What Never Happened
from Mark Strand's What It Was
... It was the hour which seemed to say
That if you knew what time it really was, you would not
Ask for anything again. It was that. It was certainly that.
It was also what never happened—a moment so full
That when it went, as it had to, no grief was large enough
To contain it.
Nothing could have prepared the surviving crew of the Normandy for their reception at the Citadel. News of Shepard's death had leaked, and the causeways teemed with those who, still in shock, had gathered to hear what had happened and to mourn. The Citadel had limited capacity to accommodate the influx in addition to the residents misplaced by Sovereign's attack, and tents and makeshift beds could be seen amongst the rubble still waiting to be cleared. C-Sec officers, the Alliance military and armored species wearing the insignia of the Spectres fought to keep the crowds back. Between the glare of the news cameras and the flash of omni-tools, Liara saw individual faces as they passed. Fear, anger and pain showed in the mostly human faces, and need. Many of her people were there, as were turians and even a few krogan. Shepard had touched many lives. Liara wondered what Shepard would have thought to witness this. Had she known how much she mattered to so many? Had she even known how much she mattered to her, how much she had come to rely on her friendship and strength? She wished she could turn to her and talk to her, see her smile, or just have her there.
Somehow she had to keep it together. Tali walked beside her on her left, and Garrus on her right. Kaidan walked in front with the Shanghai's captain and XO. Wrex was somewhere close behind with Chakwas and Adams and the rest. Hands reached out, trying to grab hold of them as they passed, and people shouted in many different languages. Liara felt numb. Just a few weeks ago, crowds had lined these corridors to greet them for the award ceremony after Saren and Sovereign's defeat, but the feeling couldn't be more different. This time there was no joy, no cheering, no conquering heroes. As the procession turned and headed up the stairs to the System Alliance's High Command compound, Liara froze abruptly at the sight of the larger-than-life posters hanging on either side of the gate. In the one on the left, Shepard, clad in her iconic N7 armor, stood in a wide stance with arms akimbo, looking out at the viewer, a challenging fire in her eyes and the familiar, crooked grin. Liara's breath caught in her throat. The poster read, "I WANT YOU," over Shepard's head, and "IN THE ALLIANCE MILITARY," over her legs. The curve of Earth could be seen beneath Shepard's boots. In the one on the right, Shepard, in full military regalia, saluted, the shine in her eyes and on her medals enhanced as she looked proudly off to her right. The image must have been taken at the recent ceremony. The text above her read, "BE THE BEST," and below her, "SERVE IN THE ALLIANCE MILITARY."
Chakwas grabbed Liara's elbow and pulled her along so that she didn't bring any of the procession to a halt. "If you keep your eyes on the back of the person in front of you, it may help." She squeezed Liara's elbow and then let go as the procession swept inside the gate, and it closed behind them.
As they left the crowds behind and moved into the massive building, it got much quieter. Liara could hear their footsteps echoing in the metal hallways, subdued talking and the whirr of machines from the offices they passed. Everyone looked up or stopped and watched them silently when they drew near. Liara saw several more banners with Shepard on them—one of her in her blue uniform, holding a human child on her hip and smiling at it, children smiling up at her from where they ringed her, the other with a younger Shepard leading troops in full armor, helmets on but visors up and camouflage makeup smudged on their cheeks, dirt showering around them from explosions. The messages were similar to those outside, join the military, enjoy action and fame. Be like Shepard. Liara tried to follow Chakwas' advice, but the chance to glimpse Shepard again was too tempting, despite the vise tightening around her heart. At least she knew other people could see Shepard too this time.
