Chapter 129 - First Signs Of Fracture
"You have all been forwarded with the latest updates from our science teams working on the relay restoration," Admiral Steven Hackett speaks to the other members of this latest vid conference. Also present are all three alien councilors, Primarch Victus, Matriarch Lidanya and the quarian Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay.
"As you can see, the researchers have very thoroughly identified all the tasks before them, as well as the projected time and resources needed for the completion of every stage. The limiting factor now becomes the resources available to us. As you are aware, all the major industrial centers on Earth have been destroyed and it is taking a lot of time to make them operational, even with the gracious aid of all the other races," Hackett finishes.
"Almost everything except several components needed in the latter stages of the project can be easily mass produced," the salarian councilor, Valern, is the first to speak up, his quick mind comprehending the vast amount of information the fastest. "This should not be treated as an excuse for any delays, Admiral Hackett. The speed at which the factories are rebuilt needs to be increased, it is as simple as that."
"The geth possess the technology to produce the more complicated installations," Admiral Raan remarks. "They would also be very useful in aiding the restoration of the destroyed industrial complexes. We saw their efficiency when they helped us with rebuilding Rannoch."
"But I understand that they have been denied access to land planetside?" the asari councilor, Tevos, faces Hackett with an inquiring stare. "What is the reason for this, Admiral Hackett?"
"The majority of my fellow admirals still treat the geth as a massive security threat, Madame Councilor," Hackett replies politely, even if personally he disagrees with the narrow-minded opinions of Singh and his many fellow admirals.
"This is unacceptable," Victus, the leader of the Turian Hierarchy, speaks up angrily. "The more delays you cause to the relay restoration, the more of my people risk dying of starvation if this process takes too long!"
"I strongly agree," his fellow turian, Councilor Sparatus, nods. "Admiral Raan, we need to debate more in depth about your latest food supply projections after we have finished this meeting."
"Do you require any aid in mediating your talks?" Councilor Tevos kindly offers.
"No, thank you, Madame Councilor," Raan speaks up quickly. "Primarch Victus and Councilor Sparatus have been most courteous and considerate in the face of this very difficult situation."
"If the Alliance won't cooperate, this doesn't forbid us from inviting the geth to the enclaves that have been assigned for our use," Matriarch Lidanya wisely suggests. "In fact, we have already extended an invitation for the geth to set up a small base inside the asari camp."
"And so have our people," Raan says. "We will make sure that the relay reconstruction continues at maximum speed, despite the Alliance... making awkward decisions that do not hasten the process."
"That is an acceptable loophole, and while my fellow admirals will not be pleased, they will also be unable to do anything about it," Hackett nods approvingly.
"Perhaps your fellow admirals need to concentrate more on the issues at hand, instead of doing highly inappropriate backdoor campaigning for the open post of humanity's councilor," Tevos say sternly, making Hackett inwardly curse Singh again.
"Especially if the one candidate we would prefer for this post is currently still recovering on the Citadel," Sparatus adds, looking annoyed as well, no doubt also being pestered by Singh and possibly some others.
"I agree that Shepard would be the obvious choice, but it is doubtful she will want the honor, even if she recovers," Hackett says ponderously, knowing full well that he would have a very difficult task in convincing his fellow admirals into nominating Shepard.
"As I have been telling your admirals, this is not the time for these sort of games," Tevos continues. "Also, I would like to take this opportunity to remind that no matter what candidate you come up with, the Council will always reserve the right to veto them."
"I can only offer apologies for any indiscreet behavior on the part of my peers," Hackett says uncomfortably. "But I feel we are digressing from the issues at hand. Councilor Valern... the salarians are the only Council race who so far have refrained from committing larger forces groundside to assist with the rebuilding. May I inquire as to the reasons?"
"We are concerned about the safety of our people," Valern replies curtly. "The comments about the reluctance of the Salarian Union to enter this war are being blown entirely out of proportion. Our people are facing prejudice because of the assertion that they were unwilling to help the galactic community in this battle. There are tiresome assertions over some of the diplomatic channels that the Salarian Union should be excluded from the Galactic Council."
"That will not happen, my friend," Tevos moves to quickly assure her old colleague, as always looking to preserve the peace and smoothen any misunderstandings. "The salarians do not have to fear being abandoned. We are aware of the difficult political situation on Sur'Kesh and the reasons behind those developments. Your people will not be judged harshly for it."
"Especially when it was the choices made by a human who put us in this difficult position," Valern continues. "I do not blame Shepard for her actions on Tuchanka, it seems that for now history has proven her correct, though the long term consequences remain unclear."
