Chapter 1 (Traveler)

The fires of Therum were becoming just a memory as the Normandy SR1 put light-years of distance between itself and the volcanic planet. Liara T'soni found herself in a difficult situation at this point in her life. Having just been rescued from planetary hell by a commander of whom she had never even heard of, hearing that her mother confirmed as a traitor, then learning the true fate of the Protheans, and now being spirited away like precious cargo on a ship – a human ship of all things, Liara could not tell if she was incredibly lucky or painfully unfortunate.

She sat on a bed in the med-bay, a gray-haired human woman examining her, poking, prodding, and scanning her every which way, trying to determine if the young Asari had suffered any actual physical damage in her great escape from the crumbling ruins.

"Well there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you, no broken bones or, hell, even a scratch." Doctor Chakwas said through a smile, trying to give her clearly nervous patient some semblance of reassurance.

"The Commander did an exemplary job of ensuring your safety, though I wish he didn't take such a idiotic risk in doing it, that arm of his is going to take a good week to heal, and that's if, if, he doesn't use it." The doctor rolled her eyes at her own statement.

Liara nodded her head in silence, azure eyes following the doctor as she paced back and forth between the beds. She felt bad that the Commander had been injured in her rescue; although at the same time she knew it was entirely his own fault.

What sort of fool gets that close to a krogan, Liara thought to herself. She sighed and turned her attention towards the doctor once more. "Thank you, Doctor. I am impressed by your knowledge of Asari physiology."

"Yes, well, they do try to actually teach us something in those shacks in between all that worthless protocol they ram down our throats." Said the doctor, satisfaction at her own wittiness leaving a wry smirk on her face.

Liara's eyes widened, the tenets of human interaction were something that had escaped her studies before she left home; thinking she had upset the doctor she attempted to explain herself nervously. "I, I am sorry if I of-"

"Relax, Doctor T'soni. I was making a joke" she said, touching Liara's arm in reassurance "As far as I can see, we're done here. The only thing you need is a good night's sleep and some food in your stomach, so I suggest you get down to the mess before all those ravenous manchildren eat everything. Go on, Doctor's orders."

Food. By the goddess yes. Liara felt as if she were starving now that she had a moment to sit and rest. She could not even remember the last time she had eaten a proper meal – days, perhaps a week she could not be sure, she was so absorbed in her work that she barely had time to make it to the barrier curtain as the Geth fell upon her. She thanked the doctor and began the trek to the Normandy's main mess area.

The door before Liara slid open silently and the bright holo-lamps of the cafeteria flooded her vision, causing her to squint slightly until her eyes readjusted. Everything came in to focus before her, a frightening sight – to Liara, at least – before her could be seen the broad spectrum of the naval social experience. Dinner time was the one point in the day where military decorum could be cast aside and the enlisted men and women could have a few scant hours of peace.

The Normandy was no exception to this rule either; Liara's eyes scanned worriedly over the sea of faces, some talking, some shouting, others whispering. She "stuck out" as Chief Williams would say and she knew it, she was a tall, blue, and quite alien compared to the rest of the crew – not only that but she was Benezia's progeny, a now avowed enemy of this particular crew, Liara whimpered under her breath and hoped nobody would start an incident over this fact. Luckily for her, her entrance had gone largely unnoticed, a few of the crewmen nearest to her gave her a once over and then quickly returned to their meals and conversations.

Liara swiftly made her way over to the Mess Sergeant with a tray in hand, trying her hardest to avoid eye-contact as she received her food, once her tray was full she did an about face and began to look the room over again for a suitable place to sit, preferably an area where she would not have to inconvenience anyone or be forced into any sort of social situation, by the goddess she wanted this day to be over already.

Across the room she spotted the attractive Lieutenant that had been there when the Commander rescued her, along with the Krogan that was with them chatting boisterously, to her left a Quarian talked with a man with close cropped hair, and to her right the Chief who had first greeted her when she boarded spoke with a balding man with a thin moustache.

The hall was packed any hope of sitting alone was crumbling swiftly, Liara had resigned herself to the wretched fate of having to sit near someone when she spotted a Turian skulking in the furthest corner away from the humans as he could be. Liara could not believe her luck, a Turian of all things here as well, finally, someone she could talk to without making a complete fool of herself, she raised her chin up and made her way over to him.

Liara tried to force a smile upon her face as she finally arrived at the table the Turian had seemingly commandeered for himself. "Greetings. I am Liara, Doctor Liara T'soni, I noticed you had the only empty table in the hall, would you mind if I sat with you?"

"Huh? What?" The Turian looked over his left shoulder then his right quickly before finally noticing the Asari standing above him. "Oh. Yeah, you're the Prothean expert we just picked up aren't you? Sure. Have a seat. Name's Garrus Vakarian, nice to meet you, Doc."

