard wanted to get out of the reaper's range. And then what? Liara didn't know. Harbinger was on its way. Reaper creatures were everywhere. Death was closing in from all sides.

My fault, her heart cried. I did this.

She was the one who convinced Shepard to come here. Argued they could make it safe. She knew better now. There was nothing that could have made this trip safe.

Panting hard, Liara looked back. The reaper still loomed large behind them. She didn't think she could run far enough, fast enough, to get out of its range.

"Shepard, I can't," she gasped out. She wasn't a hardened soldier, not like the others. She was powerful, sure, but biotics wouldn't save her now.

"Come on, Liara!" Shepard called back to her. "You can do this!" But she couldn't. She was lagging behind. Shepard was limping as she ran, blood trailing down her leg. Garrus had a piece blasted off his armor. None of them seemed slowed by their injuries, but Liara couldn't keep up.

She forced herself on, dropping further and further behind, until she suddenly caught up—almost ran into Shepard's back. Why had they stopped?

Gasping for breath, Liara looked up, only to realize that they were surrounded. The new asari reapers were closing in, screaming with their haunting voices. Liara turned, pressing back against her teammates.

"Garrus," Shepard said quietly, her voice flat and lacking emotion, "You got all the data to EDI, right?"

"Yes, Shepard," he said, his voice warm as an embrace. "It's taken care of."

"Good," she said. And Liara could feel her making peace with the death they were about to face.

"Screw this!" said Jacob. His suit looked charred, blasted. Blood soaked his left shoulder. "If I'm going out, I'm going out fighting." And he thrust out with his biotic power, forcing back the surrounding creatures. They all followed suit, unwilling to give up until there was nothing left.

They fought with desperation. Liara was sure she was injured but she couldn't feel it. She was exhausted, her amp burning in the back of her skull. She didn't want to die here like this. She didn't want to die at all. She thrust at a group of husks with an open palm, but her biotics flickered weakly, doing little to slow them.

And then, a new voice came in over the comm, a deep, rough voice that Liara was certain she knew from somewhere. "I'm on my way, Liara! Just hold on."

All four of them looked up at the loud whine of incoming fighters, heading for the reaper. One, flying directly overhead, fired missile bursts in their direction. Wincing back from the explosion, they looked to find the circle of reaper creatures around them had broken.

A fighter swept down a short distance from them.

"Get your asses over here!" that same voice yelled through their comm. "They can only keep the reaper busy for so long!"

"Let's go!" Shepard cried, running for the fighter, the others right behind. As they approached, the cockpit popped open to reveal a familiar figure that they'd last seen bartending on Illium.

"I hope you don't mind getting cozy," the matriarch said in her gravelly voice. "Cause you're not all going to fit in the hold otherwise." She indicated a small cargo hold behind the cockpit.

Liara was standing still in shock, unable to believe her eyes. "Dad?" She spoke without thinking.

"We can talk about it later, Liara," Aethyta said brusquely. "Now get the hell in there if you don't have a death wish!"

Liara, crammed in between Shepard and Jacob, felt her heart pounding as the ship rose up from the surface. It was painfully nerve-wracking not to be able to see what was happening outside the gunship. It sounded like an all-out dogfight in the air, punctuated with the deep, terror-inducing sound of reaper beams. Soon the sounds got fainter and further away, and Liara finally allowed herself to feel relief.

Jacob grunted as she shifted against him, trying to find a more comfortable position. There was none to be had. The aches and pains that had been kept away by adrenaline were now returning in force. She tilted her head a little to see Garrus, angled against the bulkhead, his larger form contorted painfully in the small space. He gave her a slight smile when he met her eyes—facing death head-on gave one a new perspective on comfort.

When they'd left Thessia's atmosphere, they heard Aethyta again on their comm. "Normandy, I've got your cargo," she said.

"Thank you, Matriarch," came EDI's smooth voice. "We will open the cargo bay for your arrival. There is no sign yet of Harbinger."

It was a relief to feel the gunship come to rest in the Normandy's hangar, though it felt like an eternity before the cargo hatch opened and they all came pouring out on top of one another.

