Book 1, Chapter 4 - Doctor T'Soni, I Presume?

Standing by the galaxy map, I realised straight away I could do two birds with one stone. Within the Artemis Tau cluster were four systems. Therum was in the Knossos system. Kahoku hadn't been able to give me a pinpoint location on where the marines had gone missing, but sending out a few probes in each system should help me pick up something. If the marines had managed to get a distress beacon working, even better. Our ship should pick that up on the scanners.

Getting to the system we needed would require a few relay jumps, and then we'd have to fly through space to reach the system. We'd be looking at a little flight time before we'd hit the ground. The only concern I had regarding that is the system was deep in the Traverse. And despite the brave speech I'd made, I still didn't want to have to face a roving band of pirates. Thankfully the stealth systems of the Normandy should keep us cloaked from any scanners.

The extended flight time gave me the opportunity to wander the ship and get to know my crew, as to be honest, I was rather new to the Normandy myself, so we'd barely got to know each other before I assumed commander. The enlisted men and women were immediately respectful, I think for a variety of reasons, one being my war record and, two, the fact I was the first human Spectre.

Speaking to Pressly, he surprised me by voicing his suspicion of the fact I'd hired non-humans as crew, believing the mission to catch Saren should be a human-only endeavour. I listened to what he had to say, believing he had the right to express his opinion, before I retorted, suggesting the fact we accepted the help from what we had one termed 'alien' races simply made the Alliance appear more open-minded and tolerant than perhaps other species in the galaxy. Adding to that, the Alliance could and should accept help from anyone who wished to ally with it in the face of such overwhelming danger. It was food for thought.

Ashley was also suspicious, particularly of Garrus. Her suspicion wasn't a great surprise considering her personal history, and after doing a little research on her, it was rather sad to know she was basically banging her head against a brick wall in regards to promotion. I would do what I could if she proved herself in my team, but it appeared the entire Alliance had a chip on their shoulder regarding the Williams name. I gave her credit simply for joining up, knowing what she was possibly in for.

Kaidan was a rather private individual, not particularly wanting to open up to me yet. He admitted to suffering headaches because he was a biotic, but other than that, he wasn't ready to open up yet. I'd give him time. Garrus was just relieved to be off the leash, showing absolutely no concern about quitting his job with C-Sec. Wrex just wanted to go and kill things. As for Tali, she was terribly excited, near enough bouncing off the walls, in regards to being allowed onto such an advance spaceship, explaining a few things about the Migrant Fleet, as I knew next to nothing about them.

Entering the correct system, I had everyone head down to the garage by the Mako, where I would explain how things would work. Anyone who had served in the Alliance would know about a Mako air-drop, a ship would fly down close to the ground, unloading the Mako, which would use small thrusters, though relying more on suspension to soften the landing.

"Okay, let me explain a Mako air-drop," explained Shepard to the group, "LT. Chief. I have no doubt you've experienced an air-drop during your service. Correct?" Garrus, Wrex and Tali all nodded, all three keeping their faces inscrutable. "Okay. Wrex, Tali and Garrus. I'll explain. It is not always possible for the Normandy to land on a planet's surface. The Normandy is rather heavy, even for a frigate, so it is not always possible to land, and subsequently take off, depending on a variety of factors, two being atmosphere and the gravity field, another being whether docking facilities are available or not. To make infiltration and extraction easier, the Alliance uses a Mako air-drop. It's quite simple. Joker will come in low over the surface. The Mako, this massive lump of metal beside us, with the team inside, will be dropped out of the hangar bay doors. The Mako will deadfall to the ground, where thrusters will be fired to allow a graceful landing on the surface."

Wrex just started to rumble with laughter, so I assumed he thought it was fine. Garrus shook his head, muttering something about spirits. Tali wrung her hands, I assume nervously. "Any questions?" Surprisingly, all three shook their heads, so I must have explained it well enough that they knew what they were in for. "Now, usually, a Mako will only handle a driver, me, plus three occupants easily, five with a squeeze, any more than that and it does get rather uncomfortable. Since there are five of you here now, I don't see the point of keeping any of you back on the ship. The Mako is used for transport and to eliminate those which cannot be taken out on foot. So, you're all in for now. Grab armour and weapons, Joker will let us know when we've located the correct planet and we can be unloaded."

