A/N: Just wanted to extend my condolences and message of support to all my readers in the US of A, regarding the Boston marathon explosions. I sincerely hope that all your family and loved ones were unaffected by this cowardly attack.
Chapter 144 - Lifeline For The Asari
Several weeks had passed. While the Alliance News Network maintained its slanderous attempts to destroy Shepard's credibility, there was no immediately hostile reaction. During the few trips into the city that she had to make for the supplies, Morgan thought she heard some quiet muttering behind her back now and then, but nobody still dared to say anything to her face, and it seemed as if many simply did not believe the message coming from Singh's mouthpiece in Geneva. And by now, Hackett had put an alternate news station in Washington into operation, making an effective effort to refute all allegations against both the Rear Admiral himself, and additionally to Shepard.
However, public opinion had soured towards the asari, after the claims that they had been sitting on the Catalyst intel for so long, effectively forcing the rest of the galaxy to suffer heavier losses than would have been necessary. Shepard and Liara had visited the Citadel and went out to dinner with Aria and Tevos some time ago, but it hadn't turned out to be the pleasantly relaxing and enjoyable affair they had all hoped for, the councilor understandably upset and weighed down by these accusations pouring in from Earth, and even her own colleagues on the Council expecting answers.
Those answers were given, but only to the turian and salarian representatives, Valern unable to express any criticism, considering he had been put in exactly the same position by Linron, finding only sympathy with the asari councilor for being put under pressure because of the mistakes committed by the now largely eradicated leadership of Thessia. Sparatus had been slightly less happy, but also unable to honestly condemn Tevos' actions, considering that the turians had refused to openly criticize the salarians, they felt the need to remain consistent and remain supportive of their old allies on the Council.
The humanity, or at least Singh's camp, however, were left ignored, Tevos refusing to be baited into explaining herself to what many now viewed as a dangerously extreme wing of the Alliance, with no claim to a spot on the Council that they had managed to delude themselves into being deserving of. Hackett made it clear that he did not expect any sort of apology or reparations, clearly understanding that in such case humanity could never stop apologizing and paying their own reparations for the misery and loss of life that the actions of Cerberus had caused, fact conveniently ignored by Singh. Still, the accusations against the asari sat well with the already large xenophobic part of the population, forcing Tevos to increase her security on the Citadel and becoming somewhat of a recluse to the public eye.
Meanwhile, the asari leadership had also began to slowly pull their people away from Earth, fearing reprisals, of which there had already been several examples of. The lack of asari technical expertise were beginning to result in the relay repairs falling behind the schedule by a day or two, and the projections were not promising, especially considering the incoming reports that some of the alien fleets were beginning to experience critical supply shortages, the asari in particular. The councilor herself had contacted Shepard a few days ago, looking desperate and not knowing where else to turn, all her requests for aid so far denied, even by Hackett who had not wished to damage the fragile understanding he had built with the resistance, by suddenly giving away their extra supplies to the alien fleets.
Shepard had not been able to think of any solutions immediately, other than getting in touch with Miranda and trying to find out whether the ex-Cerberus operative had managed to track down the location of any other supply depots held by Singh and his loyalists. Two days had passed and there was still no reply, Morgan wincing at the reports of the gravity of situation as time continued to tick by. The salarians had imposed very strict restrictions on food supplies from the very beginning, likely being more realistic about the time necessary for the relay repairs, and thus had managed to retain their stock at higher levels. The krogan were all groundside now, able to go for extended periods of time sustained by the nutrients stored in their humps, and when they began to experience food shortage, they simply went out to scavenge or kill something before cooking and eating it, a simple and effective approach.
From all the levo-amino acid based species, the asari were suffering the worst by far, having been a little too optimistic in their initial estimations, and also deceived by some promises made by the Alliance, which obviously did not materialize when Singh was denied his precious dream job of a councilor. There were reports of many asari getting caught when stealing on the Citadel, with the intent of getting themselves captured and thrown into detention, which at least meant getting regular meals. However, too many had started to employ this tactic as of late, so Matriarch Lidanya had forbidden any shore leave on the fleet ships, and also collected all the culprits from the Citadel to be thrown into the brigs of their respective ships instead. But there were still many desperate asari out there, willing to do anything for scraps of food, sexual services being the most popular favor in demand.
