Citadel, Council chambers
Tali fidgeted as she watched the events over Virmire replay again, and she could not suppress her shivering - she still did not fully believe that so many of them managed to get away from that hellhole of a system, and that ebony monstrosity. She hated how her mind tallied and listed the lives lost when she saw a ship explode on-screen, or spiral into its death when grabbed by the gravity well of Virmire. Sure, the crazy turian admiral managed to get about half of her ships to safety, and the decision and cost obviously sat ill with her. Still, looking at the slim, bandaged turian, Tali could not help but feel sympathy and a rather larger amount of awe than she thought possible - and all without any pang of jealousy. Being an admiral's daughter, she thought she understood quite well the price of command, and travelling with Shepard and Wrex had certainly been an eye-opening experience - yet only now, seeing the haunted eyes and proud but sad posture of Admiral Vipsania, did she fully realize what flag rank would actually mean in war.
On the screen, the apocalyptic destruction of Virmire plays out, and she unconsciously checked that Wrex and Garrus were still there, still close, still alive. Even across the screen, the effortless ease of Sovereign all but shrugging off those human-made abominations draws a hiss of anger and fear from several onlookers - and then it was her turn, as the recording she made with her omnitool played out on the huge display. Her eyes narrowed in thought as she caught a few people stiffen at the name and title Sovereign used; though all things considered, she perhaps should not have been surprised - after all, both Admiral Lidanya and Councilor Tevos have been around for centuries, and Jondum Bau was the lead Spectre. Still, it was interesting to note the well-masked fear in Tevos, the cold flash of fury on Lidanya, and the grim satisfaction of Bau. She tilted her head, then nodded to herself- obviously, it was some kind of shadowy power play involved with those three, and in the light of the recent past, she was disinclined to dig deeper.
The recording ended, and silence settled over the briefing room. The three councilors exchanged glances, and Sparatus spoke.
"This is exceedingly troublesome, Spectre Shepard. Normally I would love to chastise and decry the Alliance for such a treatment of a garden world, of all things - but in this case, I can't really find any alternative." Tali suppressed a snicker at Garrus' flabbergasted expression, and the turian councilor went on. "It would have been nice to secure that Beacon as well," Sparatus raised his hand to forestall the protest from forming "but again, under the circumstances, that would have been impossible."
Councilor Valern made a throw-away gesture with a hand and spoke.
"Even if it was possible, it may have simply worsened the situation, if these theories about that indoctrination effect are even slightly correct. " He cocked his head to the side, considered. "Perhaps that was how it began for Saren, a contact with this unregistered Beacon..."
"With all due respect, councilors, that is rather irrelevant now." Udina's voice carried an undercurrent of fear and irritation. "The question is now how we proceed."
The three councilors again shared a glance, and Valern turned towards Admiral Vipsania.
"We did receive your preliminary estimate on Seventh Fleet's combat readiness, but would you kindly summarize it for us now?"
The turian female suppressed a wince as she snapped to attention, and spoke.
"I have a dreadnought that is barely holding together. I have five cruisers and a dozen frigates that are only lightly damaged and ready for combat; the rest of my ships would require extensive repairs. In short, Seventh Fleet is currently barely enough for a police action against a minor Terminus warlord, and is wholly unsuited for combat operations on the scale required by the threat level Saren, Sovereign, and their geth present."
Sparatus' eyes flashed at the blunt summary, and Tali thought for a moment he'd refute Vipsania's claims; then the turian closed his eyes, nodding slowly, defeatedly. Valern turned towards Admiral Lidanya.
"Admiral, what forces do we have immediately available?"
The uniformed asari fiddled with her omnitool, and the screen lit up, lists and images of ships scrolling rapidly.
"We have the turian Sixth Fleet, elements from the asari Second and Sixth Fleets including two dreadnoughts, and the Destiny Ascension. We also" she nodded towards Udina and Hackett "have the Alliance's Fifth Fleet on standby, a relay jump away, and Commodore Anderson's task force is docked at the Citadel. Based on the sensor data provided by Admiral Vipsania and Spectre Shepard, I believe we would have a better than even chance against Saren and his fleet, even considering Sovereign's vast firepower."
Tali could not stop a derisive snort from escaping, then she paled as the old asari's eyes fixated on her, the blue gaze cold and merciless - but also not derisive, and her eyes widened as the other woman nodded slightly before Lidanya continued.
"Yes, I am aware how boastful that sounds." Tevos barely managed to suppress an indignant sputtering; all that naval power, and only better than even chance, and the older asari thought it boastful? The asari admiral went on in a flat, measured tone. "We would certainly pay a heavy price, especially if we did not manage to eliminate the geth escort vessels quickly, or if Admiral Hackett's experts are not able to improve on the spaceside efficiency of their C-type shells."
Admiral Hackett took over at the glance of the asari, the grim lines of his face seemingly a daemonic mask of a predator.
"We are updating the guidance software as well as recalibrating our launchers; and my people are running simulations if we can channel the force contained within in a more effective way." He flashed a small, grim smile at Lidanya. "I am told our chances are better than even."
Tali noted curiously how, apart from Shepard and Wrex, the only persons not showing discomfort at the mention of improving those monstrosities were Lidanya herself and Bau - then again, as the lead Spectre, she supposed he saw worse; though that consideration made her shiver. Those C-types were horrible enough, she did not need to dwell on things that were even more nightmare-inducing - and as usual, her mind could be trusted to supply the image of the malevolent stare of the Normandy's Tartarus core. She fought for calmness, focusing on the two solid figures next to her, and slowly got her breathing under control, and with that, she could once again pay attention to Lidanya's voice.
"The main issue is that while we do have enough firepower in place for finishing Saren should he attack us here; we have precious little naval capacity to actually go after him." At Shepard's stare, she chuckled, the sound bitter and hard, before she continued. "Yes, Spectre - we managed to find out where he's headed. We have the coordinates for Ilos. And we don't have the means to send a fleet after him there, not in time to stop him."
