- Chapter 3: Hope for the Best, Brace for the Worst -
A/N: Ok Ok, I have to say this. Using dialog from the story and all that really feels like I'm being lazy.
Haha... I don't know... I do want to stick to canon dialog so I guess that's something I need to get past.
If I'm messing up or forgetting something please tell me!
I'm going as far as replaying the game and having 10000 save files just to make sure I get the dialog and all that jazz... but human error is always a thing!
Besides, there are plenty of things that happened off screen or on the side that can be played with. That should be fun as well!
This is fun. I'll keep updating if that's cool with you all (:
(now for real this time.. I'll calm down with the author's notes lol sorry)
NINJA EDIT: lmao got the wrong title in there... fixed it now... also good titles are hard to come up with... whoever can do that so easily: bless!
Liara T'Soni awoke suddenly to the sounds of gunshots and footsteps coming from the levels above the cavern. The sounds of shooting subsided and the faint sounds of a few footsteps grew louder. They didn't sound as mechanical as the geth she has been hearing patrolling the area for who knows how long. It must be someone else. Maybe it was reinforcements. Hopefully it was the kind that would help her escape after getting her out of this containment field, and not the kind that would free her only to kill her or send her away with the geth.
At this point, she'll take whatever she can get. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes in a groggy state, she focused on what the sounds could be.
Liara could hear unfamiliar voices in the distance as they echoed gently through the open space of the dig site. It was difficult to tell, but she could partially make out two, maybe three different voices. One of them sounded a little like the krogan that was after her from the beginning, which caused a little bit of concern to wash over the trapped doctor.
"If you're not geth", Liara questioned internally, "then who are you? What do you want with me?"
Just then, the sound of the maintenance elevator on the upper levels shook through the open space of the dig site.
"Goddess, this better not be my mind playing tricks on me.", she thought to herself.
It was difficult to see from where she was, but Liara could tell that the elevator was heading her way. Whoever these people are, she'll know soon enough.
"It looks like this cavern formed around the ruin", one of the unfamiliar voices said snidely, "After it was built."
The voice sounded like it was coming through a helmet or something, but it still seemed organic all the same. Liara deduced that it had to have come from a Quarian.
Liara, while still feeling dizzy and lightheaded, shifted her attention to the sounds of footsteps drawing near. She could also see some geth in the distance holding a position. It's almost as if they are waiting for the strangers to make their way down the ruins towards Liara.
"Sterile white," she heard the krogan sounding voice say, "protheans sure build things homey."
"Strange..." Liara thought as she observed the blurry silhouettes of the geth in the distance. "Must be a different krogan, or else they wouldn't be there like that..."
Out of the corner of her eye, Liara could see the elevator coming down towards the level she's stuck on. The debris in the way of the shaft - probably left there by some tampering on the part of the geth - caused the elevator to skid to a halt just above her sealed off prothean prison. She heard a thud coming from the small group of strangers as they jumped down from the broken elevator. Whoever these people are, the geth don't seem to like them all that much. Not that it made much of a difference to Liara at this point.
Whoever they are, she's going to make them help her get out of there.
"Uh... Hello?", Liara called out cautiously.
She could now see three different people make their way down towards the front of the room she is trapped in. Unwilling to risk them not spotting her, Liara called out again.
"Could somebody help me? Please?", the trapped doctor hollered out towards the strangers.
Three individuals made their way over to the other side of the barrier curtain. Liara could see them more clearly now, as their appearance growing clearer as they made their way closer to the barrier.
First she saw the alarming outline of a krogan, but felt a little relieved when she realized that this wasn't the same krogan that was leading the geth. Unlike the first krogan that attacked her, the one standing before her looked even more menacing - if that were even possible. His blood red armor is visibly worn and scratched from use, but otherwise it looked well kept. The deep scar across the right side of his face made him look like he has seen more than his fair share of conflict. The way he carried himself was all that she needed to see in order to come to the conclusion that he has no intentions to hurt her, but he could if necessary.
Right beside him, was a quarian. She looked rather young but all the more ready for any adversaries she may face. It turns out she was right after all in her observations. Her purple helmet obscured her features, but Liara could tell that she could trust her as well - assuming that they were all on the same side.
Leading slightly ahead of the quarian and the krogan, Liara couldn't help but take notice of the equally well armed human soldier before her. She's probably the leader of this whole operation she has going for her. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but her instincts told her that she could trust the human as well. Not like she had many options when it came to any sort of rescue team.
"Can you hear me out there?", Liara called out urgently to the approaching trio, "I am trapped. I need help!"
The human holstered her gun, to Liara's relief, as she slowly made her way over to face her. She must be friendly. The krogan and quarian holstered their weapons as well, but stayed further back from the barrier. The human soldier is probably the leader of this whole operation she has going for her.
"Are you ok?", the human asked with an undertone of concern, "What happened to you?"
"Listen," Liara replied, "This thing that I am in is a prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it. Alright?"
Despite the fact that her facial expression was distorted slightly by the fluctuations of the barrier curtain, Liara could still tell that the human before her was staring at her with suspicion.
With an air of caution – which sounded almost accusatory – the human spoke once more:
"Your mother is working with Saren. Whose side are you on?"
"What?!", Liara blurted out, taken aback by the news. "I am not on anybody's side!"
Feeling a little insulted that the actions of her mother somehow, according to the human's logic, seemed to be a possible direct reflection of her own intentions, Liara reassured the human on her stance in matters concerning her mother.
"I may be Benezia's daughter," the asari continued while trying her best to keep her voice calm, "but I'm nothing like her! I have not spoken to her in years. Please. Just get me out of here."
The human in front of her relaxed a bit, but pressed forward with her interrogation.
"How did you end up in there?", the human inquired.
"I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up," Liara explained in a matter-of-fact tone, "so I hid in here."
"Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the Veil!", Liara exclaimed. She almost couldn't believe it herself, yet it was the truth. She hoped that the human would see that she was being honest.
Liara lowered her gaze, motioning to the control panel on her left and continued to describe what happened to get her stuck. The human listened to her intently.
"I activated the tower's defenses," the asari explained, "I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out. When I turned it on, I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to."
She looked back up at the human on the other side of the barrier.
"I was trapped in here. You must get me out. Please."
The human seemed satisfied with her answers and sensed the urgency in her pleas for help. She took a small step back.
"We'll find some way to help you," the human reassured her gently.
With newfound energy derived by her hope in the human and her squad mates' ability to help her out, Liara looked up once more towards the trio and spoke:
"There is a control in here that should deactivate this thing. You'll have to find some way past the barrier curtain."
The human nodded. It sounded simple enough so far.
"That's the tricky part.", Liara continued at a loss for ideas, "The defenses cannot be shut off from the outside. I don't know how you'll get in here."
"Be careful," the asari warned, "There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier."
The human nodded again and walked away from the barrier. The form of the trio grew more distorted by the warping blue light of the barrier curtain the further away they walked. The human seemed so sure of herself that she would be able to get her out of the barrier. It seemed like an impossible task. The krogan and his geth have been trying for who knows how long now.
The trapped asari let out a sigh of discontent. She is doing her best to hope for the best case scenario – which involved the human and her crew getting her out of here – but at the same time she couldn't help but brace herself for the worst. She didn't want to die trapped in here.
"Good luck.", Liara thought to herself as she continued to hold onto hope for the human's success.