The crew of the Normandy took a while to shift to the new experience of hyperspace travel, it was much faster than FTL speeds and a little faster than a mass relay jump. All the while the crew sat in their designated quarters aboard the ship, things were tense but it didn't seem like this new civilisation would be a threat to them.

Joker was having a conversation with a Republic engineer about the specs of the cruiser and how they could land without the use of eezo cores and mass effect fields. It turns out that the technology in this galaxy was actually very similar to the citadel galaxy, the travel here was based around a concept first drummed up by human scientists. The first hyperdrive was 3 times the size of an average drive core and carried even more power, human scientists created the first vessel utilizing this technology in 2172 under an alliance research vessel called Prospekt, unfortunately the vessel was lost, presumed destroyed and the research from this project was swept away and forgotten about, bits of it were unearthed for the Crucible but nothing major. The Republic engineer explained that the vessel was probably still around, they just misjudged the power and catapulted themselves far into another galaxy possibly even this one.

Suddenly, Admiral Dodonna entered the room and all Republic personnel saluted her before being dismissed.

"Hello again, we will be reaching the core worlds within a few hours. Once we reach them we will finish repairing the ships in your fleet. I have spoken with the other captains and we will talk in more detail when we arrive." The admiral said quickly, and with a nervous undertone. She sighed while bowing her head slightly.

"So... what do you want from us?" Joker spoke up, breaking the silence.

"I'm not going to lie to you." The admiral started. "But you saw how powerful the Sith were back there, we need all the help we can get and..." The admiral stopped for a second, deciding to choose her words carefully. "...you're a rogue element and you could help us defeat them. I'm going to give you time, and we will understand if you don't want to help us, but in our rescue we lost many important assets for the war and we need all the help we can get." The admiral quickly said, not letting any of the crew get a word in.

Liara was the first to speak up, she recognised the admiral's plea and even though they had just left another war she wasn't about to let another civilisation be destroyed. "No." Liara said, stopping the admiral before she could leave. "We left our galaxy fleeing a different war that we couldn't win." The admiral didn't like where this was going. Liara continued "We are battered and defeated. But, we will not stand by and let you be destroyed like we could have been." The rest of the crew stood firmly, agreeing with Liara

Garrus spoke ahead of Liara "The Reapers almost destroyed us. We came here for refuge, but if we don't help you we may not survive anyway."

"The probability that you will succeed without our help is low." EDI interjected "But the probability that we will survive should these 'Sith' win, is almost zero." Forn didn't know if that was a yes or no but it sounded good.

"Well if you're going to rebuild the Normandy, you'll need a pilot." Joker spoke up giving the rest of the crew the confidence to agree. More and more of the crew stood and replied with a triumphant 'yes we will help!' or a simple 'Fine'.

A smile crept onto Dodonna's face as each of the Normandy crew stood and pledged to help. "You... you don't understand how much this will help!" She firmly stood saluting them "Welcome to the Galactic Republic! Once we arrive at Coruscant I will make the necessary preparations and we will assign you to sectors." Dodonna turned and walked out of the room.

Before Dodonna could leave however, Liara stopped her. "Wait Admiral." The young admiral turned and the Republic soldiers watched cautiously. "I need to show you... what happened."

"How?" Dodonna queried, any new information about their 'guests' was welcome.

"I can open my mind to you and you will be able to see my memories." Liara said, drawing closer to the admiral. "It is not something regularly done, but I think you must see what we faced."

The admiral was dubious, but she was sure that if they intended to cause any harm they would have done so already. "Alright, what do I do?"

Liara approached without saying anything and held Dodonna's arms, she stared deeply into her eyes. "Relax." She whispered "and embrace eternity!" Liara cried as she opened the meld allowing the admiral to see her memories and for Liara to see Dodonna's.

The Citadel, giant and mysterious. A fleet of Geth headed by Sovereign. Suddenly, chaos, thousands dead in minutes. The Citadel badly damaged. Fear, horror, excitement.

Mother lying dead, sadness, crying. Had to be done, she was indoctrinated, wanted to be killed. "Goodbye Mother."

Being chased down a vent. Heavily armoured troops closing behind. Saved by a human male, heavy armour adorned with 'N7'. Relief, confusion, happiness."Shepard!"

Rannoch, Quarian home world. Geth everywhere, a Reaper! Towering, destructive, chasing them. The Reaper is destroyed, Tali embraces Shepard.

Thessia burning, hatred, anger. Asari lie dead everywhere. Reapers destroying everything, will do whatever it takes.

The final battle. Thousands gathered, all dead. Citadel captured by Reapers. "Stand Fast. Stand Strong. Stand Together."

Earth, meters before the citadel beam, holding Tali. Watching Shepard run into the beam. The Normandy takes off. Sadness, want to cry.

Training day, simulation of real battle. Congratulation, proudest day of life. Promotion: Captain of the Vision.

Mandalorians, hundreds of cruisers. Basilisk War droids, millions dead in hours. Anger, want to destroy whole fleet.

Dxun, height of the war. Thousands of warships, battle on the planet surface. "Revan, where are you?!" Huge explosion, knocked out.

Malachor V, final battle. Mass Shadow Generator, billions killed – enemy and ally. Had to be done, Mandalorians would destroy Republic. Knew it was a mistake.

Promotion: Admiral of the fleet. Huge ceremony, reports of attack. Telos in flames, Sith forces retreating. Home world burning, friends and family all dead. Karath will pay.

Revan and Malak returned, Sith. Betrayed, massive blow to the fleet, hundreds of ships lost. Losing since the start. "We need a solution."

Dodonna opened her eyes and understood, Liara stared back and understood. They both had suffered greatly and Liara finally understood the horrors in this galaxy, as Dodonna finally knew what the Reapers truly were. Liara let go and stepped back, the Republic soldiers had their weapons drawn but the admiral waved them down.

"Doctor T'soni." The admiral said.

"Admiral Doddonna." Liara replied

They continued to look at each other for a few minutes more. Before the Admiral stood straight and saluted. "Thank you. I understand now."

Liara nodded and countered her "I understand as well."

Dodonna turned and left, as the door slid shut behind her, she felt renewed like a different person.