#tzorah

𝙿𝙻𝙾𝚃𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁: @tzorah​

    “𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑩𝑬𝑬𝑵 𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲 here since they rebuilt the place?” she slips gracefully around a group of lumbering volus, the pulse of the wards already thrumming in her blood, “honestly, more than a little disappointed to see that no one thought to put up nice little statues of us, but hey, maybe someone’ll give a few free drinks as a consolation prize.” the wards remind her of earth, with gleaming neon and tight alleys and crowds speaking in a hundred different languages about a thousand different things. “if not, well, drinks are on the illusive man.” 

  “You should see some of the old vids of human gymnasts or like, figure skaters ‘cause they’re real coordinated,” Of course, Ashley laughs along, now that she’s no longer cringing about Shepard’s awkward landing coming off the shuttle, stumbling on ahead of the pair in recovery. She can’t help but laugh a bit, casting a glance towards Tali. 

The aircraft tore through terrain as finely as a chisel through wood. It ruptured the earth in an avalanche of dirt and rock, beating deafeningly against the sides of the vessel. Adrenaline shot through her body, heart in her throat. She was pressing buttons with a frantic focus whilst alarms blared all around her. The words “critical engine damage” flashed in big red letters across a cracked screen, her forward view obscured by debris and a great, billowing cloud of black smoke haemorrhaging from the engine.

Gradually the jet lost its momentum. It slowed until at last it could not contend with the solid earth. She braced for impact as it came to a violent stop, body jolting against the wheel. A sharp pain shot up her side, but she barely felt it in the moment, and fell back into her seat with a shudder, lying limp in a cloud of dust and smoke. Her chest heaved with each heavy breath, sweat pouring down the sides of her face, fogging her helmet's shield. She waited. She didn’t trust that it was over. Any moment now she would hear Alliance fighters landing nearby, and they would search the wreckage and find her and it would all be over. But nobody came. They had not followed her.

In the wreckage, she unclipped her belts and slowly sat up, forcing open the jet roof with a hard thump with her forearm. The airlock gave way with a hiss and opened outwards, exposing her to the atmosphere. It hurt to lift herself out of her seat, one hand flying to her ribs. They felt bruised, possibly broken, but that wouldn’t matter if she couldn’t figure out where she was, or what she was going to do next. With any luck, she had crash landed on a inhabited planet and she could find help, but if she was alone here, she wasn’t sure she had any hope of surviving without sending out an SOS, and she felt for certain that the Alliance would be the ones to pick her up then. 

As she slid down the crumpled side of the aircraft, she caught sight of a bright light through the smoke and moved her hand to her pistol in its holster. She couldn’t see who it was, but it was coming towards her, and as she continued to observe them, more lights began to appear. Small, circular lights. The kind people wore on the tops of their heads. Then she heard it. A garbled, robotic noise that she couldn’t make sense of, but knew exactly what it was. 

Geth. Fuck my life.

She limped around the back of the crashed vessel and slumped against its side for cover. If they found her, she wasn’t sure she would win. Not when all she had was a pistol with only a few sparing clips left over.

               Is there an answer, for such lamentation? Liara ruminates, and if there isn’t one—she would create one, through the strength of her own will. Compared to the deeper colour palettes of space, the sky burns on planets—cities decaying into ruin. How many civilians have been lost to the brutality of War? A torrent of blood flows, voices resonating with bitter resentment, fear, and anger can be heard. Lives vanish without thought; friends, family, strangers... all gone. Soldiers with guns, families trying to hold together—a grotesque struggle to the last, until a gentle peace descends as death comes to inevitably claim them. The conflict started here, before anyone could possibly react.

               Liara does not wish to accept all that she has witnessed; but there is nothing denying her memories. Why has this world become such hell? If there is an answer then, it is in this space which is infinitely dark and unknown; much like the abyss of an ocean. This world, it should be loudly sung that no one wanted it—no one remotely wished for it.

                       ❛ fight   for   what   matters   to   you,   no   matter   what. ❜