Liara T'Soni and the Ring of Life

by nakati7

Liara T'Soni is a very determined archaeologist who isn't worried to do a little tomb raiding to discover ancient knowledge. Cam Shepard is an ex-Alliance mercenary with a thing for people much smarter than she is. There's no way they'll get up to anything dangerous together, right?

18. Chapter 18

Bullets sparked from the forklift's chunky metal frame, forcing Shepard to duck down behind the controls as her barrier flared. She slammed down the accelerator and the vehicle leapt forwards, slamming into her attacker with a jolt that nearly unseated her.

She yanked on the controls, desperately whirling the vehicle around with one hand while firing her pistol haphazardly with the other. Careening around a corner, the forklift scattered a group of soldiers like bowling pins before smashing through a pile of stacked crates. Shepard grinned wickedly, baring her teeth as she dropped a trooper with her pistol before ramming through another wall of supplies.

The depot around her looked like it had been through a natural disaster, with most of its pristine rows and columns of supplies now reduced to shattered debris and burning rubble. Cerberus troops huddled in the few remaining bits of cover, desperately firing towards Shepard or Jack as they ran roughshod over the whole area. Periodically a brave soldier would run forward with their rifle raised high, only to be swiftly put down by a shot from Garrus' rifle.

A stray bullet glanced off the barrier she was maintaining around herself and ricocheted off into the sky. Snapping her head around, Shepard saw a good-sized group of soldiers peeking out from behind an overturned container of freeze-dried food a hundred feet away. As she watched, the soldier who had shot her fired again, causing a round to slam into the console just inches away from her hands.

Shepard wheeled the forklift around and floored it, causing the small engine inside to whine angrily as the vehicle lurched forward. She raised her pistol and began firing as she approached, trading shots with the soldiers as they opened fire in her direction. The forklift lit up with sparks and smoke as bullets riddled its chassis, and in return two more soldiers fell as Shepard's shots found their marks.

A piercing siren began going off from somewhere across the lava flow as she closed in, letting out short and painfully loud blasts of sound every few seconds. Immediately, the group of soldiers abandoned their attack to turn tail and run, all of them tripping over each other to sprint as far away as possible.

Shepard eased up on the forklift's accelerator, watching in confusion as the Cerberus troopers hauled ass away from her. Before she could puzzle over it for too long, however, an ominous low rumbling appeared on the edge of her hearing. Turning eastward, Shepard frowned as the sound continued to grow, building louder and louder until the roar of sound seemed to fill the whole sky.

The roar of engines, she realized.

Her blood running cold, Shepard slammed the accelerator down and angled the forklift for the nearest piece of cover. Dark shapes screamed past overhead as she reached up to key her earpiece, and with a hoarse voice she yelled, "Incoming!"

A string of deafening explosions detonated across the depot as the bombing run commenced, plucking Shepard clear out of her seat and sending her hurtling away in a blast of fire and heat.

---

"Come closer and listen carefully. There is much that must be done."

Liara slowly drifted towards the hologram before her, desperate curiosity propelling her towards the stone chair from which it emanated. Her mind raced at a thousand thoughts a minute as she moved. Can it be? she wondered. Have I found the answers at last?

The hologram pulsed softly as she approached, with geometric lines and strange patterns briefly flickering across its form every few seconds. Somehow, even without eyes or any conventional features to speak of, it seemed as if this hologram was watching her intently.

"What are you?" she asked.

"I am an artificial construct, designation Vigil, built to function as this facility's onboard computerized intelligence."

Liara shivered as the alien voice spoke, feeling the weight of thousands of years of history weighing on her shoulders. This was a voice of the Protheans, artificial and unsettling in a way that riddled her arms with goosebumps. This was a voice that could finally answer her questions, and after a lifetime of searching Liara found that she had nearly too many to choose from.

"Facility?" She managed after a moment, deciding to start small. "I had thought that this was a downed ship of some sort."

"That is a correct assumption."

"So this ruin is not a permanent facility?"

The hologram flickered briefly, as if annoyed by Liara's line of questioning. "Belief in a divide between the concept of a spacefaring vehicle and a long-term structure is erroneous. This facility was built both to travel through space and to serve as a permanent installation."

Liara frowned slightly. "What was the purpose of this installation, then?"

"The facility you now stand in was designated as a Tomb Ship, built for storage, redeployment, and defense. It was intended to be one of many, but its creators ran out of time to achieve their goal."

Liara glanced over her shoulder to check that the door into the bridge was still locked, then turned back towards Vigil with a furrowed brow. Her list of questions growing by the second, she asked, "What was being stored and redeployed? What was this place built to defend against? Were the Protheans at war with someone?"

"The bodies of those sacrificed were stored here, awaiting reactivation when necessary," Vigil replied. "These reanimated troops were deployed regularly during the final days of the Great Schism, as the beliefs and practices of my creators had made them the subject of much hatred."

"Primarily, however, this facility was designed to be a shield to protect the Great Ring from those who would destroy it or steal it for their own means. As such, the mobility found in a large spacecraft became necessary to avoid total annihilation."

Vigil flickered again, adding in a slightly subdued voice, "As you can see, even this only delayed the inevitable."

Despite the swirl of new information and accompanying hypotheses all vying for Liara's attention, one thing in particular cut through the noise. "The Great Ring? Do you mean that the Ring of Life is here?"

"Correct," Vigil replied. "Many thousands of years it was hidden, but now it has been brought back into the light."

A shiver ran down Liara's spine as her mouth went dry with anticipation. Suddenly breathless, she asked, "Vigil? What is the Ring of Life?"

The hologram before her glowed eerily as alien patterns flashed across it. "The Great Ring, like all other Masterworks of its time, is a device created to channel galactic potential. It was intended to be a way to create life, originally. One incredible artifact, made to heal the sick and the elderly, to bolster the young and the strong, and to revive the deceased. With it, Protheans would never have needed to fear disease or old age or death ever again, and civilization would have spread across the stars as one unending society."

"Instead," said Vigil, its voice grave, "the Ring became a harness for death itself. No lives were saved and no wounds healed by this Masterwork, but why heal when you can reanimate the dead, regardless of their injuries? Why keep those around you alive when you can command them in death instead?"

A cold pit of dread formed in Liara's chest as she listened. Image after image of the ominous statues and sickly murals she had seen flashed through her mind, all of them immortalizing death and suicide wherever she had gone. Now with this new information from Vigil, a horrible conclusion was beginning to emerge before her.

"Goddess," she breathed, "they began to worship it."

"This assessment is crude, but accurate," Vigil said. "Once the true nature of the Ring was discovered, countless of the primitive races were gathered and slaughtered in its name. Not only did this lead to much of the ritualism surrounding the Ring, but also led to the creation of vast armies of the dead to be called upon at short notice."

Liara slowly shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing. "This can't be right," she said. "The Protheans were the most intelligent and widespread civilization of their time! Perhaps of any time! We have spent centuries finding their technology and ruins of grand cities and settlements, and all the while we wondered how wise and enlightened the people who made them must be."

She jabbed out an accusing finger towards Vigil. "But now you tell me that the Protheans were all deranged cultists and murderers? How can this be true?"

Vigil's hologram cycled quickly through several new patterns, each of them flashing past faster than the last. "It is not my function to convince you of events long since passed. Regardless of your belief on the matter, many Protheans chose to follow the Ring, while many more did not. It was these that gathered around the Ring that built temples and research stations, and it was these same Protheans who built armies of the dead to defend against the great danger looming over them."

Liara frowned in confusion. "Wait, what danger—"

A sudden piercing alarm burst from every speaker on the bridge, grating on Liara's hearing as red warning lights began flashing everywhere she looked. As she looked around wondering at the alarm's source, a series of muffled explosions went off outside, rocking the entire bridge and knocking what seemed to be several centuries of dust buildup out of the patchwork ceiling.

"We do not have time for a history lesson, asari," Vigil said as the dust cleared. "What information I have shared with you has been to educate you on the facility we stand in now and the danger it poses."

Letting out a petulant huff, Liara crossed her arms and said, "I am well aware of the dangers of Cerberus."

"You are not nearly so aware as you believe." Another set of explosions rocked the bridge, knocking over a few nearby Cerberus consoles. Vigil's hologram fizzled out for a moment, before slowly reforming as audio distortion briefly colored its voice. "The Ring of Life, as you call it, was split into three equal sections when it became clear that the doom of the Protheans was imminent. These sections were hidden away from each other and locked with a key to ensure no one who did not understand the Ring's power would uncover it and unleash it upon the galaxy."

Instinctually, Liara moved a hand to grab the satchel resting on her hip, feeling the small metal statue still inside. "Hidden until we found the key," she murmured to herself.

"Yes," said Vigil, "and with it the first two parts of the Great Ring were revealed. The third and final piece rests here, waiting to be unlocked and reunited into one whole. This cannot be allowed to happen."

Liara's eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. "I would have thought that you would want the Ring to be reformed," she said. "Wasn't that the ultimate goal for your creators?"