As I was assembling myself in armour, Joker came over the comm, letting us know that he'd received a signal from a planet named Therum. I immediately pulled up any information about the planet on my omni-tool, and the words that leapt out were 'Prothean Ruins', so that explained why she was there.

"You won't like this, sir, but the planet is crawling with other signals."

"Who?"

"Think it's the geth, sir."

"Fuck, that's all we need. Okay, thanks, Joker. We'll load up in the Mako and wait for your word."

Should have known those bastards would involve themselves again.

*****

It was the moment that she always feared, working alone on dig-sites in the ass end of nowhere. She left a trail of footsteps in the soft dirt as she ran, her head down, her heartbeat thumping, breathing heavily, arms pumping, as she tried to put as much distance between herself and what she could only assume were geth. She carried her pistol in her left hand. It was cold for the moment, but had been hot only moments before, as the geth dropship suddenly appeared in the sky and geth units poured out.

Liara T'Soni was concerned. She had no idea why the geth would suddenly appear outside of the Veil, and of all places, on a planet that was primarily worthless, apart from the Prothean ruins that she had been investigating for the previous six months.

Why would the geth have any interest in Prothean ruins?

Liara could hear the occasional burst of gun-fire behind her but she knew she was leaving the geth behind as she ran towards what she thought was relative safety. She had also noticed a krogan battle-master working alongside, if not leading, the geth units. She had no idea why a krogan would be working with the geth, or vice-versa. It was a strange turn of events.

Liara turned her head as she ran. She could see the geth behind her, far in the distance. She thought she might just have a chance of out-running them. Escaping, though, was a completely different proposition. Her shuttle was parked up miles away on an abandoned space-port, and running there, in this atmosphere, would be impossible. As far as Liara knew, she had been alone on the planet. Liara was used to working alone. There were not many asari archaeologists of her age. Most asari her age were far too busy living the high life to traipse across the galaxy, rather than Liara, who enjoyed digging in the dirt, looking for information regarding a race that had disappeared 50,000 years ago.

She could almost grin to herself as the entrance to the mine-shaft appeared over the horizon.

Just another minute…

Up the ramp Liara ran, looking to her side to see the geth in the distance, the krogan lumbering behind them, shouting orders. The doors to the mine-shaft opened, Liara running as quickly as she could. The cavern she ran into was a treasure-trove of Prothean artefacts. She had been trying to piece together information on why the Protheans had just suddenly disappeared. What she had managed to find, so far, had been disturbing.

Two long elevator journeys to the bottom of the cavern had Liara fretting, as she was sure that the geth would be approaching, if not already in the mine-shaft itself. But, for now at least, Liara still had time. She ran into the large Prothean ruin that the miners had excavated in the previous year and started keying the terminal she had been using. She couldn't read the language, but had worked out, through trial and error, what most of the commands did.

The sounds of metal on metal, as the geth ran along the walkway high above her position, caused Liara to pause for just a moment. She knew she was now trapped, but there was an ace up her sleeve. She keyed the buttons on the console and pressed the command she knew meant 'Execute'. She looked to her right as the barrier started up and soon a see-through, near-invisible wall separated herself from her pursuers.

What do I do next though?

Liara just stood there and waited, her breath calming as her safety was assured for now. It would be a waiting game. She watched as the krogan exited the elevator and trudged towards her position, laughing to himself as he approached the barrier.

"Looks like you're stuck in there, Miss T'Soni."

"That may be so, but I'm still in here, while you're stuck out there. Why don't you see if you can get in? I find that highly unlikely," replied Liara, a slight smirk on her face.

"Stop with the games, Miss T'Soni. If you just co-operate with us, I promise you will be unharmed."

Liara chuckled, shaking her head. "And I'm to take the word of a krogan who has allied himself with geth?"

