Finally, finally ME2 timeline! But before we get to sexy Shep with her new scars there is a little chapter following our favorite asari and me making a few tweaks so I finally can get a bit creative ^^
"Get everyone onto escapes shuttles!" Shephard screams at you but you refuse to move, refuse to leave your girlfriend.
"Joker's still in the cockpit. He won't evacuate. I'm not leaving either." You look at Chloe pleadingly. "You're going to die! Please come with me."
"I need you to get the crew onto evac shuttles. I'll take care of Joker" The commander isn't even listening to your words. She keeps repeating what she repeats every time. No matter what you say, no matter how hard you cry, no matter what you do. It's always the same.
"Chloe…please. Don't leave me!" You reach toward the commander but she turns toward you harshly. "Liara! Go. NOW!"
You're convinced to stay. You're sure this time it will work and you'll save her but as your legs don't move you can see Chloe moving further and further away. Chloe! CHLOE!" She is gasping for air and you can't do anything else than watch.
Liara gasped as she woke up in the apartment she inherited from Benezia. She groaned as she could clearly feel the injuries on her side.
The nightmare that kept plaguing her dreams every night wasn't helping with those either as it made her trash all around the bed. It was whole two months and she still couldn't forget her last words with Chloe.
With a sigh she got up from the bed, knowing that no more sleep will come to her tonight. She walked downstairs to pour herself a glass of water. Her side hurt as hell so she decided to apply another dose of medigel. She pulled up her shirt and took off the bandages, she put there a few hours prior, to reveal a huge gash on her side. A courtesy of one of Shadow Broker's vorchas she encountered while trying to get her girlfriend's dead body from him. It proved to be useless anyway as the Shadow Broker didn't have any body to begin with.
She finished applying the medigel and wrapped her injury again before she looked at the table only to see Chloe's dog tags. The only thing she managed to get from the Shadow Broker before losing her friend, Feron, getting hit and being forced to run away. All that for stupid dog tags.
She kept watching the object, the only thing she had left from Chloe. Liara had to close her eyes and move her head backward to make sure no tears will spill.
She kept basking in her self-pity and sadness over what could have been a bit longer before she took a deep breath and went to her terminal. She could as well get some work done.
The contacts she made as part of Shepard's crew and also some old ones from Benezia made it easy for her to become an information broker. First, she used those contacts just to look for Shephard's body as no one ever found it and then it slowly became a habit to know information and sell them for the right price.
Apparently, she wasn't careful enough though because soon enough she got contacted by Cerberus, a racist human organization. She was surprised to be contacted by them as she, well, wasn't human, but it seemed the Illusive man had the same wish as her - to find Shepard's body but he had one trick up his sleeve. He believed he COULD bring her back to life.
She was skeptical about it but it took just 3 hours before she used the contact he gave her and agreed. She wanted Shephard back, she NEEDED her back.
It was also the Illusive man's intel that got her into this whole mess with the Shadow Broker.
She groaned at all those memories and with one quick shake of her head she went through her mail.
It was mostly work mail until one mail caught her attention.
FROM: Unknown
Hello doctor T'Soni,
We might have something that can interest you. We found it around the planet Alchera. We know you were looking for it for the last two months.
If you're interested in the trade offer we propose meeting us three days from now on the planet you met 'it' for the first time,
Friend.
She watched the mail for a few long moments rereading it over and over again. It felt like a trap but she was sorta desperate right now. So with a deep sigh, she went to pack her things.
She arrived just on time on Therum and made her way to the dig site Shepard found her all those months ago.
"Hello, doctor T'Soni…"
Just as she heard those words she quickly turned to their source and aimed her gun at it.
"We are a friend. We mean no harm to you or Shepard-Commander." There was a geth standing not so far away wearing an N7 armor with a cryostasis pod next to it.
She kept her gun aimed at it as her biotics made a blue aura around her. Her eyes momentarily fell to the pod before immediately being back on the geth.
The geth's head plates moved as it watched the gun aimed at it. "We mean no harm and we came unarmed." It said matter of fact.
Liara kept watching it for a few more moments before she got closer, scanning the location.
"We are the only mobile platform around." The geth tried to helpfully add.
"I know the tricks…killed a lot of you."
"Geths can't lie doctor T'Soni." Once again the plates on geth's head moved. "Those were geth that followed Saren. We are not them."
She gave the platform one more look before finally lowering her weapon with a sigh, unable to believe she is relying on a geth. She still kept her eyes on the geth and it seemed the platform understood her hesitation as it started stepping back so she could keep her eyes on it while she walked towards the stasis pod. "Is she there?"
"Shepard-Commander's body is there, yes." That was the simple answer.
Liara nodded and with a shaky breath took a step back while watching the geth once again. Her biotics calmed down, but the gun still stayed in her hand. "What is the price?" The geth tilted its head as if not understanding her question so she explained. "Everything has a price…you must want something for her body. What is it?"
