|DATE: 9/24/2184|
|Location: Citadel|
She swallowed the rest in a single gulp and sighed. Then Liara stared at the bottom of her empty mug with a lewd looking frown on her face.
Why humans liked coffee just for the taste alone was beyond her.
"Goddess."
Her coffee was really bitter. But it was a consequence she was willing to pay for. You know, to stay awake for not sleeping too well the night before.
Not that Liara had been sleeping well in the first place.
And knowing that Tali was already up in Anderson's office speaking to him wasn't going to settle any of the anxiety that'd been keeping her up at night.
With the frown still set on her face, she pushed aside her uneaten pastry, stared outside her window again for the tenth time, and looked up to the artificial rays of sun.
Meeting Tali here was spelling disaster.
Tali knew she was holding something back.
Something really important.
All Liara had to do was confirm with Tali it was all about John.
That's it. That's all she had to do. And then the pain Tali had been suffering through would stop.
All the grief. All the sorrow. All the agony, torment, and misery would be gone.
...Or would it?
John's death ended her. Destroyed her. So what would happen if Liara told Tali John's body had been handed to Cerberus? By her doing?
In the end, Liara didn't know what to think of it. And she sure as hell didn't know why she even relented to coming here in the first place.
Maybe that's what Garrus wanted. Maybe that's why Garrus convinced her to go. For her to slip up and just admit what was going on. But that couldn't happen.
Maybe in the future, when John was up and about, but not now. No one else needed to know.
Not Wrex.
Not Ashley.
Not Adams, or any of the other old crew…
And definitely not Tali.
Unfortunately for Liara, Tali was an entirely different problem to handle. And it was all because of that stupid email she'd sent to her months ago. The one where she vaguely implied of a 'revival'. It was supposed to be a gift. An ambiguous one at that, but a gift nonetheless.
Well... it was more than that.
Not necessarily just a gift to Tali per se, but a way for Liara to find some peace for her moral compass. A way to recompense the choices she'd made with Cerberus.
But now Liara was coming to regret it all together. Sending that message to Tali was a serious mistake. But why hide it from her, right? Why was it such a big a deal to just be straight with Tali and just tell her? There were many reasons why Liara wasn't going to say anything. First and foremost, as cliché as it sounded, she did it to protect her. Tali didn't need to be involved or aware of Cerberus and John. Secondly, there wasn't any guarantee John would even be coming back in the first place.
What good would it do to tell her John was coming back, just for it not to happen? It wouldn't. Bringing Tali through some high, just to relive the feeling of knowing he wasn't coming back for the second time? Was that even a consideration?
No. It really wasn't.
Liara nodded to herself with finality. The less people knew, the better. Tali included. No matter how guilty she would feel about it.
Liara ordered another cup of coffee and watched the waiter pour.
When he was done, she looked at the steaming brew with a disinterested look on her face.
"You know," The waiter began with a humble smile, "you look awfully unhappy drinking that."
"I need it." Liara answered dryly before looking at the young and attractive human man.
"I'm certain. Tell you what." The man placed a hand into his apron to fetch four little parcels of sugar and creamer.
"Add this, and I guarantee you'll like it a lot better."
"What is it?"
"You'll see." He wandered off to tend to another customer's order.
She read the little packets he left for her.
"Sugar…" She read with a monotone rasp before reading the other parcel, "...almond creamer."
Her frown grew dark.
She'd been drinking coffee all this goddamn time without the basic foresight to add something as simple as sugar and cream.
She couldn't help but pinch her nose at how laughably stupid that was.
She mixed the cream and sugar and stirred with a spoon before looking back out the window across the street to the district wall and Anderson's office a floor above.
How long would it be before Tali would come stepping down the stairs from his office?
Liara suddenly saw Tali start stepping down the stairs from his office.
Well then.
Liara held her stare from inside the SouthStar Café and idly started tapping her fingers against the hot mug as she considered what she should do.
Tali didn't know she was here. Or at least, Liara didn't think she did. And as of ten minutes ago, Liara hadn't known Tali had been on the Citadel either. She'd only found out when she saw them walking up the stairs to Anderson's office.
Liara grumbled. Maybe it was best if she go out and meet them. Or maybe it was better if she just give Tali a call first to get a good idea of what mood she was in.
...All this time and you didn't think of this?
She peered a little closer and frowned. Could that even be Tali? It had to be. The iconic purple and light swirled pattern had to be of the same make. And from what she could tell, even from this distance, was that Tali was wearing the black pendent from John.
Her gaze fell back to her new mug of coffee.
Yeah. That was definitely her. And if she looked good then... She certainly did now.
