If the entity that was once Elizabeth Shepard had a corporeal body it would have snarled.
It had taken its attention off the other Reaper intelligences for 0.003 seconds to send a message to Liara T'soni and they had used that time to try & lock her out. But it couldn't snarl so instead it wrote up over two million lines of code to summon a blast of fury that sent the Reaper's digital forms scattering like cockroaches through the virtual mindscape. All except Harbinger, if the other Reapers were cockroaches then Harbinger was a Klixin; he didn't flee before the rage but retreated out of range and waited. The outburst did its job nonetheless, allowing the entity to again seize control of the nineteen errant capital ships in the serpent nebula and order them to advance.
One hundred thousand lines of code simulated a release of relieved endorphins that its loss of attention hadn't been more widespread.
There were hundreds of situations across the galaxy where a similar loss of control would have cost lives: a destroyer on Thessia shifting a crashed Asari cruiser, a brute hauling rubble off of two human twins in Moscow, quiet and still.
'Never again.' It vowed. Even after four months of existence the entity still wasn't used to sheer breadth of its influence.
It took a microsecond to command seven capital ships to jump behind the nebula and cut off the organics retreat. It knew from experience that they would be unwilling to parley, the thirteen ships sent to Omega had come under fire the minute they had dropped out of FTL. Almost as an afterthought it sent off the peace offering it had spent the three month journey writing and rewriting, you never knew, they might see reason.
The St Helens fired its main gun.
At this signal the entire Alliance 5th, 6th, 7th and 1st fleets opened up soon joined by the Quarian heavy fleet and the Turian dreadnoughts. Despite their quantum reaction times the Reapers lost a ship to the staggering display of firepower before they could react.
The entity would have to do something unusual to avoid a loss of life. Accessing Shepard's memories it used her Spectre codes to enter the Alliance fleets network, once inside it was a simple matter to shut down their targeting VIs then jump around the circumference of the nebula to put the human vessels between the Reapers and the Turians, which just left the Quarians with an unobstructed line of sight and the Reapers could easily weather the minor damage inflicted by the heavy fleet.
Three factions rendered toothless in less than three minutes.
Primarch Victus was pacing back and forth across the bridge of the Tyraemion; the biggest dreadnought remaining to the Turian hierarchy. Garrus stood motionless behind him, eyes transfixed on the distant flashes of the Quarians futile attack. Victus gave voice to Garrus' unspoken thought.
"What is the Alliance playing at? Without support Garrel's ships will get torn to shreds. Get me Hackett! Don't they realise they're blocking our line of fire?"
Instead of the worn features of the Human admiral all that appeared on screen was a stream of numerical symbols and a harsh grating voice.
"Adrien Victus: lay down your arms, the time for war has passed, there is nothing to be gained by further hostilities. We offer a parley, the terms of which can be decided by you and your peers."
Aboard the St Helens, the Destiny Ascension and Han'Garrel's ship the Neema similar messages were being issued, all the leaders realised the same thing: they weren't in a position to refuse. Their line of retreat was cut off so they were effectively marooned in the nebula.
The voice of Victus' communications officer intruded on his frantic thoughts.
"Sir I have admiral Hackett on the line."
The cascade of numbers was promptly replaced with a life-size hologram of a narrow eyed Hackett.
"Primarch. I assume you heard that, I don't think we have a choice. They've hacked our weapons & engines, we're dead in the water. Thoughts?"
"I agree, the least we can do is gain some time by getting the ball rolling, diplomacy is not a speedy process. I can't believe I'm saying this but I think we should negotiate with the Reapers."
Ten minutes earlier, Normandy SR2
Liara couldn't think. She had been so shocked when the Reaper had said her name that she had almost missed the rest of the message:
'Liara T'soni. We are not your enemy, in fact we require a meeting. It concerns Elizabeth Shepard; you were one of the few people she allowed to see her true self. We hope we can place the same trust in you. If you would be willing to meet with us then remove the data cap on your system, we have already disabled your firewalls but do not be concerned about endangering the Normandy or its crew. Please Liara, this is what she would have wanted.'
It was this last comment that had lead to her current state of confusion, the rest she could (with some effort) rationalise. There was evidence to prove that Harbinger had been obsessed with Shepard so targeting those close to her was nothing new. It was the 'please' that made no sense, the Reapers didn't plead they conquered. Was she so grief-stricken that she would almost literally put her head in the lion's mouth? Of course she was. 'Lion's mouth?' that was a human expression, she was falling back on the bond for comfort without even realising it.
"I must be loosing my mind."
She maintained a data cap on her system to help keep her network discreet, while it was active no one onboard the Normandy suspected that the quiet Asari on deck 3 was coordinating a galaxy wide spy network. She turned it off.
