Disclaimer - I don't own anything in here relating to Mass Effect, Bioware gets to claim that. I do own the the things that aren't mentioned in the game however.

A/N - This is my first Fan Fiction so please feel free to give me any hints.


To call the Normandy huge would be an understatement. Massive would be a more accurate term to describe its size. I looked around me, awestruck. I had never seen a ship so large or sleek before. The normally dull colours grey and black were used in such a way as to make the Normandy look elegant and beautiful. Noticing the amazement on my face the Commander smiled and said to me,

"She's a beauty, isn't she? Best damn ship in the whole Alliance Fleet."

"She is, Commander." I said, meaning every word.

"Come with me to the Comm Room. We'll discuss what needs to be done next with the rest of the crew."

Upon seeing the confusion on my face the Commander added teasingly,

"Comm Room stands for Communications Room, Doctor."

I just nodded, to dumbstruck to notice her teasing. The Commander led me past some consoles and showed me to the Comm Room. On our way, I paused momentarily to look at the Normandy's Galaxy Map. It was a perfect representation of the Galaxy. Every star, solar system and nebula was accurately represented with the whole piece hovering in the air above our heads. The Commander waited politely for me to finish examining the Galaxy Map, I was touched by her patience, most humans would have interrupted me by now, impatient to get on with the job. I walked back over to her and she continued to lead me to the Comm Room.

The circular Comm Room was greyish green in colour. The floor, roof, walls, panels and chairs were all painted the same colour, even the three terminals for the FTL links were the unusual colour. I sat down on one of the seats, nervously, wondering what the Commander wanted to speak to us all about. Shortly after, a turian who introduced himself as Garrus Vakarian, came in and sat next to me. Then, a couple of minutes later two humans that I recognised almost immediately from the mine came in and sat down, nodding a welcome in my direction. They were followed by a quarian and last of all a krogan. The krogan sat next to me without the slightest acknowledgement of my existence. His mere presence commanded my fear and respect. The Commander must be a very good captain, I thought, to have a krogan following her so readily. I was about to reply to a question that Garrus put my way when the speakers crackled to a start and blared out a message directed at the Commander.

"Too close, Commander. Ten more seconds and we would've been swimming in molten sulphur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference." The pilot's teasing voice informed us all.

"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" I said reproachfully. Angry that the pilot would say such a thing to the Commander, even jokingly, when she had risked so much to rescue me.

"Joker pulled our asses out of there. I think he's earned the right to a few bad jokes." The commander told me. Her tone of voice told me that she was aggravated with me but her eyes showed that she was laughing inwardly at my comment.

"I see. It must be a human thing" I said lamely, "I don't have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Commander. But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there and not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me or dragged me off to see Saren."

What did Saren want from you?" The male from the mine asked me. "Do you know something about the Conduit?"

"Only that it was somehow connected to the Protheans extinction." I answered. "That is my real expertise. I have spent the past fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them."

"Just how old are you, exactly?" The Commander asked me, astounded that I had been studying the Protheans for so long.

"I hate to admit it, but I am only a hundred and six." I told her, embarrassed.

"Damn! I hope I look that good when I'm your age!" The other human from the mine exclaimed.

"A century may seem a long time to a short lived species like yours." I told her. "But among the asari, I am barely considered more than a child. That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to…dismiss my theories on what happened to the Protheans."

"I've got my own theory on why the Protheans disappeared." The Commander said to me.

"With all due respect, Commander, I have heard every theory out there. The problem is finding evidence to support them. The Protheans left, remarkably little behind. It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It is like someone came along after the Protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredible part. According to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them." I told her, wondering what her theory was.

"Where'd you come up with this theory? I thought there wasn't any evidence." the Commander asked me in a serious tone of voice, almost as if she was interested in what I had to say.

"I have been working on this for fifty years. I have tracked down every scrap and shred of evidence. Eventually, subtle patterns start to emerge. Patterns that hint at the truth. It is difficult to explain to someone else." I confessed, "I cannot point to one specific thing to prove my case. It is more, a feeling derived from a half century of dedicated research. But I know I am right. And eventually, I will be able to prove it. There were other civilizations before the Protheans. This cycle has repeated itself many times over." I said, confidently.

"If the Protheans weren't the first, then who was?" the Commander asked me.

