Liara

I could be certain of one thing on this station. Feron was not talkative. He led me through the labyrinth of Omega, not speaking a word. It made me miss the away missions with the crew of the Normandy, the way Shepard and Garrus would trade barbs and witticisms. It made me miss Tali's technological observations, her exuberant joy when she uncovered something that could better the quality of life for the Migrant Fleet.

For a moment, my bitterness fled as I remembered Ashley's quiet strength and the poetry that fell from her lips with ease. Doctor Chakwas' kind wisdom. Joker's wry sense of humor. Even Wrex's gruff and gruesome stories. Simply walking beside a silent person made me remember what it was not to be alone.

But I am alone. I rationalized. This is…this is a temporary and strange alliance. I do not even know if I can trust him…all I know is that I believe he will take me to Shepard. The reason I am alone in this wide galaxy.

Feron stopped abruptly, surveying the area. I could see nothing, hear nothing, but I knew that if a man such as him had stopped…the chances were his instincts were correct. Shepard had possessed some sense, some second sight that alerted her to danger. It had also taken her from me.

It's time.

"Feron?" I whispered. "Is everything…"

"Hush." he replied, eyeing the intersection in front of us warily. "I don't like it, but there's no other way through. Damn it."

"Are we still being followed?" I wondered.

"Oh yes." he nodded. "Your movements have been tracked since you set foot on Omega. By who, I don't know…but you have your name splashed all over the extranet. Being part of Shepard's crew makes you famous in its own right. The few who saved the galaxy. Council space at least. The part of the galaxy people care about."

"Our enemy's strategy simply led him there." I defended the dead and the living. "Believe you me, had Sovereign succeeded, the entire galaxy would have been wiped out. It was not simply Council space threatened or preserved."

"Sovereign?" Feron looked at me, his gold eyes questioning. "Don't you mean Saren? The rogue Spectre and his army of geth?"

My lips pursed. "It would seem the higher echelons of power are still intent on sweeping the truth beneath the rug."

My heart sank as my words died on the human idiom. No matter how much I attempted to distract myself from everything that had happened, every joyous and painful moment stamped in my memory, I could not escape where I had been. What I had become. But I could change it.

I could become someone that pain did not touch any longer. I could free myself from the shackles of grief. And it would begin by finding the source of my unshed tears and the ache gnawing away at me that had yet to fade.

"No way around but through." Feron muttered, beginning to walk forward.

I remained alert, trusting Feron's instincts as I had trusted Serena's, hoping that he would not lead me astray. Biotic energy swirled around my fists as we moved through the shadowed intersection. Chaos broke loose.

A human grasped Feron, locking his arms around the drell's shoulders, chopping at his wrist and disarming him. Feron thrashed as in the stranger's grip. Weapons were trained on us as more figures of every species emerged from the shadows, all of them wearing a similar bright blue armor with a white circle in the chest.

"Blue Suns!" Feron shouted warning and I reached out with biotics, ready to send them all to oblivion.

"Cool your biotics, bitch." a dark, gravelly voice snarled and cold metal iced at the back of my neck.

I looked back to see the hulking form of a krogan in the same armor as the others, turians, humans, and batarians that surrounded us. The barrel of his pistol rested against my skin, and his finger seemed much too at home on the trigger. Cold, armored hands wrapped around my upper arms and held me still as the krogan stared at me. I wanted to shiver at the krogan's cold, hollow stare, but I could not. It looked too much akin to the new expressions and emotions stamped in my own eyes.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing on Omega looking for someone who's dead?" the krogan growled and I heard low cursing as Feron once more attempted to wrench himself free.

"That is none of your concern!" I snapped, resisting the urge to slam the two goons holding me backwards, to break their bones with my biotics. To do so would invite a bullet through my skull...and I needed to survive, to see this mission through to its end.

"Oh yes it is." the krogan sneered. "Shepard's the name on everyone's lips. She's a hot commodity. And there's one little asari in this damn big world looking for her. The Shadow Broker wants to know why."

The Shadow Broker? My thoughts tripped over themselves. I had heard the name for much of my life, referenced in the odd conversation here and there, but it always seemed like some myth on the edge of the galaxy. After all, if one were to have access to all of the information purportedly owned by the Shadow Broker, it would require a base of operations that simply could not be concealed. Not even in the Terminus systems.

"I do not have to reveal my motivations to a common mercenary." I hissed. "Or a nebulous information broker."

Pain exploded through my face as the butt of his pistol struck me across the cheek. I gritted my teeth, refusing to cower beneath this rough treatment. I had brought down a geth armature single-handed. I had faced off against Saren and emerged victorious. I could ignore the blood streaming down my cheek and the pain shrieking through my jaw and between my temples.

"More where that came from." the krogan glared. "Talk, or it'll get worse for you."

I spat a thick glob of blood and saliva on the ground, wincing at the taste. "I have nothing to say to you."

The krogan raised the pistol again and I closed my eyes, preparing for the next strike when a resounding crack thundered through the air and I heard a scream.

"Sniper!" someone shouted and the vice grips around my arms vanished in a spray of blood and gurgling cries.

Feron's captors dropped next and chaos ensued. "Feron!" I shouted, pulling him with my biotics and shoving him into a dark hallway, following at a run, away from the rapid thunder of gunfire and the screams of the wounded.

I struggled to keep up with the drell. "Which way?" I shouted over the echo of weapons.

"Just away!" he yelled, ducking under a barrier and sprinting towards a distant doorway.

I followed him. "Maybe this will lead us somewhere safe." he whispered, breathing hard as he hacked the door controls.

It opened and we stumbled backwards, away from two human men in imposing white and black armor, who held heavy weapons in our direction.

"Weapons down, gentlemen." I heard a voice, undeniably human, and female, but with an accent I had never before heard. It sounded almost like Dr. Chakwas'…only…coarser?

I heard footsteps and brought my biotics to bear, uncertain if we were facing enemies, friends, or anything in between. A woman emerged, standing between the gunmen with a decidedly relaxed air. The men lowered their weapons, indicating that the woman in her protective mesh light armor was indeed in some sort of command.

A waterfall of black hair fell to her shoulders where it curled inward in a luxurious wave. She was tall, about the same height as Serena, but her body was exceedingly feminine, not defined by the hard lines and taut muscles of a soldier. The swell of her breasts, the curve of her hips…she held herself like a predator well aware and confident in their lethality. She did not carry a weapon, which surprised me, due to the fact that possessing such a thing seemed to be a necessity on Omega.

At last, I looked at her face, impressed by the exact, acute symmetry of her features. There was no one in the galaxy who would not know her for a true beauty…but every attractive quality she possessed faded from my thoughts as I gazed into the hardest, coldest blue eyes I had ever seen.

Feron assumed a defensive stance and the woman sneered, contorting her lovely features into a hideous mask of disdain.

"Relax, drell." she ordered. "We're working towards the same goal." those wicked, icy eyes turned to me. "Well met, Doctor T'Soni. I'm Miranda. We're looking for Commander Shepard."