Tali braced her shoulders, took a deep breath. This was her chance, the Migrant Fleet's chance - and she did not dare waste it, despite the potential cost.
"The Migrant Fleet could provide assistance - we quarians have quite a lot of experience in fighting geth, after all." She swallowed as the gazes of all present focused on her. "My people would only need a safe place for the Civilian Fleet; that way, our warships, or at least a number of our warships could be detached to lend a hand either here or at Ilos."
"Can you actually convince your Admiralty Board about that, Miss Zorah?" Udina's voice carried an undertone of respect, warning - and beneath all, a faint tremor of hope.
Tali tilted her head to the side, considered for a second, before she nodded decisively.
"Yes, I can convince them. The geth are our responsibility, all things considered. And it's not like Saren and Sovereign would give us any chance after the Council, now would they? And besides, this way my people could show that they are different and …." she snapped her mouth shut before she could finish the sentence. Lidanya flashed a faint, bitter smile at her, and Wrex' deep, savagely amused chuckle strangely warmed her, and even Liara's respectful nod felt good.
"Well then, Miss Zorah, when you contact the Migrant Fleet, let them know that the Alliance is willing to lend assistance with the quarian civilian population." And Tali could not stop her jaw from dropping open at Udina's declaration.
Citadel, Spectre offices
"Shepard, good you could join. Sit." Jondum Bau's voice was flat, emotionless, his gestures and movement measured, calm - and the human's instincts started with the internal alarms. Salarians, even salarian Spectres, did not behave that way. Something or someone must have pissed the semi-official leader of the Spectre corps to a rather alarming extent.
"You ambassador's offer to the quarians - is it genuine? Does he have enough backing to pull it off?"
Shepard deliberated for a moment, before nodding.
"Udina's too much of a politician to openly promise something of this magnitude without being able to pull it off. He could not afford the loss of prestige; or at least his self-esteem couldn't." The human grinned. "Besides, I can partially see his reasoning now that I had some time to digest it - taking the moral high ground when compared to the Council, and getting into the good graces of the quarian engineers? You can rarely hope for something that lucrative, Bau, and he'd be an idiot for not putting his full weight behind that idea."
The salarian nodded sharply, and flashed an appreciative smirk at Shepard.
"Good, you are able to consider political implications as well as military ones. I see why Nihlus likes you." The ranking Spectre's shoulders sagged as he went on. "That makes the following bit rather more difficult and unpleasant."
With a gesture of his omnitool, the wall display came alive, and Shepard winced at the sight. Bau's voice was cold, hard.
"This was taken by Spectres Kryik and Vasir on Binthu. We are still investigating the exact circumstances and background, but the preliminary findings and the data unearthed by them are rather damning on the Alliance." The salarian held up a hand to stop Shepard's refusal, and continued. "Spare me the denials, Commander. All our races have their unsavory, dark secrets, and it's not the rather crude butchery that was conducted on Council races that makes me wary. Sure, it would reflect rather bad on the Alliance should it come out, but it's nothing more or less than we ourselves have been doing, Spectre. And at any rate, officially it would be surely denied, or cathegorized as a black project going lightyears past its mandate thanks to some insane or power-hungry zealots with way more fanatic patriotism than sanity."
The salarian's gaze bored deep into Shepard's eyes as he continued, his tone level, comparatively slow and measured, the full weight of his title behind every word.
"What I am worried about are the more esoteric implications - especially in light of what Spectres Kryik and Vasir uncovered on Thessia." He laughed at Shepard's surprised face, the sound bitter, grim. "did you for a moment think that I would not send my men to the asari, just because they have a representative on the Council?" Bau's eyes shone with a dangerous light. "We have vast privileges and rights, Spectre - but our responsibility is more than equal to that. And we are not beholden to any individual race, but the people represented by the Council. Recall your oath - we are the first and last line of defense, for the whole galaxy."
Shepard nodded, conceding the salarian's point.
"That is well and good, sir, but then what do you want from me now?"
"I want you to start digging." Bau once again faces the screen, the images scrolling once again, heavily featuring the strange double hexagon. "I want to know if this is just a classified black project gone beyond its mandate, or something more serious. Understand me, Commander: if it's nothing more, then I do not really care about it. Us Council races did this much and more, and we all have our dark secrets even now - and as salarian, I can certainly understand the need for scientific research in such directions."
The salarian exhaled, and he suddenly looked much older - yet magnitudes deadlier and more worrying than anything Shepard previously faced, except maybe an enraged Liara or a berserk Wrex.
"But if it is more than that, Spectre, I want it broken down, and I want those responsible nailed to a cross. I will not have an allied power falling to internal strife because of a fringe group capable of something like this - not when there is a crisis this serious looming over all of us. Am I clear?"
Shepard saluted with a small grin.
"Crystal, sir."
"Good. I already have a couple of independent contractors looking into the issue, and once Nihlus and Tela get back, they will follow up their leads from Thessia and Binthu with the Shadow Broker, but I would like to have another, semi-official peek into the things on the Alliance's side; after all, your kind seems to have the most practical experience when dealing with esoteric and archeotech threats." Bau flashed a rueful, sad smile. "Well, likely some asari and krogan know more, but getting them to talk takes time. And that's something we do not have."
Shepard nodded, and stood up, ready to leave, before he tilted his head to the side, as something nagging in his brain snapped into focus.
"Sir, a question: how did Sovereign manage to get through the mass relay and into the Hoc system at all? Did someone hack into the relay controls here?"
Bau's gaze went cold and distant.
"No, Shepard. The signal for the relay to allow traveling seems to have come from Sovereign itself, and it overrode the control settings we sent from here."
"Sir, but if it can do that, what is preventing it to jump through the Widow relay, and close it off, leaving Hackett's fleet on the other side? And even if there are safeguards in place against that likely override, what if Saren manages to infiltrate the Citadel Control?"
