Chapter Four: Blue Grit
"Liara... Liara... " Someone was calling her name. It sounded faraway, but she sensed someone near.
Slowly, the asari opened her eyes only to be overcome by the spinning interior of the shuttle. She blinked as her surroundings became clearer and the vortex in her vision halted. Her head hurt – again. "Ugh."
Dr. Chakwas knelt beside her seat, her firm grip supporting the maiden's slumped shoulders. "Liara, wake up dear."
"I am awake... um, Karin." She reached to rub her head and the doctor immediately caught her gloved hand in midair.
"Don't try to move just yet. You hit your head." Chakwas quickly examined her temple. "Fortunately for us, it's nearly as hard as Lieutenant Vega's."
We crashed onto the Citadel. Suddenly she felt panicked. "Is everyone alright?"
"Yes. We were incredibly lucky. You seem to be the only one of us that was injured." Finishing her task, the silver-haired doctor asked, "Do you hurt anywhere else?"
As she became oriented, she realized that she did in fact hurt everywhere, but she felt no new wounds – only the throbbing of her older injuries. "I'm fine." She tried to move her leg – but the flare in her wound forced her to flop gracelessly back into her seat. "Except my leg. It really, umph!"
"I told you not to move. Perhaps next time you'll heed my advice." Eyebrows raised, Karin chided gently. "I'll give you another dose of meds – but I can't keep that up. At some point, you will have to rest and heal."
"After..." Liara winced as the doctor administered the drug. "After we find Shepard."
"Yes, after." Karin confirmed softly, standing up and calling toward the hatch. "James would you be so good as to come in and assist Dr. T'Soni?"
The Kodiak rocked as Vega's bulk entered. Fragile rubble underneath crunched sending a raucous echo through the cabin. Liara grabbed her seat as the shuttle tilted sharply and held tight to keep from falling. The sudden jarring sent one last searing wave through her thigh as the drug began to work. She clenched her jaw and waited for the pain to pass.
A shared glance of concern passed between the two humans. As they regarded each other in silence, they seemed to be conversing wordlessly. Vega looked to Dr. Chakwas and at a subtle nod of her head, moved to Liara's side.
"Sorry 'bout that Doc," the marine apologized nodding to her braced limb. Carefully, he helped her up and supported her as she exited onto the Citadel.
They emerged from the vessel to a tableau of catastrophe. As James carefully situated her on a block of concrete, Liara looked around her. The entire Presidium was a ruin. Great chunks of stone and plastisteel lay in mounds as far as she could see. Rebar and I-beams stood like skeletons, bent and stripped in sad testimony to what had once been a place of marvel. The entire area was darkened and razed, the air thin and slightly acrid, dusty, but breathable. Small fires smoldered on piles of debris punctuating the landscape. She squinted as she altered her view, looking toward where the Presidium Tower stood. What she saw made her heart nearly stop. Her emotions swelled at the sight of the remains of the once stately structure and the implications of the damage to it.
Liara knew that Shepard had to have been up there to open the arms, and her instinct told her that the Commander had very likely activated the Crucible as well. But the top of the tower was missing, as was the Crucible itself. She clasped her arms tightly around her breasts and dropped her head to control her growing fear. She hadn't realized the extent of her optimism for finding Shepard alive until this second. Despair swelled through the maiden like a typhoon.
Moments passed in silence as she fought to remain sane, to somehow find the strength to move ahead. Thoughts of Shepard dead or missing brought her back to Omega and finding her bondmate after her death at the hands of the Collectors.
Her rational mind spoke to her. You faced that. You saw her then. You saw the wrecked shell, the body, that housed the woman that you love. You went through torture in the slim hope of bringing her back. There are no Blue Suns, no Collectors, no Yahg Shadow Broker. She wrestled with herself. Yes, but there's no Miranda or Project Lazarus either. I can't face that again. It's too much!
Encouragement came from the last person she would have looked to for it. "Perhaps she is dead – perhaps not. There are many I regret leaving behind. I do not wish that for your Commander."
Her eyes awash, she looked up to see Javik stooped in front of her. Boldly, but with surprising gentleness he grasped her biceps and she saw...
Shepard. Her stormy eyes blazing. "Was that the truth?"
Javik lounged against his workbench in the port hold of the Normandy. "Does it matter?"
Her Commander's face was filled with devotion as she replied softly, "Liara means a great deal to me. So, yes – it matters."
Liara felt him release her. "You must not give up Liara T'Soni. This may not end well. We may not find her at all - but you possibly have a chance to see her again. Do not carry ghosts as I do. Finish what you started." Then the prothean silently stood and moved to James' side.
Looking up, she saw that her companions had gathered around her protectively. "I'm sorry," she spoke, her voice breaking. Her plan had been to find Shepard and get out, but getting caught in the pulse had created serious complications.