The krogan shrugged. "My boss thinks geth allies will prove to be an invaluable asset in the events to come. Your help is desired, and would be appreciated, at the same time."

"Just who is your boss?"

"I can't say. But he has seen things which have convinced the geth that their co-operation, with some organics at least, will be beneficial to their continued existence."

"If you wanted me alive, why were you shooting at me in the first place?"

"I guess the geth were slightly over-zealous in their approach. Now, if you've asked enough questions, Miss T'Soni, bring down this barrier and stop wasting my time!"

"The only way I'm coming with you is if you're dragging my dead body behind you."

The krogan stepped right up to the barrier. "That can be arranged," he growled.

Liara stepped up to the barrier herself, looking up as the krogan towered above her. "Good luck," she said, before turning her back. She heard the krogan roar in anger, before turning around and walking off in a huff, issuing orders to the geth to look for a way to bring down the barrier. Liara sat down on the floor, only one thought now in her mind.

I wonder how long it will be until someone else comes to this planet?

*****

The geth were ready and waiting for us this time. As soon as we landed the Mako, I put my foot down as everyone else within the Mako got to work. Garrus was handling the gun, wasn't a particularly powerful cannon but it would do the job required. Tali was an engineer, so would look after shields and would hopefully keep the Mako running. Alenko would assist her. Ashley and Wrex were pretty much just along for the ride until we had to head out on foot.

"Garrus, do you need me to report targets? I've got a targeting system here."

"No, Shepard," the turian replied, "Targeting system here is perfect."

"Good. Tali, report when shields are below 50%. I get readouts here but, if I'm distracted, I'd like to know. Other than that, just make sure this keeps moving."

"Aye, Shepard."

"Ash and Wrex, just hold on. This could get tasty."

The M35 Mako was already a veteran of service having replaced the obsolete M29 Grizzly. With a 155mm cannon and coaxial-mounted machine gun, it had formidable firepower for what was effectively an APC. With thick amour in addition to shields, the Mako also came equipped with laser detection arrays and ground-penetrating radar. The tri-axle design, with tyres instead of tracks, allowed the driver to take the Mako nearly anywhere. I'd previously driven the Mako up inclines that seemed crazy until I crested the top. Basically, despite it appearing unwieldy, in the right hands, a Mako was invaluable.

The presence of geth was highlighted by the fact a geth dropship flew over our heads as we headed in what I hoped was the right direction. I figured it was only dropping soldiers, hearing Garrus start firing once we were in range, but I brought the Mako to a halt when I saw things I hadn't seen before.

"Tali, I've already seen various geth soldiers. Don't really care about all their names. But what the fuck is that?"

She took a moment to look through the scope before replying. "I've only heard of these, Shepard. We call them Armatures."

"Know much about them?"

"No. I've only heard of them. We know there are two types similar; Armatures and one that goes by the name of Colossus. You can only imagine how big that would be."

"Right, could be tricky. Garrus, get that cannon ready. No doubt it'll be shielded, so it's going to take some work. Tali, what sort of weapons do you reckon it has?"

"No idea, Shepard. But knowing the geth, perhaps a pulse weapon?"

"Great," I muttered.

I'd had plenty of experience with the Mako, either driving or at the turret. I'd always preferred driving though, as I did like the semblance of control it gave me over the operation. Garrus soon has the machine gun firing in small bursts, announcing when he'd taken out a geth soldier. When we were within range of an Armature, I would hear cannon fire above my head. Though the Mako was insulated, it was still incredibly loud with the cannon and machine gun fire, plus the roar of the engine. That's why we were all still wearing helmets inside the Maki, simply as it protected our ears. Well, all of us except Wrex. We didn't have a helmet big enough, and we could hear his laughter over the roar of everything else. The krogan was enjoying himself.

Garrus certainly proved to be accurate, the geth soldiers falling quickly, while he handled the first couple of Armatures with relative ease. I didn't race ahead as I was sure there would be at least one or two ambushes, Tali explaining that, with more numbers, the geth were more intelligent. It's how they'd won the war against her people.

