Mass Effect - A Hero Rises Ch. 27

"Well, I didn't expect that," Garrus muttered.

Last off the ship, except those who would remain on station, was Miranda. I probably looked even more surprised at her than at Jack. Her smile was genuine. "You're right, Shepard. We have a few days here, and I'll be honest, I need the break. Might find a comfy little bar and enjoy a girly drink, as you said."

"Alone or with someone?"

"Kelly actually offered to meet up with me and a couple of the other girls on board are coming along."

I couldn't help smile. She was slowly but surely loosening up, which is all I wanted. I didn't expect her to be everyone's friend but the fact she was now forging relationships could only be a good thing. "Well, I'd suggest you go and enjoy yourself then."

"And you're going to meet Liara now?"

"Yeah. Garrus will join me. When I want to head off to find the first recruit, I'll contact everyone, but it likely won't be until tomorrow, so you can enjoy tonight off."

As Miranda headed off, I headed to my terminal for a last minute check for new messages, grabbed my jacket and we headed out into the city of Nos Astra together. We'd barely stepped off the ship when a rather attractive asari walked towards us, hips shaking, a welcoming smile and a definite head turner. "Welcome to Nos Astra, Commander Shepard. We've been instructed to waive all docking and administration fees for your visit."

I glanced at Garrus. "Well, she obviously knows we're here then."

"My name is Careena. If you need information about the area, it would be my pleasure to assist you."

"I assume it was Liara who did this for me?"

"Correct, Commander. She has paid all docking fees on your behalf. Considering the vessel you currently fly, she also helped smooth your entry into the port of Nos Astra."

"Yeah, I've had that problem already," I muttered.

"She's been expecting you for some time, Commander," Careena continued, "She has asked that I direct you to speak with her at your earliest convenience. She's located near the trading floor."

"I understand she's pursued a new career path, but as what?"

"Liara is one of Nos Astra's most respected information brokers. Nos Astra is based upon trade. Information is a valuable currency and commodity, and Liara has done quite well. She is looking forward to seeing you, Commander."

"Thanks, Careena. Visiting Liara was one of our main reasons for stopping here. We'll head there straight away."

"I'm sure she's looking forward to your arrival, Commander. Have a good day."

As she turned and walked away, I definitely watched her. Garrus laughed at me within seconds. "Spirits, Shepard, is it never on your mind?"

"I'm not thinking about fucking her, Garrus. Jesus Christ, give me some credit. Some women, asari or whatever, are just attractive and I take a moment to appreciate it. I'm not leering, I am merely having a quick look then moving on."

Walking away from the docks onto the concourse of what seemed like a skyscraper, it was immediate that Nos Astra was awash in money. I'd never visited an asari world before and it was easy to notice their advanced society. It was also incredibly bright but surprisingly not very loud. And it was obvious that it was rich. Very rich. Anyone we walked by wore the latest design, wore the newest omni-tool, watch or some other techno gadget, and the jewellery on display probably costs millions of credits alone. Many would have been disgusted at the vulgar display of wealth. I just thought it made a place like Nos Astra a good place for Kasumi to go on the rob. I'll have to visit her when we leave, see if she had done any thieving on the side.

As we weaved our way through the crowds, amazed that people were performing business trades at simply kiosks, it was only there that the noise picked up, so I barely heard someone shout my voice until Garrus gave me a nudge and pointed.

My mouth immediately went dry. Shit, I think my knees almost buckled for a moment before I managed to walk forwards again. As for her, the smile on her face was only matched by the fact she looked ready to burst into tears. I closed the gap quickly with only one intention on my mind. I cupped her face with a hand as I kissed her, feeling her immediately embrace me in return, opening her mouth to accept my tongue as I held her close in return. Best kiss I'd had since I woke up, hands down, never will be beaten.

The only reason we stopped was the sound of a cleared throat, glancing back to see Garrus looking awkward as always. "Look, I'll give you some time, Shepard, but I'm sure Liara is expecting us."

"Honestly, she can wait for a moment. This is far more important."

"I know. And it's good to see you, Gianna."

"Garrus, right? I'll only take him for a few minutes. Then I can meet with him later."