They were escorted through a massive set of doors and led into a large hall. Inside, they were directed down an aisle and seated in rows reserved for them. Before Liara turned down one, Chakwas pushed forward and tried to say something to her, but the guard on the side stopped her, saying no talking was allowed. Liara looked back at her, once they were seated, but couldn't interpret the woman's look. The room was laid out with three sections for seating in an arc separated by two aisles and interspersed with many columns supporting the balcony overhead. The aisles led to the room's vast center. Two massive metal tables dotted with microphones had been placed opposite a large raised semi-circular structure where members of Alliance Command sat and prepared to officiate over proceedings. Liara noticed a raised dais to the side where holographic images of the councilors stood, and an area closed off from the rest on the left where several rows of uniformed Alliance officers sat. It looked like a courtroom. Suddenly Liara understood what Chakwas had been trying to tell her. This was not a deposition session; it was an inquest. They were looking for someone to blame.
One-by-one in alphabetical order, the JAG officers summoned survivors to the stand. Adams went first, and shortly afterwards, Kaidan. Adams faced questions about what had happened to the ship during the attack and why. Kaidan had to talk about where he'd been, and what he'd been doing during the attack. He had evacuated early on, when the alarm sounded, believing the ship was breaking up. Liara's mouth grew dry as she listened to how hard they pressed him and as she saw his growing distress. They asked him why, when he had discovered the comms were down, he hadn't gone in search of his CO or XO, but had left the ship without ascertaining the status of command or the sitrep. They grilled him mercilessly and asked him to evaluate his own actions. When they finished, he was clearly upset and barely controlling it. A little while later, Chakwas testified. For two hours, the proceedings continued before everyone was given a short break, during which the survivors were kept separate and instructed not to talk with one another. Liara felt her nervousness grow. Tali, Garrus and Wrex kept close. She wondered if they were as concerned as she was.
When the proceedings resumed, Liara tried to let her mind wander elsewhere. Otherwise, it was almost impossible not to relive the attack with every recounting. After a morning of that, she was already past her breaking point. It was never far these days. When Joker was called to the stand, however, Liara felt her attention snap back to the proceedings. The big doors in back opened, and he hobbled slowly forward to the table, his right arm in a sling. Refusing the assistance of the escorting officer, Joker sat in the chair, removing his hat and attempting in vain to smooth his hair. The courtroom grew very quiet, except for one dry cough somewhere to the right.
The JAG officer stood at the short end of the table, one of his sides to the audience, the other to Command. "For the record, please state your name, rank, and id number."
"Flight lieutenant Jeff Moreau, 0766-DN-4939, sir." Joker made an effort to sit up straight in the chair for a moment before he slumped back over.
A uniformed ensign came and held a large, black book out to him. The JAG officer continued. "Please place your hand on the Bible. Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? If so, say, 'I do.'"
Joker placed his hand on the book and repeated, "I do." The ensign stepped back to her post.
"Lieutenant Moreau, could you please tell us in your own words what transpired during the November 7 attack on the SSV Normandy SR-1?" The JAG officer's face revealed no emotion. His voice resonated loudly.
"I was at the helm as we began our fourth day sweeping the Amada system in the Omega Nebula." Joker pulled himself forward in the chair with a squeak, placing his good arm on the table to one side of the microphone stand.
"Why were you there?"
"We had orders to hunt down geth, and ships had been disappearing there. Shepard decided we should check it out." Joker looked at the JAG officer as he spoke, keeping his face close to the microphone.
"Was Commander Shepard on duty at the time?"
"No, it was Pressley's shift."
"Please continue."
Joker faced Command. "As we came out of FTL, we picked up the signal of a ship orbiting a nearby planet. We were scanning it when it changed course to intercept us, which it shouldn't have been able to do, because our stealth drive was on."
"Could it have gotten a fix on your location as you dropped out of FTL?"
"It's hypothetically possible, but no. Even if we had blipped on their screens coming out of the jump, there shouldn't have been any way for them to track us afterward. No one we know of has that kind of technology, not even the geth."
"Could the geth have created such technology?"
"The ship didn't match any known configurations, certainly none we have for the geth." Joker looked back at the JAG officer as he spoke.
"Please answer the question. Could the geth have created such technology?" The officer stared at Joker.
Joker waved his left hand dismissively. "I guess, but I doubt it."
"A simple 'yes' or 'no' will suffice, Lieutenant." Throughout their exchange, the officer had stood at parade rest, his legs apart, his hands together behind his back.
