Reviews are always welcome, as are any suggestions or criticisms. Please point out any serious grammar issues or inconsistencies with the established lore, I try my hardest to avoid them both but I don't always catch it all. :)

Jane Shepard grimaced as she made her way down the hall, swinging her crutches ahead and propelling herself forward. The rubber tips at the end echoed faintly as they hit the floor below, and along with her boots were the only sound in the hallway. Two weeks had passed since she woke, four since the Reapers were defeated, and the doctors told her that her recovery to this point was miraculous, near impossible. Plans were being made for celebrations, award ceremonies, parades, all of which Shepard would have to attend. She wished she didn't have to. Everyone told her she was a hero, but she certainly didn't feel like one. EDI was dead. The Geth were dead. Billions of others had given their lives over the past three years. Shepard felt like she belonged with them, not here among the living, not able to live and celebrate the aftermath of the war. So many had sacrificed so much, and paid the ultimate price, yet here she was, still able to live a life that so many others deserved but would never get a chance to live. Every minute Shepard spent in her hospital bed was spent thinking of them.

They were also the reason Shepard was at this military base in London. Liara had been at her side as much as was possible, only leaving her side when the doctors forced her, but she had left three days ago. That morning, Shepard received a call from her girlfriend, asking her to come see her at the Alliance base a couple of blocks from St. Thomas' Hospital. Shepard had been mobile with the aid of crutches for about a week, and it was not hard to get clearance to leave for the day. She was glad to get the hell out of that hospital. The smell of chemicals and death were overpowering, irritating her senses and driving her mad. She couldn't go a day without seeing someone else wheeled down the hallway on a gurney, sheet pulled over their head. The groans of the wounded echoed through the entire hospital, and the deceased increased with every day. Sometimes, Shepard felt as if she was the only person left standing after the fight that was going to be allowed to live. Liara's request had been a godsend, simply because she could leave that accursed building.

Shepard had no idea why Liara wanted her to come to the base, and that unknown made her very nervous as she approached the doorway to the office Liara was using. By the time she was in front of it, resting on her crutches, her heart was pounding and sweat was pouring down her face. She took a deep breath, sighed, and knocked on the door, gingerly so as not to hurt the still healing bones in her hand. Behind the door, she could hear the sound of a chair rolling along the ground, followed by faint footsteps. The door slid open, and a blue goddess smiled at her. "Thank you for coming, Jane," Liara greeted, immediately moving to Shepard's side, as always wanting to assist.

Even though she did not need the help, Shepard was almost always willing to play along when it was Liara, and she did in that moment. After letting Liara take one of her crutches, which was promptly set against one of the three spaces of wall without something pressed up against it, Shepard threw an arm around Liara's shoulders. The asari proceeded to shoulder the woman's weight as she led them to a couple of chairs positioned in front of dozens of monitors, most blank but some still showing the secrets that made the Shadow Broker so powerful. "Why is all of your equipment in here?" Shepard asked. "It will be kind of hard to explain what's going on if someone walked in."

"I don't particularly care," Liara answered, rummaging through a stack of data pads on a nearby piece of equipment. Shepard waited patiently, staring at the monitors. The power one could wield with this type of information was staggering, intimidating. Even with the galaxy in a state of rebirth, there were secrets to be found everywhere. A constant stream of information was coming in from those agents still left, never seeming to stop, all of it being managed and prioritized by the VI Liara called Glyph. Shepard sat and watched this process, completely in awe and somewhat terrified of the power Liara wielded, and until the asari came back over to her, handing her a data pad. "I've been thinking about what you said last week. About feeling regret and anger over surviving when so many others have perished."

Shepard's face paled. "Liara, I…"

"No," Liara interrupted, holding two fingers to Shepard's lips. "Don't tell me you didn't mean it, or that you were just frustrated, or any other excuse you feel inclined to give me." Shepard quieted, and looked away. "Unfortunately, many good people have died. I will never deny that. But you deserve life. If not for you, none of us would have survived this war. It would never have been a war to begin with. You are too good a person to tear yourself apart over out of place guilt. The beloved of those who did give their lives would tell you the same. They would never blame you."

Shepard scoffed, her mouth twisting into a frown. "I don't believe that. They would rather I was dead a hundred times over if it meant their wife or husband or children or parents were still alive."

Liara frowned, and walked over to a keyboard, where her fingers began flying over the keys. Shepard watched until the asari said, "Look at the monitor, Jane." She nearly asked which one, until it became obvious. The video was of Earth, she could recognize that much. Some type of memorial was being built, dozens hard at work. At first there was no volume, but Liara fixed that. Among those mourning was an older man, dark-skinned with graying hair, kneeling near the memorial, his eyes shut. He sniffled, and a tear fell down his right cheek. "Recognize him?" Liara asked.

