Book II - Chapter 4: Burglary
After careful observation and deliberation, Vasir concluded that there was a war happening in the underworld. Something significant had happened between the Shadow Broker and Cerberus, something that would constitute an unforgivable offence, that had pushed the Broker to take drastic measures to undermine the pro-human terrorist group.
Before the triggering event, the two criminal organizations maintained a polite distance between each other, a professional courtesy, so to speak. But now, the Broker was actively sending out agents to gather dirt and infiltrate Cerberus's cells. It felt like the Hellhound was guarding something precious that the Broker was desperate to get their hands on. Vasir had no idea what kind of grudge the Broker was holding, but the cascading effect was that there was a fountain of blood being spilled up and down the Terminus systems.
It didn't bother Vasir. Blood of criminals was of no consequence to her. As long as the war didn't cross into Council space, she took no issue with it.
What did bother her was the attitude of willful ignorance the Council was promoting.
Even after the leaked footage of the unknown dreadnought shooting down the Normandy, the most that the Council was willing to commit was sending a few additional STG units into the Terminus systems. "Batarian vessel," Valern had insisted. The bug-eyed lizard must've been high on something to spout such nonsense. Everyone had heard of the answer that would perfectly explain the existence of this overwhelmingly advanced dreadnought that looked nothing of batarian design, but no one was willing to entertain the thought that Commander Shepard could possibly have been right. If they did, it would mean that the Council had callously sent the only person who could have any idea how to deal with this threat to her death.
Was it a surprise that she had long ago decided to bypass the Council to get results? Getting meaningful support from the Council was about as difficult as squeezing credits from volus. She was selected to be a Spectre precisely because she was not above getting her hands dirty to get the job done. Petty bureaucracy was the reason why black ops were needed - just ask most C-Sec officers and they would say the same. It wasn't about accountability or transparency. It was about maintaining galactic peace without wasting time cutting through swathes of red tape. Her motto was, do her job first, ask forgiveness later. If they didn't like it, they could fire her.
They had not tried to in her long career.
And now there was this.
Vasir reached out and ripped off the short blond wig her captive was wearing. The caramel skinned Cerberus spy struggled futilely against the two burly C-Sec officers holding her down on her knees while glaring defiantly up at her.
This woman had come to her, claiming she would surrender Cerberus intel in exchange for her protection. Vasir had dealt with enough liars in her lifetime to spot one by their greasy aura - this particular agent had stank of insincerity. Wanting to see what this woman's game was, she pretended to take the bait and left the spy alone inside the Spectre Office with the console unguarded. Her instinct was proven correct. The moment the spy began to access restricted files, Vasir came back with two armed C-Sec officers and caught her redhanded. Espionage was grave enough an offence as it was, but the specific restricted file this spy was trying to steal…!
Vasir looked down at the woman dispassionately. "You are unlucky, Cerberus. Normally, I don't waste what I can use." She carelessly tossed aside the wig and closed her hand around the spy's throat. "But here is why I said you are unlucky. If it had been any other reason…"
The spy's eyes bulged as she fought to get away from Vasir's iron grip, but she was completely immobilized as the angry asari steadily increased the pressure around her neck to cut off the air and blood supply.
"I don't know why the Illusive Man would be so interested in a dead Spectre, and honestly, I'm not in the mood for deception." Vasir pulled her tattooed lips back as she spoke through clenched teeth in barely restrained fury. "Commander Shepard was a friend. You've picked the one target I care about, Cerberus scum. Oh no, I don't need you to lie to me. I can find out for myself. Embrace eternity."
Vasir cleaved into the spy's mind like an axe splitting a fire log. She was vaguely aware her victim arching back in absolute agony from the brutal mind rape, but the crushing force around the woman's throat stifled any sound trying to escape past her lips. With surgical accuracy, Vasir sliced deeply into the spy's consciousness to separate the facts from the tangled yarn of lies and half truths. What she found inside this woman's mind had her seething in impotent rage. "Is there nothing sacred to you people?" Vasir's voice was a hoarse whisper. Both of her hands were clasped around the spy's neck now, squeezing down without a shred of mercy.
She only loosened her grip after the spy had passed out from the choke hold.
"Keep her sedated in lock up. I'm not done with her yet."
The two human C-Sec hopped toi her command as if their boots were on fire. They were terrified, Vasir could tell. She didn't blame them one bit. Truth be told, Vasir was a little scared by herself as well. Violating another's mind was decidedly not her standard interrogation method.
Vasir blamed Shepard. Even being dead, she still managed to make her act crazy.
The information she dug out from within the Cerberus agent's mind would explain why there was a storm brewing in the Terminus systems. Although, it did make Vasir wonder why the Shadow Broker was looking for Shepard's body with such desperation.
Yes, desperation was the word to describe the ferocity and urgency the Broker had moved against Cerberus. The uncomfortable question now was, why would the Broker want to get their hands on Shepard's corpse so badly? If this were only about the money, then the bounty must have been an astronomical sum. There must be something else involved.
