Chapter Text
This disease is getting worse.
I've counted my blessings,
Now I'll count this curse.
Observer
Liara sat in the med-bay undergoing another examination from Dr. Chakwas. She didn’t want to think about how long she’d been asleep. There were so many things going on with her network, and while Glyph was an efficient assistant, he was still just a VI. There were things only the Shadow Broker could do.
Lying on one of the exam tables surrounded by a quarantine field was Tali. She’d replaced her damaged helmet with a UV sterilized breathing mask for the time being. Liara felt an odd impulse to touch one of the long feathers that fell down over Tali’s eye. She’d never seen a Quarian without their suit before, and Tali’s apparently needed significant repairs. Beneath the ornate purple hood and layers of polymer and fabric, she wore two pieces of “clothing”, tight leggings that stopped just above one of her backwards knees and some sort of sleeveless compression shirt with a zipper at the back of her neck. Little contact plates resembled metallic freckles that dotted her skin in perfect symmetry along the midline.
“How are you feeling?” Liara’s eyes slid down to the wound on Tali’s stomach. She shared the Commander’s worries that Tali’s immune system wouldn’t be strong enough to cope with her injuries.
“I’ll be okay,” Tali said with confidence. “That Reaper bitch is fucking dead, and my people have something to fight for now. They have a home.”
“...So long as you and the Geth remain good neighbors.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tali tried to sit up. She had a black jacket around her shoulders, one that looked nearly identical to Shepard’s except for the words ‘vas Normandy’ embroidered across the back in Human script.
“I worry. Centuries of history… Generations of behavior to unlearn…”
“They’re not our servants anymore,” Tali asserted. “They’re our allies. Legion at least was my friend.”
“Do you think your peoples can heal?” Liara asked.
“There are still a lot of wounds on either side, but I think it will happen one day.” Tali closed her eyes and a couple of tears escaped. “I have to have faith it’ll get better, like Shepard does.”
There was a commotion outside the med-bay. A gruff voice Liara didn’t recognize barked orders at some poor Alliance soldier. “You let me in, private, and you don’t wave a gun in my face. I have guns named after me.”
“Kal?” Tali tried to sit up, but Dr. Chakwas quickly stepped around Liara, passed through the quarantine field, and laid Tali back down with gentle hands.
“You get one visitor without your suit,” Dr. Chakwas said. “Everyone else is going to be via local vid-comm or extranet.”
“Can he come in?” Tali batted her wide, lavender eyes at the doctor. “Please?”
The matronly Human rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same. “Yes, dear. He can come in.”
Liara observed the cautious reunion between Tali and this new Quarian, Kal’Reegar. Liara vaguely remembered his presence on the Normandy following the events of Tali’s trial, but she’d been neck deep in data by that time and hadn’t given much attention to anyone aside from Ashley and those Shepard brought to the old Shadow Broker’s base.
Kal’Reegar was built like the Quarian equivalent of a brick shithouse. He was only a little taller than Shepard and Tali, but his thick muscles were likely to compete with the Normandy’s Mr. Vega. His suit appeared to be painted on his body rather than worn. Liara’s eyes wandered downwards of their own accord. She was considering the merits of offspring with his obviously strong genes before her brain reminded her that she was a married woman. However, she’d seen Ashley appreciating attractive members of her own species. Liara felt no shame indulging in a little appreciation of her own.
It wasn’t the strong body that made Liara T’Soni-Williams appreciate Kal’Reegar, though. It helped, certainly, but there was a gentleness with which he treated Tali that warmed Liara’s heart the most. Reegar stood by Tali’s head, whispering softly and holding her hand.
“Hey, pretty girl,” Reegar crooned. “That was some stunt you pulled.”
“It wasn’t that crazy, Kal. It was just a knife fight with an Admiral over a Geth.” Tali giggled at her own joke and winced, clutching her stomach in pain. “Fuck. It hurts to laugh.”