"…Yes, sir." Anyone who knew Joker would recognize his sarcasm. If the officer did, he made no sign.
"You say you didn't recognize the ship. Can you describe it?"
"Yes, sir." Joker kept his expression neutral as the long pause drew out and it became apparent that he was not intending to say more without further prompting.
Liara thought she detected a trace of irritation in the officer. "Please do."
"It was a cruiser with a central propulsion drive protected by heavy rotating plates, and multiple canons. Our readings suggested life signs were concentrated toward the back of the ship, where there was a large band surrounding the whole thing." Joker gestured with his good hand as he described it from memory.
"Any details you can provide are essential."
"I didn't have long to look at it, but life signs means not geth." He paused, glaring at the officer until he'd made his point, then faced Command again and continued. "As soon as I heard it was tracking us, I knew it had to be hostile. I checked the readings, and started evasive maneuvers, but we were hit. It was fast. Whatever its weapons were, they cut through our shields and hull like they were nothing. The first hit took out XO Pressley, our kinetic barriers and weapons, and the next, Ensign Draven, the comms, part of the upper deck, and one of the starboard engine nacelles. The Commander must have activated the alarm to abandon ship right after." Joker sounded angry.
"Was anyone else on the bridge with you?"
"Yes, Ensign Greico was still alive, but as soon as he put out the fires, he left."
"Did you need his help to evacuate?"
"No, I needed to give all my attention to the Normandy, to try to keep her together, out of Alchera's gravity well, and away from our attacker." Joker's voice got louder.
"When did it become clear that you were not going to be able to save the ship?"
Joker looked down at the table and answered quietly, "When Shepard, when the Commander, told me."
"And did you evacuate when the Commander told you that?"
A long pause, and then the JAG officer spoke again.
"Do you need me to repeat the question, Lieutenant?"
"No." Jeff said even more quietly. "No, I didn't evacuate at that time."
"How long had the abandon ship alarm been on?"
"I don't know, maybe five minutes."
"You ignored the alarm and a direct order from your CO?"
"No, she didn't give an order. She told me … she told me that nothing I could do could save the Normandy. That the ship was going down, and there was no point…." His voice trailed off.
"Take your time."
Jeff struggled to continue. "She said…." He put his head in his hand and started to cry. "It's all my fault."
"What did she say, Lieutenant?"
"She said that the ship was going down, and there was no point in going down with it!" Joker shouted. A commotion swept through the court, and someone struck a gavel until order was restored. Tears started in Liara's eyes.
"What happened next, Lieutenant? Did you evacuate after she told you that?"
"The other ship came around for another attack and blasted us again with its energy beams. Shepard grabbed my arm, hauled me out of my seat and dragged me to the command pod. She was right there, helping me in when the beam cut through the last part of the hull connecting the bridge to the rest of the ship. She had a grip on the inside of the pod and was using that to push me into a seat. When the beam hit, she looked back, right before the impact knocked her away from the pod. I saw her reach for it, but the floor dropped too fast, and she didn't turn in time. She missed. I keep seeing it in my dreams every night, her hand reaching and grasping only air." His voice flattened, reliving it again. "She was sucked back and dragged against the wall." Tears ran down Liara's cheeks, and those of many of the people around her.
The courtroom was deathly quiet. Joker struggled to finish. The officer said nothing.
Joker spoke haltingly, "She caught the edge of the doorjamb with the pod control. It was the last thing between her and open space. She had it in her hand. I called to her. I thought she'd pull herself up, back to the pod, but the other ship attacked again. She hit the panel to launch and let go."
For a long time, only stifled sounds of grief were heard in the hall. Liara fought not to remember how Shepard had felt. The officer, his face drawn, spoke again.
"Was that the last time you saw Commander Shepard?"
"Don't you get it?!" Jeff practically screamed it, banging his good fist on the table. "She was in the path of the pod's rockets! That's why she let go! She knew." He could still see her, fires reflecting off her visor, explosions blossoming in the cold dark, the Normandy tearing apart behind her, that moment before the pod's door had shut her from view.