Still, the confirmation that Shepard's body was currently in Cerberus possession was making her blood boil in righteous indignation. Vasir had read the Commander's mission reports on Cerberus and their ghastly experiments. Simply speculating what those pro-human terrorists might do to further desecrate her deceased friend made her stomach twist in dread.
And there was no doubt. Shepard had been a friend, regardless whether Vasir liked to admit it or not. Why did that heroic idiot have to get herself killed? It was unacceptable.
Vasir would never forgive her.
"Vasir." Jondum Bau, a decorated salarian Spectre, greeted her outside the Spectre Office with a grim frown on his face.
"Bau." Vasir gave her colleague a polite nod. Recognizing the weary lines on his face, she asked, "rough day?"
Blinking slowly, Bau studied her posture for a moment before he answered, "yes, and I expect to hear the same answer from you if I ask you the same question."
Vasir nodded. Bau was always a clever one.
"Someone stole an experimental stealth frigate right from under STG watch. Valern had a fit." Bau supplied.
Vasir wrinkled her nose in sympathy. "Cerberus sent in a spy to steal Commander Shepard's classified files. I stopped them."
Bau tilted his head, silently asking her to elaborate.
Vasir sighed. "And I interrogated their agent and discovered that Cerberus has somehow obtained Shepard's body."
Bau winced at the information. "I'm truly sorry to hear that. I had hoped the Commander would have somehow survived the Normandy's destruction."
"Yeah, me too." Vasir shook her head wistfully. "I half expected her to pull off another impossible stunt and come out of this mess alive like always." She could easily recall the lopsided grin on Shepard's freckled face, her forest green eyes sparking with mischief as she sauntered into a room with a confident swagger, carefree and bursting with life. This memory briefly floated up to the forefront of her mind before the ugly image of Shepard's mutilated corpse flashed before her eyes and made her flinch. Vasir regretted sifting through the Cerberus bitch's memories; she would much prefer having never seen what was left of her friend.
The salarian Spectre didn't miss her momentary loss of composure. "You were with her on Virmire as well as in the Council Chamber during the invasion. What's your thoughts on this Reaper business?"
"Honestly? I'm not sure what to think. But I know it's going to be worse than the rachni, krogan, and geth put together." Vasir closed her eyes and take a deep breath, citing what Shepard had said once. "Thessia will burn."
Bau sucked in a startled gasp at her ominous declaration. "Truely? You believe that?"
"Yes." Vasir answered simply.
Pausing for an inordinately long minute to consider what she had said, Bau finally spoke. "I see."
"See what?"
"Water, food, meds, fuel, eezo, and arms. Resources in general. Bunkers? No, costs are too high. Time consuming. Will need ships. When static defences fail, fall back to mobility." Bau inclined his head in a cordial bow. "Thank you for the confirmation, Spectre. Preparation must begin immediately. Good day."
Vasir silently watched him leave and muttered softly to herself. "You should be glad, Shepard. Somebody listened."
Too bad you won't be here to tell everyone, "I told you so," when the Reapers come.
Vasir closed her eyes, schooled her face to a cold mask of indifference, and carried on her work. No matter how distasteful the method was, no matter how long it was going to take, she planned to extract every last drop of Cerberus intel out of that spy.
x-x-x
Liara was certain she was being followed.
People said that Illium was just Omega with better shoes. Having spent a week living here, she had to say she agreed with this unflattering comparison. The place gave off the same oily vibe as Noveria did. Civilized savagery was just as ugly no matter how much finery it was dressed up in.
The ancient name of T'Soni was more powerful than Liara had ever cared to understand. Before coming to Illium, Liara had spent two solid weeks in Thessia sorting through the majority of the resources Benezia had accumulated in her thousand-year lifespan. She anticipated that it would take even longer to consolidate assets littered across the galaxy. It helped immensely that Benezia kept a meticulous record of everything worth keeping track of, but the transition would take time - longer than she had wanted.
The one saving grace was that putting all the scattered intel together to form a coherent picture was literally what Liara was trained to do as an archaeologist. At least she had gone to school for a skill she could apply to real world uses outside of academia. It was humbling that she had to repeatedly fall back on her training regarding estate management in her youngling days. Benezia casted a long shadow, and Liara was too willful to travel the safe path her overprotective mother had set out for her. In hindsight, it was painfully obvious that all the extra training her mother had made her sit through was to prepare Liara to take over her empire. Benezia wished to spare her daughter a lifetime of hardship, but Liara was too young and too proud to appreciate her mother's guidance.
How she wished she had been a better daughter.
Illium sat firmly within the Terminus systems, but there was no doubt the planet was under asari control. Even though this place was far away from her mother's seat of power, her influence could still be felt here. While Benezia rarely visited Illium, she owned properties, businesses, and had an army of informants on her payroll. Her mother might have left Aethyta over a hundred years ago, but she kept an obsessively close watch over her estranged bondmate. It seemed to Liara that Benezia still cared for Aethyta very much even though she was the one who walked out. Whether Aethyta was aware of this was a different issue.