Eventually reaching some sort of industrial outpost, the geth had obviously been there long enough to build turrets. And those could get a lock on us, Garrus asking me to simply keep the Mako moving so he could get a lock on them. With geth also opening up on us, we were in a bind.

"Let me out, Shepard. I'll help out on foot," Wrex stated, "The human woman can help too."

"My name is Ashley."

The krogan laughed. "I know, but let's see how your squishy form handles geth."

I brought the Mako to an immediate halt, glancing back to see Wrex open the back door and head out, Ashley checking her rifle before she headed out too. "Me too, Commander?" Alenko asked.

"Tali?"

"I'll be fine, Shepard."

"Support them, Alenko. Focus on that tech skill you have."

"Aye, Commander."

Hearing the door slam shut and a slap on the roof, I moved the Mako immediately, checking radar and making sure I didn't run over my colleagues. I had no real idea what they were doing, but opened the comm line so those of us left in the Mako had a general idea.

Garrus eventually eliminated the three turrets while I'm sure those on the ground helped out with the soldiers. No Armatures this time, but I was confident more lay ahead. There was a small fort like building ahead, Garrus sending a couple of cannon shots into it before Wrex, Ashley and Alenko headed into the facility. They were not in there long, Ashley signalling that I should move and they'd remain on foot.

"I'll keep the pace gentle. Run into trouble, take cover behind us," I ordered.

"Aye, sir. But it's better out here than in there," Ashley retorted.

"It's not so bad. More of a dry heat," Alenko added with humour.

We eventually reached a gatehouse, the three outside heading up to take out a few geth that were on patrol. Once the barrier lowered, an Armature appeared, Garrus proving quicker to the driver, the cannon causing the geth machine to explode into bits. Waiting for the other three to signal they were ready, I pushed us forward, following the lone path ahead, amazed at the lava pools around us. The planet seemed to be completely uninhabitable, amazed they were even mining, left wondering if there were volcanoes that were ready to explode.

Something ahead caused me to slam on the brakes and turn to my quarian colleague. "Tali, is that a Colossus?"

"It is, Shepard."

"Fucking hell, it's enormous. Surely even our cannon will have to send in a few shots to take it down…"

"Get me close and I'll take its legs."

"Hmmm. That could work. Ashley, Kaidan, ever seen Star Wars?"

"No, what's that?" Ash wondered.

"I've heard of the name. What's the idea, Commander?"

"This thing comes with one of those hooks right? What we do is get in close, fire the hook, then wrap wire around the legs so it collapses, then we blow it up."

I heard laughter over the comm from Wrex. "You know what, Shepard? That might just be mad enough to work!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Wrex. Ash, the hook should be in one of the compartments to the left side. See if you can find it. Garrus, once we're close enough, fire, as I'll be going in fast."

"I'll know when to fire, Shepard."

I got the revs nice and high before I slammed my foot down, heading straight for the Mako. I'm heard Tali mutter something to herself as the Colossus soon towered over us. Hearing the cannon fire, Garrus immediately reported connection, and I was soon sliding the Mako around the legs of the Colossus. Once I'd gone around four or five times, Garrus cut the cord and I drove us away, spinning the Mako around so we could watch what happened.

The Colossus tried to keep moving, but with its legs held by the wire, it couldn't move, and it soon tripped over and fell. It didn't explode immediately, Garrus firing the cannon until the Colossus exploded. I heard laughter over the radio from those outside before I figured getting out of there would be a good idea, assuming the geth would investigate the explosion.

Heading through a tunnel was a pain in the arse, as the geth were lying in wait for us, a couple of turrets and Armatures definitely proving troublesome, while geth with rocket launches nearly killed my colleagues outside. I did ask if they wanted to come back in, but Wrex suggested he would feel safer outside rather than inside the Mako. I think he was trying to insinuate my driving wasn't great.

We continued to kill geth as we moved ahead. Occasionally I'd even run one or two over, and I did manage to send one Armature into one of the lava pools after running over it. Garrus was a natural with the cannon and machine gun, so I already knew that would be his job going forward. As for Tali, she was a genius with the shields, keeping them at a high percentage but ensuring it never effected the power output of the Mako.

