Mass Effect and characters do not belong to me.

Author's Notes: First experimental introductory chapter on what I hope will expand my personal views on what happened between Shepard and Liara during Mass Effect 3.

Chapter 1 — An Old Story

The silence of the void echoed the very peaceful thoughts of dotted stars in the night sky. A blue speckled wall of stars and dust drew across this sky as darkly painted ships zoom underneath it with ease, hoping to arrive at their destinations on time. The towers and sky scrapers that scour the ground fill these voids, offering a glimpse of a new world. A new time. Voices create a symphony of life, advocating the natural days of their lives. Figure's both old and young walk freely down the street's and into doors that welcome them in. White speckle of flakes began to slowly descend upon them all, with only the children looking to the sky in awe. Their faces filled with rosy-red cheeks only smiled as the presences of winter had finally arrived.

Out of all the towers, buildings, and eccentrically built wonders of achievement. One stood silently near the frozen lake, overlooking with a plateau that only stretched forth like a small rotund hand, seeking the comfort of the sky.

In the middle of it, a glimmering shadow of a transparent blue hue of a humanoid stood before a group of men, women, and children. Her face held a smile, but her eyes betrayed the fears that enraptured her. She carried herself well, mannerisms polite, and voice tender as a flower. Her clothing spoke of another time, her words translated into the new language for all to hear.

She was placed here as a memorial of all those who have sacrificed their lives during the darkest day of the galaxy. All those who fought so those of future generations could be free. Administrator's and teachers sought this woman's recording for historical knowledge. These 'Reapers' that harvested and killed millions, trillions was only a mind-boggling thing to comprehend now. In the past, as this woman humbly named Liara described it, everyone was on the brink of extinction. Her home planet, Thessia she described with great sorrow in her voice. It had fallen by these so called machines. Including many homeworlds that she had offered to tell.

With a plethora of information, including many trinkets of knowledge already known. Most - if not - everyone came to visit this slowly decaying hologram for another reason:

Shepard.

History describes this Commander Shepard as a Human male who was born on a human colony. He lived from starship to starship, serving under his parents for a while before moving on to join the Alliance Military. Savior of the Citadel, Eradicator of the Collector's, and the Hero of the Galaxy.

Every known species that lived on to this day have a statue of him found on nearly every homeworld and colony. Some viewed him as a god, other's merely viewed him a lucky man. Though there was no doubt to all that he was the one to have saved their great-great-great-great grandparents from total extinction.

History describes this Commander Shepard as a man who defeated the Reapers.

Liara describes him entirely, provoking much interest in many people who come to visit this holographic recording.

One such person was infected with curiosity, a simple child who tightly held onto her mother's hand as she guided them frantically through the gathering crowd.

"Mama, please, can we stay for one more session?" She asked pleadingly, still leading her through the crowd while her mother resists, only to give in when the lights dimmed. The glass window protecting everyone from the outside elements glowed luminously while the sea of faces looked up to the only reminiscing light emitting. The Liara hologram quietly looked up, her face squinting with distress.

There seemed to be a moment of silence amongst the people who came to visit, wondering if she would tell them all about Commander Shepard again. Some held a jovial excitement that would be shared, other's simply stood in solace, looking up to the glowing blue hue of her image.

Finally, a smile was found amongst her face when she brought her gaze straight up. She did not look down to the crowd, merely over looking them as she stood quietly with her hands behind her back.

"To those who find this recorder. I will now talk about the one person who may have come close to saving us. To the one man who may have very well prevented the stalking ruins that you may have uncovered. His named was Commander Dominic Shepard."

The hologram of Liara continued, talking of what the historical manifests about this 'Commander Shepard' have already discussed, even in greater detail was his background in the military. However, things quickly became interesting when she fell silent and eyes slowly drifting to the floor.

An audible sigh could be heard, reverberating in the very stomachs of those that stood before the hologram.

"Commander Shepard was also a dear friend of mine." Another pause was seen while Liara brought a hand about her face, kneading the side of her head. "He was my bondmate. I loved him very much. I had met him when I was trapped on Therum. I was merely a child back then when he arrived, saving me from possible death by the Geth. I was naive about Shepard, not truly thinking anything about him except that he held some matter of interest to me. He had come into contact with a Prothean Beacon, he held visions. Visions I was eager to see. Each time I saw them, I could see him in those visions."

Below, everyone was quiet, some even took a seat on the grass that welcomed them. The snow outside only grew worse, concerning many that they may have to stay inside until the weather changed. Murmur's and whispers were traded amongst a few family clans, wishing to leave now before the storm had snowed them in. Though one particular family member adamantly refused, pointing out that there was a hotel that they could stay over night had it come to that.

It appeared everyone was more than willing to stay and listen to a story that many of them heard a million times. Continuing, Liara described their time together aboard this Human ship - The Normandy.

"It was an infatuate I had with him. Every time he would visit me near the med bay, he simply wanted to talk. Talk!" She laughed, shaking her head at the nonsense she must have bored him with. "I was not a very social person, most of the time I was in the dirt, digging, sometimes with my hands in search for Prothean artifacts. I rarely had much time to talk with anyone except myself."

