Chapter 13 - All Paths Lead to the Citadel
During their journey to the Citadel, Shepard finally decides to pay a visit to Jack, hiding somewhere in the bowels of the ship, hastily studying the Cerberus files Miranda has reluctantly provided for her. At first Jack views Shepard's interest in the files with deep mistrust, unwilling to share. "I hate Cerberus as much as you do," Shepard says, trying to appeal to having a common enemy. "If you let me take a look at that data, I'll make sure they end up taking a few more kicks in the balls."
"Hate them as much as I do?" Jack snorts. "Did they raise you in one of their experimental facilities too, putting you through some sick tests, messing with your mind, turning you into a psychotic little bitch?" Shepard's blank stare is the only answer she can muster. "Thought so. But whatever," Jack finally shrugs. "Go, look at the data, don't care what you do with it. Only care about what I will do when I finally find the names and the places I'm looking for. I swear the galaxy will be left a lot emptier after I'm done with them."
"Just remember our mission is against the Collectors," Shepard reminds her, starting to browse through the files on the datapad.
"Yeah, whatever. But after that..." Jack grins. "All bets are off. Maybe I'll start with the Cheerleader here. It would be delightful to see that perfect visage of hers twisted in pain, listening to her beg for mercy."
Well, that's certainly... a balanced attitude. Not. Shepard sighs mentally, as she looks over the data. "This is useless crap to me," she says shortly after, passing the datapad back to an indifferent Jack. The intel is on experiments performed decades ago, facilities long abandoned, cells no longer functional.
She is about to leave, before turning back to face Jack. "By the way," she says. "Turns out quite a few convicts managed to get off the Purgatory. One of them sent me a message to thank me. He's already going around carving my name into his innocent victims as a signature."
Jack laughs whole-heartedly. "That's priceless. Are you telling me because I should care or what?"
"I'm telling you because I want you to know that the price for your release is a steadily rising pile of corpses of innocent people," Shepard snaps angrily. "I'm telling you to make the best of your newly gained freedom so that I don't end up regretting my decision."
"Poor naive Shepard. There is no such thing as 'innocent' people," Jack says mockingly. "And what will you do if I end up blowing up some space station with a few hundred civilians inside?"
"I'm going to chase you down, put bullets through your kneecaps and elbows, and then I'm going to let you crawl around writhing in pain, begging for mercy before I put a bullet through your brain," Shepard snaps, surprised and disgusted by her own cruel words.
Jack seems appreciative, though. "And now you're learning, Shepard," she says approvingly. "There might still be hope for you. And at least you're not attempting to make nice or pretending to be my 'friend'."
Slightly disturbed at the entire discussion, still wondering if stooping to Jack's level just to earn her respect was the right thing to do, Shepard walks back up to the elevator, thinking that the unfinished bottle of Thessia Red back in her quarters is starting to feel rather appealing about now. Then she remembers that Dr. Chakwas has offered to share some Serrice ice brandy with her, and instead she decides to head to the medbay.
"Ah, Shepard," Chakwas rises from her seat as she sees her entering the medbay. "I was about to leave a message on your terminal, it is impossible to track you down."
"I was down in the deepest pits of human depravity and insanity with my host, the ever lovely Jack," Shepard answers, shaking her head. "Say, about that offer-... wait, message for me, what about?"
"I think I've found a way to deal with those scars of yours," Chakwas says, telling her to lie down in one of the beds in medbay. "They seem to be caused by a partly rejection of some of the cybernetic implants that Cerberus have used. It would appear that in the latter stages of their... project, they got a little sloppy and hurried."
"Probably that bastard Wilson was pushing to put his plan in action," Shepard says, just before Chakwas administers her with a dose of the anesthetic. The world around her quickly becomes a blur and she falls into a deep slumber, unaware of the doctor quickly working to do some adjustments to the implants. She wakes to Karin Chakwas holding a mirror up to her face. Shepard smiles, unable to believe her eyes. The facial scars are all gone, the skin on her cheeks and chin is smooth and healthy looking.
She brings up her hand to touch the healed skin, but Chakwas stops her. "Careful, Commander," she warns. "No touching, at least for a day. Let the skin and the tissue heal properly."
"Thanks, Doc," Morgan says, feeling eternally grateful. "You're a real miracle worker. And to think I only came here with the sole intention to work myself to your brandy reserves."
