|Date: 3/13/2184|
|Location: Unknown|
"It's a suggestion, Mr. Vakarian. There are no conditions. Bring Shepard to me and he'll walk again."
Garrus shook his head and tried to gauge a reaction out of the enigmatic man.
The lack of response from either of his guests allowed The Illusive Man to continue.
"Doctor T'Soni by now has already made a decision, I assume?" He turned to face the other holo of Liara.
She said nothing.
"Liara. This is Cerberus we're talking about here." Garrus said without a care that TIM could hear him, "Shepard wouldn't have wanted this. This is going against everything we've stood for."
The Illusive Man stared on and took a drag out of his cigarette with the barest hint of a confident smirk on his face.
People always bickering about right and wrong. Worried about honor or veiled virtue.
There was a time and place for that. Not when it involved the reapers. None of that mattered. It was routinely coming at the expense of a much bigger picture.
Time didn't intervene because that wouldn't be doing anyone or their cause any favors. His best bet was to let them hash it out and him to sit quietly. But watching this was a lot like watching your kid ball their eyes out because they lose their high-school sweet heart thinking their life was over.
"You know it's true, Liara. The man's been spying on us. You think it's a coincidence we're all talking on such short notice after the fact?"
Liara remained silent and it was beginning to infuriate the turian.
As a matter of fact, he knew all too well what she was doing; stalling herself from choosing what looked to be an inevitability at this point. His gaze fell to the floor for a moment before looking back to The Illusive Man.
"How would you even get around to bringing him back?" Garrus asked.
"A lot of tech."
"...That's it? No one's ever brought back someone from being this dead this long."
"It's not an academic limitation. It's limitation of budget."
Garrus was, rightfully, unconvinced. "Ah."
"Vakarian. Your distrust isn't misplaced. I understand that our relationship has been nothing but bound by war." A small drag between his words, "I wouldn't invest a large portion of my resources rehabiliting his body just to put him up for ransom. I am not a wicked man. Nor are my methods. Every Cerberus cell you've bleached from the Milky Way were unbecoming of their conduct and operating outside the parameters of our organization. They were rogue. And their actions carried consequences; as evidenced by your borderline crusade."
"Mm."
"I don't folly with my words. I say what I mean. I will bring him back."
Garrus faced Liara again with a dark glare. "Any input? Or are you just keep staring at the floor?"
She still said nothing, so Garrus turned back to TIM.
"Do you really think you can do this?" He asked with a murmur.
"I really do."
"Fair enough." Garrus remarked dismissively.
"We'll do it. We'll bring Shepard to you." Liara said, her eyes never leaving the floor.
Garrus said nothing and faced her with something that looked like a raised brow and glare.
Silence ensued. It was a pause long enough for Liara to feel a flash of sweat lick her neck.
"No." Was his eventual response. "...No."
"Garrus."
"No." He repeated a third time, his resolve growing, "I'm sorry. I'm not doing this. " His stare lingered on her. The staring contest continued and TIM watched silently; cigarette glowing hot from his deep inhale.
Through her eyes alone, she fought with Garrus to change his mind but it didn't work.
"Good luck to both of you. Keep me out of this." He stepped away from the holo and she was left alone.
The Illusive Man stared on quietly for a moment before giving Liara a dip of the head, seeing that she had resigned herself to her decision.
"I'm sorry we weren't able to convince Vakarian. This will make this more difficult, but we can still manage without him."
"How?"
"We'll provide you with everything you need. We're going to link you up with a drell named Feron located currently on Omega. He'll help you."
"What would a drell have any interest in helping me capture Shepard's body?" her hands crossed her chest as she continued to listen.
"Feron worked for the Shadow broker. And we have compelling evidence that not only is the Shadow Broker interested in seizing his body, but the collectors as well. They may be working together."
Liara gulped. "—and how do we know that Feron isn't going to betray us?" Liara asked.
There was a smile smile from TIM. "When Feron discovered that the Shadow Broker was dealing with the collectors, he'd opted to join us. Naturally, the Shadow Broker doesn't take kindly to betrayal. His life depends on his cooperation."
LOGIN: Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya
PASSWORD: ***********
-Log 1-
-Date: 3/14/2184-
I've made this stupid decision to write down how I feel. John said he did it sometimes. Said it helped him.
Maybe it can with me too.
Well. Where do I start.
Spent three days with Juel'Kaan vas Neema nar Gognimae searching for raw materials. We found some great stuff. The planet's nice. Wish I could spend more of my time here, actually.
Though the work is getting repetitive. Just like everything else.
I hate it.
If it gets too easy? I think of you, John.
I can not let you go.
Thinking back, I wished I'd grabbed myself by the 'balls' (as joker would say probably) and just admit how I've felt earlier. It was obvious we had the hots for each other months beforehand.
Ha.
Those were the days, weren't they?
You were the only thing that kept me going those final hours though. When we were stranded on that shit planet. We could've died there. We should have, actually.
In spite of that, I held my breath up until the end.
Even with the small amount of time we spent, it was worth every second. Though you've spared me no less heartache after you died.
I miss you.
So. Much.
Though, for what it's worth, I can thank you anyways.
Thank you John.
For everything.
End log.
-End of record-