A/N; Been away from this story for way too long, and I appreciate the support.

Strange and fascinating

Walking past a waiting grave...burial today

Shadows cast a golden grey

Preparations made

So calm, yet

violent winds they play

such darkness on a bright Sunday

Am I awake? Feels strange...and fascinating like everything is going to be ok...I feel so alive.

But in this place I can't...help but thinking that ill end up here someday

That I'll end up here someday~

Tuchanka:

Shepard hasn't been able to move for the last few moments. She has been standing in the door-way of the infirmary, transfixed on the site before her. She doesn't even hear Chakwas scream at her to either help or get the hell out until a hand is placed on her arm by a nurse to gain the Commander's attention.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but you have to leave until we can stabilize the patients." Only receiving a nod, the nurse guides Shepard out of the room, turns around, and heads back into the infirmary, doors shutting behind her.

The Alliance Commander is left to process all that she has just witnessed. Two of her friends are behind the door in critical condition if not worse, and she cannot do a single thing to help. Another war may be looming if the two elder Krogans succumb to their injuries and all the Commander can do is wait. She wants to do something, like search for those that hurt her friends, or try and see if there can be some way that she can reason with Grunt and the rest of his clan to let her investigate and not do anything rash, but killing a Reaper with a stick is more realistic.

She is about to try and get in touch with Hackett when Joker comes across the comm, informing her that the council wants to speak with her. When she reaches the war room she finds Ashley is already there waiting, and her annoyed expression is telling the first Human Spectre all she needs to know.

"Councilors." Shepard greats the four leaders. It is odd not to see Udina looking back at her during one of these meetings but she is happy knowing he is no longer able to cause trouble. She wishes it was Anderson, but she at least has one ally now in Hackett.

"Shepard, what is the status on Wrex and Eve?" The Alliance Admiral asks.

Not wanting to give up too much information due to who may be listening, but not wanting to lie to the Admiral she tells them the only thing she can.

"They are being operated on now, and the minute I know something I will let you know."

"Good...that is good to hear." This seems to deflate any air that the council as a hole had been holding. The tension in the room lessens a little with the exception of Tevos. She still seems to be preoccupied with the assassination attempt and her bondmate working with a known terrorist, and Shepard doesn't blame her. The Commander was in complete disbelief after the Illusive man informed her that Liara was working for the Shadow Broker. Kerry would not accept it for a minute, but the news still made her stop and think for a moment.

Looking at all of the faces of the council members brings back memories from a short time ago. It was only a few months prior that she was asking for help from each race to fight against the Reapers and having to do each of their bidding before they lifted a finger. It's weird having all four of the councilors in one room again and for her not have the sudden urge to disconnect the call. That urge comes racing back after she hears what they have to say.

"Shepard, as we were just informing Spectre Williams, we are pulling you off of Tuchanka and your to head to Eden Prime."

"Sir we have two injured Krogan in our medical bay..." Shepard says a little confused. She is not entirely sure where this conversation is going.

"They are not able to be transported off of the ship yet, and leaving with them could start an incident we don't want. It's already bad enough that there could be a war if one or both of them pass away, so I'm not understanding any of this. Was there an attack on Eden Prime?"

"No, it's nothing like that." Sparatus says. "We have decided that even with everything that is going on at this moment the Galaxy needs a sense of normalcy, something to show them that we are in fact recovering and able to move past this war. So to start we are going to have a fully broadcasted memorial service for those who were lost during the war. Now we all know that we cannot arrange a personal service for each brave sole who gave their lives during the war but..."

Shepard shakes her head and tunes out the Turian. She is now kicking herself for not disconnecting the vid feed sooner. Part of her can understand the reasoning for doing this but the larger more logical part of her mind is telling her to stop this before more people get hurt. She closes her eyes and is about to interrupt when she hears Valern begin to speak.

"And before you say anything, we know what your concerns are for doing this, especially with the attacks, but I assure you that you and all of your friends and family will be safe while you give your speech."

She lowers her head and smiles a disbelieving smile as the remaining councilors thank her for apparently volunteering to give this speech for the ages. She continues to listen while the Turian and Salarian councilors pat themselves on the backs for this amazing idea they each had a hand in creating. Without so much as a thank you for saving us Shepard, so we could come up with this extremely asinine plan to help the Galaxy heal, they continue to try to convince her that this is the best course of action.