The feeling of being watched intensified once she entered the upper level of Nos Astra's trading floor. Liara wondered if her watchers were bodyguards sent by her father, or by other parties. At the very least, she could not sense any malice. Either they meant her no harm, or they were very adapted at hiding their intentions.
There was one way to find out.
Strolling purposefully up the stairs located at the far end of the building, Liara walked through the automatic door and entered the famous Eternity lounge. Aethyta was mixing drinks at the bar when she arrived. As soon as their eyes locked, her father put down whatever she was working on and gestured her to follow.
They ended up in a private room in the VIP section of the lounge.
The way Aethyta looked at her made her feel like a youngling of twenty and a breath away from bursting into tears. Liara did not give into that impulse. She was a proud daughter of a T'Soni, and she would act like it.
"Father."
Aethyta did not care for formality. The matriarch stepped into her personal space and enveloped her in a tight hug. "I am so, so sorry."
Reluctantly, Liara returned the hug. "I, um," she swallowed the dry lump in her throat and squeezed her eyes shut. What could she possibly say to her father? She needed to keep herself together for the sake of the mission. Secrecy was the weapon that keep her enemies blind and her bondmate alive. She could scarcely afford to throw that away because she didn't want her father to feel bad. "I'll be fine." Liara said, wincing at the feeble reply she came up with.
Fortunately, Aethyta chose not to push. The matriarch pulled back to study Liara's face, frowning in obvious concern. "Of course you will. You are Nezzie's daughter; you are made of sterner stuff. But anyways… So you know. I guess it's too late to play dumb now."
"Ah, yes. Shepard told me." Liara's expression faltered briefly when her bondmate's name rolled over her tongue like a mouthful of ash. Aethyta must have noticed, but she did not comment on it. Liara was grateful of her discretion. "She said that you only stayed away because my mother broke your heart, not because you didn't want a pureblood daughter."
"Don't use that filthy word." Aethyta scowled fiercely with her arms crossed in front of her chest. "I never believe in half the crap the Matriarchy spew. Conventional wisdom, my ass. They are so afraid of letting the rest of the galaxy learn of the unsightly secret of asari genetic throwbacks, they would condemn innocent trueborns to look upon their own blood in shame. Nothing to contribute to asari gene pool, they say. Bunch of scally old hypocrites, I say."
Liara nodded in agreement.
"But you're not here to listen to me making excuses for skipping out on you for the last hundred years of your life. How can I help?"
Liara carefully considered her options. There was no need to inquire on her mother's status. If there had been any changes, Aethyta would have contacted her immediately. Bringing up Benezia's influence in Illium was also unwise. Clearly, Aethyta still had strong feelings towards her mother. It would be cruel to pick at old wounds. "I am being watched." She decided to cut to the chase.
"I know. I sent them." Aethyta grinned at her daughter with her chest puffed up, looking quite pleased with herself. "I'm not respectable like your mother, but I'm still a matriarch. I wouldn't call them disciples, but they are good kids. They listen when I ask them to do things for me. Illium is no Omega, but you bet I'm keeping an eye out for you."
Liara shook her head deliberately with a troubled frown. "Not just when I'm on Illium. Someone has been following me around since I went back to Thessia a while ago."
The sudden torrent of curses spilling out of Aethyta's mouth made her take an involuntary step back. "Damn them! If they dare to touch you, I'm gonna break every bone in their bodies! Nobody messes with my girl!" Her father clenched her fists tightly together as a faint wisp of biotics flickered across her white knuckles in an obvious display of anger.
"Aethyta? What's going on?"
Aethyta visibly got a hold of herself and sat down on the couch. Liara followed her lead and settled next to her. "Sorry, I don't mean to lose my temper." Her father took the time to take a calming breath before she continued. "I've heard rumours. Mind you, I've been away too long to exert any meaningful influence in the their dealings, but I still hear things. The Matriarchy is concerned, Little Wing."
Liara stared at her father. "Are you suggesting the High Command has sent people to spy on me?"
"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm telling you that's exactly what those old crones have done. You are under surveillance, kiddo."
"Over what, exactly?" Liara was flabbergasted. "I'm just a maiden of no particular importance other than being Benezia's daughter. Many would go so far to say that I am a disappointment. I may have inherited her estate, but whatever political clout mother had wielded was gone the moment she was branded a traitor by the Council. What more could they possibly want from me?"
"They want your obedience, of course." Aethyta spat. "Whatever top secret Spectre business your bondmate had been up to had the Matriarchy spooked. Their opinions regarding Shepard are split right down in the middle. Half of them are glad the Commander is dead because it means this human is neutralized while the other half are disappointed because it means they could no longer use her for their own gain. Disgusting, if you ask me."
