So here's my Synthesis redo ending. The spacey magical funtastic Crucible beam spits Shepard out after analyzing her genetic code or whatever. This is either part one or chapter one, I haven't really decided. It's about the rebuild and yada yada yada.
Warning: no Liara until chapter 2. sucks, I know, but try to stick with it! if it's not for you then it's not for you.
There's not much of a plot. other than the whole reuniting our favorite ladies thing. It's just things that happen.
Oh, and it's a bit time-skippy, so... I don't know. you've been warned.
(((unimportant junk: if anyone has read my other story, I title works and/or chapters after songs. This one is no different. I listened to "Covered in Rain" by John Mayer like oodles of times while writing this, so here's my attempt to post a link! go to that site that everyone watches videos on (youtube) that this website blocks out and attach the following:
(slash) watch?v=vDQzHcDiTOc
did it work? If not, and you're still interested (because you ROCK!), then just go to youtube and type in "covered in rain 2004" and it's the first video. it's my favorite version of the song (I've heard them all) and I really hope you like it because music is like the best thing mankind has to offer. /endrant)))
Anyways, the story... yeah...
Her bones creaked as she limped forward, groaning in immense displeasure at the very slightest of movement, and screaming at the larger motions. Every part of her, organic and synthetic, told her it was time to rest, time to stop, that she was done.
Commander Shepard ignored her whiny body, however, forcing her muscles to carry her forward, towards the blinding blue beam of light. Each step must have taken hours, and she could not remember ever moving so slowly on her own two feet before.
But finally she reached the edge of the platform, and without giving herself a chance to think about it, she turned, gave the ghost of the Catalyst a rude hand gesture, and leaned backwards to fall into the pillar of energy.
It was... warm, as she fell. All of her discomforts were seeping out of Shepard and she could not remember ever being so exhausted and comfortable at the same time before. As she sank like a stone through the air, plummeting to the earth, the brilliant light consumed her. The Commander closed her eyes and faded away, knowing she had done her job, and that she would be leaving the galaxy a chance for peace.
There were voices. At least four, and all talking very quickly, and very seriously. Their words were knotted too closely together to decipher, and it didn't help that the voices were muffled and far away.
Shepard put all of her effort into opening her eyes, and when they finally gave way, it was to a blinding light. The voices kept talking away, oblivious to the Commander as she recoiled under the intense brightness.
This was familiar for some reason. Almost like it had happened before. Because it had, Shepard realized. She had woken up sedated and confused in a Cerberus lab the last time she died. Was it happening again: death round two? Then a stranger thought occurred to her: did the Catalyst send her back in time? Was it capable of something like that? She had to find out what was happening.
Ignoring the annoying light, the Commander forced her eyes open and tried to move her fingers, which felt miles away and stuck in cement.
The voices became less entangled, and Shepard picked up some words as her hearing seemed to come into focus.
"...'s awake," a man's voice said from Shepard's right. The Commander turned to see a tall dark blur block out some light. Presumably this was the speaker of the voice.
"That... ...rdinary," another male voice said, this time from Shepard's left. Their words were still touch and go. "She j... ...ming back."
The first male voice grunted in agreement and Shepard blinked. She knew that grunt. It was... it was... it...
Blackness again. Shepard faded away once more and her head was quiet. No more interruptions. Which was nice, since the Commander had forgotten how tired she still was. So she would let sleep take over for a while. Her answers could wait.
But they couldn't. Sleep could wait, not the other way around. She had to know what happened, where she was, /when/ she was.
Bypassing her eyes, Shepard put her full effort into her voice. "Reapers...?"
The first voice answered her. "We won, Shepard. You can rest easy."
"Thanks... Garrus."
Her doctors told her it had been a full two weeks before Shepard snuck through her sedatives and into consciousness since she first woke. Her first return to the land of the living had been a week after the end of the war.
"You're going to make it out just fine, Commander," the raspy voice of Admiral Steven Hackett had told her when she woke dazedly. "Rest up, and let your doctors take care of you. Whatever you did, the Reapers are on our side now."
"Ad... Admiral," Shepard said with what little strength she had. "My crew."
"I'm sorry Shepard," the Admiral's head lowered slightly. "They're not all accounted for. It's a mixed bag."
