Three Little Lovebirds
Chapter 31 – Awakenings II
Lucy's world dissolved in a dizzying display of blurred colour, like everything had suddenly just turned to water and trickled out of her brain. As it did, she could feel the pain wash away with it. It was like scraping week-old grime off her body - she'd never have thought she'd be clean again, but now that she was, it felt so, so good. This was different from the other times too. Before, she may have woken up with no memory of the torture, but inside, her mind was still trapped in that hellish place, strung up like a rag doll. Now though, she was truly free of that...thing. It was gone from her head, and she owed it all to Liara.
Once the spinning sensation had stopped, Lucy risked opening her eyes again. Harsh light seeped through cracks, blinding her as her pupils adjusted. Once the glare had worn off, she was greeted with a view of the ceiling. To be more precise, the ceiling in her bedroom suite. The disorienting effects of the meld were messing with her senses, and for a moment, she couldn't quite remember what had just happened.
I was standing by the mirror. Yes, yes I'd just finished dressing for dinner. There was a buzz at the door, then Liara came in and did...what exactly? A joining? But why?
That explained her present, recumbent state at least. Clearly, at some point during the process, she'd collapsed onto the floor. It looked like she'd be staying there for a while too; her muscles felt unusually stiff, as if she'd recently run a marathon. Not to mention there was this strange weight on her chest, pinning her down.
What is that?
"Lucy?" The word was slurred, as if being spoken by someone still half asleep. There was a brief pause, before it came again, stronger and more urgent. "Lucy?!"
Craning her neck, about the only movement she was able to manage at this point, Lucy could see Liara's blue form sprawled on top of her.
That explains the pressure then.
The asari was twitching slightly, and murmuring the Spectre's name as she came to. Lucy was unprepared for the intensity of emotion which the sight stirred, a confusing jumble of love, gratitude and...fear? Flashes of recollection raced through her mind; a fight, brilliant white light, the blue glow of biotics, red eyes in the dark and permeating every other image, an overwhelming pain. Agony almost beyond human comprehension. All her lost memories were beginning to return, and with each one that did, it made the last time she'd seen the asari feel longer and longer ago. She hadn't just experienced this once either. Like a crack in a dam which widened and buckled under the weight of what it contained, some sort of mental barrier gave broke inside Lucy's mind.
Oh god...that place...that man...how did I forget it every time I woke up? How could anyone forget that?
Aloud, she managed to croak a "Yes." to Liara, before letting her head flop back to the floor, overwhelmed with the remembrance of horrifying torture and debasement. "Y-Yes, I'm here."
There was movement against her body, and Lucy felt two unseen hands dig into her sides, as if clinging on for dear life. It might have been painful, but right now, she welcomed anything which reminded her of the real world. Liara could have punched her, and it would have felt like bliss compared to what she'd just been through.
"Oh...oh thank the Goddess." Liara's choked voice betrayed her own fears. "I thought..."
Lucy stirred weakly, willing life back into her lethargic limbs. As the memories solidified within her mind, organising themselves into a semi-coherent timeline, the final episode slotted into place; the explanation of how she'd escaped the cycle of nightly torment. Rebellious tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she replayed Liara's heroic battle. Being unable to move now just wouldn't do. Not when there was an asari who needed the biggest hug of her life.
"Come here." She whispered, urgently tugging at Liara's lab coat, encouraging her upwards. "P-Please. Liara...please."
The asari responded immediately, although her own fatigue was clearly slowing her down as well. In a display that would probably have been quite comical under different circumstances, she slowly inched her way up Shepard's body until, at last, they were face to face. Lucy gazed into Liara's eyes, allowing herself some time to simply bask in their warmth. There were many horrible things they both needed to come to terms with, and many questions that needed answering, but for the moment, all she wanted was the feeling of the other woman against her. She needed a loving presence to keep the panic at bay.