"I don't know." I admitted to her, lowering my gaze in my embarassment, "There is barely any evidence on the Protheans. Even less on those who came before them. I cannot prove my theory. But I know I am right!" I looked up, hoping that she believed me, "The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. The Protheans rose up from a single world until their empire spanned the entire galaxy. Yet even they climbed to the top on the remains of those who came before. Their greatest achievements -- the Mass Relays and the Citadel -- are based on the technology of those who came before them. And then, like all the other forgotten civilizations throughout galactic history, the Protheans disappeared. I have dedicated my life to figuring out why."

"They were wiped out by a race of sentinent machines. The Reapers." The Commander told me.

"The--the Reapers? But I have never heard of -- how do you know that? What evidence do you have?" I asked her, angry that the Commander could make such a statement when she had never even studied the Protheans.

"There was a damaged Prothean Beacon on Eden Prime." She told me calmly, "It burned a vision into my brain. I'm still trying to sort out what it all means."

"Visions?" I asked her. Not waiting for a reply I continued, "Yes…that makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one that still works is extremely rare. No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime. The chance to acquire a working beacon--even a badly damaged one--is worth almost any risk. But the beacons were only programmed to interact with Prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would have been confused, unclear. I am amazed that you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong-willed, commander." I said, amazed that she withstood the barrage of pictures she had recieved without any visible damage to herself.

"This isn't helping us find Saren. Or the Conduit." The human male said to me, reminding us all what we were meant to be talking about.

"Of course." I said sheepishly, ducking my head at the same time, "You are right. I am sorry. My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit. Or Saren." I told them sadly.

"I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture." The Commander said to me, "But I think we'll be a lot better off if we bring you along"

"Thank you, Commander." I said to her gratefully, "Saren might come after me again. I cannot think of anywhere safer than here on your ship. And my knowledge of the Prothean might be useful later on."

Before the Commander could respond the krogan, who had until now sat quietly listening, finally spoke.

"And her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts." I had expected him to oppose the Commander's decision so I had braced myself for the worst. However he surprised me greatly with his compliment, and by the looks of it surprised the Commander as well.

"Good to have you on the team, Liara." She said to me, warmly, appearing to have recovered from her surprise.

"Thank you, Commander." I said thankfully, "I am very greatf--whoa. I am afraid I am feeling a bit light-headed."

When was the last time you ate? Or slept?" the human male demanded, "Dr. Chakwas should take a look at you."

"It is probably just mental exhaustion, coupled with the shock of discovering the Protheans' true fate." I told him, "I need some time to process all this. Still, it could not hurt to be examined by a medical professional. It will give me the chance to think things over." "Are we finished here, Commander?" I asked.

"We can talk again after you've seen the doctor." She replied. "The rest of you…dismissed."

As we walked out, Joker's voice blared out over the speakers in the Comm Room.

"Mission reports are filed Commander. You want me to patch you through to the Council?"

I didn't listen to her reply but I assumed she had said yes because out of the corner of my eye I saw the FTL links light up and produce the holograms of a turian, an asari and a salarian. I didn't pay attention to their conversation as I waited for the others to get out of the Comm Room but as I was leaving, a question that the turian Councilor directed at the Commander stuck out.

"I assume that you are taking the necessary security precautions."

How dare he! I thought angrily. Why do people keep assuming that I want to harm them just because my mother is Matriarch Benezia?!

Through my rage I only just managed to hear the Commander's reply.

"Liara's on our side. The geth were trying to kill her."

At least someone's on my side. I thought as I walked out of the Comm Room.

After I exited the Comm Room I realised that I didn't know were I could find this Dr. Chakwas. I saw a human standing beside the Galaxy Map and after a moments hesitation, I decided to ask him where I was supposed to go.

"Miss." He said when I got close to him.

"Err…hello." I said awkwardly.

"Was their something you wanted?"

"Um, yes there is. Could you tell me where I would find Dr. Chakwas?" I asked him.

"Down the stairs and to the right. She should be in the Medical Bay." He seemed eager to get rid of me so I muttered a quick "thank you" and walked down the stairs towards the Medical Bay.


Sorry for the delay for this chapter, my computer kept crashing on me while I was writing it so it took longer than I expected to finish it. I probably won't be publishing chapters as often as I have because school starts next week and I will have much less time to write more chapters. Thank you for all your lovely reviews, without all your kind comments and helpful tips, I probably would lose heart and stop writing this story.

Thank you for reading the third chapter in 'A New Beginning'! I hope you liked it!