"My creators planned for a day when they themselves could reforge the Great Ring and wield its power once again. This is now an impossibility, and as such the Ring must not be allowed to function at full power."

"But why?" Liara asked. "What is so different between then and now?"

The hologram fizzled into static once again as a third set of explosions vibrated through the floor. "-absence of trained handlers makes the situation problematic," it said, a thick layer of distortion now obscuring its words. "Without them, anyone who would wield the ring is at risk of losing control and–"

Vigil cut off again as its hologram flashed, the strange geometric patterns suddenly whiting out into a solid white orb of visual static. Every few seconds, bursts of white noise blasted across the bridge, and each time the hologram seemed to shiver from the force of it.

"Vigil?" Liara cautiously asked. "What is happening?"

"L- …ni," croaked Vigil, its voice barely legible. "...ra… -on…"

Liara glanced around the stone seat the hologram emanated from, searching for some console or projector she could try to repair. Her brow furrowing, she began to poke nervously at the projector set into the seat's arm. "Goddess, why now?" she muttered, desperately wishing that Tali was here.

Vigil suddenly flashed brightly enough to light up the entire bridge. Wincing and covering her eyes with one hand, Liara peered through her fingers to see that Vigil had shifted from white, amorphous static to instead glow with brilliant golden light. "Vigil, what-"

"-ara T'Soni."

Liara froze. "What did you say?"

Vigil shimmered, its golden form shining like a small star. "T'Soni…" it said. "Liara T'Soni…"

With no warning, Vigil's golden light suddenly exploded outwards across the bridge, causing Liara to flinch and quickly step back. An unsettling silence fell over the room, leaving her standing alone in the dark. An uncomfortable energy began to coil in her gut, roiling and threatening to spread up to her throat as she tried to reckon with what had just happened. How had it known her name?

A harsh hissing sound suddenly broke the silence, making Liara flinch again. Whirling over her shoulder, she turned just in time to see the bridge doors slide open to admit a flood of Cerberus troopers as they sprinted inside. One after another they came, swarming into the bridge like an armored wave of orange and white. Quickly and efficiently they moved, and in only moments Liara found herself surrounded by over a dozen rifles all pointed in her direction.

Once she was well and truly cut off, she saw two more figures calmly stride into the bridge: Eva Coré in her armored catsuit, with the mountainous Subject 01 stomping in two steps behind. A cold stone formed in Liara's gut as she stared up at the massive, gleaming cyborg. There would be no easy escape for her this time, it seemed.

Coré stepped through the crowd of soldiers, all of whom parted before her like water as she moved to stand before Liara. "Dr. T'Soni," she crowed, a wicked smile on her face. "How nice to see you again."

---

Shepard shifted underneath a pile of splintered boxes, spitting out a mouthful of dirt as she stirred. Gravel dug into her cheek as her head throbbed painfully, bringing on a bout of dizziness worsened by the chatter of gunfire ringing in her ears and acrid smoke filling her nose. A hail of bullets blasted off a chunk of her cover, forcing her to wriggle even more deeply into her hole. Feeling something near her hand, she looked down to find her pistol laying in a pile of ashes where she had dropped it. She scooped it back into one hand, inhaling deeply with a wince as the broiling air seared her lungs.

Pushing herself up off the ground, she peeked over the lip of a half-melted metal crate. Where she had been mere moments ago now sat the flaming carcass of her forklift as it slowly melted into slag. Beyond it, all that remained of the supply depot now was scattered piles of shattered debris, between which was a barren no man's land pockmarked with impact craters and small fires. In the distance she could see brief flashes of biotic light through the smoke choking the area, presumably from Jack as she continued to fight.

Without warning, a squad of soldiers popped up from behind a nearby pile of rubber tubing, opening fire and forcing Shepard to flinch back behind cover. She snapped off a handful of shots in reply, punching a set of holes through the tubes as one soldier fell back with a cry. The remaining troopers yelled indignantly, and a moment later Shepard found herself hiding from a storm of vengeful bullets as the troopers stood and opened fire.

A pair of fighters suddenly shrieked past overhead, and a moment later several more deafening explosions blossomed across the depot as multiple air-to-surface missiles impacted the ground in blasts of heat and noise. Weathering the shockwave with a grunt, Shepard popped her head back out of cover to see the squad she had been fighting had vanished, replaced instead by a smoking, bloody crater.

Flabbergasted, Shepard lowered her pistol and reached up to key her earpiece with an incredulous expression. "They're blowing up their own men!" she exclaimed. "What's wrong with these people?"

"Welcome to Cerberus," came Jack's acidic reply. "Home of the galaxy's highest employee turnover rate."

"Jack, heads up," Garrus cut in with a deep boom from his rifle. "You got troopers coming in from all sides."

"Shit, yeah, I see 'em." A massive biotic explosion suddenly detonated across the depot, briefly illuminating the area in a flash of blue light. "Come get some then, motherfuckers!"

Through the gloom, Shepard caught sight of six figures converging on a smoking storage container, their armor shining with each biotic flash from the container's far side. A moment later, her earpiece crackled again as Jack swore loudly in pain.

"Shepard, get in there!" Garrus yelled, but Shepard had already burst into motion. Forcing herself to ignore the sound of fighters still zooming around eerily overhead, she dug her boots into the ground and hauled ass towards Jack's position. Slicing straight through the no man's land, she pumped her arms and breathed heavily through her mouth as she zipped past the ruined forklift and danced around impact craters. Someone shouted behind her and automatic fire began rattling off in the distance, but Shepard just put her head down and ignored them as she ran. She dove over a line of flaming crates, landing in a roll and coming up sprinting as bullets tore through the air all around her.

Plowing straight through a black cloud of smoke, Shepard blinked to find herself a mere twenty feet behind the soldiers creeping up on Jack. Without slowing her pace, she raised her pistol in one hand and emptied the clip in their direction. Two troopers immediately pitched forward with fresh holes punched into their backs, while a third found himself on the wrong end of Garrus' rifle and took a dive. The fourth soldier began to turn at the sudden sound of gunfire, only to catch Shepard's arm to the neck as she clotheslined him at top speed.

Skidding around the corner of the large metal container, Shepard found herself staring into a scene of pure carnage. It was as if a hurricane had run roughshod over the area, with splintered shafts of wood and sharp metal fragments protruding from every nearby surface like shrapnel. Cerberus bodies lay strewn around the ground, battered and broken like dolls discarded by a particularly vicious owner.

In the center of it all, Shepard saw Jack furiously wrestling with the last two standing Cerberus soldiers. One of them had Jack by the waist, pinning her in place while the second threw a wicked right hook into Jack's jaw. Jack grunted, her arms raised up in a desperate bid for self-defense as her biotics crackled and hummed like a live wire.

Shepard began running forward, only to pause as a blinding flash of biotics lit up the depot. Blinking away the afterimages, Shepard squinted forwards to see Jack lunge for the soldier battering her as he stumbled away. One hand latched onto the front of his armor, while the other delivered a humming biotic strike that snapped his neck like a toothpick. Whipping around in her captor's arms, Jack grabbed the remaining soldier with both hands and, with a surge of biotics and a furious scream, flung the screaming soldier impossibly far across the depot as he swiftly vanished from view.

Shepard jogged forwards as Jack hunched forwards, her hands on her knees as her shoulders heaved. "You alright?" she asked.

Jack let out a bitter chuckle as she caught her breath. "I'm still standing, aren't I?"

The circling fighters overhead sped past once more, followed by a series of blasts close enough to cause Shepard to stumble and Jack to fully trip and fall. Shepard winced as the heat of the explosions washed over them, her brow furrowing as she tracked the nimble craft through the air.

"Where the hell is Joker?" Jack shouted over the noise, standing back to her feet with a grunt.

Shepard shook her head. "He should've been here by now!" Reaching up to key her earpiece, she barked, "Joker! Where the hell-"

"I'm coming, I'm coming, keep your shirt on."

A familiar roar of thrusters cut through the battlefield, their beautiful growl music to Shepard's ears as the boxy silhouette of the Normandy sliced through the air up above. Several bassy thuds blasted Shepard's eardrums as the main cannon fired, blowing one fighter into bits and knocking the wing of a second. The doomed fighter's engine sputtered as it spiraled downwards, slamming into the roof of the ruin across the lava flow and detonating into a massive fireball that seared afterimages into Shepard's eyes.

The Normandy soared back out of sight, tailed a moment later by three more fighters as they sped after it with a vengeance. Joker's voice crackled through Shepard's earpiece as they all flew off and vanished from view in the hazy Therum sky. "Just a reminder that I work for tips, in case anyone's feeling particularly inspired by the exquisite show I'm putting on."

Shepard scoffed. "How about next time you just show up on time?"

"Yeah, well, next time you need me to hold your hand while I'm in the middle of a dogfight, I'll just give up and ask them to shoot me down. That way I can meet you down on the ground even faster!"

Shepard and Jack glanced towards each other with matching unimpressed expressions. "Just make sure you win up there, alright?" she said.

"Yes, ma'am."