Liara bent over. She felt like she couldn't breathe.
The officer looked pained and sympathetic for the first time. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I know this is difficult, but I have to ask: Did the pod's scanners track her?"
"I don't know." Jeff's tone was flat.
"Please explain."
Jeff covered his eyes with his hand. "The scanners showed a massive energy burst, as if the rest of the ship all blew up at once, then static, then … nothing."
"As the last person to see Commander Shepard alive, can you speculate about what happened?"
"I'd rather not." Jeff's voice sounded hoarse.
"Please."
Jeff closed his eyes, and after a minute, said mechanically, "The pod's thrusters would have pushed her back toward the planet. If she survived their blast and the explosions, she would have … she would have entered atmo." He bowed his head and started crying again.
Liara barely heard his words over the ringing in her ears, her hands at her throat. The memory of Shepard's consciousness being torn from her very core choking her—her mind groped along the purple jagged edges of that bright ache. She knew the truth. It had not been fire, but lack of air. It had taken only minutes for Rachel to drown in the vacuum of space.
Command had them break for lunch. Liara dimly noticed being led somewhere and long metal tables. Silence settled over the drained survivors, letting no sound escape except the clink of silverware against plates, the thud of glasses against tables. A haggard Chakwas pushed a warm cup of coffee in her hand and insisted that she drink. Then they were called back in for more.
Liara's nervousness grew. When they called her name, she felt her heart pounding. She stood and moved down the row to the aisle, her legs and arms shaking. She had to hold on to the backs of the chairs in the row in front of her to keep her balance. The officer in the aisle escorted her to the chair she'd seen the others sit in. Pulling her science uniform top down to sit on its hem, and keep it from riding up or appearing wrinkled, she took her seat.
"Please state your name, rank, and id number, for the record."
"Liara T'Soni."
The JAG officer looked at Command. "Can anyone hear what the asari's saying?" He looked back at Liara. "Could you please speak into the microphone?'
She pulled the chair in and bent close to the mic. "My name is Liara T'Soni." Her voice rang across the courtroom as they adjusted the volume.
"Ms. T'Soni, please place your hand on the book the ensign is holding in front of you."
"Doctor, it's Doctor T'Soni."
"Right." The officer took a deep breath and started again. "Doctor Liara T'Soni, do you swear before this court to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? If so, say, 'I do.'"
Liara looked at the book the ensign held out to her, and did not touch it. "Are you asking me to swear by your God?"
The officer's mouth tightened to a line before he turned toward Command and spoke. "Let the record show that Doctor T'Soni refuses to swear the oath. How would the court like to proceed?"
"I'm not refusing. I'll tell the truth, but I won't swear an oath to a God that is not my own." Liara clasped her hands on the table. The ensign stood there awkwardly, uncertain of what to do.
"You are out of order," the officer snapped at her. "You will be silent unless you are addressed, or you will be charged with contempt of court!" He turned again to the raised semi-circle before them and in an only slightly less annoyed tone, asked, "Your honors?"
"Doctor T'Soni, the court recognizes the legitimacy of your concern, and thanks you for drawing it to our attention. You may choose your own oath, to swear by whatever you hold dear—Thessia or whatever else. Do you understand?"
Liara couldn't see the speaker because the lights shone in her eyes. "Yes, your honor, and thank you. I swear to tell the truth…" She paused, trying to remember the exact words.
"…the whole truth and nothing but the truth…," the officer prompted her.
"The whole truth and nothing but the truth…," she repeated.
"So help you …"
"…in honor of the Goddess Athame," she finished.
The officer turned back to Command. "Is the court satisfied?"
"The court has already signified that it would be satisfied by her choice. Please proceed."
"Doctor T'Soni, could you tell us in your own words the events on board the SSV Normandy SR1 as you recall them on the night of November 7?"