"The Galaxy needs this now more than ever., Shepard. The people who are out there helping in the recovery process need something good for them to witness and we believe that you speaking at this service is it. At first some of us were hesitant on the idea, but after you were witnessed by the public on Thessia, there has been an outcry to see more of you. People don't care about what happened on the Citadel, they want to see you...hear what you have to say. Yes it may be sad but soon the galaxies population will realize that this ceremony is not only a time to mourn the dead but to celebrate the living."

Once the councilors finish speaking, Shepard looks back at each of them and notices that only two of them are smiling while Hackett and Tevos seem to have other things on their minds. She realizes they want an answer from her so she gives one that is as diplomatic as she can.

"I'll be there with bells on." She says as sarcastically as possible. When she sees confused looks on three of the four councilors and a laugh from Williams she rolls her eyes and continues.

"We will be on our way as soon as possible. I just need to coordinate with doctor Chakwas to make sure that we can leave with the patients we have, and inform Grunt so we won't be a accused of kidnapping and shot out of the sky."

"Absolutely." Valern says nervously. "We wouldn't want an galactic wide incident now would we?"

Kerry can hear the nervousness in his voice and wonders why, since he and the dalatrass would run and hide anyway. The more she thinks about it the more it aggravates her to no end that the Salarian and Turian councilors would guarantee everyone's safety during this ceremony when it is the perfect opportunity for Sederis to attack. She wants to voice her thoughts but would rather end this mind numbing conversation before it gets any worse, but Tevos and Hackett ask to talk to her in private. After the other councilors disconnect their feeds and Williams steps outside, the remaining councilors seem to be hesitant about talking to her.

"Shepard I wanted to talk to you about the recent events with regards to Sederis and the attacks that she has orchestrated." He pauses for a moment to chose his next words carefully.

"After we went over what was said in Tevos's office as well as your medical condition we all agree that you should not be apart of going after Sederis."

Shepard can tell he is hesitating to tell her this and for the most part she understands why they made this decision. The Asari admitted that if Shepard was involved then Jonas would destroy what's left of the galaxy and hurt her friends. Kerry figures that she'd be used as bait or as unofficially as possible until the Asari is caught, but that doesn't seem to be the case and she is being asked to step aside. She thought that not being involved would upset her more, but it doesn't. She is more aggravated that she didn't realize that this was going to happen since none of the councilors called her by her title during this meeting.

"Why wasn't I involved in this decision?" Shepard asks after what Hackett has said to her sinks in. "And am I to assume that you've also made the decision to release me from active duty and strip me of my Spectre status due to my medical condition?"

"It's nothing like that." Hackett realizes that he hit a nerve and should have discussed this with her first...she deserved that much.

"This decision was made in hopes that Sederis will slip up and become sloppy if she thinks your not involved. You will be apart of this investigation but as a consultant only." Hackett sounds like he is trying to force the words out, and this was not his decision at all.

"It may not work but we have to try something. And as far as your medical condition, it's just precautionary. You will always be in the Alliance and a Spectre. The decision to leave either of them is yours..."

"Then I choose now." Shepard takes the two remaining councilors by surprise with her admission. "I'll have my resignation paperwork to you after the ceremony is over with."

Shepard can see the disbelieving looks on Hackett and Tevos, but doesn't elaborate any further as to why she just made this decision.

"Shepard that is not what we meant..."

"Councilor Tevos..." She interrupts and changes the subject before either of them can ask for an explanation. "You wanted to speak to me as well."

"Shepard, I..."Tevos wants to ask her more about her rash decision but she can tell that the Human has made up her mind.

"I have the locations of the Matriarchs we discussed." Tevos is trying to be as discreet as possible with this subject. The legal ramifications plus the moral aspect of allowing the surviving elders to steal money from the dead would constitute Tevos being removed from her position and incarcerated for the rest of her days. Her role was limited but she made sure the elder Matriarchs involvement was erased, and made to look like an accident that happened over the course of the war and the credits had been filtered into a secret account.

"Send everything you have and I will have Liara look into it. Anything else?" Shepard says with her hand on the disconnect button.

The Asari councilor had thought that the Spectre would handle this herself but trusts Liara as well. Tevos just hopes that her network is able to help. Her nerves increase and she wants to get this conversation over with since she has an idea of what Shepard is going to say to her. Tevos takes a deep breath and continues.