I was hoping we could keep using the Mako until the very end, but we eventually reached a barrier I simply couldn't drive the Mako through. Far too narrow. "End of the line, Shepard," Alenko stated.

"Aye. Give us a moment. Garrus, Tali, we'll need to go the rest of the way on foot."

Clambering out of the Mako, I should have known we'd be fucked straight away. Not only were there loads of geth waiting, but there were two Armatures and a Colossus. I started issuing orders immediately. Anyone capable of tech would take out shields. Once shields were down, biotics would drag geth towards us, leaving them as easy pickings for Ashley and I.

Focusing on the foot soldiers first, we had to move fast as the Armatures and Colossus definitely knew we were around. More than once, one of us had to leap out of a way, a fired pulse shot landing far too close for comfort once or twice. But we managed to take out the foot soldiers quite quickly. I had grenades, so yelled out what I planned, running straight towards one of the Armatures, sticking grenades to three of its legs, before sprinting off the side for cover, sliding behind a barrier just as the grenades exploded, hearing the Armature collapse and explode seconds later.

Moving back towards the rest, they'd forward a line and were mixing up all sorts of attacks, biotic, tech and gunfire. The second Armature slowly but surely wilted under the attacks, and once that was down, it was the Colossus.

It took ages. Two of my colleagues focused on its shields while the third made sure it could fire its main weapon. Ashley, Wrex and I kept firing, and once its shields disappeared, we started to breach its armour and small fires soon appeared. I thought taking out its head would help, so all of us focused fire on that, and once that exploded, the Colossus simply collapsed to the side and blew up. By now, we were all feeling the strain but we still had to find Doctor T'Soni.

Heading into the ruin, I was left thinking it had been a mine before they found Prothean ruins. "I could be misinterpreting, Shepard, but I think the geth are here for other reasons than just stopping us," Wrex stated.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they're here in force, to locate an archaeologist? I don't think they were here because they just happened to assume we'd be coming this way."

I came to a halt as it was a bloody good point. "So… They're here to what, take her?"

"Or kill her. She might be the daughter of Benezia but who is to say what their relationship is?"

"Guess we should talk to her then. That was the plan to begin with."

It was definitely an old mine, operations likely coming to an end once they found the ruins. And even more geth were down there waiting for us. With six of us, I'll try not to sound too arrogant when I say we handled them with relative ease. With all the tech and firepower on display, we caused havoc in their ranks, disabling shields, overheating weapons, and I'm fairly sure Tali managed to make a couple simply blow up. Ashley was certainly getting things out of her system, near enough taking the lead at times. I didn't mind too much as long as she was sensible.

After taking out a few geth drones, we approached a barrier and had to divert. We had to clamber down collapsed walkways, assuming they'd collapsed long before the arrival of the geth. There was a coating of rust on a lot of the equipment around us, left thinking it had been abandoned for quite a while. We eventually approached another barrier and it was there that we could see an asari.

"Can you hear me out there? I'm trapped in here and I need help!"

"Doctor T'Soni, I presume?"

"Yes, that's me. Listen, I'm willing to do introductions, but I'd rather do it after I'm released from this thing. This is a Prothean security device. I can't move so I'll need you or one of your friends to get me out of it."

"Might as well release her then raise questions after, Commander," Garrus stated.

"Agreed. Miss T'Soni, we'll see if we can find some sort of release to get you out of there. Then you'll need to answer one or two questions for us."

"Of course. There should be some sort of control out there, but be careful. There is a krogan that appears to be in charge of the geth. Geth, outside the Veil! What is going on out there?"

It was a good question. Wrex was excited at the news of another krogan, mentioning that he wouldn't mind going to battle if he was a fellow master. We had to arm ourselves again as the geth were still looking to get behind the barrier, handling them quite quickly with a series of tech attacks and plenty of bullets. No sign of the krogan yet, Wrex muttering his disappointment.