As Morgan was busy trying to figure out some sort of plan on how to help the asari, there were plenty of other events and developments keeping her distracted on a daily basis. Well into her seventh month, Liara's pregnancy was advancing normally, at least according to the doctors. Morgan still did not observe too many changes in her behavior, perhaps her bondmate was slightly more short-tempered and she also witnessed her increased appetite, mentally feeling thankful that as a high-ranked Alliance officer she was entitled to increased amount of food supplies.
The tensions between the quarians and the turians were also becoming slightly more intense, the turians as always demanding more supplies for their starving troops, the quarians not budging from what they had promised initially and even refusing another inspection to the Rayya to determine whether they hadn't secretly increased their produce capacity and simply refused to share with their dextro-brothers, preferring to hoard instead. The stress resulting from it all left its mark on the relationship between Tali and Garrus as well, something that they both always denied publicly, but Morgan could sense the tensions anyway and it made her incredibly depressed, knowing that her two best friends were put in this position by dreadful circumstances. They still shared an apartment on the Citadel, but apparently used it less and less, spending most of their time either with their fleets or down in the enclaves on Earth.
As for Aria, even the Pirate Queen had become too distracted by the grim circumstances to continue her teasing of Shepard and Liara. Tevos' state of mind must have left its mark on Aria as well, and the two had experienced a rather heated row when the councilor found out that Aria had set up a smuggling ring to get some supplies off the Citadel and onto the asari ships, appreciating the gesture, but fearing about it getting tracked back to Aria, and possibly also to her, exposing their illicit relationship. For all her efforts, Aria had managed to buy the asari fleets a week or two, saving many for the time being, but a more long-term solution still beckoned, the Citadel food stores hardly limitless.
Most of the Normandy team had by now been reassigned, Samantha and Jack also getting moved to Bradford, given apartments not too far from Shepard's. Of course, Jack spent every night at Traynor's place anyway, and the young couple had on several occasions visited with Shepard and Liara as well, their company always welcome, now that Jack had mellowed out a little more, losing her tendency to always resort to the foulest of languages. Steve Cortez was one of the very few allowed to remain on the Normandy, a skeleton crew barely enough for maintenance of the now permanently docked ship.
Gabby and Ken had exchanged life vows a week ago, having now moved into an apartment on the Citadel, finding employment with a very appreciative volus 'only-slightly-used' ship merchant who had very little interest about their Cerberus past, once he had received the little endorsement granted by Morgan, the best wedding gift she could come up with for Gabby and Ken was to help them find stable and well paying employment. Karin Chakwas and Chloe Michel were still on the Citadel as well, having struck a close and warm friendship, deciding to remain in the Shalta Wards hospital where Shepard had been treated. Due to their high standards and impeccable professionalism, the hospital had received glowing recognition in the past months, attracting an increasing load of patients, and when Shepard and Liara had stopped by to spend some time with their good friends, both doctors had been up to their elbows in work, barely finding the time to exchange a few token pleasantries.
The most depressing developments had to be concerning Joker. Now also stationed near Bradford, the old Normandy pilot was having a rough time adjusting to the life off the ship, slipping into alcoholism and refusing to open up to anyone. Shepard had already received four calls from Kasumi, Traynor and Jack when they had spotted Joker passed out in the Black Swan, in no condition to get back to his own place. Shepard had rushed over in her skycar and sometimes by herself, sometimes with the help of others, brought Joker safely back to his apartment. Privately, she wondered just where Jeff had so many supplies to trade in for the booze, it was far above of what he ought to have, but once sober, he never responded to any of her inquiries, refusing to communicate with her, as if she and their friendship would be dead to him.
It is Joker and his refusal to have anything to do with her anymore that is deep in her thoughts at the time when her omni-tool softly beeps to indicate an incoming message. She activates the omni to read it quickly, smiling as her eyes browse over the contents of the message. "Liara!" she calls out to her bondmate, snoozing upstairs, the pregnant maiden becoming exhausted far more quickly these days, requiring more and more sleep. "Babe, we'll have guests over in a few minutes!"
"I'll be down in a moment!" Liara replies from upstairs, gingerly getting out of the bed. "Who's coming?"
"Kasumi and Bau," Shepard says, looking around the place critically, taking away some of the trash and cleaning up a little bit, Kasumi's impeccable manners and her love for tidiness and cleanliness making Morgan a little self-conscious about the state of their house, neither she nor Liara being the types to be particularly compulsive about housecleaning. "Kasumi says that Miranda has asked her to deliver something she doesn't trust on an open comm line."