The Commander's head fell with the news.
"But," Hackett added. "No deaths have been confirmed. Just a lot of MIA."
If Shepard's wits had been about her, she would have remembered her past experiences, and that MIA meant a rough draft KIA report. But maybe her sedatives were making her a bit optimistic. She smiled before drifting off as exhaustion caught up with her once more.
It was during her third waking that Shepard would say she got anything productive done. When the Commander discovered she had the energy to stay awake for more than a few moments, she propped herself up and waited for anyone to come into her room, ready to have more of her questions answered.
Her first guest was a bit of a surprise.
"You're awake, Commander," a smooth, calming voice said from the doorway.
"That you, Samara?"
"It is," the asari looked visibly relieved at Shepard's state of health, and she took a seat next to her bed. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine... I think. Can't really feel anything because of the meds. Though you look a little green yourself."
The Justicar smiled at this. "Yes, it would seem I am." Samara looked at her hand, which was slowly pulsating with green tracks in the shape of circuitry. "As are you, Commander."
Shepard looked at her own hand to see the same markings running all over her skin, emitting the faintest green luminescence every few seconds. Shepard looked at the asari, and upon further inspection saw the same green tinge to the Justicar's eyes. It was a bit unsettling.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" Samara asked, watching Shepard's equally green eyes flit back and forth. "It's happened to everyone and everything. Even your plant-life here on Earth."
"Not exactly the word I would use," Shepard said, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What is it?"
"That's what we were hoping you could tell us. Scientists are calling it a synthetic DNA of sorts, but no one really knows. The geth are giving off bioenergy readings just as we are picking up some of their... traits."
"So the Reapers didn't send me back with an instruction manual?"
"No," Samara said, smiling again. "Your friend Grunt says that would have been to easy."
Shepard's eyes fixed on Samara with an intensity that had not been there moments before. "Who... who made it through, Samara? It looks like you got out alright, are you doing okay? I didn't know you were even on Earth when I spoke to you through the transmitter."
"I'm just fine, Commander, thank you―you really are kind. It would seem the fates have given you a little breathing room for once. Your friends all pulled through: Garrus, Jack, and Grunt are helping to get things cleaned up, Tali is with the fleet, James is recovering from a severe concussion. Oh, he'll be alright, I assure you. Jacob got out without a scratch, and is taking time with his new wife. Kaiden Alenko received several broken bones, but they have all healed since the battle; he is helping Admiral Hackett reorganize everything. Ah, and your shuttle pilot―Cortez, I believe―is working wherever he is needed. Pilots are in short supply, it seems."
Shepard took a few moments to let everything sink in, and was thankful that Samara wasn't a fast talker. Everyone with her on Earth had pulled through, somehow. Maybe Samara was right, and this was a little compensation for her work. Then another thought slammed into the front of her mind. "The Normandy?"
Samara's eyes did not look away as the Admiral's had, but the news was no better. "Still unaccounted for, I'm afraid."
"Still missing?"Shepard tried to shout, but her voice gave out half way through. In a quieter, yet still angry voice, she asked, "How can the Alliance loose a ship in the middle of the fleet?"
Samara looked at Shepard, confusion on her face. Then she said, "You still don't know, do you?"
The Commander raised an eyebrow.
"When the Crucible finally powered up, Admiral Hackett ordered everyone to clear out. Many ships headed through the mass relay, but when the Crucible fired that green pulse, the relays were destroyed, and we don't know what happened to those using them. We're cut off Commander. No one has any way to contact other systems, let alone travel to them."
"We can't contact any other planets?"
"Other than Mars, no," said the justicar. "The relays were not only our transport, but our radio antennae, so to speak."
"Is... is it permanent?"
Samara's face relaxed a little. "No, it is not. As we speak, the relay's debris is being salvaged and put to use. Tali is one of the project leaders. It seems your people already had blueprints to build a relay if it was destroyed."
"When humans discovered our relay, we spent years reverse engineering the thing before we actually used it. At least that's the story. I'm not surprised we've got schematics for building a relay. Even if we didn't know how they worked, you can bet we could build one on our own."
"It has been eons since the asari discovered ours. I hope my people were of the same mindset all those years ago."