"Yes, there is one more thing. After further review of all of the evidence I have read, I have decided to stop looking into Aria as a suspect. I believe..."

"Your doing it again aren't you?" Shepard interrupts the Asari. "This is just like the warnings about the Reapers. You didn't listen then, and your not listening now, only this time you may actually not survive." Her voice is getting louder and she can see the Asari councilor flinch a little.

"The comparison you are making between the two are of completely different events, and for different reasons." Tevos answers back in a defensive tone.

"Actually there not. Your not listening to the facts. I don't care if it's one, or a hundred people telling you something, there is evidence that Aria is involved, evidence that you witnessed, but your still not going to believe it until its too late...again! And to answer your question, yes this is part of the reason why I'm retiring." Kerry is beyond frustrated. She was initially debating whether she should resign her commission or not but these past few moments erase all doubt.

Shepard wants to scream at the Asari but stops herself when she see's the sad look on her face.

"Look I get it...I truly do." Shepard voice softens a little, with more understanding. "When I was woken up after two years and told that Liara couldn't be trusted when I was trying to build my team against the Collectors I didn't believe it either. I probably would have denied she was involved in anything illegal even if she told me herself, and it's because of the feelings we have for our loved ones that we tend to ignore certain things, but you need to look at Aria's track record. She may not be trying to assassinate you directly, but the people she has gotten herself involved with obviously know who you are, and either don't care, or are trying to show Aria who is running things."

Sighing a little, hoping that she is getting through to the Asari she looks the Councilor in the eye to show her just how sincere she is with this next statement.

"No matter what you may think Aria is capable of, she's nothing like Jonas Sederis. You can reason with Aria, but Sederis is insane. Aria told me that Jonas would never defy her after I let her out of jail, but do you honestly want to bet your life on that? She will stop at nothing to get what she wants, and that is more power. And since this is my last few days as a Spectre, my last piece of advice to you is listen to Aethyta, be careful, and if you find Sederis, you do not hesitate to put a bullet in her head."

X

X

X

X

Walking out of the conference room to go and talk to Chakwas about leaving the Krogan homeworld, Shepard's mind continues to think back on the previous conversation with the councilors.

Williams had been waiting outside and is now a step behind her commanding officer, following her to the medical bay. She knows Shepard is aggravated about the councilors decision making, but the second Human Spectre agrees with them to a certain extent. There needs to be a ceremony and Shepard needs to be the one who gives the speech, but not at this moment. Looking at the skipper, Williams can tell it is bothering her as well.

"Want to talk about it?"

Stopping mid-stride the first Human Spectre spins around, looks directly at Williams, and then begins to pace.

"It's just a speech Shepard. Just treat it like any other mission. Get in, get it done and get out. I know it's not the right time but..."

"It's not just that Ash. I basically just resigned in there."

A little surprised at the news, Ash tries to wrap her head around what was just said.

"It has been a thought for a while now, but I never voiced it to anyone else except Liara. They took me off of the Sederis mission and told me that my medical problems I had with my heart were the reason, but that's all done with." Stopping, she closes her eyes, lowers her head, and takes a deep breath. The reality of what just happened setting in.

"I guess I wanted it to be on my terms, but it's not a big deal I guess, so..."

"But it is something skip. Being a soldier is all you've known for a big part of your life, and giving it up isn't going to be an easy transition, but you've done your job and are about to be a parent, so let someone else take the reigns for a change." Williams says, finally finding her voice.

"This is a good thing."

Appreciating the sentiment, Shepard smiles towards her friend. They continue to walk to Chakwas's office when Kerry suddenly makes a detour towards the chow hall after seeing Liara and Miranda having another private conversation. This is twice in a short amount of time that she has witnessed these two having a serious talk. This time Liara seems to be upset and no one makes Shepard's girl upset. Plus, she needs to tell Liara what has just happened and she has not talked with Miranda in a while, and has the sudden urge to make the former Cerberus operative squirm.

As she gets closer to them the conversation suddenly stops and they both look like they have done something wrong.

"Don't you just hate it when the person you are talking about suddenly shows up out of no where." Shepard says with a smile, forgetting about her previous conversation after Liara smiles at her. "And then there is that embarrassing moment where you are not sure if the person you're talking about heard anything you said."