The salarian grimaces, nods.
"Those are points Admirals Lidanya, Vipsania, and Hackett discussed, and they came to a conclusion that the risk of being cut off is worth the possibility of catching the geth between the Citadel defenses and Hackett's ships. We do have a control signal in place, and the proximity of the Citadel itself would require Sovereign to devote a significant amount of energy into punching through the command signal." A swift breath, and Bau continued. "As for dealing with possible infiltrators, I detailed three Spectres to the control room, along with teams of Blackwatch, Serrice Guard, and N7s."
The salarian's lips peel back in a vicious smile, showing far too many, far too pointed teeth - and Shepard returns it in kind.
"If Saren comes to the Citadel to play, we are definitely going to give him a rather warmer welcome than he would like. If there's nothing else, Shepard, I suggest you prepare for your task - Ilos will not wait much longer, and you still need to rendezvous with the quarians."
The human nodded, and saluted, before turning to leave.
SSV Normandy, en route to the Mu Relay
As the Normandy left the Citadel again after little more than two frantic days of resupply, planning, and repairs, with barely a half-day of shore leave for the personnel, Liara felt more tired since the fateful day when Shepard's team freed her from the Prothean trap on Therum. She knew that they had a few days until they reached the Mu Relay and joined with the incoming quarian fleet, but she felt somewhat at a loss at what to do with her available time. She was not, officially, a member of the crew, she did not have to stand watch or get involved in the day-to-day workings of the ship like Tali did. Earlier, she busied herself with running theoreticals on Saren and Benezia's goals, meditating, occasionally talking with Wrex and Tali - but now, she felt at a total loss what to do.
She tried talking with Wrex again, and that snowballed into a rather involved discussion with him and Garrus arguing about the best weapon loadout she should take when landing on Ilos. After about half an hour, she decided to leave them to their bickering, as their suggestions at times bordered on the extremely impractical. Really, who in their right mind would take a portable nuclear launcher to an enclosed battlefield? She was no commando, and the rollercoaster events since Therum had forced her to adapt to rather more quickly than she thought, but still, that did not sound sane enough. Wrex' suggestions about close combat were also less than helpful - she was not a krogan, she did not go around headbutting or eating people!
Still, at least the old krogan dropped a few interesting hints, which she could not help but ponder, especially when she draw the connections to their experiences on Feros and Noveria. To think that the old warlord faced things that enabled him to look at those abominations of the Thorian without flinching, to look at the death of a world with cold indifference - no, she wasn't sure she really wanted to delve into the events Wrex alluded to. Yet, wouldn't that be kind of her responsibility? Her task, as the ship's resident xenoarcheologist - even if that post was never formalized? At least the crew accepted her as just that, and did not mutter behind her back about her mother's legacy; something she was sure the asari on Thessia would definitely not omit. With a shiver, Liara realized that she very well may have to face either a silent exile from her kind, seek asylum in the Alliance - or face the Justicar Order, supported by the Matriarchy and the Temple of Athame. No, she was not sure which prospect was more frightening to her.
She was still mulling over her bleak-seeming future (and tried to shut out the voice screaming about said future being measured in days, and about Saren and Benezia) when she almost collided with Doctor Chakwas in the medbay's door. Liara muttered an embarrassed apology, and stepped aside to allow the other woman pass. Chakwas tilted her head to the side, studying her face carefully for a few moments, before she spoke.
"If something is troubling you, Doctor, you know that you can always discuss it with me." The asari smiled at the human and nodded, fidgeting a bit. Chakwas' lips curled slightly. "Perhaps we should take this to the medbay, darling?"
She stepped back inside, Liara followed, and the door hissed close behind them. Chakwas dropped down onto her usual chair, leaned back as she focused on the asari.
"So, what is on your mind, Liara?"
"Just … restless, I suppose, I can't seem to find anything to occupy my mind, to help and assist, and with the upcoming fight and the meeting with the quarians I can't focus well enough, and then there's Ilos, you do realize I've been wanting to find that world for decades, just like all xenoarcheologists focusing on Prothean, and now I can..."
Chakwas chuckled, and the warm mirth snapped Liara out of her increasingly swift-paced tirade, and the young asari smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry, Doctor Chakwas. I got a bit carried away, I suppose."
The older woman nodded sagely, with a small smile on her lips.
"I suggest you speak with the Commander, then - perhaps he can give you a suitable task that will take your mind off all that you described." Liara blushed, opened her mouth to deny, to say anything, but was cut off by Chakwas' raised hand. "A talk would be good for both of you. In case you haven't noticed, Shepard barely comes out from his cabin to eat or do a daily check on the ship. So you might as well see what keeps him so busy, Doctor - perhaps that would sufficiently distract both of you."
Liara tilted her head to the side, considering, before she nodded with a faint blush.
"Thank you, Doctor Chakwas, I believe I shall follow your advice."
The young asari did not hear the low muttering about 'winning the pool' or 'obtuse kids' as she marched across the mess deck, and stood in front of Shepard's cabin, placing her hand on the entry panel, then the door chimed, the lock flashed from red to green, and the door slid open. Swallowing nervously, ignoring the strange feeling deep within, Liara stepped inside the Spectre's cabin for the first time.
"I'll be with you in a moment, T'soni." Shepard's voice sounded from the separated bedroom/refresher part of the small cabin, leaving Liara standing in his, for lack of a better word, stateroom. She panned her gaze over the pile of datapads on his desk, the short shelf full of actual, honest-to-Athame paper books (and no, she did not step closer so she could touch each book, she was more disciplined than that), and to the side, half-hidden by the desk, a glowing stasis field shielding a handful of peculiar tomes - that immediately twigged on the xenoarcheologist's instincts in her. Turning away from the shelf, and stepping back, she tilted her head to get a better view, eyes narrowed in concentration as she studied the old artifacts.
"You know, I can't decide if you are planning on reading or ravishing them."