"Well the relays were Reaper tech, as it turns out," Shepard said, stifling a yawn. "So if those machines really are helping, Thessia is going to be back on the map before you know it."
"Thank you Shepard," the justicar said. "I hadn't thought of it like that. The galaxy's brightest, the salarians, turians, asari, geth, even the batarians, they are all here for the Crucible. I have been wondering if any of the relays would be rebuilt on the other worlds with all of the scientists and engineers here. But now that you mention it, the Reapers were everywhere when the war ended."
"Yeah, let's hope," Shepard said. "Even if they were the ones who destroyed the relays, I don't see why they wouldn't rebuild them with us."
It was Samara's turn to be surprised. "And here I thought it was you who fired the Crucible, Commander."
Shepard wheezed out a laugh. "It's a long story. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it."
"You might want to clear your thoughts on it," Samara advised. "When people hear you've woken up, they'll be all over you. The fact that you weren't up yet was the only thing that has kept your room from overflowing with gifts. I think perhaps a hundred flowers have wilted in the six weeks you've been under."
"Six weeks, huh?" Shepard wasn't surprised. If it took Cerberus two years to piece her together once, anything less than that would be a pleasant surprise. "Last I woke... Do you know if they're done with me yet?"
"Oh, they've been done for almost two weeks," Samara said easily. She looked over at the heart monitor next to the Commander's bed. The asari grabbed a clipboard off a hook and glanced it over. "This says everything went smoothly. It seems Cerberus knew what they were doing when they went in replacing parts."
Shepard couldn't think of anything to say as Samara handed her the report. She glanced over her medical notes and saw nothing unsettling or concerning. Noticing some of the dates in the margins, Shepard asked, "They've been done for two weeks?"
"That is what I've been told," Samara said, nodding.
"So when Hackett came in... that was three weeks ago," Shepard thought out loud. "I was pretty out of it then. Guess I needed the rest."
"I can't think of anyone who has earned a good night's sleep more than you, Commander," Samara said.
Shepard looked up at the justicar and gave tired sigh. "It's really over, isn't it?"
"Yes." Samara looked like a thousand years had all caught up to her at once. Shepard imagined Samara could use a vacation as much as herself. Maybe they would go somewhere nice with the rest of the group. If they could find somewhere nice. "Shepard, I have a question for you. You don't seem to be under any medication influence, so I figured I'd ask. Do you mind?"
"I've been vegetating on a bed for a month and a half," Shepard said, raising her eyebrows. "I could use some more conversation."
"Thank you," said the justicar. When Shepard wasn't looking, the asari's face had quickly become indiscernible; a blank surface to keep Shepard from guessing what Samara wanted to hear. "Do you think I have been an adequate justicar?"
Shepard looked at her, trying to read an expressionless face. Nothing for it, she would have to give an honest answer. "Samara, you know I can't answer that. I'm not even a tenth of your age. You've been a justicar longer than my people have had electricity. But you know that already, so I'll tell you what I think based on what I've seen."
"Thank you, Commander, for obliging me," Samara said. If Shepard looked really hard, she could see the faintest shade of blue creeping over the asari's face. Samara was blushing, and it took all of Shepard's restraint to not comment on it.
"From what I've learned of the justicars, their code is in existence to exterminate evil. And with a rule book as clear-cut as yours, I'd say your job is done. The Reapers were the most vile, evil, monstrous things the universe could throw at us, and we beat them. Compared to them, mercenaries and pirates are more like fighting a cold." Shepard stared into the asari's eyes determinedly. "I know you're thinking about giving it up, otherwise you wouldn't have asked me. And to be honest, I say go for it. You have a daughter that you never see, a home to rebuild, and friends that don't get much time to talk with you. You finished what you set out to do, even if you didn't know what that was when you started."
Samara was impressively quiet while Shepard spoke and for a while after the Commander had finished. Shepard waited patiently, pretending to look over her hospital notes when the asari remained quiet. Shepard looked out her window and noticed she was fairly high up; an impressive feat considering most of the surrounding city was leveled. Then it occurred to her that she probably wasn't even in London anymore. She would ask later.
"Do you really think I'm done, Shepard?" Samara asked.