When the two quarians finally step down the stairs, they exchange a couple words before glancing at the café Liara was in. Liara felt a cold sweat shiver across her skin.
Maybe they did know she was in here. She did, after all, tell Anderson she was going to relax here. When they started walking toward the front entrance, Liara's guess looked about right.
She started to collect her thoughts. Any moment now, Tali would catch wind of Liara sitting alone and sit down across from her.
Probably give her an invisible stink eye. And then they would talk. And either it would end bad... Or end really bad.
Here goes...
Both the quarians stepped inside.
And just as Liara guessed, Tali noticed her sitting alone at her empty booth with only a mug of coffee and little pastry to keep her company. Tali gave Juel a look and he took the hint to find a something to drink at the bar.
As Tali approached, all she could think about was the distance that'd grown between her and the ever-so-lucrative Liara. Tali took a seat across from her and said nothing for a moment.
That was definitely the stink eye Liara had guessed about.
The silence between them remained deathly quiet.
"Fancy seeing you here, Liara." Tali finally greeted with a darkly furrowed brow.
"Likewise, Tali." Liara grimaced slightly without showing it, "Garrus told me to come. I wish he were here with us. But he always finds himself busy these days." She looked as if nothing were wrong and cupped her mug with two hands before smiling.
"Tell me."
Liara's eyes widen slightly and her smile waned into total seriousness.
"I can't."
Tali's voice dropped several decibels, but the crude and malignant tone did not. "Then we'll go somewhere where we can."
"You don't understand."
"Then. make. me."
"I came here to see you, Tali. Not to talk about our jobs." Liara's blue eyes carefully pierce through Tali's visor.
"Because Garrus told you to come here. Told you to come see me."
"…and what of it, Tali? Is that so bad?"
Tali leaned back into her chair and went quiet when a waiter passed by them both.
Tali's slim jaw flexed as she processed and chewed over their conversation (Or whatever passed as one).
Seconds pass, but the silence ensued.
This was it. If Tali couldn't convince Liara to drop the act and tell her, she was going to hack her omni-tool.
She primed a temporary dropbox and began searching for a way to get unrestricted access to her files.
...really?
Tali suddenly felt a pang of guilt wrack her chest.
Not even a minute of talking to your old friend and you start hacking her files.
Fantastic.
It almost felt like betrayal.
But the potential payoff was too great to pass. Tali had to.
The idea of Liara keeping something her that could be about John was too much to bear.
It was, in all essence, infuriating.
She held her glare for another long moment before folding her arms on the table.
Tali decided this was Liara's last chance. And she'd better take it.
"Just tell me what Lazarus means." Tali said, "You've mentioned it once in a message."
Tali sat up straight, "Garrus knows."
Tali's frown began to bare teeth as she leaned in closer toward Liara. "Why. Can't. I."
Once again, just as Tali expected, Liara didn't answer correctly.
"I'm sorry. I just... can't."
Tali started the hack.
All Tali needed was minutes at the very most. Then every byte of memory would be copied over to her.
She curbed the urge to beat a closed fist against the table. "I don't have time for this…" Tali murmured frustratingly before looking to Juel who'd occupied his time with introducing a straw through his induction port, "My friend here has one arm. Where do you think I can get him a new one?"
Liara's feeble smile, although hidden by her sad and tired eyes, returned.
"The Ullison Medical Center… they can help him. A cohort of mine back during my digs had to get his cybernetic limb replaced there. Considered one of the best on the Citadel."
|/:ʜᴀɴᴅsʜᴀᴋᴇ ᴇsᴛᴀʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ. ɪɴɪᴛɪᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɴsғᴇʀ.|
Keep her talking.
"What have you been doing for the past nine months?"
"Brokering… with information." Liara managed to say before sipping her coffee.
"An information broker." Tali clarified, "Where?"
"Illium…"
"Illium…?" She repeated mirthlessly while she rapped her fingers against the table.
"Yes… and I can't say much more."
"Not surprising."
Liara stalled herself to think by taking another sip of her coffee.
What's happened to you, Tali? Has John's death changed you this much?
Liara's eyes wither sadly at Tali before finding the rights words to say to her.
"I'm sorry." Liara reached for her hand and gripped it tightly before placing another above, "…I wish I could help you... If there was anything I could change, Tali, I would."
Tali suddenly felt herself choke up.
"Liara…" Her head shook slowly from left to right, "Don't… don't do this…"
"I have to. You've changed so much." Liara offered with a teary eye as she pointed to her heart, "And it started here. You loved him Tali. And now he's gone. But believe me; Someday? Things will get better."
