"After that, we picked up the mercenary Zaeed Massani. Cerberus had already paid him, and so it was a pretty straightforward affair. After that, it was straight on to Illium, to recruit the deadly assassin Thane Krios and the asari Justicar Samara. Illium is basically Omega with asari architecture. Looks prettier but is still the same dangerous place."
After Joker quickly landed the ship by the docks, Kacey was told by Chambers that a message had come through for her. She took a quick look and realised that the email had contained information for Liara. She was surprised, but nevertheless took it. She'd worry about the details later. She quickly got ready to head out, taken note of the dossiers for the two individuals she was supposed to recruit.
She met up with Garrus and Kasumi at the airlock then left. As they walked across the docking bay, an asari walked over to them, accompanied by two LOKI mechs.
"Welcome to Nos Astra, Commander Shepard." The asari said, "We've been instructed to waive all docking and administration fees for your visits. My name is Careena. If you need information about the area, it would be my pleasure to assist you."
"Not that I'm complaining, but what's with the free pass?" Kacey said, "Who told you to waive the fees?"
"The order came from Liara T'Soni, who paid all the fees on your behalf." Careena replied, "She also asked that I direct you to speak with her at your convenience. She's near the trading floor."
"Liara's here?" Kacey asked, "Why?"
"Liara is one of Nos Astra's most respected information brokers." Careena explained, "Nos Astra is based upon trade. Information is a valuable currency, and Liara has done quite well. As I said, you'll find her near the trading floor. She was looking forward to seeing you."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"Again, welcome to our city, Commander. Please, enjoy your stay." Careena said before swiftly leaving.
"I'm surprised. It seems Liara has been busy." Garrus mused.
"It appears so." Kacey mused, "I don't think I want to see her."
"Why not?" Kasumi asked, "Is she not your friend?"
"She is, but after Horizon, I don't think she'd be happy to see me."
"If Liara is asking for you, I think she does." Garrus said, "I don't think she would be angry."
"We'll see."
"Customs reports indicate that a Justicar named Samara is visiting this port, Shepard." EDI chimed, "Your former teammate, Liara T'Soni, may have more information. You may wish to speak with her regarding the whereabouts of Thane Krios, the assassin on your dossier as well."
"Thanks, EDI." Kacey said.
…
Nos Astra looked beautiful, Kacey hated to admit it. For a place on the edge of Terminus Space, that was basically a prettier, cleaner version of Omega, that is. Garrus had wandered off and looked over at the vistas, lost in thought.
"You okay, Garrus?" Kacey asked.
"Yeah, yeah I was just thinking of something." Garrus replied, "We were always told that Illium is one of the safest places in the galaxy…until you fell off the grid. Sign the wrong contract, join up with the wrong company or walk down the wrong alley and it's as dangerous as anywhere else. Don't let this place fool you, its no safer here than Omega."
"It's still Terminus Space," Kacey said, "I don't think anywhere here is safe."
"You know something, Kaidan? The galaxy really is a small place. Even the people you never thought you'd see again can reappear in an instant."
"Holy crap, Shepard? I thought you were dead!"
Kacey wandered over to the sound of the voice that called her over. She instantly recognised the woman.
"Gianna?" Kacey said shocked.
"Shepard? The news said you were dead!" Gianna said surprised, "What happened? No, wait, probably classified. Forget I asked. You'd just have to lie. It's been a couple of years, right? You helped me nail Administrator Anoleis, remember?"
"My pleasure." Kacey smiled, "What happened to him, anyway?"
"He made the one mistake Noveria won't tolerate; he got caught taking their money. He's doing a few years in white-collar prison. More importantly, he won't work in the field again. Sit down. If I remember right, I owe you a beer. You and your turian friend."
"Gladly." Garrus said.
"Yeah okay." Kacey said, "Hold on, where is Kasumi?"
"I think she went off somewhere." Garrus said, "We'll find her in a minute."
