Liara

I entered the Dracon Trade Center with a calm confidence. No one looked at me as I walked into the elevator and rode to the third floor, where Sekat had promised to meet me. He had narrowed down a location, a star system, in which the Shadow Broker could be found. I had learned that Feron was alive…and I owed the drell a life. I owed him two lives. Mine, and Serena's.

I entered the offices of Baria Frontier, breathed deep, and began to move through the building, nodding to those I saw, acting as though I had every right to be there. The floor was expansive, and Sekat had not told me precisely where we would meet, for fear of the communications channel being compromised.

My hands were trembling, sweating, and I did not know why. I had spoken to Sekat on a private, encrypted channel. Shepard had acquired her data from Cerberus, who had been blocking the Shadow Broker's hacks successfully for years. There was no reason to be afraid, and yet I had been shot at, and seen the sniper enter my apartment and begin searching through my things in a desperate attempt to find me. I felt I had been followed, even though I knew that only one person would be able to find me. I had made sure of that.

My eyes roved across the space, looking for Sekat, needing to see him and be done, to make sure that another did not lose their life in my quest for the Shadow Broker. So much more was at stake for me now, now that I knew Feron was alive. So focused was I on finding Sekat, I did not see the young woman walking towards me, and we collided. A splash of hot liquid struck my chest and I stepped back.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the young woman exclaimed, staring at the liquid running down my chestplate, not even considering her scalded fingers. "Are you all right?"

"The fault was mine." I replied, feeling a slight stirring of the floor beneath my feet.

She must have felt it to, because her brow creased and her eyes fired with alarm just as the slight tremors became an earthquake. Gravity became a suggestion as fire flashed and my aural canals were inundated with the horrific sound of an explosion. I closed my eyes and whispered a prayer as the force of the explosion knocked me backwards. I landed hard, feeling something slice between the plates of my armor, through the mesh, and into my skin.

I lay still, attempting to figure out what had happened, knowing that the explosion was meant for me. To kill. To destroy. I began breathing harder as I heard a second roar, the scream of shattering glass, the manic cries of the wounded. Panicked shouts filled the building and my throat tightened as I inhaled smoke. For a brief moment, I had to convince myself that I was not back on the Normandy after it had been ripped apart.

I forced my eyes to open…only to see the young woman who I had run into suspended in the air, impaled on the metal leg of an upturned desk. The cup she had held was on the ground, in pieces, drops of bright red human blood spattering it. A flash of fire burst across my side, a micro-explosion of pain. I looked down, seeing the long, thin shard of shattered glass embedded in my side. It had run me through, but was not close to any vital organs.

I gritted my teeth and grasped the spike of glass, pulling it through my body as the sound of gunfire met my ears.

When did this happen? I wondered as I finished removing the glass from my skin, tossing it aside, coughing through the smoke and forcing myself to my feet, ignoring the pain from the minor wound. When was there time to plan an attack? Who knew where I would be going? Who could have found out...besides Shepard...and she would not betray me. Would she?

I ran through the building, needing to find Sekat. He had the data on an OSD. Even if he had perished in the explosion, he would have what was needed. I tore through the offices, avoiding the fire, ignoring the cries of the wounded. Something much more valuable was at stake. I had the chance to find the greatest power of the galaxy's underworld and break its throne.

Shots rang out and I skidded to a stop, throwing myself behind cover as armored agents flooded the room, as though they had been laying in wait, preparing to assault this building. I spooled biotic energy in my hands and waited, listening to their footsteps come closer. I rose from behind cover and threw a shockwave, flinging the wreckage up from the floor and showering my enemies with it. They flew back against the walls, crumpling into heaps. I rushed forward and pulled a pistol from a limp hand, firing two bullets into the heads of the fallen as I continued my desperate search.

I shut out the hoarse groans of the wounded. I ignored the pain in my side and kept pushing forward, determined. I had suffered through worse. I had been shot in the chest. I had overdosed and nearly died. I had survived the destruction of the Normandy, when so many had not. There was a reason that I was alive. And I owed that life to another, another that I would rescue, no matter the personal cost.

I heard a familiar voice and I stopped short, behind a closed door, breathing heavy, pressing my free hand to the wound in my side that still bled.

"Is that Sekat?" I heard Shepard's voice and breathed easier.

She found it…I knew that she would…she, who knew me so well…goddess…what will she do, when she knows me again? And will I allow her that knowing? What if this attack, this explosion, is her fault?

"It would appear so." I heard the voice of a stranger, with the syntax and cadence of an asari.

Could it be the Justicar Samara? I wondered. Though when Shepard would have had time to recruit her, I've no idea. Still, I can see no harm in having such a powerful ally.

"It is such a shame." the asari spoke again. "Had I only arrived a few moments sooner, he would still be alive…he would still have the data."

"Those were the Shadow Broker's men on the way up?" Shepard asked.

"I am afraid so." the asari answered. "Somehow they knew that T'Soni would be here. Speaking of the doctor, did you find her body?"

I bristled…the asari who was speaking was certainly not an ally. I punched the control for the door and it flew open. I stepped into the room, looking to the asari, recognizing her as the one who had invaded my apartment, shot at me, and, I realized, notified the Broker that I would be here.

"Do you mean this body?" I hissed, aiming my weapon at her.

"Welcome to the party, Liara." Shepard spoke, her voice a deadly cold. "Glad you made it, because I've been wanting to do this for a while."

From the corner of my eye, I watched her lift her weapon, pointing it at the asari.

"Sorry to throw a wrench in your plans, Vasir." Shepard apologized, but there was absolutely no remorse in her tone. "But this is as far as you go. Here I thought Spectres were supposed to be better than lackeys for the Shadow Broker."

"Oh, now you're being ridiculous." the asari…Tela Vasir, Special Tactics and Recon…attempted to save herself.

"You shot at me." I growled. "You invaded my home and compromised my communications..."

"And then you used me to try to kill her again." Shepard broke in. "I'm not fucking happy about that. I'm not happy…"

"That you knew Shepard would find the message I had left." I broke in, speaking in tandem with the former commander. "That you would alert the Shadow Broker's forces to the location so that they would know to prepare the explosion. You allowed people to be killed for no good reason! You killed Sekat yourself and took the data!"

Vasir sneered. "And since when has collateral damage phased you Doctor T'Soni?" she asked. "You can take umbrage all you like, but it won't change the fact that you've blazed a trail of blood since you've come to Illium. Why are my actions any different?"

"Because she's Liara fucking T'Soni." Shepard growled, answering for me. "It's different because she has reasons. Reasons beyond money and power. Reasons someone like you could never understand."

I looked to Shepard, amazed that she would say such a thing. Miranda had hinted at my addiction, my promiscuity, and Vasir had just laid bare the wrongs I had done. My hands were bloody. And yet Serena defended me…she trusted me. She trusted me still.

Why?

I did not have time to meditate on the question. Vasir walked backwards, building a wave of biotic energy, readying herself to kill us all.