We eventually had to override an old mining laser to create a hole in the ground. Thankfully it didn't attract the attention of any geth, and we managed to slide down the hole and ended up below where the asari was trapped. Finding an elevator, it took us up a level or two where we could see the asari trapped in some sort of field.

She sensed us coming, her voice a mixture of fear and tiredness. Finding the button to release her, she fell to the ground, stepping forward to help her up. She looked up into my eyes and, I'll admit, I thought she was rather cute straight away. She took a step back to look over us and I saw the concern cross her face. No doubt she would have figured out we were not exactly there to rescue her, so no doubt wondered what we did want.

"Why are you here?" she wondered.

"We were looking for you, Miss T'Soni."

"Please, considering you are my rescuers, call me Liara."

"I'm Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy. These are my colleagues. We might make introductions later. What I can tell you, Liara, is that there's a lot of shit going on and we were hoping you might some answers or information."

"We should really get out of here."

"True, but I'm not taking you anywhere until I know where your allegiance lies. Your mother is involved with a Spectre by the name of Saren. He is now persona non grata, and your mother was involved in an attack on Eden Prime. Saren has also allied with the geth, which might be a reason why they are here now, looking for you."

"I haven't spoken to my mother in decades and certainly have no idea what she is up to."

"Pretty convenient," Ashley stated.

"While it might seem so, it is the truth," Liara retorted, "I want to know why the geth have come after me? Has Benezia really sent geth to kill her own daughter?"

"No, I don't think she wants you dead. But Saren is looking for something, and considering what you are researching, you would no doubt be forced to help him."

Before we could continue the conversation, the area we were standing was struck by a small earthquake, Liara calling it a 'seismic event', suggesting the laser we had used to rescue you had destabilised the ruins. Suggesting we should get out of here, everyone readily agreed. Using the same elevator, Liara got it working so we ascended all the way to the top.

Any thoughts we were going to get out safely ended when we stepped off the elevator, the barrier ahead having now disappeared as an enormous krogan walked through, flanked by at least half a dozen geth. I heard weapons being readied behind me though I kept cool, wondering if I might negotiate a way out. The krogan looked across the team before looking at me, I guess figuring I was in charge.

"Surrender. Or don't. The latter will certainly be more fun."

"This place is coming apart and you now want a fight? What are you doing?"

"Hand over the asari."

I couldn't help sigh. "Wrex?"

"Aye?"

"Want to kill this bastard?"

"Gladly."

"The rest of you, kill the geth."

I fired at one of the geth straight away, the impact of a shot impacting my shields as I got into cover behind the console. Glancing around, I saw plenty of tech attacks causing havoc with the geth shields, so immediately opened up, Ashley and I taking out two at the same time. I heard Tali near enough swearing to herself as she handled another geth, Garrus and Alenko appearing to fire at the rest. I took down one more before I swung my attention to the two krogan.

I was surprised they were fighting with knives and not guns. Yelling, "Why not just shoot the bastard?" Wrex simply replied that this would be the more honourable way of kill a fellow battle-master. Considering their size, the pair were rather graceful in their movements. Both ended up with numerous wounds.

"I can take the shot!" Ashley yelled.

"No! This one is mine," Wrex growled in return.

Ashley, Garrus and I were all in position, ready to fire, checking no more geth approached. The mine was now really starting to shake, so I ordered Wrex to hurry up and kill him, otherwise we would assist. That forced his hand, proof Wrex had been toying with his opponent. His hand movements were deft, his opponent definitely surprised when Wrex buried the knife in his chest.

There was no time to waste as the seven of us made haste towards the ramps that would take us back towards the entrance. With every passing second, the shaking seemed to get worse. I heard everything collapsing behind us, one or two explosions at the same time. Dust was starting to blind us, yelling at everyone to just keep moving. Making it to the actual mine shaft, I was right on Liara's footsteps, noticing her glance behind, eyes wide with fear. "Keep moving! Don't stop!"

Most of us ended up jumping and rolling down the ramp outside, ending up in a pile at the bottom. I got to my feet first, helping up everyone else, noticing the Normandy is position nearby.

"Better not be like this all the bloody time," Garrus muttered.