Garrus' rifle blasted through the conversation as it rattled off several times in a row. "Heads up down there, a fresh wave of troops just got off the boat and they're headed your way," he called.

Glancing around the nearby storage container, Shepard frowned as she saw a whole line of soldiers advancing on their position, rifles held high. With a sigh, she holstered her pistol and unslung her shotgun for the first time since landing on Therum. She'd been intending to save her ammo for later, but it looked like they weren't catching a break any time soon.

She looked over towards Jack, who wiped blood from her nose and flared her biotics with a snarl. Nodding in satisfaction, Shepard hefted her shotgun and stepped forward towards the advancing tide of troopers. "Alright, let's hit it!" she called, and together with Jack and Garrus she dove back into the fight.

---

Liara stared down over a dozen rifles pointed straight towards her, barely able to breath as her heart rate tripled. All it would take is one sudden movement, one slip of a nervous trigger finger, and she would be dead before she could blink.

Coré stood behind the firing line, clearly relaxed as Subject 01 loomed ominously behind her like a metal mountain. A thrill of fear ran through Liara as she looked up at the massive armored figure. She remembered the sickening sound of dull thuds of metal on flesh and Shepard's screams, along with the terror she had felt watching 01 nearly beat her to death. How was she supposed to stand up to something so terrible all on her own?

"Cat got your tongue, Doctor?" Coré asked with a smile like a shard of broken glass. "I must say, you seem much more timid without your guard dog of a mercenary by your side."

Liara stiffened indignantly, her spine straightening and her chin raising as she stared down Coré. "What do you want?"

"I think I should be asking you that question, don't you think?" Coré retorted, a look of mock confusion on her face. "After all, you're the uninvited guest poking around where you don't belong."

Liara shook her head, refusing to back down as a spark of righteous anger began to catch in her chest. "You know exactly why I am here. You and your people have stolen pieces of history that should be studied and learned from, only to turn them into weapons to suit your own twisted needs. You knew I would come and try to stop you, and here I am. You have yet to kill me, though, so I can only assume that you must want something."

Coré's eyes narrowed dangerously, until after a moment she relaxed and shook her head piteously. "Still as naive as ever," she sighed. "All you spineless historian types are, I suppose. Still, you are right about one thing. There is something I want, and it's something that you are perfectly poised to provide."

Liara's determined frown faltered for a moment. "What do you want?" she asked again.

Coré's smile returned, her grin a wicked and evil baring of teeth. "As I told you once before, I wish to employ your services. Last time we spoke you made me an offer to work for me, and I have graciously decided to accept."

Doing her best to ignore the rifles pointed her way, Liara inhaled shakily before summoning the firmest voice she could manage. "That offer is off the table."

"Is it, now?" Coré began stalking forward like a jungle cat approaching its prey, her shoes clicking loudly on the metal floor. "And why would that be?"

"I would never work for someone like you," Liara replied. She lifted her chin, trying to fight the anxiety humming under her skin as Coré drew near. "You are a despicable woman with no principles or morals, and I will not help you build an army of monsters."

Coré drew to a stop only a few feet away from Liara, her eyes narrowed and her hands clasped behind her back. "Tsk, tsk, Doctor. Those mercenaries really have been a terrible influence on you, now haven't they?"

She stared at Liara thoughtfully, her icy blue eyes flitting across her face in quiet contemplation. Liara, for her part, struggled to keep her breathing steady as she glared back. In her peripheral vision, she could see soldiers shifting as they flanked Coré on either side. Will it hurt when they shoot me? she wondered. Or will she have Subject 01 beat me to death instead?

Coré took another step forward, nearly putting her within arms reach of Liara. "I have decided to tell you something," she said. "You, Doctor, have become a nuisance. You've been a nuisance for quite some time, actually, but in recent days you have become one I can no longer afford to tolerate. Now, in normal times I would have had you killed and put the whole thing to bed already, but I find myself in a situation where you are potentially more useful alive than dead."

She stepped forward once again, putting herself face to face with Liara. "Make no mistake, asari, I will end you for what you and yours have done to delay me," she hissed, her smirk dropping to reveal the vicious anger beneath. "The only choice that remains for you is this: will you die here and now, or will you live long enough to help me change the galaxy?"

Liara bit her lip, glancing beyond Coré and her soldiers to see 01 still looming between her and the far door. If she ran, she would be shot. Even if she managed to make it past the soldiers, the chances of her making it past Coré's metal behemoth were almost none.

No way out this time, she realized. Her heart began to slow its beating, and for the first time since she had landed on Therum something like calm began to spread through her. She knew her limits, and she knew that there was no way she would be fighting her way out of this bridge alive.

As acceptance of her fate washed through her, Liara found herself thinking of Shepard. She would want me to be strong, she thought. Her shoulders relaxed as her spine straightened and her chest pushed forwards, projecting her best imitation of the confidence Shepard always seemed to exude. I can be strong for her.

Her mouth began to move, the refusal that would seal her fate ready to fall from her lips, when a deafening explosion detonated directly overhead. A shockwave caught Liara hard in the chest, hurling both her and Coré to the floor as lights overhead shattered and the deck rumbled violently beneath them. Sparks blasted across the floor in loud discharges of electricity as several Cerberus terminals shorted out, leaving bright afterimages seared into her vision.

Peeling herself up off the floor with a groan, she saw that the Cerberus soldiers had been scattered across the deck like bowling pins, with only Subject 01 keeping their feet. Coré scrambled upright a moment later, fury contorting her face into a scowl. "Someone tell me what's happening out there!" she yelled.

One soldier scurried over towards the wall of inactive monitors at the front of the bridge and quickly switched them on. As they flickered to life one by one, Liara felt her jaw drop as camera footage of the outside was revealed.

Where once the ordered rows of crates and stacks of supplies had sat, the live footage now showed that the supply depot had been completely wiped off the map. Everything within sight of the cameras had been completely obliterated. Ash and smoke wafted through the air in great dark plumes, and open fires guttered in several places.

Movement drew Liara's eyes to the central monitor. Glancing over, she felt a thrill of hope as the smoke parted long enough to reveal a beautiful sight: Shepard and Jack, their faces smeared with soot and dirt as they fought side by side. Much of the destruction seemed centered around the two biotics, and Liara noticed that many unmoving Cerberus bodies were scattered across the ground.

Coré exhaled tightly through her nose with a look of raw fury on her face. "Subject 01," she seethed, "take a team to the supply depot and dispose of the mercenary."

Subject 01 immediately turned on their heel and stomped towards the door to the bridge, with four troopers following close behind. As they all stepped out of sight, Coré whirled on Liara. "So what will it be?" she hissed.

Liara glanced back towards the carnage on the monitors. Her heartbeat had started speeding up again, this time fueled by the hope of seeing Shepard still standing. Her brain, previously paralyzed by fear, kicked back on like a breaker that had been flipped. If Shepard was still doing her part of the plan, then Liara still needed to do hers.

"I suppose there is nothing else I can do," she said, making her voice as faint and fearful as possible. "I will help you."

Coré stared intently towards her for several seconds before slowly allowing a menacing smile to spread across her face. "I was hoping you might say that."

She snapped her fingers, prompting one of the remaining soldiers to lower their rifle and pull out a pair of plastic cuffs. Coré took the cuffs and held them out towards Liara. "If you wouldn't mind putting these on," she said. "Just to ensure your cooperation, of course."

Liara tensed, glancing quickly between the cuffs and the soldiers still staring her down. Only ten troopers remained now that Subject 01 had gone, and only a handful of them were directly between her and the exit. With a hasty application of biotics and a bit of luck, she stood a decent chance of making an escape before she could be killed.

And then what? replied the more cynical part of her mind. Who knows how many more guards could be waiting outside? Even if you did escape, you still don't know where on the ship you are trying to go!

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Liara held out her hands to be bound. She would just have to bide her time and hope that she would either be led to the Ring or to a convenient place to escape.

Coré wasted no time in twisting Liara's arms behind her back and looping a thick plastic cuff around each wrist, pinning her hands together uncomfortably. "There, isn't that better?" she asked with a sadistic grin.

"Not particularly," Liara grumbled.

Ignoring her, Coré turned towards the soldiers behind her as her expression fell into something more neutral. "Two of you stay here, the rest follow me," she barked.

The soldiers fell in line as Coré marched out of the bridge, and Liara found herself shoved forwards to keep time with the group. As she passed through the door leading out of the bridge, she glanced one final time towards Vigil. The hologram, however, was still sitting dark and inert, and after a moment it passed out of sight as she moved into the corridor.

Coré led their group at a swift pace, confidently taking turn after turn in the labyrinthine layout of the Prothean ship. Liara followed several paces back, with four soldiers ahead of her and four behind in a protective ring. If ever she attempted to slow her pace to examine one of the many fascinating carvings or dilapidated pieces of technology littering the walls of each hallway, she quickly received a rifle butt to the back for her trouble.

As they moved deeper and deeper into the ruined ship, Liara began to notice the atmosphere around her slowly begin to change. The lighting seemed to dim as the shadows around her lengthened, the air became uncomfortably warm and stuffy, and the very deck below her feet seemed to tilt forwards at an ever increasing angle.

