Summary - "She was different, Liara could sense it, and she could see it in the way she moved. Not like most humans and Liara could also tell that this human was keeping something from them. Something from not just Liara, but the whole crew; she had seen into the mind of this human and knew not all was as it seemed…"

Author's Notes – I have just recently gotten into playing a little of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and of course my main romance was always Liara so I thought why not, lets make a fanfiction about it. Now a lot of things are going to be a little different about some of the history so it might seem a little weird at first, but I am sure it will make for a great read or at least I hope it does. Also as always a Futa warning is on this story, for those of you that don't know what Futa is look it up before reading.

Rating - Older Teen to Mature

By: WDG and Lesbostar

The Age of Legends - Chapter 0 - Prologue

Artemis Diana Shepard was born to two spacer parents, Hannah and Richard Shepard, but her birthplace was Earth unlike most spacer. She was born two days earlier than her due date whiles her parents where on shore leave on the human's home world. She was special from the day of her birth. To her parents surprise she was all female but with a few extra 'parts'. The doctors weren't able to tell if both female and male reproductions organs were functional. Growing up she had a great interest into the many different species that filled the galaxy. She even had a collection of Asari, Drell, Salarian, Turian, Krogan, and Quarian action figures that she played with as she learned about them in her education classes. She was an exception among humans where most were indifferent towards aliens or even racist.

It was on her fifth birthday that Artemis saw death for the first time. When her parents took her on a vacation during school break to the colony called Mindoir, a small border colony in the Attican Traverse, a Batarian slaver fleet attacked the planet. In only a few minutes the lone frigate in orbit was destroyed by the invaders. She had to watch, hidden in a locker room as her father was killed by a Batarian soldier. He was trying to save her mother, and he managed to do that. His death gave Artemis' mother time to escape. Unfortunately her hiding place was discovered and she was captured. Her willful behavior earned her some hits and a broken arm. Luckily she was saved by a passing Alliance patrol fleet. It was on this day that she met a nice solider called David Anderson; he patched her up and let her stay with him until they found her mother a few hours later. He even let her hold his hand the whole time.

Afterward her mother met someone else during her recovery on the Citadel. It's a giant space station that was supposedly left behind by the Prothean. A year later they married and Artemis moved to the Citadel instead of the current ship where her mother was serving as a weapons officer. Lieutenant Commander Hannah Shepard loved her daughter dearly and wanted the best for her and she thought that the stability of living with her new father figure was for the best. And she was right. The young Shepard was still able to see her often because her mother's ship was stationed with the Citadel Defense Fleet.

Later in life, at the age of eight, Diana once again met David Anderson, the kind solider who had held her hand. He had been in her new father figures home office when she had walked in with a cut lip and bruised eye. When her dame had asked what had happened she could only reply that she was defending her parents' honor from a school bully that had said some nasty words about them. Even though she hadn't understood all that was said at that time.

Mr. Anderson had smiled at the answer and helped her Dame go about cleaning up and fixing her wounds. It was when she was alone with him at the dinner table later that night as her mother and Dame fixed super that he asked "Why do you call your other mother a dame" Diana just smiled and said "Because she is my Dame, or if you prefer Sire. Sure she isn't my birth dad but we are connected by blood now and she loves my mom, and since she is Asari it only makes sense to call her by the proper term." Anderson was surprised by how smart the girl was and how well she spoke for such a young age. But he was even more impressed with the love he saw in her eyes for her alien 'dad'.

Clearing his throat he asked "What did you mean by the part where you said you and your Dame where now connected by blood?" Diana grinned and lifted up her hand as her blue eyes sparkled with love. Anderson took in the small scar on the girl's hand and was about to ask more, when looking up to Diana's eyes he saw something that made him paused. He had noticed a slight blue glow in them. He took in the glow around her eyes for a moment or two wondering where he had seen something like that before, when it clicked in his mind "Are you a Biotics as well?" Diana frowned and shook her head.

"No Sir, I wasn't around when the whole starships accidents happened so I wasn't exposed to the element zero, which is also known as eezo." Anderson frowned and asked another question, puzzled. "Well, ehmm….what about the scar on your hand what does that signify about your blood bond with your Dame" Diana went to speak but was cut off but her Sire's voice "Not interrupt your little conversation, but Dinner is ready you two".

It was later in the evening when Diana had went to bed that Anderson realized he never did get the answer for his question, he thought about asking Diana's parents. When he confronted the two with his questions both simply said "It's a ritual that has been keep secret for many years, Commander Anderson. And if you wish to know more you must be Asari or become connected to an Asari." When he left their house he decided to just let the subject drop, because it was quite obvious he would never get the answers he wanted and it seemed like the family was happy and he wouldn't ever be the one to ruin such love and happiness, because he knew how hard it was to find due to his divorce. But due to that decision he would become one of their greatest friends and a great uncle for little Artemis Diana Shepard.

She was just a few months away from her eleventh birthday when she and her parents had come to the Alliance Academy to enroll young Shepard into the school so that she could have an early start in what the girl yearned to be when she grew up. Anderson saw her more regularly after that instead of once every few months to his great joy because he had come to consider the girl like something of a niece.

So when Shepard was fifteen and showed up at Alliance Military Training for her training, Anderson had smiled and patted her on the shoulder, he later asked her why over a small lunch she had only smiled and said "I am doing this in order to honor the memory of my fallen father and my family name. Also Dame said she was once an Asari commando so I want to be just like her and follow in her footsteps. I also want to protect my family. I don't want to ever be helpless like I was on Mindoir."

