Darkness. Shepard feels something on him. He switches on a flashlight. It is Liara. He moves her a little with care, to see if she is conscious.
Shepard: Liara? Do you hear me?
Liara: Mmm… I ache all.
Shepard: The landing wasn't as soft as I tried to. Can you move?
Liara: I think so. -She stands up slowly- Next time I'll pilot.
Shepard: Je… -He sits up and she helps him stand up- It seems we're okay.
Liara: -Something attracts her attention- No, we're not. Look at the hatch.
Shepard: -He turns and sees it's dripping. It's water- Oh, no…
The Commander access to the onboard computer, switches on the exterior camera and confirms they are sunk. Rays of light illuminate the depth of what could be a river.
Liara: We have to get out of here.
Shepard: We will have to swim. -He puts his hand near the opening panel and looks at her- Ready? -Liara nods- Here we go.
When they open the hatch water begins to fill the pod. The coming flow is very strong. They will wait until it gets completely flooded to get out.
-O-
Joker: What are we going to do?
EDI: If the inhibitor is not deactivated we won't be able to contact the Alliance.
James: Why don't we leave and come back with reinforcements?
Joker: We don't know how long it will stay here… If it disappears we might not track it down again.
Garrus: Then let's board the ship and neutralize the signal.
Joker: Have you seen it? It's huge. If we don't ascertain from where it comes we will never find it.
EDI: I've been tracking it for a while but there is too much interference which prevents me from locating the origin. However, maybe I can do it from inside.
Ashley: We have no other option, we will board it. EDI, look for a way to get us in. The rest, prepare your things, when we have our entrance we'll leave.
-O-
It is the moment. They get as much air as possible and leave through the hatch. Once out they are violently carried away by the current, it is stronger than they expected. They both ascend to the surface where they see they are in the rapids. They struggle to stay afloat, they are swallowing water. In the twinkling of an eye a rock appears in the middle of their way. They try to avoid it, but the river pushes them against it. With the blow Shepard loses the armor of an arm and his gun, but Liara is not so lucky and gets a much greater impact.
Liara: Shep…! -Her shout is drowned-.
The Commander swims with all his strength towards her. When he avoids other rock he sinks beneath the surface and sees a trickle of blood which flows from the asari's side. Liara tries to stay on the surface, swimming with difficulty by the pain, but the river sinks her. Before it is too late Shepard finally grabs her and she holds on to him tightly. They start to hear a low sound of water falling, getting closer and closer. A waterfall. The Commander struggles against the current to get closer to the bank before they reach the great fall, and he narrowly succeeds. He gets Liara out of the river, lies her down on the ground and applies medigel to her wound. There is quite a lot of blood.
Liara: -She notices how Shepard is looking at her- Does it look so bad?
Shepard: It's a deep cut, but you'll be fine. -He makes a pause- We can't stay here, I'm sure this isn't over. -Liara tries to stand up but he stops her- The medigel won't be able to start healing if you make efforts, let me carry you.
Liara assents, Shepard carries her in his arms and they go into the jungle. Strange sounds come from all directions accompanied by the rustle of leaves which birds cause when they skim against them. The air smells faintly of ozone, a storm approaches. The star which illuminates the planet hides, but in the darkness shining lights in the sky light up slightly their environment: escape pods which have not been so lucky and burn in the atmosphere. As the first drops of rain start to fall a shuttle flies over them.
Liara: They're here to finish what they started… The frigate must be up there to jam communications. No one will come to help us.
After half an hour looking for a refuge they find one: a small grotto dug into the slope of a hill. The Commander gets inside with Liara and puts her behind rocks which will hide her from anyone who looks from outside.
Shepard: -He crouches beside her- You'll be safe here. -He makes a pause- Do you feel better?
Liara: It hurts when I move. -She sighs- I'm sorry I got you into this… It's not going precisely as I had imagined.
Shepard: We'll get out of it. -He stands up- They will be here soon, I have to make sure they don't find you.
Liara: -She knows she won't be able to help him- Take this -she offers him her pistol-.