Liara almost felt her neck snap as she spun around to face the Spectre, a blushing denial and admonishment dying on her lips as she saw him - and her eyes went wide at the sight of the strange pattern of recent scars adorning Shepard's arms, her hand automatically going to her omnitool to summon Chakwas, or administer medigel … before the human's surprisingly gentle touch stopped her.
"Don't worry, T'soni - this job comes with a number of unfortunate side effects, and at times operatives like me want to ensure that we can do the task at hand." Liara almost reeled at the dark but genuine humor in the Spectre's voice. "And anyway, you should not worry about it, they'll fade soon enough, I just needed a bit more energy than I thought."
At her inquisitive glance, he shook his head ruefully, before flashing a smile at her.
"What brings you here, Liara? Are you planning to use me for my books and the few meager artifacts I have?"
She stiffened and blushed at his words, torn between wanting to sink in embarrassment and hitting him with the strongest biotic field she could muster; in the end, she opted for glaring at him, though the effect was lessened by her still-noticeable blush and that infuriating smirk he wore. For a second, she tensed and hoped, sure against all sane expectations that Wrex would drop once again something comment about krogan courtship, just to see Shepard lose that smirk. She glared at the man when the old krogan failed to materialize. The Spectre raised a hand in an apologetic gesture.
"Sorry. I'm told my humor can be off at times."
"Yes it is, Commander. Just be glad that we asari have decades or even centuries to cultivate enough patience to deal with such attempted levity." She held herself in the imperious pose fitting for a Matriarch just a second longer, then she chuckled. "Not that I could claim to have too much experience on that front, honestly."
"I'd say you are doing fine, Liara. And seriously, what brings you here?" At her hesitant expression, Shepard stepped closer, voice lowered. "Nervous about what happens when we get to Ilos?"
A nod was all Liara could manage, not trusting her willpower with more. Shepard frowned in thought, then sighed, stepped back to his desk, and deactivated the stasis field - and Liara's eyes widened as she could actually fully appreciate the tomes practically screaming 'ancient, priceless relics' to her. Then her yes narrowed, as she took in the curious binding materials, and her stomach roiled as she realized exactly what type of skin was used. A quick look at Shepard, and his answering nod confirmed her suspicion.
"Why keep something this … barbaric around, Shepard? Even if you were the mindless Butcher others harp on about, you would not do that." She tilted her head, thought for a few seconds. "Unless, you actually earned that name by doing something that has to do with this..." Her eyes tracked the covering, her voice stumbling over the unfamiliar name. "... this Liber Ivonis? Or something similar, I think. Care to enlighten me?"
Liara again stopped speaking, considered.
"Well, that is, if you are allowed to. If you actually can? I am not sure, you understand, but after Feros and Noveria, after what I've seen from you and what Wrex hinted at, I have a … theory about why humans always seem so interested in xenoarcheology. And why the Alliance has such an … overwhelming approach to related dangers."
"Well, I can explain some, Doctor - but trust me, it is not a nice story. And quite a lot of our best and brightest have suffered dire consequences from studying artifacts such as this." The old tome creaked in his hand. "Are you sure you want to risk that, T'soni?" There was something in his eyes she could not decipher.
"I have a suspicion that not knowing may be riskier in the long run." For a moment, she could not understand why he was grinning; then it dawned on her what she said exactly, and she could not help laughing as well. "So Commander, enlighten me, before we go on to ensure that there is, indeed, a long run."
As Shepard started explaining, Liara got comfortable on the small sofa, listening intently to the operative - the xenoarcheologist, the scientist in her drank in the words, mind dizzy with implications, theories, arguments to counter the insane web he spun to her. The young asari maiden, however, paid attention to rather different aspects of the Spectre.
SSV Normandy, Pangaea Expanse, Refuge system
Tali was worried again. Sure, the meeting with Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen went well enough, but mainly because she, Liara and Garrus managed to convince the two admirals to see reason … and perhaps more importantly, discouraged Wrex and Shepard to throw the two quarian leaders out an airlock. Sure, Han'Gerrel was a rather abrasive man, and Daro'Xen would easily qualify as the quintessential mad scientist, but still, they were leaders of her race, and friends, partners of her father. And if she wanted to be honest with herself, despite all that she has seen since Wrex took her under his wings, she could still feel the disdain most of the Council showed her kind - and the calculating pragmatism of the likes of Udina was not really much better, in her opinion. Of course, she also fumed when her own Admirals discarded her ideas just because she was a young girl still on her Pilgrimage.
She bit off a vindictive, sharp laughter when she recalled the reactions from Wrex and Shepard to that little remark of Daro'Xen; even if those smiles would haunt her nightmares for awhile, it was worth it. The Admiralty Board should be proud or at least satisfied with her - after all, she did manage to wring concessions out from the Citadel Council (not that it was hard when the representative was her own Captain), and gotten the Migrant Fleet a safe harbor within Alliance space as well as a possible membership in the Citadel Council. Even her father sent a rather heartfelt congratulations when Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen notified him and the rest of the Board.
Her fingers danced over the controls of the core diagnostics panel, as the Normandy raced towards the Mu Relay, the quarian task force following close behind - and hopefully, they would manage to finish the hunt for Saren and his geth, showing those bigoted fossils on the Council what a mistake they made when their predecessors left the quarians to fend for themselves during the exodus from Rannoch. Finally, her people would earn back their place in the galactic community, and erase the largest mistake of their past - and if she was lucky, it would be done before she gave herself more nightmares from the mere vicinity of the Tantalus core. Her fingers absently playing with the small trinket Shepard gave her (and the rest of the Council observers), she narrowed her eyes at the drive core, the rhythmic pulse of the core somehow taunting, mocking her.
She almost jumped out of her suit when the comm crackled to life, and Shepard's voice sounded.
"Tali, Liara, Wrex, come up to the cockpit."
With a last glare at the core and a nod towards Adams, she left Engineering.