Garrus nodded and disappeared so I could give Gianna my full attention. I gently caressed her face, drinking in her features once again. She was as beautiful as I remembered. "You were dead," she whispered.

"I got better," I whispered back. Her lip immediately trembled as I wiped her cheeks. "I never thought in a million years you'd be here."

"It's a long story, Shepard. But I know you're busy."

"No, I honestly don't care about Liara right now."

"I've heard the rumours, Shepard. I don't care one way or the other, but I know it's to do with the disappearance. It's the only reason why you'd be back now. It's your thing, right? Save the galaxy?"

"I do seem to have that reputation nowadays."

She rested her head against my chest as I caressed the back of her head. "God, it's so good to see you again. I don't know whether to just burst into tears or give you an almighty slap for just suddenly reappearing."

"It's a long story, one I'll definitely tell you about. And you'll have to tell me what you're doing here."

"Okay. How long are you here for?"

"A few days. I have a few jobs to do before moving on."

She let me go, standing back to open her omni-tool. I gave her my new contact details and I received her contact details, address and other bits of information I'd lost. "Come find me whenever you're done."

"I'll try not to be too long."

She smiled. "Take your time, Shepard. You're here for a few days, so I'm going to make the most of them anyway." She leaned forward, gave me a soft kiss, then she disappeared into the crowd, glancing back more than once, perhaps wondering if I'd just disappear and she'd dreamed it all. I definitely had a grin on my face and a spring in my step as I met with Garrus, and we continued our journey towards Liara's office.

We entered a plush looking office building, all glass and metal, very futuristic, screens lining the walls playing various news programs from around the galaxy, stock forecasts and stock indexes running along the walls. There was a receptionist nearby who offered a friendly smile as we approached. "Hello. Welcome to T'Soni Analytics. My name is Nyxeris. How may I help you today?"

"I'm here to see Liara. Name's Shepard."

"Oh, yes, I've heard all about you, Commander Shepard." She gestured, adding, "Miss T'Soni has been expecting your arrival for some time. Her office is up the stairs, to the left at the end of the hall."

"Thanks."

Heading in the direction she pointed, we passed by glass frontages, behind which sat banks of people at terminals, busy typing away, or they were taking calls, or in the middle of vid conferences. It all looked rather busy and quite hectic. Approaching Liara's door, I did stop to take a deep breath before opening it and walking in. On first appearance, it was luxury personified though my eyes immediately went to Liara, who was wearing a dress that stuck to her body, her back turned to me, immediately noticing the freckles on her back I remembered quite well. In front of her was a hologram of a human man.

"Have you ever faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have." She paused, obviously letting the threat sit on his mind. "I'll make it simple. Either pay me or I'll flay you alive. With my mind." The hologram disappeared and Liara grabbed a datapad, reading it over. She still hadn't sensed our presence, so I cleared my throat, causing her to turn around sharply. Soon as she noticed me, the datapad was dropped as she rushed towards me. "Shepard!" she cried.

I opened my arms as I found myself embraced by an old friend very quickly, though she didn't go for the kiss like Gianna, simply hugging me tightly, very tightly. "Well, good to see you too, Liara." She didn't say anything for a moment, so I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment as well. "Where happened to the innocent young asari I met on Therum though?"

She leaned back and managed to look guilty. "Oh, you heard all that?"

"I heard enough. What's going on?"

"Is this where you show concern, Shepard?"

"I've been gone two years, Liara. Seems like an awful lot has changed without me."

"True. Come, take a seat." She hugged Garrus first before offering him a seat, walking around to sit on the other side of her desk. She folded her arms and smiled at me. It seemed sincere but slightly forced, though whether it was because of me or something else, I couldn't be sure. "I have so much to tell you, Shepard. I'm really not sure where to begin?"

"Why don't I tell you what I know and I'll fill in the gaps?" She nodded, so I started. "I got spaced and pretty much died. It was above Alchera, correct?" She nodded again. "Alliance spent all of a week to find my body before abandoning the search. Council didn't even bother. Between that and now, I ended up in the hands of Cerberus, who chose to rebuild me. While I was gone, you've gone from archaeologist to this. Ashley has been promoted."

"You've seen Ashley?"

