Lazarus Project: Mass Effect 2 (Shenko)

Chapter 19

Milky Way/Crescent Nebula/Tasale/Ilium

Earth year: 2184 CE --- November

Liara stared at her console, willing it to speak to her. She'd been studying the information displayed on it for the better part of an hour, trying to see the pattern she knew was buried there. Squeezing her eyes shut she leaned back, sighing  in frustration. It had been a very long day.

It had been over a year since she'd lost Feron and she was still no closer to tracking down the Shadow Broker's base than she had been then. In the time since recovering Shepard's body, she'd worked on nothing but tracking the Shadow Broker and ferreting out his agents wherever she could. As a result of her efforts, she was now the most respected, powerful and influential information broker in all of Illium. So powerful in fact, that her only rival now was the Shadow Broker himself. It frustrated her no end that after all this time, she still had nothing that could show her where in the galaxy to look for him. It was almost as infuriating as tracking down information on Cerberus or the Illusive Man, she thought, her brow furrowing.

A mix of trepidation and anger flashed across her smooth features at the thought of Cerberus. True to their word, they had cut all communication, wiping servers and every terminal where she had filed their correspondence. She had heard nothing from Miranda or the Illusive man since the day she'd left the station where they'd taken Shepard's body from her shuttle.

Shepard, she thought sadly. If Cerberus succeeded in bringing her back, what would she say when she learned Liara's role in it? Would she hate her? Thank her? Curse her name? She shook her head, clearing the worrying thoughts from her mind.

Over the past year, she'd asked herself those same questions over and over, never finding an answer. Besides, she thought bitterly, the idea that Cerberus would succeed now was so slim as to be laughable. After all this time, if what they had planned to do had worked, Shepard should have been back by now.

Rising from her desk, she moved to gaze out her office window staring out at Ilium's skyline. No. As much as she would have loved to have Shepard back, she no longer believed it would ever happen. For months following what she'd done, she'd suffered agonizing guilt over the lie she'd told Garrus. She didn't know if he'd believed her at the time, but still. She had told him Shepard was alive and that she'd essentially abandoned them all for nothing more than a cause without even so much as a goodbye.

Yeah, she snorted. My cause. My selfish, short-sighted cause of getting a second chance with a woman who didn't and never had wanted her. After what had happened with Feron, she knew she no longer had any claim or right to Shepard, dead or alive. And what she'd done to Kaidan... If Shepard came back, what would he do if he knew what she'd done? What would Shepard do?

A tear trickled down her cheek. She'd made such a mess of everything. Over the months, she'd debated telling Kaidan what she'd done, but every time she thought to contact him, she'd put it off. After a year, the thought of saying anything at all became more and more pointless. After keeping it a secret from him for so long, she didn't see how he would believe anything she said. And if he did, what then? Then, she thought bitterly, he'd know just how selfish she truly was. That she hadn't respected his relationship with Shepard or accepted that Shepard hadn't wanted her.

So she'd stopped arguing with herself, seeing it as one more selfish act that would only serve to alleviate her guilt, while simultaneously hurting the man Shepard had loved. With her renewed resolve to let the past lie, she'd focused all her energy into tracking down the Shadow Broker, trying to discover Feron's fate. If he were still alive, she owed it to him to get him back. If not, well... then she'd kill the Shadow Broker - for what he'd planned to do to Shepard and for what he'd done to Feron. She would make him pay. She didn't care how long it took, but she would make him pay.

Milky Way/Omega Nebula/Orbital Mining Station/Omega

Less than a year after returning to his job at C-Sec, Garrus had reached the end of his patience. The red tape and bureaucratic bullshit on the Citadel had tripled since Sovereign's attack. But that paled in comparison to what the Alliance and the Council had done to Shepard's memory.

For six months, they'd used her image in Alliance recruitment ads, citing her achievements and bravery to encourage more humans to join Alliance military. For a while it had worked, albeit at a snail's pace, until they'd replaced her with a composite that was more publicly appealing.

When the Alliance and the Council began to publicly deny the existence of the Reapers and claimed that Sovereign was nothing more than an advanced geth dreadnought, Garrus had enough. He'd marched into Bailey's office, returned his badge and weapon and stalked from the room without a word. Having saved most of his earnings over the past year, he was rolling in credits by the time he left and chartered a flight to Omega. He had no plans for what he was going to do when he got there, but it was a damn sight better than having to listen to the lies the Alliance and the Citadel News Network were saying about her.

That had been six months ago. Now, he had a squad of his own. He'd rented an apartment and invested heavily in custom-made armour and the best sniper rifle he could find. With all the crime in Omega, it hadn't been hard to find purpose or men willing to join him. He did what he could to disrupt, sabotage or generally piss off every organized merc group he found on the station. Whether he was stealing their shipments, reporting their drop locations to the Alliance, or assassinating key personal, he was making a name for himself.

The locals had nicknamed him Archangel. He wasn't sure if it had come from the general population or the merc groups he attacked. He didn't mind the name, but he had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't be long before the notoriety brought him down. No one knew who he really was, but sooner or later, someone was bound to figure it out. Corruption was the rule on Omega - anything went so long as no one crossed the self-made queen, Aria T'Loak. Yet he'd still gone and made himself a target when he began interfering with every merc group there. Not that he cared. As far as he was concerned, the only good mercenary was a dead one.

As far as everything else was concerned, he was content, if not happy. He had a purpose that he believed Shepard would approve of. He hadn't heard anything more about this so-called secret mission she was supposed to be on and he was reluctant to contact Liara about it. If she'd lied to him, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. If she hadn't, well... even if she had been in contact with Shepard, he was certain she wouldn't share it with him. She was loyal to Shepard first and foremost, he thought, his bitterness returning.

As much as he wanted to believe Shepard was alive, it had been so long that the thought of ever seeing her again was nothing short of wishful thinking. Dead or alive, given the fact she'd left them all in the dark, it was a bitter pill to swallow. He'd believed she cared about him and all of her crew and that she had loved Alenko. Yet if Liara was to be believed, nothing had been what he'd thought it was.

His mandibles clicked in irritation at his current train of thought. It was useless to continue analyzing where Shepard was or what she was doing now. It never got him anywhere and only served to foul his already negative mindset. Taking down mercs was clean, simple and required no thought. It was the perfect remedy for keeping his mind clear of doubt. With that, he turned his attention back to his squad and smiled, proud of what he'd accomplished and for finally doing something that didn't require his father's stamp of approval.