Chapter 1

*Three months before the attack on Freedom's Progress*

Kaidan Alenko was lost. Entire colonies where disappearing at a time. There was no sign of any conflict, as if everyone just got up and walked away in the middle of their routines. The Alliance was scrambling to find out what was going on and having no success. But there was more to it than that.

Kaidan's promotion to Staff Commander made him privy to more things that the brass didn't want the grunts or the general public to know; things like Lieutenant Commander John Shepard being alive and working for Cerberus. Kaidan wracked his mind for explanations, but no matter how hard he thought, no matter how many scenarios he went through, only one presented itself; if he really was alive, then John Shepard was a traitor. Why else would he have faked his death? Why else would it take him so long to resurface? And in the employ of a terrorist group? Kaidan didn't want to believe it, but he couldn't let his personal feelings distort what was right in front of him.

Councilor Anderson and Admiral Hackett were no help. Kaidan approached them both about what he was seeing, only to find himself suddenly stonewalled by his normally dependable superiors. He knew they were seeing the same reports. They had put up a good front, but they seemed plenty confused in their own right. If Shepard were on an undercover mission, the human councilor and one the Alliance's highest ranking admirals would not be kept in the dark, and even if they were, why have Shepard fake his death that way. Images of the Normandy in flames suddenly flashed through Kaidan's mind.

Kaidan was snapped out of his musings by the voice of one of the base guards speaking through his communicator.

"Commander Alenko, there is an asari here insisting that she see you. Says it's something for your ears only. Her name is Dr. Liara T'Soni," she said.

"Send her in immediately. Thank you."

Five minutes later, a very familiar asari walked into Kaidan's office.

"It's good to see you again, Kaidan," Liara said as she returned his hug.

"You too, Liara. Why are you here?"

"Unfortunately, this isn't a social call."

As Liara accepted Kaidan's silent offer to take a seat, she said, "Kaidan, there are things you need to know, a lot of them unbelievable, but I need you to promise to hear me all the way through."

"Of course."

"I know you've been getting reports about Shepard being alive. And working with Cerberus," Liara said bluntly.

"Liara, I-how could you possibly know about that?"

"For almost two years now, I've been working as an information broker on Ilium. I have sources in many places, including the Alliance. It is simply a matter of knowing who to talk to and how much to pay," she explained.

"So you know what's going on with Shepard?" Kaidan prompted. He didn't like the idea of anyone having moles in the Alliance, but if Liara had answers…

"About a month after he was killed," Liara began, "I got a tip that he was alive and on Omega. When I went to investigate, I instead found out that the Shadow Broker had retrieved his body and was trying to sell it. I saw it for myself. There is no doubt that Shepard was dead."

"Guess he didn't like Shepard keeping that info from him two years ago," Kaidan said dryly.

"Apparently not. He was trying to sell Shepard's body to the Collectors."

"I thought they were a myth," Kaidan interrupted.

"That's what they want everyone to think," Liara explained. "I suspect it is why they do not operate in stable regions of space. The Collectors are the ones who destroyed the Normandy. It appears that they hired the Shadow Broker to deliver Shepard's body to them so they could confirm that he was really dead."

"So how did Shepard go from being dead and in the Shadow Broker's hands to being alive and working with Cerberus?" Kaidan asked.

"Cerberus was looking for Shepard's body too," Liara said slowly. "They offered to help me save him from the Shadow Broker. There was little time and I could see no alternatives, so I accepted."

"But why didn't you bring his body back to the Alliance?"

"Cerberus said that they were developing technology that could bring him back. I know it's hard to believe, but if there was even a remote chance, I had to take it. The only alternative was to leave him dead for sure! So I…"

"So you gave his body to one of the Council and the Alliance's worst enemies," Kaidan said accusingly.

"I know it was beyond a long shot, but it may have worked," Liara said defensively. "You've seen the reports about Shepard being alive."

"That could just be Cerberus trying to manipulate us," Kaidan pointed out.

"But then why wait almost two years? Why would they need to recover Shepard's body for themselves if all they wanted was to manipulate the Alliance?" Liara demanded.

Kaidan realized that she had a point, but that was hardly enough to believe something so incredible.

"Even if they did… rebuild him, how can we be sure that Shepard is really himself? Control chips are not new technology. Or maybe they're just controlling his body with tech somehow." A small part of Kaidan started to hope that maybe what Liara was telling him was true, but he knew that accepting something like this at face value was extremely risky.

"The Illusive Man was very adamant that he, and all of us, need Shepard as he was, and I'm inclined to believe that he was telling the truth. It can't be a coincidence that only a month after we destroyed a Reaper, the Collectors appeared out of nowhere to kill the person who made it possible. If the Collectors aren't connected to the Reapers, then they had no reason to attack like that, so that must mean that the battle against Sovereign has the Reapers scared."

"That's a lot of supposition, Liara," Kaidan said.

"It's a big coincidence if it's not true," Liara retorted. "I know how much this all stretches credulity. The Illusive Man claims that Cerberus' ultimate goal is the advancement of humanity. I don't believe for a second that it stops there, especially not after what I saw when we raided their bases two years ago, but I believe it is at least a portion of the truth."

"Cerberus' human supremacist leanings are well-known within the Alliance," Kaidan conceded.

"Exactly, so whatever their goal is, it puts them in opposition to the Reapers. I think the husks we saw on Chasca two years ago were Cerberus' attempt to co-op Reaper technology for their own use, like Saren attempted at first. So regardless of their real motives, I believe the human saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' applies here," said Liara.

"If this is all true," Kaidan clarified. "I'll need to see Shepard for myself, or at least hear from someone else who did, before I really believe it. But I think there's enough to work around the possibility. First things first, what are your plans after you leave?"

"I have a ship scheduled to leave for Tuchanka tomorrow," Liara explained, relieved that Kaidan trusted Liara enough to act on what she was telling him, even if he didn't fully believe it. "Getting Wrex to talk to me should not be a problem. Next is Tali; convincing the Admiralty Board to let me talk to her could be difficult. Finding Garrus will be the most difficult step, so I'm saving him for last. Hopefully it won't cause any problems if I can't find him. I thought I should talk to you first because your position in the Alliance would make you more vulnerable to the Illusive Man's efforts to isolate Shepard from us. I will also be hunting down the Shadow Broker. He is clearly not an ally against the Reapers, and he needs to pay for what he's done. What will you be doing?" Liara asked.

"I think I might be able to convince Anderson or Hackett to send me on an "infiltration" mission, to ascertain Shepard's actions. It will just cause more problems if I desert. If that doesn't work, I can at least collect useful intel," Kaidan said.

"Good," Liara said. She tapped a few keys on her omni-tool to send something to Kaidan's.

"This is a code we'll all send to each other if one of us confirms that Shepard is really alive, as well as how much control Cerberus seems to have over him. And Kaidan… thank you. I know it takes a lot of trust to even consider all the things I've told you."

Kaidan thought about the lengths Liara was going to for Shepard.

"After hearing all this Liara, I have to ask. Where you and Shepard…" Kaidan trailed off.

"He turned me down," Liara answered sadly.

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I… can't control other people's feelings."

When Liara stood to leave, Kaidan hugged her again. They said their goodbyes and promised to keep each other updated. Alone in his office again, Kaidan immediately went to his terminal to send a message. He needed to speak to the admiral.

AN: I firmly believe that if this conversation had happened in canon, things would have gone very differently.