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Turnabout-	By : Spiritwolf71 Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 7688 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This story takes place within Bioware's Mass Effect Universe, their creative property. I do not own any of Bioware's stories or characters or locations. The Author recieved no money from this story and is writing it purely for entertainment.

Chapter List
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The vehicle had come out of nowhere. Liara had watched Shepard's narrow escape from the path of a tossed Mako, but had missed seeing the one that came for her. Barely escaping being crushed under the wreckage, she was not without injury. She had hurt her leg and broke two ribs, taking her out of the rush for the beam.
They had just finished fighting their way to the missiles and defended them as endless Reaper troops tried to stop them. It had all been a nightmare, but she would never forget the terrible screech of the grossly disfigured Asari. It was a sound that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
They had made it through the chaos and taken down the destroyer. It had been a small victory but one that seemed to give everyone a sense of renewed hope, like they just might be able to win this war. It was a rail they road as they all charged to the beam in a final push. Even while living the experience it had felt like a dream.
They had lost so many, but it was almost over. Just one last push but she Garrus were eliminated in by a flying vehicle coming from nowhere.
Shepard had called the Normandy to return and helped them board when it arrived. Liara was almost up the ramp when Shepard released her and turned back.
“You got to get out of here,” Shepard had said. Liara was more than aware Garrus was holding her up, had he not been she would have fallen. She knew she was out of the fight; there was nothing she could do. She would only slow Shepard. The thought of Cayle running of and leaving her behind once again prompted her to call out.
“I’m all right, Shepard,” She argued, they both knew she was not.
“Don’t argue with me Liara,” Cayle stated firmly.
“You’re not leaving me behind.” Again, she almost added, she knew she was not talking about being left behind for the battle. She knew there was a good chance she was never going to see her lover again. Shepard would run off and she would be gone. She felt more pain in her chest then she did in her leg or ribs, her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest.
Shepard turned back and looked her and the whole battle field seemed to grow quiet. For a few brief seconds there were only two people in the whole world, the rest was just back ground. Cayle did not even need to say anything; her eyes conveyed the love she felt. “No matter what happens, you mean everything to me Liara,” She said as she climbed back up the ramp and took held her hand. She looked deeply into Liara’s eyes. “You always will.” She whispered as she cupped her check and kisses her briefly on the lips.
Liara could barely form words. “Shepard, I, I am yours,” she managed, but could not get anything more out.
Cayle released her hand and smiled. “I know.” With that she turned and ran back towards the beam and out of Liara’s life. She and Garrus were left behind as the ramp to the cargo bay doors closed, neither of them able to speak. When the ramp finally clicked shut Liara’s heart broke, but she was still frozen in place, they both were. They stood there until Doctor Chakwas came and retrieved them personally.
It had been like a dream, except that it had been real.
Five years had passed but Liara relived those final moments every morning when she woke and it was her final thoughts as she lay down to go to bed. She could close her eyes and could see Cayle as if the woman was standing right in front of her. She yearned for her constantly, to hold her hand, to look into her deep and caring blue eyes and to run her hands over her smooth skin and through her thick black hair.
She missed everything about her and no amount of talking, or therapy had been able to bring her closure. It did not help that Shepard’s body had never been found. There had been lots of people who had died during the war who had never been found. Shepard had been at the heart of the catalyst when it had exploded, that whole area of the citadel had been pretty much destroyed. Even knowing that Liara had never been able to fully believe Shepard was gone.
There had been a memorial on the Normandy prior to leaving Thedius, the planet they had crashed on. As Cayle’s lover, she had been tasked to place her name plate on the Normandy’s memorial wall. She had been unable to, placing it on the wall would be like hammering a nail in Shepard’s coffin. Not that it mattered; once the ceremony was complete Ashley had been tasked with placing it just above Andersons.
Liara drew a deep breath as she stood from her desk and moved to the large viewport that graced her office. Being the combination of the Shadow Broker, a Prothean expert and a scientist pretty much kept her busy. It was rare that she had a moment to just sit alone and think. She didn’t like to have spare time.
Once, Shepard had warned her about becoming a creepy hermit as the Shadow Broker, they had both laughed about it. Now the joke was on her, it was exactly what she had become. Save for the occasional visit from her friends, mostly Garrus and Tali, she was always alone.
It would be even pathetic if she did not have purpose, but she had found herself one. She had been tracking and tracing several leads on Cerberus. They had become even more powerful as most planets struggled to rebuild from the Reaper Invasion. They had taken over Omega prior to the war and had a base somewhere on the other side of the Omega 4 relay. The Illusive Man was dead; however there was always someone ready to fill a seat of power. Liara was determined to find out whom that someone was.
Shepard had been vocal in her displeasure with Cerberus. She had always been frustrated that the Illusive Man worked against her instead of with her; always been convinced that had they worked together the Reapers would not have been a threat. For a while, Liara was convinced the Illusive man believed that also, which was why he brought Shepard back, why he had helped them to the Collectors base, but then he had changed; been indoctrinated.
As much as Liara knew about the Illusive Man, she knew nothing about whomever it was that replaced him. She just knew that Cerberus had taken advantage of the weakened state of all the council races and their allies. The council forces had already found and destroyed a few, new, Cerberus bases but there seemed no end to them. Liara was determined to find that end.
The door to her office opened and her assistant appeared carrying her lunch. Not that Liara was hungry; she barely ate at the best of times. Falere had made it her job to make sure Liara remained healthy. The Shadow Broker had rescued her from a life of solitude, gave her a job and a purpose, which did not involve a lot of interaction with others. Not that Falere, an Ardat-Yakshi, was like her sister Morinth. She did not use her condition to kill people and use their essence to grow stronger. She was perfectly able to control her urges. Like Liara though, she had never been the same since the loss of someone she loved.
