2185
Illium
Liara T'Soni jumped as the oddest sound started. "Nyxeris!" she called. "Is there an alert of some sort?"
"I have no idea what that sound is," Nyxeris replied as she came in from the other room. "It's nothing I've ever-"
She stopped and stared at the area in front of Liara's desk. An area which was shimmering in and out as if something was decloaking there - that something being -
A blue box?
The box's door swung open and a human poked his head out. "Hello," he said. "I'm looking for Dr. Liara T'Soni. The Illusive Man said I should talk to you."
"By the Goddess!" Liara breathed. "How - how did you do that? What is that?"
"TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. Very long explanation that we have absolutely no time to go into," the human said. "The man who calls himself Illusive was trying to get me to help against the Reapers, whatever those are. He seemed to realize he'd made a hash of it and said I should talk to you. You'd be able to explain it better."
"They attacked the Citadel last year," Liara said. "Or, one of them did. Sovereign. It was behind the attack from the geth."
The human looked around the room, frowning. "Definitely a different universe," he said. "Dr. T'Soni. I need you to pretend, for a minute, that I am an ignorant child. I know nothing of the world or your place in it - or even what your species is called. I know nothing about Sovereign, or the - geth? I need you to start from the beginning."
"Do you work for Cerberus?" Liara asked, trying to figure out the trick.
"I don't work for anyone except myself," the human said. "Well. Sometimes UNIT, when I'm feeling nice."
Liara sat back down at her desk. "Leave us, Nyxeris."
"Dr. T'Soni…"
"Leave us," she repeated. The younger asari reluctantly left the room and went back to her desk.
"If that is what you truly want, there is an easy way to do it," Liara said. "Easy for you, that is. I can … open my mind, to yours, and allow you to know what I know. I shouldn't be offering this. It's … intense, for me, and leaves me quite vulnerable. There is no one on this planet I trust to oversee this." She took a deep breath. "But you've arrived here in a manner I can't even begin to fathom, offering your help against the Reapers. It is … an acceptable risk."
The human walked over and knelt in front of Liara, looking up at her face inquisitively. "Dr. T'Soni. Liara. I promise you have nothing to fear from me. I understand what you are describing, and I may even be able to make it easier for you. My species has the ability to do something similar."
"Your species?" Liara asked, confused. "You're not human?"
"I only look human," he replied. "I am…. well. It might be easier to explain in a few minutes."
Liara nodded and took a deep breath, steadying herself. She rose from behind the desk and walked over to him, taking both his hands in hers and meeting his gaze. "Relax," she said, "and embrace eternity!"
He (she) was encased inside a bubble, terrified, desperate, tired and hungry and despairing. He (she) was barely aware of the gunfire outside, only registering it as please let it not be the geth, please, I don't want to die.
Dr. T'Soni, I presume.
Human. Female. N7 armor. I remember what that means, I think.
He (she) was running through the Citadel, through the dying embers and the twisted metal, past the bodies - human. Asari. Turian. Salarian. There. Anderson. Lifting the metal away. Revealing a krogan. Then a quarian. Then… finally… a human walked forward.
Shepard. She did it. She stopped Sovereign.
He (she) was on the Normandy, flames erupting around her, running for the escape pods. Where is everyone? Wrex? Tali? Kaidan? Shepard?
Joker. Tear streaks cutting through the grime. I lost her.
Shepard's body on a slab. Confirmation that he (she) never wanted. He (she) doesn't know what the Collectors want with Shepard, but the answer can't be anything good. He (she) doesn't trust Cerberus, but they have the resources. The ability. Shepard can live again.
I can't let her go. I can't.
He (she) looks up at the hologram. The man inhales on his cigarette. Do we have a deal?
Take her. Bring her back.
She (he) was looking down on a planet silhouetted in red and orange, with brown lakes and snow-capped mountains. A planet covered in cities encased in bubbles - cities of tall, thin towers and spires. Majestic cities that perched on the edge of the Time Vortex.
Gallifrey. Home of the Time Lords. The Shining World of the Seven Systems. My home.
