When Fates Collide

Chapter 9

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The SSV Normandy ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Through My Mind's Eye

A low groan seeped from Shepard's chest as she heard Liara's voice, "Dr. Chakwas, she's waking up!"

Shepard attempted to lift herself off the bed when a gentle hand guided her back down. "It's ok Shepard, you can sit back now."

"Who are you?" Asked the dazed soldier.

"I'm Doctor Chawkas. I'm the chief medical officer onboard the Normandy."

Upon hearing the words Normandy, Shepard momentarily panicked and more urgently tried to reach her feet. Not the enemy ship. It wasn't until Liara hovered over her, and stared into her deep green eyes before she began to settle down, and her foggy memory started coming back.

Seconds later, a flash of light projected into her eyes, one at a time, as the Normandy's doctor checked the dilation of her pupils. Shepard thought, I always hate when they do that. Replacing the light stick back into her long white smock, Dr. Chakwas stood and announced, "She should be good to talk." Giving a warning look to the Alliance officer standing in the room she continued, "But nothing too harsh. She's still under a lot of physical strain. I'm not sure what that beacon did to her. But it's affected more than her memory. I'm going to need to run more tests."

Shepard began to squirm on the bed like a child on her first doctor's visit. "Somehow it's altered her physiology. Her beta waves are off the charts," finished the doctor.

A hesitant Presley stepped closer to the bed, but kept his distance from the soldier and the powerful blue alien beside her. "Very well, then."

Clearing his throat LCDR Presley assumed a natural, parade rest, military stance as he announced, "Shepard, while you were out, we received information about Saren Arterius. Thus far, we thought we were simply chasing after a rogue Spectre, but after the information that was collected on Noveria and Virmire, it seems that Saren is up to something a lot bigger than originally perceived.

Staring at the floor, the moppy redhead dangled her legs off the side of the medical bed as she spoke, "I know he wanted the coordinates for the Mu Relay pretty bad." Her gaze now fixed on the acting commanding officer, "Although I'm not entirely sure why, but I fear it's going to be massive."

Looking to the medical officer, Shepard silently asked if she could leave the foam mattress. The chief medical officer nodded as Shepard continued her thought process, leaning against the bed, "I think half of the puzzle is swimming around inside my head."

Rubbing the back of her neck Shepard said with a perplexed expression on her face, "Somehow it's all connected to those Prothean Visions. Whatever it is, I'll do my best to help you stop Saren."

Nervously laughing; the panic evident on the LCDR's face, he incredulously asked, "And why should we believe you?"

Glaring back at the junior officer, Shepard shot her own distrusting look at the man, "Why should I trust you? I know what happened to Anderson, but what about your XO? Why is the 3rd man on the totem pole in charge?"

"You mean Commander Gerrad? If you must know, the Commander was killed in action on Eden Prime."

In a softer tone than before, she asked, "What happened to him?"

"He was a she, and that's not important right now."

The visibly annoyed Shepard, held up her fingers making mocking air quotations, "On a need to know basis right? Damn Alliance. Some things never change."

Not particularly choosing sides, Dr. Chakwas interjected, "I've looked into enough tough soldiers with piercing eyes and sensitive souls to know, she's telling the truth."

Smirking, the cocky Shepard folded her arms over her chest as she responded to the senior woman's unusual statement, "Is that your professional opinion Doc?"

Crossing her arms, the doctor's years of dealing with arrogant soldiers shone through as she shot back, "Better than that Shepard. It's a gut feeling, but if you don't like it, I can always serve you up another cocktail, that will put you out for another couple of hours."

Flashing the doctor a defiant look that quickly turned to one of concern, when the doctor's stance or attitude didn't budge; the rebuked soldier acknowledged, "I think I like you Doc."

Returning the stern look of confidence, "Well, make sure the Normandy crew stays intact and we'll get along just fine."

Pushing off the medical bed, Shepard assumed a natural soldier's stance to further display the seriousness of her commitment, and informed the Navigator, "I give you my word, that I'll help you bring down that bastard."

Taking a few steps back, as Shepard's feet moved her forward, Presley hesitantly said, "Why should we trust you?"

Shepard words were filled with great confidence, "Because I can help you bring him down."

Presley's eyes raced back and forth between the former alliance officer and Dr. Chakwas, as he contemplated her last statement, "And why the sudden change of heart?"

Looking back at Liara, Shepard stated, "I have my reasons."

Dr. Chakwas was the first to ask, "What is that?"

Swallowing hard, Shepard shifted her weight to lean against the bed again, as she answered Dr. Chakwas, "I made a promise to protect Liara from Saren, and keep her safe; to not let him get a hold of her, no matter what."

Still clueless Presley asked, "Who asked that?"

Instinctually knowing the answer, Liara chimed in, "My mother, Matriarch Benezia." Her eyes darting over to Shepard before a smile uncontrollably escaped her lips.