"We must make sure to invite Urdnot Wrex to these meetings as soon as his health improves," Primarch Victus says. "The krogan should not be allowed to feel excluded, for the sake of galactic peace. Their request for embassy should be considered carefully as well."
"The quarians would like to extend a similar request, and we believe that we deserve this opportunity in light of our recent actions," Shala'Raan quickly inserts.
"The Council will debate this, Admiral Raan, though on my part I can promise that I will be sympathetic to your cause," Councilor Tevos offers a small smile to the quarian.
"We can debate the possible expansion of the Council at a later time," Valern says impatiently. "But there was more I wished to add about the safety concerns that have been encountered planetside. We have heard about the problems that the asari are facing, and these reports compound our fears. Matriarch Lidanya can undoubtedly explain more."
Hackett has rarely seen the usually composed Lidanya upset, but this is one of those rare occasions when her beautiful face is twisted with a brief grimace of anger. "Yes... I am... shocked and saddened by some of the reports we are receiving from Earth," she grinds out tersely. "Apparently, the area allocated to the Asari Republics shares borders with zones of increased unrest, rife with criminal elements. I have received almost two dozen reports of attacks on our people, mostly with... sexual intent," she stops for a moment, the matriarch is so incensed that her shoulders are shaking, making Hackett groan inwardly, having had no knowledge that the situation groundside is this bad.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Matriarch Lidanya," Hackett says. "Did these crimes occur while your people were in their enclave or within their assigned restoration zone?"
"What does it matter? Some of our maidens are getting raped and murdered!" Lidanya fumes. "You can't expect them to remain cooped up in their prefab shelters the whole time!"
"Once again, I am deeply sorry for the loss of your people, but the Alliance does not have the situation under control yet, and as such, there will be areas that are more dangerous than others," Hackett explains politely. "I would advise that your people take extreme care when moving through unsecured areas and do so only while well armed and in numbers. We do not have the manpower to assign more protection for the asari."
"I must say that this does not reflect well on humanity," Tevos shakes her head sadly. "We are sending our people down there with only the best of intentions, and in turn they are subjected to such treatment... I am very, very disappointed, Admiral."
"This unrest is largely caused by the heavy presence of the Blue Suns and Eclipse mercenary groups in the area," Hackett remarks. "Both of these groups are controlled by an asari... one Aria T'Loak, unless I am mistaken?"
"This is a false assertion, I can personally assure you that Aria T'Loak is not in charge of whatever operations these mercenary groups might be conducting groundside," Tevos replies defensively, almost angrily. "Her deal with these mercenaries only concerned their aid in the battle against the Reapers, and she has relinquished control of these groups back to their respective leaders. In case of the Blue Suns, it would be a human by the name of Darner Vosque."
"Do you expect me to believe that Aria would just-"
"Yes, I would," Tevos unexpectedly raises her voice to cut Hackett off, surprising everyone present. "And you will believe it, because it is the truth. Now, since you appear both unwilling and unable to deal with these security issues, we will be increasing the deployment of our troops groundside to better protect our own people."
"We need more prefab shelters to accommodate more troops, Councilor," Lidanya adds quickly. "Already, some of our commandos are forced to live in unacceptable conditions."
"We would be able to deploy more soldiers and engineers as well if we had more prefabs," Victus says, nodding at Lidanya.
"Again, the geth could be instrumental in setting up comfortable and simple housing on a very short notice, we saw their work on Rannoch," Raan jumps in helpfully.
"As I mentioned before, you are free to invite the geth into your respective enclaves if you desire so," Hackett shrugs, starting to get tired of being put into the position of the Council's personal pinata by his own fellow admirals. "We will increase the manufacture of the prefabs soon, but the choice whether to wait or turn to the geth for aid is ultimately yours."
"Then we will proceed accordingly," Tevos nods curtly.
"And to your colleagues, Admiral Hackett, I wish to say only this," Councilor Sparatus speaks up. "Regarding their reluctance in cooperating with us... I would have thought they would do everything in their power to fix the relays as quickly as possible, so that all the scary aliens can go home and leave you humans alone, as you apparently want to be. To slow down our efforts at repairing the relays seems counterproductive with what they are hoping to achieve."
"You have completely misunderstood the intentions of Systems Alliance, I assure you," Hackett says, growing a little annoyed himself. "Now... if there are no more issues on the agenda..." Everyone stays silent, much to his relief. "Very well then, dis-" He winces inwardly, cutting the sentence off while silently cursing himself for almost dismissing the councilors out of pure habit. "I mean, we will reconvene again in twenty-four hours..."