The cockpit felt rather crowded when she arrived - of course, any enclosed space with Wrex inside tended to have that effect. Garrus was sitting in the seat next to Joker, targeting data and weapon readiness readouts scrolling on his screens, and she had to suppress a snicker at his sincere but constant efforts to calibrate the armament to an ever-finer quality. Shepard was standing directly behind them, looking at the telemetry data from a recon drone, and Liara was hanging back, busy at a console. Wrex simply leaned back, grinning toothily at everyone.
Reflexively, Tali glanced at the screen the Spectre and Joker were studying, and she felt her jaw drop.
"That's all of them? Where are the other ships? Where is the geth fleet gone? Are we running into a trap" She almost did not recognize her own voice due to the shrill note of disbelief.
"Relax, kid. It seems your people will miss the show spaceside." Wrex bared his teeth in a savage smile. "On the other hand, if your Marines are willing to come dirtside..."
"Later, Wrex." Shepard's voice was calm, yet she could hear the underlying urgency. "Tali, I want you and Liara to try and come up with a good scanning program that might help us narrow down where Saren's forces are." He raised a hand to stop her before she could open her mouth. "I know they are likely already left, but we are somewhat lacking in options. If they are still on-planet, I want to find them and stop them as quickly as possible. If they are gone, I want to know that fast, so we can turn around and race back to the Citadel."
Tali thought for a moment, then nodded, her omnitool lighting up as she stepped to Liara's side, the asari moving a bit to the side so she too could access the scanner.
Two hours later, the Normandy settled on a high orbit around Ilos, the quarian fleet following suit. Tali was rather content that the engagement went well for them - the overwhelming firepower of the Heavy Fleet detachment blew the geth squadron aside, and only took minor hits in return. She only remembered patches from that, focused as she was on the frantic coding effort on perhaps the most slapdash piece of software ever put together by a quarian engineer. Admittedly, it was nice that Liara let her take the lead, and was content with not getting in her way and providing only relevant assistance when they put together the search parameters for typical Prothean structures and energy signatures. She even offered to officially publish the program, with Tali as the chief architect - provided she polished it up a bit for commercial use.
Tali could dimly hear Shepard arguing with Han'Gerrel about something to do with the Marines, but honestly, her focus was on the scanner display, just like Liara's. Pride at her craft warred with worry in her, as more and more of Ilos' surface was proven devoid of any trace of geth. For an insane minute, she even hoped that they had gotten here before Saren, and that almost made her panic as she thought of her people having to face Sovereign - but then the scanner pinged at the same time Joker cursed. A very distinct energy signature started on the surface, in the middle of what was likely a Prothean city. Wrex barked a short, angry curse, while Garrus muttered something about spirits, and Liara closed her eyes, seemingly in prayer.
"And now we know why Benezia called it a Conduit." Shepard's voice was cold.
Tali nodded, mutely watching as the impossible signature of a mass relay spinning up for transport was clearly shown on the Normandy's scanner.
Ilos, Prothean ruins
Garrus never thought he'd agree with anything Saren said about humanity. Now, strapped into a Mako, about to be dropped from the Normandy's docking bay while the frigate was currently screaming down into the atmosphere of Ilos in an almost-vertical dive, he had to admit that the renegade Spectre was right, and humans were insane monkeys who should never have moved from beyond their dinky solar system. The fact that he had to endure the dark, eager chuckling of Wrex did not help his mood, and not even being pressed close to Tali was enough to take his mind off the likely event of Joker crashing the ship into the surface. No pilot was good enough for that, and even if he was, the drive core could not handle the sudden shift, or the fuselage would be torn apart by the stress. And what was more galling to him, he could not really see a saner alternative than what Shepard proposed. They were likely already late enough as it was, and their backup contingent of quarian marines was only now launching from the orbiting ships.
He heard Joker mutter something about wind and soaring into the open comm channel, but it was mostly lost under Pressly's warning and the roar of power from the direction of the drive core. The Normandy's hull shrieked under the stress of the sudden shift, the inertial compensators howling along with the warning klaxons as the ship stood still for a second, the lamp lowered, and Shepard gunned the Mako's engine. The APC echoed from the triumphant laughter of Wrex, which luckily drowned out the screams of Tali and Liara as they hurtled out into the atmosphere of Ilos, experiencing a moment of free fall before the jump jets ignited and they landed on the surface with a resounding, almost neck-snapping crash as the Normandy raced back towards orbit, weaving around geth rockets and bolts of green lightning.
Even before the wheels have stopped, Garrus was moving. His sniper rifle unfolded, and the opening riffs of his people's anthem thundered into his ears. With a savage smile, he switched to explosive rounds, and with a light touch of the trigger his first hit turned tore off the chest and head of a geth Juggernaut coming to greet them. With a flick of his omnitool, he deployed a dampening field centered on the geth Prime closest to them while he dove into cover behind a ruined statue of some tentacle-eyed alien. The Mako's cannon roared and another Prime was turned into spare parts before the APC started to move, Shepard jumping out from the vehicle followed by Wrex.
The trio on foot raced towards the immense gate slowly closing before them, seeking to bar their way deeper into the Prothean pyramid. His visor's sensors told him the same as his instincts, and Garrus clicked his comm open.
"We won't make it, not like this!"
Both Shepard and Wrex nodded at that, and he felt the temperature drop as hoarfrost crept along the ruins spiralling out from the Spectre while the krogan warlord's biotic corona started to shine stronger and stronger. The turian nodded, they could make it inside, and hopefully hold the gate open while their team got inside - and then the five of them would be able to survive until the quarian marines arrived. His musing was cut short as he noticed a slender blue figure behind the gate and then a blue flare of discontinuity wrenched him from the timeline.
