Aftermath

Chapter 17

Liara woke to the sound of her omni-tool beeping. She blinked lazily and turned to find the blankets next to her empty, the fire burned down to embers and daylight streaming in from outside. She sat up, tapping a few strokes on her omni-tool and frowned.

She found Shepard outside, dressed in her N7 sweats and a woolen blanket over her shoulders to fight off the morning chill. She was leaning casually on the rough rock wall, sipping a mug of hot tea, staring out into the beauty of the morning view. Liara paused, tilting her head, watching for a moment. Shepard had her hair pulled loosely back, as she'd worn it when they first met. She'd worn it down since Cerberus so the look sent a warm pang of nostalgia through her. Shepard must have sensed her and without turning she set a second cup of tea next to her.

Liara smiled to herself and stepped up to the wall next to her, wrapping her hands around the cup. "It's very beautiful here," she said after a moment. A few sheep dotted the surrounding hills and the sounds of birds going about their morning business filled the air. A soft breeze brushed against them and ruffled the trees with its gentle caress.

Shepard nodded and looked over at her companion. Liara had hastily thrown on Shepard's N7 hoodie which fell to the top of her thighs. She wore nothing else, her shapely bare legs showing tantalizing amounts of blue skin. If an Asari could look disheveled, Liara looked adorably so. Shepard smiled as she reached out and ran a hand along Liara's cheek, letting her fingers trail down to her collarbone. "It is," she said softly, "but it doesn't remotely compare to you."

Liara smiled and would have blushed if she could. She took Shepard's hand in hers, pressed her palm against her lips and then wrapped her arm around Shepard's waist, snuggling against the cool breeze.

"What should we do with the day," Liara asked lightly. "We could go exploring. I've read about the ancient Druids in this region of Earth. Granted it's not 50,000 year old Prothean ruins, but it could be interesting none the less."

Shepard tilted her head, nodding, seeming to contemplate the suggestion. "Sure we could do that. Or you could tell me about the message you got this morning."

Liara shrugged and avoided her gaze, taking a sip of tea instead. "Just an update from Feron. He actually may have a lead on what happened to Javick after the war."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, unconvinced.

Liara dropped her head, shaking it. "It's not important. These next few days are for us." But it was no use. She could feel Shepard's eyes on her, waiting. Finally she met them. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Shepard graced her with a smile. A smile that conveyed appreciation for her willingness to ignore the galaxy and just be with her, but also reflected the renewed confidence Liara could see building strength within her. The strength, focus, and determination of Shepard before the war ended.

Liara nodded, accepting that for now, their time was not their own. She tapped her omni-tool. "Feron also reported that Glyph completed decoding some encrypted information we intercepted a week ago."

"Must have been a serious amount of encrypting to keep Glyph occupied that long. What was it?" Shepard said, squinting at the images on the omni-tool.

"It appears to be plans for a broad scale attack on a sensitive target by the Redeemers."

Shepard frowned. "From what Miranda told me that doesn't seem quite their style."

"It's true, their operations have tended to involve small infiltration groups which has made them hard to track. That is why my own information channels did not pick up on the planned attack on Thessia until it was too late. However, information traffic has increased considerably in the past 4 to 6 weeks."