"And don't you just hate it when people automatically think they are always the topic of conversation...when they are not." Miranda replies without missing a beat. She could see the expression on the Commanders face as soon as she noticed her and could tell she was going to try and be a smart ass.

Out of the corner of her eye, Miranda can see Liara turn her head to try and not laugh directly in her lovers face but the pout on the Commander tells Laswon otherwise. Trying to save a little face Kerry puts an arm around Liara and gives her a quick kiss, then looks at Miranda again..

"So, since I have to pry it out of you... what were my favorite"...saying towards Liara then back to Miranda. "and least favorite people discussing?"

"Well actually, we were talking about...you, Shepard." Liara says reluctantly, knowing exactly how Kerry will react.

"Ha...I knew it...!"

"Honestly Commander, do you have to act like a juvenile at a constant?" Lawson's tone is filled with annoyance.

"Actually yes, yes I do." Shepard says with a smile. "So what about me were you lovely ladies discussing? My dashing good looks, my impressive model collection, or my ability to shoot someone at a thousand meters?"

"Goddess I'm marrying a child..." Liara puts her head in her hand.

"Hey I...never mind."

"If you must know, Shepard." Miranda begins. "We were discussing your internal organs."

Making a face in disgust, Shepard regrets ever asking her one question but knows what they were talking about.

"I am still apprehensive about what was done to you on Earth. I am not convinced that your heart is completely healed or will ever be, and I must insist..."

"Is this why the councilors basically forced me to step down?" Shepard asks. "Did you tell them that my heart isn't healed so they think I am not qualified to be a Spectre?"

"No, we never said that, but I did give Hackett everything I had on you with the exception of your most recent procedure, so he still believes your heart transplant hasn't healed completely. I am still running tests to see if we can use the technology to help wounded soldiers recover faster."

"I thought you said you didn't believe it worked?"

"I am skeptical, but I have not witnessed anything to tell me otherwise. So if it did work on you then we have a miracle on our hands. I am more worried about word getting out about this magic cure-all, and then everyone will want it. Hackett knows a little about what Cerberus and doctor Riley had been working on but I don't want it to go past him. If that falls in the wrong hands then..."

"I know Miranda, and I believe that too, and I'm still convinced that Sederis sent that team of Mercenaries while we were on Earth, so there may be a leak somewhere. But I would have hoped that you two would have talked to me about this first." Shepard isn't angry about this, but discussing it with her would have been nice.

"I still have a say in this decision."

"I know and we are sorry." Liara says timidly. "We just want to make sure you are completly healed and there is no chance of your health regressing." She silently chastises herself since she is still making decisions like Shepard is sick and unable to. She's not worried about Kerry being mad at her for doing so, just her changing her mind.

"Do you not want that anymore...to leave the Alliance?" Shepard can hear the sadness in her lovers voice and she did not want to upset Liara any further then she already seems to be.

Turning to face her lover, Shepard places both hands on the Asari's shoulders so she can show her bondmate her sincerity.

"That's exactly what I want. To live out our lives without the worry of a war or missions to run off to. I just wanted it to be our choice and not some medical condition...or the councilors pushing me away." Looking into Liara's eyes, Shepard can see understanding and wants her lover to know that spending eternity is all that she wants.

"I guess the closer I got to saying it out loud the more frightened I was about it, and now that I have, it's scary. But I have you..."

"And I am here for you always." Liara says as she kisses her Human. "As I am sure Miranda is as well."

"I know, and I appreciate it and as far as you worrying about the procedure doctor Riley did...don't." The ex-Cerberus operative is about to voice her opinion when Shepard continues.

"Think about it Miranda. You were able to help me even after the Reapers destroyed most of the Galaxy, so if this latest procedure doesn't work then I am sure you can think of something to fix me again. From what Riley has said to me about all of this then apparently Cerberus has had this tech for a while. Apparently the suits their shock troops wore, were able to heal them at a rated quicker rate...it's probably why thue seemed to be a little harder to kill. Riley and his wife just perfected the tech and reversed it. Now I'm able to heal from the inside out, so I can understand there being a worry about this working, but please run any concerns you have for me, by me." Receiving a nod from the both of them, Shepard continues but her mood turns a little somber.

