AN:

You know, I realize that I've beaten up on Shep\Liara a lot. In fact, I think you've made that comment before (or something like it). It sounds familiar.

This part actually signals the turning point for that bit of storyline. It's probably why it's taking me so long to get it on paper. There's a lot of things I want to touch on before the big cataclysm of the first game happens, and I think that maybe the story just got away from me. I'm trying to stay true to the original storyline (which is a mistake I will not make in Part II of this work) while still creating reasons why Jane and Liara haven't moved forward with their relationship yet. Yes, it's resulted in probably more angst than was really necessary, but it's all in the name of artistic integrity. I promise I won't try to sell anyone on three different colored explosions when this work finally concludes.

Thank you for the feedback.

Chapter 50 – Virmire, part I

Virmire, en route to the Salarian Camp

"We have a clean drop, Commander. All systems are go."

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams flipped a few switches above her head and nodded to her superior officer as Joker's update came over the com. She leaned back in her position at Commander Shepard's side, and pulled the controls that would handle the main turret guns into her lap. Jane nodded at her and looked back at Tali, who was managing a secondary console and scanning the area for threats.

"So far there is nothing on the scanner, Commander."

"Jammed?"

"I don't think so, at least, not yet. For the moment, we are alone."

Jane nodded once more and faced forward again. "Stay sharp. We don't know what we are going to find down here. The salarian team has been dark for some time now."

"They might all be dead. It's been a while since we were given this lead."

"If the roles had been reversed, would they have rushed out the door to get to us, Ash? For that matter, the council could have told us they were up to something and they didn't bother." Jane leaned back and shrugged. "I'm not hoping to find a bunch of dead lizards, but we had other things to worry about and can't just drop everything every time the council needs something cleaned up."

She stared down at the mess of controls on her side of the vehicle, and shook her head. "DIDI, are you there?"

It took a few seconds, but the AI materialized at a spot just above the center console. Jane was curious, but thought better of asking where she had been. It wasn't particularly important, anyway. "Accessing… Voice Verification Complete. Good morning Commander Shepard. I have a message for you from Operative Danger."

"DIDI, I really am not in the mood for your creator's wit today. We have AA towers that need to come down and a Salarian team with an unknown status." She gestured to the newly installed navigational controls. "I don't know what any of this crap is. Can you give me the run-down on how this works?"

"Commander Shepard, I am unable to comply with your request until I have given you your message."

Jane started to massage the bridge of her nose. She felt the beginnings of a headache coming on, but knew it would be pointless to argue with the computer. It had always been pointless to argue with Darla, after all. "Fine, DIDI. We don't have time to clown around. What is the message?"

DIDI flickered out of sight, and was almost immediately replaced with a more accurate replica of Danger, complete with oil stains on her clothing. She extended her left hand, fist curled with index finger pointing outward until it just hovered alongside the commander's ear. "The message is: I'm not touching you! I'm not touching you!"

Jane stared incredulously at the digital copy of Danger for a moment before looking toward Ashley for support. Ash just shrugged her shoulders, and Tali stifled a giggle behind her mask. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the image of Danger was gone, replaced once again by the similar, but individualized, image of DIDI. "She also would like to know why you haven't cut the video feed in your quarters yet," DIDI stated innocently.

The commander closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For a moment, she could swear that DIDI had been smirking, but that was probably just a trick of the light in the enclosed space.

"Are you done? Or rather, is Darla done irritating me?"

DIDI didn't respond.

Jane gestured once more to the controls. "Can you help me with this now?"

"I can," the AI replied as the rover lurched forward and started moving along next to the water.

All three of the Normandy crewmembers grabbed at various points of the interior as it bucked and jostled them about, and Jane just shook her head. "You have got to be kidding me. There's no way I am letting you drive this thing. Put the controls back and I mean now! The next time I see Danger is going to be the last time. You can give her that message from me, DIDI. I'm not joking this… ouch!"

"Sorry, Commander. Unexpected crater."

Ash looked back at Tali and grinned. Jane just massaged her temple and glared at the AI. "Can you at least smooth out the ride?"

"Affirmative, Commander. Upgrades have been applied and we are now capable of a number of new maneuvers." Jane narrowed her eyes, wondering exactly what that meant.

"Whatever. Just get us over to the last known coordinates of the Salarian camp. Ash, be watchful – I'm sure that whatever got them is still lurking around. At the very least, keep your eyes out for geth. They like to follow us."

"Roger that, Shepard." Ash grasped the gun controls and scanned the horizon in front of them for threats. "What the heck are those things?"

Jane squinted out the glass in front of them and shrugged. "Some kind of crab, it looks like. They don't look dangerous. DIDI, make sure you drive around them. There's no need to go out of our way to wreck the indigenous life here. Anything yet, Tali?" Jane kept her hands on the console even though it was clear the car wasn't going to relinquish control anytime soon.

