Drills were the bane of Liara's existence. She expected nothing less when she requested safe harbour and remained boarded upon a military ship, thereby joining this eclectic crew racing to save the universe. But exercise drills? Really?
Were they really necessary?
At the very least, she didn't seem to be the only one so miserable with them. She heard the way the quarian was huffing and puffing, her voice modulator unable to decrease her volume, it seemed. If anything, Liara would increase it just to make it clear how much she was suffering and how much she hated this drill, even if it was clearly serving to satisfy the villainous Commander that was running this drill with them.
Upon that, before the next beep to signal their run to the opposite end of the gym, Liara glanced over at the Commander that ran on her other side. Strands of the human's hair seemed to be glued to her face, slick with sweat, and though she looked awful - smelled it too - she had surprised the asari with how she looked.
"Is she... Having fun with this?"
No way. There was absolutely no plausible way nor explanation nor any amount of evidence that Liara would ever accept that this accursed drill could be found as fun to anyone. The krogan didn't stop complaining about how bored he was. The turian was just going along in stride as if this wasn't bothering him in the slightest, and the other humans appeared as though they were used to this misery. It wasn't a promising sign for Liara.
Another beep signalled the start of another lap. She was forced to re-enter her gruelling negotiation with her legs to keep going, even though they insisted on being as flimsy as hanar limbs. She watched the clock and counted down every single second of every single minute as to when she would get her heavenly shower after this banal drill.
Her knees nearly gave out as soon as she crossed the line and finished her lap. She doubled over and gulped for air, wheezing at first. The burning in her lungs never ceased from her previous round. She swore she was going to die if there was another beep. A hearty laugh and smack between her shoulder blades nearly made her collapse, and she looked up with indignation, shocked past disbelief at the sweaty grin beamed at her.
"Fair puckled, eh love? Hang in there. One more lap and we're done."
"Goddess, someone save me," Liara wheezed under her breath - not even her curiosity was enticed by more strange human idioms.
She doubled over again, just about to sit down and give up. That cursed beep rang so sharp and clear as if it was embedded in her aurals. One step, and her breath hitched in pain as her ankle rolled. A firm hand clasped her elbow, and before she knew it, she was yelping and in the air and something prominently bony was digging into her stomach. It took time to orientate to her new situation after Wrex's laughter boomed in the gym, tossing teasing jeers at her, and how she was looking at the ground apparently running away from her this time.
Had she fallen, hit her head, and spun in her delirious concussion? It was her first thought, up until it sank in that she was being carried. Her face flushed with embarrassment and she immediately settled her hands on Shepard's back so as to avoid hitting something a little lower than her back.
Endearing, this was. It really, truly, was. Heavenly, in fact, that she no longer had to run another treacherous lap, soaking up this miracle and ignoring the way Tali's head was aimed at her, probably glaring beneath her helmet that the quarian's been abandoned to suffer through this drill on her own, but... But there was another horrible thing to suffer through, and Liara was at war with her lungs as she was trying valiantly to hold her breath rather than regain it.
"Goddess, this smell is awful."
At the end of the lap, she was playfully tossed over on the thick mats, where she'd gotten an even more concentrated whiff from whatever horrendous drills the Commander made the rest of her crew run prior to their session in here. Liara groaned and rolled weakly onto her stomach, squishing her nose into her forearm to try to block it all.
Laughter surrounded her, and though she really wanted to smile along - it's infectious energy somewhat lifting her and forcing her lips to betray her - she decided to groan along instead.
"Good work everyone," the Commander announced tiredly, but still somehow with energy. "Now go wash up, you stink worse than Wrex boxing up the mako."
Everybody groaned collectively at that, apart from the krogan that took sadistic delight over being the groups designated executioner.
Another hand came to rest between her shoulder blades, and when she valorously lifted her head to see who it was, she smiled with relief. Tali.
"Think you can stand up? Saw you roll your ankle. Want me to get some ice for you?"
Liara nodded tiredly, unable to trust her voice to pull through for her. When the quarian left, she managed just enough effort to push and roll onto her back, then slumped in defeat and submission to just die. Her chest heaved erratically, sucking in large gulps of air through her mouth. The smell in this gym was so bad she could taste it.
