A/N: Oh dear, it's another transitional chapter. But it has some Liara fluff, so I think you'll forgive me for it. And in case you were wondering, yes, next chapter will have a certain game of chess.
Chapter 80 - New Leads, New Opportunities
The next morning, Commander Morgan Shepard takes her crammed breakfast tray with her to the medbay, hoping to have a hearty meal together with her favorite asari, but upon entering, she finds Liara already chomping down some of that disgusting asari seafood that she loves so much. "I see Karin is spoiling you," she smiles, looking at Dr. Chakwas, who simply rolls her eyes in reply. "I thought I'd bring food for both of us, there's no way that I'll be able to finish all this by myself."
"Thank you, Commander, I have not managed to have my breakfast yet, so I believe I will make good on your offer," Chakwas smiles, coming to her aid.
"How is our adorable patient doing this morning?" Shepard asks of Chakwas, mentally chuckling at the affronted look on Liara's face for being ignored.
"Remarkably well," Chakwas admits, smearing some of the supposedly-cherry flavored near-jam on her hardly-a-toast. "There were no fractures sustained with the injury, the surgery repaired whatever damage was done to the internal organs, and soft tissue regeneration is trivial for modern medicine. I should be able to clear Dr. T'Soni for ground missions in... I would say three days."
"Let's make it two, Dr. Chakwas," Liara suggests, giving the good doctor a pleading stare.
"Fine, two days, but only because you would not have listened to me anyway," Chakwas grins, but then turns serious just as quickly. "I just can't believe that Kaidan would do something like this," she says, shaking her head.
"It was a... misunderstanding," Liara says softly. "I do not blame Kaidan for what he did. In fact, I hoped to suggest that we offer him place with us on the Normandy."
"I've been thinking about that, yes," Morgan nods. "And Liara is right, we should not be so hard on Kaidan. He didn't actually mean to shoot Liara, he was about to shoot me!"
"And that makes everything alright?" Chakwas wonders. "You are being far too forgiving. And in your case, Commander, far too flippant."
"Aww, but Karin, haven't you noticed that I piss people off all the time?" Shepard asks with that irrepressible grin of hers. "It's a completely understandable reaction towards me!"
"Uh-huh," Liara shakes her head.
"I thought you would agree," Shepard smiles. "Say, Liara, I ran into an old friend yesterday. Someone you might remember."
"Balak? Oh, I know all about that," Liara replies, then realizes what she has said and shuts up, but it is too late.
"So you did sneak away to your quarters after I dragged you back here once already?" Morgan glares at her, before turning to Chakwas. "Doctor, I think what we have here is an extremely disobedient patient."
"I see," Chakwas approaches Liara, looking stern and reprimanding, before reaching down and picking something up from the asari's breakfast tray, shrugging off Liara's protest. "That means no dessert for you, young lady," she says, carrying the plate away, ignoring the sulking asari.
"He told me some very interesting things before we staged our little shootout," Shepard says. "Remember you mentioned something called the Leviathan of Dis in your information broker files?"
"Some salarian fringe scientists speculated that it was a corpse of a massive Reaper capitol ship, but this theory has always been suppressed by official sources," Liara nods.
"Well, what do you know, it was a Reaper corpse, after all," Shepard states. "The batarians yoinked it from under everyone's noses from Hades Gamma and took it to... study."
"Goddess..." Liara pales with realization. "They would have become indoctrinated... all of them!"
"That's exactly what happened, and why the batarian worlds fell so quickly," Shepard nods. "Those poor bastards had no clue about indoctrination and its effects. In the end, it even makes me a little sorry for what happened to them. Their leaders dug graves for their entire race..."
"There might not be enough of them left to recover, even if we win this war, I agree," Liara says glumly. "But if we don't hurry up, the same might be true of our people, Morgan. We need to end this soon, my projections show Thessia falling in less than a month at the rate we are losing ground."