She tells the two women about the ceremony and for Miranda to inform Joker that they will be leaving soon. After Lawson leaves, Shepard takes Liara's hand into her own and walks towards the medical bay. She purposely detoured away from seeing Chakwas and is still dreading what could be behind the doors.

Arriving, Shepard feels Liara squeeze her hand a little, letting her know that the Asari is here for her no matter what. The Asari is still trying to process what her lover just told her and tries to keep her excitement to herself. There are friends of theirs that may have passed on and they have already lost too many, so rejoicing in her lovers retirement is for later.

As the doors to the med bay open both of their nerves subside as they are met with one of the funniest things they have ever seen. It's a very nervous Krogan battle-master being yelled at by an elderly Human woman with a syringe. In the other bed is a very amused Eve that is shaking her head at the antics of the supposed tough Krogan.

Leaning against the door-way, Shepard smiles at everything that is going on. Feeling soft hands caress her arm she turns to see a relieved Asari. She gives her lover a quick kiss and leads them both into the room. When she had last been in the medical bay it looked like neither one of the Krogan's were going to make it. Chakwas seems to have been able to perform a miracle, and her friends seem to be recovering, but Shepard needs to ask them if they are alright for her own piece of mind.

"It's good to see you Eve." Shepard says with an outstretched hand, relief in her voice.

"Commander Shepard..." The female Krogan shakes the Humans hand and then pulls the smaller Human in a little closer. The smile on Kerry's face slowly starts to disappear as the Krogan grumbles out her next sentence.

"Why is your pregnant bondmate here? She should be in bed being waited on by you, not walking around and certainly not here on Tuchanka."

"Uh..." Shepard is happy that Eve seems to be okay, but has no idea where this is coming from. And with a look from Liara that says she is on her own, Kerry Wynette Ruth-Shepard knows she is in trouble.

"Ha...ha ha." Wrex can be heard laughing from the back of the room. "The great Commander Shepard...the Human who faced down multiple Reapers and did not flinch, is now feeling the wrath of a pregnant Krogan. Not a nice feeling is it?"

"And you won't be feeling too nice either Wrex after I kick you in the quad." Chakwas yells at the now silent Krogan. "Now get back on that table and if you give me anymore trouble, so help me I will take more than a chunk from your hide."

Realizing she is out numbered, Shepard puts her hands up in surrender and quickly turns to try and exit the room.

"I obviously came at a bad time so..."

"Your not going anywhere, Shepard!" Chakwas yells from the back of the med bay. Being successful in administering a sedative to the pain in the ass Krogan, the Normandy's doctor moves back into her office.

"Sit!" She says pointing to Shepard and Liara who do as they are told.

"Now I have a bone to pick with the both of you." She says, causing the both of them to lower their head like children who are about to be yelled at.

"Liara you have not been seen by a proper doctor for some-time." Before the Asari has time to argue, the Human doctor continues. "Don't argue with me... I talk to your father on a regular basis, so I know what you've been doing."

Only able to imagine the things that Liara's perverted sire has told Karin, the Commanders eyes widen in horror and the Asari nearly turns purple as she puts a hand in front of her face from the thought of what embarrassing things her father has said. Chakwas has always been good to the both of them, but piss her off and she made everyone feel like a scolded child, or an embarrassed one.

"Now that you have taken time away from your amorous activity you will have a proper examination done."

"Goddess this isn't happening." Liara tries to bury her head behind Shepard.

"Oh it's happening. Now lie down the both of you."

Before the Normandy doctor can perform her scans Shepard holds up her hand so she can ask the one question that has been on her mind since the med-bay doors opened. She motions for the elder Human to come closer so no one else can hear her.

"Please tell me I was seeing things when I came in here before?" She looks toward the two Krogan, then back at Karin. "Eve was..."

"Dead, yes I am aware of the status of my patients that I am attending to, Commander." Chakwas pauses for a moment and takes a deep breath. Her emotions are still running high since she just witnessed a miracle, again. "I appologize Shepard. I did not mean to sound so short. But in all actuality both Krogan had passed on, and I thought for good but..." Her focus is on her thoughts of what she has just been witness too. How something so simple has been able to save the lives of two Krogan so badly wounded that she had given up hope on, will baffle her for the rest of her days, but here they are. Hearing Liara speak brings her back to the present time.

"Goddess, that is awful. What did you do to revive them?" Liara asks, in concern.

