"What does it matter?" Jake asked. When all eyes turned to him, he shook his head. "Well, by 'Lilah's own words, this 'brasa' empire destroyed itself millions of years ago. If Osco somehow opens this Fold, all it will connect to is a region of dark space where a galaxy once existed, or the nebulous remnants of that galaxy, right? It's not like there's actually a waiting army poised to surge through it- not after that war, and not after such a length of time."
"There are still too many unknowns," Liara told him. "We cannot make any sort of assumption. It may be that this superweapon did not wipe out everything. There is a chance, however slim, that the brasa empire endured. They had this remarkable level of technology millions of years ago-there is no telling to what level they may have advanced by now-"
"No, no," Shepard said, tears once again swamping her eyes, even as she fought them back. "Even if the brasa are gone, even if that Fold opens to nothing but empty vacuum- the cost will be horrific!"
"Shh, 'Lilah, it's all right. Just tell us what you mean," Jake said, trying to soothe her. Instead she angrily stood up, walking over to a private console she saw on the wall.
"Do you have star maps?" she asked. Sha'ira rose and followed her, as did the others.
"Yes, of course. You will need my passcode to get in."
She activated the console, showing Del where the charts were. Shepard pulled up a holographic representation of the Milky Way- the ghostly image of the galaxy in miniature suddenly swirling around her. She stepped back out of the image, scrutinizing it with an almost feverish intensity.
"I have the maps of the rebel ship in my mind," she said. "I know the worlds they went to, where the Antennae are located that they deactivated. I just have to remember, match them up with our existing charts…"
Zooming in on various areas, she selected a pair of worlds in the Traverse, each several star systems away from each other. "Here…this is one. And this…"
"Permiatic," Liara said, studying the charts over her shoulder. "It is an uninhabited world with a deadly methane atmosphere. And this…this one is Ilos."
"Just as deadly?" Miranda asked.
"No, it is a garden world, but small and uncolonized-"
"There are three more," Del said, still filing through images. "H-here. This one-"
Deefa gasped. "That is Rannoch!"
"And this."
Liara felt her blood go cold, and Sha'ira's soft alarm was odd to hear…but not unexpected, considering.
"Thessia…"
"And here. You see?"
"Earth?" Jake swallowed, staring at his daughter. "One of the Antennae is on Earth?"
"In Earth," Shepard said, her fear giving rise to anger, her emotion getting the best of her. "Don't you guys get it? The Antennae are huge, and they're built underground, at the junction where the crust ends and the mantle begins. Liara, you remember what happened when the dreadnought took off, tore its way out from Tuchanka's crust? That was a hundredth the size of these structures, and not nearly as deeply rooted! If Gellian activates any of these Antennae they will not only draw massive amounts of power both from each world's mantle, but also from its sun. In order to do that, the Antenna must expand, rising out of the crust."
"That would cause massive earthquakes- big enough to potentially displace an entire continent!" Miranda said, alarmed. "It would be an extinction level event, on every world that has one of these things inside it. Billions would be killed, the ecosystem entirely shattered- once garden worlds would become uninhabitable almost literally over night!"
"Osco is heading in to the Traverse to activate the two Antennae there," Shepard said.
"Ok, but those are uninhabited worlds," Liara said. "If she activates them there is no damage. I can alert the Council, we can secure Thessia and Earth against her dreadnought, and try and get hold of the Geth so that they can do the same with Rannoch-"
"It won't work," Shepard told her, frustrated. "Once she activates the two on the uninhabited worlds, she can use their incredible energy stores to transmit a signal to the other three- she doesn't have to go there in person! If she transmits that signal, those three Antennae rise, and billions of people die."
"I will contact Lumina and the Thessian government immediately," Sha'ira said. "We can start evacuations."
"We need to get that fleet after Osco immediately, stop her before she can transmit that signal," Liara said.
"They won't want to send a fleet, they think it'll start a war," Jake told her.
"War is preferable to what will happen if we do not," she said. "I must go and see them immediately, see if we have any new intel on her position and activities by the turian ships shadowing her. Sam, Miranda, Deefa- return to the Aswa and let Ashley and Sihra know the situation. We need to be prepared to depart at any moment."
"I will talk to the Fleet Master, the Prime Minister, the other senators," Jake said. "I will tell them what's going on, see if we can't start getting Earth evacuated as well. If the Council refuses to send a fleet, maybe FM Barrett will."
