Chapter 12… It's cheaper by the dozen isn't it? *Gets a smack to the face for the really dumb joke* Alright, let's get back to what we're all here for: the story! Sorry for the delay, I kept re-tweaking this chapter and actually completely rewrote it at one point... XD As always, I own nothing Bioware does, now enjoy!

Ch. 12: The Peace

Prologue:

With the war against the Reapers finally over, the galaxy can now know a peace it has sought for so long. Conflict will never truly be eradicated completely, but no one will ever forget how close the entire galaxy was to total extinction. With the movement of the Citadel to the Sol system humanity has begun to take a greater role in galactic politics. In effect humanity has taken the place of the Asari, who have begun to fade over accusations of hiding Prothean artifacts that could have saved countless lives. The Council itself has been disbanded in favor of a new form of galactic government, with all species involved. All species, from Geth to Volus, have been given a seat on this new galactic senate. The official constitution has yet to be finished, but most speculate it will be much like the constitution of the United States of old Earth, with some obvious tweaks (species instead of states, *all races are created equal*, etc.) The first elected Chancellor of this new senate is Admiral Steven Hackett, who has promised a swift recovery from the destruction the Reaper war caused…

Normandy SR-2

Commander Shepard

Shepard was sitting at his desk in his cabin checking his messages. He… had a considerable amount of fans and they really liked sending him a lot of messages… He turned from his terminal and rubbed his forehead, getting a headache from all of the praise and more than praise he received from the terminal. Despite his injuries he had attended the ceremony for the newly elected Chancellor Hackett; Shepard's recommendation had sped the voting process up considerable, and Hackett had asked that he be there in person. Shepard and his crew had been awarded medals, received some of the highest honors from nearly every species, and had sat there for hours listening to speeches while standing motionless… It was obviously a very solid performance politically, but Shepard wasn't completely satisfied. Something was bothering him, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Despite all of the joy and peace of the last couple of days something just seemed off, like a hidden hand still had a pull in events. The Reapers were defeated for sure, but something was still at work… something…

Shepard felt a 3-fingered hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Tali in all of her glory; her wounds had healed completely now and she was making sure she was… completely adapted to Shepard, which meant Shepard got to spend a considerable amount of time in his cabin, alone with her…

The Normandy itself was still under Shepard's command, and had been given to Shepard as a gift for saving the galaxy; just one of the many gifts he had received. He basically received a blank check from the new Senate, meaning he could buy anything he wanted, and he had received messages from countless fans of every species and gender with nearly all of them offering 'the best time in the galaxy.' The most … interesting to read had come from an Elcor.

To: Commander_Shepard

From: DancyElcor236

Subject: Humbly: The Best Time in the Galaxy

Commander Shepard,

With pride and admiration, I would like to thank you for saving everyone, including me. With slight embarrassment, I would like to offer my services to you. Sensually, I would allow you to ravage my body in any manner you choose. With lust, you are a very handsome male and no Asari or Human could go as strongly as me. While excreting lustful pheromones, I would not disappoint, just return my message and I'll tell you where you can find me.

-DancyElcor236

Shepard turned his thoughts from those bizarre yet funny messages to the woman beside him, the only partner he needed. He stood up and held her hands in his own, stroking her fingers gently.

"Something on your mind Miss Vas Normandy?" Shepard asked as he continued to stroke her fingers.

Tali leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, "Oh, nothing important."

Shepard kissed Tali on her cheek and spoke gently, "Nothing important you say? But there is something..."

Tali's eyes lidded at his kiss. She practically purred as he put his arms around her gently, "Well, maybe it is important…"

And what happened next probably was important; Tali did have to make sure she had adapted to Shepard fully after all…

Normandy SR-2

Garrus Vakarian

Garrus was in the main battery as usual, finishing another set of calibrations. He always finished them quickly, but doing all of these calibrations gave him time to think. He could think about anything he wanted while typing away at the gun controls. He began to think about his family; his sister and dad had made it through the war, and they had both returned home to Palaven. Home… Garrus had been on the Normandy so long, this was his home now right? He wanted to go back to Palaven but something in him said there was one last mission… one more fight. Garrus shook these thoughts aside as the door opened and Liara came in.

"Am I interrupting you, Garrus?"

Garrus turned to Liara, "No, it's fine. I just finished a round of calibrations actually. Do you need to talk?"

Liara walked inside and the door closed, "Yes I … wanted to talk to you … about something important…"

Garrus looked at Liara with a confused look, "And what do you need to talk about?"

"You've been with Shepard longer than anyone Garrus and I … thought you might understand by now."

The confused look on Garrus's face grew considerably, "I'm not sure what you're talking about, Liara."

Liara looked at the ground, "Didn't you hear? Shepard… he… he proposed to Tali."

Garrus's eyes opened in surprise; he hadn't been told yet. "What? Wow… that's fantastic right? Why didn't he tell me himself? Why would he tell me through you?"

Liara shook her head. "He hasn't told anyone yet, they both decided to keep it quiet until the galaxy was in better shape…"

"Better shape?" Garrus chuckled. "What would be better for the galaxy than a huge celebration for the bonding of the Galaxy's savior? I've got to talk to Shepard about this right now!"

Liara stepped in front of Garrus as he began to move to the door, "No, you can't… then they would know I know, and I'd like to keep my secrets… I just needed to talk about this with someone."