"I can't tell you whether or not you're done. I'm a toddler to your kind. But I can say that millions of people died for us to live in peace―what better way to thank you than to lay down our arms and raise a glass?"
Samara smiled ever-so-slightly, "I can't think of any."
"Glad to hear it," Shepard laughed.
"Shepard! About time you woke up. When are you coming to one of the feasts?"
"Nice to see you too, Grunt."
"Ignore him. How're you feeling?"
"Doin' good Garris," Shepard said, curling her toes under her bedsheets. Everyone Samara had mentioned during her visit, except Jacob and Cortez, had showed up the next morning, harassing the Commander's doctors until they were granted access. Garrus, Jack, Tali, Kaiden, Grunt, and James were all filing through the door to Shepard's room, and lining up around her bed. They all seemed healthy.
"So when do you get out of this madhouse, Shepard?" Jack asked. "Are you going insane yet?"
"Not really sure," sad the Commander. "This is only my second day up. My doctors are still checking vitals and running tests. Said I should be out in a week."
"That's good to hear," said Kaiden. "Everyone's ready to see their hero, Commander."
Shepard sighed. "Yeah, well I'm just ready to see my crew. How's the relay coming, Tali?"
"Nearly done," Tali replied. "The Reapers filled in the holes in our intel and we've got enough man power to, well, fight a war."
The quarian pulled an image up on her omni-tool that showed a mass relay, fully complete, but without power. The others all leaned in to see it. "We're hoping that just one is enough to get communications going between planets," Tali added.
"And if not?" Garrus asked, voicing what everyone was thinking.
Tali actually laughed at this. "Then we build a second one and tow the first one as far as we need to. The Crucible is being scrapped as we speak, so our resources are limitless, for all intents and purposes. But we're hoping the Citadel has the same signal-boosting properties as the relays. A small exploration fleet took the station with them when they set out after the fighting stopped."
"So you've already moved the Citadel?" Shepard asked. "Were there any survivors on it? Civilians, ambassadors, C-Sec?"
"Actually yes," Kaiden said. "It seems the Reapers were... rigged, I guess you could call it, to harvest solely humans on the Citadel. Only a few humans made it out, but the other species were largely ignored if they stayed out of the way. Miraculous, really. The Asari Councilor even made it out."
"Arrogant bastards, those Reapers," Jack spat. "Still, I guess it saved lives."
"Yeah," Shepard sighed. She decided to change the subject. "Hey, are we still in London?"
"We're in San Francisco, Lola," James said, finally speaking. "You've been missing some great sunsets."
"Lola?" Grunt asked.
"Long story," Shepard said, waving the krogan's question aside. "The City, huh? I grew up here."
"It's too clean for a soldier, Shepard," Grunt said, glancing out the window. "The buildings are too frail. Or they were."
"There's... not much left here, Shepard," Garrus said uncomfortably. "Aside from this hospital, a few bunkers, and some falsely named bridge, its all rubble. At least it was, they've cleaned up a bit."
"Don't you go taking a shot at our bridge, Vaiarian," Shepard said, pointing finger at him. "That was my home for a couple months. It's plenty golden, I'll have you know."
"Whatever you say, Shepard," Garrus said.
"So tell us, Commander," James cut in. "What happened? Up there... I mean."
"You all wanna know?"
The group was silent in their response―quite a feat, the more Shepard thought about it. "Alright, fine, here's the story," the Commander began.
Shepard's friends departed a few hours later, leaving the Commander exhausted, but more at ease than she had been earlier. When she explained her three options on the Citadel, and the one she chose, no one questioned her choice. Or at least not to her face. They were very curious about the boy, debating over whether it was an AI, a god of sorts, or just a ghost. Shepard didn't care though; that kid had a shitty system and the galaxy deserved a new one.
When everyone was gone it took Shepard all of two minutes to get to sleep, even though the sun was still up.
The Commander's sleep was different that evening: she dreamt for the first time since the war. And it wasn't that boy running through a cryptic forest, thankfully. But once the Commander realized what it actually was, she would have preferred the annoying, ambiguous symbolism.