Devilish red hair came into her view when the Commander leaned over her, hands on hips with a cheeky smile. "Good work today, Liara. You beat your record." She offered a hand. "I overheard Tali say something about ice in her crawl to the mess. I can carry you, if you want, or grab a crutch from the infirmary. I can ask Dr. Chakwas if she has time to take a look at your ankle, x-ray it too just to be on the safe side."
"Oh, no, it isn't-" Liara sucked in another gulp of air. She tiredly shook her head, the words fading in and out of existence as she melted in a gross and sweaty puddle on this blasted mat. "It isn't that bad, I'm sure I'll be fine after some ice and rest."
"You sure? I could get you out of here and to the showers. That doesn't sound better?"
Goddess, that sounded heavenly. But Liara didn't want to be a bother. Before she could decline, lively laughter cut her off and she was up in the air again.
"I've never seen someone's eyes light up more than yours," Shepard teased. "Stunning view, I'll say."
"I couldn't agree more," came the sanctioned privacy of scandalous thoughts.
Liara closed her eyes and tried to ignore the heat throbbing in her cheeks.
The mako was also the bane of her existence.
Liara hung on to whatever handles there were and grimaced whenever she'd be lifted from her seat, even with belts in place to ensure she wouldn't fly out of it. She was positively convinced that the Commander's mission was to rearrange where everybody's organs resided.
That she was cackling like a maniac was only evidence of that fact.
Fortunately, the ride didn't last long, but unfortunately, these short rides were still frequent. They were surveying the planet for minerals, exploring a little for any intel or images they could further provide for the Alliance. At the very least, Liara held on to the singular positive that it was finally a peaceful mission - relatively speaking - with no gunfire or explosions to tempt her fate. She receded in her chair, though her apprehension over the next inevitable ride disfigured her comfort.
"When will this be over?" Tali groaned pitifully somewhere.
All Liara could manage was a pathetic grunt.
Boots cheekily announced their doom as Shepard hopped up, an energetic bounce to her steps as always. The woman was a monster. Who could possibly still be able to move like that after that cursed drill? Liara shuddered just at the harrowing memory of it at all.
"We've got one last stop, looks like," Shepard announced. "Tali, can you confirm on the radar?"
Another pitiful grunt and groan, followed by a meagre affirmative. Liara swore the Commander was grinning evilly under her helmet - even if it couldn't be seen. One last stop, and thank the Goddess it was the shortest of them all. The asari stole her chance to unbuckle and stretch her legs, heading over to check if Tali was still alive in her seat. The poor quarian had her head buried in her arms on her dashboard and mumbled a sleuth of pleas for this all to be over already. A horrible fate to endure, certainly.
"It seems like she did not hear the Commander," Liara chuckled inwardly, "At this point, I do not think she will even hear me."
Curiosity tempted her when her eyes passed over the driver's screen, where there was an abundant and lush planet outside. It was a wonderful contrast to the barren volcanic planet of Therum. Her temptation easily carried her feet to the mako's hatch and she poked her head out, watching Shepard in the distance as she set up the coordinates for the survey beacon. Liara hopped out and looked up at the clear blue sky, then checked her omni-tool for the atmospheric readings. She clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth - it would be a death sentence if she removed her helmet and exposed herself, unfortunately.
"Gorgeous, ain't it?!" Shepard's voice carried in the distance.
At first, Liara nodded, then waved when she figured she wouldn't quite be seen this far. She mustered what little energy she could and forced her sore muscles to pick up in a jog. She slowed in her approach and cocked her head to the side to see what programming the Alliance beacon was like, smiling timidly when the Commander's sharp eyes landed on her.
"I'm almost done," Shepard said, giving a brief glance over her other shoulder. "Well, not quite. Maybe another few minutes. If you want to explore, go for it, just stay in radio contact and don't stray too far."
"Understood, Commander. Thank you."
Gracious, Liara explored to her heart's content, though checked in often to see if - by any chance - the Commander had any plans coming in her direction. It was always a no accompanied by a chuckle. She didn't push the boundaries of safety, having learned her lesson about the Normandy's curse and it's penchant for striking with the worst things at the worst times. She made her observations, took a couple flowers and padded her armour compartments down for what tools were left from Therum, dropping them in the safety of her vials to be run with tests later.