Trying not to respond to Liara's facial expression, as a smile also began to grow inside Shepard, she turned back instead to the Alliance Officer and asked, "What's your next plan of attack?"

Content with Shepard's answer for the moment, and knowing the Alliance and the Citadel Council needed all the help they could get, Presley answered, "With the information Tali provided us," looking warily at the former alliance soldier, "or rather, you provided us; we now have the coordinates to the Mu Relay. But unless we know exactly where he's going, we would just end up on the other side of the galaxy, looking for a needle in a haystack."

Mild frustration blanketed the redhead's face as her brain spun looking for answers, "Does the Alliance have any idea about what Saren is trying to do and why he's so interested in the protheans?"

Equally lost, Presley slowly rubbed his temple and paced, "No, they don't have anything else to report at this time."

A sudden sideways grin smeared its way across the renegade's face, that would have scared the bejesus out of Liara a few weeks ago, causing the former marines' eyes to sparkle with confidence, "Well you're in luck. I know where Saren was headed. His next target was Feros in the Attican Beta Cluster."

Moving to stand next to the prothean expert she went on, "I'm not sure why we were supposed to go there, but I know it was important. So much so, that Saren sent an entire Geth ship there." She paused trying to figure out the plausible purpose for that destination, before she continued, "I'm sorry I can't tell you more. That son of a bitch always kept the details of his plans close to the chest."

Sympathetically looking in Liara's direction, "I think half the time, even the Matriarch didn't know what his plans were."

Grateful for the first bit of good news he'd heard in days, the acting commanding officer snapped to attention, and declared, "Ok sounds like a plan. I'll navigate a course for Feros then." Halting his forward stride once he reached the exit, he spun around and asked, "Shepard do you think you could tell Dr. Chakwas everything you remember about the Prothean Visions?"

"Well it's all here," as she pointed to her temple, "or rather in here."

Deep in thought, the doctor stroked her chin, "Well that's not going to do us any good, now is it."

Nervously interrupting, Liara suggested, "I can find out what she knows. I could meld with her. I mean exchange a knowledge bond."

Unable to tell if she was more scientifically curious, or professionally helpful, Dr. Chakwas smiled widely and cheerfully piped, "You know Liara, I think that would help a great deal."

Not as keen on the idea, Shepard shot wary glances at both the doctor and Liara, "Whoa! You mean you want to go inside my head like Matriarch Benezia?" Shepard's hands flew up as she started backing away from the women. "I don't think so."

Presley, having found new purpose exclaimed, "Well I'll leave it to you three to figure out. I have a ship to run. Dr. Chakwas, let me know if you find anything useful."

Characteristically, the chief medical officer did not return the formal military response of 'Aye Aye', but rather acknowledged the departing acting commanding officer with a nod as she began to consider the task at hand.

Once the Navigator left, Shepard on the verge of intense anger, began to pace wildly around the med lab, "Oh no! You're not going up there. I've seen what an asari can do." Looking directly into endless blue orbs, she vehemently stated, "You know what she did. No! You are not doing that to me."

Liara pleaded trying to reassure the experienced soldier, "I know she was extremely forceful, but I won't do that." Liara gently took hold of Shepard's lower arm gaining the former officer's undivided attention, "I will be gentle, I promise."

Shepard's breath quickly abandoned her as she realized this was the closest they had ever been before; face to face. She stared deep into the passionate blue eyes, before forcing another wave of air into her chest. She nodded and replied softer than she wanted, "Ok then."

% % % % % % %

"How does this work exactly? What do I need to do?"

"Nothing really" Liara explained, "Physical contact is not even required." Frantically, Liara tried to hide her nervousness as she stepped closer to the soldier. "Just try to relax and open your mind."

Instinctually, Shepard gently guided the professor's hands to her face, thinking physical contact might work best after observing what little she had about melding from watching Matriarch Benezia. To her delight, the young asari did not pull away but instead, delicately placed her fingers on the soldier's forehead, as if to focus herself before proceeding. Shepard watched her in awe, as she hoped her thoughts were correct, melding with Liara would not result in mind rape.

"Try to relax, take several deep breaths Shepard."

Not taking her eyes off the asari for a second, Shepard witnessed the pools of blue, turn into orbs of midnight black as Liara called out,

"Embrace Eternity"

Instantly Liara's mind was bombarded with flickering images of massive death and destruction. People screaming – no not people, Protheans. But the streaming images flashed too quickly to get a comprehensive understanding of what they looked like. Robots or machines, she would later come to understand as the Reapers, clouded her mind next. It was so horrific, so terrifying; so many images, so many thoughts, so quickly compressed into her head. It felt like she was absorbing an entire species lifetime in the flash of a moment.

She saw planets streak before her, but again it was too quick to ascertain what system it was or if that system still existed. The final set of images were the Protheans, all screaming out at once, all desperately pleading for help; hundreds, if not thousands of them begging for mercy. The visions were more painful than helpful, to the young mind, as she felt the visions cry out for help in her own mind.