Shepard could never forget. "Samesh Bhatia."

"Listen to him."

Shepard leaned forward, watching the monitor intently. "I miss you so much," Samesh said, just loud enough to be heard over the activity around him. "I think about you every day, Nirali. Your voice. Your touch." The ghost of a smile touched his lips. " The restaurant continues to do wonderfully, and I know you are smiling down from heaven. I am happy. Still, I miss you." He sobbed for a moment, composing himself quickly. Shepard only felt worse, her heart breaking for the man she saw on the monitor. "I especially know that you are smiling at this moment, seeing that the universe has survived, and will be able to rebuild. I was already eternally grateful to Commander Shepard for her role in having your body returned to me. Now I have her to thank for saving my life, as does the rest of the galaxy. As much as I miss you, I will continue to live, because of that wonderful woman. I love you so much, Nirali."

Liara ended the video feed, and stood by Shepard's side. "That memorial is being built in New Delhi, India, where Mr. Bhatia lives and operates his restaurant, at the site of a graveyard where his wife is buried. He has visited every day over the past week, helping to construct the memorial and speaking with his wife. He has thanked you every time, and never had a bad word to say."

"His wife is one of those that I couldn't save on Eden Prime," Shepard said, staring down at the floor. Samesh's wife had served in Ashley's unit, the 212. All of them except Ashley were dead when the Normandy reached Eden Prime. And now Ashley was dead as well, killed during Hammer's run to the beam leading to the Citadel. Another undeserved victim of the war, someone who deserved the peace that its aftermath provided the galaxy. Shepard curled her hands into fists.

Nirali Bhatia loved the happy moans she heard in the mess hall. She smiled and continued to stir the contents of the pot in front of her, tasting it every once in a while and adding ingredients. Those who finished the appetizers were already beginning to hover nearby, impatiently waiting for the next course. It made Nirali so happy, the only thing that could have made her happier is if those were Samesh's moans of happiness she was hearing. That, and eating her husband's cooking, of course. She lacked his creative flair, but judging by the reaction her cooking received from the soldiers eating it, she did well enough. She couldn't wait to get back to Earth, where she and Samesh planned on opening their own restaurant. Nirali was determined to close the gap and become every bit as good a cook as her husband. The future customers of their restaurant deserved no less.

A head appeared over her shoulder, in a familiar bun that she knew so well. "What's the ETA on that soup, Nirali? We got hungry soldiers waiting." Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams had her hair in its typical bun, an eager glint in her eyes. She probably enjoyed Nirali's cooking more than anyone else. It reminded her of home, the gunnery chief said, of the home cooked meals she was only able to enjoy from her mother when on leave.

"Sorry, ma'am, about fifteen more minutes," Nirali said, sipping a spoonful and nodding approvingly. Chief Williams patted her on the back, and left the kitchen area.

Patrol that day started the same as usual. Nirali was in the Gunnery Chief's squad, and followed closely, all business. The others joked and paid little attention as they walked, most complaining about the heat that day. Mainly, their conversation centered around the same topic as at breakfast: the Prothean Beacon that had been discovered. Predictions began flying around immediately upon the news of its discovery, and a wager had even been set up, the prize standing at four hundred credits the last time Nirali heard. Typical of soldiers, most of who she talked to about it seemed convinced the beacon contained information on some type of super weapon. Nirali could not pretend to know anything about the Protheans besides what was taught in school, and had absolutely no idea. She hoped there was some type of breakthrough medical advances waiting to be found in the beacon, something that would lower the risk for soldiers like herself and improve the ability to help them when they suffered injuries. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the news, not just the soldiers but the residents of Eden Prime as well.

Three women out for a jog waved as they ran by, and Nirali waved back. Being an Alliance soldier, constantly relocating at the beck and call of her superiors, was a very hard thing to do, and often the colonists she was protecting treated her and the other Alliance soldiers like they were intruders, warmongering nuisances, but the residents of Eden Prime were different. They were respectful, friendly, grateful, and would often show up at base with baked goods as a gift. They smiled when they crossed paths, were always willing to chat, and were generally just very, very, nice people. It made the pain of being away from home the past six months much easier to bear. It also made Nirali's, and every Alliance soldier at the colony's, desire to protect those people much greater.

Two of the male soldiers, young men named Wesley James and Patrick O'Harris, turned to watch the retreating jogging women, eyes firmly on their backsides, and received slaps upside their heads for their trouble from their gunnery chief. "Pay attention, balls-for-brains!" she shouted.

