A/N: Here you go, for those who wanted to see a new chapter up on Saturday, please enjoy. :) And have a Happy Easter, folks.
Chapter 137 - What's Your Game, Ms. Lawson?
Several days pass, with Shepard and Liara trying to get used to their new home and surroundings. Liara's explanation that due to her young age, her pregnancy might be slightly more complicated than normally had at first made Morgan deeply worried and almost frantic. Only after Liara had repeatedly insisted that she was taking all precautions and closely following the instructions provided by her obstetrician, Morgan had been able to calm down a little. The following day, Shepard had managed to make Liara rather irritated by continuing to pester her with questions whether she could do anything to help her bondmate and their child, Liara finally snapping at her and claiming that if she wished to help, she would cut back with tiresome questioning that only served to make the asari frustrated and annoyed. The thought that her inquiries might be upsetting Liara and interfering with her attempts to bond with the baby had then forced Morgan to drop the entire issue.
There were more concerns on Liara's part, and Morgan felt delighted that her bondmate shared these worries with her, such as her lover's guilt about the terrible timing of her pregnancy, nervousness about bringing a child into galaxy ruled by uncertainty. In this case, Morgan had reassured Liara quickly, herself feeling guilty from knowing that if not for this unborn child carried by her bondmate, she might not have mustered enough inner strength to fight and live again.
As for Liara's reluctance to raise their daughter on Earth, Morgan had never harbored such intentions in the first place, having always imagined their beautiful blue children to grow up amongst their own people, no matter which asari world, or even the Citadel, it would be. Even though the Reaper War had culminated with the battle for Earth, Morgan herself has never harbored any desire to remain in the Sol System, she has never called Earth her home, and she simply cannot imagine that changing, no matter how much someone might try and force her to remain, she knows she is not cut out for this kind of life grounded on Earth.
I wonder if they'll manage to fix those relays before our child is born? That is the one question on her mind, and she sends a few messages to Kasumi, urging her to get some updates from either Dr. Cole or some other scientist involved in the project. The reply is as inconclusive as she had predicted it might be, estimates between six and nine months. Liara herself is early in the fourth month, her belly slowly starting to swell even if it does not appear very prominent yet, the asari period of gestation apparently being close to twelve months.
Once they had agreed that they will not be staying on Earth after the birth of their child, Liara had appeared far more relaxed, even if Morgan hadn't been able to shake off the feeling that her bondmate was still troubled over something. To distract the asari, Morgan had spent the past few days thinking up various things for them do, mostly involving exploring the countryside, mainly the partly ruined city of Bradford.
Hackett had advised them against wandering into the city unarmed and in civilian clothing, and Shepard quickly came to understand the reason for the warning, even if Bradford could be considered relatively peaceful. While she feels that she could get away by wearing her torn up jeans and loose hoodie, remaining inconspicuous and blending in with the crowds, it is not an option for Liara. And even walking around fully armed, the asari has received a fair share of less than friendly stares, most people not recognizing her and the role she has played in saving their asses, only seeing yet another alien who eats the same food as they do, and because of whom their daily allotment of supplies is so miniscule.
With Shepard's N7 armor giving her instant recognition, something she hardly desires, the pair had eventually decided to limit their forays into the city, neither one of them drawing too much joy from the excursions. The visit to The Black Swan, one of the rare surviving pubs in the city, had been slightly more enjoyable. Past the curfew hour, there had been only Alliance military personnel on the premises, and they had cheered at them and convinced the owner to supply Shepard with free beer for the evening, an honor which Liara had frowned upon and called dubious.
Once Morgan had learned of the steep cost of drinks, with most breweries now either leveled to the ground or drained of their supplies, she could well understand the owner's reluctance to be so generous. With credits rendered useless as a currency on Earth, the costs for drinks were being covered by withdrawals from the food supply chits, and once Morgan had learned of this, her desire to indulge in her slight boozing habits had evaporated instantly, refusing to sacrifice her supplies to feed a parasitic pub owner.
The slight xenophobic undertones in some of their dealings with the locals had soured Liara's feelings about life on Earth even more, and Shepard herself hadn't so far particularly enjoyed the days they have spent in Bradford. Living in this kind of posh, normal looking family home creates a disconcerting illusion of normalcy that is ruined as soon as they leave the house or switch on any of the news channels, faced with the stark reality of the uncertain situation in the galaxy surrounding them. Morgan often feels as if all she wants to do is to rest, as if she is tired of it all, and yet she finds herself unable to sit around the house for days, soon beginning to feel very restless, and Liara is affected exactly the same way, unable to find any sort of peace of mind.