"I had retired for the evening when the attack came," she paused in anticipation of interruption, and when none came, continued. "I put on my armor, grabbed my helmet, and went in search of the Commander."
"Why?"
"I … knew she would know what to do."
"Why didn't you know what to do? Had the Commander not trained you in evacuation drills?"
"No, there hadn't been much time since I'd been on board for that."
"By that, do you mean training?"
"Shepard, Commander Shepard, had provided training in many things," she felt herself blushing furiously and looked down at the table. She added, "She had instructed me in the Alliance Marine's way of combat, how to drive a Mako and use its guns, but hadn't gotten to evacuation. Most of her time and attention were spent on her mission."
"And how long had you served with the Commander?"
"Since earlier in the year during her pursuit of Saren." She thought she sensed the slightest hesitation from the officer after her response.
"So you went in search of the Commander to learn what to do. Please continue."
"As I searched for her on the crew deck, Ensign Greico stopped me and asked if I knew where she was."
"Why would the Ensign ask you that?"
"I believe the Ensign was asking everyone that. He was desperate to find her because he'd been unable to convince … Lieutenant Moreau…," the vise tightened in her chest again, "… to evacuate." Parts of the ship and sparks had rained down into the corridor as the ensign had staggered toward her and clutched her arm, bringing her up short. The blood on his face had made her all the more impatient at being delayed. Everything in her had urged her to find Rachel.
"What was the condition of the ship at this time? Lieutenant Alenko has testified that the ship seemed to be breaking up."
She could see the fires again in her mind's eye as she spoke, "The ship was going down. It shuddered sideways and rocked under each shot, and it drifted at a strange angle in between hits. Whatever weapon was being used had tremendous force. It hammered the ship relentlessly. An alarm could be heard, even over the explosions and screams. The corridors were falling apart, and there were fires and bodies everywhere. The air was full of smoke. If we still had environmental controls, we clearly didn't have much breathable air left. Lieutenant Alenko was correct."
"What happened next?"
"I told the Ensign that I didn't know where the Commander was, but that I would find her and relay the message. I told him to evacuate."
"And did he?"
"I didn't see him again." She knew he hadn't been called to speak earlier, nor had she seen him in the Shanghai's cargo bay.
"Go on."
"I found Shepard trying to launch the distress signal. She had it ready, but then we were hit again and the controls went down, and she started to repair them."
"Yes?" The officer's question interrupted her memory, and she realized she had stopped talking.
With difficulty, she continued. "She grabbed an extinguisher, then threw it to me, so that I could help. I asked her if the Alliance would get to us in time, and she said they wouldn't abandon us." She looked down at the table, away from the bright lights for a moment. Her head throbbed. The officer waited silently. The courtroom, she noticed, was hushed. "I told her what the Ensign had said, that Joker was refusing to evacuate, and told her I would stay and help."
"And by Joker you mean?"
"Lieutenant Moreau."
The officer paced in front of her. "And your testimony is that while the Commander's own officers and fellow Marines and the rest of the crew were bugging out, you offered to stay? You expect us to believe that?"
Liara shrugged. "It's the truth. You can believe what you want."
"You're asking us to believe that you were more loyal than a Marine, a member of one of the most elite branches of our military, whose very slogan is semper fi? You're not even human." Anger flickered in Liara's mind. Someone in Command cleared his throat. The officer checked himself, and continued on a different tack. "So you told the Commander that you'd stay and help her. Why didn't you?"
"She said she needed me to evacuate the crew, and that she would take care of Joker." Her voice got softer. "She ordered me to go."
"And did you?"
The pain of the admission was too great, she felt herself going numb. "Yes."
"Did you see the Commander again?"
Liara bowed her head. "No." The room spun around her, and she missed most of what the officer said next.
"Many of the crew have already testified that it was thanks to you that they survived. You have their gratitude and that of the Alliance for your courage. I have only a couple more questions. What was the exact nature of your relationship with Commander Shepard?"
The mention of Shepard's name snapped Liara's attention back to what he was saying. "Excuse me?"
"What was the nature of your relationship with the Commander?"