Morgan feels her heart sinking at Liara's words. "Yeah... unfortunately I have no clue where to look for this Catalyst."
"There is another thing that I have to speak to you about," Liara says. "Something came in from the asari High Command... however, it is rather confidential, so..." she gives a shy sidelong stare at Dr. Chakwas, looking guilty for trying to chase the doctor out of her own medbay.
"I'm going, I'm going," Karin chuckles, as she gets up to leave. "Wouldn't dream to keep you lovebirds from sharing your secrets!"
"Thanks, Karin," Shepard says gratefully as the doctor leaves, before turning back to Liara. "Yes, Tevos told me there might be something we should look into. I'm guessing it was Aethyta who thought of passing this to you?"
"That would be a safe assumption," Liara nods. "I do not think the others would be so keen to involve someone of as questionable repute as myself. The asari High Command have sent several commando teams to investigate a distress call from Mesana System in the Nimbus Cluster, but none have returned."
"I imagine Aethyta thinks that we could score some points with the asari leadership if we took up the initiative upon ourselves to investigate," Shepard muses. "And you know what... I think she might be right. We'll do it!"
"I'm pleased you agree. I would like to accompany you on the ground mission, but I would also not want you to delay because of me being stuck in the medbay," Liara says.
"It can wait a day or two, I'm sure," Shepard shrugs. "Have I ever told you how awesome your dad is? She'll make an amazing father-in-law, too."
Liara smiles softly. "Yes, she is... certainly special."
"So, considering you probably spent at least an hour reading the Shadow Broker feeds..."
"Uh... four hours..." Liara admits with her eyes downcast, as Shepard's mouth hangs wide open in dismay. "And... I probably shouldn't mention this... but after that I spent a few hours on the Crucible plans... but I did solve several important equations!"
"Liara!" Shepard raises her voice at her lover. "That is just... too irresponsible even for you! I'm going to have to tie you to the bed!"
"Hmm, that seems to hold a lot of potential, considering what I have read about preferences of some humans..." Liara replies, Shepard feeling her cheeks grow warm from the implication.
"Don't even try to distract me with temptation, young lady," she admonishes Liara. "Now, you're going to stay in bed for the rest of the day, and you are going to get a lot of rest! Seriously, Liara... I want you to get back to full health as quickly as possible. I need you by my side, you know that."
Liara actually looks guilty now. "I'm sorry, I... I just had fallen so far behind, I was simply unable to stay away from my other duties. Now that I have caught up with the Broker feeds... which, incidentally, contain the same depressing news as before, only becoming increasingly worse... I think I will be able to keep myself from sneaking out of the medbay."
"That is good. That's what I like to hear," Morgan stands next to the asari's bed, leaning down, gently cupping Liara's cheek with her hand before her lips descend to claim Liara's in a heated, needy kiss, her hand slowly moving to caress the asari's crest, hearing Liara softly moaning in her mouth, her arms reaching out to wrap around Morgan's waist, pulling her down on the bed, firmly pressed against Liara's body, shaking with need and desire. However, despite wishing nothing else but to continue, Morgan pulls away a while later.
"See, this is why you need to be a good girl and recover swiftly, my love," she says teasingly, watching Liara's slightly glazed eyes staring at her in disbelief, the asari's chest rising and falling powerfully with the increase of her breathing. With sheer force of will, Shepard pulls herself away from Liara and walks towards the medbay doors. "Perhaps we can continue from where we left off later tonight..."
Specialist Samantha Traynor tracks her down soon after Shepard has parted with Liara in the medbay, claiming she has important information to share with Morgan. "Commander, I realize there's a lot going on right now," Samantha starts, as soon as Shepard approaches her at the CIC. Boy, you're not wrong there, Traynor. "Still, I believe I have found something you should see."
"Alright, hit me," Shepard says.
"I have intel on a group of Cerberus scientists that have cut ties and fled," Traynor explains. "Perhaps they finally realized they were on the wrong side. We don't know what they were researching, but they were amongst the Illusive Man's top scientists. They could help us build the Crucible."