"Pleased to meet you as well, Garrus" said Liara, no longer needing to force her friendly smile as she sat down across from the Turian. "I'm curious, Garrus, why do you have the only empty table in the hall?" Liara cocked her head to the side as she finished her question, she found it odd to see Turians outside a group of any kind, she had always thought they were very easy to get along with.

Garrus' mandibles flared and a laugh escaped him. "Yeah, well, y'know Humans aren't so trustworthy of Turians these days and I don't feel like making a fuss about it, so I'll take my table and stretch my legs, it's their loss."

"Ah, yes. I can see how your species in particular might hold you back on a Human ship. I share a similar hardship, I am sure you have heard about who my mother is, yes?" There was a tone of sadness in Liara's voice as her eyes cast down to her tray.

Garrus nodded silently, finishing a bite of his food. "Yeah, I was briefed. Straighten up though, Doc, I know you aren't your mother, and so does the Commander, if anyone gives you any trouble he'll talk 'em down, he did it for me when I first got on the ship, hell he's done it for just about everybody. Besides, you've got one advantage I don't."

"And what might that be, Garrus?"

"Well by their standards, you've got a pretty face, and I know for a fact it's impossible for Humans to be mad at a pretty face. And by my standards, you've a fantastic fringe." Garrus gave Liara the equivalent of a Turian grin, obviously satisfied with himself.

Liara laughed nervously, embarrassed by such a direct compliment. "Thank you, Garrus, but I am afraid that if I even got the chance to speak with the Commander I would make even more of a fool of myself than I did at our debriefing, I know very little about reading human reactions or intentions, and know even less about their culture."

"Ah well it's not so hard, Doc. Just imagine them as ugly, short turians. We're practically the same, although the humans are a bit more ferocious."

Liara nodded, encouraged by this comparison "I hope you are right, Garrus."

Just then the door to the hall had slid open, two men saluted the figure now engaged in making his way over to the Mess Sergeant, he passed by them without a second glance. Maneuvering his way deftly through rows of seats it was clear where he was headed – Liara and Garrus' table. Her eyes betrayed her mind never leaving him upon his approach, studying him intently, taking in every detail about him as she could now that she had a moment to do so properly.

The Commander was tall, almost imposingly so with slightly bronzed skin, each step he took he carefully favored his right arm which was now all wrapped up in the highest quality medical tape and bandages to keep the medi-gel beneath firmly in place. This was not the only sign that he was a warrior, though; the Commander had scars to match his military prowess, one above his right eye, another on his chin, and one more on his left cheek giving him a rugged, almost grizzled appearance coupled with his short, tousled brown hair and nigh-unchecked facial hair just thin enough to pass by military regulations. A confident grin alit upon his face as he closed in, it made the Commander seem very welcoming, but one thing belied his seemingly warm aura – it was his eyes, frigid, pallid blue things that peered out beneath his moderate brow always seeming to look beyond whatever fell beneath his gaze.

Liara tried desperately to pry her attention from the man as to not be accused of staring. A deep gnawing began in the depths of her being, a feeling she was unaccustomed to accompanied by a tautness in her chest that she could not even begin to understand. At last she was finally able to rend her eyes from him and return to eating her meal just as the Commander stepped up, his focus wholly on Garrus for the time as he shoved him.

"The hell are you doing all the way over here in the darkest corner, Garrus? Too good to eat with the rest of the crew?" Shepard mocked a gasp. "And with our new Prothean expert as well? You're not trying to seduce her, are you? I'd better have a seat so I can keep an eye on you." The Commander's voice was deep but soothing in a way, his grin widened into a full smile as he barbed the turian.

Liara on the other hand could feel a fire building in her cheeks, she did not fully comprehend the banter that was taking place before, she had hoped it was not Garrus' intention to try and beguile her in any way. She kept her head down, focused on her mostly empty tray, only catching glimpses of the Commander out of the corner of her eye.

"Hell no on both accounts, Shepard. I was merely trying to be friendly to the Doctor. She seemed pretty shaken up after your escapade on Therum, and as for your crew it seems they think they're too good to eat with me."

Shepard sighed and shook his head, moving around the table to find a suitable place to sit, though the table was mostly empty he took a place next to Liara. Liara did her best to avoid looking up and it proved an easy task, as for now the Commander's attention was on bothering Garrus. "Well they'll come around, and if they won't I'll shout at them, shouting generally gets through to jarheads."

Jarheads? What was a "jarhead" Liara pondered as she fiddled with the remnants of her food. A silence came over the table, the air had shifted, Liara could almost feel two pins poking at the side of her face. He was looking at her, she knew he was looking at her, or maybe right through her. She was afraid to meet his gaze and only dared to peek out at him out of the corner of her eye, and as she did she effectively met his gaze, his face seemed haggard in this light and his eyes almost glowed.

"My apologies, Dr. T'soni. I should have included you in our conversation. I get caught up things sometimes. I hope you are adjusting well to being on the Normandy, naval life can be... hectic."