"Ma'am! Sorry, ma'am!" they both responded, and the chuckles throughout the others even brought a smile to Chief Williams's face.

They had just continued their hike up a large hill when a roar suddenly pierced the mid-morning air, driving Nirali to her knees. She looked towards the source of the noise, and felt the blood drain from her face at the sight of the largest ship she had ever seen as it landed at the spaceport. The noise seemed to come from inside her own head, boring through her skull, continuing for minutes on end with no reprieve and drowning out all other sound. Even when it finally stopped, it continued to echo around in her head, until Chief Williams grasped her arm and pulled her to her feet. The rest of the squad seemed to be having the same trouble recuperating as she was. "What the fuck was that?" Brian Wilkes asked, rubbing his temples.

Chief Williams was grasping her weapon firmly, and everyone else followed her lead. "We need to go find out what that ship is and who the fuck it belongs to. Eyes and ears open, pay fucking attention. Move out!"

They could see the glow of fires and hear the exchange of gunfire long before they reached the battle itself. Chief Williams ordered them into a full sprint towards the nearest gunfire. A man screamed, and an explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet. Nirali was trying her hardest to forget her fear. She had never grown use to battle, and never taken part in a true one. The closets she'd ever come was minor skirmishes against pirates who would run as soon as they faced any real opposition. She had killed before, but never grown accustomed. This was a different fight. Whoever had attacked Eden Prime, they had definitely come prepared to fight. Nirali's hands began to shake as she sprinted, and she could not stop them. As they ran past a high cliff, the sound of battle very close now, Nirali could no longer suppress the ill feeling that gathered at the pit of her stomach, and emptied its contents, her throat burning. A hand on her shoulder made her look up. Chief Williams was watching her sympathetically. "Force it down, marine," she said. "We have an enemy to fight."

Nirali somehow managed to ignore the dead bodies, colonists and soldiers of which she could not recognize many. The ones she did, she forced herself to look away from. Chief Williams continued to lead them towards the ever growing sounds of battle, when she suddenly stopped abruptly, her face gone pale. Nirali hurried to her side, rifle aimed forward, and caught her first glimpse of the invading force. "Wh-what are they?" she asked, voice just above a whisper.

"My God," Wesley said. "Are those geth?"

Nirali struggled to recall what she knew about geth. A machine race, created by the Quarians, the ones that drove them from their homeworld. They disappeared behind the Perseus Veil three hundred years ago. "It can't be. Why would they be here?" Brian asked.

"The beacon!" Chief Williams gasped. "Form up! Luck, Varejao, go provide support to those soldiers trapped near that rock formation! The rest of you, follow me! Stay low and move quick, and if you die I will find you in the afterlife and kick your ass!"

Chief Williams moved fast, confidently, towards a group of sheds near one of the farms. Half the crops, which would have been harvested two weeks from now, were ablaze, another third already burned to ash. They moved fast, not stopping until they reached the sheds, where four geth were advancing on three scared civilians hiding at the side of a shed. Nirali opened fire with the rest of her squad, taking the geth completely unaware. They crumpled to the ground, a strange white liquid leaking from their bodies. There was something slightly detaching about fighting machines, and Nirali did not feel the typical uneasy illness she did during the other battles in her military career. Chief Williams, Brian, and Patrick helped the civilians into one of the sheds, and locked the door afterwards.

Nirali did not know what caused the explosion that separated her and Wesley from the rest of their squad. They had reached a communication hub and were trying to send off a distress call, only to find out that all communications were being blocked, almost certainly by the leviathan of a ship that landed at the spaceport. Chief Williams was speaking with one of the other squad leaders from the 212, a Sergeant Carrington, about their next move. The Sergeant and the two survivors from his squad had joined them after Chief Williams led the charge in driving off a small geth force pinning them down. While they talked, a squad of geth snuck up on them, and at some point during the fight an explosion knocked Nirali briefly unconscious. She woke to the heat of flames and a voice shouting her name desperately, telling her to get the hell up. Wesley's face was covered in soot, and his eyes were clouded with pain and confusion. "Come on, wake up!" he shouted desperately.

When Nirali tried to sit up, her entire upper body screamed in protest, and she fell back to the ground. "Help me up," she choked out, and Wesley did so roughly, causing her to cry out in pain. Surprisingly, her right hand still gripped her rifle. She noticed they were alone after she was standing. "Where's Chief Williams?"

