Mass Effect 3: Aftermath

“I see this place hasn’t changed much,” Kyo spoke in passing while the three of them walked through the main thoroughfare.

“So, you’ve been here before?” Kaidan asked, assuming that the Sergeant was even speaking to him in the first place and not to Shiro. Kyo looked to the Major before nodding briefly while keeping a respectable distance in their stroll.

“Sure, but not since the Reapers.”

“You don’t look like the stockbroker type to me. I’m impressed that…”

“I did a few concerts here,” Kyo promptly corrected which caused Kaidan get the feeling that bringing up that sort of thing probably a bad idea. Nodding in response, he instead focused on walking around the large shopping mall without not to get lost or too distracted. According to the map, they had to take a shuttle over to the Business District in order to make it to a small cluster of towers that were in the process of being rebuilt. While it seemed that the Reapers may have been the ones who destroyed them, the local gossip suggested they were actually taken out in some sort of terrorist attack. Walking into the building prompted soothing office music that was followed by a gentle smile from a lavender Asari receptionist.

“Major Alenko…and company, I presume?” she asked, standing up from her seat behind a glass desk. Giving a nod, Kaidan moved to stand in front of the desk with his hands tucked away in his jacket’s pockets.

“Yes, I have an appointment with Doctor T’soni.”

“She’s expecting you and I’ll just make a few guests codes for the elevator for your…friends? Alright, please take the open elevator to your left.” The Receptionist pointed to the glass open doors off to her side.

“Thank you,” Kaidan nodded politely after removing his hands from the pockets as he headed towards the opening. “Come on, Sergeant. Double time.” Kyo also gave a nod to the Receptionist knowing just how damn weird he looked carrying Shiro around like this. Fortunately, this elevator was at least large enough for the three humans, unlike the one on the Jupiter moon base. The music from the hallway was also louder here which triggered a soft hum-along from Kyo that continued until they reached the top. Kaidan no longer seemed to really mind the random singing, mostly because his thoughts were elsewhere. He also really did not want to see his old friend. A ding echoed off the metal walls as the doors slid open.

“Tell that louse that if he thinks the Reapers were dangerous, try hiding my money from me again. I’ll do worse than bankrupt that fool.” Liara hung up with a sigh before rubbing her forehead. Her eyes then looked up and she stood from her desk as she forced a smile. It seemed that the uneasy tension between Kaidan and herself was extremely mutual. “Hello again, Major. It’s good to see you after all this time.”

“Likewise, Liara.” Even a complete stranger could feel the weight between the two.

“When you contacted me, I was surprised. I didn’t expect to hear from you…after that.” Liara remained standing at her desk as Kaidan walked up with Kyo and Shiro close behind, although his abrupt stop nearly a foot away from here made the other two males run into his back.

“I need resources and you’re the best at information that no one else can seem to get their hands on. This is a strictly professional call.” Kaidan’s hand went back into their pockets as he was trying his best to keep a both physical and emotional distance.

“Yes, of course Major and if it’s for Shepard, then I…well. I suppose we’ll all do some crazy things. Is this the Cerberus Agent and and is he one too?” By he, Liara meant Kyo, who only shook his head.

“I’m with the Alliance, mam. Just the pack mule in most cases and watchdog of my friend here.”

“Could you lay him down on the sofa for me and remove the helmet. Let me see if I can get some older information.” The Sergeant gave a nod before tossing the dead weight onto the luxurious white and gold office couch. He then took great care with making sure that Shiro would be comfortable under normal circumstances before removing the helmet and placing it onto the floor. Once it was off, Kyo brushed away the silky-straight, overgrown white bangs and pulled the long ponytail off to the side Liara watched with great interest, taking mental notes of Shiro’s appearance. There were minor facial scars on the young man’s lips, reminiscent of a pair of fangs; one on either corner of his mouth. Besides that, there wasn’t any damage done that was noticeable. “Are there scars on the rest of his body?” she asked, holding up her omni-tooled arm as she attempted to make a few scans.

“Quite a few with the implants that trace down his spine. Implants in the palms of his hands and on his skull, but they’re covered by hair” Kyo answered since he had seen them quite a few times already.

“Much like Jack’s or Kai Leng?” Liara posed the question to Kaidan, who only gave a nod and crossed his arms while standing next to her, but it was still a good distance away. “I see and you found him in a Cerberus base on Mars?”

“Yes,” Kyo nodded. “We got a SOS signal from the base. The mission wiped out my team with traps and hazards. There were rigged doors that exploded and some droids were still on alert. I was the only one that made it there alive.” There was a pause as Kyo looked towards Shiro. “He saved me.”

“Saved you? But he’s in a coma.” Liara looked up as her head cocked in confusion.

“He seems to be aware and is able to interface directly with electronics. Apparently, Kyo believes that he activated the emergency systems when he was rescued and uploaded a ton of Cerberus data to the Alliance. Stuff about me, Shepard, and even you, Liara.” Kaidan looked to the surprised Asari as he continued to speak. “Whatever Cerberus had in their databanks, but it’s still being decrypted.”

“I see. That is disturbing, but I still can’t seem to get a reading on…” Soon, Liara’s arm lit up in a frenzy as her tool spoke to her.

“Scanning. Scanning. Subject found. Doctor Liara T’soni. Access granted.”

“What in the…?” Liara’s omni-tool began to flash as several images and files downloaded directly to her. She stared in disbelief, at first, looking to Shiro before back at her screen. She saw images and data files for the Crucible, as well as a few others that she seemed to recognize. There was a medical tank, similar to the one Shiro was found in, along with a few formulas and equations. There were also a number of dates and years pieces together with bits of information on the Protheans.  The data stream finally stopped, causing the screen to flicker away.

“By the Goddess, that was…”

Kyo just sighed, running a hand through his black tuffed hair. “Yeah, he does that.”