Shadow Broker Ship, Hagalaz, Sowilo System, Hourglass Nebula, March 1, 2186
Liara sat bleary eye in front of several holo screens. One showed a live feed from Earth.
"Commander Rentola, please continue."
"As indicated in my testimony to the Alliance Military Affairs Committee, Commander Shepard saved the lives of many of my team by targeting key sectors of Saren's defenses on Vermire. Not only that, he also tried, with little success, to rescue as many victims' of Sovereign's..."
The prosecutor shot up from her chair, "Objection! There is no proof that Sovereign was nothing more than Saren's flagship and no evidence of this so called 'indoctrination'."
Shepard's defense council stood as well, "We have eyewitness testimony to the effects Commander Rentola has described and we will present it shortly."
"It is still irrelevant to this-"
Liar muted the feed. Even with Harbinger's own words making the rounds on the extranet, the Council still denied the Reaper threat. But she knew better. She poured through the data collected by the Normandy as well as that found in the Shadow Broker's database. Her instinct, honed by decades of archeological studies, told her that there was a pattern to the Reapers' behavior. The answer floated in her mind just beyond reach.
Think Liara, think!
The Reapers were as persistent as they were meticulous. They created the Mass Relays and the Citadel as a trap for the galaxy's sentient species. For millions of years each galactic generation had emerged only to be wiped out by the race of immortal machines.
Immortal? Well, not really. The Alliance destroyed Sovereign even if it took the entire Citadel fleet and the human 5th Fleet to do it. But why didn't they attack directly?
And if they were truly immortal why would they need to reproduce unless...
Liara shook her head. She had her answer. The Reapers could be killed. For all their power they were still vulnerable. They went to extraordinary lengths not to expose themselves. When the Keepers failed to follow their orders, Sovereign used the Rachni to destroy the other races, when that failed, Saren and the Geth, and in spite of having access to the Alpha Relay chose to operate through the Collectors to create another vanguard.
They are afraid!
The Reapers realized that a new race could, would rise in the galaxy and develop to a point that could destroy them. And it had already happened at least three times, first on Klendagon, then Illos and then in the Citadel. One race managed to develop a weapon that could hurt a Reaper, another unlocked the secrets of the mass relays and a third defeated their vanguard.
That's why they are so risk averse? Better to use proxies or slaves to do their dirty work than risk destruction.
By guiding the evolution of the younger races they made sure than none rose to challenge them.
"But why stay bound to this galaxy after all these millenia?" Liara asked aloud.
The rooms VI drone interfaced zoomed by, "Excuse me Shadow Broker, I did not understand the question. Please clarify."
Liara waved the drone off.
Maybe they can't? After all, Sovereign said that he was the pinnacle of "our" evolution, right? What if they are technologically stagnant? They need the younger races to evolve. And they probably haven't found a safe way of intergalactic travel and one without a guarantee that a more powerful species maybe waiting on the other side.
Fear, that's the key, but how do I use it?
She was no military tactician. Her eyes focused on the muted feed. There sat Shepard, her Shepard, in confident silence. He could use this, somehow. He always found a way.
She tapped a key on the control panel, ""Feron, I'm leaving you in charge, I got to go."
"It's Shepard, isn't it?" said the voice on speaker.
"Yes."
"Good luck, Liara."
"Good luck to all of us."