Liara's brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand. Shepard is… she is no longer a threat. What's the point of keeping me in check?"
"Oh, honey, you've underestimated your own importance. You are Benezia's daughter. If you had inherited even a tenth of your mother's talent, they would need to keep an eye on you. On top of that, you've bonded wrists with Commander Shepard, the human Spectre who had the Matriarchy in a tizzy. You've been inside her head. True or not, people are going to assume you now possess all her secrets. Make no mistake - to the Matriarchy, you are a threat."
"But I'm not!" Liara protested. "I have nothing against my own people, my own government. I am a faithful daughter of Thessia regardless of whom I've bonded wrists with. Besides, my interests lie in academia, not in politics. Shepard… No. We stopped Saren and saved the Council. I was there every step of the way. I had to fight my own mother! If that wasn't enough to prove my loyalty, nothing else will. Let them watch me. They'll never find anything incriminating because I have nothing to hide."
Perhaps, not nothing, strictly speaking. A corner of Liara's mind admitted with some guilt. Her dealing with Cerberus was one time only, and it was done to sabotage their operation. On that, her conscious was clear. She was no traitor. Everything she had done since she went back to the asari homeworld was done in preparation of the coming war. Besides, what did the Matriarchy care what she did with Benezia's estate? It was not a crime to liquidate assets. She paid all her taxes.
"It doesn't matter. They've already decided that you are a threat, so they will continue to treat you as such." Pausing for a moment to make up her mind, Aethyta took Liara's hands into her own and asked tentatively, "would you do me a huge favour? It's a lot to ask, I know. I've been a no good father all your life, but please, hear me out. My other daughters are matrons; they don't keep me up at night. You are by far my youngest, and you are all I've left of Nezzie. Stay here on Illium, where I have resources to protect you. I must keep you safe."
This was not what Liara had expected from Aethyta when she first decided to come talk to her at all. She had been on her own since the tender age of fifty. The need for parental protection (and approval, for what that was worth) was one thing she had outgrown a long time ago. As a battle-hardened veteran, Liara hardly wished for a protector.
But putting her own preference aside, Liara agreed that Aethyta was right to be concerned. With the Matriarchy watching, Thessia was a far cry from a safe haven where she could move without fear of discovery. For all she knew, the Matriarchy might decide it would be easier to eliminate a potential threat in a more permanent manner before she could become a real problem. With the Broker's agents breathing down her neck at the same time, Liara desperately needed some elbow room to maneuver.
She might not want a protector, but she needed one. Liara would gladly cast aside her own pride and humbly accept her father's help if it meant she could better protect Shepard's secrets.
"I still need to travel extensively to get everything set up, but Illium is a good location for a base of operation. Alright, I will stay here for a while. At least, until I can persuade High Command to leave me alone."
Judging from the way Aethyta was beaming at her, her father seemed pleasantly surprised by Liara's amiable response. "Excellent. You have no idea how relieved that makes me. So, base of operation, eh? Does that mean you have a plan already?"
"Not exactly. I'm sure you already know what I've been up to since," Liara trailed off, letting the end of the sentence drop instead of saying since the Normandy got shot down out loud. "I can't just pick up where I've left off and go back to my old life as if nothing has changed. The Reapers are coming. Nobody wants to believe it, but it's true. There must be something I can do. Mother has left me a generous estate. I intend to consolidate all available resources toward war preparation - she would have approved."
"Yeah, she would have. Nezzie would have been so proud of you."
Smiling tenderly at her sire, Liara replied, "I know. She told me, right before Shepard put her to sleep. That's yet another reason why we must stop the Reapers. So mother can be free."
The gruff matriarch's eyes were misty from unshed tears. Aethyta cleared her throat and looked away from Liara. "Right, I should introduce you to your bodyguards. Give me a minute, I'll call them in." She said in an obvious effort to change the topic.
Less than a minute later after Aethyta sent out the summon, two asari maidens clad in plain purple and white science uniforms reported in the private lounge. Liara recognized their faces. She had seem them around a few times on the trading floor, but she never paid them much attention. They sort of just blended into the background with all other asaris. The only reason why she even remembered seeing them was because she noticed they were carrying pistols in a sea of unarmed civilians.
"Liara, meet Aeian T'Goni and Neaira T'Lani. They are two of my best commandos."
They gave her a polite nod as Aethyta introduced them. Aeian was half a hand taller and had black facial tattoos along the ridges of her crests while Neair sported similar tattoos in white. Judging by the specific shade of blue of their skin, Liara easily recognized that they were both trueborns like her.
"Greetings, Dr. T'Soni. We've heard so much about you." Aeian spoke with a friendly demeanor and an open expression on her face. Her aura was bubbling with barely restrained giddiness tinged with undisguised curiosity. Neaira, on the other hand, exuded calmness and control that was decidedly un-maiden like. Liara had to pay extra attention to study the shorter asari's facial features to make sure she had not miss-aged her.