Gianna ordered both beers. Kacey was at least pleased to sit down for a little bit. A lot had happened so quickly, and she just couldn't figure it all out yet. As soon as the drinks arrived, she turned to face Kacey.
"What brings you to Illium? You know, that you can talk about?" Gianna asked.
"You ever heard of the Collectors?" Kacey said, "They're attacking human colonies. I'm going to stop them."
"Damn, Shepard." Gianna replied, "For me, a tough job involves more paperwork."
"Unlucky." Garrus replied, "Thankfully that doesn't seem to be a problem with us."
"Lucky you." Gianna said before her expression changed quickly, "Hey, listen. I just remembered something. I've got to go. Talk to you later?"
"Sure."
"Don't forget to drink your beer."
Kacey looked under the beer and found a small note underneath.
'Shepard. Had to leave. Target saw me. Couldn't break cover. Asari merchant smuggling schematics from Noveria. Can you talk her into showing you the good stuff?'
"Another favour?" Garrus mused.
"Yeah, but if it nets us another beer, are you gonna complain?" Kacey teased.
"You know me so well."
"Naturally. Come on." Kacey said.
Kacey and Garrus walked over to the merchant, who smiled and waved at them.
"Welcome!" she said, "You look like someone who needs high-quality equipment! Feel free to look around. My store has the best tech and biotic equipment on Illium."
"Is everything here so expensive?" Kacey asked, "I'd planned to drop a lot of credits today."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm outfitting a team for a dangerous mission. I need the best, and I'm willing to pay for it…as long as you work with me."
"Well…Perhaps I could give you a preferred rate at the kiosk. Here. A small discount–and when I get special items in, you can take a look."
"Do you have anything else? Anything advanced that isn't listed on your main kiosk?" Kacey asked.
"Well, there is one thing…" The merchant said, "Very advanced design. Not publicly available yet."
"That's because it's still in development on Noveria." Gianna said as she arrived, "And illegal for export. Hello, Hermia."
"Parasini! You set me up!" Hermia spat, "But this isn't Noveria! You don't have the authority to arrest me!"
"I do." Kacey murmured as Garrus snickered.
"What?"
"Look, I don't care if you go to jail." Gianna said, "I've got all the evidence I need to fine you out of business."
"Are we done?" Kacey asked.
"Yes, we are."
"I…I need to go." Hermia said quickly, "I have to talk to my lawyer."
"Talk fast Hermia!" Gianna shouted as Hermia ran off, "When the fines hit, you won't be able to afford him!"
"Hermia is going to be a very poor woman very shortly." Gianna said, turning to Kacey, "Thanks for the help, Shepard. I love nailing asari. So ageless and superior—then you get them and they just squeal like schoolgirls."
"Must be nice having a job you enjoy." Kacey mused.
"I wanted to be a cop or C-Sec but my family had bills. I needed the money a corporate job brought in. Besides in this job you don't see things that make it hard to sleep at night. White-collar crime is nice and clean. Hell, at least this time I didn't have to wear heels and a dress."
"It's been a pleasure, Gianna."
"You too, Shepard. See you around."
…
"Where have you been?" Kacey asked
"Shopping." Kasumi said slyly, "Illium is a good place to go shopping."
"Shopping or stealing?" Garrus asked.
"There's a difference?" Kasumi quipped.
"You know what? I don't want to know." Kacey said, "Come on, let's go see Liara."
Kacey headed upstairs to the office EDI had mentioned was Liara's. Kacey hoped it wouldn't devolve into another shouting match. She didn't have it in her to have another row with someone. Kacey opened the door to find Liara on the phone.
"Have you faced an asari commando unit before?" She asked the human with a sinister tone, "Few humans have. I'll make it simple. Either pay me or I flay you alive. With my mind."
"Well, that's not very nice, Liara." Kacey said as the call ended, "I thought you were better than that."