Liara's caring touch was killing her.
Making her feel guilty beyond comprehension.
"And how is that, Liara?" Tali said as she bit back tears, "explain to me."
"Believe me, Tali." Liara said with as much compassion as she put inside of just a few words, "Just believe me."
A long and trembling sigh bubbled from Tali's lips. "…Okay…"
Tali stopped the hack.
Either Liara was really good at making Tali feel guilty, or Tali was finally catching up to what she was just about to do to Liara.
|/:ᴅɪsᴇɴɢᴀɢɪɴɢ ʜᴀɴᴅsʜᴀᴋᴇ. ʜᴀᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴀᴛᴛᴇᴍᴘᴛ ʀᴇᴅᴀᴄᴛᴇᴅ. ᴛʀᴀsʜɪɴɢ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴄᴏᴅᴇ. ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ sᴜʀᴇ, ᴛᴀʟɪ'ᴢᴏʀᴀʜ?|
Tali, without ever skipping a beat, confirmed with her computer to quit the hack completely.
'Yes.'
|/:ᴅɪsᴇɴɢᴀɢɪɴɢ|
"I will…" Tali's firmly grasped Liara's five, "I believe you. But I still need your help."
"Anything."
"If you're an information broker, that means you might be able to help my friend. He's looking for a pirate by the name of Captain Erer Jolak. He was a captain of some ship?"
"Hmm." Liara opened up her omni-tool and searched.
When she finally found out something related, Liara spoke up. "My sources say, if they're not mistaken, that Jolak was relatively infamous in the Terminus."
"Was?"
"Yes." Liara answered as she brought up the man in question, "His vessel scuttled several days after raiding a quarian ship some odd years ago. He was ready to dock on Omega when it happened."
"Do you have a picture of him?"
"Right here."
"Juel needs to see this himself." Tali said before turning around to get Juel attention.
Juel noticed her wave and came over.
"Need me?" He said simply.
"Does this look like Jolak?" Tali said before gesturing to Liara.
Liara showed Juel the picture on her omni-tool.
Juel eyed the profile of Jolak and finally nodded when he was done looking. "That's, uh, definitely him."
"Your target's dead. Been dead. His ship scuttled after raiding a quarian ship."
Juel felt a pit settle in stomach when Liara told him the ship Samah was on had blown itself up.
All these years of wondering and he was finally faced with an answer.
One he didn't really want to hear.
There was no reason for Jolak to blow up his own ship. Especially after all the losses he'd taken after trying to raid Juel's old home all that time ago.
Which meant it had to have been done on purpose.
The only conclusion Juel could draw was that Samah somehow had escaped their clutches and blew their ship up by overloading its reactor.
Nausea overcame him.
"...Samah must've killed them." He said numbly before taking a seat.
"Uh..." Liara glanced between the two, "Who's Samah?"
"Jolak attacked the Gognimae." Juel answered distantly with a whisper, "I was on that ship when it happened. And they took her away from me."
"Juel..." Tali began, "You don't know for sure Samah was on that ship when it happened. She might've gotten out or—"
"—Really, Tali? Do you really believe that?"
Tali's reply died on her tongue.
No.
She didn't.
Juel, knowing that Tali wasn't going to reply, turned back to Liara. "Thank you." Juel murmured as he felt tears coming.
"Juel…" Tali tried to reach for the man's shoulder, but he rose from his seat and went outside.
The two women watched him walk away until he disappeared around the street corner.
"Go, Tali. I'm going to be on the Citadel for the next couple of days. We'll… find a hotel together?"
Tali got up herself and smiled, albeit lightly.
"I'd… like that."
"Juel, wait up." Tali called out as she caught up with him. He continued his wide stride into a dark corridor before finally turning around to face her.
"What?" Juel's answered callously.
"…What?" Tali said visibly confused, "Juel, you just walked off."
He shook his head stiffly from left to right and covered his face with his only hand.
"Fuck, Tali." His eyes squeeze shut at the thought of Samah. The mere idea of her getting caught in some atomizing explosion tore at the finest strands of his heart. "Fuck."
"I know..." Tali whispered as she stepped up closer to him, "I know, Juel. I know."
His trembling chest and deep grinding sobs crushed her. Juel, without it even being a choice, hugged her with his one arm and wept deeply for the uncaring universe they all lived in.
|One day Later...|
|DATE: 9/25/2184|
|Location: Serpent Nebula/Citadel/Kithoi Ward/Karemein Suites/4th floor/Room D-18|
Tali was dreaming.
Dreaming of a beautiful night at some fancy restaurant under the summer stars.