Liara gave her father an inquisitive look.
"Yeah, I told them you were mine when I assigned them to guard you." Aethyta scratched the back of her neck, looking quite embarrassed. "I, umm, may have bragged about you a tinsy bit. You know, I never get to talk about you. I couldn't help myself."
"Matriarch Aethyta spent about half an hour singing your praises at the briefing," Aeian helpfully supplied with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Liara felt her cheeks warm at the information. Perhaps parental approval still meant more to her than she realized. "I'm sure she exaggerated."
"I didn't. I just wanted them to know what kind of person they were protecting."
"Speaking of which, I am uncertain how this arrangement is going to work. Do they just follow me around all day like babysitters?"
"Goodness, no. I fully expect you to lose you mind had I arranged it to be that way." Aethyta barked out a laugh at Liara's wide-eyed expression.
Aeian further clarified, "we are well aware you are far from helpless, but you can't be on full alert at all time. We've got your back. We also serve as a visible deterrent to discourage unsavory elements from getting ideas."
"That sounds reasonable. I was worried this would be like my youngling years all over again." Liara wrinkled her nose. Overprotective was not strong enough a word to describe Benezia when it came to the only daughter the matriarch had given birth to in her twilight years. Growing up, Liara had had countless watchers, sitters, tutors, and guards surrounding her under Benezia's order. Even after she ran away from home, her mother still had people discreetly keeping tabs on her. It was stifling.
"If we do our jobs right, you wouldn't even know we are there." Aeian assured her. "Feel free to summon us anytime. We will stay close."
Neaira nodded gravely in agreement.
It was startling how stoic and severe Neaira was, Liara thought. She had yet to hear this maiden speak.
They spent the next hour discussing the finer details of this arrangement. Though the two commandos were young, they were professionals. Liara was impressed. With them guarding her back, perhaps she could be more aggressive when it came to hunting down the Broker's agents…
x-x-x
Crouching silently against a concrete wall from the vantage point of the upper level balcony, the hunter stared unblinkingly as their prey casually strolled through the thrumming crowd of Illium's trading floor.
Dr. T'Soni had many stalkers. This realization made the hunter let out an inaudible growl at the competition. There, a salarian dressed in a brown suit leaning against a trade terminal was recording the maiden in secret with his Omni-tool. On the other end of the trading floor, an asari in midnight blue dress was staring at her target with too much intent. Another spy.
The unknown asari walking next to the Prothean expert was her bodyguard, obviously. But the one that the hunter was most weary of was a commando of short stature who was scouting ahead to clear the scene. Another bodyguard, it seemed. Twice now, this commando almost spotted them. This impressed and frustrated the hunter all the same.
Watching from afar was no longer good enough. The hunter felt a flicker of excitement jolting through their veins as they envisioned themselves finally cornering their prize. First, they needed the maiden alone and oblivious. And then, they would strike.
The hunter looked through the scope of their sniper rifle and found the perfect spot to carry out the plan. Dr. T'Soni should feel safe enough to dismiss her bodyguards when she was alone in her penthouse suite. Now they just needed to do some prep work and make sure her bodyguards wouldn't spoil their fun. The maiden would fight them, but that was exactly how they wanted it. The predator delighted in the prospect of a struggle because it would make the game that much more interesting. They couldn't wait to hear what kind of noise the maiden would make when they finally close their teeth around her throat.
x-x-x
Liara bid her bodyguards goodnight before stepping into the elevator of the luxury apartment complex.
This modest penthouse suite she had chosen to be her primary residence for the time being was one of many properties Benezia had owned on Illium. There were others, more spacious apartments she could have used, but after fifty years of living out of a suitcase while moving from one remote dig site to another, a small flat with a view was more than she needed. Not being particularly attached to those properties, she promptly sold the rest. Liquid assets was what she needed to convert to raw resources. For all she knew, Illium could have been reduced to a giant crater once the Reapers came. With war looming in the horizon, holding real estate seemed like a doomed investment plan.
Having lived in this suite for a week now, most of her personal belongs were still packed in her suitcase. Liara wasn't sure when, but she had gotten used to the muted hum of the Normandy's engine, the cosyness of the ship's cabin, and the intimate warmth of her bondmate in her bed. In comparison, the apartment felt so cold and empty.
Liara felt so alone.
Sighing mournfully to herself, Liara crossed the living room and headed up the stairs to change into her pajama. As soon as she reached the first step, all the lights in the apartment went out.
"Huh?" The unexpected darkness blinded her. While only the most primitive part of her brain was intuitive enough to recognize the wrongness of the situation, the majority of Liara's cognitive process stalled. Instead of rolling behind cover immediately, Liara froze in place and blinked owlishly to recover her vision. That split second of indecision was all it took for her assailant to cover her mouth and pulled her into the hidden alcove behind the staircase.