Shepard rose quickly through the ranks, and at the age of 18 she was leading her first mission she lead a small squad during the battle of Torfan. She made a bad call and three-fourths of her unit died that day. Enraged over her fallen comrades' death she murdered hundreds if not thousands of surrendering Batarians, earning her the title of Butcher of Torfan.

It was one year later that she was sent to Akuze to look for survivors after all contact was lost with the pioneer team. It was after they had settled in to camp for the night that the attack happened; a Thresher Maw was upon them instantly. Fifty Marines died that day, Shepard being the only survivor of the horrific attack.

Another year went by; Diana had been promoted to lieutenant commander and is leading a team of soldiers on a mission on Elysium. She is seen as a war hero for facing an overwhelming enemy force; she risked her life to save her fellow soldiers and to defeat the enemy despite the impossible odds against her. Her bravery and heroism earn her the highest of all medals in the System Alliance, The Star of Terra, a promotion to commander and recognition for the Alliance military. It also had the added effect of making her title of Butcher fade into the background.

It was at the age of twenty that she was made the first human specter, it was on her first mission to recover a prothean beacon that things went to hell. After the beacon blew up and imprinted a warning of the destruction that the reapers would bring if they weren't stopped, Shepard went for help to the council and found that she would have to go it alone, her Dame wanted to side with her but majority ruled. However this didn't stop Shepard from saving the galaxy with the help of many human's and aliens alike. Sure she had to save a Asari Matriarch Benezia, she had to survive almost dying when her ship was attacked, she had to avoid becoming Cerberus's puppet when they tried to capture her, and she had to help save the Geth when Legion made it know that Geth could be good. All in all their was loss and tragedy, but she saved many more in the process, and the reapers were killed and the cycle was stopped. She was named the yongest Hero of the galaxy and savoir of all species from humans and aliens alike.

Diana doesn't let the fame from this get to her though; she keeps her head and sees everyone as equals, no matter the race or the species. She has since forth been out patrolling space. She is own her way home to the Citadel now to report into the council and spend some down time with her family one her twenty first birthday which is only two days away.

But while she has led a successful career she has never let herself be in a serious relationship. Her mothers had encouraged her but she never let her guard down enough to go for it. She didn't know how a partner would react to the fact that she had both female and male parts. She had tried once when she was young but the rejection when the girl she was dating had discovered had hurt.

Walking along the path leading up to the seat where the pilot sat Shepard took a stance behind him. "All Hands prepare for an FTL jump" Joker, the Normandy's pilot announced before giving Shepard his attention "Something I can help you with Shepard?" Joker turned his head slightly to look at the woman behind him. She was something else dressed in her armor, weapons stored away on her back never too far out of reach. Joker found her somewhat intimidating.

She stood tall, at a height of an even six foot she towered over most men and women aboard the ship. Her skin tone was slightly tanned not to dark but not pale either, Joker was sure her body rippled with muscle, looking to be carved from rock and stone. She wasn't bulky by any means, but instead lean and wiry, like steel cables pulled tight under extreme pressure. Her short wild snow white hair going off in every direction gave her a feral appearance, but it was her eyes that got you. Ice blue was the color that came to mind first followed by the thought that they were probably able to freeze everything in their path with their stare, and that eerie biotic glow shining from within where what made them shine like the brightest star. Joker was sure if you were to return that stare you would only get pulled in further and fall under their spell, and that they could be your beginning or your end.

Joker turned his head back around quickly when those eyes fell on him, he could feel them looking at him before he heard the Commander speak "How much longer till we land" Joker looked at some of the screens in front of him before speaking once again "Shouldn't be too much longer" Shepard nodded and was about to say more when a brief flash of prothean words and the sound of scream filled her mind. Joker watched on before turning to EDI "Help her down to the medical wing" he told the female AI "At Once Joker" EDI then Moved to Pick Up Shepard while the specter protested the whole way.

Dr. Chakwas watched as the young Commander Shepard slept 'She looks so much younger then she lets on. It's only in her sleep that you can see it though'. Shaking her head Chakwas cleared her head of any thoughts before she pulled up her Omni tool, and after running a few more scans she sighed before turning it off. Reaching over to the panel near the bed she tapped a few buttons and sent a small does of pain killers to help the Specter rest easier.

She looked over the report once more and heard the door open; looking up she saw Captain Anderson looking at Shepard with a slight frown. When the Captain turned to her and asked "How is she, doctor?" she paused before answering.

"She is fine physically… except for the fact that her brain waves are off the chart."

Anderson frowned and asked, "What does that mean, exactly?"

"Well…" Chakwas paused before continuing "It's like she is asleep, but can't wake up. Basically she is in coma but her brain functions are off the chart, like if she were awake and under a great deal of stress." Chakwas sighed and rubbed her temples before saying "I am not quite sure myself Captain, all I know is its the same as before when she was first hit with the Prothean beacon"

Anderson nodded "I have to go prepare a file for my talk with the council alert me as soon as she wakes, her mother is not going to like that she's in this kind of condition." Chakwas nodded and watched as Anderson left the room before looking at Shepard thinking 'He is right, both of Shepard's parents are not going to like this, especially Shepard's Asari father figure' looking over at Shepard once more she sighed and got to work on her file of today's events.

End