"You must never speak of this." Chakwas warns, and when she recieves a nod from the both of them she continues. "I gave them a vile of your blood Commander, so Miranda has every right to be concerned. I took a sample from you before and after our little excursion to Earth, so I could compare it and I've never seen anything like this. Whatever tech, Cerberus put into your body again has the ability to not only heal and cure you faster then I've ever witnessed, but also can heal others as well. I had just finished administering it to Wrex when you walked in and you saw his reaction."

Chakwas goes on to inform them how initially giving a small dose to them both was like giving someone a high concentration of adrenaline and they both woke up in a blood rage of sorts.

"But how did you know it would work?" Kerry's asks after it sinks in a little.

"I gave your space hampster a small amount and he..."

"Mr. Whiskers is alive?!" Kerry shouts. She is beyond excited and everyone in the room is starring at the 'odd' behaving Human. "Do you think it'll work on my fish?"

"It doesn't work that way." Chakwas is regretting opening her mouth and is now trying to get Shepard to be queit. "The hampster had been dead for a while so consequently it only survived for a short time. So I want to keep them both under observation for a few days, so I know for sure but..."

"What if we try it on other animals we find?" Shepard stands up from the examination table and heads towards her old cabin, completely ignoring the conversation. She continues to ramble on about how cool it would be to able to revive some husks so she could have her own live action Walking Dead video game, leaving Chakwas and Liara shaking their heads.

"You do know you are marrying...?"

"A child?" Liara finishes the doctors question. "Yes I am made aware of that fact each day I am with her." Liara says as she gets up to follow her juvenile acting lover. The Asari wouldn't have it any other way even with Kerry acting the way she does. She's alive, healthy, and about to leave all of the fighting behind so they can start a family, and that is all that matters.

X

X

X

X

Eden Prime:

Looking out over the millions of people in the crowd of every race, Shepard runs her hands down the front of her dress shirt to straighten out her uniform for the fifth time. She's never been one to be nervous about speaking in public but this will be one of the largest crowds she's ever had to talk in front of. Even with security everywhere and the entire crowd having been searched, the former Alliance Commander and council Spectre is observing everything. It is still amazing that even with the recovery process, it took no time at all to get this ceremony set up. People seemed to have stopped in the middle of it all and head to Eden Prime just to hear what Shepard has to say. This will be her last act as a member of the military and she knows it will take some getting used too. As much as she will miss her old life she is definitly looking forward to this new chapter.

After they left Tuchanka and she talked it over with Liara some more, Shepard came to the realization that retiring is the best option. She had contacted Hackett and they discussed it at length, and the Admiral accepted her resignation but with conditions. Her position in the Alliance Navy and status as a council Spectre will always be there for her to come back to. They had discussed a few more topics about going after Sederis and how the council is preparing a team to go to another system and search out a new home.

It had been in the planning stage during the war and was to be implemented if the crucible didn't fire, but never given the go ahead. Now that Earth is uninhabitable and the decision to possibly evacuate Palaven is being considered, Hackett and the rest of the councilors are pushing for this project to move forward.

Shepard is curious to see who they will get to lead this expedition, but she is shaken from her thoughts when she feels a hand touch her own.

"Are you alright?" Liara asks. She is concerned that this speech will be difficult for her lover. There are many names that are being remembered today, but Liara knows that Shepard has her own list. At one point Shepard was blaming herself for the majority of them being gone... If she had only been a little faster or made certain decisions differently then more people would have survived...These were the thoughts that Shepard had, but after numerous melds and discussions with Liara and other friends she has been able to move past it. No matter, It is still going to be difficult, especially since there are empty chairs in the first row to represent those lost on the Normandy.

After receiving a nod and a quick kiss from her Human, Liara moves to her seat on the stage to the left of the podium. Every crew member who has ever set foot on the Normandy is on the stage facing the crowd. From upper officers to the lowest ranking soldier, each who has served are flanking the first Human Spectre. From Asari to Krogan and all races in between, everyone up there has stood next to, and fought side by side with the hero of the Galaxy, and are being honored as such. It brings a smile to the Asari while she looks out over the crowd at the countless people of every race who came to get a glimpse of someone Liara has had the opportunity of calling friend and more. Watching everyone's focus solely be on the Normandy's former commanding officer makes her feel that much more honored.