Liara lifted her head up to look directly at Garrus's eyes. She was finally getting at her question. "Why her? Why did he pick her? What does she have that I don't? I… if I had been in that same position, we could have done so much! I might have saved my people's reputation, we could have traveled the stars together, and I could actually give him his own children someday, unlike her… Why would he pick her over me?"

Garrus shifted, obviously uncomfortable with the subject, "Well Liara, he did pick you on the first Normandy… But why he decided to move on from you is… an interesting story I suppose. I'm not really a story teller, but here is what I observed and what Shepard told me. When Shepard first heard about where you were he rushed to go see you, completely looking over several high-priority missions. Then you were there and… you just didn't care about him. You abandoned him for your own revenge and he got… angry, at you, at Cerberus, at the Collectors… He wasn't himself and quite a few people paid for it. Then he found Tali on Haestrom, and he began to calm down. I think you should know the rest of the story."

Liara kept her eyes on Garrus, "But that doesn't answer my question: why her?"

Garrus turned away from Liara and said quietly, "Because she loves him and you don't."

Liara began to frown at Garrus, "Loves him!? I did love him, but I spent two years mourning him and then he just comes back, how am I supposed to react!?"

Garrus grew angry at Liara, "That's complete bullshit Liara, you knew exactly where Shepard was! YOU gave him to Cerberus, you should have expected he'd come back. For everyone else it was more understandable when we didn't believe it was him, but you? No, you don't get an excuse for how you reacted. 'Hacking terminals' … You should have gotten smacked in the face right there for that. Did you hear how Tali reacted when she first saw Shepard? She told me she nearly began crying at the sight of him standing before her, and until we rescued her on Haestrom she kept believing it had been nothing but a dream. But then we came in and saved her life and she was just so happy, and she never once questioned Shepard. She didn't make him go hack terminals, she trusted him, something you didn't want to do. So I'm sorry that you think you were wronged, but in the end it was your fault completely. You pushed Shepard to her and nothing you can do now will change that."

Liara began to cry and put her hands over her face, "You're right I... I was so stupid... He'll never forgive me will he?" Her sobs grew louder.

Garrus calmed down and put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, hey... it's ok. I'm sorry I snapped at you, it's in the past now. Everything is going to be ok."

Liara calmed a little and stopped sobbing, only letting a few sniffles come out now. "Am I a bad person Garrus? Is there no way for me to reconcile myself?"

Garrus kept his hand on her shoulder, "You already have Liara, just because he doesn't want to be with you intimately doesn't mean he hasn't forgiven you. If he really didn't like you he would have kicked you off the ship by now, I mean does he really need the Shadow Broker's network right now?"

Liara smiled a little and lifted her head. "I guess you're right... I guess I'll just have to... But how can I move on from him?"

"Liara, you're a lovely, beautiful, and intelligent Asari, I'm sure you'll find someone who makes you happy and can keep your spirits up. There are plenty of people out there who would want to be with you."

Liara sighed, and turned away. "You're right... I'm sure there's someone..."

"There is Liara, I promise." Garrus turned back to his calibrations as Liara left the room.

'I sure hope she finds someone someday...' Garrus thought as he continued working.

Normandy SR-2

Javik

Javik had no idea what to do with himself. The Asari Liara wanted him to write some silly book, and for some reason he had accepted. 'Stupid primitives and their need to know about my people.' Javik continued to write on his terminal until he grew tired of remembering the past. He looked at the Echo Shard; he knew he shouldn't touch it, but a small part of him wanted to know. He then heard the voice of his commander in his head: 'Let old ghosts rest.' Shepard was right, nothing but pain could come out of it. He turned away from the shard and walked out of his room. He got into the elevator and went to deck 3. 'I should talk to the Asari, perhaps she will enjoy my writings so far.'

The door to the elevator opened and Javik walked towards Liara's room. He noticed Liara crying on the bed on the other side of the room. Normally he would begin berating the primitive for wasting precious water when they had Reapers to destroy, but the Reapers were gone now, so...

"Do you need help, Liara T'Soni?" Javik asked as he approached her.

Liara sniffled as she looked up at him. "Oh, Javik... You can just call me Liara, you know..."

"I asked you a question, Liara." Javik replied.

She sighed, wiping away her tears. "Did you have any partners in your time, Javik? Romantic ones, I mean."

Javik turned away. "Fighting for survival does not allow for petty things such as love. We sometimes used each other for a short escape from the chaos, but anyone who was intelligent never got involved with another for long. Most would not see tomorrow, so it would have been a waste."

"I... see..." Liara looked down. "I suppose I didn't expect you to know what it feels like, then..."

Javik looked at her again, his face softening slightly. "No, I understand your pain, Liara. I... was not one of the intelligent ones... I do not remember who she was, or how long we spent with one another, but that memory is locked in the Echo Shard. She was not like the ones before her, that is all I know... I do not even remember her face. I made myself forget her when I locked my memories away."

"Oh... I'm so sorry, Javik..." Liara moved next to Javik and nodded understandingly. "I didn't know..."

"That is because it does not matter, Liara." Javik's face hardened again. "Now I have done what you asked, so look over my writings."

Liara took the datapad from Javik and began reading. The book would be a pleasant distraction, for now...

Author's endnote: More Shepard-Tali fluff? YES! Garrus chewing Liara out? YES! Javik being a bit nicer? YES! Wow, what a great chapter, no? :D Stay tuned for the next chapter, and I hope I can actually release it in a timely manner this time!