Hello one and all, a warm welcome to you from both myself and tylerbamafan34, my talented co-writer and the one who originally suggested the idea. This is the first Mass Effect fanfiction for me, and I believe for Tyler as well. As some of you may know, I have been working at the LIS fandom for a while and Tyler has his own Assassin's Creed story up. It is going to be an amazing experience writing this as we both love the series to pieces and are looking forward to contributing our efforts to the Mass Effect fandom.

The story shall be following canon to an extent as a guideline, however there will be a few spanners in the works here and there. As far as romances are concerned, this is to be confirmed. We shall most likely be including some, yet we have not decided who specifically yet. There may be several pairings, depending on what the story calls for.

Without further ado, let us begin. Enjoy.

Prologue: The Essence of Truth

Shadow Broker's ship. Between the Sol and Widow systems. 7:30 S.E.T 2186

Six Months. That's how long it took the galaxy to start returning to some semblance of normalcy after the Reaper War. Life was slowly starting to return to normal, although not unchanged. People were more tolerant, wearier of fighting, and ready for peace.

Initially, everyone thought it would be impossible for things to go back to how they were prior to all the bloodshed. So many good people had been lost because of the mindless violence. Men, women and children of all different races and species had been mercilessly mown down… no-one had been spared.

The landscape would forever be scarred and defined by the carnage. It would take many years for any signs of plant and animal life to return to the scorched wastelands that had once been the home of thriving civilizations. The aftermath of war would haunt the minds and dreams of those people who had lived through the horrors, and the consequences of every single decision made would not go without their repercussions.

However, this had not signaled the end of our existence. We refused to obediently roll over and die. We fought on, our resolve only strengthened. From the destruction came rebirth, from the ashes that had settled on the battlefields came hope, from the immense pain of loss came the determination to rebuild, but also to improve.

Gloved fingers danced lightly along the holographic interfaces, as blue eyes scanned information that filtered in through all corners of the galaxy, "Glyph," Liara said quietly, "make note of the Alliance facilities closest to rebuilding. Redirect construction efforts after their headquarters are completed."

The little holographic droid chirped a "Yes doctor T'Soni." and gleamed as he manipulated her data streams.

For what felt like the thousandth time, she flickered her gaze over the screen that was monitoring the vitals of the hero who'd saved them all.

There had been no end of questions after the worst of the fallout had passed. Everyone wondered how one woman could have changed the fate of the entire galaxy. Liara had to admit, that if she didn't know Shepard so intimately, she would have been asking the same question. From the perspective of an outsider, it would seem like a fanciful fairy tale, the dashing hero riding in and almost single-handedly defeating the bad guys and saving the galaxy...

However, Liara had seen what no-one else had... the real Commander Shepard.

She had been inside Shepard's head, more than once. She had seen the innermost workings of her mind, experienced her thoughts and feelings, seen the demons she had been hiding from the rest of the world… and Shepard had many a demon to face. Her long struggle with the Reapers had only added to them.

Despite all the odds, Shepard had managed it. No-one had believed her, but that had not deterred her. She had pushed herself to the limit, a limit that Liara was sure no-one else would have been able to reach. She had endangered her life so many times that they had all lost count long ago. It seemed that she could not go five minutes without being in some kind of life threatening situation. At one time, Garrus had mused that they should keep a tally... Tali had quickly reprimanded him, citing there wouldn't be enough space for it. Garrus had conceded the point.

Liara sighed tiredly as she thought that half of these incidents could have been avoided had everyone just enacted upon Shepard's advice in the first place.

She continued to type away at her terminal, adjusting plans and creating files for the new players in the galaxy in the wake of the Reaper War. Some were surprisingly familiar faces, such as Tali being one of the leaders of the Quarian people, and Garrus was actually a SPECTRE now, taking care of the Normandy and her crew in Shepard's absence.

They had certainly all come a long way since they first met Shepard, especially her. Liara thought back to how she used to be and couldn't help but smile. She had been so naive, but she knew better now… all of them did.

She glanced over at the time.