"Shepard!" Liara said surprised as she turned around, "Nyxeris, hold my calls."
The asari behind them nodded before leaving. Liara walked over towards her desk, gesturing for Kacey to sit down as well.
"My sources said you were alive, but I never believed." Liara said, "Its good to see you."
"You have sources now?" Kacey replied.
"A few." Liara replied, "Sources, contacts, even a little hired muscle. I've been working as an information broker."
"So, I've heard." Kacey said crossing her arms, "I'm surprised. I didn't think you were interested in that line of work."
"Well, its paid the bills since you…" Liara trailed off before continuing, "Well, for the past two years. And now you're back, gunning for the Collectors with Cerberus."
"Against my will, but that's besides the point." Kacey added, "If you know all this, then you know that I could use your help, Liara."
"I can't, Shepard." Liara replied sternly, "I'm sorry, but I have commitments here. Things I've got to take care of."
"By making threats?" Garrus asked.
"It's more complicated than that Garrus." Liara replied.
"What kind of things?" Kacey interjected, "Is there something I could help with? Are you in trouble?"
"No, no trouble. But it's been a long two years. I had things to do while you were gone. I have debt to repay."
"Well, maybe you could help me find two people I'm looking for." Kacey said.
"I could. Who are you looking for?"
"An asari Justicar named Samara and a drell named Thane Krios."
"Hmm. Samara had just arrived recently and is registered with Tracking Officer Dara. You can find Dara at the transportation hub." Liara answered, "And as for Thane, he arrived a few days ago. My sources tell me he may be targeting a corporate executive: Nassana Dantius. He contacted a woman named Seryna, who has an office in the cargo transfer levels. Perhaps she can tell you where he went."
"Nassana Dantius? The diplomat who mainuplated us into killing her sister?" Kaidan asked.
"Yep, the very one." Kacey said, "But we'll get to that part later."
"Thanks Liara." Kacey said, standing up, "Oh, and before I forget, I've got to give you this."
Kacey handed over the information. Liara took a quick glance through it, her eyes widening.
"Where did you get this?" Liara asked.
"Cerberus." Kacey replied, "The joys of having access to their servers. They wanted me to hand this over to you."
"Let's see…it looks like a leaked transmission between Shadow Broker operatives." Liara mused, "Some hints as to the location and…"
She trailed off. Kacey looked at the asari, concerned.
"It's about Feron." She said after a small pause, "He's still alive."
"Did you ever wonder how Cerberus got a hold of my dead body?" Kacey asked.
"Yeah." Kaidan replied, "The Alliance searched for weeks but nobody found you."
"Well, you're about to find out. I was surprised myself when Liara told me."
"Who's Feron?" Kacey asked.
"He was a friend." Liara replied, "He helped me recover your body from the Shadow Broker."
"Excuse me!?" Kacey said, "What did you just say?"
"WHAT!?" Kaidan said surprised, "The Shadow Broker? How!?"
"Well, this just got interesting." Garrus mused.
"The Shadow Broker. He had found your body first." Liara replied nonchalantly.
"What did the Shadow Broker want with my corpse?"
"He was going to sell you to the Collectors, but Feron and I stopped him." Liara explained, "Feron sacrificed himself to save me."
"So, you rescued me?" Kacey replied, "That doesn't explain how I ended up in a Cerberus lab."
"Well," Liara hesitated, "they gave me intel to help recover you. They actually put Feron with me in the first place. After I got out, I gave you over to them. They said they could bring you back."
"Liara knew." Kaidan said, "Liara knew where you were, found you, then handed you over to Cerberus. Have I got that right?"
"Yes. That is what she told me and Garrus."
"So that entire time, those two years I was grieving…she didn't once think to tell me, or anyone else, what was going on?"
"I've got no idea." Kacey simply replied, "I don't know what happened to you all during that time. I suppose those are questions you should ask Liara."
"I intend to." Kaidan replied, "But what about you? What did you say?"