After only a short time, she found herself having to place each step carefully to avoid slipping on the inclined floor. In the distance, faint sounds of explosions and gunfire rumbled through the deck like ominous echoes of something dangerous. In the dark and sweltering atmosphere down here, it was starting to feel as if she was being swallowed by some great beast.

Liara forced down a swell of anxiety. They were now deeper into the ruin than ever before, but still she had yet to spy an opportunity to escape. She tugged cautiously on cuffs around her wrists, but they refused to budge. With a quiet sigh, she gave up and kept walking. Like it or not, she was stuck with Coré for the foreseeable future.

They walked onwards, never slowing their pace as Coré led the way. Though the air continued to grow even more stiflingly hot, Liara felt an odd chill down her spine as she glanced again at the ominous murals etched into the walls. Her skin began to go clammy and her breath quickened, her eyes quickly glancing around the dim corridors.

Something incredibly faint began dancing just around the edges of Liara's hearing, like a faint ringing in her aural cavities. She hesitated for a moment, straining to make something out, but was brusquely shoved forwards by one of her guards. Even still, as she stumbled to keep her feet under her, the faintest hints of whispers flittered about her head unsettlingly.

Liara frowned, attempting to concentrate. Perhaps if she—

"Liara, I think I found something."

Liara flinched as Tali's voice suddenly sounded in her earpiece. Before she could process what was going on, Tali continued, "I'm in a vent over what I'm pretty sure is their engine room, judging by all the wiring running through here. It looks like they've got Cerberus and Prothean tech hooked up to some kind of huge power source, but I can't quite make it out from here."

Liara's breath caught in her throat, and as subtly as possible she quickly glanced around between her captors. In her excitement over Vigil and the ensuing standoff with Coré, she had forgotten that Tali was still roving around the ship on her own.

Her guards, however, blithely walked on with no sign that they had noticed anything. Biting her lip, Liara tried to gauge if she could risk responding without them hearing. Without a warning Tali would have no way to know she had been caught, but a misstep now would only alert Coré that a second intruder had made it inside.

"I think there are only two guards here," Tali continued, oblivious of Liara's mounting panic. "I'm going to take them out, hold on."

The line went dead in Liara's aural cavity, leaving her to stew in the following silence. She clenched her teeth tightly together as she desperately tried to maintain a straight face. Could her guards tell that something was off? Did they even know that she had an earpiece in? What would they do if they found out?

They rounded another corner, Coré leading the way as confidently as ever up ahead. Liara followed dutifully behind, feeling as if her spine had quite suddenly been encased in steel. She felt as if every muscle in her body was flexing itself in an attempt to look relaxed. Was she trying too hard to look normal? Was that even something someone could do?

What if something happened to Tali? she thought after nearly a minute of silence. How would I even know? What if she is—

"Okay, we're good," Tali cut in as Liara's earpiece crackled to life. "Looks like it's just me in here now, so I'm gonna poke around real quick."

Liara sighed in relief, then quickly schooled her face into a neutral expression as a guard glanced her way. In her earpiece, Tali continued, "Right, okay, this is definitely the power core of whatever this place is. Seems Cerberus has been leeching off it to power all the equipment they installed."

There was another, shorter pause before she continued, "I don't see anything that looks like the Ring, though. What about you, did you find anything yet?"

Liara ground her teeth together as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had found quite a lot, actually, but not anything she had hoped to find.

"Hellooo, Liara, are you there? You still remember how your earpiece works, right? I can't hear you unless you say something."

A moment passed. "Unless you can't talk to me right now, which would make a lot more sense. Keelah, you're still okay, right? You're probably just trying to be sneaky or something, I bet. Here, I'm splicing the security feeds into one of the engineering consoles, hold on."

Coré led the group into a new hallway, this one noticeably wider and taller than the corridors Liara had seen so far. It was lit by portable lamps emitting harsh white light every dozen or so feet, and along either side of the hallway countless wires ran to and fro. To make matters worse, the air down here had gone from uncomfortably warm to sweltering, and in only moments sweat began to bead on her forehead and the back of her neck.

"Okay, switching through the camera feeds, you're not on the bridge, you're not outside, you're not wherever that is…"

A quick bit of movement caught Liara's eye, and looking up she saw a camera set into the ceiling above her suddenly jerk and swivel towards her.

"There you are!" Tali exclaimed, then paused as she took in Liara's situation. "Oh. Well, shit."

Before Liara could decide whether to laugh or cry, the group came to a stop before a wide metal door. Coré turned back towards her with a thin smile and said, "We've arrived."

---

Shepard's shotgun kicked against her shoulder as the last Cerberus soldier crumpled to the ground. A wave of pain washed through her a moment later, nearly causing her knees to buckle as her body helpfully reminded her of her many injuries. A vicious headache had begun smoldering behind her eyes, spreading all the way down to her neck and twinging each time she turned her head. Further south, her ribs were weeping in time with the beat of her heart as a molten core of agony slowly seeped all the way around her torso to sink its claws into the muscles of her back.

Exhaling tightly through gritted teeth, Shepard popped open one of the velcro pockets of her tactical pants and fished out one of the three packaged syringes she had placed inside, courtesy of Chakwas. She popped the top off with her thumb, then stabbed the small needle into her bicep with a grunt and depressed the plunger.

The pain receded immediately, allowing Shepard to take a deep breath of relief. In the back of her head, she dimly remembered Chakwas had sent these syringes with a warning regarding their use. Something about overdosing on specially concentrated medigel, probably, she thought to herself.

With a shrug, she shook out some of the lingering pain in her back as she slammed a fresh thermal clip into her shotgun. Well, that sounds like a problem for future-me, she thought with a sigh as she closed the pocket with two syringes left inside.

A loud metallic clang echoed out across the lava flow, followed shortly by the sound of metal cables shrieking and grinding over each other. A moment later, Garrus' voice came in over her earpiece. "More bogeys coming in, get ready."

Jack groaned from her position a few feet away. "How many of these fuckers are we gonna have to go through?" she grumbled.

Shepard frowned, her iron focus returning now that the pain had gone. "As many as it takes."

The hazy cloud of smoke and ash floating over the depot parted briefly, giving Shepard and Jack an unobstructed view of the lava flow gurgling past in the distance. The tram itself was already halfway across the gap, trundling its way along the cables connecting each bank together. There in the center of the tram, ruddy orange light gleaming off of polished silver armor, was the hulking form of Subject 01 standing perfectly still. Around them stood four more Cerberus soldiers, all heavily armed and looking ready for a fight.

Shepard inhaled sharply through her nose. A ghost of pain flashed across her mind, the memory of those giant fists pounding into her body still vivid. Her grip tightened on her shotgun as a scowl crept across her face. This time's gonna be different, you big bastard, she thought.

She glanced over towards Jack and saw a slight furrow of her brow. "You ready for this?" she asked.

Jack scoffed, the furrow disappearing in a flash of annoyance. "Are you?"

Shepard huffed out a humorless chuckle, and together they stepped forwards to stand at the edge of the ruined depot in open challenge. Side by side they stood as the tram finished its journey, clunking loudly onto the bank. The gate slid open and four Cerberus soldiers spilled out with weapons raised. Unimpressed, Shepard put down two with twin shotgun blasts as Jack and Garrus took out the others in a flurry of bullets.

Silence fell on the depot as the soldiers collapsed to the ground. A bead of sweat ran down Shepard's forehead, forcing her to wipe it away as she reloaded. Her hands moved smoothly with practiced grace, but her grip on the weapon felt nearly tight enough to crack its casing.

Subject 01 stomped forwards, stepping over their fallen comrades with contempt. Once on the ground, the hulking cyborg glanced around the ruined corpse of what once was the supply depot. The silent, featureless mask atop the armor took in the smoking craters and piles of shattered debris, then turned towards Shepard with a silent glare. Slowly, with malevolence so potent Shepard could swear she could feel it, 01's fists balled so tightly that she could hear the metal of their gauntlets groan.

"Damn, Shepard," Jack mumbled, "I think you really pissed this thing off."

Shepard grit her teeth. "The feeling's mutual," she growled, and with a surge of biotics and a furious war cry she charged forwards in a flash of light.

Subject 01 broke out into a run, meeting Shepard's charge head on with a backhanded slap that sent her reeling off to the side. Barely keeping her feet, Shepard whirled back around just in time to dodge a second strike that whistled past her head like a sledgehammer. She threw up a sloppy block to stop the next incoming blow, only for 01 to stumble backwards suddenly as a bullet slammed into their forehead.

A second sniper round followed the first, ringing 01's helmet like a bell as the boom of Garrus' rifle sounded off. As 01 attempted to catch their balance, a howling wail echoed out as Jack came screaming into the fight with both fists glowing. She fired off two huge crackling haymakers, blasting off waves of biotic force larger than Shepard would've thought possible. Each hit sent 01 staggering, the massive figure barely able to keep upright in the face of the unbearable levels of power boiling off of Jack.