Her biotics roared to life to defend herself even before her brain rebooted enough to realize what she was doing. With a muffled snarl, Liara's fingers dug into her attacker's arms and attempted to grapple the solid weight pushing up against her back.
"Shhh…"
Liara stilled at the sound that meant to ask for her silence. An achingly familiar biotic pulsed twice from the body behind her, signalling the person's identity.
Shepard.
Liara slowly turned around. During the short struggle, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness inside the room enough to be able to see the faint glow of her bondmate's burning green eyes. She took in a shallow breath to begin to speak, but Shepard put a finger over her lips and shook her head.
A spark of cyan danced across Shepard's finger and sank into Liara's skin. This sensation had her eyes rolling to the back of her head while arching into her bondmate's embrace. All of a sudden, she found herself burrowing deeply into Shepard's mind.
Your apartment is bugged. No idea who did this. I can't remove them without exposing myself. Shepard thought to her regretfully. Liara could feel her frustration; Shepard had missed her terribly. Her original plan had been to surprise Liara and spend some quality time together, preferably naked and in each other's arms. But her plan was dashed to pieces when she found those bugs. Now, she was miserable and desperate.
Liara understood Shepard's frustration only too well. Clenching her teeth together to keep from making any noise, she nuzzled against the tender skin underneath her bondmate's ear and breathed in her lovely scent. Shepard smelt like bonfire on a sandy beach, like Thessia's ocean, like home. Liara clung to the woman she loved and felt her need clawing at the pit of her belly like a living thing.
I need you.
I've missed you.
With their thoughts merged together as one, Liara wasn't sure who started it. They clutched at each other's head and pressed their mouths together with the same desperation they both felt. Nipping, sucking, taking in as much as they could reach with their lips and teeth. When they finally broke for air, Liara felt herself being spun around with her back pressed against the wall, and heard her clothes rip. The unexpected sound sent a shockwave of arousal straight down her spine until it pooled between her legs.
Shepard's mouth latched onto her neck in the next frantic heartbeat. Liara tilted her head back and fisted her bondmate's hair with both hands when she felt a flash of teeth. A ragged gasp tore from her throat, and it took every shred of restraint to keep from crying out. Callus fingers eagerly roamed over exposed skin through torn fabric. Liara bit her own knuckles to silence herself when Shepard's hand dug under her waistband and thrust two fingers into her in one smooth motion.
Shepard was not gentle. Which was perfect because Liara didn't want her to be. The blistering pace Shepard had set right from the get go had Liara seeing stars behind closed eyelids. All too soon, Liara felt her body lock tight with too much tension. Before she was ready to let go, Shepard roughly shoved her over the edge with a hard press of her thumb. Liara came undone in a series of jerky, shuddering quakes while the meld dragged her bondmate over at the same time. She trembled uncontrollably from the rumbling vibrations at her throat as Shepard muffled her moans against sweat slick skin. Kneading the tight knots straining across her broad shoulders, Liara cooed and soothed her bondmate through their shared aftershocks. It took a long time for all that pent up tension to finally bleed out of her body.
A well of gratitude stirring inside Shepard's chest washed over Liara's consciousness in a wave of golden warmth. Her beloved had needed this, had needed her. Liara ran her fingers through Shepard's short hair, savoring the unique tactile sensation of this human feature. This gesture brought out an almost audible purr from her bondmate.
I am yours. Liara showered Shepard's face with kisses.
As I am yours. Shepard replied within the meld while basking contently under Liara's attention.
How long can you stay?
'Till morning. Shepard's answer came with a wave of remorse.
Bed? Liara asked. Her legs were getting tired.
Shepard shook her head. There is a camera above the main entrance. This alcove behind the staircase is its only blind spot. I created a power surge to knock out the signal when I grabbed you, but it was only temporary.
Liara looked at her with questions in her eyes. How did you get in here in the first place?
Shepard grinned. Her eyes glimmered under the faint starlight spilling into the apartment through the panorama windows. Kasumi made me a dumbed down version of her cloaking device. I can't use it in battle, but this is perfect for sneaking into your apartment for a booty call.
A what call?
A… Umm. Nevermind. Shepard sat down on the floor and leaned back against the wall. Not as comfy as the bed, but let me hold you?
Liara nodded and joined her on the floor. The ceramic tiles were cold and hard comparing to the soft bed, but there was nowhere else she would rather be. Wrapped securely within her bondmate's arms, Liara wished time would just stop.
They reveled in each other's presence in complete silence, and under the cover of darkness, until the day began to break.
I should go.
Shepard pressed one last kiss on her lips before she stood up and stepped away. Liara watched her put on her gloves and a full-faced recon hood until every inch of her identity was wholly swallowed up by the nondescript black jumpsuit. She almost choked on the sight of her bondmate melting into the shadow until the very edge of her dark silhouette dissipated as fog in the morning light.
