The shuttles arrived, and we had to spend some time securing the Makos to their undersides.
Then we crammed into the shuttles themselves, packed like sardines in a tin, with Liara specifically getting into the shuttle I was in.
Nothing came of that little situation, and soon we reached the Normandy, where disembarkation began immediately.
“Li, unfortunately, there isn’t that much space on the ship, so I have nowhere to put all the commandos.
Talk to Pressly, he’s the first mate, and he’ll tell you where the girls can bunk.”
“Understood.”
“And I also wanted to ask you for a small favor…”
“A favor?”
“Yes…”
I gestured for her to follow me, then also waved for Jane to come along.
Together, we headed to the medbay.
“So, what do you need me for, especially considering you brought that asari along?”
“That asari’s name is Liara.”
There was a note of reproach in my friend’s voice.
“Well, sorry…”
As she said this, Jane didn’t look embarrassed at all.
If anything, she was slightly mocking Liara.
“Well, I wanted Liara to practice the Embrace of Eternity with you.”
“What?!”
Liara stared at me with shock and indignation.
“Wait, you want your friend to sleep with me?!”
Jane was right on the blue girl’s heels.
“Jane, you made contact with the beacon.
Right now, your head is a jumble of images that you’d spend years sorting through on your own.
But Liara, despite her youth, can easily structure what you got.”
“I…”
Jane blinked in confusion, but I saw a flicker of obsession in Liara’s eyes.
She hadn’t known that Jane had contacted the beacon.
Now that she realized she had a chance to extract information from it…
“Hey, hey…”
“Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt.
You might even like it.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of!”
Jane tried to take a few steps back, but I caught her by the shoulders, and Liara closed in on her, her eyes already turning black.
“Embrace eternity…”
There was a note of obsession in Liara’s voice, and Jane couldn’t look away.
My asari’s hands gently rested on Jane’s face.
*** Ten minutes later.
***
“That was…”
Liara pulled back from Jane.
“…interesting.
So much information, so much pain…”
“It was a warning.”
There was shock and even a hint of fear in Jane’s voice.
“I agree.
It looks very much like a warning.
It seems the Protheans were fighting an enemy that couldn’t simply be defeated.
And this beacon is a message to us, telling us to prepare to face something that will seek to destroy all life…”
Liara nodded slowly and, stepping back a bit, sat down on a cot.
“So, war is inevitable…”
Jane said this in a slightly lost voice and, without realizing it, sat down next to Liara.
“Alright, girls, I need a very detailed report on what you managed to understand from what the beacon transmitted to Jane.
I’ll go give the Council my report.”
“John…”
There was reproach in Liara’s voice, and a hint of hurt in her eyes.
“Huh?”
“Did you forget something?
We haven’t seen each other in a while, and if my memory serves me right, we should greet each other.”
“Oh…
right…
sorry…”
I smiled guiltily, walked over to her, and kissed her on the lips.
She responded to the kiss with great pleasure.
“Good to see you.”
“Mm-hmm.”
She smiled at me affectionately.
“I’m glad to see you too.”
“There’s something between you two, isn’t there?”
Jane’s voice carried a slight tension.
“No…”
Liara pulled away from me, blinking a couple of times in confusion.
“…we’re just friends.”
“Friends?” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Doubt crept into Jane’s voice.
“Yes, friends.
I’m trying to persuade Liara into a relationship, of course.
Benezia would be happy too if we started one, but Liara is holding out.
Alright, I need to get to my report.”
I waved at the girls and left the medbay, heading for the comm room.
“Shepard…”
As soon as the councilors responded, Sparatus’s voice betrayed his attitude toward the situation.
He was ready to chew me out, but a short gesture from Tevos stopped him.
“Shepard, we need an explanation.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
My entire demeanor made it clear I couldn’t care less about their complaints.
“…transmitting data on the criminals we eliminated.
I’d also like to note that Liara T’Soni was rescued.
She has already performed the Embrace of Eternity with Jane Shepard and managed to sort out the implanted memories.”
“And what did she understand?”
“It was a warning.
A warning about some ancient enemy that came from the dark regions of space, an enemy with which negotiation was impossible.”
The councilors frowned.
“Shepard, if you think we’re going to believe these fairy tales…”
“Councilors, I don’t care about your opinion of the data I’m transmitting.
I’m simply stating a fact.
Furthermore, I’m certain that each Council race has its own beacon that no one else knows about.
So you can try to extract data from those and compare it with the information I’m providing.
Especially since knowing what to look for makes it much easier.”
“Shepard, you forget yourself!”
Sparatus’s voice carried displeasure.
“Not at all.
I’m just telling it like it is.
And if as a Spectre I can’t do anything, as the head of a corporation, I can certainly start arming the colonies under my control.
I can also increase my security force.”
“Shepard…”
There was a hint of reproach in Tevos’s voice.
“…do you really believe this nonsense?”
“Councilor, frankly, I don’t care whether it’s true or not.
If it’s true, then I’ll simply be prepared to face a powerful enemy that wiped out the Protheans.