Liara nodded, and Jake turned to his daughter. "I have to go make those calls. Your mother and sister are staying in an apartment off the Presidium. I'll send you the address. Go and say goodbye to them at the very least before you run back to the Aswa."
"I will," Shepard said.
"You should still rest. Perhaps you should stay with your family-" Liara began, then broke off as Del gave her a look.
"None of us are getting any rest over the next very long while," she said. "And I am going with you. That is not up for debate."
A dozen different emotions swam behind Liara's eyes, before she only nodded. "Then see your family, and get back to the Aswa. I will be there shortly."
"Our destination is the same, Captain," Jake said. "Accompany me. We still need to talk."
"As you wish, Senator. Let's go."
The journey between the Consort's and the Council Chambers was not a long one, even afoot. Clearly wishing to take advantage of every moment they had until they reached their destination, Senator Shepard began to speak almost the moment they stepped into the street.
"Captain, I know that you have a lot on your mind, and that events are…well, unbelievable is the only word to describe them. I do not mind saying I have only felt this level of fear once before in my life. It is not my wish to add to your burden or to your stress, but I would be remiss as a father if I did not speak my mind."
"I will protect your daughter with my life, if that is what you are concerned about," Liara said. He shook his head.
"It's not. Well, not all of it- but thank you for that. It's not concern for her life that prompts my question, but rather…concern for her heart." He looked at her intently as they strode. "Let me be blunt. I would be both a fool and a blind man if I did not see that there is something between the two of you."
"Let me be equally as blunt. Your daughter is incredibly important to me, Senator. I care for her very deeply, and she cares for me the same."
"So your intentions toward her-"
"I would do anything in my power to make sure she was safe, and happy," she told him.
"I just don't want her getting her heart broken."
"I understand. I am not asking you to just give me your trust, Senator. Trust, like respect, must be earned over time. I ask only for the chance to earn that trust- to prove to you that your daughter is the most important thing in my life."
His glance toward her turned thoughtful, and a little surprised. "She…really is, isn't she?"
"Yes," she replied. "And I am just as surprised by that as you must be. Until recently…until I met her, point of fact…I would never have imagined or expected to feel this way."
Jake nodded. "She's a good woman, Captain. She's got a good heart to her, she always has. But I'm sure I don't need to tell you that comes with a healthy dose of stubborn and annoying tenacity as well."
Liara smiled. "Yes, I believe I have seen more than my fair share of that."
"Gets it from me, I'm afraid." He sighed. "Truth be told, I wasn't always the best father. My career became my focus in life, and my family was too often pushed aside in the wake of it. I've always loved them, though. Without them, I really have nothing. I'm about to entrust part of that to you, Captain. It's not an easy thing, but if it's what makes her happy- if you are what makes her happy-then I can be confident in my decision. I don't care if you let me down. I can take that. Just don't let her down. I would not look upon that…kindly."
Liara nodded. "In that case, Senator, I do believe we can dispense with the formalities. My name is Liara."
He smiled. "And I'm Jake, or Jacob. I agree. If we're going to be family, no more 'senator' and 'captain' nonsense."
Liara looked at him in mild surprise for a moment. She didn't know why his reference to them being 'family' took her offguard- she had grown to realize that a future without Del in it was not one she wanted to face. Still, hearing it out loud from another…
After a moment, she said, "What was the first occasion?"
"First occasion?"
"You said you had only felt this level of fear once before. When was that? If it is not too personal...?"
He shook his head, looking contemplative. "Shortly after Delilah was born, there was an accident. My fault. Inna was only a couple of years old and my wife and I were both so exhausted and ragged. I had Del in her seat in the living room. She was sleeping, Inna was playing in her room, and my wife was napping. I dozed off. When I woke up a few minutes later, 'Lilah was gone."
"Gone?" Liara asked. "I take it she was not independently mobile at this time?"
"No, she was only days old. Couldn't even hold her head up yet. I was frantic. I thought someone might have broken in and kidnapped her. Then I saw Inna out back. She'd never shown any interest in the baby at all. 'Lilah wasn't even a curiosity to her, she was just happy to be able to sit on her mother's lap comfortably again."
"She took the baby?"
"Yes. Walked in while I was sleeping and took her out of her seat. I don't know if she thought she was a doll or a toy of some kind…but when I saw her in the back carrying her, I remembered her bad habit."