It was blue. The dream, that is. The grass on the rolling hill she was on, the trees, the birds, the sunlight―all of it tinted various shades of blue. Shepard didn't need to think very hard on this one, because while she stood atop the warm, breezy hill on what must have been a perfect summer day, a woman appeared across the way. She was, in fact, the only thing not blue, but not for long. All of the blue in everything else, including the sky, was sucked into the woman, returning her to her original pallet. Everything in the figure's wake was left a lifeless gray.
Shepard didn't want the imminent kick in the heart, so if her subconscious was intent on making her sad, it would have to work for it. She sat down and waited for the vision of Liara to come closer.
The dream-asari drifted towards Shepard, across the shallow little valley between them and up the Commander's hill. The Commander sat and looked away, not wanting whatever was coming next. When the shade finally approached her Shepard looked at her.
The vision of Liara was smiling sadly, and Shepard reached out to touch her. "You can't," Liara whispered. "You know you can't."
"What am I supposed to do, then?" Shepard asked, her voice strained as she fought off a tear. She still couldn't look at Liara. "I was trying my hardest not to think of you, and it was working. Until now."
"Be patient," Liara said. "We're coming back, and... I'm thinking about you." The Commander chanced a look at the asari, which was a bad idea because Liara had begun to cry.
The next few days were miserable. Liara floated into Shepards mind as if she was the guest of honor. Every moment of Shepard's sleep was occupied by the asari, and the only refuge in her waking hours was the company of another living thing. But even then thoughts of her love hovered over her like rain clouds, threatening to unleash a torrent of emotion. It was as Liara had told her: she would have to wait it out.
But waiting was agony.
Her last three days in the hospital had been the worst by far. She was no longer sedated, which was fine during the day since none of her reconstructed synthetics were causing her any pain. But at night, her mind raced at a mile a minute, mocking her with dreams of her lover and then mortifying her with visions of the Normandy's crew dead on an asteroid somewhere. Sedatives were in short supply in the midst of recovering from the war, and since Shepard wasn't in any physical pain, she couldn't be given anything.
"Almost done, Doc?"
"Yes, actually. But tell me, Commander, what are you going to do? You're too weak to rebuild right now; you need more bed rest. We're just letting you sleep somewhere else. If you can find a house left standing, that is."
"I don't know," Shepard sighed, a bitterness to her voice. "But I need to see things happening. Things aren't moving fast enough for me here."
"Might I make a suggestion?" her doctor asked. Shepard hadn't really grown close with Dr. Ariel Mason, but the Commander liked her well enough. Especially for the woman who was confining her waking hours to a single mattress and bathroom. She would have liked Dr. Chakwas to be examining her, but she wasn't exactly around.
"Go ahead."
"Take up a hobby," the doctor said, looking over some of her scribblings.
"Like what? I'm not much into knitting socks," said the Commander.
"Oh that's an old person's hobby. Try something a little more interesting. Write a book, learn to cook, pick up an instrument, maybe."
"I'm no writer, and I'm not handing out all my secrets just yet. And I can't imagine there's anywhere worth seeing on Earth. An instrument might be worth trying, though. But I've never had much of an affinity for that... artistic expression stuff. I'm more of a point and shoot kind of girl."
"Oh everyone likes music, Commander. You just haven't heard the right stuff yet."
"I get the feeling you speak from experience."
"I'm a bit of a music junkie in my off hours," said Dr. Mason. "I drove my parents crazy growing up. Give it a try is all I'm saying."
"Well it's not like you've cleared me for any physical activity anyway. Suggestions?"
"I'm partial to classical myself, ma'am. The original rock and roll."
"Can't be worse than the stuff they put in my stereo on the Normandy."
The doctor smiled and pulled a small data chip from a coat pocket. She swiped it over her omni-tool before setting it on the counter. "I'll leave a file here with a music library on it if you want to put some into your omni-tool. When I come back in the morning you're free to go, Commander."
"I appreciate that, Doctor," Shepard said. She could tell her caregiver was very excited at the prospect of sharing her music, so the Commander picked up the chip and scanned it into her omni-tool on the spot. It was mostly to appease the doctor, but she would give it an honest chance later that night. Anything to keep her from dreaming about Liara and then realize she was alone in her bed. Again.
The music helped a little, if only as a distraction. Shepard liked her doctor's tastes. She would have liked to meet this Led Zeppelin guy over a beer if he was from her time.