"Come on, Garrus. That was fun!" Wrex added.

After we managed to collect the Mako, we climbed aboard the Normandy and took off. We had some more questions for Liara and I assumed the Council would want a quick report of our progress.

*****

Alenko and Ashley remained suspicious of Liara once we gathered for a meeting to breakdown what we'd discovered. Garrus was also a little suspicious, while Wrex didn't really seem to care, and Tali was probably a little nervous to raise objections if she had any. As for Liara, she immediately admitted to having little contact with humans, but was thankful we'd arrived in time to save her from the geth, shuddering at the thought of what would have happened otherwise.

"What do you know about the Conduit?" I wondered, having mentioned it before but never getting a response.

"Only that it was somehow linked to the Prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the past fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them," Liara replied.

"Fifty years! God, I hope I look that good at whatever age you are," Ashley exclaimed.

"How old are you?" I wondered. Everyone knew asari lived long lives.

"I hate to admit that I'm only one hundred and six, Commander."

"Shit, I hope I look that good at your age!" Ashley stated, Alenko voicing his agreement.

"I know you live long lives…" I started to say.

Liara nodded before continuing. "A century may seem like a long time to short-lived species such as yourselves, or turian and quarian. Your krogan friend here knows something about a long life span."

Wrex grunted. "It's not all sunshine and roses, asari."

Liara looked at him wide-eyed for a moment. "Anyway, my youth is the reason my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, elder asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories on what happened to the Protheans."

"I have a theory," I stated.

I think Liara wanted to scoff, or at least snort. She managed to hold it back. "With all due respect, Commander…"

"Whenever someone says that, they really mean kiss my arse," I retorted. Liara blushed, but I gestured for her to continue. "Look, I know I'm just a soldier. You're a scholar. Tell me what you know."

Liara cleared her throat. "As I was about to say, I have heard every theory possible. The problem is finding evidence to support said theory. The Protheans left remarkably little behind. It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It's like someone came along after the Protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy for clues." She took a deep breath before continuing. "But here is the incredible part. According to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilisation to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them."

Liara continued, speaking about things like cycles, civilisations rising then being violently wiped out. There was barely to no evidence regarding such a theory, but considering what happened to the Protheans, it was as possible as any other theory anyone would have read. What she did know is that the Protheans rose up from a single planet to dominate the galaxy, rather different to that which we lived in, where numerous species lived somewhat harmoniously. Except the batarians…

But when she was done, that's when I decided to drop the bombshell. "I can answer who is responsible, Liara. The Protheans, and possibly all those who came before, were wiped out by a race of sentient machines called the Reapers."

Liara couldn't quite believe it, immediately questioning my theory, until I told her about my contact with the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. That gained her interested immediately as she knew all about beacons, and she immediately understood that the visions I'd received would make me confused, the visions unclear, as the beacons were made for Prothean physiology, not human. "I am amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander."

Even I heard the tone. I wasn't deaf nor dumb. Ashley decided hostility would work. "None of this is helping us find Conduit or Saren."

Liara simply smiled. "Of course, I apologise. Call it simply scientific curiosity. And, unfortunately, I cannot provide any information regarding the Conduit at this time. As for Saren, I don't even know the man and certainly don't know where he is."

There was no point continuing the meeting so I dismissed everyone, Liara heading off to see Doctor Chakwas, everyone else except Ashley heading off, only because I grabbed her forearm before heading out. She was a little surprise but she sat back down, taking the seat next to her.

"Something on your mind, Commander?"

"Just want to make sure you're okay, Ash. And in moments like this, I'm Shepard."

"Okay? What do you mean?"

"You experienced some rough shit on Eden Prime, Ash. And you were throwing yourself into the fight on Therum almost without care. I don't want you throwing your life away, Ash."

She met my eyes only for a moment before looking away. "I'm fine, sir."

"Shepard."

"I'm a soldier, Shepard. I'm used to seeing people die."

"What happened on Eden Prime isn't that simple. I've seen the mission reports."

Now she looked back at me. "I'm not going to sit here and break down in tears, sir. I'm not like that."