"It must be the intel you requested," Liara speaks, climbing down the stairs, Morgan turning to look at her bondmate, her heart close to bursting with emotion from the adorable sight of Liara's swollen stomach, the pregnancy making the asari look especially radiant, at least in Morgan's eyes.
"Let's hope so," she finds herself nodding, and not long after, a shuttle lands just outside the windows of their house, Kasumi getting out quickly and running lightly across the snow to knock on the doors, this time Bau also following her.
"You're probably anxious to get this intel, Shep," Kasumi says, after a round of greetings, once they have all gathered inside the living room. "Miranda says that she has put herself at a serious risk, and she hopes that it is worth it."
"It is worth it," Liara says sharply, her thoughts on her own starving people.
"Let's hear it, Kasumi," Shepard urges the petite thief to explain quickly.
"Miranda has the location of another of those depots that you wanted to know about. It's deep in the Gobi Desert, a very well hidden bunker at the base of the Altai Mountains. Nobody would ever think of looking for it there, Shep. Seems like Admiral Chen's supporters are there in numbers, so taking it with force will be a tough proposition."
"My people will find a way," Liara grinds out angrily. "Death from starvation is a wonderful motivator, and I think those treacherous Alliance soldiers will discover it the hard way."
"So, you really plan to hand the intel over to the asari, as Miranda thought you might," Kasumi remarks, speaking evenly. "Tricky. Hope you know what you're doing, Shep."
"I don't, really, but I won't let Chen sit on these resources while our allies are starving!" Morgan exclaims passionately.
"Understandable," Bau nods, Kasumi quietly agreeing as well. "Shepard, your own involvement would be unadvisable, however. I would urge a more cautious approach."
"Well, I can hardly take out hundreds of well entrenched marines, so I didn't plan on soloing this mission, really," Morgan hastily replies. "But I need to get to the Citadel and speak with... some people there, before we can do anything."
"We anticipated this reaction, Commander," Bau smiles, barely perceptibly. "We stand ready to take you to the Citadel in our shuttle. We can depart immediately."
"Great," Morgan breathes out a relieved sigh, turning to Liara. "You coming, babe? Don't feel like leaving you down here alone."
"Very well," Liara nods, activating her omni-tool and beginning to furiously type a message. "I had a visit with my obstetrician scheduled in two days, I want to see if it can be moved ahead now that we are going to the Citadel anyway."
"Yeah, and I better send a message and inform... certain people that I need to meet them ASAP," Morgan is about to type her own message, when Kasumi pokes her in the ribs.
"I thought you were in a lot of hurry, Shep. You can send the message while on the shuttle, once we're on the way... I'm just saying," she adds, grinning when Morgan slaps an open palm against her own face.
Once on the Citadel, Morgan parts with the others swiftly, Liara heading to the wards for the doctor's appointment, Kasumi and Bau using the opportunity to grab a decent meal. Shepard arrives at the Council chambers to see a tired and haggard looking Tevos conversing with an attractive asari matriarch, her skin of the same purple hue as the councilor's, the facial markings almost identical to Tevos' with the exception of being dark purple, almost black in this light, making her appear like Tevos' evil but equally enchanting twin.
"Commander Shepard, meet Matriarch Lidanya," Tevos quickly introduces them, the commander of the Destiny Ascension taking Morgan's hands in the traditional asari greeting.
"It is a pleasure, Commander," Lidanya says, her voice slightly harsher and less melodic than Tevos'. "Though it is regretful that we finally make our acquaintance under such circumstances."
"Indeed, though I will be shortly presenting you with the opportunity to improve these circumstances, if you can take advantage of this intel," Shepard nods, managing a small smile before passing a small data disk towards Tevos which the councilor quickly uploads to a screen in front of them, showing maps of the Gobi Desert and the location and layout of the underground bunker. "The defending force is at least two hundreds strong."
"Can they measure up to the biotic power of asari commando squads?" Lidanya asks.
"I have seen the carnage even two biotics working in tandem can wreak," Shepard replies, thinking back to the amount of devastation Liara and Aria had inflicted upon their enemies on the Cronos Station and later on Earth. "Bring enough of your commandos and the marines will crumble quickly."
"Understood," Matriarch Lidanya nods. "And there are enough resources down there to feed our fleets?"
"For several more months at least, Matriarch," Shepard says.
