Chapter 22 - The Storms of Hagalaz
Normandy's stealth engines are enabled as they approach the tumultuous planet of Hagalaz, where the Shadow Broker makes his lair. In the distance, they have a visual of the strangest ship that Shepard has seen yet, and that includes the Reapers, the vessel is specifically built to withstand the extreme conditions, in particular the devastating lightning storms that circle around the planet where the hot and cold air of the daily cycles collides. Liara explains that the ship always follows the sunset, the point where the storms are at its fiercest, allowing it to remain nearly undetectable.
The shuttle bay is predictably locked down, so the only solution is for a small skeleton crew to take the shuttle to land on the ship and then look for an entry hatch. Shepard decides to only bring Garrus with her and Liara, expecting his skill at overloading their opponents shields to become very handy.
Wandering around the ship is not a particularly enjoyable experience, even if the sights of the boiling, swirling grey clouds and massive electrical discharges all around them are very impressive. The wind is so strong it threatens to knock them off their feet, and considering that the Shadow Broker is not big on safety protocols, there are no railings installed and it would be very easy to slide off the ship and plunge to a terrible death deep down below.
They don't get very far when a set of maintenance drones discover them, deciding that they are pieces of debris that have no place on the Shadow Broker's ship. The drones are disposed of quickly, but it creates a new problem. "Sooner or later, someone's going to come to check, wondering what happened to the drones," Garrus states unhappily.
"Knowing our luck, probably sooner rather than later," Shepard says, noticing Liara nodding emphatically alongside her. Morgan's fears come true as soon as they pass massive lightning capacitors, crackling dangerously before violently discharging the stored energy. A squad of Shadow Broker operatives lay in wait for them, but it is just a small scouting party and it falls very quickly. Liara's singularities are particularly deadly and cruel in these circumstances, lifting the hapless opponent in the air and then making them watch as the ship slowly moves away from under them, leaving them to plummet to their spectacular deaths.
Morgan tries to shoot as many of the mercs trapped by the singularity as she can, hoping to spare them the nasty way of death, thinking that Liara secretly enjoys tormenting them a bit too much. Soon, the resistance grows too fierce for her to allow for such mercy killing. And some time after that, Morgan is already so annoyed with these Shadow Broker agents that she is actually mentally cheering on every occasion they manage to throw one or several of them over board and off the ship, starting to think that these bastards deserve everything they get.
"Okay... looking down was clearly a mistake," Liara says in a weak voice, as they finally reach an entrance, but it turns out to simply lead through the rooms housing the highly customized ship's engine and massive motion dampeners, before throwing them back on the outside of the ship yet again, still on a lookout for an entry hatch.
"I can't believe he hasn't ran out of these mercs yet," Shepard complains, after they have defeated yet another squad searching the hull for them. "What's the tally like by now, forty, fifty?"
"Thirty-four," Garrus says proudly. "Half of them mine."
"Well, at least he's not sending all of them at us at once," Liara says.
"Shush, don't give him ideas!" Shepard admonishes her, as they finally come across something that looks like an entrance leading into a more critical part of the ship. A simple hacking of the door quickly proves inadequate, and Liara has to employ a more complicated bypass shunt program to crack the entry, something that also alerts the Shadow Broker and his squads to what is happening and they all charge back towards the entrance to stop them.
"You're about to get your wish, T'Soni," Garrus chuckles grimly. "Now they will attack us all at once!"
The following battle could have easily gone bad quickly, but some smart thinking on their part evens out the odds. The mercs coming from the left side of the ship pass right by one of the massive lightning conductors, and just when they are all nicely grouped next to it, Garrus overloads it, zapping all of the mercs in one deadly blow. Meanwhile, Liara lays down singularity fields in the path of the mercs charging in from the right, and most of them get picked up by the gale winds and tossed overboard. Then it becomes simple picking off of the stragglers, and soon after that, the entrance is cracked and they proceed inside.