The plates around geths head once again fluttered. "We want Shepard-Commander alive. That's why we contacted Doctor T'Soni."
Liara watched him suspiciously. "Really? Just that?"
"Yes."
It didn't seem Liara will get anything else from the geth unless she asks openly so she could as well try. "What will you get from bringing her back?"
"Shepard-Commander is the only one who managed to defeat the ancient machine. We believe that she is the best chance for galaxy survival."
"Why would you even want that?" She asked, finding his reasoning ridiculous.
"Geths are part of the galaxy. We do not wish to die." Once again the plates around his head fluttered, Liara started to wonder if it means the geth is irritated or just confused.
Liara sighed in frustration. It was pointless to try to reason with the machine. She finally noticed the armor on geth's chest. "That's Chloe's…why do you have it?" The biotics once again flared up.
"There was a hole. We needed to repair it."
She watched the unit for a few long moments before the blue biotic aura around her died, she groaned and just rubbed her forehead. This geth was really irritating her. "Okay, I take the body…if that's all…" She let the end of the sentence hang in the air.
The geth unit seemed to be thinking about something so Liara stood on her spot for what felt like an eternity before it spoke up. "We would like to ask you something Doctor T'Soni."
Liara sighed, of course, it will want something after all. "Go on…" At this point, she was willing to agree to anything.
"Once Shepard-Commander is alive again we would like to speak to her."
Liara raised a brow before thinking about it. "Once I'll meet her I'll forward your message but I don't promise she will want to meet you and talk."
Once again the plates on the geth's head moved before it spoke. "Thank you Doctor T'Soni." It raised its omnitool and Liara's own pinged. "We sent Doctor T'Soni a secure channel where she can contact us." With that, the geth unit turned around and left, keeping baffled Liara behind.
Liara sent the body to Cerberus, making it clear she wants to be updated on the progress in exchange for the body, and once the head of the Lazarus project, Miranda Lawson, agreed, she let them go.
Once back inside her house, the fact that she gave Shepard's body to Cerberus was still bugging her. She tried to come up with a plan. It took her two days before she settled on a version of a plan. She opened her messaging app on her omnitool and wrote.
'I need to meet.'
'Why?'
'Better explain in person.'
'I'll be on Citadel in two days. Chat in the Purgatory?'
'Sounds good.'
Liara ordered one human beer and waited at one table, looking around for the one she was waiting for. It wasn't the best bar in the Citadel but at least it was pretty much anonymous and the thousand times better than Chora's den.
It took just a few more minutes before she saw the one she was waiting for.
"Didn't expect to hear from you this soon again…" Samantha Traynor gave her a little smile as she sat down. She was in her alliance uniform. "Sorry, I probably won't have much time to catch up. My ship will be leaving again in an hour…" As she didn't have that much time she went right to the point. "Found it?" She knew about Liara's hunt for Shepard's body as the two kept in touch after the destruction of Normandy, the same as Tali.
Liara nodded before taking a sip of her beer. She had to admit that Chloe was right, you get used to the terrible taste. "I need something from you…" Samantha raised a brow at her urging her to continue with her action. "I need you to join Cerberus…"
Samantha watched her for a long time. "What?" She asked as if Liara was crazy which she as well could have been for even suggesting this.
The asari sighed softly. "I need someone to watch over the Cerberus and over HER once she is back. They're also building a second Normandy. Just say you wanna join the crew under HER command." One more sigh followed. "Joker is joining too but…I trust with this only to you or Tali and neither I nor her can do it…"
It was Traynors time to sigh as she looked at Liara, it was obvious she was thinking about it. "You know that joining Cerberus will ruin my whole career right?"
"Yes I know but I also know you care for Chloe. The SAME way I do…" There was a clear challenge in Liara's words. Shepard might have never talked about her fondness towards Traynor and Tali in front of the asari. Not even when they were talking about their lives in her room but Liara wasn't blind. She knew how she looked at all three of them and she sure as hell knew that the three of them were looking back at her the same way. She didn't care if she would have to exploit this weakness to get Samantha to do what she wanted. She needed to make sure Cerberus won't mess up.
Samantha groaned at her words and even though she was supposed to be on duty in an hour she grabbed Liara's beer and took a long sip, almost finishing it. "Alright…" She nodded and repeated once more. "Alright…" She looked at the asari. "I'll keep in touch."
Liara sighed in relief as she heard her words. It was obvious as her body relaxed. "Be careful they'll be suspicious at the beginning. Use only secured channels."
Samantha nodded. "I guess you and Tali will figure something out to make it secure enough…" There was a light tone to her words.
Liara quickly nodded. "Don't worry. Just let me know when she is back…" She said before finishing her beer. "Good luck and thank you.
Just if any of you noticed: Liara believes she and Shep are girlfriends but Shep is sorta oblivious and needs clarification on this topic (Just so you don't go at me for the ending of the previous chapter and start of this one being complete opposites - calm down, it's on purpose :D)