Wesley frowned. "I don't know. I woke up a few minutes ago, and there was no one else. There's a couple bodies closer to where the explosion took place, but I don't know who they were."

Nirali closed her eyes forcing her grief to wait. "We need to find them. Chief would have kept moving towards the spaceport. We should do the same."

They moved stealthily, avoiding all groups of geth larger than three and only engaging when they had to. Slowly but surely, the two Alliance soldiers came closer to the spaceport. The geth presence only increased, and they were about a mile away when they saw the first bodies on the strange mechanical spikes. Nirali vomited again, but this time did not need words of encouragement to keep going. A very loud, echoing scream caught her ear, coming from behind them. Nirali knew that there was housing in that direction. "Let's go," she said, beginning to run in the direction of the scream.

"Are you crazy?" Wesley protested. "We need to find Chief Williams."

"We can't just let civilians die," Nirali said, her tone brooking no argument. She did not stick around to listen to anything else Wesley had to say, running off again. She worried that she was alone, until she heard someone running next to her, and looked to see Wesley out of the corner of her vision. A smile crossed her lips.

There were a dozen civilians scattered, taking cover behind debris. Seven geth were moving in on them, firing to keep the civilians in place as they approached. "We can't handle seven of them," Wesley argued. Nirali was beginning to think the man a coward. "Let's go. Securing the beacon is more important than anything else."

"The geth will have control of the beacon by now. You really think there will be less than seven geth there?" Wesley looked away. "You still have grenades?"

"Yeah. Three."

"Okay." Nirali took one more look over the battlefield, to make sure the plan she had decided on was not utterly idiotic. "Throw one right down the middle of those bastards, hopefully you can get a couple but at the very least they will be forced to scatter. We'll break for that machinery over there, and fire at whoever's left to draw their attention."

Wesley nodded, and readied a grenade. "What do we do then?"

"I don't know. Fight and pray the civilians are smart enough to take the opportunity to run. Throw it."

Wesley threw the grenade, almost perfectly landing it in the middle of the geth. The machines were thankfully very stupid, and did not move as it detonated, taking three of them with it. Nirali led the way as they ran to the farm equipment, a couple of large harvesters for the nearby field of crops. Both Alliance soldiers fired wildly in the direction of the remaining geth, and just as Nirali had hoped, they turned their attention to the newcomers shooting at them. Wesley ducked behind the machinery moments before geth fire came their way, two shots flying over them. Nirali began to wish she was a better strategist, because she had no idea what to do now. She and Wesley stayed behind cover, occasionally leaving to fire at the approaching geth. The third time, Nirali noticed the civilians had not moved, and two of the geth had broken away to go after them. "Damn it, we need to get over there!"

"I have two grenades left," Wesley said. "I can use one to distract them long enough for us to get closer to the civilians."

"Good idea," Nirali told him, smiling gratefully.

The two did not wait for the grenade to detonate before sprinting out of cover, again shooting wildly in the direction of the geth to cover their movement. Nirali sprinted along the outside of a home, around the corner, and behind a stack of crates. The civilians were across an open area with no available cover, but she did not stop, ducking as low as she could while still moving quickly. A slug hit the ground near Nirali's feet as she neared the neared the debris the civilians were hiding behind, and she dove the last two feet, sliding along the ground behind cover. Wesley was close behind, bleeding from a grazing wound in his side. Nirali immediately applied medi-gel. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Wesley said. "I got one of the bastards, too."

Nirali gave him a light tap on the chest, and turned to the group of civilians. Her heart clenched at the sight. There were seven women of various ages, two young boys, two young girls, and an old man who looked like he could barely move. "Its okay, we're going to get you out of here," Nirali assured them.

"Are you all that is left?" one of the women asked, fear written on every inch of her face.

"No," Nirali lied. "But you are going to have to rely on just the two of us to get you out of here. The others aren't here talking to you."

Looks were exchanged, and they all nodded at her. "Where are we supposed to go?" the woman asked.

Nirali took a quick survey of the surrounding area, laying down a little cover fire while she did so. All the entrances to the homes would require exposing them to the geth. There were groups of sheds about twenty feet away, but they would also expose them to the geth. All the vehicles they might escape to were destroyed. Nirali was growing desperate when Wesley spoke up. "Do any of you live in this home right here?" he asked, pointing to the closest building. Two of the women raised their hand. "Do you have your keycard?" One of them nodded. "We can give them cover fire while they hurry to the back door," he told Nirali. "Just like we did with Chief Williams. Once they are in, we can lock the door behind them."