"Yeah, he's been into studying Reaper and Prothean tech, so I'm sure they'd be of huge help," Shepard nods. Unless they're indoctrinated. It only takes one sleeper agent to betray the entire Crucible project and doom the galaxy. Hackett will need to be extremely cautious with these people.
"I hoped you would agree. That is why I have been monitoring Cerberus communications," Traynor says, looking a little pleased with herself. "I've charted signal frequency from various Cerberus cells by location and cross-referenced known ship movements..."
Shepard interrupts her patiently. "I'm sorry, Traynor, but do you have the location or not? The techno-babble is utterly and completely lost on me."
"I believe I have," Traynor nods, a little disappointed that Shepard does not appreciate the amazing intricacies of her work. "My research has led me to a nearly forgotten garden world of Gellix in the Arrae System, Minos Wasteland."
"Good job, Sam, we'll take care of it," Shepard smiles, Traynor looking exhilarated from the praise. Perhaps it's time to split our forces again. I promised Liara to look into those asari concerns, and while we do that, the others could help out those Cerberus scientists... hopefully it's not all just a ruse to lead Cerberus to the Crucible...
"Uh... Commander, umm, if I may speak..." Traynor quickly inserts, as Shepard is about to depart. "I... I just wanted to remind you that the offer for a game of chess still stands... after what happened on the Citadel, I'm sure that... we all could do with little something to take our minds off things."
Shepard thinks for a while, pondering whether it would be wise to accept the invitation, but then deciding that refusing outright would be undeservedly rude towards Samantha. "Sure, Traynor. We'll be departing the Citadel soon and we should have more time then. I'll give you a shout on the comms, alright?"
"That sounds perfect, Commander!" Samantha grins broadly.
Shepard runs into the group of Garrus, James and Javik in the mess hall, the three of them engaged in a boisterous banter, filled with plenty of bickering and tales blown out of proportion for the sole purpose to impress each other in a manly way. "Ah, wonderful. I was hoping to run into all of you," Morgan interrupts their heated debates. "I've got a job for you. While Liara, EDI and myself will look into some asari concerns, Normandy will take you to Minos Wasteland. I'll need you to extract some ex-Cerberus scientists from Gellix and send them to work on the Crucible. Garrus, you'll be in charge."
"Of course, Shepard," the turian nods. "I hope this is wise. I'm sure you realize that they could be indoctrinated."
"Hackett will keep them under tight watch, do not worry," Shepard nods.
"These traitors do not deserve a second chance," Javik adds, rather predictably. "They are the worst form of enemy. In our cycle, we would remove their limbs one by one and offer them a choice to eat their own flesh or starve."
"That's cute, but don't even think of applying this kind of treatment to those scientists," Shepard warns him in no uncertain terms. "We need the aid of everyone who have knowledge of Prothean or Reaper tech like these researchers."
"After what happened on the Citadel, I don't feel very merciful towards Cerberus, Lola," James says, not looking particularly pleased. "Just... seems to have taken these folk a bit too long to realize they're on the wrong side here..."
"I guess so, but it's better to develop conscience later than never," Shepard shrugs. "Though I do know what you mean, what happened on the Citadel... you'd hope that it would maybe make more people reconsider their allegiances, but then again, we also know that Cerberus aren't really bothering with recruiting. They just kidnap people and indoctrinate them. We're fighting fleshy robots, not fellow human beings."
"I wonder what was Udina thinking when he sided with them," Garrus ponders. "Even if by some twisted logic he figured out he was doing what's best for the humanity... even if he was in the dark about some of the recent practices of Cerberus, their reputation alone should have been a big warning sign. There's just... no excuse!"
"Yeah... always thought Udina was a dirty bastard," James agrees. "But never thought he could be this rotten... Lola, I just want you to know, I have a new 'shoot first, ask questions later' policy when it comes to politicians."
