Liara

Feron stepped forward, but I kept my eyes on Aria. She was the real power here on Omega. Not the gangs, not Cerberus, and not the Shadow Broker.

But, like anyone with true power, she will not be persuaded. Threats are useless, money of no consequence, and violence pointless. No…this requires more subtlety.

"We're looking for something very valuable," Feron began, "and very disputed. Commander Shepard's body. We know the Blue Suns are set to hand it off to the Shadow Broker. What we lack is the location of the exchange."

Aria turned and her glare at Feron could only be considered cruel. "You mean you don't?" she asked, her tones lofty and mocking. "How very humorous." she needled him and a chilling laugh followed. "I knew the Broker adored his secrecy, but for his own sycophant not to know what he's doing? That is…highly amusing."

She continued to walk the stairs, a carefully cultivated, mesmerizing sway to her hips. Her eyes landed on me once more and her brow furrowed as her gaze seemed to pierce my skin. At last, her lips curled up in a smile.

"It's you." she said at last. "Benezia's girl. Oh, your face was all over the news and the extranet. Were the rumors true, Liara?" my teeth ground together as she used my first name in the same manner as Miranda had. As though it were hers for the use. "Did you not just join Shepard's crew, but her bed as well? If you're looking for her, then you must have been more than a casual fuck."

I clenched my hands into fists, attempting to keep my promise to Feron and remain silent. But I could not stand to have what Shepard and I had shared be cheapened. I had given Serena my soul. I had given her my body. And she had protected both of them. It was my heart she had destroyed. Inadvertently, perhaps. Because she could do nothing else but what she had done…perhaps. No matter what had happened, the outcome remained the same. She had died, and taken my heart with her.

Aria glared at me, clearly dissatisfied with my refusal to speak. "Tell me, Liara, could you talk when you were aboard the Normandy? Or did you adopt something so quaint and foolish and human as a vow of silence?"

I kept my peace and she dismissed me with a flick of her fingers.

"No matter. Silent or speaking, you're obviously no threat. Just as the Broker is not a threat. Heavily influential, that is for certain, but I hold the power on Omega. Nothing happens here without my notice and oversight. I do know about the transfer, and where it is taking place. But I need something in return, Feron."

"I'm not surprised." Feron replied, disgust in the set of his shoulders.

Information. I began to realize. Information is the true power here, and the only way to get what we need from Aria is to possess knowledge that she does not. It is the sole way to tip the nebulous balance of power in our favor. But the time to strike must carefully be weighed.

"Tell me why the Broker is so interested in Shepard? Especially dead Shepard."

Feron's posture slumped. "I don't know." he answered. "That's why I need to know the location of the exchange. To uncover the reason."

"Bullshit." Aria snapped. "You'll find out nothing about the location of the transfer until you tell me what I know you know."

And now I do what I must to tip the scales in our favor.

"Because the Broker can be hired." I broke my silence. "And that is the case this time. He has no personal stake in the acquisition of Shepard's body…besides the desire not to anger his clients, the Collectors."

"The Collectors!" Aria all but shrieked. Her eyes burned and for the faintest of moments, I could have sworn a flash of fear crossed her face. "No one said anything about the Collectors."

I smirked. "I thought you said you knew everything that happened on Omega."

"You little…" her lips curled in a feral snarl. "Out! Now! The both of you! Anto," she roared, "get in here and get them out!"

Feron moved toward the exit but I held my ground. "I thought you said you would tell us where the exchange was taking place if we told you what the Shadow Broker wanted with Shepard. I'm not afraid of you, Aria, and I will hold you to your end of this bargain."

"You'll be lucky if I don't toss your pert blue ass in a tin-can ship and send you back to the matriarchy." Aria seethed. "Liara T'Soni, you are aware that you're wanted for murder on Thessia?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well aware. But, unless I'm mistaken, you're bound to Omega for fear of reprisal for your crimes if you return to Council space. If you cannot physically leave, surely your influence does not extend much further."

Aria backed away a step, her gaze no longer flaring with rage. Instead, her eyes appraised me, not as someone beneath her, but as something new.

"There is a human tem for you, Liara T'Soni." she spat. "You're a goddess damned maverick, and I don't like you." She brought up her omni-tool and Feron did the same. "Omega's lower levels. The old mining processing plant. Those are the coordinates." she nodded to Feron. "The Suns are taking your friend there. This meeting is over. Now, get out."

We left, Anto greeting us at the exit and escorting us back into the humming den of Afterlife. Only after we departed did Feron turn to me.

"What in the galaxy was that?" he hissed, too low for anyone but me to hear. "There is one rule on Omega, and you broke it! You don't fuck with Aria, T'Soni!"

"It worked, didn't it?" I asked, and after a moment he nodded and the anger left him.

"Yes." he admitted, almost against his will. "But you'll find no refuge on Omega now. And you might want to start thinking about that, Liara. You can't go back to Thessia."

I nodded, acknowledging that he was right. "I do have one question, Feron."

"Ask away." he muttered as we walked towards the exit of Afterlife.

"Do you happen to know the proper definition of what Aria called me?" I wondered aloud.

"A maverick." we left the club and the comparative quiet stunned me. The drell appraised me with a frank look, and nodded. "From what I know, it defines someone who lives outside the bounds assigned to them by race, culture, and respective laws." he chuckled. "It is essentially the definition of someone who cannot be defined."

I smiled as comprehension found me. "I do believe I can live with that." I told him as he pulled up his omni-tool.

"Excellent. Let's get going. This is one meeting we cannot be late for."

I fell in step beside him as we followed the map Aria had given us. You abandoned me, but I will not do the same. I will not fail you. I am coming, Serena.