Now we switch to the other John. Not happy fun reunion time, though.
* * *
Nos Astra was a beautiful city, but something about it felt... artificial. Still, it was safer than Omega or going into true Citadel space flying Cerberus colors.
And according to Tali, this was where Liara was.
John understood, intellectually, that the old crew had gone their separate ways. It had been two years, after all, but to him, it had just been a few days. Tali had regretfully informed him that she'd lost contact with Garrus several months ago, when he had quit his job at C-Sec -- And what the hell was that about, Vakarian? he wondered -- and Ashley just a few weeks ago, something about a new assingment. With Wrex on Tuchanka and Liara here on Illium, his first stop was an obvious choice.
He exchanged polite pleasantries with the asari concierge who greeted him at Nos Astra spaceport and quickly made his way to Liara's office. Apparently, she had become a rather successful information broker. He smiled. How that happened was a story he just had to hear...
* * *
"Liara!" John called as he entered her office, a broad grin on his face.
"Shepard," she said, looking up. She looked... tired. "I have to admit, I wasn't expecting you for a few more weeks. It was a bit hectic getting the berth cleared and the docking fees paid after Tali's call."
Something cold and hard formed in John's gut, and confusion settled in as he processed her greeting. How did she know he was coming, that he would even be alive to come here? He could count on his fingers the number of people he had made contact with since waking up in that Cerberus facility, and he'd pretty much told Tali he was heading for Illium first...
His mouth went dry in realization. The only way Liara could know Cerberus was bringing him back was...
"How did you know?"
She stuttered to a halt. "What?"
"How did you know Cerberus was bringing me back?" he clarified.
Liara froze, staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights.
* * *
Not sure why, but I always seem to have difficulty getting inside Liara's head when I write.