Having regained her footing, Shepard dove back into the fight, swirling around 01's big metal flanks with her shotgun out to pound any opening in their defenses she could find. Between Jack's unbridled fury, Garrus' cold precision, and her own immaculate shotgun work, it seemed that it was all 01 could do to just dig in their feet and try to endure the onslaught.

They forced the hulking metal cyborg back towards the tram, step by step as the glow from the lava grew closer, unable to do anything but try to withstand the hurricane of violence the three mercenaries had unleashed. In only moments, 01's immaculate armor had collected a host of new dents and scorch marks as gunfire exploded all across their body. Desperately, they tried to step forwards, only for Jack to punish them with a wicked blast to the side of the head to force them back.

Sensing an opportunity, Shepard ran in from behind as 01 reeled from the blow and unloaded two shotgun shells directly into the back of their knee joint. The leg buckled immediately, and without hesitation Garrus planted another round on their helmet to send them stumbling back like a drunk at the bar. Following up last, Jack let out a furious roar and with one mighty strike blew 01 clean off their feet and sent them slamming back into the metal tram gate.

A grin broke out across Shepard's face as she charged forward with Jack shortly behind. "Keep up the pressure!" she called. "Big bastard can only take so much of this!"

Subject 01 pushed themself off their back, bending the thin metal gate of the tram under their weight. Reaching out with their huge metal-plated gauntlets, they grabbed a fallen Cerberus trooper with each hand before chucking the corpses forward like armored frisbees. Jack yelped as the first caught her off guard, clotheslining her and sending her flying. Shepard, however, ducked cleanly underneath the second and came up with a freshly reloaded shotgun.

01 stood fully upright and began marching steadily back towards Shepard, who furiously began backpedaling. She unloaded shot after shot into 01's burnished steel armor, only for the cyborg to raise up one hand to cover their face as they quickly closed the gap. Every few seconds, another sniper shot would slam into an exposed joint or unguarded leg as Garrus made his presence known, but 01 weathered them with the resolve of a bear ignoring the stings of a bee.

In only seconds, Shepard found herself engaged in melee combat once again as 01 closed the gap and started swinging. Blow after blow rained down on her like hammer strikes, but this time around Shepard had learned her lesson; she bobbed, she weaved, she ducked, and she dove, circling around Subject 01's bulky metal body like a dancer in her prime. Every chance she got, she fired off her shotgun into 01's armor plating at point blank range, blasting dents and soot marks into anything she could. Some shots simply ricocheted off 01's thick hide, while others landed in more sensitive spots like the inside of their elbow or across the hip joint. Still, no matter where she shot or how many thermal clips she ran through, 01 just kept on coming.

01 feinted a punch high and Shepard instinctively ducked, only to spot the huge metal boot racing towards her instead a moment too late. She threw up a desperate barrier right as the kick landed, softening the blow from 'life-ending' to 'extremely painful' as it smashed through her biotic shield and sent her soaring back across the depot.

She slammed painfully into a pile of rubble, her head ringing with pain as her vision swam nauseatingly. She shook off her disorientation and shifted upright, only to gasp in pain as her ribs ground painfully over one another. Even with the medigel still coursing through her system, her chest began sending wailing warning signals to her brain. Don't let that happen again, dipshit, her ribs warned, or we are going to be very unhappy.

01 advanced, stomping forward as silent and unstoppable as ever as Garrus' rounds pinged off their armor harmlessly. A giant metal hand latched onto Shepard's armored vest, and with a jerk lifted her clear up off the ground as the other fist reared back to deliver the killing blow.

Seeing her life flash before her eyes, Shepard desperately threw up her shotgun one handed and fired point blank, somehow catching 01's fist mid-swing and sending it reeling back. Glaring towards her weapon, 01 angrily ripped it from her hands and threw it back out of sight. A moment later, their huge fist slammed into her stomach in a brutal gut punch, then ratcheted back to prime a punch that would take her head clean off.

Belatedly, Shepard's gaze wandered down from her imminent death towards Subject 01's huge metal shoulder. There, where multiple thick pieces of steel overlapped to cover the joint, she saw that 01's arm had moved far enough back to expose the hydraulic cylinders and interlocking servos underneath the thick armor plating.

"Garrus," she choked out, hoping he was seeing what she was seeing. "Shoulder joint, now!"

A sound like the air itself ripping tore straight past Shepard's ear as a sniper round, guided by Garrus' hands like an act of divine providence, slipped straight through 01's now exposed shoulder plating to slam directly into the delicate servos hidden underneath. A shower of sparks erupted from 01's shoulder as they staggered backward from the impact, and as their fingers loosened Shepard slipped from their grip.

She dropped roughly to the ground and immediately scurried back, clutching her stomach in pain as she tried to make some space between them. Her vision swam slightly as she straightened up, but she grit her teeth and flared her biotics defiantly just the same.

"You wanted a fight, huh?" she yelled, her fists crackling with biotic power. "Come get some then!"

Subject 01 regarded her coldly, one massive hand covering their damaged shoulder. From beneath their thick metal-plated fingers, Shepard could see bright blue sparks popping out through jagged torn metal plates.

"What's the problem?" she taunted. "Humanity's greatest weapon can't take a hit?"

01 dropped their hand from their shoulder and took a heavy step forward. Shepard dropped immediately back into a boxer's stance, only to frown as 01 stopped in place. The huge metal figure cocked their head to one side, as if puzzling something out, then slowly turned to look up and over Shepard's shoulder. Raising up one metal hand, they curled all fingers but one into a fist, leaving one finger pointed out directly towards where Shepard knew Garrus was hiding up on top of the hill behind her.

Her earpiece suddenly crackled to life with Joker's voice. "Heads up down there, one of their fighters just shook me!"

A cold hand latched itself around Shepard's heart and squeezed. She turned around, screaming even as the sound of engines started to roar through the skies, "Garrus, get down!"

Something streaked past overhead, and a moment later the entire hillside bordering the depot seemed to erupt in fire. A string of explosions detonated from one side of the hill to the other, pulverizing its ashy surface as giant plumes of fire and dirt shot upwards with each bomb. The shockwave from the bombardment caught Shepard as she ran towards the hill, nearly knocking her on her ass. "Garrus!"

The sound of a heavy metal boot impacted behind her, and whirling around she saw Subject 01 standing defiantly amidst the wreckage of the depot. Her vision flickered red as something white hot and feral welled up in her chest, and with clenched fists she began stalking towards 01.

Subject 01 squared up as she approached, and with a flare of her biotics Shepard broke out into a run. There was no plan in her head now, no tactics or clever ideas guiding her motions. She had become a crucible of rage, containing only visions of unspeakable violence swirling around inside a storm of nuclear fury. She was a supernova walking, powered by one phrase running through her head like it had been branded on the inside of her skull. No one hurts my crew, motherfucker.

01 stood unmoving, a stalwart cliff awaiting a tidal wave. Shepard's biotics crackled and snapped around her as she drew close, a feral snarl twisting across her face. She planted one foot into the ground, her fist pulled back as energy for a biotic charge swirled up around her—

A sudden blinding flash detonated behind Subject 01, lifting them clear up off the ground and sending them hurtling into a pile of debris thirty feet away. Shepard stumbled to a stop, her biotics lamely winking out. Squinting through the smoke and ash choking the area, her eyes widened as she saw the cause of the explosion: Jack, her face bruised, her nose bloodied, and a gash weeping blood down the side of her head, but still looking as pissed off as she'd ever seen her.

Jack spit out a glob of blood. "Fuck that thing," she snarled, revealing teeth dyed red.

Shepard's rage popped like a pricked balloon, her blinding fury giving way to something more manageable as her rational brain took hold once more. She nodded with a quick half-smile, then turned back towards the now-smoldering hillside behind her. "Garrus, you there?" she called. "Say something, damn it!"

A moment of maddening silence passed as nothing but bursts of static came through her earpiece. Shepard glanced towards Jack, who simply shrugged, then looked back up towards the ruined hill. "Garrus?" she asked again, her voice small.

A burst of static came through her earpiece before resolving into the sound of someone hacking up a lung. "I'm up, I'm okay," Garrus rasped between heavy coughs. "Bastards can't even hit a stationary target."

Shepard heaved a heavy sigh, feeling the rage begin to drain out of her like water through a sieve. "Lucky for you, your lanky turian ass isn't even worth bombing," she joked.

"Their loss, my ass is a prime example of healthy turian biology."

Rolling her eyes, Shepard said, "In that case, it's time to get up off whatever biology you got left and fall back. Report back to Chakwas at the rendezvous point."

"Shepard, I'm fine," Garrus protested. "I don't need any special treatment, those bombs didn't even singe my armor… much."

"Not a chance, Vakarian, it's time for you to go. Chakwas would have my ass if anything else happened to you."

The line fell dead in her ear for a moment. Shepard shifted in place, hoping Garrus could read between the lines of what she was saying. A few seconds later, her earpiece crackled back on. "Alright, you win. You just keep your head on the swivel while I'm gone, you hear? There aren't any other charming snipers around to bail you out."

Shepard cracked a smile. "You got a deal."