8:40 am

She had scheduled that damn press conference for 9. Just as she was about to start getting ready for that, a torrent of electronic beeps filled the air. She glanced over to one of the many screens in her room. Her eyes were met with a flood of mail.

Only 1236 this morning, it appears we are falling behind, she thought, her lips quirking up into a small smile.

There had been so much mail for Shepard ever since the Reapers had been destroyed, all of which had gone through Liara. She had been slowly working her way through sorting it out, sometimes with the help of her fellow crew members, some of whom had been more helpful than others.

Garrus had a habit of sabotaging her plans to get organized. In fact, the other day he sent the Council a rather unseemly photo, one which made Liara revoke his answering privileges, at least to official mail. She had to admit, it had been funny, yet equally mortifying.

Thankfully, Garrus was more than happy to reserve his lewd sense of humor for answering inane questions from the press. She still refused to leave her computer unattended… just in case. She had Glyph police that and programmed him to give a nasty shock to those who dared tamper with her efforts to keep things at least relatively systematized and formal.

Between the crew, they must have replied to millions, if not billions of mail from all over the galaxy, yet every day there was more. That is not even to mention the gifts they had received. Shepard did indeed have a large fan-base, but with that also brought a vast amount of hate. It had not been outside the realms of possibility for her to receive a gift with malicious intent. Additionally, a lot of the gifts Shepard would never see, not with Joker around pilfering them. He did have a sweet tooth.

She decided that looking at the mail would only serve to make her late, so she began to make the necessary preparations for the conference. She just hoped that everyone had taken note of her memo this morning and would act appropriately. However, this was something she highly doubted.

Citadel - 8:56 am

Never had the Citadel seen so much activity, and that was saying something considering how busy it usually was. Crowds filled every square inch, the people eagerly waiting for answers. If anyone thought the Citadel had been a racial melting pot before, it was nothing compared to today.

People from every species, from Krogan to Turian, Asari to Salarian, had turned out for this. It was hardly surprising really, Liara reflected calmly making her way to the raised platform where at least fifteen chairs and been set up. Especially as everyone wants answers.

As she approached, she was intercepted by Garrus, "Was starting to wonder if you'd show." The Turian quipped "Bad form for the host to be late."

"Well, if I hadn't had to sort everyone else out, I would have been on time. Besides, it makes a nice change for it to be me who is late."

Liara stared accusingly at Garrus, who grinned cheekily in response, "What can I say? I am always fashionably late."

She shook her head, smiling at his words. No matter how dire things had been, Garrus had always been there to lighten the mood, even if it had not been appropriate at times… well most of the time really.

"I think you need to review your definition of fashionably."

Voices carried over from the right. Liara turned to see a heavily tattooed and pierced woman. The sides of her head were shaved, while the rest of her dark hair was drawn back into a high ponytail. She wore dark pants and a studded leather jacket with white bandages covering parts of her exposed skin. She was leaning casually against a railing, a sly smirk crossing her features, "Oh look, it's the Cerberus cheerleader. Long time no see," she said teasingly.

Another woman walked up to her. She had long black hair that curved gracefully over her shoulders, light blue eyes and curves that even Liara -who was not self-conscious by any means- envied. The skin tight white and black clothing she wore only served to accentuate her curves. Her accent was distinctive as she spoke, "It's nice to see you too, Jack." Miranda, Liara identified her after a bit of thought, Kira's XO for the Collector mission.

"How are the students?" the former Cerberus agent asked as she casually crossed her arms over her chest, "I imagine they're relieved to get back to normal life."

Jack snorted, "Still haven't lost your talent for understatement, have you?"

Jack and Miranda would never be best friends… or even friends for that matter, however they had been more civil to one another recently. That was more than likely aided by Kira, she always did have a talent for making people get along.

Tali spoke up from her quick conversation with Wrex, "I think we should all be glad for it to be honest," she quickly strode away from the old Krogan, attaching her shotgun to her lower back along the way. Her slightly electronic voice filled the air, only her eyes visible through her mask, "It's good to see you both again."

Wrex's rumbling laughter echoed loudly, "Rare to see everyone together like this," he grunted.