If it weren't for her torn clothes and the lingering scent of Shepard (fire, ocean, and home), Liara would have believed that last night was merely a fevered dream invented by her overactive imagination.
x-x-x
Ariel, Beaumonde, Jiangyin, Lilac, Santo, Whitefall, Cyrene, Fehl Prime, Ferris Fields, Freedom's Progress, Horizon, and New Canton. These were the twelve human colonies in the Terminus systems the Collectors were supposed to target.
Shepard had run into an unfortunate snag.
For the life of her, she couldn't recall exactly when the Collectors would attack which colony.
The last time around, she had been stumbling around in a perpetual state of shock and confusion in the months following her resurrection. Especially after her disastrous reunion with Liara on Illium, she was drowning in resentment and anger that borderlined on depression. Stuck in that negative mindset, Shepard could hardly think with a clear head. The Illusive Man took full advantage of her situation and yanked her around the galaxy to do his dirty work. He had her running ragged, always jumping from one crisis to the next, but never having the time to sit back and survey the scenes for herself.
While her attention was occupied on building a team to storm the Collector base, Cerberus was brandishing her heroic deeds as a shiny banner for their recruitment drive.
Well, no more of that, that's for sure.
The Illusive Man had wanted to propel an anti-alien, anti-Alliance narrative by isolating the human colonists in the Terminus systems. This time, Shepard would make sure this devious tactic backfired on him.
Of course, it was easier said than done. The amount of planning and resources required to pull this off would be way more than she could commit to, considering everything else that was happening at the same time.
Or so she thought, before Jack talked her into going pirate and stealing from the STG. Having a stealth ship under her command had completely changed the game. Her original plan was to focus on gathering resources for the next six months while waiting for EDI to be fully integrated into the Normandy SR-2. After that, she would then contact Admiral Hackett and ask for a strike team to take over the Cerberus shipyard and confiscate the frigate. But now, she could skip ahead and begin the next phase of the operation.
Shepard had named the stolen ship Enigma. The Skald class stealth frigate was going to save hundreds of thousands of human lives, give the STG heartburn, and keep The Chain-smoking Man up at night.
For all his glaring flaws as a manipulative psychopathic egomaniac, nobody could accuse The Illusive Man of thinking too small. Since the very beginning, he had always had his cybernetic eyes firmly locked on the ultimate prize - dominance over the Reapers. Everything he had done was to steer towards that one goal. He didn't care about the colonists; they were red herring to distract Shepard. He used them as the perfect excuse to lure her into the Collector base and take out the big bads. What he wanted was the Collector's advanced tech - Reaper tech - so he could use it to take control of the Reapers.
Now that Shepard understood his primary motivation and his modus operandi, she could turn the table and use that knowledge to her advantage. In fact, she already had; she had allowed Cerberus agents to be stationed on the Normandy and steal her Alliance records. They all went through the mandatory evac drills and knew there was only one small two-men escape pod on the bridge that was meant for the pilot and the captain. She had convinced the world that she had gone down with the ship because she had convinced her own crewmates that there was no way for her to survive the crash.
It was ironic how a deceitful snake like him would place so much trust on the ill-gotten intel his operatives had gathered. Good luck trying to play the same head game twice with a time traveller.
Sadly, being a time traveller didn't help her a lick if she could not remember what had happened last time around.
Ariel was done. The Collectors had kidnapped the entire colony. Freedom's Progress, Horizon, Ferris Fields, New Canton, and Fehl Prime should still be safe until 2185, assuming the Collectors stuck to their schedule - which, was assuming a lot. There was absolutely no guarantee why they would. As far as Shepard could tell, there was no rhyme nor reason to how the Collectors picked their targets. Those colonies varied in size from a few hundred to tens of thousands, and their primary industry ranged from simple vertical farms to complex commercial shipping operations. They were no different from hundreds of other mostly human colonies out there in the Terminus systems. Any effort to make those colonies less attractive as a target to be harvested may very well result in different colonies to be targeted instead. It would be madness to try to save everyone.
It sickened her to admit this, but The Illusive Man's strategy of baiting the Collectors to target specific colonies was the most effective method she could think of thus far.
Still, it was a morally reprehensible way of waging war. Shepard understood that sometimes the ends could justify the means, but not this time. There had to be a way out. She just needed to think harder…
Wait.
She was getting this backwards. Why would the Collectors, a reclusive race that was rarely seen in the Terminus systems, have the most up-to-date intel on human census in remote colonies? They wouldn't. Someone was feeding them intel, and Shepard would bet real money on which party was responsible for this.
The Shadow Broker.
It made perfect sense. The Broker had eyes and ears everywhere. They had supplied the Collectors with a list of suitable colonies to choose from, ones that could be cut off from the grid to prevent distress calls from reaching help. After the abduction, they would encourage the fiction of mysterious mass disappearance without cause in the media. Cerberus might have been guilty of luring the Collectors into specific colonies as an effort to create a preemptive strike, the Shadow Broker was guilty of assisting the Collectors, period.
"Kasumi!" Shepard jumped up from the spot on the CIC floor she had been meditating on and walked briskly towards the bridge.