“We’re transporting her to the Citadel for medical treatment and a second opinion,” Dr. Chakwas said. “I’ve done what I can here, and I’m quite good, but it’s her best shot at a full recovery.”
Reegar touched the mouthpiece of his suit to Tali’s forehead. “You get better for me, okay?” He let one hand come to rest on Tali’s belly, below her wound. “This is going to have to heal for what I have in mind.”
Tali’s skin took on a rosy hue. “Y-you heard that?”
“You left your comm line open. The entire fleet heard that.”
“Oh Keelah…” Tali pulled her long cascade of black feathers to cover her face.
“Hey.” Reegar uncovered Tali’s eyes. “I’ll build the house if you’ll help me fill it.” One of her feathers broke off in his fingers, leaving what remained sticking up at a comical angle. “Shit. Sorry, Tali.”
“It’s fine, Kal.” Tali smiled sheepishly. “You can keep it, if you want.”
“Do you think your doctor would let me kiss you farewell?”
“Of course,” Dr. Chakwas grumbled. “What’s one more foreign substance introduced to a fragile immune system? She’s only been shot, eaten unpurified food, and stabbed by a blade exposed to unknown pathogens and microbes…”
“...Is that a yes?” Tali asked.
“It’s an ‘against medical advice’,” Dr. Chakwas clarified.
Kal’Reegar swiftly removed the glass visor of his helmet to give Tali a chaste kiss on the lips. He hesitated to put the visor back into place, reaching up to yank one of his pale brown feathers out by the root and hand it to Tali. The blunted end indicated it had either broken off or been cut to its current length. Liara blushed purple at the sweetness of the gesture and averted her eyes to give the Quarians at least a little privacy for their heartfelt goodbyes.
When Reegar had left, Liara let her curiosity get the better of her. “May I ask what you accidentally said to the entire Flotilla?”
Tali’s eyes grew tight. “I may have insinuated that I want to carry Kal’s children.” She stared up at the ceiling, absentmindedly wrapping Reegar’s feather between her fingers.
Liara recalled that there had been a time when Humans would engage in an exchange of locks of hair as a romantic gesture. She fingered her locket and wondered if maybe she should add some physical memento of Ashley to the vacant side. “So that’s the end goal?”
“Maybe?” Tali didn’t sound sure. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t even know what kind of mother I’d be. My mother… Shepard and I can sympathize about losing a parent young.”
“I suppose many of us can relate to that,” Liara said.
“You were at least an adult and out on your own,” Tali said. “I was just a girl. Father… tried. He worked all the time.”
“Benezia kept Atheyta’s identity from me for my entire life,” Liara said. “But even I’ve never been totally alone.” Growing up on Thessia, she didn't have many friends but she’d always had her mother. At first, Liara thought it was because she was a pureblood with two Asari parents. As she grew up, and certainly after she’d inherited the holdings of House T’Soni, she soon realized it had much more to do with wealth and status than parentage.
Tali looked at her omni-tool. “I hope I can get my suit repaired soon. The Geth uploaded a few of their programs to it. The goal is to jump-start my immune system. They’re trying it with volunteers on Rannoch as well. We might not need our suits in a few years.”
“I certainly never thought I’d live to see that,” Liara said. “The conflict with the Geth… It’s been going on since long before I was born. In the old days, I thought it might never end.”
“Neither did I.” Tali wiped a tear from her eye. “Back then, I would have killed the Geth. No hesitation. But I’d have been wrong. I’ve got sis to thank for that, I guess. I really wasn’t sure about keeping Legion when we met them. But Shepard was half-dead, coughing up fucking blood for the Ancestors’ sake, and she was willing to befriend a Geth for the sole reason that they helped her rescue me.”
“The Commander has a way with people,” Liara said. “I’m glad she’s heading up this operation. I wasn’t sure Admiral Anderson would be capable.”