She saw something move in the distance as Garrus stood from his sniper perch up atop the hill. His armor still smoking, he gave a little wave before turning to hobble back over the hill's crest and out of sight.

Sighing deeply, Shepard rolled out her shoulders and turned back towards Jack. "Alright, let's get the hell out of here before–"

The sound of shifting rubble and scraping stone cut her off. With a bone-deep weariness, Shepard turned to see a mound of debris across the depot slough off to one side as a massive pair of metal arms punched their way out into open air, followed quickly by the rest of Subject 01's gleaming torso.

"God damn," Jack grumbled. "People don't usually get up from that."

Another pile of rubble went flying as Subject 01 fully emerged, their armor now covered in more dents and scrapes than a teenager's first car. Shepard watched on unimpressed, a scowl crossing her face as she angrily cracked her bruised knuckles. "Guess we'll keep putting them down until it sticks."

---

The door cracked down the middle with a startling hiss, then slowly ground open. Coré strode confidently forward without hesitation, her entourage of soldiers roughly shoving Liara forwards to follow behind.

Their group moved together into a dimly lit space, the cramped walls and harsh Cerberus floodlights giving way to a chamber so wide it seemed to swallow them up as they stepped inside. The walls on either side of the entryway shot away from each other like they weren't on speaking terms while the ceiling arched so far up overhead that it soared out of sight, leaving them all standing in a nearly pitch-black void. The only light source to be seen was a dull red glow seeping up through cracks in the floor and corners of the walls, casting an angry and evil look on everything inside.

As her eyes began to adjust to the gloom, Liara took a moment to pause and try to take in the sheer scale of this new chamber. No ship she had ever set foot on before had contained a room this large; in fact, most ships she had seen could have fit inside this place without even touching the walls. To see this structure in flight, she mused, would have been almost as impressive as seeing the Masterwork itself.

On either side of the chamber, she spotted several massive stone statues of faceless warriors carved into the walls. Each statue stood easily fifty feet tall and held titanic stone blades that could have cut the Normandy in half with one swing. Grimly, she noted that the statues seemed to be partnered up, with each holding their blade up to the neck of another. Together, they created a border of gigantic sentinels flanking the chamber, stretching further forward and down into this hellish place as they stood locked in their struggle.

A rifle butt slammed into Liara's back, bringing an end to her observations as she stumbled forward. Up ahead, she saw that Coré had begun descending down a set of wide stone steps. Liara quickly followed behind, eager to spare her back from any more bruising.

These stairs continued downwards for nearly twenty feet, descending further and further into the gloom and overwhelming heat of this chamber, before abruptly coming to a halt. There, lapping up against the last visible step like gentle waves, was a veritable ocean of viscous black fluid. Brackish black water stretched out across the chamber, churning and roiling like the middle of the sea.

Liara knelt, peering into the nearly opaque liquid. First we saw this on Jiwai, then Rayingri and now here, she thought. "Goddess," she murmured to herself. "Where does it all come from?"

Coré spun around to face her, arms spread wide with a proud smile on her face. "Welcome, Doctor, to the heart of Project Achilles."

Floating on the dark waves behind her Liara saw countless metal platforms, each twenty or so feet across and raised up several inches out of the water. Covering each platform were more workstations like she had seen on the bridge, with computer terminals packed in next to chemistry stations jammed between field sample analysis tables, all with more thick cabling snaking across any open surface. Here, unlike the abandoned bridge, Liara saw dozens upon dozens of Cerberus personnel flitting to and fro like worker bees in a hive, with scientists in lab coats and goggles dancing around armored soldiers as they stood guard. Many stood working at their designated stations, while others quickly traversed floating walkways that connected the fleet of platforms together into a spiderweb that bobbed with the waves.

Behind all this, stretching from one end of the room to the other at the far end of the chamber, stood a single mass effect field holding back what appeared to be a simmering wall of lava. Like the world's largest lava lamp, the molten rock cast a hateful red glow across the floating patchwork of Cerberus stations and reflected balefully up from the black water. Even through the mass effect field, the most oppressive heat Liara had ever felt boiled through the room like they were standing in a pressure cooker. Even from across the chamber, Liara felt the superheated air start to sear her lungs.

Despite all of this, despite the ominous statues and massive Cerberus presence and the barely restrained wall of molten death, Liara found her gaze drawn towards something tucked up against the back of the chamber. There, jutting upwards defiantly like a space-black void against the backdrop of lava, was a towering metal obelisk that stood high over anything else in the room. Unlike the intricate carvings set delicately into the many stone surfaces of the ship, this monolith was utterly smooth and unmarked by any art or etching, resembling a huge steel post more than anything.

Despite its unremarkable surface, Liara found herself unable to look away from this strange obelisk. She did not know how she knew, but with just one glance she was positive that this blank monolith was somehow the most dangerous thing in the room.

Not noticing her discomfort, Coré stepped confidently out onto the nearest floating walkway and began striding out across the surface of the black waves. "You should be honored, T'Soni," she said. "Everything Cerberus has learned about the Masterworks began here, in this very space. Other than us, not one soul has stood inside this place since the Protheans themselves. I'm sure as an archaeologist yourself, you can appreciate the significance of that."

Liara hummed in vague affirmation, her attention still locked onto the steel monolith on the far side of the chamber. The closer they got, the more an unsettling chill began to spread across her skin. She frowned, clutching tightly at her satchel as they walked. Somehow, something about it seemed to clutch at her heart and squeeze with each step she took.

Coré led them onwards, moving across bobbing walkways and across unsteady platforms that did absolutely no favors for Liara's sense of balance. She quickly found her focus split between paying attention to Coré as she rambled on about her own achievements and Cerberus' place in history versus avoiding tripping and taking a plunge in the inky depths below. Even the soldiers behind her seemed unsteady here, and as such their group slowed their progress forward noticeably as everyone strained to keep their balance.

"This must be a dream come true for you," Coré eventually said as they walked through a platform containing a pair of thick cables rising up towards the ceiling. "How many of your fellow colleagues can say they have been somewhere as incredible as this?"

Liara deftly stepped over where one of the cables had been coiled up haphazardly onto the platform. Glancing upwards, she saw the cables rise up towards a jagged hole in the ceiling, revealing a tantalizing view of Therum's ash-stained sky high above. "None, I would think," she responded. "Though this is not the most hospitable ruin I have ever visited."

As if on cue, the sound of engines roared through the hole in the ceiling as something flew past in a flash, followed quickly by the sound of explosions rattling through the walls. Coré's lip curled upwards in disgust. "You can thank your mercenary friends for our current lack of manners," she sneered.

She continued speaking then, undoubtedly listing the many faults and flaws inherent in the mercenary lifestyle, but her words fell unheard as Liara instead heard a whisper directly behind her.

T'Soni…

Liara spun around, only to see her entourage of guards walking impassively behind her. One soldier silently shoved her forwards, forcing her to resume walking behind Coré. Her eyes furrowed as she strained to listen past Coré's raving, but all she could hear was the gentle sound of waves lapping at the walkway they strode across–

T'Soni…

Liara snapped her head up, desperately looking around for the source of the whispers, but still she saw nothing. Her skin began to tingle as a cold sense of unease congealed in her gut. Suddenly, she found that she wished desperately that any of her friends were by her side.

T'Soni… T'Soni… T'Soni…

A slow wave of sound began to build in Liara's aural cavities; soft whimpers mixed with breathy groans, hisses and growls and whispers all tumbling over and around each other as the noise grew like a tidal wave. Over and over she heard her name, strained and painful like it was being torn from the throats of hundreds of people all at once, over and over again. Whispers became wails, mutters became screams and moans of agony, hundreds upon thousands of voices beating down on her from all directions, all screaming the same word like a prayer, like a curse.

T'SONI!

"Dr. T'Soni?"

Liara stumbled to a stop, her chest heaving as she whirled around wide-eyed and frantic. At some point, their little convoy had apparently halted their progress across the chamber as Coré now stood before her, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Around her, the escort of soldiers had begun to not-so-subtly point their rifles in her direction as they spread out into a firing position.

"Is something wrong, Doctor?" Coré asked again, her voice dangerously cool.

Liara shook her head, desperately trying to control her breathing. The onslaught of voices had stopped just as quickly as it had appeared, leaving her hyperventilating like a madwoman in front of her captors. "No," she choked out, "everything is fine."

"Is that so?" Coré stared at her silently for several seconds, watching coldly as Liara fought to slow her heart rate. Blinking slowly, she eventually nodded and turned forwards. "In that case, collect yourself. We're here."

Looking upwards, Liara flinched as she found herself in the shadow of the blank steel obelisk. Utterly devoid of any marks or carvings, the metal somehow radiated a cold dread that chilled her to the bone. Behind it, the wall of lava roiled and sizzled in its prison like a beast waiting for a chance to strike.

"Goddess, help me now," she mumbled, and timidly stepped towards the obelisk.

---

A familiar flash of pain lanced through Shepard's fist like an old friend come to say hello as her left hook slammed into Subject 01's thick armor plating. A moment later, she danced backwards from the cyborg, just dodging their grasping hands as she retreated to a safe distance.