"On Horizon. Long story, don't want to go into it. Tali is back with the Fleet. Saw her on Freedom's Progress. Collected Garrus on Omega. Rest of my old team has returned home I would assume."

"Wrex is on Tuchanka. He's trying to reunite the clans under his name."

"Well, that's pretty much everyone then. So add to all that, the Council has continued to be absolutely useless, though at least made me a Spectre again, but I've been told to pretty much stay away Council space. The Alliance know I'm back but have barely got in contact. So now I'm stuck with Cerberus because they're the only people willing to give me what I need. I still don't know how I ended up with them in the first place. That's the head scratcher."

"I did it," Liara confessed straight away.

That definitely made me scratch my head. "You did? Why?"

"Have you heard about the Shadow Broker?"

"Of course. That's how we recruited Tali before. And the Illusive Man mentioned you may have dealings with him."

"That's putting it mildly. I'll give a brief summary. You died and your old team was split up. We fell out of contact quite quickly to be honest. The Council thought we were all delusional. The Alliance just wanted us gone. I know Ashley and Tali parted ways because of it. What I knew is that after everything we had learned about the Reapers, we couldn't just stop. They're still out there."

"They are, because they clearly control the Collectors."

"Anyway, I started all of this as I heard the Shadow Broker was offering a reward to retrieve your body and hand it over to them. The Collectors. I worked with a drell, Feron, who eventually helped me retrieve your body and hand it over to Cerberus. The only reason I did that was because the Illusive Man told me that he had the technology to bring you back. I was being given updates by him up until about three months ago. When they stopped, I assumed either it had failed or he was now hiding progress from me. I had people try and hack into their systems but that would make us a target, even on Illium."

"Life's been pretty crazy since I woke up."

"How does it feel being back?"

"It's weird having been gone for two years yet, to me, it felt like two minutes. One moment, I'm floating through space. I'd just watched the Normandy explode. Then things go dark. Next moment, I'm waking up in a Cerberus laboratory. That's a little disconcerting, particularly when I'm told rather quickly that I've missed two whole years." I pause before asking, "So what are you doing now?"

"I run this information brokerage firm. Information is vital, Shepard. It makes me a lot of money, and I've used a lot of that to fund research into the Reapers. Any little clue I've managed to dig out, I've had my best people on it. I've also kept tabs on those closest to you."

"I've already seen Emily on the Citadel."

"Gianna is here, Shepard."

"I know. Already seen her. I'm going to go see her once I'm done here."

"Remember Doctor Ross?" I nodded. "She's now working for the Alliance, specifically for Admiral Hackett. Special R&D division. If there's one man in the Alliance who believes you, it's him. Well, two, if you include Captain Anderson. Also Helena Blake, she's on Omega. She's now a social worker."

"I had no idea she was there."

"You were a little distracted, Shepard," Garrus interrupted with a chuckle, "And I don't mean by the recruiting."

"Oh, you mean Tara?"

"Who's Tara?" Liara asked.

"An asari dancer I met in Afterlife. I also met Aria T'Loak, though I wasn't intimate with her."

Despite everything, Liara could still be rather innocent as the blush was immediate. "Oh... So another notch then, Shepard?"

"He's had a couple more since then too!" Garrus exclaimed, earning a glare from me, which only increased his laughter.

"Anyway, aside from them, two more asari who I know you might be interested to know about. Shiala returned to Zhu's Hope, though I've been reading reports they are having health difficulties. It might be something worth checking out if you have the time. And Benezia is living on Eden Prime. Her estate has passed to me, so I send her money every month. She's now living a simple life, trying to regain control of her mind. But she's still facing difficulties each day. Saren wreaked havoc with anyone he came into contact with. Every day is a struggle for her, but she's made some friends with the locals and they help her each day."

"So what are your plans?" I wondered.

"At the moment, I'm busy with a million and one things, Shepard. But I have a feeling the Shadow Broker looms on the horizon, but for now, I intend to continue with my projects."

"Any chance you'd like to join me again?"

"Not right now. It's been two years, Shepard. Do you understand?"

"Of course. I haven't expected anyone to just drop everything and join me again. Still, this reunion is better than with Ashley. She was... not happy. Not about my return. The fact I was with Cerberus."

"I know it's hard for you as well, Shepard, but it was the best and only choice at the time."