Dr. Chakwas laughs. "We can still do that, though with the anesthetic in your system, the results should be... interesting to observe," she says, eyes full of mirth. "Shall I get a bottle and some glasses, if you care to risk it?"
"Anything for a giggle," Shepard grins, rising gingerly and managing to seat herself at the table. Soon enough, they are both happily drunk, talking about all sorts of silly gossip and sharing various embarrassing stories of the past.
"It will be good to be back on the Citadel," Karin Chakwas says, pouring in the last few drops of the Serrice ice brandy in Morgan's glass. "Not that the medbay is in dire need of resupply, but it will simply be good to see the place again. And I imagine there will be a lot of people you will want to speak about."
"Yeah," Shepard says, then yawning deeply, the brandy starting to get to her. "Anderson, Udina, Council, probably some other people from the Alliance command, that thief we're supposed to recruit..."
"I meant people you will want to talk with, not the ones you need to speak to," Chakwas says. Shepard looks at her, curiously. "You will be asking around for Liara's whereabouts, I imagine. There are a lot of people on the Citadel who should know."
"That was on my 'things-to-do' list, yes," Shepard finally admits after a small pause.
"You miss her," it is a statement of an obvious fact. "Ever since Cerberus have brought you back, Commander, I can see you are still... you, but somehow... also not the same person you were when Liara was with us."
"I did not realize it had become this bad," Morgan says quietly, lowering her eyes. "Sometimes I feel so lost without her."
"Then let's raise our glasses for one final toast," Dr. Chakwas says. "To happy endings."
"To happy endings," Shepard numbly repeats before gulping down the remains of the brandy in one shot. Shortly after, the mix of alcohol and anesthetic starts to spin the table, the floor and the whole Normandy so badly that the only thing she is able to do is to crawl towards the nearest bed and plop down face first in the pillow. The room slowly stops spinning as sleep quickly overpowers her.
Dr. Chakwas wakes her up only after they have docked on the Citadel and part of the crew have disembarked already. Cursing herself for the booze induced sleep that has made her miss the spectacular approach to the giant space station, pulsating heart of the civilized galactic life, Shepard quickly dashes up to her own quarters to take a shower and make herself presentable before the Council and Alliance dignitaries that she intends to meet as soon as possible.
Garrus has been patiently waiting for her to get ready and step off the ship, and Lawson is still onboard as well, but Morgan quickly brushes her off. "I don't think I'll want a high ranking Cerberus officer standing beside me today, considering all the people I plan to speak with," she explains to Miranda. "Sorry, this time it's really nothing personal."
Jacob is already on the Citadel, running some errands of his own and also working on procuring items on a list passed down by Mordin, the salarian himself unwilling to get distracted by anything before the Collector countermeasure has been fully developed. Zaeed is gone as well, probably to some seedy place in the Lower Wards like Chora's Den, looking for some entertainment that his complete collection of Fornax magazines can't provide.
That leaves Shepard alone with Garrus, an arrangement that suits her only too well. Together they observe the current state of the Citadel and to Shepard it seems as if all the damage from their battle with Sovereign has been cleared up by the industrious keepers. Garrus remembers parts of the Lower Wards still having been in a sad state more than a year ago, when he quit C-Sec for the second time, leaving the Citadel for Omega.
Security has increased tenfold since Sovereign's attack, and Shepard is forced to deal with the inevitable issue of the security scanners identifying her as dead. She meets with a grizzled, aging C-Sec captain by the name of Bailey, who considers the possibility of cutting more than a few corners and quickly reinstating her back in the system. "Didn't you hear the news, Captain Bailey?" she says, flashing a few smiles, testing the old Shepard charm. "The extranet is making a big fuss about me being sighted on Omega. It's the real me, alright!"
"Yeah, I know who you are, Shepard. Alright, you're all sorted now. Just remember that I just saved you nine days of running around and dealing with all sorts of bureaucratic shit," Bailey shrugs, shaking her hand as she thanks him again and again.
"Not big on formalities, this guy," Garrus remarks as they head towards the Presidium shuttles. "If they had captains like him in the C-Sec while I was still there, maybe I wouldn't have had to leave."