He looked visibly troubled, still disturbed by the memory of what had happened so many years ago.
"We had a pool. There was a kinetic barrier over it, adjusted to ten pounds- to keep Inna from falling in, you know, but still allow the cleaning bots to work and keep it swept and tended. She was fascinated by the water, and the bots were constantly fishing out her dolls and toys. They were light enough to pass through the barrier, you see, and she liked to see them float."
Liara grew cold, staring at him. "She dropped the baby in the water."
He nodded, then self-consciously blinked, brushing a finger quickly over his eyes. "I ran outside just in time to see her drop little Delilah right into the pool. The baby was only five pounds, and passed right through the barrier. I lunged for her, but…"
"But you were significantly larger than that, and the barrier stopped you."
"It only took me a few seconds to hit the controls and shut it off, jump in after her, but she was already not breathing. She was so tiny I could have snapped her bones like twigs if I tried to resuscitate her. In a moment of total panic I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed her by the legs in one hand, swung her upside down, and slapped her back as hard as I could. She spit up water and then started to squall…it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard."
"Inna must have felt terrible for what happened."
"She didn't understand it at the time. She thought I was just upset she'd dropped something else in the water. She was more scared by my frantic actions rather than the situation. She doesn't remember doing it now, of course, and it's just become one of those family tales. The doctors examined 'Lilah and found no permanent damage- she was only without oxygen for a few moments, and other than having to be treated to insure she did not get a respiratory ailment from the water and chemicals, she was just fine. Still…that moment that I saw her fall into the water, when I realized she was not breathing…I have never been so frightened in my life. Until now."
They parted ways as they reached the Council Chambers, the senator heading to the communication hub to call up the Alliance representatives, and Liara diverting to Tevos's private chambers. The asari Councilor had only been momentarily alerted to her arrival, and seemed irritated at the interruption. That irritation faded in the wake of Liara's news, and Lumina quickly called for Sparatus and Valern to join them.
Liara played them the recording of the incident with Pio, and then explained what Del had revealed. Sparatus quickly put in a call to the turian military, getting ahold of the commander of one of the turian vessels shadowing Osco's dreadnought.
{We can confirm that, sir,} the commander said after he'd asked about Ilos and Permiatic. {If we keep following our current course, Permiatic is a valid and even likely destination.}
"How long until she reaches it?" Sparatus asked.
{Hard to say. She's not travelling at a consistent speed, and seems to be keeping it just under FTL. If she hits FTL she'll reach it within two days. The rate she's been going…I'd say we have at least four before she gets there.}
"Commander, this is Captain T'Soni," Liara said. "She is not travelling at a consistent speed?"
{No. She headed out fast enough in the beginning but now seems to be…well, strolling. I think it has to do with the energy source of the dreadnought.}
"Explain."
{She seems to be running on solar energy, Captain. Best we can figure, that ship was buried so long its power cells were all but spent. After her initial burst of speed she slowed down rapidly, then diverted to a…well, a solar drive-by. She passed slowly by a sun in sector 93 gamma, then picked up speed again. She keeps diverting to solar orbits and then speeding up again.}
Liara looked thoughtful. "The dreadnought was buried only three miles down, far too shallow in Tuchanka's crust to reach the mantle and gain any significant boost from geothermal energy."
"Why doesn't she just stay in solar orbit then until she's fully charged? Why the dance?" Tevos asked.
"I cannot be sure. It is possible she is aware of the shadow group and does not wish to linger long enough to confront them. If her power is down, she may not have full shield capacity and her weapons may not be at strength. It is possible she believes they can do her some damage."
"Even with minimal weapons she could take out those ships," Sparatus said skeptically. "Surely she's not afraid of the few hull scuffs they could give her."
"She may very well be," Liara said. "The nature of the ship integration means that ship IS Osco. When it is damaged, she feels it the same as you would if you were cut, or burned. Shepard was able to hurt her before she fled, using the black transport ship. She may be in pain, wounded, and aware that any strike by those shadow vessels would hurt her even more. The pattern she is following may be allowing her to regenerate her shields and weapons systems while allowing her to maintain a constant speed. She is sacrificing FTL in order to protect herself against attack. I think we can safely say by the time she reaches Permiatic, her shields will be to full strength again and she can destroy her pursuers without fear of further injury."
"Then it would be advisable to tell our shadow vessels to hit her now, while she is vulnerable," Valern said.