The hologram flickered, showing her now sitting on a chair, over looking something that was too a holographic display emitting across her arm. It was somewhat similar to the devices the crowd had, but she referred to the device as a 'omni-tool'. Another display above it was showing an image of Shepard, he was smiling in front of a fish tank.

"I talked about him and his visions, but I went off in same cases that got me in trouble! I would blush every time I talk to him about him like he was an object of my affection. However, he saw passed my embarrassments, my faults and my mistakes. He was in fact interested in me." Looking up and away from the omni-tool, she smiled again, her eyes gliding across the room. No one could quite understand what she was looking at. Some speculated it was Shepard himself! Other's deny it and in fact point out that is was her VI drone - Glyph.

Returning her gaze back on the image of Shepard before her, Liara continued.

"Before we tracked down the rogue Spectre, Saren, on Ilos. I was afraid. Afraid that we would not succeed. That Shepard may die in the mission or that the Reaper's will in fact come the very next morning. All I wanted was to be with him one last time." Her eyes became distant, remembering those moments when they were on the precipice of a dangerous mission. She herself was not use to these things of tactics like running and gunning. She was more used to the quiet atmosphere that the dig sites gave her.

Recounting what happened that night, Liara continued without a moment's hesitation stumbling in her voice.

"I met him in his cabin. We spoke briefly, about us. Wondering if he was still interested me. I never had anyone else before. I was never romantically involved with anyone prior to meeting Shepard. But all those missions and traveling the galaxy. I had the opportunity to know him. To know more about him. Suddenly, he waved a hand at me, signaling me to stop my rambling as he rose quietly up from his chair and walked towards me." The audience could see Liara choking up a bit before she could manage to continue on with the story.

A few of the audience members smiled when she remarked about Shepard's romantic side. Something about that always lifted the spirits of so many who have visited her recordings.

"He took my hand into his own and stood there, smiling as he held my hand for a moment. I noticed that his lips curved slightly with a dimple denting into his soft cheek. I was in awe as to what he was going to say, purely out of the fear that he may very well rejected me. However he did not, and simple said: Liara, I want to be with you."

Hologram-Liara stood up and only smiled when she said those words. The omni-tool of her arm disappeared before the hologram flickered again. Now showing her backside away from the audience as she leaned into a desk.

"By the Goddess, I nearly melt into his arms!" She chirped, turning around to face the audience again. Her arms moved with her words as she continued on. "I kissed him. He did not kiss me. I felt I had a connection with him and if I didn't react, I would simply implode like a dying star! I kissed him passionately, and we stumbled over to his bed where I barely managed to try to take off those science uniforms I had on. It was a mess and I blushed when Shepard told me to calmly reach for his own uniform while he worked on mine."

Of course, Liara had to stop there as she brought her arm, wiping it across her head. "Perhaps I should stop there. Save and store."

The image flickered again, now the audience could clearly see Liara sitting down. Her head buried into the palm of her hands. Curious members who had not seen this hologram before were craning their necks above the rest, or tilting to get a better view of her. Hologram-Liara remained silent as she struggled with what was happening.

Finally, she looked up and nodded to something off screen.

"The last time I witnessed Commander Shepard was aboard the Normandy. We were seeking out remaining pockets of resistances of Geth when we were ambushed by the Collector's. I weaved through the maze of halls. Sparks and fire erupted, wires limping out from the ceiling. People were screaming, it was horrific to see such destruction. This was of course months after what had happened on the Citadel. I was still part of the crew, acting as senior science advisor on Prothean artifacts that we may have come across. Even though there was none that we had stumbled upon. I was there more for Shepard, to make sure he would be okay before I needed to leave for Thessia the following month. Again, I was running, frantically I might add until I saw him placing on his helmet. I placed my own helmet on and was fearing for everyone while the ship continued to be attacked."

She shook her head, a shadowing grieving state surfaced through her expression, only to disappear beneath the hands that cradled her head.

"He told me to leave. He told me to escape with everyone else. I could not do it. When I asked him to help him, he told me to leave. How could I say no? I should have said no…"

Rising up to her feet, Hologram-Liara paced back and forth, arms flailing to the admission of her guilt.

"I told Shepard that I would stay with him, no matter what. Yet when this happened, he ordered me to leave. I did." She said, sighing, "I did."

"I looked back to see Shepard running through the burning carnage before slipping into an escape pod. I felt my stomach hurdling in and out as I realized what a mistake I have done. It was too late when I looked through the small view port when I truly realized I should've fought to stay aboard. The ship exploded. I knew Shepard was still there and the last escape pod headed off towards us. I later found out that Shepard did in fact perished. When I received that news later that day, I vomited."

She shook her head, a tear could be seen but barely through the transparent layout of the entire hologram.

Then it glitches, repeating the image of her shaking her head again. And again with the words overlaying this image: "I am sorry, Shepard. Forgive… me…"

The holographic image then stuttered before flickering to a new image of Liara standing again, arms crossed as she stood looking towards the audience overhead. It was obvious that the chapter ended, yet those who were all now sitting before the holographic statue waited silently for the next chapter.