The stasis field did not hold for long - but it was enough for the gate to close, leaving them outside with a host of geth led by three Primes. He threw himself into cover behind a statue, green lightning burning a furrow into the ground behind him. His answering shot was stopped by an orange-colored beehive barrier, that nevertheless broke with a sound like shattering glass. A swipe of his omnitool sent an overload charge into the Prime, hoping to slow it down for the two seconds his rifle needed to finish venting heat. He cursed as the statue began to melt from the barrage of the other geth units - then the now-familiar boom of displaced air sounded, followed by the sounds of metal being torn and the roar of an oversized krogan shotgun as Wrex tore into the geth.
A quick look around, and Garrus cursed. Both Wrex and Shepard were in the middle of the geth horde, heading towards a Prime each - but compared to earlier fights, these ones were giving ground, falling back, seeking to corral the two with those damned barriers and smaller geth units. So far, both of his comrades managed to avoid the worst of the geth fire, but even they could hold out only for so long. The Mako was a burning, half-melted wreck, and for a moment he was worried before he spotted the blue dome of a biotic barrier - Liara was still standing, her face a focused mask as her biotics flared and weathered the geth barrage. Tali was crouched down, frantically typing on her omnitool, before a gesture sent two Destroyers lurching then the hacked geth opened fire on the other mechs. His mandibles parted with a savage grin, and Garrus sighted into the scope of his rifle, pulled the trigger, and turned a Prime's head into a rapidly-expanding cloud of synthetic parts.
The grin was wiped off from his face when the awaited few seconds of confusion failed to manifest - sure, his visor and sensors later corroborated his instincts that the expected latency in geth reactions did happen, but it barely lasted a fraction of a second, too fast to take advantage of. Still, at least the pressure on Tali and Liara eased a bit, and for a quarian engineer like her, it was enough to go on the offensive, hacking geth after geth. With the pressure on her barrier lessening, Liara diverted part of her focus and energy, and singularity after singularity bloomed into existence, tearing mechs from cover, sending them spinning in the air - though most of them continued to fire with rather impressive accuracy even so, their elevated position made them rather easy targets for Garrus.
An eternity of ten minutes later, their team converged on the gate to see if they could open it by the time the quarians landed their marines. As Tali and Liara were busy scanning, trying to find a working access panel or control, Garrus stepped to the quietly conversing Shepard and Wrex.
"So, why did you not order a full-scale orbital bombardment as soon as we spotted that relay signal? Sure, Liara would have pouted over the loss of archeological artifacts, but it would have been much quicker than slogging it with these upgraded geth."
Wrex barked a short, vicious laugh as he shook his head.
"Think, C-Sec. Even if the Butcher had flattened the whole pyramid, even if the explosion of the relay would have taken out a large chunk of the city, would it have guaranteed that Saren and Benezia are both dead? Could you take that chance?"
"Wrex is right, Garrus. Maybe if Sovereign had been in-system, I'd have done that, but with that thing gone, I am not willing to risk the quickest way of following Saren."
The detective considered for a few moments, before he nodded with a rueful shake of his head.
"Yeah, I guess you have a point. I just hate this whole ruined ancient city; not really fun to fight in. And let's not even talk about the insane stunt you and Joker pulled in getting us here."
The human and the krogan flashed identical, half-crazy smiles, and Garrus shivered, before his eyes narrowed with malicious glee.
"Careful you two, Liara will get jealous."
The old warlord simply laughed, while Shepard sent a worried glance towards the asari before glaring at the detective.
"Ladies, any chance we can get through this?"
Liara answered, not turning, her omnitool still scanning.
"Not quickly, and not without seriously tiring ourselves. If Wrex, Shepard and I were to mesh our biotic fields, we might be able to warp through the gate, but that would leave us seriously depleted when facing Saren and … Benezia on the other side." She paused her scanning, turned towards Shepard with a raised eyebrow. "Unless there is some interesting trick up your sleeve, Commander?"
The Spectre shook his head, grimacing.
"Not really. Partly because it could leave me at a disadvantage for later, partly because it would take hours, and partly because it might get easily out of hand. Maybe if it was not a tomb world I'd risk it, but not here and not now."
Garrus gestured towards Wrex, and the two went back to the destroyed Mako to see what they can salvage while they waited for the Migrant Fleet Marines to arrive with breaching charges - and then they descended into the depth of the Prothean pyramid.
Liara should have been ecstatically happy. Here she was on fabled Ilos, walking amidst the remains of the single largest Prothean city anyone ever found - and she had to spend most of her focus on fighting the geth. And of course not thinking about how to face her mother in the immediate future. Looking at her companions, she worried, especially after the casual display of biotic power Benezia arranged for them at the gates of the complex. How could they, she stand up to that? How could she defend her friends (and maybe possible, hopeful bondmate?) from being overwhelmed by the wrath of a Matriarch?
No, she had to set those thoughts aside. As their group marched deeper into the complex, she found it practically impossible to hold back her inner xenoarcheologist as they walked past the darkened, unpowered stasis chambers containing sadly-deceased Protheans lining the high, dimly lit walls. She frowned at that, considering. There was still power here, as evidenced by the scattered remains of destroyed geth and automated defences they encountered along their way - and also, she could not believe that the builders did not include much, much more additional power sources than even a stasis chamber of this size would require, seeing as they had a working mass relay in place.
More ominously, from what she could tell of her scan results, the vast majority of the stasis pods were shut down only recently - as in not much earlier than their own jump through the Mu Relay. She shuddered at some of the implications to this little tidbit of data, suddenly feeling the whole complex even more ominous than it already was. Not that she was the only one who felt like that - judging by their stances and alertness, most of the quarians accompanying them were very much on edge. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Wrex and Shepard looked rather unfazed, as did the quarian captain, Kal'Reegar.
Liara could not say how long have they walked the meandering corridors, always descending towards the energy signature of the still-working mass relay. Her eyes and omnitool scanned the walls, the stasis capsules, the glyphs and markings; all that with perhaps more intensity than Tali and her engineer companions did the downed geth constructs. Liara could not entirely follow the rapidfire tech-babble about the way the mechs were modified, especially with regards to their cognitive processing abilities, but from what she did understand, these geth were somehow upgraded with foreign code, making them less susceptible to the loss of Primes and similar nodes of network foci.
