Liara and Feron sent out dozens of communications. Once Miranda recovered from the revelation of Liara being the Shadow Broker, she began working on a plan to convince Shepard he was indeed Shepard.

"We need him to believe," Miranda mused, pacing back and forth across the room.

Feron looked up from his terminal. "Why not just confront him with the evidence? Show him the biometrics-"

"He'll think it's a fake," Liara and Miranda said in unison. Miranda laughed, but Liara remained focused on her terminal, typing quickly.

"Shepard is as stubborn as they come," Miranda explained. "He won't be easily swayed. We'll need something more than just data that we could've conjured up." She continued pacing, her face twisted into a mask of concentration.

Liara finished her last correspondence, and sat back from her terminal, rubbing her eyes.

How can I convince Shepard he's Shepard?

Liara sighed. She knew that convincing him was going to be the hard part- especially after the way their last conversation had ended. She needed something so irrefutable that even in the face of his confusion, Shepard wouldn't be able to deny it.

Feron cleared his throat loudly. "I hate to keep bringing up roadblocks, but… how are we going to get him back here? We can convince him once he's here; that's a matter of time, but… getting him to follow us?"

"We abduct him," Liara stated immediately. The silence in the room was palpable as both Miranda and Feron turned to her, eyes wide. "There's no way he'll come willingly; we don't have that kind of pull with him right now. We're going to have to snatch him off the street of whatever planet that freighter lands on." She turned to Feron. "We'll have to take the Vanguard- the Light Echo and the Kestrel's Cry don't have the space for all of us."

The silence dragged on. Liara studied each of their faces in turn, and began to wonder if for the first time, she did not have their complete confidence.

Given what I've just told them, would it be a huge surprise? Goddess, I must seem so desperate to them.

Feron spoke first. "Uh, Liara…"

"I have worked the scenarios over and over in my head, Feron. We have no leverage. He doesn't believe he's Shepard- he has no idea what he's lost. What's more, he seems rather determined to go out and find it on his own. He wasn't receptive the first time I spoke with him; he'll be even less so if he sees me coming again. We're going to have to-"

"Find a way to subdue an Alliance-trained soldier with Cerberus implants who could kill the three of us with his bare hands?" Feron interjected.

Miranda chimed in. "No, it's far more simple than that. He's not that person right now. It will be quite easy, I would suspect. Perhaps as simple as hitting him with some kind of tranquilizer from behind, and loading him into a vehicle."

Liara nodded. "I was thinking as much."

Feron opened his mouth to speak, but the terminal he sat at issued a bleep, commanding his attention. "Looks like I've got incoming data on the ship. Let's see…" he punched a few keys. "Port of call… cargo… here we go: destinations." He looked up from the terminal. "We know where they're headed."

Liara stood and straightened out the front of Shepard's hoodie with a tug. "Prepare the Vanguard for flight. Miranda and I will gather supplies."

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Liara sat in the co-pilot's chair of the Vanguard, watching Horizon out the viewport as they drifted closer. Try as she might, she couldn't ignore the growing sense of doubt eating at the back of her mind.

He's down there somewhere. I'm so close, and yet I feel like I'm a million miles away. What if I can't get him back?

Liara shook her head as if to dispel the thought. "We have a local asset tracking him?"

Feron shook his head. "Couldn't locate Shepard specifically, but the asset located the ship, and I have a position. Hopefully we can track him from there."

Liara nodded. "Once we're on the surface, we'll split up. Feron, that ship cannot leave the ground until we've got Shepard in our custody. Miranda and I will work up a plan on exactly how we're going to capture Shepard once we've located him."

Miranda entered the cockpit as if on cue, leaning against the bulkhead with her arms across her chest. "I've got some idea on how that might work."

After seeing the sly smile on her face, Liara thought better of asking her to elaborate at that moment. She turned in her seat toward the viewport, watching the surface grow larger as the Vanguard made its way to the landing area. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to chase away the inferno in her chest that threatened to consume her.

Stay calm. This can work. Goddess, help me…

"Prepare for landing," Feron said, easing the Vanguard into the docking clamps.

Liara turned in her seat to Miranda. "We need to find out where Shepard might be. After our last interaction, I can't chance looking for him myself; if he sees me coming he might suspect something. Check with the locals and see if we can get a fix on temporary lodging, entertainment- the kinds of things visitors might do to kill time."

Miranda nodded and headed for the hatch. Liara turned to Feron, her face hardened into a mask of determination. "I don't care if you have to wire the drive core with explosives, Feron: that ship cannot leave until we have Shepard in our custody."

Feron nodded. "I'll see to it immediately." He made a move to leave the cockpit, but Liara snatched his arm quickly as he passed.

"We've been friends a long time, Feron. I doubt there's anyone I can trust more than you, other than Shepard." She turned to look up at him and spoke, her voice a half-whisper. "Am I doing the right thing here?"