As Liara was stretching herself out, groaning at the pain of her injuries and stressed muscles, she heard Shepard speaking.

"Matriarch Aethyta," she said, sounding worn. "I can't thank you enough for coming to our rescue down there. It's no exaggeration to say we would have been dead without you."

"Yeah, you would," Aethyta said angrily. "What the hell were you thinking, Commander? Setting down on Thessia right now? And worse, dragging my daughter into it?"

Liara looked up in time to see Shepard's look of surprise and anger. "With all due respect, Aethyta—"

"Kiss my ass!" the asari interrupted, beginning to glow a faint blue. She whirled to the side where Garrus had begun to raise his pistol. "Don't even try it, turian, unless you want to be thrown straight through the bulkhead." She looked back at Shepard. "You do whatever stupid thing you want, Shepard, but keep my girl out of it!"

"Father!" Liara broke out of the shock that had at first consumed her. "It was my idea."

"Liara—"

"No." She stood her ground. "I'm the one who said we needed to go to Thessia. Shepard argued against it. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

Liara stared down her father. Shepard looked back and forth between them. At that moment, the elevator chimed, doors opening to reveal Miranda Lawson. Her sharp eyes took in the tension in the room, and she marched directly to Aethyta. "Matriarch, we've prepared the starboard observation room for you. I'll be happy to show you there. For now, the ground squad needs to remove their gear and report to Doctor Chakwas. Anything else can wait." She turned a gimlet eye on the squad who slowly moved towards the gear lockers.

Aethyta's shoulders drooped a little. "Fine," she said, and followed Miranda into the elevator. "Liara." She looked at her daughter. "Find me when the doctor releases you." And the elevator doors closed.

Liara slumped against the side of the gunship, in shock at all that had happened. She had figured out, of course, that Aethyta was her father. But she'd thought that her father had abandoned her. Benezia had never spoken of her, never named her once in a hundred years. It was just one more shock in a day that was filled with them.

"Hey." She looked up to see Jacob watching her with a kind look in his eye. "Let's get up to the doctor, yeah?"

With a shaky smile she took his hand and let him pull her to the lockers so she could stow her gear. She followed him to the elevator where Shepard and Garrus were waiting for them, clinging together in a way that attempted to appear casual. Liara knew better.

It would be a long time before she slept well again.

This day had been a hard lesson.

…

Chakwas didn't allow any of her concern to show on her face. She was a military doctor—she had seen it all and kept her composure all the while. But Shepard's reaction to the events down on Thessia was concerning. Physically, there was nothing wrong that wouldn't heal. But mentally…

"I'm worried about her, Doctor," Garrus had quietly confessed before he left the med bay. "Her reaction to the neural link was so strong. I don't know what it did to her."

The commander sat atop the med bay cot with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, looking far younger than her thirty-two years. She stared off into the distance towards the shuttered mess hall windows, seeing nothing.

"Shepard," the doctor called, getting her attention.

She blinked, coming back to reality. "Can I go?"

Chakwas sat down, rolling her chair next to Shepard's cot. "Not yet. I need to talk to you about the archive."

"I'm fine," Shepard said automatically. "The trembling and nausea stopped after a few minutes. The headache's gone now too."

"Physically you're fine, which is nothing less than a miracle," Chakwas agreed. "But I know a trauma response when I see one."

Shepard took in a sharp breath. "Karin, please."

"I know you don't want to talk about it," Chakwas continued. "But you need to. I won't sign off on you going back out into the field if you don't."

Shepard gave her a look of deep betrayal. "You wouldn't do that to me."

Chakwas met Shepard's eyes. "Jane, dear, what I'm afraid of is what you'll do to yourself." She waited, hoping that she could get through to her.

They locked eyes until Shepard looked away. Her arms tightened around her knees for a brief moment. She took a deep breath. "It was like an asari meld," she began. "But it wasn't. It wasn't kind or gentle. It was violent. It was like… rape." She shuddered, hugging herself tighter. "It forced my mind open, rifled through my memories like the pages of a book. Then tossed me away when it was done. It felt… sentient. But cruel."