The resistance within the ship is just as fierce if not fiercer, the operatives spurred on by Shadow Broker's orders on the comms, urgently demanding that they hold their position at any cost. But even at the cost of their lives, they cannot slow down Shepard, Liara and Garrus, surging through their defenses, sensing their target is nearby and growing desperate.
"I've downloaded the ship's layout," Liara says, quickly leaning out of the cover to warp an enemy vanguard's barriers. "We're headed for the prison block... and Feron."
Shortly after, they arrive at their destination to face a horrible sight. The young drell is strapped into some kind of monstrous torture device, apparently having been subjected to painful interrogations in Shadow Broker's care. Liara immediately sets to work on the nearby consoles, trying to manipulate the torture equipment into releasing her friend, but succeeding only in mildly electrocuting the drell, his body arching with a cry of pain. Liara immediately withdraws from the console, frightened to touch it again. They can't get much information out of Feron in his current state, but he at least can tell them that to release him, they need to cut off power from the central operation chamber, where as Feron warns, the Shadow Broker himself is waiting for them.
"Good," Shepard nods. "We can get our two ducks with one shot."
"Ducks?" Liara wonders.
"Birds back on Earth," Shepard reminds her. "You remember, we used to feed them. Not the pigeons, the other ones, those swimming in ponds and channels."
"Every time someone mentions shooting birds I'm getting worried," Garrus remarks.
"You have nothing to worry about, Garrus," Shepard chuckles as they charge down the hallway, to where the Shadow Broker is preparing his last stand. "You're our avian sidekick, we'll make sure nothing happens to you!"
The final barrier eventually falls, the door opens and they step through to come face to face with the Shadow Broker. Shepard has expected to find a wily salarian or perhaps a cunning asari posing as the galaxy's most important information broker, but instead it is a... creature she has never seen before. It's body is as massive as krogan's, but it's head is more insect like, with six black beady eyes, tooth filled oddly shaped maw and small horn-like protrusions at the side of the head, giving it a distinctively devilish appearance.
"Here for the drell?" the creature says, not yet bothering to rise from his seat behind the desk. "Reckless, even for you, Commander. And Dr. T'Soni," he turns towards Liara. "Your interference is to blame for all of this."
"You should have known I would come for Feron," Liara replies fiercely.
"Feron betrayed me when he handed you Shepard's body," the Shadow Broker speaks. "The drell is simply paying his price for betrayal."
"Give up already," Shepard says, aiming her rifle at the Shadow Broker's head. "You have nowhere left to run."
"Ah, but it's not me who is cornered," the disgusting creature replies confidently. "The Collector's offer for your body still stands, Shepard. And Archangel..." he looks at Garrus. "The bounty on you is still outstanding as well, how wonderful. You see, Dr. T'Soni..." the Broker then turns to Liara. "I know everything about everyone, all of your dirty little secrets. There is no way you can hope to defeat me."
"You're not the only one who is good at finding out the most guarded secrets," Liara says, managing to appear supremely confident. "I know who you are, Shadow Broker. You're a yahg, a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their homeworld for massacring the Council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which implies that you killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago and then took over. I imagine you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave... or a pet. There," Liara finishes with a nonchalant smirk. "How am I doing?"
"Brilliantly," Morgan says, impressed, but also worried when she sees the yahg slowly getting to his feet. Goddamnit, he is big. "But I think you managed to piss him off."
With a roar, the yahg smashes his fist against the desk, shattering it in pieces, then quickly launching the pieces of scrap metal at them. Shepard manages to tackle Liara aside, falling on top of her protectively, but Garrus ends up getting hit smack in the face with a flat part of the table, collapsing unconscious.
The yahg quickly draws his submachine gun and is about to open fire, Morgan and Liara quickly scrambling for cover. They circle around the room, diving out of the Shadow Broker's path, relying on their agility and quick reflexes to escape, all the while taking pot-shots at the enraged yahg, slowly whittling down his defenses. However, as soon as they have managed to disable the shields, he simply stops and recharges the barriers, all biotic energy and projectiles bouncing off.