"They would still be wiped out," Liara told them. "The only thing it would do would be to hurt Osco, not stop her."
"If she is injured badly enough, it gives us time to get a few more vessels there, continue the job. If we can hit her enough times-"
Sparatus shook his head. "And sacrifice more of our vessels to take her apart bit by bit? Whether we send in a series of vessels by the handful to worry her to death, or whether we send in an entire fleet to do the job in one swoop, the outcome remains the same- war with the Terminus systems."
"If what Captain T'Soni is telling us is the truth, then it is better we risk war with the Terminus rather than the utter annihilation of at least two heavily populated worlds!"
"Three," Liara said.
"We have no idea of the population on Rannoch, if you could even call them that. They're synthetic-" Valern began, only to halt under Liara's glare.
"They may be synthetic, but so are these black ships- so was Luka, and Pio and those like it. They are sentient creatures, Councilor- with fears and feelings."
"Not like organics-"
"This is not the time to get into that debate! If we do not stop her at Permiatic, she gains enough power to activate Ilos. If she does, then she gains the power to activate Rannoch, Thessia, and Earth. Billions will die, immense resources will be lost, and both humans and asari may never recover from the devastation. That does not even take into account what happens if that Fold is opened and the brasa are poised to enter and take over the Milky Way. We cannot contest them! We can barely contest a single dreadnought made of technology a million years behind where they may now be! Would you be so flippant if the Antenna was on Sur'Kesh, instead of Thessia or Earth?"
"It is a simple matter of numbers, of greater risk," Tevos said. "I would much rather a war with the Terminus than even risk Osco may succeed. I agree with Captain T'Soni. Sending in a fleet to stop her at Permiatic is the only viable and sane solution."
"I cannot agree," Valern said stiffly.
"Noted. Sparatus?"
The turian Councilor looked narrow and thoughtful, before he shook his head. "One thing turians know, it is strategy and warfare. If Osco succeeds the cost is far too high. I agree. A fleet must be sent to Permiatic."
Liara felt a blast of relief, but it was caged. "It will take at least a day to prepare the ships and get them on their way," she said. "Even travelling at FTL unfaltering, they will still reach Permiatic a day behind Osco's projected arrival."
"Yes, however Osco must not only activate the first Antenna, she must then use it to activate Ilos, before she has to use both to activate the other three," Sparatus said. "So long as we interrupt her before the Ilos Antenna is fully extended, then we will have won at the cost of only two uninhabited worlds."
"If she is truly 'charging' her systems as she goes, she may have to delay upon reaching Permiatic. Her shields and weapons may be online, but activating that Antenna will also take a great deal of energy. She may have to park for a short time before she has enough to turn it on," Tevos said. "Sparatus- the humans and turians will be best equipped for this fight. I suggest a combined fleet of a hundred vessels, frigates and heavier."
"Agreed. I will make arrangements now."
"Senator Shepard is already in contact with the Alliance and the Fleet Master," Liara told them. Tevos nodded, then looked at her console.
"Commander, are you still on the line?"
{Here, Councilor.}
"Continue to shadow the dreadnought. We will have ships heading to Permiatic here within the next solar day. Do not put your vessels at risk unless it is absolutely necessary. Your job is merely to observe and report, am I understood?"
{Yes ma'm, and on those lines…we're getting some strange activity here. Just started.}
"What is happening."
{The dreadnought slowed again about twenty minutes ago and is doing another solar flyby. However, just a moment ago she reached full stop for nearly sixty seconds, before resuming course. She…seems to have dropped something off.}
They exchanged confused looks. "Dropped something off?"
{Yes, we're scanning it now. It seems to be a pod of some kind, or…their equivalent of a shuttle?}
"Be cautious, it could be a mine or a weapon."
{Stand by.}
Several agonizing minutes slowly passed. The four didn't speak, the tension in the room palpable. When it became too much, Tevos tried again. "Commander?"
Silence. She looked worriedly at Sparatus.
"Commander? Do you copy?"
A pause, and then- {Here, Councilor. We're here and just fine…and you are not going to believe this.}
"What is it, Commander? What happened?"
{Councilor- it wasn't a mine or a weapon. It was a small transport, an escape pod perhaps, with a single occupant.}
"An occupant?"
{Yes. We now have custody of Osco's cohort- Ruth Wyatt. And she is not happy.}