"Oh great, just when I have finally have got the Council on our side," Shepard sighs theatrically. "At least promise you won't shoot them!"
"Your politician deserved far worse than a bullet," Javik says angrily. "And so did the other human who stood in your way. Leaving him alive was a mistake. There is only one enemy in this war, the Reapers. No others will be tolerated."
Heh, he'll be so pleased if Kaidan ends up joining us on the Normandy, Shepard thinks as Garrus speaks up, giving Javik a condescending glare. "I guess you have never been in a situation where you had a friend at your gunpoint. I wonder, could it have something to do with the fact that you have no friends?"
"And I told you that I am not here to make friends, turian," Javik retorts, then looking up at Shepard. "Commander, I would like to visit the Citadel again at some later point. When it is no longer infested with traitors."
"I'm sure we'll be coming back more than once, Prothy," Shepard replies, Garrus and James both smirking at the nickname and further fuelling Javik's incensed state. "Now if there's nothing else, Traynor will provide all the relevant mission data before you reach your destination," she says, looking at Garrus in particular, still a little worried about his state of mind after the encounter with Udina and Kaidan, but the turian appears to have recovered.
"Everything is fine, Shepard," Garrus replies, as if sensing the concern in her eyes. "It will be even better once we're back in action, with some legitimate targets to shoot at."
"Oh yeah, Lola, there is something, if you have a bit of time?" James pops a question, a little unexpectedly. Shepard nods. "It's a bit... private. Could we step aside?"
"Sure, James," she replies, allowing Vega to lead her down the empty hallway stretching towards the forward batteries, otherwise known as 'The Lair of the Garrus'. "What is it, James?"
James appears strangely nervous and indecisive. "Just wanted to get your honest opinion on something, Lola," he finally says. "What did you do after they asked you to join the N7 program? Was it a no-brainer for you, or did you think about it before accepting?"
Shepard ponders the answer for a while, trying to remember just what she had been thinking at that moment, it seems like several lifetimes ago. "It's a huge commitment, James," she finally replies. "But what sort of a soldier would I be to go through all that training and then chicken out at the last hurdle? I had been working towards that dream for many years. It was a no-brainer for me, yes. Why are you asking?"
"Well..." James starts pacing back and forth. "Even with all the shit that's going on, somebody, somewhere, managed to track me down and forward an N7 commendation. It's dated the same day the Reapers attacked Earth."
"Talk about a kick in the balls," Shepard shakes her head. "I thought that the Alliance had thrown you out to sleep in the doghouse. Maybe when the shit hit the fan, they realized that people like you will be needed to stop the Reapers, huh? Just like I went from being accused of genocide to the hero who everyone expects will save the galaxy."
"Yeah, don't know what to think about it all," James says. "Or does it even have a point, I mean, there won't be a N7 program if we don't win this war. Just... don't know if I'm deserving of this. Last time I had command, I lost almost everyone. And now they want to promote me? Don't know if I'm ready to lead again, have that kind of responsibility."
"The operation on Fehl Prime that you mentioned, right?" Shepard asks, receiving a nod in response. "I've heard about it, and not just your version of it, James. The other reports actually praise your actions, none are as harsh towards you as your own retelling of the events. It seems to me that you were placed in a very tough position and had to make a difficult decision. I've taken many such decisions, as I'm sure you know, and I know how the weight of these decisions can... linger, stay with you and drag you down..."
"And did you know that would be expected of you before joined the N7?"
"Yeah. That's why I was asked. And that's probably one of the reasons why they're asking you," Shepard replies. "James, there's not a single N7 that hasn't sacrificed, either themselves or their soldiers at some point. Vega, this is the Alliance telling you that you're a damn good soldier. And I agree. Don't waste this opportunity."
"Alright, I'll think about it. Seriously," James nods. "Thanks for the talk, Lola. Think I better get back to my hangar now. Gracias."
"Anytime, James," she says, watching the broad-shouldered lieutenant walk away. "Anytime..."