“You need to eat,” Falere said standing by the food. It was silent for a long moment and Falere looked down to Liara’s desk and picked up a pad. She frowned. “You have still not responded to Admiral Hackett, the memorial.”
Liara looked back to the other woman. “I am still thinking about it,” she answered. It would be nice to see the old crew again but she was still unwilling to concede that Shepard was dead. “I have a new lead on Kai Leng. I will miss an opportunity if I go to the memorial.” They both knew she was lying; she could follow up on that lead at any time.
“Liara,” Falere began. “It’s not just for Cayle. It’s for everyone that gave their life. Admiral Anderson will be mentioned as well, you really liked him. Even if you want to believe Shepard is alive, you can go for him and for her friends.”
“I will think about it. Thank you,” Liara dismissed her and looked to the food.
Five years, she was only a hundred and fourteen; she had her whole life ahead of her. She could not see past her pain to move on. So much had changed in five years but Liara had remained the same.
The council had been re-established, without the Salarians. Although small pockets of Salarians had come forth and helped with the war effort, the Dalatrass had not aided the allies and that had never been forgotten. Instead, the Quarians had taken their place.
The Quarians had soon become the most important race in the galaxy with their engineering expertise. They were the ones that finally managed the repairs, not only on the Mass Effect relays but to the citadel. They had managed to reboot the Geth and Tali had repaired EDI. If one did not look too hard they would not ever know that there had been a devastating war.
Liara moved back to her desk as her communicator rang at her. Looking at it for a long moment, she hoped it would stop, but it persisted. It was Garrus, she knew what he wanted. He and Tali would be going to the memorial and they would want to drag her with them. They pretty much dragged her everywhere. She often wondered where they found time to even look after her now that they had two adopted children to be responsible for.
Liara smiled to herself at the thought. She was more than certain it would not have been Garrus’ idea to adopt. The Turian had spent the majority of his years fighting and rebelling, he would have been the first to admit that children scared him. It would had to been Tali’s suggestion, she was made to be a mother. It was cute, watch Garrus with them. As it turned out he was a great father.
Finally, she answered the call and Garrus’ face appeared. She smiled to him and sat down. “I have not decided,” She said simply.
“I haven’t even made a question yet!” Garrus said. He waved his hand. “And hi, how are you?”
“Tell her the children want to see her,” Tali was calling in the background somewhere. It was still strange to hear her voice without the metallic twinge the mask had once given her. Liara sighed.
“Everyone will be there,” Garrus said. She knew the rest of his speech. They had not been together since the Normandy had made its way back to Earth. Tali and Garrus had gone to Rannoch, where Tali had retired. Garrus was the Turrian Ambassador, next in line to be the Primarch. Everyone else had gone their separate ways.
Ashley was now the Commander of the Normandy, a fact that disturbed Liara slightly. Liara did not dislike Ashley. She just found that she could not talk with the woman. Shepard had always regretted working with Cerberus. It had been a necessary evil as the Alliance and the Council refused to do anything about the Human colonies disappearing in the Terminus systems. Cerberus was willing to throw the time and resources into eliminating the threat and Shepard had used them for that reason only.
Ashley had refused to help Shepard and for some reason Cayle understood this. Ashley was loyal to the Alliance and could not see past that to understand what Cayle doing. That would have been fine if the Marine had not taken it a step further and openly distrusted Shepard. Not only during that mission but even when Shepard had returned Ashley was still highly vocal about her distrust in her superior officer. Shepard had made peace with Ashley long before the final battle, but Liara had always remembered and could not forget.
James had joined the N7 program; Liara kept tabs on him now and then, just because she still cared for him. Joker and EDI were still aboard the Normandy, EDI was still linked to the ship, even more so after her re boot. Javik had tried to settle into a normal life but was restless. He became an agent for Liara and was good at his job; however she always sensed a deep sadness in him.
She kept less tabs on what she considered Shepard’s other team even though most of them were doing well. She watched Miranda, afraid of one of two outcomes; Cerberus would entice her back into their folds, or they would kill her. Liara did not like Miranda but Shepard had always considered her a sister.
“I don’t know Garrus, I have responsibilities and leads and…”
“Are still chasing Cerberus? You know that’s dangerous. You need to stop blaming them for Shepard.”
“I don’t,” She lied, “But they are still strong, stronger than all of us since the war and I think they need to be dealt with before they get worse. People didn’t listen when the Reapers were a threat and look what happened.”
“Liara,” Garrus said in that voice he used on his children.
“No, Garrus don’t talk to me like that. I know things that most do not. I know only a little of what Cerberus is up to and even that makes me nervous. They have access to Omega 4 relay and the remains of the collectors’ base. They have not stopped trying to better humanity. We still find some of their husk army.”
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you, I’m just saying that you can’t take them on alone. There is a time and place and people are still rebuilding. Hell they just opened the Citadel, which will also be celebrated. It’s a big deal Liara and you need to be there, since Shepard can’t.”
There, he went and played the Shepard card, he knew she could not resist that. Yes, Shepard would have been there if she was still, alive. “That’s not fair.”
“Nothing ever is,” Garrus smiled, Liara could not help but smile back.
“I’ll get you back for that.”
“I love you too Liara. All the arrangements have been made and Tali and I will come and get you.”
“You’re not going to give me a chance to back out, are you?”
“No, not this time,” Garrus said simply.
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