"That shield's kinetically sensitive!" Liara exclaims. "We can't shoot through that!"
"Suggestions?" Morgan shouts back at her.
"Err... punch him in the face?"
"...you have got to be kidding me," Shepard speaks, switching the pistol to her left hand and taking a run up to the yahg, still busy restoring his shields and considering himself to be completely safe from harm. Much to Shepard's surprise, her heavy punch does connect with something soft and squishy, her fist making contact with the yahg's disgustingly toothy mouth. But before she can punch her opponent again, the yahg converts his omni-tool into a physical energy shield and brings it forth to stun Shepard and throw her backwards.
As the Shadow Broker grabs his gun and resumes shooting, Morgan quickly scurries back into safety and the whole deadly dance resumes again. "I've got an idea," Liara shouts at her as Morgan is making her getaway. "But we need to get him to bring that shield up again."
"Let's just keep whittling away at it then," Morgan breathes out heavily, just barely dodging a shower of SMG bullets, rolling to the side and unloading three quick shots in the yahg's stomach, momentarily unprotected by the energy shield. The Shadow Broker roars and charges her, turning his back to Liara, who uses the opportunity to weaken him further more with a well placed warp field.
The chase around goes on for what seems forever, and Morgan is starting to feel very, very tired, feeling every inch of her skin covered with heavy perspiration. But the Shadow Broker's shields are slowly giving way and he moves back to the center of the room to replenish the shields as before. Sensing her opportunity for a few more quick punches to the yahg's disgusting visage, Morgan charges him, but then ducks aside at the last moment, crashing into the remains of a desk as she hears Liara's shout.
"Get out of there, Morgan!" she warns, and as Shepard looks above them, she immediately realizes Liara's intentions. There is some kind of an energy source in the ceiling of the room, and the Shadow Broker is using it to power his shields, but now it becomes the target of Liara's biotic attack. "Get into cover!" the asari yells, ducking out of the way and Shepard follows her example, as the device overloads and deafening explosion comes down right on top of the Shadow Broker, throwing small yahg bits all over the room.
It is finally over. The Shadow Broker is dead.
Liara approaches her, panting heavily, exhausted by the effort. Morgan herself feels completely spent, unable to say a word. They are surrounded by almost near darkness, power surge from disabling the Shadow Broker shield restoring equipment frying the entire grid and likely freeing Feron from his torture equipment.
Soon enough, however, the power is restored through the backup grid and lights come back on, together with dozens and dozens of computer terminals around the central communications hub. "Shadow Broker, this is Operative Murat. We had a momentary connection failure. Can you confirm status?" the panicked agents report in one after another.
"Operative Shora requesting update. Are we still online?"
"Shadow Broker, I've lost our feed. We are online and awaiting instructions."
Above all, Morgan is worried by Liara's reaction as the asari watches the terminals coming online one after another. Her breathing is quickened, arms shaking and her eyes are blinking rapidly, as she slowly walks up to the consoles. What are you doing, Liara? What are you doing? Morgan mentally shouts. Get in, grab Feron and get out! That was the plan! What are you doing!
Liara picks up the commlink, now suddenly looking calm and confident. "This is the Shadow Broker," the words coming from her lips stun Morgan. "The situation is under control. We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware. It disrupted communications momentarily. However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures."
"No! Die, you bastard!" suddenly there is a voice behind their backs, as Feron charges into the room, brandishing a pistol he has picked up from a fallen operative. He freezes as soon as he sees that it is Liara speaking into the commlink, looking at her, at a complete loss, as is Shepard. "...Liara? But... how?"
"I want a status report on all operations within the next solar day. Shadow Broker out," Liara finishes before turning around to face their shocked stares. "Everyone who has seen him in person is dead..." she says quietly.
"You are the new Shadow Broker," Feron confirms what Morgan has been already suspecting.