It went without saying that she had stayed riveted for any clues and signs of Protheans here, the large cog in her brain hard at work as she speculated what such vacancy on this planet would have meant for them in this atmosphere, foliage, and abundant wildlife of pyjaks. She jumped where she stood when her radio suddenly flared to life in her helmet.
≤Hey T'Soni, we got an hour for the beacons to do their thing before we can pack 'em up. I see something not much farther ahead from you.≥
Something? A good something or a bad something? Liara searched and tried to appear calm, rolling her eyes when the person on the end seemed to endure a similar struggle in trying to sound calm.
≤Want a lift or are you okay running there?≥
"She says that as if either of those two are good options," the archaeologist inwardly huffed. She reached up to her helmet to establish her link back. "I do not see it. Where is it?"
≤Ah, getting more critical information to find out the distance of that run, eh? Smart move, T'Soni.≥
"It is always important to collect as much information as possible in order to make an informed decision," Liara said coolly. She felt anything but with the way the devil laughed on the line. Laugh she could, and all she wanted - there was a critical bit of information that Shepard was neglecting to address here: autonomy.
≤Suppose it's too far to see, especially since that hill might be blocking you there. It's about 10 klicks north of your position.≥
"Not much farther ahead, she said!" Liara nearly exclaimed aloud. She would not give satisfaction to one she was rapidly learning had quite a mischievous streak. "It would be unwise to indulge such a beast." She cleared her throat to maintain composure, and instead fired back her own bout of mischief. "Very well, Commander, I'll meet you there on foot."
Though there was a rush burning with eagerness, patience tempered it - or rather, sore muscles tempered it. She waved her own critical bit of information as she began to walk, and smirked at the laughter on the other end. Her smile was promptly wiped off and replaced with a heart-pounding terror when a mako raced near her a minute later. That was okay still, though.
Nothing was worse than the fate a poor quarian endured.
"I could go for a bevvy 'bout now," Shepard groaned, her accent flourishing richly in exhaustion after the gruelling race they had to get the data module of one of the beacons back.
...From a pyjak.
"Certainly a wonderful way for the Normandy's curse to strike," Liara mused within the safety of her thoughts, though she could have done less mako torture during their soul-gripping chase. She observed the Commander more closely after their own encounter with the mysterious floating sphere in the air.
"She mumbled a lot, things that didn't make sense. Things she seemed to be living rather than seeing."
Whatever it was, was related to the Protheans, that much Shepard had divulged. But she was weary, deflected the questions, and there was a relatable pain as the vanguard nearly crawled back to the mako with her energy sucked out of her. She seemed to be massaging her forehead more often. Liara struggled not to jump out of her seat and shake the answers out of the woman.
"Is that how Prothean beacons look like? I feel like she would have known and mentioned that when we arrived. And how did she know to interact with it with that... Trinket of hers?"
So many questions, so little time. Liara had to try and remind herself to be sympathetic before her scientific curiosities flew far away from her manners. She was soon left to re-join the poor quarian's valiant struggle to stay alive on this ride, as they had gone back to pack up and retrieve all the survey beacons they set down. Thankfully, the Commander's driving significantly improved - but at the cost of the pain that seemed to be gripping her, was it...?
"Worth it," vehemently hissed the most scandalous thought, and promptly scolded for it.
Silence boarded the mako ride as well, even Tali's groans had ceased with her regaining life - and her stomach. She shared many concerned looks with Liara, who simply smiled or waved it off in hopes it was a suitable signal to say she'd explain when they were alone and out of the Commander's earshot.
Not even music had played, with Goddess-awful... Pipes, or whatever this strange human constituted as music. It sounded more like a wailing banshee launching an assault on her aurals and gunning for it at full force. The drums were a more welcome addition and often times loud enough to drown out the wailing in the background.
Now, more than ever, Liara was actually audacious enough to miss such obnoxious blaring.
Coordinates were issued on the radio and her body melted with relief upon the confirmation of the Normandy's landing zone. They were minutes away from sweet lovable peace - up until the Commander had roared up a blasted mountain. The mako jets throttled and threw Liara's stomach up to her heart, her hands slamming out in panic as she searched for something to hold onto at the last second. She swore whatever Tali was hailing in the chair behind her were some form of quarian curses, and she was tempted to share her own.