In the evening of the third day, Shepard finally receives a message through the official Alliance channels, quickly setting to read it on her omni-tool. "Ah, fuck it, I was afraid of this," she swears angrily, having digested the message.
"What's wrong, love?" Liara asks, taking her eyes away from the news vids, switching the screens off.
"Looks like I'm expected to show up early tomorrow in Manchester to deliver a rousing speech to the Alliance forces stationed there," she grumbles. "Oh... and the speech is attached, how very thoughtful."
"You're not allowed to speak your own mind?" Liara looks a bit stunned.
"Admiral Singh apparently doesn't think so, for he has crafted this little literary gem for me," Morgan replies, starting to read the speech, her brow wrinkling as she goes through the text. "Son of a bitch," she states, having read the entire speech.
"I do not think that it is biologically possible for Admiral Singh to have been spawned by a canine, is it?" Liara wonders.
Morgan chortles a brief laughter. "No... of course not... it was an insult. If he thinks I'm reading this... he'll be sorely disappointed."
"What is it that you object to, Morgan?"
"Well, there are good things here, too. The patriotic rah-rah, and all that shizzle," Morgan shrugs. "A great deal of recounting the heroism of the Third Fleet... which he commands, incidentally... and not much if anything about the sacrifices of the Hammer forces."
"That hardly seems fair! He is still trying to force you into endorsing his candidacy for the Council post," Liara looks upset too.
"And I'm not really comfortable with asking people to report about possible resistance sympathizers while offering additional supply share as a reward," Shepard snarls. "There will be a lot of desperate people willing to sacrifice their neighbor in order not to starve to death. I knew this was going to happen, I just knew that he would try and do something like this after our talk on the Citadel... Hackett would never ask me to go along with this shit."
"What are you going to do? What are our options?"
"Well, I'm going to creatively modify the speech, of course. Then, I'll just sit and wait for the reaction, before I decided anything further," Shepard replies. "I think he is aware that he has no rights to force me into repeating this tripe, that's why he has remarked that this speech is only a suggested guideline. It is a test to see whether I will bend and break."
"This is all wrong, we should not be fighting the Alliance," Liara turns away, disheartened by the turn of events. "This role they have imagined for you, and by extension, for us... I'm not sure I can tolerate it."
"I don't intend to spend our time here fighting Singh and his crowd," Shepard shrugs. "But I can't expect Hackett to protect me from them, he will probably be quickly undermined if he tried. However... I think there's a way out, if things with the Alliance get too sour."
"Your Spectre status!" Liara realizes instantly.
"Exactly, my sweet," Morgan smiles. "In fact, I believe I will not wait until the situation becomes intolerable, I'll make sure we have a way out in place before I start to bicker with Singh and his fellows. Just let me do this one thing..." she activates her omni-tool and quickly types a message to send on the encrypted Spectre channels. "There, hopefully she notices it soon."
"Are you asking Tevos for a favor?"
"Just requesting a meeting for now," Shepard replies. "Basically, I plan to ask her to invent some kind of task for me that would supersede anything that the Alliance tries to throw at me. Maybe there's even something that the Council does need a helping hand with and we could step in, that would be even better."
"I think that sounds more rewarding than leading Admiral Singh's political campaign," Liara agrees, as the omni-tool beeps again, Shepard receiving a prompt reply.
"Well, that was quick," Shepard opens the message, breaking into a broad smile as she reads it, explaining after Liara's insistent tug on her sleeve. "She hopes we enjoyed visiting her and Aria, and says she would be thrilled to see us both again soon. And Tevos is certain that she can think of something for me to do, but she wants to discuss it with Sparatus and Valern first. She is asking to meet me on the Citadel in two days, and she hopes that you will accompany me."
"Gladly," Liara nods. "Anything to escape this bleak place. And I am due a visit to my obstetrician, Morgan. I think I will use this trip to the Citadel to sort it out."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Morgan nods absentmindedly, not focusing on Liara's words, but more on the tone of the asari's voice which once again suggests to her how unhappy her bondmate is in this place. "I'm... trying to think of something else we could do to make our stay here more bearable. Maybe we could invite some of our friends to come and stay for a bit?"
