Chapter 5
Shepard had been stripped of her armor and left cuffed in the cargo hold of the Alliance vessel. She was wearing a t-shirt and some cargo pants under her armor so at least there was that. She couldn't help but worry over Liara the whole time. There was no word yet, and she had been sitting in the cargo bay for at least two hours, under guard even.
She looked between her two guards, the same two who had carried Liara off earlier. A young woman with dark hair, put up into a tight military bun and a younger man with scruffy short hair. Shepard adjusted herself on the crate she sat on, straining against her restraints feeling ungodly uncomfortable. It would not be the first time she was arrested, and she figured probably not the last. What made her feel so impatient was Liara. She just needed to know if the asari was alright.
Finally the elevator on the other end of the cargo bay began to open, Captain Anderson coming into sight as he marched off the elevator, heading for Shepard's direction. He dawned a crisp uniform, an officers jacket and slacks, the man stood tall and proud. Shepard adjusted once more as she watched him, her heart pounding from her anxiety. "Where's Liara, is she ok?" Shepard asked before the man even reached her.
He didn't respond at first, just stopped before her looking down at her as she looked back up, her brows furrowing. He could see the defiance building in her. She stood, meeting him eye to eye. His two subordinates moved as if to make her sit but he lifted a hand, halting their efforts. "It's fine, I don't think our guest will cause too much of a ruckus." He said calmly to them. Williams and Fletcher looked to each other, both shrugging.
Shepard's eyes moved between the two soldiers, perhaps assessing her situation. Anderson could see it in her, she was a fighter. "Before I answer your question, you need to answer some of mine." He then said, his tone not allowing for argument. Shepards eyes returned to him, a slight glare on her face. He would have smiled, he found it a bit amusing, but he kept a straight face.
"Who are you and what were you doing with the beacon?" He questioned. Shepard looked over his shoulders, seeing the now inactive beacon stored and secured in the corner of the cargo bay. Shepard stood taller herself, the look of defiance clearly written on her face as they looked at each other.
"I don't trust you Alliance types." Shepard said flatly. Anderson raised an eyebrow at the woman. Shepard wasn't lying, she didn't care for the Alliance. She couldn't after what happened to her family.
Anderson shook his head. "I'll come back when you're feeling more cooperative." he said as he turned and began to walk away. Shepard cursed under her breath. She should have known it wouldn't be so simple to move the conversation in her direction. He was military, worse yet, he was an officer. He wouldn't have it any other way but his.
Shepard sighed as her head fell back, looking at the ceiling for a moment. "Wait." She then said rolling her eyes to herself. Fine, if it meant she could know what was happening to Liara. Anderson stopped and turned back around to face Shepard who finally leveled her eyes with his again. "Shepard." She said flatly again.
Anderson nodded as he came to stand in front of her again. "What were you planning to do with the beacon, Shepard?" He questioned as she looked away from him. He could see the agitation on her face. "Make this easier on yourself, Shepard. The more you cooperate the more I can help you." He insisted.
That got her attention as her eyes bore into his. She had to bite back something bitter in her mouth. Their help was little too late as far as she was concerned. "I had no interest in the beacon." She replied shortly. Again Anderson perked a brow. "I was there on a job." She then said as she stood stiff.
Anderson sighed. "If you don't tell me specifics I'm going to have to assume you were doing something illegal." the man suggested. "Or that you really were doing something with the beacon." He added. He had to give the woman before him credit. She almost looked un-phased. Almost.
She gave an exasperated sigh as she leaned more heavily on her right foot, her body showing her annoyance. "If I tell you, will you let me see the asari?" Shepard questioned, her tone sounding frustrated.
The older man shrugged his shoulders. "That might be possible." He answered. He wasn't going to budge on any guarantees until he was satisfied with what Shepard had to say. "It depends on your interest in the asari." He added as Shepard frowned.
The woman fidgeted against her restraints once more. "I'm a mercenary, no doubt you figured that out." She started. He nodded, encouraging her to go on. She grunted in her frustration. "My crew an I were hired to watch over the team looking into the beacon. Nothing more, nothing less." She went on. She would not tell him Liara was who hired her crew. The less he knew about that detail the better, she figured. She would not get Liara wrapped up in her mess. Not give the Alliance reason to ruin her life by turning it inside out, thinking maybe she was involved in criminal activities.
The Captain gained a slight look of annoyance of his own. "We found you with the beacon. What happened? Why were the geth there?" He pressed. It was crucial he knew the details. As of now the Eden Prime incident was under investigation, so ordered by his superiors in the Alliance Brass. He had to give them something.