It was indeed a strange sight to behold. Ever since Shepard had been hospitalized, everyone had gone their separate ways. Liara had been in contact with everybody and had managed to meet up with them, some more than others, however this was the first time in months they had all been in the same place.

The remaining Normandy crew began to file in, some looking more relaxed than others. They gave each other awkward smiles as they all took their seats. Liara looked over to her right to see a woman with a kind face. She was almost the spitting image of Kira, if a little older. Liara knew her as Hannah Shepard, the mother of the woman who saved the galaxy. She caught Liara's gaze and offered up a small hesitant smile. It was apparent from her hunched over shoulders that she was not used to the spotlight. Liara smiled reassuringly at her in response. This seemed to help her relax a little, but not much. Being in the spotlight was not really something you got used to.

A little further down the line, an older man sat upright in blue alliance uniform. He certainly looked as if he had seen war, his lined scar covered face overlooking the crowd with a somber expression. Admiral Steven Hackett, following the victory against Harbinger and his forces had been promoted to the head of the Alliance Military.

The crowd went silent, everyone poised and ready for their questions to be finally answered, to dissect every single action of one woman…

Commander Kira Shepard.

Liara took a breath, and turned so that she was fully facing the crowd as Admiral Hackett stood. Hackett's gaze swept across the crowd, his steely grey eyes taking in every face, "Today," he began slowly, "is a day for truth," his voice seemed to have a quality that instantly quieted even the rowdiest of the enormous crowds, every single pair of eyes on him, "Six months ago, we fought an enemy that seemed to appear from the darkness of our worst nightmares. We won. But only just," he paused for a moment, the audience completely captivated by every single word he spoke, "The Reapers, were always there. Always waiting. And were it not for Shepard's actions, none of us would be alive right now," his gaze was stern, reprimanding, and zeroed in on the Council in a private booth. They did not meet his gaze, "Somewhere along the way," he continued, "truth got lost in legend. Shepard's reputation and deeds eclipsed her voice -which was arguably her most important asset. It's time for the truth to come to light. Once and for all."

There was a single cheer from the audience, one that soon exploded into an almost unified voice, "We want the truth!"

The press was stood at the front, their cameras and microphones pushed as close to the admiral as possible, waiting for his words with bated breath. The admiral did not appear to be phased by this as he pressed on, his voice clear and booming, "To help deliver it, I've turned to the people who were with Shepard from the very first discovery of the Reaper threat. And, beyond that. The people who Shepard herself described as her closest friends."

He glanced back to those people sat on the stage. They were the most unlikely looking group, but all had been brought together under Shepard, all had been loyal and all had helped to destroy the Reaper threat.

"SPECTRE Garrus Vakarian." The Turian gave a mock salute, fringes fluttering in a Turian approximation of a grin.

"SPECTRE Nihlus Kryk." Shepard's mentor merely leaned forward, folding his claws in front of his face with a contemplative eye.

"General Miranda Lawson." The perfect human specimen stood and gave a bow. A few wolf-whistles erupted from the crowd as she did so.

"Doctor Liara T'soni." Liara gave a slightly empirical nod, feeling pleased with herself for making some of the crowd fidget under her gaze.

"SPECTRE Ashley Williams." The second human spectre merely gave a smirk and a two fingered salute, looking far more casual than when Liara had last seen her.

"Urdnot Wrex." The large, red skinned Krogan gave a bloodthirsty grin, chuckling at the uncomfortable reactions he'd elicited from the press. "Works every time," he grunted, amused.

"Jacob Taylor." The African-American man smiled, inclining his head politely.

"Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy." Tali fidgeted slightly, resisting the urge to duck behind Wrex's more imposing form. The girl had never really taken to the attention that came with the rank of Admiral. Though she did the job commendably.

"Jack." The former convict gave off the air of a woman whose problems were long behind her, exuding a calm confidence that she wouldn't have been able to pretend to have a couple of years ago.

"Urdnot Grunt." The tank born Krogan crashed his fists together menacingly, seemingly trying to outdo the reaction Wrex had received. His actions had indeed caused many a person to look worried. He smiled to himself, happy with his effort.

"Samara." The Asari justicar stood and offered a curt nod before returning to her seat. She had always been a woman of few words, however around Shepard she had seemed to be more willing to speak.