A loving feeling comes over the Asari and she places a hand on her stomach, and looks towards her lover. Liara swears she can feel their child's mood change and become happy at all of her thoughts, and it's making her own mood change for the better as well. All the Asari can think about is what their future will hold once this ceremony is over. Numerous questions begin to run through her mind like where they will live, but hearing her lovers voice brings her back to the here and now.

"Good morning..."

When she was introduced the reception was deafening and it took nearly fifteen minutes for everyone to calm down. Shepard was trying not to show any emotion but a smile did grace her lips. After everyone sits back down she is about to give her speech that she has written when she briefly glances at all of the people and the scenery that is Eden Prime. She smiles a little more as she realizes the significance of this planet. It's where her journey started and as much as she was reluctant to speak today, it's where her journey will end.

"It's hard to believe that this is where it all began. For me this is a place of many firsts over my career. It was my first mission that would lead to me becoming a Spectre. The first time I'd bare witness to a Reaper, and now this is the first time I have been apprehensive about doing a speech. Normally I am about to go into battle and feel the need to give my crew a pep-talk...not that they ever needed one, but this is different. You all came here today to listen to me pay homage to those that were lost and they deserve all of the respect I can give."

After a short pause and a deep breath to calm her nerves, Shepard continues.

"With all of these firsts, it is only fitting that this will be my last appearance as a member of the Spectre's and the Alliance."

The standing ovation and cheers of appreciation towards the Commander brings a tear to everyone's eye who is on the stage. The meaning behind the words that were just said to the people that shared the battlefield with Shepard means more than just the end of a career; it means the end of the journey they all started all those years ago. It means that after all of the death that surrounded them at every turn that the remaining crew memebers survived to see the end of the war to end all wars and it is because of their Commander. After a few more moments Shepard begins her speech.

"All gave some... some gave all."

"It is a Human saying, but if any statement applies here, it's that particular one."

"We are here to mourn the loss of those who are no longer with us...those that gave their lives to stop our enemy. An enemy that wanted to take one of our basic rights away from each and every one of us...free will. Every race from every part of the Galaxy picked up a weapon and took up arms against an enemy that seemed to be unbeatable. They were an enemy that were made up of our friends and loved ones and we were forced to make choices that may haunt us for the rest of our days. But with that being said you all need to know that if those hard choices were not made them we may not be here today. We were pushed to our limits, tested to see if we were willing to put aside our differences, pick up a weapon and fight next to one another, and we did. As far as I am concerned, everyone is a hero..."

"We need to continue to work together so we can continue to rebuild our galaxy so we can move past this horrible war and move into a future...our future, together..."

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A few months later:

Liara finds herself loving that moment when her bondmate gave the speech for the ages. By the time Shepard had finished talking it seemed like the entire crowd had been able to mourn their losses, became more determined then ever to get back to the recovery process as well as continue the peace and unity between the races.

It was her last mission as a Spectre, just like Shepard had said. After Shepard was done they said their goodbyes, left Eden Prime, and headed for Thessia. Aethtya had come up to Shepard after the speech was over and told her and Liara that they are to get their asses to Thessia and live in Benezias home. There was minimal damage done and Liara needed a proper home, and not some crap hole in the middle of nowhere.

Liara smiles at how protective her sire has become and every memory from that day forward had continued to replay in Liara's mind until today. Now she is concentrating on keeping her eyes open while her bondmate holds their newborn child. She has never witnessed her lover so happy as she is in this moment, and Liara wants to be able to witness each and every moment from now on. The Asari is exhausted though, and smiles lovingly at the two most important people in her life after she feels a kiss on her lips and Shepard whisper for her to get some sleep. That she needs her rest so they can begin their new life as a family, and more importantly that she loves her more than anytning.

Liara soon falls alseep, and Shepard is content with sitting in the chair beside her lover, propping her feet up so she can rest her newborn on her legs. And as she looks on at her daughter and watches how curious she is her thoughts turn to how difficult it has been to get to this moment. She thinks about those that were lost and smiles a little. As sad as it is Shepard knows that they all died so moments like this can happen. So moments like Wrex and Eve conceiving their first child, Tali being exonerated of all charges from the Qwib Qwib explosion and now being looked upon as a leader of her people. Shepard's not sure how her life got to this point, but in the end it was worth every second, and she would not change a thing.