"That would help, but Tali and Garrus are so awfully busy with their own problems, and I can't blame them," Liara remarks.
"We have more friends than just Tali and Garrus," Shepard argues. "Anyway, I'll see if I can arrange something to make this a bit more fun."
"Morgan, please, do not bother on my behalf, I will be fine," Liara shakes her head.
"Well, I would enjoy some kind of a distraction myself," Shepard smiles. "I suppose we could always visit some of the enclaves, I'm sure people there would be more friendly-" her omni-tool beeps again, this time prompting her to accept a vid call. "Heh, speak of the devil," she chuckles, seeing Wrex's face popping up on the small holo screen.
"Shepard. Liara," Wrex greets them politely.
"Good to see you, Wrex," Liara smiles back.
"Yeah, how's it going on Earth? I was just thinking about you, Wrex," Morgan says.
"It's amazing, Shepard. I'm standing here by the river with both my feet in the water. Shepard," Wrex says gravely. "There really are fish in the water. It's amazing. Real fish. In the water. You've got to come see this. How soon can you be here?"
"Uh... Wrex, we're going to bed soon," Morgan shakes her head, grinning. "I could come visit you and Grunt in the krogan enclave in a few days."
"But Shepard! There are fish in the river! What if they are gone in a few days?" Wrex looks worried.
"Uh, Wrex, it's perfectly normal for fish to be swimming in the river," Shepard rolls her eyes. "They'll still be there by the time we arrive."
"Really?" Wrex blinks, a little disbelieving. "Amazing. I think I'll put the new Aralakh Company on the watch anyway. Fish in the river... who would have thought?"
"Right... well, just keep watching the fish until we get there, Wrex," Shepard says, sighing inwardly. I guess the locals must be happy that the krogan are too enraptured by the fish to cause any trouble. Then again, the Alliance probably expected them to help more with rebuilding, than just standing around all day. "Anyway, we're going to bed now, Wrex. See you in a few days!"
"Right, take care Shepard," Wrex nods. "Damn, I love this planet. It's... just amazing!"
"Well... that's going to make things even more interesting," Shepard remarks, sitting down on the sofa in the living room, Liara cuddling against her side, watching the Alliance News Network broadcasting urgent news about the shuttle of Admiral Kormilko being shot down over Bristol, leaving no survivors. "An excuse to clamp down even harder."
"I saw no mention of you giving your speech on the Alliance controlled channels, though some of the private networks broadcasted it," Liara says. "I do not think that Admiral Singh will appreciate your reminder to your fellow soldiers that they have a duty to refuse carrying out an illegal order, and then proceeding to elaborate what falls under the scope of illegal orders."
"Yeah, I think that my Alliance spokeswoman days are over, as far as Singh is concerned," Shepard chuckles. "I haven't heard from him since, but I did hear from Hackett. Gave me a praise and said that one of the admirals, Willoughby, has withdrawn his support from Singh's corner as a result. It's not enough, but the cracks are starting to show... and now with the death of this hard-line supporter of Singh... hell, Hackett wants me to continue, but I told him I might have some Spectre work lined up, and I think he understood."
"I wonder who would be so bold to assassinate an Alliance adm-" Liara's words are cut short by the brief chime of the doorbell and the couple exchange curious stares. "A visitor at this hour?" the asari wonders, looking at the pitch black darkness outside.
"I hadn't actually got around to inviting anyone," Shepard remarks, getting up from the sofa and advancing towards the doors, wondering for a moment whether she should keep her pistol at the ready or not, deciding against it, knowing that Liara is nearby and able to provide biotics at moment's notice. As she opens the doors, she does not immediately recognize the person standing outside on the doorstep. The woman is wearing a jet black trenchcoat, stylish fedora atop her head, the dark hair pulled back in a simple braid. "...Miranda?" Morgan finally realizes after a bit of almost indiscreet staring. "What prompted this hot image change?"
"If you would let me in, I'll try to explain," Miranda replies curtly. "It is freezing out here."
"Oh... sure," Morgan quickly pushes the door wide open, letting the ex-Cerberus officer step through and into the small foyer, then showing her inside the living room.