Tali’s face fell. “How has Shepard been?”
“You’ve seen her. She’s just as dedicated as ever.”
“No, Liara.” Tali sat up, one hand going to her stomach. “I mean is she alright? Garrus is worried about her, and so am I.”
Liara shrugged. “Shepard is Shepard. She’s exactly like she’s always been.” Liara wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be looking for. Garrus was always an anxious mess about the Commander, but she appeared fine now. Liara’s nudging of their Turian friend in the right direction seemed to be enough to help Shepard manage the stress. Despite losses of life, their missions were successful. The Crucible was coming along, though not as fast as Liara would want. Like Tali, Liara held hope that Shepard would be able to bring the galaxy together to destroy the Reapers once and for all.
“I’ve just noticed some things,” Tali said.
“She’s the Commander, Tali. This is her war, after all.” Liara smiled. “I have faith that she’ll be able to do the impossible.”
Paragon
Councilor Tevos was rightly impressed with Shepard handling the Geth conflict, but Shepard refused to take all the credit. She insisted that Tali and Legion were the true architects of the truce and that they be given what they were due. The Councilor agreed in order to placate Shepard, and requested to speak at the Citadel. Whatever was going on was too sensitive for an “unsecured channel”.
Hackett had his own ideas about what was going down. The Reapers were gaining on most fronts, and now the Asari were on the chopping block. Despite being the most advanced race in the galaxy, Admiral Hackett didn’t have a lot of faith in the Asari’s ability to combat the Reapers on their own. Asari didn’t typically engage in conventional warfare. The rest of the allied forces were getting hammered, and while the Crucible was coming along they weren’t sure about its readiness. The Salarians offered a single fleet, while the Asari promised science officers, engineers, military support, and the whole-ass Destiny Ascension.
“Admiral… I’ve got a personal question.”
“Speak freely, Commander.”
Shepard sucked in a breath through her teeth. “Why me? Why put me in charge of all this?”
“Because you’re the only bitch I’ve got who knows how to kill Reapers.”
“Yeah. I get it. I’ve had practice. But does that really qualify me for this?” Shepard threw her arms wide to indicate the whole damn ship, the whole damn war, and her role hopscotching around the galaxy to make alliances on behalf of everyone. “Hackett, I’m a soldier.”
“Your dossier says it does, Commander. You were trapped on Akuze all those years ago and you were the only one to make it out alive.”
“But that wasn’t me!” Shepard cried, gripping the edge of the vidcomm. “I got lucky! I got lucky then, I got lucky during the Blitz. Fuck, even when I first joined the military it’s because I got lucky. ”
“Then we need that luck on our side.” Hackett’s blue silhouette wavered from some little interference with the QEC. “Shepard, back then we saw more in you than just a soldier. We’d been watching you since the Blitz, and listening to what your superiors were saying.”
“And because of that you think I’m qualified to save the galaxy?” Shepard pointed to the scarred half of her face with her right hand. She didn’t want to know how shitty she looked right now. Her skin felt wrong , like it didn’t belong to her. She willed Admiral Hackett to see what was going on underneath it.
The Admiral adopted a stern, paternal air. “Let me tell you something I’ve learned the hard way. You can pay a soldier to fire a gun. You can pay him to charge the enemy and take a hill. But you can’t pay them to believe.”
“Sir?” Shepard raised an eyebrow.
“When you went up against Sovereign, there was no good reason to believe you’d win. But your crew didn’t seem to care, they went along anyway. Your trip through the Omega-4 relay? That was a suicide mission if there ever was one. Yet there your crew was, standing beside you. Proud to serve.” He fixed Shepard with a hard gaze. “Why? Because they believed in you. Their leader. I need that right now.” His face softened. “Where we’re taking them is liable to get pretty hairy. And I know you’re the one who’ll get us out the other side.”
Shepard set her jaw. “Nothing more, sir.” She held her salute until the vid-comm went dark.