I don’t have any illusions; I know my colonies won’t last long, but as their administrator, I’ll give them at least a few extra years of life.”
I paused to read a short message from Joker, informing me that we were now far enough from the planet and were drifting in space.
“And if it’s all rubbish — just a stupid joke by the Protheans — then I’ll use the accumulated forces to terraform a few more planets.”
“I understand your point of view.”
Valern joined the conversation.
“However, you also destroyed the Prothean ruins, which was completely unnecessary.
We’d like to know why you did it.”
“Because Saren already knew about them and might have tried to extract information.
It was simpler to destroy them.”
“Fine…
We understand your motives, even if we don’t approve of them.
Continue your work.
And we will be closely monitoring your actions.”
“As you wish.”
The connection was cut, and all I could do was mentally curse the councilors for their inertia of thought.
At least, in private conversation, they hadn’t tried to tell me that the visions we’d deciphered were nonsense and there was no danger.
From the look Tevos gave, it was clear she would try to find out the truth.
“So…
what next?”
I stared thoughtfully at the ceiling.
I already had a plan and knew where we were heading next: Noveria.
Saren had some kind of laboratory there.
And according to canon, the rachni were there too, so it was worth dealing with that threat as well.
“Joker…”
I hailed our pilot.
“Set a course for Noveria.”
“Aye aye, Captain.”
I stood for a few minutes, thinking about what I might have forgotten, then decided to do one more important thing, even if it would take a biotic out of commission for a few days.
“Alenko, report to the medbay.”
A short order transmitted over the ship’s internal comms should quickly reach our biotic, who likes to act like a dying swan but is overall not a bad soldier.
When I got to the medbay, Alenko was there, along with Jane.
“Captain?”
Ignoring the biotic’s question, I turned to Karin.
“Dr.
Chakwas, they did send you a small box after the Citadel upload, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
She nodded briefly, then hurried to retrieve the box and set it on the nearest table.
“Here it is. New chapters come out on g.com first.
I read the accompanying documentation, but…
sir, I’ve never heard of implants like these for biotics…”
Her voice held a hint of uncertainty.
“That’s right.
It’s a development from my corporation for internal use only.
If Alenko hadn’t ended up on my team, he wouldn’t have learned about these implants for another two or three years.
And when he did, they would have cost a fortune.
By that time, my corporation would have had a new version.”
“I don’t understand anything…”
Kaidan shook his head.
“…can you explain to me what’s going on here?”
“It’s quite simple.”
Karin gave him a gentle smile.
“This is the latest L3-M-V3 biotic implant.
Based on the data I received, it’s essentially the same as the L2 implant you have, but without the side effects like headaches.”
“And what about the power level?”
Alenko frowned slightly.
“I heard the L3 is less powerful than my current implant.
That’s why I didn’t want to upgrade to the third generation.”
“No, the power level will remain the same.”
“That’s…”
Alenko looked at me.
“How long will I be out of action?”
“A few days.
The operation isn’t complicated for our medbay…”
I shot a questioning look at Karin, and she nodded in agreement.
“Yes, I don’t have much experience with this kind of work, but the operation really isn’t complicated.
Plus, some equipment came with the implant that will make it even easier.
So…”
She shrugged casually.
“…we could do the operation right now.”
“But a few days out.”
“Is that critical for us?”
I looked at Jane with mild surprise, then shifted my gaze to Kaidan.
“Yes, he’s a biotic and that’s important, but we currently have a full squad of biotics on board — and not just any biotics, but asari commandos.
Trust me, they’d outperform Kaidan in both biotics and training.
And not just him…
I’d say there are only a few people on board who they couldn’t beat at their own game.”
“For example, you?”
Jane’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
“They could beat me.
Not all of them, of course, but there are some veterans who could go up against me and win.
But that’s no surprise — they’ve lived a lot longer than me and have more experience.
No, I mean Tali’Zorah with her technical skills, Wrex with his skills and experience, and they wouldn’t be able to beat Joker.
That guy seems to have been born with a control yoke in his hands and an engine up his ass.”
“Hey!”
By internal comms, Joker’s indignant voice came through.
Though it was only put on for show — we could all hear he was more embarrassed than anything.
“This is all well and good, but do you really think they’ll obey you?”
“They’ll obey me.”
Liara stepped out from the inner room of the medbay, which she’d apparently managed to claim for herself.
“And I’ll support John.
So they’ll listen to him too.
Though my intervention won’t be necessary — my mother will be on Noveria, and she’ll give a personal order for them to listen to John.”
“Right…
but after Noveria, the commandos are still leaving the ship.
Well, maybe one or two will stay as your bodyguards.
The rest will go with Matriarch Benezia to one of my colonies, where there’ll be work for them.”
“Well, that’s for you and Mother to decide…”
Liara shrugged casually.
“So?”
I turned to Kaidan.
“What have you decided?
Do we install the new implant or not?”
“I…
Captain, is it true?
That it’ll just take away the pain?
I won’t lose any strength?
No, don’t get me wrong, I’ve already heard the answer to that question, it’s just…”
“It’s true.”
“Then I agree.”
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