Rather than give chase, 01 turtled up behind their guard as Shepard and Jack circled around them like bloodthirsty sharks. Jack's arms crackled and sizzled with unbelievable levels of power as she prowled around at a safe distance, and at every opportunity she let loose titanic biotic blasts to throw 01 off balance. Meanwhile, Shepard hounded 01's every step as she let her fists do the talking, bobbing and weaving around 01's strikes while responding with biotically charged punches of her own. Any time 01 let down their guard to swing at Shepard, Jack would come back in with another biotic haymaker that rocked them back onto their heels, giving Shepard more chances to come in swinging.

One such blow slammed into 01's side and punched a hole in their guard, allowing Shepard to immediately slip in and land a quick one-two combo to their chest before finishing off with an explosive uppercut. The sounds of crunching metal filled the air as 01's once pristine armor was forcefully bent more and more out of shape, and with each movement of their right arm lightning-blue sparks burst from the hole in 01's shoulder.

Shepard flitted away once again after one final punch, her adrenaline singing through her veins as she bounced on the balls of her feet. If 01 could be damaged, she knew, then the big metal bastard could be destroyed. All they had to do was keep hammering away until they broke through.

Subject 01, however, was far from down for the count. In the face of such overwhelming aggression, they simply hunkered down and became as immovable as possible; even with Shepard's skill and Jack's raw power, they could never stagger 01 for more than a moment. Blow after blow reigned down on 01, and all they had to show for it was a host of new dents and scrapes.

Frustrated with the stalemate, Jack stepped in closer with fists glowing painfully bright. "Just go down!" she yelled, and with a hoarse scream she lunged forwards to release a blast that could've levelled a house.

Almost faster than the eye could see, 01 juked to the side and slipped Jack's punch. Their fist lashed out like a snake, clipping the side of Jack's face and sending her spinning like a top. Without slowing their momentum, they took one huge stride forward and planted a foot into Jack's back, sending her sprawling into the dirt face-first.

Shepard let out an indignant yell, and in a flash of biotics charged towards 01's exposed back. Just as she came in for the impact, 01 whirled around faster than should have been possible and blocked the attack with one armored shoulder. Shepard grit her teeth and tried to shove through their guard, only to be sent stumbling back as 01 easily pushed her back. Once again moving so fast Shepard could barely follow, 01 lunged forward and slammed one massive fist into her gut, sending her feet flying out behind her as she tipped forward and landed hard on her stomach.

Not taking any time to catch her breath, Shepard grunted as she forced herself to roll to the side as 01's giant boot slammed into the spot she had just vacated. Before the cyborg could keep trying to stomp her to pieces, Shepard lashed out with a biotically charged kick to their knee and blasted their leg out from under them. Dropping hard to one knee, 01 looked up just in time to see Jack dive back into the fight, screaming like a banshee as she connected a wild haymaker straight to their jaw.

01's head snapped back as they fell to the side, barely avoiding collapsing completely by landing heavily onto one hand. Shepard, now back on her feet, decided to offer a helping hand by dropping her shoulder and sparking her biotics, slamming hard into 01 as she detonated a nova blast strong enough to send 01 skidding nearly all the way back to the gate of the tram.

As her biotics winked out, Shepard heaved a strained sigh as she glanced over towards Jack. Her fellow biotic was breathing just as hard as she was as cerulean lightning crackled menacingly around her, her arms covered in scratches and dark bruises and her face marred by a bloody nose and a wicked black eye. Shepard grimaced, knowing from the many aches and pains in her own body that she probably didn't look much better.

She sucked in another wheezing breath, then groaned as a spike of pain from her ribs punched through the general haze of pain clouding her brain. Her hand fumbled for another syringe of medigel, delayed slightly as her vision began to unfocus of its own accord. Finally, after precious seconds spent fumbling around with numb fingers, she grabbed the syringe and stabbed it into her bicep once again.

A cool numbness flooded through her as her vision righted itself immediately, followed quickly by a desperately needed relief to the pain mounting in her chest. Taking a deep breath, Shepard rolled back her shoulders before turning back to Jack. "You ready to get out of here?" she asked.

Jack grimaced and snorted out a blot of blood, then replied, "Yeah, I think I'm over this shithole."

Some twenty feet away, 01 slowly stood back to their feet. Shepard cracked her knuckles, a determined frown on her face. "I'll go low, you go high," she said. Jack nodded, and together they both took off in a run.

Seeing the two biotics approaching, 01 shook off the dust on their armor and squared up once again. Shepard put on a burst of speed in response, jumping ahead of Jack as she closed the distance as quickly as possible. 01's massive metal arm began ratcheting back for another heavy blow, but Shepard just put her head down and sprinted dead ahead like nothing could stop her. Just as they were about to collide, she dropped to slide smoothly across the dirt, 01's punch sailing clean over her head as she sailed between their legs. Now behind 01, Shepard popped back up into a sprinter's position, then without hesitation flared her biotics as she charged straight into 01's back.

Subject 01 stumbled forward, unprepared for a sudden strike from behind. Not missing a beat, Jack leapt high up into the air as the corona of her biotics bloomed into a miniature sun. "Fuck you!" she screamed, then loosed a blast of biotics so potent it shattered the ground beneath her like a stone plunging through eggshells.

Shepard was running again before her vision finished clearing, skirting the now-glowing crater in the ground where 01 had stood a moment before. She angled for the tram still sitting at the lava's edge, scooping up her discarded shotgun as she moved. Vaulting over the battered tram gate, she quickly found a small console set into the wall and punched the activation switch even as Jack clambered into the tram behind her.

With a metallic screech that set her nerves on edge, the tram agonizingly pulled away from shore and began hauling itself out over the wide lava flow. The already-sweltering temperature of Therum immediately skyrocketed, leaving Shepard wiping sweat out of her eyes as the metal plating beneath her boots started to sizzle. Despite this, Shepard ignored the heat and set about checking her weapon with mechanical precision, eyes now locked on the massive Prothean ruin across the way as it drew closer with each passing second. She had a job to do, and now was the time to focus up and lock in. Liara was counting on a daring rescue, and she'd be damned if anything was going to stop her from delivering.

"Hey, uh, Shepard?"

Shepard turned to find Jack looking back behind them, her face scrunched up in disbelief. "You seeing this shit?" she asked.

Looking back towards the ruined corpse of the supply depot, Shepard peered through the hazy air to see the apparently-unkillable Subject 01 back on their feet and moving shockingly quickly towards the lava's edge. She frowned, unease tugging at her gut. "We took the only tram," she said. "What could they possibly-"

Her jaw dropped as 01, upon reaching the shoreline at top speed, planted one giant metal boot into the ground and leaped out over the sea of lava. The cyborg soared gracefully through the air like the world's most horrifying flying machine, dented silver armor gleaming and glistening in the ruddy red glow of the lava. Then, just as Shepard began to realize there really was no limit to how dogshit her luck could be, 01 smashed straight through the tram doors in a landing that rocked the whole vehicle.

Subject 01 stood slowly to their feet, murderous intent radiating from their blank silver helmet so strongly Shepard felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand to attention. Swallowing down her trepidation, she racked a fresh round into her shotgun and, with all the grace of a wisened poet, muttered, "God fucking damn it."

---

Liara carefully made her way up a narrow set of stairs carved into dark, greasy stone as Coré led their little party up towards the monolith. Two of the guards had stayed back to guard the stairway, while the rest dutifully escorted them toward their final destination. Coré had stopped her spiel on the many merits of Cerberus' operation here, apparently too invested in what awaited them above to continue.

"Psst! Liara, can you hear me?"

Liara flinched, nearly slipping one foot off the stairway as Tali's voice crackled to life in her earpiece. Without waiting for a response, Tali continued, "Right, you probably can't talk right now anyway, sorry. Anyways, good news! I just finished jury-rigging the engineering controls, so I can deactivate the entire drive core pretty much whenever. Since Cerberus seem to have all their equipment hooked up to this thing, it should also deactivate pretty much anything they have running down here, so it should be a pretty good distraction too! Just, uh, make sure you don't need anything working once we pull the trigger on it."

Glancing up towards the massive wall of lava held back by one measly mass effect field, Liara found herself swallowing nervously. She was quickly discovering that she didn't care for not being able to voice her worries with Tali's improvisations.

Before she could stew over this extremely worrying news, however, she found herself cresting the top of the stairs to stand at the edge of an open platform. There, alone in the middle of the space, sat a waist-high stone slab covered in deep gouges across its top. Dark stains and blots of fluid long since dried covered the slab like an outbreak of mold; Liara's mouth curved down into a frown as she found it quite easy to imagine what a slab like this might have been used for.

Beyond the unsettling slab was another, much shorter set of stairs leading up to the base of the steel obelisk. From here, Liara could see that it closely resembled the other obelisk they had found back at the peak of the temple on Rayingri: a wide metal base tapered upwards in smooth and gently arcing metal planes, all flowing upwards together to form one massive metal monument that towered over everything in the room.