Finally finding the strength to move her arms, Lucy wrapped them around Liara's torso, and clung to it like a drowning woman. She didn't usually like to burden anyone with her troubles, but right now, she could not imagine what she'd have done without the asari there to comfort her. Although she would never admit it out loud, not even to either of her partners, Lucy felt like a terrified little girl who'd just learned that all the monsters under her bed were real. She could face down an army, confront the most twisted and evil scum the galaxy had to offer and even deal with a broken heart, but this attack...it had done something to her. Whoever the aggressor had been, he had bypassed all her defences, invalidating every method she knew for fighting back and had struck where she was most vulnerable.
Words didn't often fail her, but she was at a loss for where to begin. She felt like she would burst if she kept all this pain inside her.
"I saw you die." She said eventually, deciding that if there was just one thing she needed to get off her chest right now, it was this. "Both you and Tali. He...he conjured you up, from my memories, and then he s-slaughtered you. Again and again. I tried to stop him, I-I tried but he was just-"
"It's okay, my love." Liara softly interrupted. Her own sadness lurked just behind the words, but she did an admirable job of hiding it. Lucy saw through her immediately of course; the asari wore the same expression she herself did when she was being strong for others benefit. The sentiment was what mattered however, and it was one more thing to add to the list of reasons to love Liara. "They were just illusions, nothing more. Both me and Tali are as alive as we have always been."
"I know." Lucy sighed, although she hugged Liara to her even tighter. She focused on continuing to talk, to try and voice what had happened as if she was simply telling any other story. "It just felt so...real. With a nightmare, you can distance yourself from it, and the memory fades quickly. This...it's like it really happened. I-" She shook slightly, images and sensations flooding her mind. She had never felt so helpless; not since her parent's death all those years ago."-I can still see your bodies, b-broken and bloodied. He hung them in front of me and forced me to look as he tore...a-as he...he covered me...your...oh god."
Lucy cut herself off again, unable to finish the sentence. She couldn't bear to think about it, not while the wounds were still so fresh; not while she could sniff the air and recall the scent of her lover's blood.
"I'm sorry." She said, trying to regain a bit of composure. "You don't need to hear that part."
"Oh Lucy." Liara's grip was like a vice, as if she was scared the Spectre would simply vanish from under her. Small tremors ran through her body, but other than that, she was deathly still. Lucy knew she was looking at someone who was fighting a losing battle against their emotions. Like sun-scorched earth, Liara's facade was beginning to crack and crumble. It showed in her quivering lips, in the moisture pooling around her eyes, and in the whiteness of her knuckles. In a selfish way, Lucy found it comforting. She felt guilty for even thinking such a thing, but on some instinctual, primal level, she was glad that there was someone else who had a hope of understanding what had happened to her. And Liara's distress gave her something to focus on besides her own thoughts. Soothing the asari's frayed nerves was familiar territory at least.
In one smooth motion, Lucy slid her hands up Liara's neck and applied just enough pressure to bring the asari's trembling mouth to her own. She didn't try to hide her desperate need for comfort, or the naked yearning she felt for Liara's touch. Maybe, before, she would have held back, fearing the effect it might have on her partners if she showed such weaknesses. That seemed like such a feeble excuse now. There was so much more to be gained by opening up to the women she loved instead of shutting herself away.
Liara sobbed into the kiss, returning it passionately even as tears began to flood down her cheeks. Lucy wondered if there was any other couple out there who'd shared so much in such a short space of time. If she had believed at all, she might have called it divine providence. As it was, she was simply thankful for the series of lucky coincidences that had brought them together.
There was one good thing had come from the whole experience. It wasn't much, but Lucy always tried to focus on the bright side, however small. She had thought of a new nickname for Liara, inspired by the blurred glimpses she'd caught of the asari's fight. She may never truly forget the pain she'd suffered, nor the ghastly sights she'd seen, but neither would she forget the image of her timid prothean expert, transformed into an avatar of burning vengeance.
"Thank you," She whispered, breaking the kiss just long enough to breathlessly speak the words. "Thank you, my guardian angel."
Impudent vermin! How could this have happened? Shepard had been within his grasp and then this asari, a primitive creature, had thwarted him?
