Aftermath

Chapter 5

The crown jewel of the galaxy, as Thessia had been called before the Reaper attack, was alive with activity. The destruction left by the Reapers was plainly visible, but the rebuilding effort was much further along than Shepard had seen on Earth, no doubt a product of the rich natural resources and wealth of biotic strength Thessia benefitted from.

The galactic unity event was to be held at the re-opening of the Temple of Athame, a place Shepard had seen destroyed before her very eyes. The place where she had witnessed the fall of Thessia.

Shepard stopped at a news kiosk promoting the days plans. A new monument was to be unveiled to mark the events at the temple, followed by speakers on species unity, the key speaker being Dr. Liara T'soni. "Renowned Archeologist, Prothean expert and member of the heroic crew of the Normandy, led by human Spectre and Alliance Commander Jess Shepard (MIA)," the vid explained.

Shepard unconsciously reached up to rub her forehead before remembering she was dressed in a Quarian bio suite. "MIA is better than KIA I guess," she muttered to herself. Then she melted into the crowd streaming towards the temple.

"I'm making my way through the crowd," she said into her com link.

"Copy that Commander, I'm tracking you. No sign of explosive hot spots on the sensors yet," she heard Oriana's voice respond in the helmet.

Looking through the Quarian mask she scanned the crowd, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Most were Asari but other species were present as well: Human, Turian, Salarian, even a few other Quarians. Asari Commandos were out in force as well, providing security and checking for weapons.

The Temple of Athame towered above the crowd, bright and shining in the light of day from it's newly completed construction. Asari architecture was sleek and beautiful and the temple was no exception with huge sweeping curves reaching for the sky. It was almost seductive, much like the Asari themselves.

A large draped object was at the entry way to the temple. Shepard assumed this to be the new monument scheduled to be unveiled in the ceremony. She walked within 10 meters to take a reading but Oriana reported back nothing.

"Making my way inside," she informed her.

The temple ceiling stretched up to impossible heights and daylight filtered in from the lofty openings casting shafts of light on displays of ancient Asari carvings and texts. Shepard couldn't help but look down at the floor, the floor that nine months earlier had collapsed underneath her as the temple came down around them. She'd almost fallen to her death. She would have if Liara hadn't grabbed her hand at the last minute.

Liara. Her heart rate doubled instantly. She'd be seeing her soon. Alive. Mere meters away. She took a breath and focused. She circled the room, making note of the structure of the temple, trying to identify points vulnerable to attack. She checked in with Oriana again. Still no readings. After circulating through the temple thoroughly and finding nothing she headed back outside.

The crowd was gathered around the still shrouded monument. Near it, a stage was raised with a podium for the speakers and was flanked by large vid screens on either side to project the speakers larger than life.

"Still nothing," she heard Oriana's voice say.

Shepard grimaced behind the mask. The crowd was getting thicker, making it harder to move around. She glanced upwards at the areas surrounding, looking for places snipers might hide. There were three other nearby towering structures, two still under construction, ideal hiding places and the bright light of day made it difficult to pick out any movement.

"I don't like this," she told Oriana. "Too many places to hide and too many people."

Suddenly a hush ran through the crowd and everyone turned to the podium. An Asari Matriarch was on the stage. It was beginning.