Liara

"Are you crazy, Liara?" Feron held his hand to his cheek. "Biotics? You could have killed me!"

"Yes, I could have." I hissed, allowing him to see that I was unafraid of using force. "Though while we are contemplating the subject of respective mortalities, it would have been entirely possible for those mercenaries to have killed both of us. I trust that, working for the entity you do, you are not unaware of how very quickly those situations can escalate. You were also the only person who knew that I was here, looking for Shepard, which leads me to the belief that you purposefully walked me into that trap!"

Feron lifted his hands in the universal gesture of defense. "It isn't what you think." he climbed to his feet and I backed away, too far for a physical attack to be successful. "I've been taking the odd assignment from the Broker for a while now. He pays well for eyes and ears everywhere. He knew that Shepard's friends would be looking for her. My assignment was to lead you away."

I stared at the drell for a long moment of silence. And then I began laughing, loud and long, free on the streets of Omega. I did not care what anyone might think, that I had lost my mind, or that I had abused any number of illegal stimulants.

Feron stared at me with an expression that made it clear he believed I had lost my mind. "Why are you laughing?" he asked.

"Because paranoia is an end in itself." I replied after I had calmed. "Feron, had you not sent me that message, I would never have come. I would never have sought Shepard out."

His eyes went wide. "Are you serious?" he asked, looking around, presumably for those eyes and ears of which he was part. "But…if not you, surely the Alliance…"

I shook my head. "No." I replied. "The two who would, Ashley Williams and Karin Chakwas, have no real sway when it comes to enacting missions of this type and caliber. And militaries are…political entities. Shepard will be the great martyr, the role that requires filling, and her legacy will attract an entire new generation of glory-seeking soldiers. In some ways, her death is more profitable than her life, especially given her last moments in view of the galaxy."

Feron offered a slight grin, as though he did not know what to do with my words. "Her greatest moment, in my opinion."

I remembered the fierce pride that had gripped me in that moment, when the soldier broke military bearing and Serena showed her true face to the galaxy. The woman who had bled for them. The woman who had given them so much, though they did not even realize the extent of her sacrifices, the scars stamped on her body and inside her mind.

"There were greater moments." I told Feron, not caring if he believed me.

The moment when a woman who had known a life filled with nothing but pain took me in her arms and took my suffering onto her shoulders. When she comforted me after Benezia's death. When she fought and made an enemy of the matriarchs to see Benezia's body returned to Thessia. When she protected the innocents of Feros from their own people, who had preyed on them. When she tore down all of her walls…she was so beautiful then, scars and tears and transcendent beauty. Goddess, a wash of remembered emotion threatened to drown the very beat of my heart, I miss you.

Feron sighed and straightened his shoulders. "If that is the truth, Liara, you shouldn't be here. You should go. The Broker was attempting a pre-emptive strike. I was to distract you, lead you away, and no one was meant to be hurt."

"Those terms have changed." I stood my ground. "They altered when I was struck across the face with a gun, when Cerberus entered the equation, and now that I have learned that the Collectors are looking for her," I met his eyes with my own, so that he could see the blistering force of my honesty, "no one will stand in my way. So tell me now, did you know about any of this? The Collectors? Cerberus?"

"Cerberus, yes." Feron nodded. "The Collectors…there were rumors, but nothing to go on. As for the Suns, I'm certain they were hired as added manpower. The Broker must be getting nervous. Liara, you would be better off without me. I'm a liability now. You should attempt this on your own."

He turned and I grabbed the collar of his jacket, wrenching him around towards me. "No." I said. "Money has exchanged hands, Feron, and it shouldn't matter who it belongs to, whether it is mine or Miranda's. You agreed to this, brought me into this, and now you will see it through."

Another wave of emotion nearly swallowed me whole. I had spoken as Shepard would about dedication, passion, working through the difficulties to attain the end result.

"I loved Serena Shepard, Feron." I whispered. "I loved her and I let her turn her back on me. I let her go back into a burning ship and I let the best soldier and person I have ever known die. You…you dragged me into this and now I cannot turn my back. I can't leave her, and let her be taken by anything or anyone that does not understand and appreciate who she was. This is my chance to atone for the mistakes I made. You won't deny me that."

I could see the war he waged within himself. I did not care. His own conscience would not be the deciding factor in that battle. He would guide me to Shepard, even if he did it under duress. I had spoken the truth, and I would not turn back now.

"I think…" he said, pausing and taking a breath, "…that if I were to die in such a way, I would like to believe that someone like you would be looking for me."

"It's settled then." I placed my hands on my hips and nodded. "Lead the way."