Karin took a seat next to her and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "We all knew this was a risky venture from the start." The doctor studied her team mates for confirmation as she finished. "There isn't one among us who is unwilling to see this through."
"I know. I am deeply grateful to all of you." Liara looked at her feet and thought of Feron. She had led them into this mess and it was her job to lead them out. Pulling on the deepest particles of her inner strength, she forced herself to rise. Her legs trembled as she wiped her face with her armored sleeve and got her bearings. Her heart was weighted like a leaden lump, her body felt weak and feverish, but she made her decision and grit her teeth.
Taking a step forward James reached to steady her, but she warded him off. She had to stand on her own. After the luxury of a single deep sigh, she forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand. Her throat was dry, her voice hoarse. "Exactly what is our situation?"
"The Kodiak, old grizzly that she is, survived our landing- " James started to say, but was cut off abruptly.
"That was no landing. That was a crash, human." Javik narrowed his four eyes and glared at the marine.
"Crash. Landing. Whatever." Vega swiped his face and shrugged his meaty shoulders. "Anyway, that pulse was a lot like the one that took us out on Despoinia when we found Leviathan. And, it seems to have had the same kind of effect. When we...'crashed'... ," James looked at the prothean pointedly, then continued, "we hit the lake and then the whole station shifted. While you were out of it, this place shook like San Francisco at a twelve point oh. Somehow the lake drained and the shuttle skid onto that wash over there - hit that building foundation next to it and hung up on that ridge of gravel. We're lucky that none of the junk flying around in here piled up on her. I've looked her over. She's messed up. But, I hung out with Esteban enough I can get her skyworthy."
"What about out there?" Liara pointed to the vacuum of space beyond the interior, the light of Sol illuminating particles and heaps of metal floating aimlessly in space. "Do we have any idea what happened?"
James nodded, rubbing his hands together anxiously. "Not really, Doc. But, there doesn't seem to be much going on. We'll know more once I get the tactical displays and comms going again."
"We're going to need to leave at some point." Liara cautiously massaged her aching temple and glanced at the Kodiak. "Go ahead James, see what you can do." As Vega strode to the shuttle, she picked up her questioning. "What else? Are there any signs of life? It feels like we are alone up here."
Sporting a rare frown, Dr. Chakwas pulled up her omnitool screen, "I've done some preliminary medical scans in the perimeter and there doesn't appear to be any life signs nearby. Unfortunately, this scanner is not designed to be reliable over an area of this size and scope. I'm afraid it will not be of much use in our search."
"I scouted the area thoroughly while you were - indisposed. There is no opposition. Our enemies are dead. Fresh reaper and Cerberus corpses foul this place, but I have found no others in this - mess." Javik folded his arms across his chest and looked down, his multiple eyes narrowed. "There has been no sign yet of the Commander either."
Liara wondered how many souls had been lost in this terrible place. The atmosphere was eerie. The once bright, shining Presidium now felt like a mausoleum or a morgue. Perhaps somewhere, maybe in the wards or lower reaches, there might be survivors, but right now her only concern was one specific life. "Alright." She shivered pointing at the badly damaged structure in the distance. "Let's begin our search here and move toward the tower."
Activating her omnitool, she tapped in a code sequence. Shortly, the glimmering blue form of Glyph was at eye-level with her.
"Good day, Dr. T'Soni. How may I be of assistance?" The bright sphere spun in anticipation of her request, its radiance and tone perversely cheerful in the dismal ruins.
Liara took a cleansing breath and gave the VI orders. "I need you to find Commander Shepard, Glyph." Limping as quickly after her little helper as she was able, she beckoned Javik and Karin to her and faced some of the longest hours of her life.
As Javik took point, Dr. Chakwas helped Liara over debris and through narrow passages. There were many obstacles and few clear stretches of path for them to navigate, but they made headway. A rhythm developed as the team searched the ruins. Glyph roamed ahead covering each designated perimeter to look for the Commander and to discover any dangers or hazards. The organics followed up as the VI reported anomalies, investigating each sector, looking for any trace of the Commander, then repeating the process.
The task seemed endless with so much area to cover. They encountered sad mementos, everything from datapads to broken toys, of the people who had called the monolithic station home, and saw evidence that Cerberus and the reapers had fought each other to a standstill. But, there had been no sign of Shepard. The asari struggled to keep her emotions in check. She wanted to believe that her bondmate could be found, but with every negative conclusion, her desperation mounted and her hopes dimmed. As she picked through the rubble of the old C-Sec post, she felt her heart clench when Glyph came whirling into sight again.
Her knees nearly buckled as Glyph made his report, "Dr. T'Soni, I have located the Commander."
She felt her face drain of color as Karin rapidly grabbed her around the waist to keep her upright. Her stomach quivered as she responded, her voice hollow and soft. "Where?"
"Follow me."