Illium: Liara: The Observer

Liara has asked for assistance in rooting out a Shadow Broker agent, the Observer. She needs data fragments recovered from information cache terminals around Illium.

Acquisition
This assignment is available upon the completion of Illium: Liara: Systems Hacking. Speak to Liara for the assignment to commence.

Walkthrough
If the Lair of the Shadow Broker (mission) conversation option is selected after starting this mission, then this mission instantly completes without awarding credits or experience. Therefore, complete this mission before beginning the Shadow Broker DLC.

Liara will tell you about a senior agent of the Shadow Broker known only as the Observer, who she wishes to identify and kill in order to severely weaken the Broker. In an effort to do this, she asks the Commander to find and hack 5 terminals, each containing a fragment of text with which to unmask the Observer. Liara's assistant, Nyxeris, has narrowed down the list of potential suspects to a turian, a salarian, a krogan, a batarian and a vorcha. After successfully hacking a terminal, Shepard will be given the option to call Liara and tell her who the Commander believes the Observer is. Alternatively, Shepard can continue to search for evidence.

After hacking the fifth terminal, Shepard can call Liara, and a new dialogue option becomes available: "None of the suspects fit". Selecting this option leads to Shepard informing Liara that the Observer is female, whereas all of the possible suspects are male. Liara then deduces that her assistant, Nyxeris, has been feeding her misinformation, and is a double agent working for the Shadow Broker.

If Shepard wrongly identifies one of the five as the Observer, Shepard earns 2 Paragon points. Liara will tell Shepard that the other agents have gone to ground and she will continue her search. If Shepard correctly deduces that the Observer is not one of the five, Shepard earns 5 Paragon points. In either situation, Shepard can tell Liara, "Don't give in to temptation" for 2 Paragon points or "Good luck, Liara" for 2 Renegade points. Choosing the "Liara's needs" investigate option inexplicably ends the conversation and doesn't let you say "Good luck, Liara" or "Don't give into temptation."

Investigating her anger about the Shadow Broker leads to Liara mentioning that the Broker wanted to sell Shepard's body to the Collectors. To fully explore the conversation, the player should choose "Anger at Shadow Broker" before investigating "Liara's needs."

Data Point 1
Next to the asari and volus discussing human colonies and business on the western side of the Trading Floor. The text reads: "&hellip; trader tried to kill the batarian. Claims it was because he hates slavers, but the men were more likely fighting over money. Watch for now&hellip;"

Data Point 2
Found near the counter in the Eternity bar. The text reads: "Smuggler and assassin have refused to work with vorcha due to lack of trust. Odd to see scruples from the men at this point."

Data Point 3
On the Trading Floor. At a digital information board, just right of the large hologram. The text reads: "The turian's asking too many questions. Observer recommends terminating him and framing assassin or salarian contact."

Data Point 4
At a kiosk near Serrice Technology. The text reads: "Turian contact working well with trader. Observer has rescinded kill order against him, given difficulty in securing contact with the trader through other methods."

Data Point 5
Located just down the stairs from Liara's office. The text reads: "Vorcha trader has requested no further contact with the salarian. Salarian is becoming more trouble than he is worth. Observer recommends a kill, but she may have a grudge."

Mission Summary

 * Experience reward: 40
 * Credits: 4,500 (5000 If you did romance her in Mass Effect, or if you do not import a character from Mass Effect)