"Well, I should say that Garrus agreed with you." Kacey replied, "As for me…"
"You handed me over to Cerberus?" Kacey said in disbelief.
"Yes. I did."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Garrus snapped, "You knew we were all grieving and worried about what happened to Shepard. Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"I was concerned about you all complicating things." Liara snapped back, "The mission required subtlety. You and Wrex are hardly subtle and Tali had to return home. I had to do it alone."
"So, why didn't you tell Kaidan?!" Garrus replied angrily, "He was driving himself crazy after Shepard died. Why didn't you tell him?"
Liara looked over at Kacey. Despite not wanting another shouting match, Kacey had to agree with Garrus. Maybe it was her own frustrations over her argument with Kaidan that was clouding her judgement. Liara did save her, to which she was grateful, but as Garrus had said, she should've told everyone.
"I'm grateful to Liara for saving me from the Collectors. And for having a hand in bringing me back. But she should've told you all what was going on. You should've been told the truth."
"Liara?" Kacey asked, "Garrus has a point. Why didn't you?"
"Kaidan wasn't in the right state of mind." Liara finally replied, "Garrus knows this."
"Oh, I don't suppose you know what happened on Horizon recently, have you?" Garrus said, to which Liara shook her head, "The Collectors hit the place. We arrived, and you'd never guess who was there."
"Kaidan?"
"Kaidan." Kacey said, "And he wasn't too happy to see me with Cerberus."
"Oh…I see."
"Is that all you have to say?" Garrus said.
"Garrus, can you and Kasumi go talk to Dara for me?" Kacey asked, "Try to track down Samara."
"Are you sure?" Garrus asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Kacey replied, "I need to speak to Liara one-on-one. I'll meet you both at the transportation hub."
"Good. Because this conversation was getting awkward." Kasumi said as the pair left. Once they were gone, Liara stood up and walked towards Kacey.
"Shepard, I'm sorry." Liara said.
"You don't have to apologise to me Liara." Kacey said calmly, "None of this was your fault. And I'm grateful that you saved me from the Collectors."
"Thank you." Liara mused, "And Kaidan…if you don't mind, what happened?"
"We had a fight." Kacey said, "Long story short, he believes that I've been hiding and working for Cerberus these last two years, thinks I'm being manipulated and I'm not even sure if we're still friends anymore."
"And I assume Garrus was there?" Liara asked to which Kacey nodded, "That explains his attitude."
"It's still no excuse." Kacey replied, "He shouldn't have snapped at you. But I do agree with at least one thing; you should've at least told Kaidan what was going on, right state of mind or not."
"I understand, Shepard." Liara mused, "Perhaps I should have. I just thought…I thought I was sparing him from more pain."
"How?"
"Your body it…" Liara's faced scrunched up, "it wasn't pretty. It was awful to see you like that. I didn't want Kaidan to see you like that. I know how much you both meant to each other…I…I couldn't bring myself to tell him. To show him."
"So, she thought she was protecting me?"
"Yes." Kacey replied, "I don't think I'll ever truly understand what it was like for you during those two years, but the way Liara and Garrus told it, it seemed as though seeing my body would've sent you over the edge."
"Honestly, I don't know myself." Kaidan admitted, "I really don't know."
"Fair enough." Kacey replied.
"Cerberus clearly kept their promise." Liara said, "Whether Kaidan agrees or not, they brought you back. And now, they're giving me a chance to find Feron."
"We'll get Feron back, Liara." Kacey replied, "What's the next step?"
"I…I don't know. I need to prepare, to think. I'm going home."
"You okay?"
"I've spent two years plotting revenge. Now I have the chance to make it a rescue."
"Let me help. I'll come by your apartment later?"
"Okay. Hopefully I have a plan by then." Liara said, "Thank you."
Liara started to head out but stopped at the door. She turned to face Kacey.
"And Shepard?"
"Yes?"
"Tell Garrus…I'm sorry."