"Sam! Samantha!" Specialist Traynor slowly pulls herself away from the consoles, hearing Lia'Vael calling out her name. Between watching several news feeds simultaneously, as well as trying to concentrate on an extranet game of chess against Gabby down in the engineering, Samantha often finds herself lacking awareness to notice that someone is addressing her. "Sam, you've got a visitor coming onboard!" Lia finishes.
"Oh? Visitor?" Samantha wonders. "I'm not expecting anyone!"
"Well, then you're in for a surprise, I guess," the young quarian shrugs. "Listen, Sam... I'm going to take a little shore leave now, Tali told me to go out and relax a little bit, and so I've decided to listen to her."
"Sure, nothing much is happening here anyway," Traynor smiles. "Is Tali coming with you?"
"No... ah, I'm meeting Kal... err, I guess it would be Admiral Reegar now, wouldn't it?" Lia hesitates, looking at the ground as if she were ashamed. "I mentioned that I've never been on the Presidium before... so he kindly offered to accompany me."
"That's lovely, I hope you'll have good time," Samantha's grin widens and even if she can't see under Lia's faceplate, she knows that the young quarian is blushing furiously. Lia'Vael then turns around to swiftly make her way to the airlock, almost running into the visitor, coming onboard to see Samantha. The first reaction Traynor has is to let out a cheerful exclamation of joy as she sees Jack stomping over to the CIC, but when she sees the face of the human biotic her cheerfulness fades instantly, Jack looks depressed and angry, pushing her hands away when Samantha tries to embrace her.
"Not in the mood for the touchy-feely shit right now, Sam," Jack snaps harshly, and Samantha does her best to force herself from assuming an expression of disappointment.
"What's wrong? Tell me!" Traynor asks, watching Jack begin pacing back and forth the CIC like a caged panther. "Come on, Jack, you wouldn't have come here if you didn't want to speak with me..." she continues to prod when answers are still not forthcoming.
Jack sighs deeply, stopping in her tracks. "Everything's just gone to shit, Sammie. Spent last twelve hours sitting bedside next to the last of my students, Rodriguez. Damn, the little bitch had the audacity to die in the end, after all that... fuck, she was the last of them, Sam, the last of my students. They're all gone... all down to the last."
"Oh... gods," Samantha gasps, shocked. "I... I'm so sorry. But Jack... I hope you're not blaming yourself for their deaths... you could not have prepared them better in the short amount of time you had with them!"
"Of course. Could have done a few things differently, but when a destroyer turns that red beam of nasty shit on you, it wouldn't have really mattered, would it?" Jack spits angrily. "So no, not blaming myself. The Reapers killed them, not I."
"You cared about them so much," Samantha feels an errant tear escaping her eye, her heart breaking for this young woman in front of her, someone who she actually barely knows, but has become so fond of in this short time. "I... I just wish you'd let me comfort you..."
"Oh, you don't want to be anywhere near me, Sam, I haven't had a shower for three days," Jack shakes her head. "Was hoping that maybe you could fix me up for that... and a warm bunk to sleep for a few hours. I wonder if my old place in the engineering is still free..."
"Which one is that?" Traynor asks.
"I'll show you, if you can set me up with a warm, comfy shower," Jack says.
"Hmm... alright, I think I can do that..." Samantha replies, then an idea suddenly occurring to her, making her grin wickedly. "In fact, let's skip on the crappy showers on the female bathrooms. Shepard and Liara won't be coming back onboard for a long time, and I've always wondered about the shower Commander has up in her quarters..."
"That's... kinda kinky," Jack remarks, giving Traynor a slightly surprised stare. "Next you'll tell me that you're going to join me for that shower."
"Of course I will," Traynor nods, before adding quietly. "Couldn't get one hot girl into that shower, at least I'll get another."
"...what was that?" Jack asks, peering at her curiously.
"Nothing..." Samantha musters an innocent expression on her face. "Absolutely nothing."
"It is beautiful, even now," Lia'Vael remarks, looking across the remains of the Presidium, many of its shops and restaurants lying in ruin, the bridges crossing the numerous ponds and channels have collapsed, and yet there is still a certain kind of tranquility to be found even amongst all this wreckage. The concentration of the keepers seems to be thickest here, the mute workers busy in restoring what they apparently consider to be the very nexus of the Citadel.