"We might want to slow down a bit, Commander. We're being jammed now. I can't compensate, the signal is too strong. We must be directly beside a comm tower." The quarian punched furiously at the control panel for a few more moments, then looked out the window and shook her head. "There is something here that is far beyond any technology I have seen, and we are right next to it."

Jane nodded. "I expect it was too much for the salarians as well. All right, well this is what we are here for. DIDI, I really need you to switch me to manual controls. Now before you get offended, I have complete faith in your ability to get us to the last known coordinates. I'd just rather have hands on the wheel in case something unexpected happens and we need to…"

"Commander Shepard, I am programmed with the complete history of all known evasive maneuvers from all known races and have been given extensive access to ship and rover databanks in order to formulate my own..."

"God DAMN it DIDI, I don't have time for this. If you don't transfer those controls and tell me how to work them this instant, I'm going to start ripping out wires until this thing blows up."

"All you had to do was ask, Commander." The Mako slid to a halt and Jane felt a shudder, and heard a few audible clicks. "The controls are all yours. If you need assistance, say the secret word." DIDI vanished, and suddenly there was eerie silence.

"Uh… is it just me or is that computer starting to get a little too… emotional?"

Jane just shook her head at Ashley and looked back at the console. "Darla always was moody. I imagine the AI is just taking notes."

"Do you know what the secret word is?"

"Nah, that's probably just Darla's way of messing with me. I'm sure DIDI will come back if we really need her, secret word or no. I'm more concerned about our immediate problems, like how the heck all of this mess actually works…"

Well, I'm sure that it's easy enough to figure out. How complicated can this be?

"All right, here we go." Jane pressed a few buttons and the vehicle lurched forward slowly. She laid her left hand on what seemed to be a steering pad and rested her other hand on a small touchscreen that had a miniature schematic of the Mako. "Hey, this is easier than I thought." She nodded at Ash and they looked back out the windshield. "This place is really beautiful, but I wish there was more cover. I'm going to take us close to the side of that mountain. We'll try creeping up on them. Well, as best we can, anyway. Ash, be ready for anything."

"Copy that, commander. Hey, whoa, what are you doing?"

Ash had to push both hands against the ceiling to keep from falling out of her seat. Jane just grunted and slammed her fist into the console.

"Commander, you're supposed to go beside the wall, not up it!"

"I know I know. Apparently this isn't the steering." Jane tried a couple of levers and succeeded in firing the thrusters, flipping them over and landing further back from where they started. "All right. So this button moves us forward, that one fires thrusters, which leaves…. This swivel thing as the steering."

"You could have just asked me, Commander. Garrus and I installed all of this, you know."

Jane glanced back and almost laughed out loud. She had completely forgotten about the quarian in the back seat. "Right, sorry Tali. I've got a lot on my mind right now. Do you have any other tips for me before we get going again?"

"No, I think you have it all figured out now. Danger told us that you would never go for foot pedals, so we didn't install those."

"Good." Jane leaned back again and took control of the vehicle. This time, she more or less guided them in the correct general direction, although the going was slow. Despite that, she had to admit the rover did feel more responsive than it had before. It wasn't as awkward, and it seemed to withstand shocks from the uneven terrain better. Begrudgingly, she silently thanked her mercenary friend for her indirect help in upgrading their equipment.

"Look sharp Ash, there's one on our six. Hidden around that cliff. I didn't even see him."

Ashley swiveled in her seat and fired a steady spray toward the lone geth shock trooper. "Got him, Commander. There's more up ahead." She turned again and easily picked off the minor geth forces. "I'll bet the scouts are running back to sound the alarm."

"Probably. Tali, what are you seeing on the radar?"

"I can't see anything with this interference. I would advise caution. There could be anything on the other side of those cliffs."

"Yea, that looks like good cover for hiding something big. Better keep it slow, Shep."

Jane nodded and started moving the rover forward again. They were halfway through when the first hit struck the front of the Mako, shaking it and the crew inside.

"Oh yea, ladies, look at that. Juggernaut! Ash, you better fire the cannons at that one. Whoa, shit."

"I would if you'd stop driving! What are you trying to do, run it over?"

"Where the hell is reverse?" Jane started pounding the console and succeeded in launching the thrusters again, twisting them in midair and landing on the other side of the juggernaut.

"Ouch, forget about reverse! Just put some distance between us and that thing! I can't hit it from this angle."

"Right." Jane brought her fist down hard on the button she knew to be 'forward' and the Mako, under protest, moved faster down the beach. Ash fired and launched the cannons, barely hitting the juggernaut but causing enough damage that it wouldn't be following them for a while.

Jane had her own troubles. They were coming up on the shoreline and she still couldn't find reverse.

This is ridiculous. Why isn't anything labeled?

"Commander, I know we all have been asking for more shore leave, but that doesn't mean we want to leave the shore!"

"I know Ash, I'm working on it!" Jane kicked the control panel in frustration and pulled on the directional lever, hard. The rover lunched to the left and they narrowly missed the point where the beautiful beach dropped off into the mysterious oblivion. Jane hit the forward button, hard, and it brought the vehicle to a stop. She kicked the console again for good measure.