Again symbols poured down the screen, but this time it was only two words. 'Assuming control.'
"Oh no."
The doors to her cabin snapped open making her jump a foot out of her chair but there was no one there. Movement drew her gaze back to the screen. A new message.
'Thank you. You are doing the right thing. Go to the com room.'
Another of Shepard's many strange expressions came to mind: in for a dime in for a dollar.
Moving with a sense of purpose she hadn't felt since the end of the war she left her cabin and made her way to the elevator. The crew was deserted, everyone had left to find their battle stations. The only sign of life was the light shining from the med bay, Dr. Chakwas would be on high alert.
Liara rode the elevator up to the CIC in silence, arms crossed, foot tapping. The door cycled open, some small part of her still expected Shepard to be the one standing on the command dais but of course it was Stone.
Major Stone had his back to her, focusing intently on the strategic reports overlaying the galaxy map.
"Dr. T'soni kindly return to the crew deck and lock yourself in your cabin. This is a combat situation, no place for civilians." He didn't look at her while he spoke, all she could see was the back of his blond, no nonsense crewcut.
"I'm no stranger to combat situations major, I am not here to interrupt I just need access to the com room." He did turn now, Liara met his permanent scowl without wavering.
"We're about to jump up to our armpits right back into the Reaper war and you think now is a good time for a phone call?"
"I have a lead that may help explain the reappearance of the Reapers." Stone looked unconvinced so she looked to Kaidan who was standing off to the right next to specialist Traynor. A momentary flicker of indecision passed over his face before he stepped forward.
"Sir, I've known Liara for years and I've never known her to be wrong. I recommend you grant her access." Stone held her gaze for a few more seconds then turned away.
"Fine I don't have time for this anyway, there's a war on for Christ's sake."
Nodding her thanks to Kaidan she strode through the biometric scanner that led to the com room. The war table that had once shown the state of the whole galaxy was still powered down.
'None of this should be happening. The war should be over.'
Without wasting time on more baseless speculation Liara crossed to the comms array. A green button was pulsing gently on the control panel, 'caller waiting' it read. Taking a deep breath to compose herself she pressed the button.
A life size holographic image of Elizabeth Shepard materialized before her.
Liara's knees gave out and she fell, grasping the handrail for support.
"Oh…" She sobbed. It was Shepard. Shepard as she had first met her, when she still had her scarred mouth and eyebrow, before her reconstruction.
It was really her. The Reapers might have been able to imitate her appearance but all the little quirks, the perfections and imperfections, the way her green eyes crinkled at the corners as a sad smile graced that gloriously reassuring face. That could not be copied.
"Liara." She said, her voice was thick and warm.
"Ellie." Tears were pouring freely down her face now, she couldn't have stopped them if she wanted to and why bother? She hadn't thought she had any right to pray for another miracle but here she was. Goddess here she was.
"I'm sorry." Said the hologram. Liara heaved on the rail, pulling herself back to her feet with one hand and brushing away the tears with the other.
"No don't be sorry, it's just so good to see you. How-?" The holographic figure held up a hand, cutting her off.
"Ellie? Interesting but I guess I should have expected this. Listen Liara… I'm not Shepard."
A fierce desperation leapt into her tear clouded eyes. She didn't even listen to the explanation.
"No. You are Shepard you talk… act like her."
"Yeah." The not-Shepard rubbed the back of her neck. "I only look like this because you want me to, I'm only sending data, you're brain decides how to interpret it. For example when Shepard met my predecessor she saw a child she couldn't save." Liara knew the very child (a blond human boy in a white hoodie) she had seen the dreams of that had haunted her bondmate.
"But you're her. You must be, you have her memories. How else could you know what she saw?"
That sad smile again. "I have her memories as you do but you are no more Elizabeth Shepard than I am. A person is unique, they can't be recreated. I'm sorry Liara."
"Fine." Her voice was cold. "Then what are you?"
"I am the catalyst, the sum of all Reapers, I hear them and they obey me."
Liara didn't outwardly react, she was processing.
"When Commander Shepard boarded the citadel she encountered my predecessor. It presented her with the facts and she made a choice." The non-Shepard or the catalyst or whatever it was looked at her as if it was waiting for her to ask 'what choice?' But when she didn't it continued unabashed.
"The choice to look beyond the superficial threats of the moment and seize control of the Reapers for the betterment of the galaxy. She died but I was remade, reborn with the memories that will ensure I will stay rooted, place value on each and every life. With your help we can guide the galaxy into an age of piece like it has never known, we could-"
"Be their shepherd." Liara whispered.
The catalyst's eyes crinkled. "Yeah I guess that's me: the Shepherd."