It was a plan, and devoid of one herself Nirali could protest. "You take the two women and unlock the door. I'll stay here and guard the others, that way the geth can't focus all their efforts on one area." Wesley nodded, and moved to the edge of the debris, among the civilians. Nirali watched as he relayed the plan, comforting the two women as best he could. When she saw them nod, Nirali popped out of cover and laid down a long, wild stream of gunfire, that made the three remaining geth take cover. "Move, move move!" she shouted, and Wesley laid down cover as well while the two women frantically sprinted to the back of the home.

Six of the civilians were inside the home when five more geth appeared. Nirali had suffered two grazing wounds, one to her side and one to her forearm, which despite the medi-gel were still a constant ache, affecting her every movement. The new geth never stopped shooting as they stalked forward. Wesley was taking cover at the side of the home, unable to cross to the debris because of the geths' constant gunfire. They would only be able to move one more group of civilians, and would have to move them all. Nirali turned to the six remaining civilians, trying her best to look confident. "Okay, we're going to move the rest of you all at once," she said. A few gasped in fright. "I promise, if you stay low and run as fast as you can, you'll be fine. Everything will be fine, as long as you do exactly what we tell you." Nirali signaled what she wanted to do to Wesley, who nodded and readied his last grenade.

Nirali counted down from three and gave the signal. Wesley threw the grenade, and in sync the two soldiers exited cover to cover the frantic civilians, who ran as fast as they could. Two of them stumbled when geth shots came close, but they all managed to cross the gap to the home. Nirali waited until they were all across, took a deep breath, and sprinted to join everyone else. A few shots hit her shields, but they held, and she again dove the remaining couple feet into cover, the adrenaline of the moment leaving her breathless.

Once the remaining civilians were in the home, Wesley immediately locked the door. Two geth moved around the corner, and Nirali managed to kill one, the other taking cover. She and Wesley sprinted in the opposite direction, only to run into two more. Wesley bowled into them, knocking them to the ground, and Nirali shot both as she ran by. Nirali stopped at the side of the home, while Wesley kept going. When he noticed she wasn't following, he hurried back. "What are you doing?" he asked, panicking. "They're locked away, they're safe, let's get out of here!"

"It would take the geth five seconds to hack that door," Nirali said. "We can't leave them." Wesley opened his mouth to protest, but closed it, jaw tightening. "We have to guard that door, for as long as we can." The implication did not need to be spoken. One more time, Samesh's smiling face came to her mind, the memory of his touch and his voice. Tears formed, and Nirali ran out to continue the fight.

"How can someone like Samesh forgive me?" Shepard asked, frowning. "How can Ashley's sisters forgive me? Its my fault their loved ones are dead. Its my fault they will never again see those they love, never again hold them, laugh and cry and experience the joys of life with them. How can they forgive me?"

"Because you are not the least bit to blame," Liara said. "Those two women gave their lives for the greatest cause the universe has ever seen. Nirali Bhatia, in death, saved twelve lives. Without Ashley, maybe you never beat the Reapers, and we are all doomed. Their family will miss them, but they are comforted knowing they died for the best reason one can. Mr. Bhatia just showed you that they are at peace, and hold no ill will towards you or anyone else." Liara grasped Shepard's hand. "You must stop this, Jane. You must stop blaming yourself for every death that occurred in this war. You are a soldier, you know that sacrifice is inevitable. Why is it okay for you to put yourself into danger, and not others? Why would it be okay for you to die, and leave me and your friends alone, but its not okay for others to do the same?"

Shepard had no answer. "I…" she began, wanting so bad to protest, but she knew Liara was right. "Its just hard. I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to put myself down. I just wish Ashley was here, and Mr. Bhatia wasn't mourning a dead wife."

"I know. That's what makes you the woman you are." Liara hugged Shepard from behind, and planted a kiss on her cheek. "That's why its my job to make you feel better."

Shepard was feeling better, enough to smirk. "Well, there are definitely a few ways you can make me feel better," she joked, reverting back to her usual smartass demeanor. Rather than the typical smack on the arm Liara gave her, Shepard received another kiss to the cheek.

Every chapter will be similar to this one, beginning and ending with Liara/Shepard interaction with a story in between. I'm planning on doing a story for every place of importance within the story of all three games, Feros, Virmire, the Citadel, Horizon, Palaven, etc. Some will be from the viewpoint of established characters, some following original characters, most will be much more uplifting than this. I'm pretty sure most won't be as long as this was. I don't exactly have a schedule for releasing chapters, but just going off my history so far on this site you can expect them in no longer than a week and a half, and sometimes when I'm really going I'll release two chapters in two days.

Hope you liked this, and hope you will like the rest as well.