Sorry for the hiatus on this story; it just took me a while to figure out how everything should line up.
"Liara! You're back!"
Tali threw her arms around the surprised asari, her enthusiasm leaving Liara sputtering for words. "I am not," she tried to explain, "That is to say, not exactly. I am only going to be on the Normandy for a short time. Shepard has agreed to help me defeat the Shadow Broker, after which we will go our separate ways once again."
The information broker tried not sound as sorry about that as she felt, but Tali clearly noticed her regret, because the quarian gave her a sympathetic, "Oh. Okay. Still," she added, trying to perk her friend up, "It's really good to have you on board, especially with all these Cerberus people here. I don't really trust any of them."
"A sensible precaution." Liara lowered her voice. "I would keep both eyes open, especially when dealing with Miranda Lawson."
"I will," Tali agreed. "Although down here in engineering it's most just me and Ken, and Gabby, so I don't see her very often except for on missions."
"And what about Shepard?", Liara asked. She wasn't sure how much of her suspicion she should reveal in a place that might well be bugged, so she just added, "Do you have a sense of how she's been these last few months? Is she…" She couldn't stop herself from asking the question, despite how foolish she knew she must sound. "Is she happy?"
"Happy?" Tali suddenly seemed uneasy. "I, uh, I don't really know. At first, when I saw her on Freedom's Progress, she seemed kind of miserable. Lately, though, I think she's better. I mean, I'm not sure if she's happy, but she's at least seemed less stressed out since…"
Her words trailed off, but Liara wasn't about to let the subject drop quite so easily. "Since what, Tali?"
The engineer backed off, her discomfort clearly growing by the moment. "I really shouldn't say. I don't think Shepard would want me to."
An urge to grab Tali, press her against the wall with her biotics, and force the answer out of her seized Liara but she fought it down, angry at herself for even considering doing such a thing to a friend. The hunt for the Broker along with this situation with Shepard had simply worn her nerves close to the bone, and she reminded herself to be patient. In time, the answers would come. Previously, she had hoped that Cerberus might lead her to the Shadow Broker; now that they had, perhaps he could return the favor. Once he was defeated, she would claim his secrets and hopefully, Cerberus' plans for Shepard would be among them.
Miranda frowned, watching as Liara left engineering before shutting off the data feed to her screen. The quarian had been her last, best hope for a member of the crew revealing Shepard's relationship with Subject Zero to Liara but the commander's skill at inspiring loyalty had once more proven too great. It was an attribute that Cerberus prized, but right now, it was most irritating.
Miranda could tell Liara herself of course. The information broker might not trust her, but she would believe the video proof that the operative could supply. Tali had removed the surveillance cameras from Shepard's cabin weeks ago, but the ones in Jack's hidey hole remained in place, and they'd captured her initial assignation with the commander in all it's sordid glory. A part of Miranda might even enjoy seeing the annoying asari's face as she watched the video, but the trouble was that giving it to her would further damage the operative's already shaky relationship with Shepard.
No, it would be far safer if the information didn't appear to come from Miranda at all. Even better would be if Liara thought she'd uncovered the secret on her own, rather than having it handed to her… The operative smiled to herself as she opened up an extranet connection. She knew exactly where to send that video.
Shepard knew there was going to be trouble as soon as the doors of her cabin opened. They were still a few hours away from Hagalaz, the presumed location of the Shadow Broker, and now Jack was standing in her doorway, a no-nonsense expression on her face.
"Hey, babe, what can I do…"
Jack cut her off before she could get any further. "I'm coming with you."
The commander bit her lip uncomfortably. These last two days, she'd been doing her best to keep her former lover and her current one from spending too much time together. Fortunately, Liara had been more interested in catching up with some of the old crew: Garrus, Tali, Joker, and Doctor Chakwas, while Jack had mostly remained in her hidey-hole. The red-headed commander just had to keep that streak going a little longer before this was over, and so she told Jack, "Actually, I was thinking of bringing Mordin."
"Screw that," the biotic insisted. "Everybody's been going on about how bad-ass this Shadow Broker guy is supposed to be. I'm not having you take him on without me there to watch your back."