The suffocating temperature of the chamber suddenly seemed to nosedive as Liara took in the obelisk, followed quickly by a wave of overwhelming nausea as whispers danced around the back of her mind. Memories of the vision she had seen in Shepard's mind began flickering behind her eyes; images of corpses and slaughter flitted like ghosts across everything she saw.

Across the stone slab, Coré snapped her fingers impetuously. A moment later, two more Cerberus guards hurried forward, a metal tray held carefully between them. There, laying ominously on the tray, were the first two pieces of the Ring of Life, still somehow fused together into one stone semicircle.

Liara found herself shivering slightly as she stared down towards the fragmented Masterwork. Had the Protheans really sacrificed all of those countless lives to this? All the withered and decayed bodies they had found, all for this broken piece of stone?

Turning from the fragment of the Ring, Coré gestured up towards the steel obelisk. "Naturally, we knew from the beginning that something of value was here. At first, we thought it might have been the entire Masterwork, but when your crew started tripping over pieces of it we knew that this was clearly not the case. Still, I never doubted that someday it would reveal its secrets to me."

Liara raised a skeptical brow. "I am surprised you didn't just destroy it and sift through the rubble," she said.

"Please," Coré scoffed. "I'm a professional. I never destroy anything of value."

The sharp squeal of metal grinding over metal cut painfully through the conversation. Glancing over her shoulder, Liara saw that halfway back across the ocean of undulating black liquid, the metal cables she had passed had tightened as a large winch began reeling them in. The tram, she thought. It must be coming back.

She turned back to find Coré staring coldly towards her. "Time to get to work, Doctor," she said with a distasteful flick of her hand towards the monolith. "This is what your whole journey has been for, yes? Seems to me you should finish what you started."

Liara glanced up towards the steel obelisk, feeling her mouth run dry. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.

Coré's eyes narrowed. "Open it," she demanded. "You are an archaeologist, aren't you? Do your job."

The soldiers around Liara shifted, stepping aside to provide her a clear path up to the monolith. Her heartbeat started to tick upwards once again as fingers of nervous tension began tingling their way up her spine. As soon as I give her what she wants, she'll kill me, she thought. I still have to stall to give Shepard a chance to get here in time.

"I can't help you like this," she protested, wiggling her bound hands behind her. "I need working hands to get into my bag, among other things."

Coré's ice-cold gaze bored through her like icicles. "An assistant will be provided to you," she smoothly replied.

Her eyes moved over toward a nearby soldier, who hastily lowered their rifle and stepped up to Liara. Without waiting for instruction, they brusquely shoved their armored mitt into Liara's satchel and withdrew the small statuette from inside.

Liara frowned, her hopes of having her hands freed deflating. "Fine, then" she muttered. "Follow me."

She stepped forward, giving the stone slab a wide berth before heading up the second set of stairs as her newly appointed 'helper' followed closely behind. With each step the monolith above loomed ever taller, and with each step she wracked her brain for another way to stall for time. What could Shepard be doing out there? she thought with dismay.

All too soon, she found herself standing before the ominous monolith, its smooth steel surface within touching distance. There before her, just as it had been on Rayingri, she found a small indentation pressed into the base of the obelisk, carved into the shape of a twisting flame.

Liara turned then, looking back over her shoulder toward Coré. "Are you sure you want this?" she asked. "There could be traps, or perhaps some other dangerous–"

"Dr. T'Soni," Coré cut in sharply. "Listen to me very closely. This, just now, will be the very last time you try my patience. Either retrieve the final piece of the Ring, or allow me to personally shoot you in the head." She withdrew a small pistol from her belt and aimed it straight at Liara's face, then in a chilling voice asked, "What will it be?"

Liara bit her lower lip nervously and spun back to face the monolith. She glanced over to the soldier at her side, still holding the statuette in their hand. "Place that in the gap right there," she said, gesturing with her head.

Her guard looked to Coré for confirmation, and upon receiving a curt nod stepped forward and slid the statuette into the slot with a soft click. Immediately, a small split appeared in the metal, widening each second as the crack grew into a pair of doors that swung noiselessly outward to reveal a small empty cavity enshrouded by shadow. As Liara watched, a single flat piece of stone slid smoothly outward, its surface engraved with thin glowing lines of light that flickered sporadically to life. Interlocking curves of teal light spiralled through one another, basking Liara in a ghastly glow as she withheld the sum of all her hopes and fears; the sum of a lifetime spent searching for hidden truths and histories.

There, set onto this thin piece of stone, lay the third and final piece of the Ring of Life. Like the others, Liara saw it to be a curved fragment of stone, roughly eight inches long and covered in spidery script carved all across its surface. At either end, she saw jagged edges that she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt would fit into the other fragments perfectly.

The fragment suddenly pulsed with teal light, floating upward off of the stone beneath it as if it had come alive. Whispers filled Liara's hearing, accompanied by a resurgence of nausea as the fragment began to slowly rotate in midair. Behind her, she could hear distorted retching as multiple Cerberus soldiers began gagging and clutching at their stomachs through their armor.

Glancing behind her, Liara saw that the other, larger piece of the ring had begun to glow as well, as if sensing its missing piece was close at hand. After a moment, it too began to float menacingly up into the air as the two guards holding it a moment ago looked up in confusion.

At the foot of the stairs, Coré's face split like shattered glass into a wide and horrific smile. "Finally," she breathed. "It's finally mine."

A deafening screech from further back in the chamber shattered the moment, making Coré flinch as Liara winced at the sound. Tearing her gaze from the still-floating Masterwork fragments, Liara peered back across the dim chamber to find the source of the sound: the tram from outside, now visible through the hole in ceiling as it slowly lowered down towards the floating platform below.

"Oh, good!" chirped Coré. "Subject 01 is finally back from destroying your mongrel friends, it seems."

Another horrible metallic squeal echoed across the chamber as the tram suddenly jolted to one side. A few seconds later, the descending vehicle shuddered again as it abruptly dropped several feet all at once, then shuddered worryingly as it resumed its slow descent.

Liara frowned in confusion even as Coré, a bewildered look on her face, asked, "What is happening?" She looked over towards the closest guard, annoyance starting to seep into her expression. "Why is it doing that?" she asked again, her voice sharper than before.

Even as the unfortunate soldier shrugged helplessly, Liara continued to watch as the tram rattled and shook its way down to the floor. The booming sound of gunfire started to punch its way through the angry screaming of the metal cables, accompanied by the unmistakably brilliant flashes of biotic detonations. The tram seemed to be barely hanging on as it shook violently from its perch on the cables; its slow and steady descent had deteriorated into more of a controlled collapse as what was clearly a vicious fight raged on inside.

"Don't just stand there, you useless goons!" Coré yelled toward her soldiers. "Someone get over there and–"

A massive biotic explosion suddenly detonated, filling the chamber with light as something blasted straight through the side railings of the tram. Blinking the afterimages out of her eyes, Liara's eyes widened as she saw the massive form of Subject 01 hurled out of the tram to slam hard into the platform below. A moment later, and her heart seemed to expand in her chest as two familiar figures appeared; Shepard and Jack, each covered in ash and blood and looking hungry for a fight as they dropped the last ten feet to land side-by-side.

Shepard immediately locked eyes with Liara, who for the very first time felt as if everything might turn out okay after all. She grinned roguishly, just for a moment, before cocking her shotgun and shouting, "Let's hit it!"

Not hesitating for a moment, Liara quickly hopped into the air and brought her bound hands under her feet to be in front of her before landing again. Quickly reaching up to key her earpiece, she screamed, "Tali, now!"

Instantly, the world went dark as each and every Cerberus floodlight winked out, followed shortly by every other piece of technology hooked into the ruin. Turning around, Liara watched with a sinking feeling as the mass effect field holding back the wall of lava quickly followed suit, shutting down with a whine as several tons of lava immediately began pouring forward like a demon unleashed.

"No!" Coré screamed. "Stop them! Stop them!"

Every Cerberus soldier in the chamber raised their rifles, Shepard and Jack flared their biotics, and Liara faced off against Coré from across the stairs separating them. For one fleeting and fraught moment, the world stood completely and utterly still. Then, down in the bowels of a sinking ship, the world exploded into noise and motion as the final fight for the Ring of Life truly began.

---

A/N: hey gamers! it's sure been a whole god damn year huh? i'd say sorry for the long (extremely long) delay, but i just survived the worst fuckin year of my life so i'm actually not apologizing! i even lost a few months in there to a depressive spiral i didn't even realize was happening, yippee! all jokes aside tho, im bringing this up for a reason. i only got out of said spiral bc some friends i love very much checked up on me and helped me realize what was going on, and i've spent the last several months trying to crawl back out of that and get back to the stuff that makes me happy (like writing funny little stories like this one!). so long story short, check in on your friends bc they might need it more than they think! also, for any returning readers, thank u so much for continuing to read this thing! all that's left is the dramatic final showdown, and it feels like i've just run like eight marathons in a row. we're gonna get it done tho if it fucking kills me i swear to god. anywho see u all at the finale!