"Yes, though I wish you could have witnessed it before the destruction," Kal'Reegar says. "I have seen it only once before myself, while playing a decorated honor guard to Admiral Han'Gerrel during a rare diplomatic visit. Though, I think it was actually a cover for an illegal weapons deal."
"They never allowed me here on the Presidium when I stopped by the Citadel during my Pilgrimage. I don't think they let any quarians up here, unless they were with someone important like Admiral Gerrel."
"Lia, it doesn't sound like you have very happy memories from your previous visit to the Citadel," Kal asks.
"No... I was robbed a few hours after setting my feet off the freighter... I was forced to live in some terrible slums for months, trying to make a few credits on some odd engineering jobs. Even spent two weeks behind bars, after some volus accused me of stealing his credit chit," she sighs heavily at the memories.
"Did you?"
"No... no, of course not! But... the C-Sec officer, a human, he didn't even look for evidence. He found a quarian and ran me in just to please the volus. They found the credit chit two weeks later, the volus had just left it at a nearby shop. They... they never even apologized."
"That's... disgusting," Kal'Reegar snarls, clenching his fists angrily. "But I hope that with our actions during this war, the quarian people have changed the way the rest of the galaxy views us."
"I hope so too," Lia'Vael nods. "Besides... having much smarter people on the Admiralty Board will help. Admiral Gerrel went to great lengths to ruin our reputation even further."
Kal lets out a sigh. "More pressure and expectations to deal with, I have a good mind to just tell them to find someone else for the job, it's... not for me, Lia, I'm a soldier, not a diplomat. I shoot things!"
"Tali'Zorah also likes to get her hands dirty and she's on the Admiralty Board," Lia argues. "I think we actually need more brave quarians like you two, who can get things done, not just speak empty proverbs."
"Hmm... a good point, I hadn't considered that perspective. Perhaps I should not be so hasty in rejecting the offer," Kal'Reegar speaks thoughtfully. "So, do you think I should accept?"
"Oh, absolutely!" Lia'Vael exclaims passionately. "I think you will make a great admiral, Kal! But... well, ultimately, it's your choice..."
"Well, with such a passionate vote of confidence, how could I refuse?" Kal replies, taking her hand and briefly squeezing it, silence setting in after that instinctive gesture seems to have rendered them both incredibly self-conscious.
"I... I hope you don't think that I am..." Lia finally stammers, looking as if she is potentially considering the option of turning around and quickly dashing away. "...uh, pushing you to accept it because of some... inappropriate, ulterior motive..."
"I would never think that, and I feel I have to apologize... it was never my intention to make you uncomfortable or act with disrespect toward you and your feelings," Kal bows, speaking with regret.
"You... have not done so, I assure you... it's just that everything is still so fresh, so raw... and here I am spending time with a dashing hero of our people, a would-be Admiral, and the crew of the Normandy are already gossiping and I just feel so guilty knowing that I should be deep in mourning and yet..."
"Now hold on there," Kal reaches out to stop her flow of words, shaking his head in confusion. "You feel guilty about spending time with me?"
"No... I feel guilty about not feeling bad about spending time with you..." Lia begins to sob, then quickly turning around, evading his attempts to catch her hand and quickly dashing away.
Kal'Reegar sighs in exasperation, looking after the young quarian as she quickly makes her escape. "For eight years I've been married to my rifle..." he speaks to himself quietly. "Certainly has been a far less complicated relationship than dealing with real women... so damn confusing."
The two days spent in Shalta Wards hospital crawl by in slow and terrifying agony for Liara. Even following her meld with her bondmate, she hasn't been completely reassured whether Morgan would hold her promise and resume fighting again, but Dr. Michel had informed her about the encouraging signs a few hours later, letting her relax a little bit, even if Morgan's recovery had been torturously slow even then. It is only now, two days later, that they have unhooked Morgan from some of those dreadful tubes, and still Michel insists on keeping the Commander sedated for at least a few more days, to save her from some of the horrible pain she would be exposed to if conscious.
The knowledge that Shepard will live is comforting, but Liara's heart is never restful and at peace during these times. Shepard might forgive the forceful, cruel intrusion in her mind, but Liara is not certain whether she can forgive herself so easily, even if she knows that these terrible, shameful actions have saved the life of her bondmate. I will never submit anyone else to such treatment, I know that and I will keep that promise. These were exceptional circumstances and they will never repeat, I will not go down that road again just because I have done once so already. She repeats this to herself every waking moment, until after some time she starts to genuinely believe it herself, a little weight being lifted off her shoulders.