At the top of the mountain, the Commander parked. She quietly unbuckled and went to the hatch to open it up, then hopped out the mako, giving no explanation nor command. When they regained their senses, Tali and Liara shared an uncertain look. Curiosity compelled them to follow suite, and Liara had no regrets as soon as she made it to the corner of the hatch to look out.
Breathtaking gentle hills, expansive ethereal plains, majestic moss-covered mountains all unfolded in a single look. Her throat tightened, taken aback by the beautiful scenery, and she barely paid any attention to the distant roars of the Normandy setting down a few klicks away. There was an astonishing lake where many smaller streams and rivers led into.
"Reminds me of home - the good parts not yet destroyed, anyways," Shepard murmured, a tranquil thoughtfulness captivated in her tone. The smile in her eyes the only thing visible in the visor of her helmet. She gestured closer to the edge of the mountain and went over to sit down. "Just a few minutes of this, then we'll board the Normandy. You two can walk on over if you don't wanna stay here."
Tali and Liara shared a look, both shrugging as they went to sit beside the Commander.
"I hope our future homeworld will look like this," Tali shared quietly. "This would be..." Her head panned as she soaked in the sights on the horizon. "I'd love to wake up to this."
"When you get to, we need to find you a mountain where the water crashes against it," Shepard added, about to regale something before she was interrupted by Tali's groan.
"No way, the mako will be banned on my homeworld if I have any say in it. I will personally engineer anti-mako guns."
Liara laughed, absolutely delighted to see the flabbergasted look in Shepard's wide and bewildered eyes.
"She truly is oblivious that her driving has been the cause of the crew's trauma. Oh, what a heart-wrenching catastrophe."
One that Liara did not plan to rectify nor shed light on any time soon.
Books littered the mess hall's table. Gale's brow arched, intrigued, yet also faced with a new problem: where was she supposed to sit and eat her breakfast now? She went to stand across the blue puddle that was melting on top of the table, face literally planted in a book.
With a clear of the throat, bones returned to the puddle and T'Soni's head shot up, a bleary and disoriented look to her eyes. Gale couldn't help but chuckle as she gave the asari the moment - or moments, at this rate - to orientate herself to reality. There was a glorious gaping blank stare for a second, and nobody would tell Gale otherwise that she'd just caught this professional and respectable researcher drooling.
A nonchalant wipe with the sleeve went conveniently missed when Gale glanced away, saying nothing as the book was reluctantly closed - with a couple napkins stuffed inside.
Hesitantly, finally, T'Soni subtly cleared her throat to speak. "Good morning, Commander. Give me a moment, sorry. I'll clean up now."
"Have you been up all night?" Gale asked, her gaze swiftly travelling over the books to read their covers - unfortunately, it was all in the asari alphabet. "Did she bring all of this when she recovered her belongings from her shuttle on Therum, or did she send the requisitions officer on an egghunt for these?"
"I have," T'Soni yawned, rising to collect and stack her books. "I was trying to find any clues that might pertain to the sphere we encountered on Eletania."
"Oh, I see."
Gale took the first freed chair and set her plate down, diving into her food to promptly stuff her mouth as an excuse not to talk. She understood this was all up in the doc's alley, she really did, but she was tired of all this Prothean crap making a mess of her brain. She didn't know where to start to try and comprehend anything that had happened when she interacted the sphere, and she knew that the tension brewing now was created by the one clearly burning to ask questions about it.
It didn't take long for her to crack, when T'Soni made the express point of sitting down beside her.
"Commander?"
"Mm?"
Stall. Stall the hell out of this. It could be stalled, right?
"W-would you... Like to talk about it?"
"Not at all." Gale bit back, stuffing another fork of eggs in her mouth to prevent herself from blurting it. One look over at those eyes, and the poor vanguard broke. She sighed and fixated her gaze on her plate, slumping in defeat. "Ask your questions, Dr. T'Soni - but! There is one rule." Her head whipped up with a finger to cut off the train before it launched at full speed, judging by the enlightened enthusiasm lighting up the asari's face. Gale grinned mischievously then. "You have to limit it to three questions."