"Evening, Dr. T'Soni," Lawson says pleasantly, greeting Liara. "I apologize for the late intrusion."
"Good to see you, Miranda," Liara smiles, rising from the sofa to take Lawson's hand in a greeting. "Did you hear?" she says, pointing at the news screen. "They killed one of the Alliance admirals!"
"Yes... a real tragedy," Miranda deadpans in reply, then looking back at Morgan. "That was quite the performance today, Shepard. I was in talks with Admiral Singh at the moment when it was broadcasted. It was quite amusing watching the color of his face go from parched yellow to bright purple."
"...wait, what were you doing hanging out with Singh?" Morgan blinks.
"That's what I wanted to explain, but until hearing your speech this morning, I could not be certain where your sympathies within the Alliance lay. I figured it would be with Hackett, but I needed to be sure."
"Of course I'd support Hackett, now what's this all about?" Morgan snaps impatiently.
"You may be aware that I earned a little bit of recognition and goodwill with the Alliance courtesy of my actions during the battle for Earth," Miranda begins to explain. "When this political struggle began, I thought to use it to my advantage. I sought an audience with Admiral Singh and offered him my services, claiming that I could use my Cerberus past to infiltrate the newly forming Terra Firma and the resistance movement supporting it."
"I sense that's not the whole story..." Morgan guesses.
"It is not. Admiral Nitesh Singh is scum and the Alliance are choking under his command. But I needed Singh to believe that I am working for him. Fortunately, I have my unsavory Cerberus reputation that makes him believe that I would be genuinely accepting in doing his dirty work," Miranda chuckles. "The truth of the matter is that I'm playing both sides... or at least that was the intention at the start. I've spent enough time with both sides to learn more about them, and I have to admit that my sympathies have shifted towards the resistance and Terra Firma."
"Terra Firma? But they are the violently xenophobic group that spawned Cerberus in the first place!" Liara exclaims, a little worriedly.
"Yes, that is true," Miranda admits readily. "But I believe they are different now. There was an element within the group that blamed the aliens for the shortage of food supplies, but the intel that I have supplied them with lately has shifted their hatred back towards the Singh sympathizers within the Alliance."
"What did you find, Miranda?" Morgan asks.
"The situation with food stores is a blatant exaggeration," Miranda replies. "The Alliance brass has access to vast quantities of food supplies stored in underground bunkers all across the planet. All information of their existence has been carefully wiped and kept in complete secrecy amongst select few."
"I can't believe Admiral Hackett would know about these resources and keep quiet!" Liara exclaims, looking angered.
"I do not think he is aware, they have been very creative about covering their tracks. Even if someone uncovers information that such depots have existed, the records show that they have been destroyed by the Reapers. This is not the case. The primary focus of the Reapers was not to destroy our food sources. Shepard... there are enough supplies on Earth to keep everyone fed for three years, which is more than enough for the nuclear winter effects to fade and enable us to restore our agricultural supply chain."
"So, these food stores are simply used to exert control over people?" Liara gasps, understanding the machinations.
"Makes sense to me," Morgan nods unhappily. "They can use this lack of resources to just keep the people in line." She then gives Miranda an inquiring stare. "By the way, how did you manage to get all this information? I didn't think you could pull of such an impressive hacking job, even with being irritatingly perfect and all!"
Miranda gives a small laugh. "Oh, I had some help. Tell me, Shepard... did anyone recently mention to you that I'm up to something back on Earth?"
"Oh... right. Kasumi, at our Normandy homecoming party!" Morgan realizes.
"Indeed. She's very good at what she does," Miranda's smile broadens. "I'm sorry about missing the party, Shepard. I hope you'll forgive me and agree that what I have been doing is important enough to decline the invitation."
"Of course, Miranda," Liara replies in Morgan's stead. "What they are doing is despicable! We need to make the population aware that they are being deceived!"
"No," Morgan shakes her head, surprising Liara. "That is not the way. It will simply incite more violent riots. More and more people would die, and Singh probably has enough soldiers loyal to him and his fellow admirals, people who would not immediately believe us even if we presented them with irrefutable facts."
"Exactly," Miranda nods. "If we want to limit the losses of our people who have already suffered too much, we need a different approach."