I couldn't help smile. "And I'm not expecting that, Ash. I just want…" I paused. "You obviously know my record, correct?" She nodded. "I must have spent at least a year speaking with a psychologist after that. No matter where I was, I went to see someone once a week to get things off my chest."

"Did it work?"

"Mostly, yes. Most people don't know, Ash, but I will share with you so you can understand the loss I suffered. I was on Elysium with a woman by the name of Annie Stewart. We'd met a few months before when I was on Terra Nova, and we began dating. Elysium was the first time we'd been away together alone, as every other time, we were generally in groups."

"Sir…"

I held up a hand. "We'd only been there a day or two at most before they arrived. I'd booked us a beachfront apartment, looking forward to a week of sun, sea and sex." I noticed her blush slightly. "The morning it happened, I told her I loved her, Ash. The first time I said those three word to anyone."

"Shepard…"

"I didn't know she was dead until it was all over. I'd fought off a fuckload of batarians and whoever else. I was shot three times. Probably should have bled out but someone was looking out for me that day. Once I woke up in the field hospital, I immediately got up and hobbled towards the apartment block. There was nothing left, Ash. It was a ruin. I tried calling her on my omni-tool. I sent her message after message. I never received a response. I stayed until they found her body." She reached across to grab my hand, giving it a squeeze. "Trust me on this one, Chief Williams. You will want to speak to someone about the losses. You will want to get everything off your chest. You carry that shit around in your heart, in your soul, it will destroy you. So I spoke with someone. I got angry. I cried. I wanted to put a pistol to my head and pull the trigger… But once you speak about it, once you clear your conscience, your gut, your soul, your heart, you will slowly start to feel better. Perhaps not like you were before the loss, but close enough." All she did was nod, and I squeezed her hand in return. "I'm merely looking out for your welfare, soldier. You don't want those dark thoughts in your head. Clear them away then focus on the next mission."

"Thank you, sir."

"No worries. That's what I'm here for."

We rose to our feet and made to head out. Just before we exited, she turned to hug me. It was a surprise to start, but I embraced her in return. "Thank you for giving a shit, Shepard."

"Not sure who you've served under before, Ash, but I give you my word I will do everything I can to ensure we all come out of this alive."

She leaned back, and I noticed her eyes glisten. "I'm going to hold you to that one." I couldn't help chuckle as she stood back, came to attention and saluted. "Commander."

Returning the salute, she turned and disappeared, as I headed back to the galaxy map. It had been a long day so I suggested to Joker that we simply get out of the current system and we'd investigate the issue raised by Admiral Kahoku the next day.

Heading to my personal cabin, I had a shower, washing plenty of dust down the drain, enjoying the hot water, before I settled in the chair of my desk, writing a mission report to send to the Council, and also the Alliance. I might be a Council Spectre, but I was still human, and still technically part of the Alliance, so I'd keep them in the loop of whatever I was doing. I'm sure they'd appreciate the thought.

I ended up having a chat with Alenko in the mess, and over a beer or two, as considering this was now not an Alliance vessel, I'd made sure we'd stock up on certain things, he finally opened up. He'd been a student at BAaT, otherwise known as Biotic Acclimation and Temperance. To say he was still pissed about it all would be an understatement. He didn't go into any great detail about his experience there but there was enough to suggest it was a wound still healing. In fact, despite the calm exterior, I had a feeling the experience had left him rather bitter. Going into some of the detail, it was no real surprise when thinking about it. I didn't feel sorry nor pity him, he wouldn't have wanted that, and there's no doubt he came out stronger for it. But I could understand him being pissed off, and not wanting to speak about it too often.

He eventually headed off to a sleeping pod. I finished my beer as other crew members passed by, heading off to sleep themselves. Once I finished my beer, I headed back to my own quarters, going over the events of the day. All in all, it had been a success. We'd found Liara and found she was an ally, not an enemy. We learned a bit more about the Protheans, as none of us knew much about them before. Now we had two other worlds to visit and see what we could find.

First, though, was trying to find the lost patrol for Admiral Kahoku.