"Three?" T'Soni balked incredulously, disheartened already. "B-but that's not..."
"You'll have to make it enough," Gale shrugged, nonchalantly digging back into her food again. "Three questions, and you can't use 'em to ask me to elaborate if my answer isn't enough."
There was an evil smile dancing around in her thoughts, and she knew she was being such a horrible villain. It was the only thing that made her feel like a human rather than some disjointed puzzle. She wasn't exactly enthused about the fact that she was just some specimen to be dissected.
"Like the doctors on Earth back when my biotics first manifested," Gale grumbled inwardly.
"Three separate questions," Liara mused, her face scrunching up in concentration. Her gaze travelled to some far away distance, though it was amusing her eyes were pointed down at the vanguard's eggs. She decided to be a little bit more quieter with her fork before her scraping away at the plate distracted wherever the train was now.
"My brains feel like these eggs, all scrambled, bits and pieces missing."
Then again, she'd cheekily debate she's been missing a bolt or two up there since birth. She stole more and more looks the more and more time T'Soni stayed silent. A mischievous wave of the hand in front of the eyes didn't break the archaeologist out of her spell. Gale couldn't help but entertain the notion that the exhausted asari may have fallen back asleep with her eyes open.
Then they snapped to Gale, a clever look burning bright in those blue orbs now.
"I will do you one better, Commander. I only need one question to ask."
"Oh? This will be interesting." Gale set her fork down, her mouth hitching in a crooked smirk.
It was wiped off soon enough, and she conceded to the victor that had every right to be the clever looking one now.
"May we meld?"
"Th-that's cheating," Gale spluttered pitifully, her jaw slowly dropping as realization trickled in. She huffed when the asari laughed. "You won't need to ask if you can see all the answers."
"Exactly."
"Loopholes aren't allowed!"
"You should have stated that at the time you set your one and only rule."
"Jokes on me for thinking she's all prim and proper," Gale sighed and died inside. "She's got fangs, this one, will do whatever she needs to to get what she wants. I can respect that."
But did T'Soni have to make it so hard to respect it? Damn...
There was a shift in the conversation, in the tone, in the atmosphere. T'Soni's hand slid on the table, fingertips shyly brushing against the side of the vanguard's knuckle. Her coyness dispersed and was replaced by a sheepish and apologetic smile instead.
"I apologize if I've just crossed a line. We do not have to if you're uncomfortable, of course, though I do ask for some time to consolidate and think of what my three most crucial questions are."
There was a pleasing tingle ghosting over Gale's knuckle, an apology by touch, a touch she wanted to snatch and have more of. "Heel, dog." She found a lump growing in her throat and shifted noisily in her seat to mask her slight cough to rid it. She shook her head and smiled. "No need to say sorry, your way is better actually. Faster too. I gotta say, I wasn't really looking forward to playing twenty questions with you on this. That thing... It took a lot more out of me than I thought." She took her plate and rose from her chair, her smile growing at the awkwardness that took the asari and how she retracted her timid hand back. "Why don't we go to one of the observation decks? The rec room has a comfortable couch." She made a point to glance over the couple stacks of towering books. "Future research endeavours may be more appealing to you in there than here - there's a pillow in there that you can use instead of your book."
Teasing may have been pure evil with this innocent asari - who was proving not to be as innocent as Gale thought a few minutes ago - but she just couldn't help herself. She had to nibble on the flesh of her cheek to stop herself from smirking as widely as she did when she'd wrangled a nice deep burgundy blush, and the ability to string words together with the way T'Soni mumbled incoherently when she went to retrieve her books with the help of her biotics.
All Gale could make out, somewhere in the disjointed words translated along the way, was that it was a wonderful idea.
Mischief flared once more. She'd reacted with a quick step in and a hand on the back when T'Soni had rolled the same ankle again as she did in the gym, grimacing.
"Would you like me to carry you there, Dr. T'Soni?"
"N-not necessary," the asari rushed, lifting her leg to shake her ankle. "I just stepped wrong. It's fine." Her leg went back on the floor.
And delectable yelps went up in the air with her butt.