Liara looked at him in a panic, finally managing to say, "I don't understand…."
"What was your relationship? You are not Alliance military or human, yet you were on board the Normandy. You are not Alliance military or human, yet you claim to have shown her tremendous loyalty under fire and duress."
"Yes … I mean, no … I'm not Alliance military or human. I served on board at the pleasure … at the request of the Commander." Liara turned bright purple, again. "It doesn't take being either Alliance or human to feel loyalty to her. She inspires that response in many outside of her species and outside of the human military. Isn't that partly why the Council made her a Spectre? As a Spectre, she wasn't fighting just for humans or for the Alliance, she fought for us all, my people included, and she gave me the chance to do the same."
"How had you met the Commander? How did this request come about?"
"She rescued me from the geth at the dig site I was excavating on Therum."
"And what were the geth doing there? Were they archaeologists?" Someone laughed, then stifled it.
Liara's anger grew. "They were there to capture me and take me to Saren, and Shepard prevented them."
"Why did Saren want an archaeologist?" The officer said as if it was preposterous.
"I am a Prothean expert!" Liara leaned forward, eyes intent on the officer's face. "Saren believed my knowledge of the Protheans was the key he needed to find a way to bring the Reapers back."
"The Reapers are a myth he used to manipulate people." The officer looked across the room as he spoke, not at Liara.
"They are NOT!" Liara sat up straight and glared at the officer. "As you should know since one attacked the Citadel only a month ago!"
The officer settled back into parade rest. "That was an invention of the geth."
"Are you testifying, or am I?" Liara snapped, forgetting herself. "It was Sovereign, the vanguard of the Reapers."
He paused and gave her a long look. "Quite." He started to pace in front of the table again. "Let's leave these … fairytales and get back to reality. Did you yourself have any connection to Saren, the mastermind of the recent Citadel attack you've reminded us of?"
"No."
"I would like to remind you of your oath. To fail to tell the whole truth leaves you open to the charge of perjury and to imprisonment." Angry murmurs could be heard as people shifted in their seats behind Liara. The officer was not making any friends among the survivors.
"I am telling the whole truth. I had no connection to Saren. He wanted me under his control, to use, or dead. Shepard ruined those plans and saved my life."
"And what of your mother? Did the Commander," the officer put a heavy emphasis on her title, "save you from that as well?"
"My mother was not a that!" Liara stood so fast, her seat fell over. She didn't pay any attention, her biotics rippling with her intense emotions as she glared at the officer. The murmurs behind her grew a little quieter with the bang of the chair against the floor.
The gavel rang out. "Order! Colonel Jacobson, you are not to treat this decorated member of Commander Shepard's team, to whom many of us and the crew here assembled owe their lives, as hostile! She has more than proven herself. Doctor T'Soni, you are not to use your biotics, or rise, until dismissed!" The gavel fell one more time.
The Ensign returned Liara's chair to an upright position, and looked at her sympathetically when Liara met her eyes. Liara sat, embarrassed by her loss of composure. It occurred to her she could just walk out, but would she be willing to use force if they tried to stop her?
The officer had stopped pacing. "Is it not true that your mother was the Matriarch Benezia, and that she was Saren's chief ally?"
"Those are both true." Liara spoke slowly and clearly.
"Is it not true that Commander Shepard killed your mother?"
Liara had not expected the question. Her stomach twisted. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
The officer waited. The courtroom was incredibly quiet.
"Commander Shepard…," Liara pulled her shirt's hem down and sat on it again. "May I have a glass of water?"
The officer nodded to the Ensign. Liara heard her footsteps recede down the aisle, the doors open and close. She held her hand against her forehead, giving her eyes a break from the glare. Then the door could be heard again, and the Ensign brought a pitcher and a glass and set them on her right. Liara poured the water in the glass, the sound amplified through the room by the mic, and she lifted it and drank. She carefully set the glass down. "When Commander Shepard and I confronted my mother, she was no longer herself. Sovereign had indoctrinated her, turned her into Saren's slave against her will. Commander Shepard and I tried to return my mother to herself. In the end, she left the Commander no choice. I believe the Commander set her free the only way anyone could, that it was a mercy."