"I'm not complaining about being given a second chance, Liara. Trust me."

"I assume you'd like to go meet Gianna shortly though, right?"

"Yeah. Lovely seeing you and all. I would stay longer but..."

"Don't worry, Shepard. I understand. Though Garrus, if you're not busy, maybe we can catch up?"

"I'd like that, Liara. Been a long time."

Liara escorted me to the door, kissing my cheek, insisting we catch up the next day for lunch and we could discuss my recruitment, as she figured that was what had brought me to Illium. Heading out of the building, I walked back to where I'd met Gianna, but there was no sign of her, so I wandered towards the nearest rank of cabs and took one close to her address. She lived in a nice part of town, perhaps not the most affluent, and I figured it was one of those stories where the poor lived below, and the higher up you lived, the better off you were.

Knocking on her front door, it opened within seconds and I found myself dragged in by the hand, the door closing as I was embraced once again. This time, all she did was giggle and laugh as I held her just as tight, my cheeks almost hurting from the grin on my own face. "God, it's so good to see you again," she said quietly.

"Been waiting to find you too. Thought you would have been on Noveria."

"Long story," she replied before she kissed me. The sort of kiss that deepened quickly, feeling her body mould into mine. Two years were gone in an instant, reminded of our last time on the Citadel, or those brief few days we shared back on Noveria. When we broke apart, her cheeks were certainly red while I felt rather warm myself. "Hungry? For food, that is?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I have dinner cooking. Hope you like pasta." I nodded. "And wine?"

"Of course."

I followed her into the small kitchen, sitting on one of the stools she gestured towards as she got back to cooking. It all looked rather simple but the smell told me it would be delicious nonetheless. "So, Noveria to Illium. How does that work?"

"Once I heard the news about you, Shepard, I couldn't say on Noveria. I still hoped we'd managed to make something work, and I was happy enough in the role, though after bagging Anoleis, my career was at a bit of a turning point. Once you were gone, I looked around and only saw memories of you everywhere. It was... difficult, mourning you alone because barely anyone knew we'd been together. So I packed my job in and readied myself to do something different.

That's when your friend got in touch with me. Liara. She'd got wind I'd quit my job so offered me some temporary work here while I got back on my feet. So I flew here, signed a short term contract with her, found a place, then eventually started to build a name for myself as an investigator. I formed my own company about a year ago now. Same sort of jobs I was doing on Noveria, but now I'm my own boss, and despite the lax laws on Illium, there is still a tonne of work."

She started serving up, passing me the bottle of wine and two glasses so I could pour and take them to the nearby table. I set the rest up before we sat down, Gianna at the head, while I sat to her right. She held out her hand, taking my left with her right, and we ate one handed while sipping our wine in between. "It's interesting here, at least. And the weather is better. I can actually go outside and not freeze my tits off nor have to wear seven layers of clothing just to keep warm. The asari are friendly enough. Humans are still rare enough on Illium to attract attention. Most of it good, though. Been back to Earth to see the family a couple of times. That made me feel better about things through it all."

"You've been busy?"

"I needed to keep busy, Shepard. I didn't want to think. If I had quiet time, I'd think and then..." She paused, taking a deep, shuddering breath, "Shepard, can I ask this bluntly?"

"Of course."

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I burst into laughter, thankful that she did the same. "Sorry, I just really needed to ask that. I'm still holding your hand now and telling myself it's real." I squeezed her hand, which made her smile. "It feels real enough."

I told her the same story I'd just told Liara. She knew about Cerberus and had heard rumours, though once I added the Collector link, she accepted I was simply doing what needed to be done. Other than that, I admitted I was still catching up on what I'd missed but, like her, I had a mission to complete so I didn't really have time to contemplate everything to do with my return.

Sitting side by side on her lounge with another glass of wine, we perhaps chatted for another five minutes before I kissed her again. Glasses were placed down on the coffee table rather quickly as our hands were busy doing other more important things. She'd definitely put on a little make-up. Had done her hair. Her perfume was gorgeous. Her body felt exactly the same. Her skin was still beautiful.

I stood up and helped her up, taking the lead as I led her toward the bedroom. Turning towards her, I didn't even ask a question. I said one word. "Yes?"