Karin was silent, listening.

"I don't want to ever feel that way again," Shepard said fiercely. "Helpless… worthless. Never."

Chakwas breathed a sigh of relief at Shepard's confession, despite the pang of sympathy she felt for her friend and commander. She reached out an open hand to Shepard, who, after a moment of staring, took it.

"You are the furthest thing from worthless I can imagine, Shepard," the doctor said with conviction. She squeezed the younger woman's hand. "And as for helpless? You've trained and prepared for combat," she continued. "When you can't fight something with the skills you've honed, you are bound to feel helpless.

Shepard finally met the doctor's eyes. "I've been helpless before," she said with a wry look. "I didn't much care for it."

Chakwas gave her a kind smile. "It's a part of the human condition, I'm afraid."

The wry smile reached Shepard's eyes. "Maybe I should have been born krogan then." Both women laughed at that.

"You'll be alright, Shepard," Chakwas promised. "But please remember you can come to me any time. I'm here for you, dear."

Shepard squeezed the doctor's hand. "Thank you." She finally released her knees, sliding down from the med bay cot.

Chakwas turned to watch her go. Shepard was the strongest woman she knew, but everyone had their limits. She hoped that she could keep Shepard from reaching hers.

…

Liara tried her best to calm her tumultuous emotions before entering the observation lounge where her father waited. It was not an easy task.

She was full of confusion, hurt, guilt, relief… and a multitude of other feelings she didn't have the fortitude to sort through at the moment. She put on what she thought was a placid expression before hitting the button for the door.

"Liara!" Aethyta stood quickly as the door opened. "Are you alright?"

"I am," she said slowly. "Thanks to you." Her injuries were patched up and she was back on the Normandy. An hour ago she thought she'd never see the Normandy again.

Aethyta stared at her in silence as if she didn't know what to say. Liara wasn't sure either.

"Father," she said haltingly, "I am not sure I understand. How… why…?" She shook her head.

Aethyta gave her a kind, sad smile. "Come sit down, Little Wing."

And there was another shock. How did her father even know her childhood nickname? In a daze, she sat down in a chair across from her father.

"The 'why' is because I'm your father and I care about you," the matriarch said bluntly. "The 'how' is that I've been keeping an eye on you for a while. Followed you to Thessia on this stupid adventure because I was afraid something like this would happen."

Liara was silent a long minute, letting the words soak in. "But I thought you abandoned us." Abandoned me.

Aethyta shook her head. "You were just a little thing," she said. "Too young to remember. I came home and Nezzy was gone. Took you and all her stuff. No note. No explanation. It took me years to find out where she had gone." She let out a bone-weary sigh. "By then, I figured she had a good reason to keep me out of your life. So I kept my distance. But I always had an eye on you."

"Is that why you were on Illium?" Liara asked, mind racing. "To watch over me?"

Her father nodded, eyes serious. "Always, Little Wing."

…

Tali entered Shepard's quarters to see Miranda, Garrus, and Liara had already arrived. She honestly wasn't sure why she was included in these meetings. She might be one of Shepard's closest friends, but she was chief engineer, not a strategist. She often felt like the least among this group, made up of the Shadow Broker, executive office, and deputy commander.

"I think O'Connor mentioned a sister?" Shepard was asking Miranda.

The other woman nodded. "I have contact information for his parents and sister, Shepard. Would you like me to write the letter?"

"No," Shepard said firmly. "I'll do it." At that moment, she turned, realizing Tali had arrived. "Good, we're all here. We need to discuss what happened down there and where we're going next." There was no sign in her voice of the horror she must have felt only hours earlier, when death had seemed more likely than being saved.

Everyone on the Normandy had been going crazy with Shepard out of contact on Thessia. They had all worried and wondered about this trip, but hardly anyone on the crew was willing to second-guess Shepard. Things had seemed fine when Garrus was interfacing the archive with EDI, but it was only moments after completing the transfer that they'd received a suddenly fuzzy transmission that included the word Harbinger. It could only mean one thing—the leader of the reapers was on its way. Their attempts to respond were met only with static.