"We need to sever the head of the snake. Restore control to Hackett and his supporters by taking out his detractors..." Morgan starts to speak, then freezing and slowly turning towards the news vids, still lamenting the great loss of the heroic Admiral Kormilko. "...just like that..." she says, turning back towards Miranda.
"I'm sure it was some sort of a technical issue with the shuttle that caused it to crash," Miranda shrugs, refusing to elaborate.
"Very well, I can see the wisdom behind this plan, but... would Terra Firma and the resistance be willing to work with someone like Hackett?" Liara asks. "Can you be sure that the hostilities will cease as soon as Singh and his fellows are removed?"
"I can't be sure of anything, Liara, but I'm confident that I can at least get both sides to sit down and start talking," Miranda sighs. "It's a hell of a lot more promising situation than we have right now."
"Singh and his bunch will be more careful after what happened today," Morgan remarks.
"Yes, but it might also scare those on the fence to reconsider," Miranda shrugs. "Oh, and Shepard... I know that you're probably sick of them wanting to drag you around and show you off like a heroic poster girl, but... if you could just muster up a few more speeches like the one today, maybe it'll get more than just Willoughby to reconsider. I've heard that LeClerc and McIllis could be open to persuasion as well."
"Ugh," Shepard grunts unhappily. "I'll see what I can do about that. I did have a meeting scheduled with Councilor Tevos on the Citadel tomorrow, regarding some Council work."
"You could do always do both," Liara suggests. "I know it would be a lot of effort, but your people need you right now."
"I suppose so..." Shepard finally agrees. "All I really want from Tevos is some kind of legitimate excuse not to do Alliance work when I find it ethically unacceptable. The rest of the time I'm happy to do anything that advances Hackett's position and deteriorates Singh's status."
"Good to hear, Shepard," Miranda nods. "I knew I could count on you, Commander. Oh, and a word of advice if you're going back to the Citadel. Make sure to stop by some restaurant and have a good meal up there, because as I'm sure you've noticed, it's impossible to get anything decent down here. I still keep a residence up on the Citadel just for that purpose."
"Citadel still has a decent stock of food supplies, I take it?" Morgan asks, receiving a swift nod. "But probably not enough to help out people down here?"
"They have just enough to keep four to five millions fed for a little over a year," Miranda replies. "What they could spare wouldn't plug the tiniest hole down here. And the Council has issued a decree that forbids any food supplies to be brought outside the Citadel, fearing that someone would try to steal anyway."
"Probably a smart move on their part," Morgan nods.
"Yes, I must admit that even if they were completely useless and incompetent at the beginning of the conflict with the Reapers, they are doing all the right things now," Miranda Lawson agrees. "They have enforced fixed prices on all goods sold on the Citadel to prevent inflation, and also forbidden use of any other currency or barter than the good old credits, just to keep the economy from collapsing. Everyone caught abusing these laws faces serious consequences. Basically, they can kiss their businesses goodbye."
"This kind of regulated economics cannot be sustainable in long term," Liara says, shaking her head.
"I imagine the Council knows as much, so we better make sure those relays are repaired fast enough," Morgan nods.
"Well, I've told you everything I had to share with you for now, Commander," Miranda says, tugging on the belt of her trenchcoat, getting ready to leave. "Just keep doing the good work down here, and we'll stay in touch, alright?"
"Sure, Miranda," Morgan says, accompanying her to the door. "Be careful, alright?" Miranda nods swiftly, disappearing into the night, her skycar likely parked somewhere close.
Shepard is still shaking her head by the time she returns to rejoin Liara in the living room. "This is one tangled web of intrigue, isn't it, Morgan?"
"Yeah... gods, what a mess," Shepard grumbles in reply, starting to look around the place until she spots the small wall compartment, unlocking it to find several bottles of amber liquid inside. "Ah, I thought this place was supposed to have a drinks cabinet. Hmm, Lagavulin... Donnelly would approve, I think. Just what I need right now... you game for a glass... oh, damn, I'm a complete moron, forgot about the baby."
"I would rather not risk it, even if a single glass would likely not cause any ill effects, Morgan, asari pregnancies do not work quite the same way as human," Liara smiles, then stretching a little seductively on the sofa, making Morgan's mouth become slightly dry and her hands tremble a bit as she pours herself the drink. "But Commander... do not get too carried away with your whiskey... I had other plans in store for us, and they do not involve nursing a drunk bondmate..."