She did not know who triggered the trap (if it was that), but the barrier curtains igniting behind and in front surprised the whole group. She forced herself to swallow, to bring her pulse under control - after Therum, she well knew how much punishment such devices could weather. Before they could begin blasting their way out, a small, narrow passageway slid open, the door previously completely indistinguishable from the walls, and the scanners still could only detect the passage as solid rock. She only realized that she started moving towards the passage when Shepard's hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Where are you going, T'Soni?"
She blinked before smiling slightly.
"It would be rude to disregard such a charming invitation, don't you think, Commander?"
Wrex chuckled, and stepped forward, preceding the asari and the human into the narrow tunnel. The walkway ended in a small, circular platform overlooking a vault of stasis pods and data stacks, and despite the circumstances, Liara could not suppress her excitement at the sight - and she did not notice the amused grins shared by Wrex and Shepard behind her back. Her eyes went even wider when the air above the console lit up and a brown, indistinct, flickering mess of a hologram formed, then spoke. She could only partially understand what it said, her shallow knowledge melds with Shepard not nearly enough to gain a similar proficiency in Prothean language as he had. Still, she knew enough to understand the gist of what they were talking about, and her admiration for the long-gone species rose several notches. The last act of the scientists on Ilos was just the kind she and her colleagues would have expected from an enlightened race like the Protheans - and she silently swore that she would do everything in her power to ensure that they did not die in vain.
She started when Shepard cut off the conversation with Vigil after the VI confirmed that Saren and a significant amount of his army already transitioned to the Citadel via the Conduit relay - and that Vigil had a way of navigating ships in the atmosphere to latch onto the relay. For a moment, Liara could not believe that Shepard would leave off questioning the artifact when it was so obvious that they could learn much, much more from it; but then she remembered her mother, and the goals of Saren and Sovereign, and remained silent.
"Tali, I'd like you to stay here with a squad of marines as protection. I'll send Vigil a translation program so you two can interact, and I want you to both coordinate any relay jumps after we clear out the remnants of Saren's forces, and do some data recovery from Vigil's databanks." The Spectre sent a grin towards Liara, the asari returned it with a mock-glare and a small smile. "A certain doctor would never forgive me if we did not try and get as much data from here as possible. Still, focus on tech and history, particularly if Vigil has anything about the Reapers in its databanks."
"Will do, Shepard." Tali's omnitool was already lighting up, her fingers blurring over the keys as she started typing.
"Captain Reegar, if you could detail a squad to remain here, we should leave." The tall quarian nodded, motioned for one of his sergeants, and a dozen quarians moved to stand guard over Tali while she worked. Shepard turned to Tali once more. "If there's trouble, just remember what I told you about that little trinket. And in case we don't meet, it has been an honor, Tali'Zorah vas Neema."
Before Tali could reply, the Spectre marched off, Liara and Garrus nodding goodbye to the quarian before following the commander. Wrex only lingered for a few more moments, his rumbling voice whispered something to Tali, and Liara could not suppress a chuckle as the krogan's laughter was counterpointed by the indignant, mortified shriek of a teenage quarian girl.
The group quickened their progress jogging past the increasingly common geth wrecks and ruined defensive emplacements, the hum of the working mass relay becoming more and more distinct. They emerged from the tunnel into an immense vault dominated and lit by the slowly spinning mass relay in the middle of it. Liara could not really estimate the size of the vast cavern, she was too overwhelmed by the proof of the Prothean's knowledge and might - and then her eyes narrowed as she noticed the blue faces amidst the grey geth shapes. There was a distinct pattern below the mass relay, some arrangement she could not discern at a short glance, but she could see pairs of asari and those bulking cloned krogan from Virmire standing in a twisted embrace … and as her armor's sensors magnified the view, she fought the urge to retch as she beheld the melded, monstrous things that were ringing the foundation of the Conduit.
She only half-heard the discussion between Wrex, Garrus, and Captain Reegar, her gaze flitting across the future battlefield in search of Benezia. After seeing what her mother allowed to (or perhaps ordered to) happen to her sworn acolytes and trusting followers, she wanted to dispose of the thing that wore her mother's face, tainting all that the Matriarch achieved over a thousand years. Liara swore she would die before she allowed that to happen. She caught the end of the quick planning session between the soldiers, and moved to Shepard's side, nodding resolutely at his questioning glance as they started towards the relay.
The quarians got into position first, their snipers and rockets striking into the geth lines awaiting transport, the suddenness and vicious precision of the attack blowing away Armatures and Primes alike, throwing even the upgraded geth into a short confusion. Garrus circled to the side, his sniper rifle booming, and the blue light of a biotic barrier shimmered into existence around Benezia as it stopped the disruptor round. The Matriarch's gaze snapped towards him, and the turian barely managed to dodge a biotic field that sheared off half the console he used for cover. With a contemptuous ease, Benezia gestured, and the immobile mech Garrus dived behind was lifted in the air, forcing the detective to move on. Still, it was a testament to his skill that he managed to snap off another shot, hitting the Matriarch again - and more importantly, distracting her for the few crucial seconds they needed.
With roaring laughter and the boom of displaced air, Wrex charged, the explosion of him hitting the target throwing the few nearby geth clear, and Liara winced, unwilling to imagine the result of the old krogan slamming into her mother. Her eyes widened as she saw Benezia standing tall, a hand outstretched towards the warlord, in the classical throwing mnemonic gesture of asari biotics. That hand, outlined in blue-white energy, gestured again, and Wrex didn't manage to fully dodge the half-melted Prime she threw at him, the glancing hit throwing the krogan to the side, as Benezia drew forth a slim, shimmering blade - or did it extend from the grey-black, form-fitting armor she wore? Liara was not sure, but it did not matter anyway as she focused and pulled Wrex away before her mother could kill him. Then Shepard arrived, omniblade flashing for the Matriarch's neck.