Still, the guilt returns in full force whenever her thoughts drift to the tiny seed of life growing inside her, their child that her reckless actions have endangered way beyond acceptable. Tests are being carried out every day, but at this stage of pregnancy not even the more knowledgeable asari doctors can promise anything or predict how the situation will develop. This uncertainty leads to Liara spending her days in a state of increased agitation, worrying about Shepard's eventual reaction, feeling that Morgan might feel disgusted or resent her for her foolishness in endangering the baby. The mere thought that she might have done something that would eventually rob their child from being able to lead a normal life is more than Liara can bear, sending her in a frenzied state of near panic, Michel forced to constantly administer her with mild sedatives.
As far as concerning Liara's physical state, that awful, constricting brace keeping the bones in her shoulder together has been removed just a few hours ago by Chloe Michel, the doctor happy with how her injuries are healing. Only the fractured bones in her leg have not fully set in yet, so the shin brace stays on for now, and tomorrow she is due for some cosmetic surgery to remove the last signs of scarring on her chin and shoulder, where the spinning Mako, launched in the air by Harbinger's beam, struck her, leaving deep wounds. Soon, very soon, the last reminders of this horrible conflict would be erased from her skin and she would be fully recovered. If only the scars that this war has left upon our souls could be erased just as easily...
Today, Dr. Michel has finally allowed her to start accepting visitors and access the extranet, and there are plenty of people wanting to see her and even more demanding to know about Shepard's condition, praying that the savior of the galaxy survives her final battle. Naturally, Garrus and Tali had been the first to visit, staying with her for many hours, helping her meet and socialize with all the others coming to visit, and she had been happy for the presence of the couple, basking in their tender support and gaining strength from it.
Aria had stopped by as well, and for some reason Liara had actually expected it. The change in the Pirate Queen was obvious to see, the powerful and intimidating matron less quick to dish out her harsh insults, appearing more thoughtful and slightly respectful, even if she had avoided expressing open feelings like sympathy and concern, Liara had sensed that they were present and that was good enough for her.
The Normandy crew had stopped by as well, of course, Traynor, Cortez, Gabby, Ken, Lia'Vael, having dragged Jack with them from somewhere, all rejoicing in the news that Shepard would eventually recover. Chakwas had joined them as well over a vid call, everyone exhilarated to see their beloved doctor finally up and walking again, steady on her road to full recovery from the most serious of head traumas. There had been no messages coming from Joker yet, and Liara had been most concerned about their old pilot from how Tali had briefly mentioned that they should discuss something about Jeff's behavior as of late, not knowing what to think and expect.
The Council had come to visit as well, led by Tevos and followed by Sparatus and Valern, something Liara had obviously expected, feeling just a little alarmed from how Tevos had gushed about Shepard being the perfect candidate for the open vacancy of humanity's councilor, not sure how she felt about her bondmate tied to such time consuming post. Still, it had been satisfying to hear the councilors singing praises to them both, before they had left to visit Wrex, slowly recovering in another Citadel ward, the councilors realizing the importance of playing nice with the krogan, knowing that the key was to keep Wrex and his people involved in the decision making from now on.
The Alliance brass had visited as well, Hackett and a horde of admirals in tow, but that visit had worn Liara's patience thin and Michel had forbidden any more visitors after that. Admiral Hackett himself had been very cordial and friendly with her, as always, but she could not say the same for the rest, gathering strong feelings of resentment from one or two of Hackett's colleagues. There had even been one remark about not wanting to leave Shepard in the care of suspicious alien doctors, prompting Dr. Michel to sternly insist that the time for visitors had abruptly come to an end.
There had been countless many supportive and inquisitive messages on her omni-tool after that, Kasumi, Miranda, Grunt and many others asking about her wellbeing and Shepard's health, and she had replied to them all patiently, until Michel had confiscated her omni-tool, switched it off and helped her get back into the bed to get some of that much needed rest.
But through all her travails, Liara simply missed her bondmate, her goofy smile and sometimes awkward manner, her cultural faux-passes and ill-timed humor that served to make Liara permanently embarrassed, her all encompassing and unconditional love and devotion, her supportive shoulder, and especially her sensual touch that could make Liara forget about everything else in the galaxy. And though she could always reach Shepard through the deep meld if the waiting became too unbearable, Liara was not willing to intrude in her bondmate's mind without permission again, restricting herself to this agonizing wait, praying for Morgan's swift recovery.
She would wait for as long as it was necessary, days, weeks, months. Because in the end, she would always be certain of one thing. Her bondmate was worth enduring the worst agony and any sacrifice.