Just across from her, on their small candlelit table, sat John with his trimmed suit and loose tie.
Just to make sure she'd dressed for the occasion, she looked down to see she was wearing, in equal measure, a dress; tailored and black.
John took a sip of wine from a tall glass before glancing at the brick and metal pit of fire.
"John," Tali said with a small smile as she looked back up at him, "...I miss you."
"I know, hun." John replied with his own smile, "I miss you too."
He leaned in closer and placed a hand over hers. Whatever was left of his smile disappeared. "But you won't be waiting long."
"What are you talkin—"
"—Just… believe me, hun." He said as he raised her hand to kiss, "Just believe me."
"I don't understand… you're just… a figment. Some made up fabrication of my mind…"
"Yet," His smile returned and he stared at his meal, "you're still talking to me."
She gave him an even stare. "...I love you."
"I love you too, Tali."
His smile never waned.
He looked up past the strung up lights hovering above them to the twinkling stars.
"Do you remember, John, when we crashed on Ullipses?"
"Yes." He nodded, "I do."
"Do you remember our night together?"
"Yes."
She looked up at the starry sky herself. "I'm still hoping, John. Hoping for you."
He leaned in close and caressed her cheek.
"Good." He murmured.
...
Liara gently shook Tali's shoulder. "Tali. Hey. Sleep well?"
Tali's eyes slowly bead open. When she finally could make out who was waking her up, she cocked an eyebrow.
Liara's gown wasn't leaving much to the imagination.
"Yes, I did." Tali answered before closing her eyes again and snuggling deeper into her pillow.
"Good." Liara said softly, "So... it's still early. Maybe now's a good time to get Juel to a hospital to see what a doctor can do for him."
Tali grumbled before sitting upright and nodding. "I guess you're right. I'll go ahead and wake him."
She turned to Juel and shook his shoulder. "Juel. Wake up. Time to get ready."
"Ugh."
"I know. You're still tired. But it's best if we go when it's still early."
"...fffine." He relented with a sigh as he got up, "I'm up, I'm up."
They got ready and left.
They traveled by taxi to the Ullison Medical Center so Juel could get in line for a new arm.
Since Juel didn't exactly have medical insurance, Tali would have to pay in full the amount needed for Juel to get his new arm. Fortunately, with Tali waving her hefty amount of credits with Liara's help, they booked Juel in for a pre-op in less than six days.
After that, they spent the rest of the day browsing the Kithoi mall (To Juel's utter disappointment) looking at clothes they'd probably never buy.
When they retired for the night, Liara got all of them a bottle or two of wine each to celebrate before finally succumbing to a drowsy buzz on the sofa and floor.
|DATE: 9/25/2184|
|Location: Undisclosed|
"I'd like to not think about it when I'm exercising." Jacob argued as he finished his last rep on the bench.
"We can multi-task. And just to be sure, I'd like to not repeat what happened." Miranda said as she adjusted the weights on the leg press.
"Fair enough." Jacob sighed, "I'm not a paramedic. Just because everyone on this station is required a CNA isn't going to lower liability."
"Then more training won't hurt you." She nodded as she began her own reps.
"Like I said, Miri, there's no point. The Lazarus project's almost done. I'll let the techs do their job without getting in the way."
"Shepard's still a working progress. And that might still be months away. While we've seen extensive cognitive and physical functioning, that doesn't—"
"—By the looks of it, Miranda, he'll be up and running in around, I'd say, three months. One extra month of physical conditioning under a rigorous regimen."
Jacob lay back on the bench press and began his fourth set. "But what do we do from there? If I remember, the reports say the SR2 and her crew still need to be worked on."
"Not necessarily. The Illusive man's already doubled his stock. The other cells will be aligning to our deadline." She stopped her leg press and gave Jacob a serious look. "—the loss of New Georgetown pressed his dues. The disappearing colonies are becoming more frequent; three more over the last two months."
Jacob finished his set before reaching for his water bottle. "Kyle and Penny had some of their family there."
"Then they know how important this is."
"We're about ready on hitting two years with this, Miranda. We need to find what's happening, and stop it."
She fixed him with a determined stare. "I know."
A/N:
Wondering why Tali had such a weird dream? Here's an answer if you want to know the reasoning behind it:
I don't do supernatural stuff. Ever. It's simply Tali's subconscious telling her that John's coming back through allegory. If you notice, I made John repeat in her dream "Just believe me, Tali." in almost the same way Liara did at the café in their little heated argument.
Her subconscious is pretty much convinced he'll be back, and her dream is expressing that. There's no interdimensional spiritual thing going on here.