She (he) saw the red and orange skies go from empty to filled in an instant, peace broken by hundreds - thousands - of invaders. Invaders filled with hatred for anything not their own kind. Invaders who would not rest until everything on that planet was dead.
After they took Gallifrey, they were going to take the rest of the universe. I had to stop them.
She (he) saw the red and orange skies burning, the towers of those majestic cities falling. Gallifrey was burning.
In fighting the Daleks, my people were becoming … ruthless. Monstrous. The line between us and them was growing thinner every day. I had no choice. I had to end it.
Where there was one, there were now two.
The Doctor opened his eyes and remembered that he was a Time Lord, not an asari.
He looked up at Liara and saw her for who she really was, this time. A young member of an ancient race. Hardened by the past two years, by the decisions she'd had to make.
"Archaeologist," he said. "I will refrain from pointing and laughing."
"Time traveler," she said. "You could help us answer so many questions."
"Yes, but that would be cheating," the Doctor said. "Which I would never do."
Liara folded her arms. "You cheat all the time."
"Well. Sometimes."
Liara shook her head and then raised a hand to her temple. "It … didn't hurt. As much as it did before."
"With Shepard," the Doctor replied.
"Yes. With Shepard."
The Doctor took a step back and looked around the room again, seeing everything in a different light. Putting things in the context that they'd lacked before. "So, you're a biotic," he said. "I think I'd like a demonstration."
Liara smiled. "You just love seeing impossible things." She lifted a blue arm, which was suddenly encased in the bright blue glow he now recognized as indicative of biotic ability. The Doctor was lifted off the ground, slowly, and he felt his face crack into a smile.
"Telekinesis. Marvelous!"
"What you have is no less marvelous," Liara replied, easing him back to the ground, then gesturing to the TARDIS. "The ability to go anywhere in time and space - I've never heard of anything like that. And there's more? No. I'm sorry. There were more."
"In the universe I come from," the Doctor said. "I still don't know how I got here."
"Does it matter?" Liara asked.
"It might." The Doctor began pacing. "If I can get here, there's a chance that the Reapers could get there. And my universe is less - militaristic - than yours. Without your knowledge, they would be completely unprepared to fight the Reapers. Which means that you have the best chance of stopping them." He stopped and looked out over the balcony in Liara's office, taking in the sight for a minute. "You've never heard of me, and you've made it a habit of chasing down the ridiculous, especially in the last two years. So how did the Illusive Man know about me?"
"I see," Liara said. "You're right that it does matter. But I'm not sure that it's the best thing for you to focus on. Rather, I should focus on it." She looked at her terminals. "Among other things."
"I have to stop the Reapers," the Doctor said. "The Illusive Man was right about that. I can't sit by idly and let machines destroy the human race. I've never done so before. I've pushed the Daleks back many times before. I know their weaknesses, their history. I need to know everything there is about the Reapers."
"Then you should join Shepard," Liara said.
The Doctor stopped pacing and looked at her. "Your friend - as honorable a person as she is - is still a soldier. Someone who carries a gun and has been known to shoot whoever gets in her way. I hate guns. I protect the innocent."
"Shepard protects the innocent as well."
"And she's working with a pro-human organization," the Doctor said. "Humanity at all costs. I've broken organizations like that in the past."
"I don't think that Shepard would mind if you broke Cerberus. Not if she's still the Shepard I remember."
"You've quite a bit of faith in that." The mention of faith stung, for just a moment, and he let a realization sink in: Shepard was like him. Followed by people convinced that she could do anything, fix any problem. Liara hadn't seen Shepard in two years, and she believed.
Did Amy still believe?
"I've touched her mind, as I've touched yours," Liara said. "I think you know what kind of insight that gives you into a person."
"Yes." The Doctor sighed. "I suppose you're right."
"Any more objections I can answer for you?"
"Possibly. Haven't thought of them yet. I'll tell you if I do."
Liara inclined her head at this and went back to sit at her desk. A console chimed, and she reached over to press a button. "Yes, Nyxeris?"
"Dr. T'Soni, I've received a message from Nos Astra control. The Normandy has requested permission to dock."