"Why don't you just let the AI drive it?"

"You know why. I don't want to encourage it."

"Yea Shep, I guess I get that. Anyway, we aren't dead yet, that's positive!" Ash commented helpfully.

Jane peered through the glass. "No, not yet. Tali, any idea what is up ahead? I think I can make out some figures, but I can't tell if they are geth or our missing Salarians."

"We're still being jammed. I can't get anything out of this radar."

"I'm surprised that you and Garrus didn't have any upgrades for it. Seems like you messed with everything else."

"Danger only sent us parts for the mobile aspects. Although," she tapped the side of her mask thoughtfully, "we could see if DIDI can clean this up at all."

Jane just shook her head. "You know what? I think I'll pass. I'd rather not know what's ahead than subject myself to that kind of torture again. Just have the omni-gel ready."

"Right. Standing by, Commander."

Jane leaned forward over the console again and started the Mako moving. She pointed at a spot slightly to the west. "What do you make of that, Ash?"

"Multiple shields are up." Ash peered through the turret's scope. "There's rocket and assault drones, but none of the heavy ones. I can pick most of them off from here if you stop. They are hard to hit when moving."

Jane nodded to herself and hit the forward button again, causing the rover to come to an ungraceful stop. She was starting to get used to the new controls, but still wished she had planned better and spent more time overseeing the upgrades herself. There had to be a better way to get the vehicle to do what she wanted.

You can't blame yourself for not being everywhere at once, Jane. The universe is asking a lot of you.

"Nice shooting, gunny. Let's go."

"Thanks, Commander. Look, there's a few behind the shields. I'll lob some cannon fire at them. That will take them out. This camp looks like it was meant to hold a much larger force."

"It does, Ash. Do you remember our war games? It's good strategy to make your force look larger than it actually is. Don't let it psyche you out. It was the same during the Blitz. Their biggest mistake was thinking that we had forces we didn't actually have. By the time they figured it out, reinforcements had arrived."

Ash nodded and filed the information away. It wasn't often that her commanding officer talked about Elysium. She had always wanted to ask, but didn't want to step out of line. "Commander, that looks like a checkpoint. What do you think?"

"It's swarming with drones and troopers, that's what I think. We're going to need to go on foot to clear that out."

"Why not just rush through? The doors aren't down." Tali had leaned forward practically in Jane's lap and was scanning the structure in front of them.

"I'd rather secure it. Besides, we don't know what kind of firepower they have in there. We could be driving through a trap. I'm going to pull the Mako over to that rock and we'll continue on foot."

"Right." Tali returned to her seat and activated her omni-tool. "Ready."

Jane just nodded and gripped her assault rifle, then jumped out after Ash. She signaled to Ash to bring up the rear and led them to the stairs. The few drones that were guarding the initial walkway were easily dispatched, and Tali hacked the troopers that were hiding behind the divider. "Good job, Ladies. That hallway is our next destination. Fall in!"

Tali and Ash dropped behind Jane and the three of them hugged the wall as they crept down the hallway. Movement at the end of the tunnel caught Jane's eye and she held out a hand to halt the procession.

"What in the hell are those? Is that something that the quarians made, Tali? Come look at this."

Tali moved forward and peered over Jane's shoulder. "They are an evolution beyond what we originally designed. None of the geth we made could move like that. It might be technology they got from Saren and this so-called ship he has. It might be something else completely. I don't know. We call those ghosts."

"Can they be hacked?" Ash asked.

"I can try, but we generally just avoided confrontation with those."

"Yea, you know I vaguely remember seeing some of these on our first mission to Therum." Jane said it offhandedly, but her chest constricted at the reminder of where she and Liara first met.

Later, Jane. Worry about it later.

"Didn't we also see these on Feros?" Ash commented.

"Maybe. This is the first time I've had a chance to really look at one without, oh, random mind-controlled civilians shooting each other and a Prothean archaeological find caving in on my head." She waved a hand and rolled her eyes. "Do your best Tali. Ash, we might have to just brute force this one. Take the right flank."

"Aye."

Tali didn't have much luck hacking the ghost, but the two Alliance soldiers were deadly when focusing fire. It fell to the ground, and Jane leaned on her assault rifle. "Tali, hack that weapons locker. It doesn't look like there is anything else of use in here, but maybe there are some upgrades."

"No problem, Commander." Tali made quick work of the easy decryption and the door slid open. "Just some Tungsten rounds. Huh, you'd think they wouldn't have these here."

Jane gritted her teeth. "That just means they are already shooting each other in the back. Not a good sign, but useful for us. Load up the upgrades and let's get back to the Mako."

"Um, Commander, can we get DIDI back to drive?"

Jane's eyes shot daggers at Ashley, but the Gunnery Chief's smile disarmed her and she sighed.

"I'm just kidding, Shep. Let's go!"