That eerie blade stopped the slash with almost casual ease, the Spectre's pistol was wrenched aside by a biotic field, a cold, disdainful sneer on the asari's lips, before she reeled back as the human headbutted her. The reeling figure was thrown further back when Wrex and Garrus seemingly fired in the same instant, their shots collapsing her barrier and shields. Liara reached out, wreathed her mother into a biotic field, lifting her high, prepared to slam her into the ground - then Benezia's whole body flashed blue, the pulse of power disrupted Liara's control, threw away both Shepard and Wrex, leaving the Matriarch hovering in the air. With a gesture, Benezia threw a singularity at Garrus, almost wrenching him out from cover, before Liara destabilised the singularity with a throw of her own.
"You will not hurt my friends, Mother." She would not recognize her sound later. Power bloomed around her as her corona surged into existence, flaring brighter than ever before as she focused her will, throwing biotic fields as quickly as she could at her mother, alternating throws, singularities, attempts to slam her down, to destabilise her with a warp field, anything she could think of. Anything to keep her occupied, to deny her the few seconds she needed to lock them in a stasis field. She did not care that thin rivulets of blood started leaking from her nostrils, ignored the pain and burning of her nerves, the pounding ache in her head. She bared her teeth in a feral, blood-flecked snarl, and fought on.
Evidently, despite her centuries of experience and immense skill with her biotics, Benezia was not a true warrior; whatever combat instincts her long-ago huntress training and fights instilled in her were rustier than she thought - or perhaps the head-on confrontation with her daughter really did take so much of her attention. At any rate, she missed how Wrex and Shepard managed to pull themselves out from the wreckage of geth and Prothean machinery. She might have also missed the circle of hoarfrost spreading out from the Spectre, and the biotic aura building up around the warlord. What she could not miss was the old krogan slamming into her like a biotically-empowered freight train, the impact disrupting her control with explosive results that sent Benezia flying. Even before she hit the ground, Shepard was moving, his eyes flaring with golden power, his omniblade unerringly aiming for the back of her head, as he somehow anticipated her path and aligned his weapon perfectly.
The shimmering omniblade bit deep into the strange metal that crept over the Matriarch's head, the armor preventing the blade from sinking deep into the asari's brain, or even to do more than prickle her skin. Benezia's eyes flared with green corpse-light and lightning arced from her, scorching the floor, scoring furrows into the armor of Shepard and Wrex, as the ancient asari stood tall, a wrathful goddess prepared to strike down the unworthy. She was wreathed in snaking tendrils of corpse-green energy, her whole body covered by the fluid, dark grey metal armor that seemed to suck in light. A shot from Garrus was melted in the air by a bolt of energy lashing out from her body. Liara threw a biotic field at her, the Matriarch not even bothering to dodge, the metallic suit rippling as water while it absorbed the dark energy. Wrex slammed into Benezia, making her sway, his shotgun discharging with a roar from point-blank range, droplets of the liquid armor spraying from the impact, and for a fraction of a second, blue skin flashed beneath the unnatural metal. The old warlord did not hesitate, and his free hand, wreathed in blue, slammed straight into the asari's ribs, breaking at least two of them, and sent her tottering back.
The krogan followed her, ignoring the savage energy lashing over his massive frame, pounding away at her armor, the impacts sending ripples racing on the grey surface. Garrus fired again, Benezia's head jerking to the side, flecks of armor splattering from the hit but the armor held. Liara's warp field hit her mother, the biotic field eating into the armor, sending rivulets of metal cascading down. Then the ancient asari shrieked, the sound carrying metallic, machinelike undertones, knifing into the mind of all present. The still-standing quarians fell to their knees, several of them jerking and spasming as if in seizures. Garrus and Liara both swayed, clapping hands to their ears even over the audio filters of their helmets. Wrex roared and struck again and again, despite tendrils of lightning snaking their way all over his body, melting furrows into his armor, boiling away flesh and sinew, before a pulse of green-tinged biotic power flung him away.
Benezia rose into the air once more, her face twisted into a savage snarl, energy pooling in her eyes, flaring in her corona in preparation for scouring the vault clean of her attackers. A flash of movement drew Liara's gaze to the side, and her eyes widened. Shepard was standing tall, darkness and insane colors flickering and flitting over his frame as he raised a hand, the very air seeming to burn as he traced a symbol before him, and the young asari felt it searing into her soul. Then the Spectre spoke, his voice a gurgling, drowning, insane sound that bypassed their ears and echoed in their minds. Liara saw blood streaming from his eyes, something spattering the inside of his helmet as he barked those inhuman syllables that made reality itself ripple and clawed at the sanity of those who heard them.
The Matriarch convulsed, fell to the ground, violently spasming, coughing, as the armor drew away from her mouth and she vomited forth a torrent of brackish, foul-smelling fluid - and then a spark of the green lightning touched the rapidly growing puddle of foulness beneath her heaving form. The green fire ignited the vile stuff Benezia was still coughing up, and turned her into a pillar of burning agony denied even the possibility of howling out her agony as her body and the very source of her new powers turned against her.
Shepard fell to his knees with a crash, panting as he wrenched the helmet from his head and spat bloody phlegm on the ground. Liara was torn for a moment, before she stepped to his side, reaching out to help him up. She saw his eyes focusing behind her then go wide, and he tackled her to the ground as a flame-wreathed hand of Benezia gestured, and a singularity spun into being directly over the matriarch, the miniature black hole snuffing out most of the flames, and the ancient asari gazed at them, her eyes the same blue color as Liara's own as her mouth formed the words, the question she no longer had the lungs to utter aloud, and Liara nodded, her hand gripping Shepard's fingers tight as the eyes of the two asari swirled void-black for an eternal moment. Benezia suddenly wrenched her head back, the burnt remnants of the grey armor again creeping up to engulf her face - then a krogan shotgun boomed, and it was over.