Shepard: -He takes the hand with which she is holding the weapon and puts it on her lap- No, if they see you you'll need it.
Liara: But you…
Shepard: Don't worry, I'll manage.
Liara: -She accedes- Be careful, okay? -they kiss-.
Shepard comes out of the grotto unarmed and moves away one hundred meters in the direction that the shuttle took. He stays in the shadows for a while. Nothing but the deafening thunders, whose flashes of lightning bring the low visibility in the dark night, are heard. Something attracts his attention, voices getting closer and closer. They have probably located them from orbit with thermal cameras. The Commander covers behind a tree and he sees them, there are eight. The Broker's mercenaries are combing the area in formation. Carefully, he takes a stone from the ground and throws it away. The assault troopers now know they are not alone and decide to divide into two groups to approximate to the origin of the noise. A lightning strikes a near tree, splintering and setting it on fire. The agents move away from it.
Shepard: -Talking to himself- This is my chance.
He comes near one slowly, and taking advantage of they're still looking the big torch he grabs him by his back and kills him with his omni-blade. After lying down the body in silence he picks up his guns, a M55 Argus assault rifle and an M-9 Tempest submachine gun, and opens fire on the patrol, bringing down the other three in a matter of seconds. The second group shoots at Shepard, who is forced to take cover. As the enemies advance over his position the Commander falls back trying to move away from the cave where Liara is, but the mercenaries push him in that direction. Total darkness again, he uses it to slip away.
Shadow Broker Agent: Change to night vision!
He catches them unaware from the rearguard and empties the Tempest's thermal clip on them. Three die, and he pierce the last mercenary with his omni-blade before he can react. Shepard believes he has finished, but there is somebody behind him.
Shadow Broker Operative: Throw down your weapons and don't make any strange movement -he is aiming at his head with a Carnifex. The Commander obeys-. Give them a kick. -He moves them away- Where is the asari?
Liara: Right behind you. -She shoots him in the head before he can do anything. His inert body collapses- You forgot one…
Shepard: You get here just in time. -Worried- Are you okay?
Liara: The wound still hurts, but much less. I feel better.
The Commander recovers the weapons and scrutinizes the bodies looking for ammunition.
Liara: We have to get out of the system, we need to find their shuttle.
Shepard: They came that way.
Liara: I hope they came here in straight line…
Shepard helps her to walk through the jungle. The storm begins to remit, darkness returns. As they approximate to the arboreal limit they see light in the distance. When they arrive they stop before the mercenaries' camp, a barricade built with big boxes of supplies and energy barriers fences in the outpost. Inside it, arranged in Y there are three tents big enough to lodge several dozens of soldiers.
Liara: They brought a lot of equipment… They won't leave until they kill us.
Shepard: I can't see the shuttle from here. -He observes the camp carefully- There are only two guards, stay here and watch their movements -he gives her the assault rifle after changing its firing mode to semiautomatic- I'll approach.
The Commander moves away from the asari to the east to get out of the shelter of the trees at enough distance from the base and so that the look-outs don't detect him. He stealthily moves to the nearest tent, covering behind it. When he reaches it he moves next to the wall and leans out to the right.
Shepard: -Through intercom- It's here, but we can't take it without more ado, there're two inside.
Liara: I still have those who patrol in my sight.
Shepard: All right, I'm jumping over the barricade. Eliminate them at my signal.
Liara: Be careful, there could be more in the tents.
The Commander moves next to the shuttle and kills the mercenaries who are inside. Then Liara shoots the guards, eliminating one of them quickly, but the other one manages to cover behind a box of supplies. Immediately five mercenaries come out of various of the tents and Shepard enters in the shuttle to avoid the shots. The enemies advance towards him.
Shepard: -He sees something which attracts his attention- Termite bombs? -He stoops and takes both charges- Liara! Cover me!
The asari opens fire on them so as they focus on her and Shepard opens the other door of the Kodiak, running across a mercenary, but the Commander knocks him down with the butt of his weapon and finishes him off with the submachine gun. He activates the termite bombs' timer and throws them from there to the wall of the tent whose entrance is in the area covered by Liara, the bombs adhere.