"Yes?" The thief peered back over her shoulder from the pilot's seat.
"The tracer program you've planted on Tazzik and Vasir's Omni-tool. Have you gotten any results yet?" Shepard asked, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Not a whole lot, but let me check." Kasumi pulled up her Omni-tool and began typing away. A minute later, she let out a whoop of triumph. "Jackpot! Vasir contacted the Broker recently. It was a pretty lengthy call that jumped several major comm buoys. The result is a good match to what I got off of Tazzik and Liara. I can place the Broker's location somewhere in the Hourglass Nebula, but that's the best I can do. You need a specialist to further narrow down the location to a system, at least."
"That won't be a problem. Turn the ship around. I need to go back to Illium."
Kasumi's tattooed lips curved up into a coy smile. "Oh, I see. So that's why you asked for a cloaking device and disappeared for a whole day."
Shepard felt her face warm at the implication. "It's not like that. Liara has Benezia's contacts. She would know where to find a capable charting specialist to triangulate the Broker's location."
"Of course. What else would I be implying? Evidently, you needed it for breaking and entering."
Shepard coughed. "Just get us there."
"Aye, aye." Kasumi gave her a playful salute. "ETA five hours. And by the way, you might want to look into getting a professional helmsman to pilot this ship. I can do in a pinch, but you don't want my flying this baby in a firefight."
"Don't worry, I'm working on it. Can't have my best procurement specialist getting stuck behind the wheel the whole time." Shepard replied, a plan already in mind.
x-x-x
Vasir passed through the flashing holo barrier and entered the restricted area with her expression frozen in a thunderous scowl. The team of C-Sec officers on the scene looked up briefly to acknowledge the Spectre's presence before going back to their work. Clearly, everyone was put on edge by what had happened.
"Spectre Vasir! Apologies, ma'am, we contacted you as soon as…" The ranking asari C-Sec officer began, only to be waved off with an annoyed flick of her hand.
"I don't want to hear your excuses. Where is the detainee in Block A-6?"
"S-she is gone, Spectre. Escaped with whoever did all this." The officer gestured at the bloody carnage around them. All the bodies had been carried away after the crime scene was meticulously recorded by several vid drones, but there were still copious amount of bloodstains splattered all over the hallway. Some of the arterial sprays had even reached the ceiling, leaving colourful ribbons of blue, purple, and red behind.
Someone had subserved the security system of the C-Sec detention centre, broke out the Cerberus agent Vasir had been interrogating, and slaughtered fifteen C-Sec officers on their way out. Vasir didn't have to investigate to come up with the name of the guilty party.
Cerberus.
"Security footage?"
"Erased. They hacked into our system and fried all the cameras before the firewall kicked in."
Vasir clicked her tongue. "Somebody must have seen something."
"There were no survivors, ma'am." The officer replied slowly. There was anger simmering in her eyes; the same sense of outrage every C-Sec officers must have felt when they discovered their own people were butchered like animals.
Vasir took in a deep breath. She walked off to survey the scene and noted all the charred impact marks marring the walls. "Standard rounds." She puzzled out loud, not liking the pictures she was getting from all the clues left behind.
Who in their right mind would waltz into a C-Sec maximum security detention centre armed only with standard ammo? Nobody, that's who. The bullet marks on the walls were most likely made by C-Sec when they tried to shoot the intruders. The weapon of choice nowadays were firearms, explosives, and biotics. The unique directional blood splatters suggested that a bladed weapon was used instead of biotics. Warp and pull combo normally resulted in a far messier crime scene with lots of torn flesh and liquefied organs.
What kind of maniac chose to break into a C-Sec stronghold with nothing but a sword? It was hard to imagine anyone who could cause this much damage with such a primitive weapon.
More importantly, how would Cerberus know where they had detained their captured agent?
"The bodies. Where are they now?" Vasir asked.
"They are at the morgue of Huerta Memorial."
"Double the guards and lock it down. Spectre authority. No one, not even C-Sec, is allowed near the bodies until I say otherwise. Are we clear?"
The asari officer looked surprised by the request, but she quickly got a hold of herself and complied. "Yes, ma'am. Right away."
Vasir sincerely hoped she had overreacted, because the implication of an inside job had the potential to start a political shitstorm. By infiltrating C-Sec, Cerberus had demonstrated that it was a terrible mistake to entrust humanity with the privilege to be included in the governing of Council matters. All of Shepard's hard work would have meant nothing - and Vasir refused to let an extreme few trivialize her friend's sacrifice.
Cerberus was a danger to the stability of galactic peace. They were an enemy to the Council, and by making a mockery of Commander Shepard's legacy, by defiling her friend's body, they had made it personal.
Heads will roll.
x-x-x
A/N: For those who don't remember, Aeian T'Goni was the PTSD soldier in Huerta Memorial in ME3, and Neaira was her squadmate with a medical condition.