"Lieutenant Commander James Vega." The marine had his arms crossed over his -admittedly impressive- chest, a light cocky smirk dancing across his face. He seemed to find the need for this conference pretty amusing.

"Javik of the Protheans." The sole remnant of the elder species merely blinked. His four eyes always alert as he scanned for threats. His intense gaze caused several people in the front row to squirm awkwardly.

"And I'm sure Kasumi is around here somewhere." Hackett allowed himself a smirk at divulging the thief's name, and Liara heard a quiet "Damn you" from the far end of the row.

"And finally, Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard." The woman looked away from the many eyes that had turned to her at the mention of her name. She focused her gaze on the floor, waiting for their attention to become focused elsewhere.

Hackett cleared his throat to re-capture the audience's attention, his raspy voice confident and composed, "Now that we have dealt with the formalities, let us begin. Dr T'soni, if you would."

Hackett motioned with his arm to show Liara she had the stage and returned to his seat. She stood up and walked to where Hackett had once stood. She was uncertain how the Admiral had managed to remain so calm under the camera eye. She tried to ignore their presence, took a few deep breaths to calm her shaking nerves and started the impassioned speech she had been preparing almost ever since the Reaper threat had been eradicated.

"You all know why we are here, so I won't waste your time with that any more than saying that we are here because of one woman. One woman who wouldn't back down and let sleeping dogs lie. One woman who opened her heart and mind. One woman..."

She paused for dramatic effect here, just like she had practiced a million times with Glyph. She briefly glanced around to ensure her words were being taken as planned. Everyone appeared to be on the edge of their seats, waiting for her to continue.

"Her name is Kira Shepard. She is the reason I can talk in front of you now, the reason you are stood here. She put her body and life on the line so that we would see another day. Today," Liara's confidence was growing with every word she spoke, "You may have heard many things about Shepard, some good, some bad. Most, if not all of them are complete lies. Lies born out of jealousy, anger or…" she looked over to the Council. The audience picked up on this and their eyes turned to the Council. Liara would make it her aim to make sure the Council knew the severity of what their denials had almost cost the entire galaxy, "... an attempt to hide those who are truly at fault."

She looked back out over the sea of faces, "As you all know, Shepard is currently in an unstable condition."

Liara's voice broke slightly at this. She had visited Shepard several times in the past few months. Each time she had looked terrible. The image of her bruised and broken body from the first time Liara visited her would forever be emblazoned in her mind. She shook this thought away and continued.

"Even now, Shepard is still fighting for her life, the life she was willing to sacrifice for each and every one of us. I think the very least we owe her is the truth," Liara shifted her weight a little from one side to the other, closing her eyes momentarily and composing her thoughts, "The truth is a hard thing to come by these days. I will not glorify Shepard, for she was not without her quirks. For one, her dancing skills were… how should I put this? Slightly lacking."

This notion caused those on stage to chuckle, as well as the members of the audience. Shepard was well known for her… unique dancing style. Jack spoke up, a huge smug grin on her face, "You can say that again."

Liara waited for everyone to die down before continuing, "The reason we are here is to give you everything, the whole unaltered truth. That is it. No gimmicks, no ulterior motives… simply the truth. I fear we may disappoint a few of you. I have heard some very elaborate stories concerning Shepard, all very exciting, yet sadly untrue."

"On the bright side-" Garrus piped in, "the truth is even stranger than fiction."

The group nodded in agreement. They had indeed seen some very strange things, things no-one could have ever made up, even if they had tried. Shepard had always seemed to attract the weird and wonderful… which usually meant trouble was not too far around the corner.

Liara smiled to herself when remembering all the bizarre situations she had gotten into around Shepard, most of which she couldn't believe and she had been there to experience them, "I believe that I have spoken enough for now about the generalities. Now, before we actually begin on our adventures, we must first set the scene as it were. In order to truly understand Shepard, to see her motivations and explain her actions, we must look further back to before all this began… back to Shepard herself."

Thank you for reading. We both hope you have an awesome day, look after yourselves and we shall see you next time.

Olivia and Tyler