There are many worlds in the galaxy. Many worlds that possess life that is oblivious to the trepidations of a man whose was dedicated to the saving of the multitudes that he never knew. The struggles, the sacrifices, and the never ending loss that encompassed all that he was for a critical moment in time became his normal state of being.

And yet, he failed …

The wind had quieted down now as if to acknowledge the greater cries springing forth from his soul. Staring down at the chasm before him which a long lost set of beautiful alien eyes had claimed as hers, his body felt the familiar sting of a previous attempt that knowingly was doomed from the start. The walk back had been more eventful than the impact that had incapacitated him for the better part of a day as the effects of the weeklong binge he had been on began to where off.

But ultimately, he failed …

He took to a periodic reflection at the precipice that would last sometimes for hours on end as light of this world traveled across the sky. Forlorn in its travel, its state was a reflection on the reality of his existence. An existence marred only by the deafening silence that his self-made prison provided.

I failed …

His thoughts betrayed him as in a moment of weakness his innermost desire became prevalent on the corner of his eyes. The stain of fresh liquid, shed before only in times when his demons could not be chased away by his ritualistic consummation of the foul substance that provided no sustenance, became prevalent as he stared off in the distance at the sun of this failed creation. A creation that he had sacrificed everything for.

Reaching downward, he grasped a familiar object. Showing signs of age from the ravages of time that had long ago ceased to affect him, he studied its structure as he had done many times before as if it was new. Moving his fingers slowly over the face of the item, his fingers traced out a known image that had been burned into the deepest recesses of his mind, and his heart.

Abruptly he stopped his task as he reached a knurled section. It had been many years since he had the compulsion to continue beyond this point. Before, it was all he could do to keep his sanity as time ravaged all that could be affected. And yet, the courage he had used to crush those who would destroy all that he had held dear had left him.

But things change …

Renewed with a vigor he had not felt for a long time, he let out a slow breath as he pressed his finger into the ridge and awaited a response. Retorting as if it had long since gone dormant, the image before him flickered as life returned to the holoframe.

Time stood still for the former commander …

The crackle of the image as the power source fought to provide life became evident, and yet to him it was far clearer than the reality before him. His gaze took him beyond the image, beyond time and space, his mind drifting to what had long ago been buried beneath the sands of time …

And regret …

She knew that her presence was unwanted.

The penance that she knew he felt must be paid was what drove him to continue forward into a future devoid of the joy that life had held for him long ago. His visage was that of a haggard man even if his body shown no signs of aging that had turned most remains into dust now.

His gate was slower than she remembered, more lumbering than needed as if the weight of choices made long ago were an albatross that bore the weight of the galaxy that had looked to him as its savior.

If only Death would have took him as it had done to so many others she had often thought in her nights alone as she watched over him.

Ever vigilant was her gaze on his plight, only now had the time come where she had the strength to face him. Strength that she wished would have been there long ago when he needed it the most.

And yet purpose can drive strength …

Shaking her head, she pushed out the thought. Now was the time that mattered and she would make the most of it.

"Shepard?" she inquired softly as she slowly drew near to his side.

The words had fallen on a deaf heart, even if his ears heard every note that her voice sung.

Several minutes passed as an uneasy silence formed between the space that divided them more so than just physically. Continuing his monotony, he barely moved in response. Reaching down again for that courage that had brought her to Rannoch in the first place, she was interrupted as she started to speak.

*BACKGROUND MUSIC: Pilot Speed – Alright*

"I came here long ago. To this day I still don't know why…"

Another silence fell on the two souls that felt like an eternity before he started again as they stood at the edge of the bluff.

"Sometimes I wake up and find myself here, and I don't know how I got here. Maybe it's the view …" he said in a moment of dark jest as he chucked a rock over the side. Something that Liara believed he must have done numerous times.

"But no matter where I go Liara, I am always there. I'll always be there."

"Shepard … I know it's not –" Liara said before her words were cutoff as he continued in the same monotone manner.

"I told her that I would always come for her. That I would always be here for – "

His words becoming caught in his throat as he grasped the frame tightly, biotic reaper-enforced energy surged in his eyes. His gave never left its previous position, frozen in the same manner as he probably wished the better times spent had been before The End, or so Liara thought.

"In the end, nothing we did mattered, did it? I still failed, not only her … but everyone." His question breaking in his throat just as the waves were doing below.

Moving carefully closer to his side, Liara reached slowly as she had done once when her touch signified something more than just a friendly level of care in his direction. Squeezing his shoulder in that same comforting motion, he continued his stoic gaze over the edge, unmoved by her gesture.

"Shepard I came here because there is something you need to know about that day and every one since ..."

Still unmoved by Liara's emotion laced words, his thoughts continued on the same path they had as before until interrupted by an unexpected but faintly familiar sound, a glimmer shining brightly from the same direction.

"Maybe it would be better if I explained, Shepard Commander. "