Liara: They already are over you!
The bombs detonate and scorch the rigid wall of composite material, creating a hole big enough to get inside. The Commander runs to reach the opening and rolls to the interior. The five mercenaries divide, going two to Liara, who from that advantageous position kills one before falling back and hiding in the thicket. Through the door of the tent where Shepard is two enemies come in, and he overturns a table to cover behind it. When they have been neutralized a grenade goes in through the hole of the wall.
Shepard: Damn it!
He gets out before the explosion and barricades himself behind a metal box, from where he can eliminate the mercenary who throw the artifact. The last, who has abandoned the camp to pursue the asari, collapses on the ground after getting several impacts in the torso. Liara leaves her hiding place and checks the body. He is dead. She returns to the camp.
Liara: Clear.
Shepard: -Inspecting the last tent- Here too. Those were all.
The Commander helps her to walk towards the shuttle. Suddenly something bright appears in the sky crossing the night, going to the encounter.
Liara: They're firing us from orbit!
Shepard: -Skeptic- It's too slow to be mass accelerator fire or a torpedo… -As the "shot" comes near and gets out of the protection of the clouds its shape can be seen more clearly- That is not…
Liara: It's a Mako! -The vehicle makes a sharp landing with the thrusters at fifty meters from the camp. The Commander releases her-.
Shepard: Move back! -He advances shooting the enemy to give Liara time to fall back-.
The Mako's turret ignores the Commander, aims at the shuttle and blows it up with the cannon. In the attempt of avoiding the explosion Shepard throws himself to the ground. Liara speaks to him in the distance, but he only hears an intense beep. The armored vehicle fires its machine gun while it goes round the camp at high speed.
Shepard: -The corpse next to him carries an M-37 Falcon grenade launcher. He takes it- This will come in handy.
The Commander stands up and runs up to Liara, bending both behind the energy barriers. The asari shoots the vehicle, dwindling slightly its shield, and when the target stops Shepard uses the grenade launcher, which is much more effective. Then the Mako decides to throw itself at them and jumps the barrier, reaching the center of the camp, what makes the couple look for cover behind some boxes of supplies. The IFV using its cannon makes the ground near them explode, lumps of earth scatter everywhere. Liara realizes that the generator which provides power to the camp is very close to the enemy.
Liara: Attract its attention!
The Commander attacks the vehicle to make him focus on him and when he gets that Liara takes advantage of the opportunity and blows up the generator. The electrical explosion overloads the Mako's shields and they fall, and before it fires its cannon again Shepard disables it with a direct impact of the grenade launcher.
Liara: Nice shot!
However, the vehicle responds to the attack charging against them. The Commander grabs Liara by the waist and together they throw themselves aside to avoid the charge. The boxes of supplies are completely broken up. The Mako goes backwards and aims at them. In that moment they hear a "click", and two seconds later something in the turret bursts. Immediately afterwards an explosion gobbles up the armored vehicle. Shepard helps Liara to stand up.
Shepard: What has happened?
Somebody stays hidden in the smoke column coming from the Mako.
Stranger: -His voice sounds artificial- I finally found you, Liara T'Soni.
Liara: Who are you?
Stranger: What matters is who you are, Shadow Broker.
Shepard and Liara share a fleeting glance.
Liara: Have you come to kill me?
Stranger: No. I've come to help you. -He comes out of the protection of the smoke. His shape imposed more in the shadows-.
Shepard: A volus?
Stranger: -He comes near them- We've already met before, Commander Shepard.
Shepard: Barla Von?
Barla Von: Correct.
Liara: How have you destroyed the Mako?
Barla Von: I always carry a few recon mines, they're very useful. -He notices their worry- I know you have more questions, but we have to go before the frigate comes back. My ship is holding it up, now we have the chance.
Shepard: -To Liara- He's right.
Barla Von: Come, my shuttle is there.
Liara: Let me take one thing before.
Liara comes near the Kodiak that the Mako destroyed and recovers the onboard CPU. Even though it is severely damaged, maybe they can get some useful information from it.