The quiet background hum of a hundred monitors and the harsh ring of metal footfalls were the only discernible sounds in the cavernous office. Pacing relentlessly, the Shadow Broker ran algorithm after algorithm, processing and reprocessing the fragment of information he'd been transmitted. Even separated from the whole, his after-image should have been more than sufficient to get the job done. It appeared, however, that there had been an unexpected turn of events; a foreign variable had been introduced and had upset the delicate framework of his plans. Apparently he had underestimated the strength of the bonds organics could form between each other.
No matter. He assimilated the new data, updating every one of his processes to ensure such a mistake would not be repeated. Failure was not a concept which applied to him or his kind. This was merely a delay, an irrelevance compared to schemes which spanned 50,000 years. Still, countermeasures had to be enacted. He had to show his enemies that they could not hope to best him and escape without consequence.
Turning back to the bank of screens, the Shadow Broker pulled up his dossiers on each of the Normandy's crew members in turn. Browsing through, he selected the next-of-kin section, and began to scan the lists.
Ashley Williams: Mother, Deceased Father, 3 Sisters
Liara T'Soni: Indoctrinated Mother, Estranged Father
Tali'Zorah: Deceased Mother, Father
...
The names went on and on; siblings, parents, grandparents. Under his guidance, agents had been able to trace just about every ancestor and descendant that still lived, as well as the resting places of many who didn't.
Highlighting all the close family members, the Shadow Broker opened up lines of communication, connecting to several of his most effective employees across the galaxy, including the salarian, Tazzik. With a few keystrokes, all the relevant data was forwarded to their personal files.
"I want them dead." There was no sense sugar-coating the truth; these men and women knew what was expected of them and what the price would be if they didn't deliver.
There was a brief pause, then one of the agent's voice channels wavered into life.
"Which ones, sir?"
"All of them, and bring me the bodies, as intact as you can."
The silence that followed indicated his orders had been understood. If any of the hit-men had qualms about killing children or elders, they didn't voice them. After all, they also knew that if the Shadow Broker had such detailed files on the crew of a single Alliance frigate, their own families were in just as much danger.
Just in case, he cut all comms except the one to his salarian enforcer.
"Tazzik, watch the others. If you believe any of them are no longer mission-fit, report to me immediately."
"Understood."
A blip caught the Shadow Broker's attention. One solitary screen at the far end of the array was flashing; an incoming message from another one of his agents in the field.
ID: 1430-76
A human, and a new recruit. He'd been sent on a routine intelligence sweep of some outlying systems in the Attican Traverse. No doubt he hadn't yet learned not to bother his employer with such trivialities.
"What is it?" The Shadow Broker snapped, switching to his audio-frequency.
"Sir, I wish to file my mission report."
"I see. And you were unable to do so without personally contacting me?"
"N-No sir." The man stammered, hastily trying to explain himself. "I-I mean yes, I mean...I found something I think you'll want to see. It pertains to your special directive."
"You have information on Shepard?" Perhaps this organic was not quite as incompetent as he'd thought.
"Y-Yes sir. I was pinging Targus in the Gormag-Gahn system, and I found the remains of a batarian slaving camp on the southern continent. It was deserted, had been for some time, but there were still some functioning solar cells providing power to the base. I thought I'd check it out, see if there was anything that could be salvaged from the data banks."
"I trust this will all be in your report. Get to the point."
"Ah, yes, of course sir. Well, there were some cryo-pods inside that were still operational. I had a look at the manifest, and, well, see for yourself."
A new file flashed on screen, before being re-routed directly to the Shadow Broker himself. Sure enough, it was an inventory of all the slaves the batarians had captured and frozen for transport. Included were their planet of origin and their birth names; batarians always recorded the identity of their prisoners, in case they captured someone valuable who they could ransom off later.
Most of the entries were red, indicating that the power for that cryo pod had failed. The base was over a decade old; anyone in those particular capsules was long dead. A few remained green however, running off the aging solar power. Specifically, the batch from Mindoir seemed to have suffered relatively few casualties.
A name, or rather, two identical names, stood out amongst the other worthless merchandise.
"Very good." The Shadow Broker said, quietly cataloguing that as the third time he'd ever complimented an organic. "I trust you have secured this precious cargo."
"Yes sir, I have Mr. and Mrs. Shepard on board."