Shepard smiled at the biotic, leaning in to give her lover a quick kiss. "It's sweet of you to look out for me, but I'll be fine."
Jack wasn't mollified. "What's this really about?", she snapped. "Is it that you don't want me hanging out around your sweet little ex, telling her about all the nasty things we like to do together?"
The Spectre's voice turned hard, the steel beneath the marine's friendly exterior showing. "Don't bring Liara into this."
"Why not!?", Jack was yelling now, her tattooed arms flailing out in exasperation. "I think it's pretty clear you're the one who wants to get that big dick of yours into her. Am I not good enough for you?"
Shepard grabbed her lover by the shoulders, looking her squarely in the eye. "Calm down, Jack," she told her, her voice firm but not unkind. "Seriously, what the hell did I say that made you think something was wrong with us?"
The convict took a deep breath, letting Shepard calm her down. "Nothing," she admitted. "You didn't say shit. It's just…" She shrugged out of the commander's grasp, "I saw her the other day in the mess hall, and I mean look at us. I'm this crazy, fucked-up bitch and she's this beautiful, rich asari. I guess I figured…"
"Well, don't. Listen, what Liara and I had was special and I still care about her a lot., but that doesn't change how I feel about you. You're great, Jack. You kick ass and you pulled my head out of mine when I needed it most. I'm not bailing on you. I just don't want Liara to get hurt any more if I can help it."
"Fuck, Shepard…" Jack turned away in an attempt to hide the emotion starting to well up in her eyes. "How the fuck do you always know what to say?"
"Girl scout training." Jack cracked the hint of a smile at that, and Shepard wrapped her arms around her, giving the biotic a comforting hug. "Look," she added, "If you're really worried about me getting killed, you can come along. Just promise me you'll try and keep things professional."
"Are you going to be joining us?"
Jack looked across the shuttle bay at Liara. In spite of Shepard's reassurances, the biotic was finding it hard to keep a testy edge out of her voice. "Why?", she asked, "You got a problem with that?"
"Not at all, Jack," Liara said evenly, not rising to the convict's bait. "From everything I've heard, I'm glad to have you with us."
"Really? And what exactly have you heard, blue?"
"That you are an exceptionally powerful biotic," Liara told her.
She narrowed her eyes warily. The two women were still waiting for Shepard to join them and Jack figured she might as well take the opportunity to sound the asari out a little further. "That all?"
"I also understand that you have your own history with Cerberus, one that leads you to be particularly suspicious of them."
"You got that right," Jack snorted. "I wouldn't trust any of those motherfuckers further than I could throw them without my biotics."
Liara smiled approvingly. "I am pleased to hear that. I know that they are helping you to fight the Collectors right now, but at some point, things may be otherwise. When that day comes, the commander will need people like you to watch her back."
Jack felt an unfamiliar twinge of guilt in her gut at those words and the compassionate tone behind them. For days, she'd been readying herself to hate the asari but Liara's genuine concern for Shepard made her uncomfortable. It was easier to see the asari as a rival, one she thought she'd bested, not someone else who cared about the commander as much as she did.
"Yeah," she told the information broker tentatively, "I got her back all right." She shifted uncomfortably on the balls of her feet before trying to change the subject. "Anyway, you got any idea who this fucking Shadow Broker that we're going up against really is?"
"I do not," Liara confessed, her freckled face blushing a slightly darker shade of blue as she did. Damn it, she was cute, Jack couldn't help but think. Why did she have to be cute? "I have never met anyone who knew him as anything other than a voice at the other end of a comm link," the asari continued. "Even his gender is a matter of supposition. Those who spoke with him claimed that his voice sounded masculine, but that could easily be the product of an electronic modulator."
"So what you're saying is that his rep might be pure bullshit," Jack laughed, trying to keep herself focused on the task ahead of them. "That the Shadow Broker could just be some pasty-faced loser sitting behind his monitors pretending to a bad-ass."
Liara returned her laugh. "It is possible."
Jack pulled out her Carnifex, giving the large pistol a final once-over as the shuttle bay lift doors opened to reveal Shepard arriving to join them at last. "Well, fuck it then, blue. Let's go pull this prick out of his hole."