Nicole shrugged her shoulders. "The beacon overloaded when I was trying to secure it. It did something to the asari, I don't know what. As far as the geth you know as much as I do." She went on, her tone still flat. "One of my crew said she had found something that may have explained the attack, but if you want that information let me see the asari." Shepard added.
Anderson debated on what he was told. He wondered how much detail the woman had left out and weighed on if she was speaking the truth about this supposed information. Did she make that up as a bargaining chip to see the injured asari? He honestly couldn't be certain.
"Come with me." He finally responded as he sharply turned on his heel and walked for the elevator. Shepard followed him in silence, her two guards following right behind them.
They stepped onto the elevator and he pressed the button for the appropriate deck as the door slowly slid closed. "For now you will remain in custody. I cannot guarantee your release when we reach the Citadel." He began as the elevator slowly ascended towards their destined deck. "You may have crimes I don't know about that the Council will want to pursue." he went on.
Shepard scoffed. "I might be a merc but I actually have standards, unlike most." She retorted. He looked to her curiously. "I may have done shady work here and there, but I'm not a criminal." She added with a casual shrug. He never responded however.
The elevator came to a stop, the door sliding open as he led the way onto the new deck. Shepard took in her surroundings. A mess hall greeted her on the other side of the lift, and some doors leading to probably crew quarters. He took her to one of the doors alongside the mess hall and the doors opened for him automatically.
Shepard followed him into the med bay, already spotting Liara laying on one of the medical beds, still unconscious. "Dr. Chakwas, this is Shepard. She was with the asari." Captain Anderson explained to an older woman who was seated at a desk, data pad in hand. She smiled warmly at the merc as she quickly moved to Liara's bedside.
The young prothean expert was no longer so pale, but her sleep seemed troubled, as her face would contort to discomfort every now and then. "Ah, yes..." Chakwas said as she stood, approaching Liara's bed as well. Anderson motioned for one of his subordinates to release Shepard's cuffs and they quickly stepped up behind her, unlocking them.
Shepard felt relief in that moment as she rolled her stiff shoulders and rubbed at her wrists. "What's wrong with her?" Shepard asked as she was so tempted to reach out for Liara. But she resisted. She could not allow the Alliance to know Nicole was fond of the sleeping archaeologist.
Chakwas flicked through her data pad before she looked to Shepard, gauging her interest in the asari. "I'll have guards posted outside your doors." Anderson interrupted as he motioned for the two guards to follow him out of the med bay. Perhaps he figured Shepard wouldn't pose much of a threat to his ship's medical physician.
Chakwas tried to give Shepard a reassuring smile. "As far as I can tell she'll make a full recovery." Chakwas started. She was both warm and professional when she spoke. Shepard was sort of grateful for her mannerisms. "I do need to know what happened to her though, so that I might make a proper diagnosis and treatment plan if one is needed." Chakwas went on.
Shepard sighed as she shrugged, moving away from Liara's bed, trying to think. She looked around the med bay in false interest. "I don't know. We were on Eden Prime and she got too close to that beacon." Shepard began. "It... I don't know, it wrapped her in a weird light and then the thing overloaded and exploded. She was knocked unconscious from it I think... Or maybe it did something else to her I can't be sure." Shepard admitted as Chakwas wrote that information into her data pad.
Chakwas summoned her omni-tool, swiping it over Liara's form before imputing more information on her pad. "Well, from what I can tell she will be alright. She just needs time to wake up on her own. There is some unusual brain activity, however." Chakwas noted as Shepard looked to the doctor. Chakwas could see the slightest hint of concern on the younger woman's face. "There's an increase in rapid eye movement as well. Signs pointing towards intense dreaming." Chakwas went on.
Shepard shook her head. "What does that mean?" the younger woman asked. Chakwas shut down her data pad as she returned to her desk.
"I don't know." She admitted, but didn't seem too concerned with it either. "It may be the effects of the beacon. When she wakes up I will need to run more tests to determine what's causing these issues." Chakwas went on. Shepard just sighed as she looked around, spotting a chair off in the corner.
She grabbed the chair as she brought it over to Liara's bed side. "Hope you don't mind, Doc. Doubt your captain is going to let me wander the ship." Shepard said as she sat on the chair, feeling a bit tired herself. It had been a long day, and everything that had happened earlier in the evening had left her feeling exhausted.