Feron chuckled softly. "You love him, Liara. I've never been in love, but from what I understand, most people- regardless of their species- go to great lengths for the people they love." Feron knelt down, bringing his massive black eyes level with hers. "Ask yourself this: would he be doing the same thing if your places were reversed?"

Liara smiled softly as the first tears welled in her eyes. "Shepard would tear the galaxy apart searching for me if he thought there was a chance I lived through some catastrophe." She nodded then, drying her eyes. "Thank you, Feron."

The drell smiled and gripped her arm comfortingly before standing and heading toward the hatch. Liara sat back in her chair with a sigh, rubbing her eyes.

So tired… but he's so close. Time to rest once I have him again. We can rest together. Goddess knows we've earned it.

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Liara lost count of the minutes that dragged by as she waited in the dank alley between buildings. To one side, the bar in which Shepard was currently waiting with the rest of the cargo crew, as unloading had stopped due to a 'paperwork issue'. Liara smiled briefly as she marveled at Feron's quick thinking.

The situation was ideal: the alley and the rest of the street were dimly lit; the only light came from the local establishments grimy windows. The likelihood that Liara would be caught or that Shepard could alert anyone capable of helping him escape was minimal. The dull drone of voices in the distance could be heard from the alley as the doors to the bar opened, but the cacophony was weak and just far enough off to be indistinguishable.

Liara's mind raced as she waited for Miranda to make her move within the bar, and lure Shepard out. As much as she disliked the idea of Miranda using her feminine charms on him, Liara admitted she had no better idea as to how to get Shepard into a position from which they could capture him. And so she waited, alone with the aching fire in her chest, searing through her lungs with each breath.

This has to work. Goddess, let this work.

Liara heard an exaggerated laugh, and dared a glance around the corner. Miranda had an arm draped around Shepard's neck, leading him down the sidewalk. Shepard appeared to be slightly intoxicated, a sly grin on his face. Liara blushed slightly, realizing just how well Miranda's 'feminine charms' must have worked.

I'll have to talk to her about that someday.

Liara made a cursory inspection of the area to ensure no one else was around, but the street remained empty. She took a deep, cleansing breath, trying to ignore the blood pounding in her ears. They were closer now; Liara could hear them talking softly. Ten steps.

Liara gripped the syringe tightly in her hand and smoothed herself against the cool and slightly damp brick of the building.

Five steps.

It took a moment for Liara to place the sound that didn't belong, and the moment was too long. Grenades rained from the sky as a pair of shuttles dropped nearly to the street level. Liara had just enough time to glance at the gold and white-on-black Cerberus icon blazed onto the shuttles before the bombs went off. Explosions shook the street; windows shattered, stone blasted, and a thick, oppressive haze choked the air. Liara was thrown to the ground. Boots pounded across the pavement.

"We need him alive!" One of the Nova Hammer troops yelled as he clomped past the alley.

Liara crawled back to the corner from where she lie in the alley, trying to shake out the ringing in her ears. She peered through the haze, hurling a singularity at two troops. A quick warp followed, detonating the singularity and the two troops with it. Liara crept around the corner, using the smoke as cover, and searched for Miranda and Shepard. She found them huddled against the building a few feet from her, Miranda peering around a trash receptacle with her heavy pistol firing. Liara continued throwing out singularities, ensnaring the Nova Hammer men and making easy targets for Miranda and herself.

"We have to move!" Liara shouted, dropping back to her corner in the alley and drawing her Shuriken. "Covering fire!" With that, she slammed into the trigger of her Shuriken repeatedly, trying to push back the Cerberus troops. The smoke was clearing, and they began to return fire. Shepard and Miranda crawled around the corner and tucked themselves along the building.

"You!" Shepard yelled over the gunfire. "You're that asari from Omega!"

Liara leaned around the corner and unleashed another volley of bullets and biotics before ducking again. "Yes, Shepard."

His face twisted. "I told you before-"

"Does this alley lead anywhere?" Miranda interrupted, peering down into the darkness.

Liara ejected the spent thermal clip from her submachine gun. "I haven't exactly had a spare moment here to check." She hazarded another glance around the corner, and was rewarded with no less than three Cerberus troops shooting at her. She ducked back around the corner, wincing as rounds pounded into the building. "It's either into the alley, or be stuck here. Lead the way. Shepard, follow Miranda."

Shepard stood from his place crouched along the wall. Liara ached to touch him for a moment, and then received a shock. The man before her was terrified. He trembled at the sound of gunfire; he shrank in fear at the sight of the weapon in her hand. His blue eyes reflected only confusion and fear; not the cool confidence she had been so accustomed to. Liara sighed.

We have a long way to go.

"We'll keep you safe, Shepard. I promise. I'll bring up the rear. Go."

Author's note: Hello all! Thanks again for your continued support. Seeing a lot of follow/favorite e-mails- more than I ever would have expected. It's great to know there are people enjoying this piece as much as I am. The next few updates should be a lot of fun ;)

Until next time!

-Zero