They tried to give Shepard a reasonable amount of time to get back to the Normandy, but with reapers in the system, how could they know whether she could make it back to them at all with only the shuttle for protection? Tali and O'Connor had worked tirelessly together to upgrade the shuttle's shielding, weapons, and stealth system to ensure it was as safe as it could be, but it wasn't enough to save them. Now the shuttle was rubble, and funny, talented O'Connor was gone forever.

Miranda had finally ordered them to take the Normandy down and damn the consequences when they'd been hailed by Matriarch Aethyta. As abrasive as the matriarch was, Tali could just kiss her (germs be damned) for saving so many of her friends.

Shepard, Garrus, and Liara took turns describing the salient points of their trip to the temple of Athame.

"We got the data," Shepard said. "So at least the trip wasn't a complete loss."

"I'm sorry about O'Connor," Liara said. The asari didn't look well. Her usually vibrant skin looked dull and lifeless. Her eyes were purple and puffy. "I'll help you find a new shuttle pilot."

"Not much point unless we can find a new shuttle," Miranda said. "Everything's being requisitioned for the military at the moment."

"I can probably request one from Admiral Hackett," Shepard said. "Or if all else fails, there's a Mako back on Alchera we could pick up. I bet it will still run if we thaw it out. Those things are built to last."

Tali, Garrus, and Liara looked at each other in shared horror.

Garrus spoke up first. "I'm sure we can find a new shuttle somewhere. There's no need to dig out the Mako."

"I'll find you one," Liara said quickly. "Just give me a few days."

"Is there anything else I should know about what happened down there?" Miranda asked, eager to get to the point and less concerned with the dangers of letting Shepard drive.

Shepard shifted. "I didn't consider it until afterwards," she said, "But I was exposed out there, repeatedly. That reaper had every chance to kill me. It didn't."

Miranda frowned. "That makes no sense. Why wouldn't it kill you when it had the chance?"

"It destroyed the shuttle immediately, cutting off our escape. Did it want to keep us there?" Garrus asked.

Shepard shrugged. "So Harbinger could kill me itself?"

Tali shook her head. "The reapers are synthetic. They don't have emotions. They must have some sort of logical reason to want you alive."

Liara looked sick. "Then what do they want with you?" she asked Shepard.

Shepard shuddered slightly. Garrus slid his arm around her back.

"I don't know," she said. "But I'd rather not find out."

"Agreed," said Miranda worriedly.

…

Shepard's mind was on Liara as she readied herself for bed. The asari was taking their near-death on Thessia hard.

"I was too focused on the protheans, believing they had all the answers. I always have been." Liara raised teary eyes to meet Shepard's, her gaze full of apology. "My obsession almost killed us."

"You can't take all of this on yourself," Shepard insisted. "Some of the responsibility is mine. You suggested coming, yes, but I agreed. I put my people at risk. Not you."

Shepard was used to taking responsibility. She'd lost people before. She'd probably lose people again. For Liara, this was new. Shepard couldn't lose her friend to guilt, not now, when she was needed.

"Jane?" Garrus called from outside the bathroom.

"Just a minute," she called back, closing the medicine cabinet. She left the bathroom for Garrus's waiting arms. She couldn't forget how lucky she was to still be here with him.

If their lovemaking was a little bit frantic, no one could blame them. They'd come close today, too close, to losing each other.

…

The same warning.

The strange alien—no, not strange, familiar after so long—told his story, warning the empire of what was coming for them. Too late, always too late. He didn't finish his message, dying in agony she felt deep within herself before the transmission slid into nothingness.

Another message began, so many years later. She felt the prothean's horror as he told of the new and terrible things the reapers created every day. No one was safe. Nothing was sacred.

Half of the horrors were things they did to themselves, the result of fear and confusion and the drive to survive whatever might come. Death. Death was all that was coming. That was the message.

Death was coming for them all.

She woke in a cold sweat, gasping for air as she shot up. A soothing hand was on her back, familiar talons scratching lightly against her skin. She calmed herself. She was on the Normandy, she was safe.

For now.

…