And there we go. I came all this way only to lose her again... to this, the first reaction that goes through her head is crushing disappointment. She won't be joining me. That much is certain now. "Are you really sure about this, Liara?" she speaks, her voice barely a whisper. "Is this truly what you want?"
Liara approaches her, also looking saddened but despite that, certain of her choice. "What I want is to help you the best I can, Morgan. Can we really afford to lose this?" she asks quietly. "His contacts, his trading sources, all of this intel... it could help us against the Collectors. And against the Reapers... we know they are the real threat behind it all." She draws a sharp breath, her voice trembling. "With this information, I can give you... I can..."
"I'll, uh... check the power systems," Feron mutters and quickly disappears, dragging a still slightly woozy looking Garrus with him, unwilling to intrude on what is quickly becoming a deeply personal moment between Shepard and Liara.
When the door behind them closes, and Morgan and Liara are alone, the mask finally comes off. The tears come like great floods and Morgan quickly swoops Liara in her arms, waiting patiently until she has finished crying. "I can't believe it is finally over," Liara sobs in her shoulder. "These past two years... I have spent mourning you and fearing for Feron's life, and now... now I have you both back, I... I don't know what to say..."
"You promised to allow yourself to think about the future, once we get Feron back," Morgan reminds her.
"I did, but... I guess I just made a choice, didn't I?" Liara says, eyes downcast as she tries to pull away, but Shepard does not allow her, holding the asari tightly. "Please, Morgan... so much has changed. You have your mission and I now have this..."
Morgan has finally had enough. "The only thing that matters in this are our feelings for each other. I still want you, Liara. And I think you still want me," she speaks, tracing the contours of Liara's chin with her fingers, pressing a thumb against her lips to silence any answer the asari might give. Then she simply leans in and kisses Liara on the lips, deeply, letting all the pent up emotion flow over, releasing it into that one kiss that lasts for what seems like eternity, leaving them both breathless as they finally break it off. "I finally have you again," Morgan says, aware of the tears on her own cheeks. "And I'm not letting you go. No way in hell."
"Okay... okay..." Liara breathes, overcome by emotion. She smiles through the shine of tears. "You are right, I cannot deny what I feel, and I suppose it is plain to see. I will... no longer seek to discourage you, Morgan. I am yours, and you are mine, and let us leave it at that."
"As it should be," Morgan smiles, and they kiss, again and again, relief and exhaustion almost starting to give way to wild passion before they stop each other with sheer force of will.
"We should... probably focus on the immediate situation," Liara speaks, albeit reluctantly.
"Yeah," Morgan nods. "What do we have here?"
"It will take me a while to sort through all this information," Liara says. "But I have little doubt there will be plenty of useful intel for you. Remember, Morgan, Shadow Broker has had extensive dealings with the Collectors. That alone is worth investigating."
"You understand that I hoped you would come with me so that we could face the Collectors together," Morgan remarks, trying to swallow what little remains of her bitterness.
"I... I know," Liara looks at her, wracked with guilt. "But... can you truly ask me to abandon this, knowing what is at stake?" Shepard knows that she cannot ask that. She shakes her head, allowing Liara to relax. "And this time, I will not remain a stranger, I promise that."
"Okay," Morgan says, feeling a little better. "And Liara... promise me one thing, please."
"What?" Liara looks at her.
"Promise me that you will only be taking over as the Shadow Broker until we have defeated the Reapers once and for all."
Liara smiles. "That I can safely promise, Morgan," she says earnestly.
"Good. Good, that's good," Morgan repeats. "I should... probably allow you to get settled here," she says. "Still... it would be good to see you back on Normandy before we leave again. There is... much left to discuss."
"Yes, I believe there is," Liara agrees. "Give me a few hours to gather my bearings, please. Then I'll stop by your quarters... oh, Morgan... you wouldn't still have some of that chocolate cake stashed away somewhere?"
Morgan can only laugh at that. "I sure do, Liara. I sure do."
"Excellent!" Liara grins. "Then wait for me. I'll be along shortly..."