"I see. Then I will return to the Destiny Ascension immediately, and begin to organize our elite commando squads together with a large amount of transports for supply delivery. I refuse to spend a moment delaying over this."
"One moment, Matriarch," Shepard speaks up quickly. "I'd appreciate if you would leave behind something for the resistance to grab. They came up with this intel in the first place. And they would make sure that the supplies also reached some of those innocent people starving down on Earth."
"Of course, Shepard, we can only carry so much in our cargo transports, I am sure there will be plenty left, if your intel about the amount of supplies is solid," Lidanya nods quickly. "But now, I really should hurry..."
"Yes, go with my blessings, Lidanya," Tevos nods, wringing her hands nervously, before turning to Shepard. "Commander, I hope you did not expect to be included on this mission. I will not have you associated with this attack, regardless of your motivations, many factions amongst humanity might look upon you as a traitor if they ever learnt of your involvement."
"Well, you're the boss, Councilor," Shepard smiles supportively, sensing that Tevos' nerves are strained to the point of breaking. "If you don't want me to go with your commandos, I will sit this one out, it will be as you say."
"Yes, that would be for the best," Tevos manages, slowly pacing around, restless and uncertain. "I do not think I will be able to sit and relax until I hear back from Lidanya... which won't be for several more hours..."
"Hmm... perhaps you would benefit from company during that time, then?" Shepard asks, suddenly feeling pity for the councilor, stuck in this regrettable position, knowing that the fallout she would have to deal with after this mission might very well be catastrophic.
"I... can't detain you for so long, Shepard," Tevos stutters, coming to a halt.
"I'll let Liara know... she will want to join us after she is done with her doctor's appointment," Shepard says, quickly sending a message to her bondmate, not having to wait long for acknowledgment. "Alright, she'll be here in less than an hour."
"Thank you, Shepard... thank you for everything you have done for me and my people," Tevos says, stepping closer and then somewhat unexpectedly wrapping her arms around Shepard and lowering her head on Morgan's shoulder, her whole posture aching for comforting and Shepard cannot stop herself from putting her arms around Tevos' shoulders, feeling the tension slowly bleeding from the asari's tender frame.
"I don't see how I could have done anything differently, Madame Councilor..." Shepard replies, trying to keep her thoughts focused onto something other than Tevos' soft, supple curves, hesitant and tense against her body. "It was... the right thing... uh, to do," she manages. This would be a really bad time to think back about that vid Aria sent us... oh damn... I just thought of it... argh! Gods, Liara definitely needs to get here as quickly as possible...
"Damn it, Councilor, I wish I had the presence of mind to ask whether you had some supply of this stuff earlier," Morgan smiles, pouring herself another glass of delicious elassa, watching Tevos follow her example, while Liara is left to nurse a glass with generously watered down version of the drink, making it safe for the baby. And speaking of babies, according to Liara, everything is still progressing as it should be, however, Shepard is a little surprised when Liara says that in a little over two months, she will require a more frequent observation by the doctors, demanding them to move to the Citadel. Even if she assures Shepard that this is a perfectly normal way to handle asari pregnancies, Morgan resolves to look it up on the extranet herself, knowing that Liara has an annoying habit not to worry her with what she considers to be 'insignificant' details at the time. Such as being pregnant in the first place.
"I generally try not to resort to elassa as a cure against stress, but now that you are here to keep me company, I see no reason not to indulge a little bit," Tevos replies, looking far more relaxed than when Morgan had arrived at the Council chambers. The short but emotional embrace she had shared with Morgan in combination with the drinks that followed had made the councilor more at ease, Shepard still blushing a little now and then from the memory of the other asari's touch, even if there had been nothing remotely sexual in intent about it. "I cannot thank you enough for being here for me during a time like this," the councilor adds gratefully.
"It is both a privilege and a pleasure to be here for you, Councilor Tevos," Liara replies, bowing her head. "Even if Shepard probably wishes she were shooting something down on Earth together with Matriarch Lidanya and her commandos."
"Eh, not so much this time," Morgan shrugs. "Scum or no, those men are still Alliance soldiers, close to two hundred of them. Some might even still have families somewhere out there... no, it wouldn't have felt satisfying at all, even if they are caught carrying out unjust orders for corrupt admirals. Heh, Aria would have probably enjoyed the opportunity for some pure, unadulterated violence, though."
"And speaking of Aria, I would have expected you to wish for her company right now, Councilor... if I may be so bold," Liara remarks.