After a short shuttle ride, they reach the Presidium. Shepard feels a little relieved not to find Councilor Udina present, not keen to meet the slippery bastard who had double-crossed her once before. Instead, she enters the human embassies to find Captain Anderson, deep in a vid conference with all three of her alien 'friends' on the Council. They greet her politely enough, but appear understandably cautious, the news of her flying a Cerberus ship have reached their ears, and they demand an explanation from Shepard.
She tells the Council about the Collectors abducting human colonists in the Terminus Systems, but declines to mention that the Collectors might be working for the Reapers, fearing further ridicule from the Council. During her brief time on the Citadel, she has already seen how thoroughly the signs of Sovereign's true nature have been disguised and swept under the rug.
The Council chide her for the ties with Cerberus, Sparatus going as far as even labeling her a traitor for stooping to work with terrorists. Morgan decides to let it slide over her head and not delve into her arrangement with Cerberus. She merely states that she is using Cerberus to deal with this Collector threat and their relationship will be terminated with all haste once the mission has been completed. The Council appear rather pleased at her explanation, and in the end they strike a quick bargain. Shepard agrees to restrict her operations to the Terminus Systems in exchange for her reinstatement as a Spectre.
As the Council all as one wish her luck and leave the vid conference, Shepard feels a little relieved. She hadn't for a moment expected that the Council would decide to get involved in something outside their jurisdiction, and their fear of Cerberus is well grounded. In light of all that, having the Spectre resources once again available to her is a definite bonus.
"That went a lot better than I expected," Anderson agrees, as together with Garrus they step out on the balcony, overlooking the glorious spectacle of the Presidium below, with its green parks and lakes, connected by dozens of small channels.
"Yeah, I expected more in terms of getting chewed out. But what about you, David? What's your official position here like? Something like the Alliance's advisor to Udina?" Shepard asks, having talked with her old friend for a while. "Damn, talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place."
"Yes, after his promotion to a Councilor, Udina has become an even bigger ass, if that is even humanly possible," Anderson laments. "There are days when I really hate my job. Then I remind myself that I'm actually doing some good here."
"What about your ties with the Alliance?" Shepard asks, a little hopefully. "Have you been in contact with Admiral Hackett?"
"I have," Anderson nods. "He mentioned you will be keeping a close eye on Cerberus, Shepard. I don't envy you, Commander. While you still work with Cerberus, most of the humanity will view you as a traitor. That's a heavy price that you have decided to pay."
Morgan takes a deep sigh. "Yeah, I don't suppose reinstatement in the Alliance ranks is on the cards right now?" Anderson simply shakes his head, smiling sadly. "Still, it's a price worth paying. You know it's not truly the Collectors behind the attacks. This is all still about the Reapers. They have their eyes set on us now."
"I figured as much," Anderson nods. Shepard asks more about what the Alliance themselves are doing about their missing colonists, but Anderson cannot reveal classified information. She then inquires about Kaidan, expecting the same response, but something in the way Anderson deflects her question tells Shepard that both Kaidan's classified mission and Alliance's investigation in the colonist disappearances are linked.
There is not much to say after that. Anderson warns her that Udina might be returning to the office soon, and not willing to look the new human Councilor in the eyes, Shepard quickly heads for the exit, Anderson's warning not to trust Cerberus the last thing she hears before leaving.
"Our sources report having seen Shepard docking on the Citadel," the gentle voice of a fellow asari pulls Liara out of her reverie.
"I have seen the reports, thank you Nyxeris," she replies emotionlessly. Her assistant apologizes, bows her head and then retreats.
So, Cerberus have actually succeeded at bringing her back. And now they are throwing her at the Collector threat, she thinks, reaching for the glass of elassa in a compartment under the table. It would not do well to show Nyxeris how ruffled she is by the news. Two years. I had almost given up. I thought that Cerberus have long since given up.
Liara takes a large swig of the drink and it goes straight to her head, like she was getting punched. She is so unused to drinking. Did I make the right choice in helping to bring her back?
She locks the doors to her office and switches off all comms, before dimming the lights, the neon advertisements of Nos Astra reflecting around her office in a wild light show. Sooner or later she will find her way here, to see me, Liara thinks, reaching out for the bottle and refilling the glass. Her hands are shaking so badly that most of the precious elassa is spilled on the table. How do I steel myself for that inevitable meeting? How do I tell her to forget what we once shared?