Abruptly ending the meld, the young asari grabbed her temple in searing pain, taking a moment to regain her composure. Dr. Chakwas helped the young woman steady her feet as Liara pronounced, "Dear Goddess Shepard. You must be strong willed, to contain all that information. It surely would have destroyed a weaker mind. You….you are amazing."

Shepard not feeling any affects from the knowledge meld, nervously stroked the back her neck at the professor's confession. "Um, thanks?"

Suddenly as if an invisible wave crashed upon her, the asari's knees buckled. Shepard with lighting speed reflexes caught Liara before she could falter. "Are you ok? Maybe you should lay down."

Liara, like Shepard, was also not good at being a patient and just shook her head while rubbing her temple, "I'll be fine. It's just that was a little more…." Looking into the concerned emerald eyes staring back at her, "…Intense. I will be fine. I just need a moment to process this."

Curiously Dr. Chakwas asked, "Professor, that wasn't your first meld was it?"

Almost laughing as she shrugged off such an absurd question, Liara quipped, "Of course not, I've been melding with my mother since the day I was born."

Deeply worried about the faint looking woman, the doctor asked, "I meant, was this the first time you initiated the meld?"

Liara's darting eyes as she tried to break the gaze of the soldier holding onto her conveyed the answer, rather then words, to them.

Astutely Shepard asked, "You mean, you've never done that before?" Then remembering her previous outburst contritely continued, "I'm sorry, I wish I'd known. I wouldn't have been so ….." Her words trailed off and her face silently finished her apology.

Attempting to salvage what was left of her dignity, the asari tugged herself free from Shepard's caring grip and exclaimed, "I'm fine. I am an asari. Melding is second nature to us. I just hadn't found someone I wanted to meld with before. It is…..incredibly personal to us. Spiritual."

Feeling her own cheeks flush a bit, Shepard moved across the room to the sink and returned with a drink of cold water for the asari as she said, "Well, take a moment to gather your thoughts and when you're ready, tell us what you saw."

After the prothean expert had taken a few sips, she explained what she saw or rather what she couldn't comprehend and softly resigned, "I'm sorry Shepard. I can't help you. The information was just too much. I can't translate any of it."

Massaging both her eye lids, Shepard felt the frustration cloud over her thoughts as she spoke, "It's ok Liara. You did what you could, and I appreciate you trying. It's just a big mess up there. It's like pieces of a puzzle and I still need to find the key"

% % % % % % %

A large battle scarred krogan entered the medical bay. Everyone in the lab, including the other medical technicians and the normal flux of sick call patients, flinched with the exception of Dr. Chakwas and Liara. Even the moppy red head jolted as she'd been completely relaxed while Dr. Chakwas was running numerous tests on her.

Liara's innocent curiosity was piqued. She had not had many dealings with krogans before, much less any other species, as she was mostly consumed by her research and entrenched in isolated dig sites. However, from the few merc krogans she had encountered, she knew her biotics were more than capable of handling the battlemaster if needed. Although as he stepped closer and his shadow swallowed her, she hoped it would not come to that.

"I came to check on the human clan." His voice boomed above everything else. Looking over to the solider hooked up to a machine, he said, "I was impressed by the way you handled yourself when you were first brought aboard, during the interrogation. You owned that room and you were the prisoner; bound in biotics."

Peering over towards Liara, who was at Shepard's bedside, he continued, "Not to mention you seem to have earned the trust of an asari. I know from personal experience that is very difficult to do. My best and only friend was an asari bounty hunter. She was the best! However, I didn't know if I wanted to kill her or mate with her." His boisterous laugh vibrated in the space.

"What was her name?" Shepard asked pleased to be talking to a battlemaster rather than fighting one, at the moment.

With a scoff he forced out, "Aleena"

With great interest Shepard asked, "What happened?"

She couldn't tell by his facial expression, but by the drop in his tone, it was clear the krogan wasn't happy to discuss the asari further when he replied, "It doesn't matter now."

Knowing better than to piss off a krogan, much less one as big as him; Shepard let the subject go and stated, "Fair enough." Realizing the massive krogan was done with the frivolous banter she dared to ask, "So what is your name?"

Again impressed with her boldness the battlemaster answered with a proud, "Urdnot Wrex of Clan Urdnot of Tuchanka."

"Well Urdnot Wrex of Clan Urdnot from Tuchanka; will you go with me to Feros?"

Not wanting to wait another second for some real action, the krogan replied, "I will Shepard, especially if I can smash some shit up."

Knowing a good fight was just on the horizon, the battle worn soldier smirked, "I promise there will be plenty of walking trash cans to practice on."

A confused expression stretched across Wrex's face before Liara answered his puzzled expression, "Geth."

Understanding perfectly the krogan battlemaster replied, "Oh good, sounds like my kind of mission; kill a few Geth and end things with a big crash."

Shepard's face was now completely engulfed with a wicked smile as she expressed, "Exactly!"