"Well, she actually is on Earth, together with Lidanya's commandos," Tevos explains. "I knew she would not forgive me if I didn't let her in on this mission, so I forwarded her with the details. She requires this sort of outlet of her more... violent urges."
"Ah... ouch, those poor marines won't know what hit them," Morgan winces, knowing that the Alliance teams down in the bunker have no realistic chances against such overwhelming biotic power directed at them.
"I wish such measures were unnecessary... but lately one regret seems to follow another," Tevos sighs, as a console behind her desk lets out a soft beep to alert her of an incoming request to open a comm channel. She puts down her glass of elassa and quickly rushes to receive the message, leaving Shepard and Liara behind, the couple exchanging slightly worried glances as they rise to follow the councilor. "It is Lidanya. I will put her up on the holo display, I'm sure she won't mind," Tevos speaks, bringing up the image before them, Matriarch Lidanya wearing pale blue commando armor, standing in the cargo space of a shuttle, blood smeared across her brow, but it is not the purple color of asari blood.
"Councilor," she nods sharply, then noticing the other two quietly stepping into the line of sight. "Ah, Shepard is still there, good. And is that Benezia's daughter... by the goddess, it is... greetings, Liara, I barely recognize you anymore."
"Matriarch Lidanya, a pleasure," Liara bows reverently.
"Please, Lidanya, I can only stand so much suspense," Tevos groans, begging Lidanya to elaborate on the results of their mission.
"It was bloody, but we took the depot in less than forty minutes with only eleven casualties," Lidanya flashes a dangerous, toothy grin, almost Aria-like. "Damn it, Councilor, what they were sitting on... there was a lot more in that bunker than you thought there would be. Mountains of MRE's, all kinds of varied food supplies, weapon and ammo caches, medical supplies, and much, much more. Our transports are stuffed full, and we had to leave almost half of the supplies behind."
"I'll make sure to notify the resistance immediately," Shepard nods, quickly typing a short message to alert Kasumi and ask her to pass the information over to Miranda.
"Yes, they are free to move in, Shepard, we left plenty of various items for your resistance to salvage. We now have enough to feed our fleets for at least three months to come, and I'm sure we can find something to share with the salarians, the volus, the krogan and whoever else's goodwill you will want to ensure, Councilor. And perhaps there will even be a little surplus left to fill the Citadel warehouses with."
"Hmm... Lidanya, I like the way you think. We all could use some support from our allies right now. Yes, I will speak with Valern immediately, this could get him on our side even more firmly," Tevos nods.
"I can't imagine the Alliance will dare to raise many complaints about this, it would mean having to explain about keeping all these supplies from their own people in the first place," Lidanya snorts in contempt, clearly unimpressed with the actions of their human counterparts.
"We shall see, but it is best to be prepared," Tevos says. "I want you to issue state of readiness to our fleets, just in case. But be subtle about it, please, I do not want to explain to everyone why our dreadnaughts are suddenly lining up in battle formation..."
"Very well," Lidanya nods, then turning her stare towards Shepard. "Commander, do you believe that the Alliance will retaliate?"
"I have long since lost any ability to predict what the faction of the Alliance that stands behind Admiral Singh will do," Shepard shrugs. "I agree with Madame Councilor, however, in that you should be prepared. If there are some of your people left on Earth, get them out of there, or at least move them to the zones where Hackett's forces have control."
"Good advice, Shepard," Lidanya speaks approvingly. "It must be difficult for you, having to go against your own people in order to aid us. Do not linger on Earth too long yourself, my friend, I cannot imagine that your own people would be best pleased with your actions."
"We think that we have managed to keep Shepard's involvement in this a secret," Tevos speaks. "Though I have feared for your safety ever since you moved to live on Earth," she adds, turning to Shepard and Liara. "I am hopeful that you will return to the Citadel soon,"
"I would be happy to receive you both on the Destiny Ascension," Lidanya extends an offer of her own. "We would make sure that you receive living quarters more comfortable than whatever the Citadel can provide. And food is terrible everywhere these days, so that would make no difference."
"Thank you, Matriarch Lidanya, you are most kind," Liara smiles. "We will take your generous offer upon careful consideration."
"Yes, we definitely will," Shepard says, moving closer to embrace her bondmate, placing her hand on Liara's belly, feeling the tiny, infinitesimal movements inside. "And it seems that certain circumstances will force us to say farewells to Earth sooner, rather than later..."