Chakwas gave her a warm smile but shrugged as she turned to her computer terminal. "Of course not. You should get some rest yourself. If you wish to feel more comfortable you're welcome to one of the beds." Chakwas replied as Shepard finally let herself smile a little. Shepard may not have liked the Alliance much, but she felt the doctor was alright at least. She seemed rather kind anyway.
VWVWV
Hours passed by, and Shepard had fallen asleep in her chair. Her head was tilted back, her arms folded against her chest, slightly slumped in her seat. Chakwas had allowed the young woman to sleep, ever busy on her other tasks as the chief medical officer.
Liara began to stir in her bed however. Liara's eyes fluttered open as she let out a groan of discomfort. She reached up with her left hand, touching her forehead, Chakwas standing from her chair as she approached the young asari. "Ah, you're awake." She said warmly as Liara quickly sat up, unsure of where she was or who was talking to her.
Shepard also snapped awake, reaching for her gun on her belt, but quickly remembered she was disarmed and on an Alliance ship. "Where am I?" Liara asked in a panic as she looked around. She quickly spotted Shepard who shot to her feet. Liara felt calmer knowing the human was there however and let herself relax some.
"I'm Doctor Chakwas, you're on an Alliance vessel." Chakwas assured her kindly. Liara nodded as Shepard tried to smile assuredly at the asari.
Shepard looked Liara over once, glad that the asari was awake now. "Hey, how you feeling?" Shepard asked as Liara shook her head. She reached up once more, rubbing at her forehead, feeling a little disoriented still.
"I do not know." Liara admitted as Chakwas ran a medical scan.
Chakwas went on to mess with her data pad as Shepard pulled the chair up closer to the bed as Liara laid back down. "I had... I had such frightening dreams, Shepard." Liara admitted as Shepard looked at her with concern. "I think it was a message from the beacon." Liara went on as their eyes locked together.
Chakwas listened on as she went to the other side of Liara's bed, reaching for Liara's wrist and checking her pulse. Chakwas nodded to herself as she continued to type away at her data pad before going to retrieve something. "A message?" Shepard asked, Liara nodding in response.
Liara then looked a little frustrated as she tried to recall what the beacon had shown her. "It did not make a lot of sense..." Liara went on to explain. "The message seemed confused, incomplete perhaps." She analyzed to herself more than anyone else. "A warning." she concluded as Shepard's brows furrowed, looking to the doctor who came back with a little scanner.
Chakwas regarded Shepard with a slight shrug, pressing the scanner to Liara's arm, taking a quick reading. "A warning about what?" Shepard pressed. Liara seemed to cringe, rubbing her head further.
Chakwas sat her scanner aside. "Well, your vitals are strong. Are you experiencing any pain, dear?" Chakwas asked Liara, noting how she grimaced and continued to reach for her head. Liara nodded in response as she tried to rub at her temples.
"There is considerable pressure in my head." Liara informed the doctor who jotted that down real quick. She went to her medicine cabinet, trying to see if she had anything for Liara's pain and discomfort.
Liara finally let her hand rest back on the bed. "There were machines... They were hurting people, killing them." Liara finally responded to Shepard's questions. "So many screams, a message trying to reach ever corner of the galaxy, I believe." Liara went on. Shepard frowned.
Chakwas approached the two once more, offering Liara two tiny pills and a small container of water. "This should help any pain you're feeling." Chakwas said with a smile Liara sat up, accepting the medication and water, thanking the doctor before swallowing the pills. "Now, I must ask." Chakwas said as Liara and Shepard looked to her. "For medical purpose, and because we have no way of telling how this beacon affected you, are you two close? Perhaps bondmates? I understand melding of minds is common practice for asari when they are in a relationship." Chakwas went on, nothing but professionalism in her voice.
Shepard and Liara both flushed deeply, both stammering as Chakwas couldn't help but smile in amusement. Liara was recovered more quickly, though her cheeks were still a deep violate color. "No, we are just friends." She stammered.
Shepard looked off somewhere else, pretending something more interesting caught her attention, but she knew she'd be lying if she were asked if she did have feelings for the asari. "Well, I would advise not to meld with anyone for the time being. At least until we know it's safe." Chakwas suggested as she turned to her desk. "Now. I must let the Captain know you are awake. I'm sure he has questions for you." the older woman said.
Liara and Shepard finally managed to look at each other, though both were still slightly flushed in the cheeks. Shepard just shrugged trying to give the asari as smile. She wondered if the smile betrayed how the question had really affected her.