As Liara had hoped, mention of Sovereign prevented the officer from pursuing that line of questioning further. Instead he asked, "How, given your ties to Saren, the Commander's avowed enemy, did you come to serve aboard the Normandy?"
"Commander Shepard recognized that I am not my mother, and asked me to help her fight Saren. I agreed, because I believed that it was the right thing to do." She pretended she was speaking to a child.
"As simple as that?"
Detecting the sneer behind the officer's words, Liara's eyes narrowed. "Nothing is truly simple. Saren was and the Reapers remain a threat to all our species' existence, yet all of us do not simply fight them. My mother made her choice, to try to negotiate with Saren, and I made mine, to fight him. I believe in Shepard and in her mission, and I still do!" The sound of boots stomping together behind her she realized were the Alliance crew expressing their agreement. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. Her throat felt tight. She waited for the stomping to end before finishing more quietly, "You asked about my relationship with the Commander." It grew hushed. "I can't tell you all she meant to me because no words would be enough." Behind her the shouts of agreement and stomping rose to a cacophony. She lifted her chin, letting the tears run down her face.
The day's long proceedings officially concluded after Garrus, Wrex and Tali answered questions briefly. Liara felt completely drained. She didn't know if what she'd said was good, and feared how it would be used. As the assembly rose and filed back into the aisle, Chakwas waited and walked beside her. Neither spoke. Chakwas' presence soothed her somewhat.
As they walked back through the long hallways, an officer waiting at one of the corners called, "Doctor T'Soni, may I speak with you?"
Liara looked over at Chakwas. The woman squeezed her arm, and continued on with the others. Liara watched them leave.
"Please follow me." The officer waited for Liara to turn back toward her before she started down the hallway in the opposite direction. She eventually led Liara to a relatively small office, motioned for Liara to go in, then closed the door behind her. The room was dimly lit, with bookcases in two of its corners and a large desk facing out into the room at one end, a couple of plush chairs in dark colors near it. Some swords were mounted on the walls in glass cases. A tall man stood behind the desk, his back to her. She walked toward him.
As she drew near, the man turned, and she recognized the tired and lined face of Admiral Hackett. "Doctor T'Soni, would you please sit?" He waited until she had before he also did. "I want to apologize for what the Alliance put you through today. It was unnecessarily harsh. I also want to thank you for your testimony." He paused as his ice blue eyes searched her face. "Like you, I believe in Commander Shepard and her warnings, and I believe our galaxy faces its greatest threat, even more so now." He leaned forward. "People are panicking, and forces are stretched thin. With Shepard gone, High Command and the Council will likely disavow the Reaper threat."
"Will they still prepare? Denying the truth for short-term gains…" Liara's voice trailed off. She was so tired.
"Could cost us everything." Hackett finished for her, nodding. "As you said, nothing is ever simple." He sighed. "Many in our highest levels of government seem to genuinely believe there is no real threat."
"Why tell me this?" He could see the deep shadows under the asari's eyes as she looked at him.
"Because you have proven yourself a formidable ally, and Shepard trusted you. She did not trust many, certainly not to the extent she did you, and I have learned to respect her judgment. I would like us to work together to finish Shepard's mission." He stood, and leaned forward, his hands on the desk. It was a pose Liara had seen Shepard adopt at the CIC. She regarded him silently, waiting for the more she knew was coming. "You will hear things about the Reapers and Shepard through official channels that will claim that what you know to be true never happened. You and I know better. I'm offering you resources, direct access and coordination. In return, I request that you continue to search for a way to stop the Reapers and to keep me informed of what you find and of any ways I can help. Shepard was right that this effort will take all species for us to have a chance, and she believed you and your expertise were essential. So do I. We may not be able to change the way the winds are blowing right now, but I believe we can still alter what will otherwise be the fate of our galaxy. We must."