Liara turned her head as to not be rude but found that she could not look the man before her in the eyes like she could another asari or turian, she felt that if she did she would not be able to look away, to be wholly entranced and say something idiotic like she did with Doctor Chakwas, instead she focused on his bandaged arm as she spoke.

"I-it is not as bad as I had first thought, Commander. I rather like it in my quarters, it is peaceful, quiet. Unlike here in the cafeteria."

"Ah yeah, it can get pretty loud around feeding time, but don't hate them for it, this is the one time in the day they can be themselves. As far as your quarters go, it's regrettable that they had to stuff you in the back of the Med-Bay. I can't imagine they gave you more than a cot to sleep on – maybe if we didn't have any ugly Turians hanging around you could get a proper bed."

"Hey I'm still here you know." Garrus interjected, throwing an arm in the air like a child.

"I know and you're still ugly. It hurts me" Shepard shot back.

"Whatever." Garrus stood and adjusted the collar to his ship-fatigues before picking up his tray. "You're just mad because I got to talk to the Doctor first." The turian did an about face and cocked his head back as he walked away in a faux-huff.

"Well now. He's finally gone. It's just you and I... and the slow eaters." Shepard shifted his weight, still catering to that right arm of his as he crossed one leg over the other.

Liara had noticed this fact as well and it made her uneasy. He mind raced, wondered what she should do now, should she excuse herself or maybe tell the Commander a story, should she remain seated so close to him or move across the table. A thousand questions tore through her mind as her heart began to pound in her chest and her eyes remained focused on his damaged arm. There it was, she had found her opening, something to break this awful silence between the two.

"I am sorry about your arm." Liara cringed at the stupidity of her statement, she knew it was worded poorly and the fact that she knew it was not in fact her fault made it seem like more a callous statement than one of regret.

"This?" The Commander motioned with his good arm "This is nothing. Not even your fault." He smiled, confident as if he wore the wound with a twisted pride.

"Anyway. I'd like to know a bit more about you, Liara, do you mind if I call you Liara?"

Liara had finally found the will to look at his face once more and caught the very end of his smile. It endowed her with a confidence of her own, though the odd feeling in her chest returned and she felt almost compelled to answer his questions.

"Y-yes. I mean no, no I do not mind at all. There is not very much to say, Commander. I am only one-hundred-and-six, m-my story has just begun as my mother would say."

"Well there we are in disagreement, Liara. A person as accomplished as yourself must have some fascinating tales, plus at that age you must have a great wealth of experience, and please, call me Nick, you're not Alliance, you don't have to worry yourself with their protocol."

Liara's cheeks felt ablaze, she was not used to hearing such direct compliments, her work was often laughed at by her elders and to be labeled as "experienced" was something of an honor, even if the Commander was being rash about applying it to her.

"I-I will try to remember that Comm--Nick."

With that Liara fell into recanting tales of recent finds and crawling through musty ruins, occasionally having to fight off a band of pirates or slavers every now and then. She began to loosen up around the Commander, becoming more animated, smiling even. The Commander himself was an apt listener, not once seeming disinterested, his eyes never really leaving her face. A few comments escaped him, quips to prove he was taking part in the conversation but he held himself back carefully, as if to let Liara take the reigns in an attempt to build her confidence.

"It is just fascinating that a species can climb to such lofty heights by themselves and suddenly, without reason vanish, leaving behind only abandoned relics. A true mystery, I love them so. They are rewarding, in a way."

"I hadn't heard much of the Protheans aside from what they taught us in school. Well... I haven't heard much of any species, really. I've been neglecting my studies, I guess. Figured I put all of that behind me. Either way, thank you for your time, Liara. I hope in the coming days your and interest and expertise can be put to use in figuring out what the hell is happening inside my head."

Liara smiled at the thought, letting herself drift for a moment at the notion of sifting through the Commander's thoughts. "Snap yourself out of it girl," her mind yelled at her "That is not what he means, at least I think that is not what he means."

"I hope I can be of some help to you as well, Nick."

"I'll talk to you later, Liara." With that the Commander rose and left Liara to her own devices.

Tonight, Liara T'soni would nurse a budding confidence and curiosity within her. The Commander on the other hand, would only be nursing a bottle of Scotch until he was just numb enough to forget the burden upon him and the lives within is hands. He knew this story too well and dreaded its end.


Author's Note: We'll get in to why Shepard is the way Shepard is in the next chapter. This one's all about Liara and her first day on the Normandy. Slow as molasses, I know. Way too descriptive and long too, but some things just cannot be worked around, or rather I am not adept enough to work around them. I doubt I'll even have the focus to finish this thing. Anyway, I think so often people discount Liara as someone who is wholly incapable of social interaction, that it is some foreign concept that is beyond her understanding. I disagree, I think she was raised to deal with Asari and by extension possibly Turian social interaction quite easily, but seeing as she has spent half of her life being an Archaeologist, she missed out on interacting with Humans and as such is a mite timid around them.