It's Always teh Quiet Ones
Apologies for the length and lack of recent updates. Real life. Boo.
Liara tried to understand the humans' positions. She really did.
In their eyes, Mother was Bad and deserved Punishment for her alleged crimes. Liara most assuredly understood that. Mother stood accused of aiding and abetting an attack on a human colony with casualties in the tens of thousands. Liara wanted answers to as much as the humans did.
But did armed soldiers really have to accompany her to the toilet?
Hitting them with singularities and running for the nearest airlock were the furthest things from her mind. First, she had to pee; peeing in a spacesuit was out of the question. Second, she did not want any more trouble than necessary. Third, they were human; there was no telling what they were capable of.
Armed guards were not necessary to walk the short distance from the medical bay to the nearest lavatory. Once she got to there, she couldn't go anywhere unless she suddenly manifested the ability to walk through walls – which would be quite exciting, now that she thought about it.
Justicar Liara: Righting Wrongs, bringing Justice to All and staying True to the Code.
Except that meant public appearances, talking to people, explosions, and killing those who did not adhere to the Code. Sheer, black fright swept through her at the very thought of holding another conversation with any of the human crew, let alone antagonizing any one of them enough to warrant an explosion. And she was certain as her skin was blue that the humans wouldn't understand the Code.
She made haste relieving herself and washed her hands, watching her reflection in the mirror. What another fine mess you're in, Liara, she thought, noting with some consternation that it was Mother who had gotten her into this particular predicament and not her fascination with the Protheans. At least she wasn't in trouble with the hanar this time.
Well, no, that wasn't entirely true. Hanar made up the galactic community, even if they only had an embassy on the Citadel. The entire galactic community, or at least the part that mattered, was searching for Mother and Saren.
She didn't understand it. Mother always advocated peace and acceptance. Not War. Never war. Liara's mind fluttered away in anxiety, her thoughts diverging. Perhaps if she looked the problem objectively, she could find a motive behind Mother's involvement with Saren and geth. Benezia. Not Mother. Liara's throat worked, an acute sense of loss washing over her. Mother wouldn't do anything Benezia is accused of doing.
One of the soldiers coughed. Or cleared his throat. Or growled. Or… or something. Was he growing impatient with her dawdling? When did they install a timer on her lavatory time? She sighed and pushed away from the counter, glancing one final time at herself in the mirror.
When she walked in the direction of the medical bay, one of the soldiers said, "Not that way, ma'am."
"Pardon?"
"Comm Room," the other said. He pointed to the stairwell. "The mission briefing has started."
She only nodded and followed the first up.
Kaidan let out a breath when Dr. T'Soni finally stepped away from the Commander. Both women were breathing hard, Shepard's cheeks flushed, and the doctor's eyes had returned to their normal blue color. Dr. T'Soni staggered away. Garrus stood and held her upright.
Shepard staggered to the nearest seat and flopped down, boneless. She looked like she had marathon sprinted a few kilometers. Had Shepard looked like that when the asari on Feros, Shi'ala, had given Shepard the Cipher? Kaidan wondered. He couldn't recall with clarity; the smell of the Thorian had been messing too badly with his senses.
Williams was on her feet, fists balled at her sides. "Commander, are you okay?" She glared at the doctor who looked on dazed.
Shepard didn't answer at first, only gazed at the doctor. Then: "Well, that was… new." She shook her head. "I'm fine, Williams."
"You had us worried, ma'am," Kaidan said as Williams resumed her seat.
"I'm fine," the commander assured him, but didn't meet his concerned look. She was too busy studying the asari. "Well?" she asked after a moment.
Dr. T'Soni managed to get back to her seat with Garrus' help. "The—the images were so intense. I wasn't expecting—" She swallowed, put a hand to her head. With effort, she spoke again, her eyes closed as though she were replaying the information she had received from Shepard's mind. A snake of doubt crawled into Kaidan's brain. What if the doctor had deceived them? He set the thought aside, compartmentalizing. If he stayed on that track, he wouldn't be able to function. He could ask Shepard about it later. They had a long flight to Arcturus tomorrow. There would be time to speak to her then.
"The beacon must have been badly damaged," Dr. T'Soni was saying. "I'm, I'm not sure–"
"You mean all that bullshit was for nothing?" Williams demanded.
"Easy, Williams," Shepard replied. "We're all on the same side."
"You trust her now, Shepard?" Tali asked while the doctor massaged her temples.
"I saw enough of her thoughts to know she has no idea what Saren or Benezia wanted with her," Shepard replied. The asari gasped, covering her mouth as her eyes widened. "I wasn't supposed to receive anything, was I?"
Dr. T'Soni shook her head. "No! I'm not… I didn't mean for—Oh, Goddess. No. I'm so sorry. That wasn't supposed to happen!" She appeared to shrink into her seat, her face turning more blue than usual. Kaidan had seen enough asari porn to realize that Dr. T'Soni had initialized more than a simple transfer of information. He gaped. Holy hell.
That was some kind of "oops," Kaidan thought angrily, his body tense. And Shepard wasn't... why wasn't she upset? He swallowed. The snake of doubt became a snake that coiled around his heart.
Ah, damn it.
The Comm Room went deathly quiet, eyes darting furtively from Dr. T'Soni to Shepard and back again and again. Even the equipment seemed to realize a faux pas had taken place and the normal beeps and whirs were muted. Out of respect or shock one couldn't be sure.
"Well, at least it was consensual," Garrus spoke up unhelpfully.
Wrex guffawed. "Damn. It's always the quiet ones."
Shepard gave an unladylike snort. "At least it was... tingly."
Dr. T'Soni, completely mortified, squirmed in her seat. Her apologies were muffled by the hand covering her face.