She slept better that night, perhaps because she left the music on while she slept. Or perhaps because she stayed awake for several hours after midnight, and had become too tired to dream.
When Dr. Mason came in the next morning, Shepard thanked her for the music. The doctor smiled at her patient and said "I figured it was the least I could do for you, Commander. I never got the chance to say it, but thank you. From absolutely everyone here on Earth, thank you for everything you've done for us."
It was Shepard's turn to smile now. "It's good people like you that make it a home worth fighting for, Doctor Mason. I'd do it all again if I had to."
"Commander, there's no such thing as an 'Honorable discharge' from a hospital, but I'd say you've earned one."
"Thanks," Shepard laughed. "So are you going to unplug me from that box or what?"
"Here we are Shepard: penthouse level for the Intergalactic Wonder Woman."
"Don't say that," the Commander shot back. "Knowing my luck... it'll catch on.
"Alright fine," the Major said, shrugging. "Here's the last of your things from the hospital. Anything else in here was found in London or in the Normandy's shuttle."
"Thanks Kaiden," Shepard said "I appreciate you flying me out here."
"Well New York is where they send the important people who don't want to smell charred flesh. London is still a mess. They've had your name down at this hotel since they found you with a heartbeat. You might see some friendly faces around if you ever head down to the lobby. They've got a conference room for big meetings, and I think Admiral Hackett spends a few days here every so often to speak with other dignitaries."
"Big military to-do around here, in short."
"Yeah," Kaiden answered. "Not much left with working utilities. They had to take what they could get, and this place managed to scrounge up hot water. Anyway, I'll get out of your hair Commander, you look tired."
"Don't be a stranger," Shepard said as the Major walked towards the door. "I'm basically on house arrest."
"I'll send send the word out, get you some company, Commander. Rest up, you hear?" Kaiden shut the door behind him and Shepard let out a long sigh. She slumped her shoulders let her head fall forward, enjoying the stretch as she rounded out her back. Rest was definitely something she could use after flying from coast to coast in one morning.
Now that the Major was gone, Shepard turned to look at her suite in full, and was startled at the grandeur.
The hall door opened into a great circular room that was the main area, Shepard supposed. It had a massive, over-stuffed black leather couch in a semi circle facing the wall-sized window that spanned from floor to ceiling and must have been fifteen feet across. Opposite the couch were a few equally elegant chars and an ivory coffee table. On the far side of the room was a bar with wild mood lights and exotic stylings. Along the wall on the right side of the circular chamber was a hallway. Shepard followed it.
Down the hall to the right was a translucent glass door that led to her gigantic bedroom, complete with a circular bed that could fit ten people in it, a fish tank (Shepard wondered if that had been added for her), a wall of bookshelves with a study table, a few chairs that could probably double for abstract art, and a sliding door to a balcony with a view of the ocean.
Then there was her bathroom area, which had a closet large enough for her crew to stand comfortably in, a shower sized for its own party, and a pair of granite-top sinks.
Too exhausted to be gobsmacked by the rest of her accommodations, Shepard kicked off her shoes (it was weird not to be wearing combat boots), tossed aside her omni-tool, and flopped onto her bed, where she promptly passed out. Just before that omni-tool received a message.
The commander woke up in complete darkness on her gloriously comfortable bed. She looked at her bedside table for a clock and sighed. It was 3 A.M. She tried to go back to sleep for a few minutes, but impatience got the better of her. She sat up on her bed and looked out at her window and onto a hauntingly dark scene. Shepard could count the number of powered buildings with her fingers.
Realizing she hadn't explored the rest of her new home, the Commander got to her feet and began looking around. Right after she turned on all the lights she could find.
The hall that led out of the main room and into Shepard's had three other branches: a door to a slightly smaller, yet equally fabulous guest room, a bathroom, and a open entrance to a kitchen that was out of Shepard's league. She made a note of the fridge, sink, and garbage chute―the rest could be figured out later.
As the Commander fiddled with things she shouldn't have been, she heard a beep coming from another room. She set down what she thought was a blender and set off to search for the noise. Fortunately the disturbance struck twice, and Shepard found herself in her room once more, grabbing her flashing omni-tool off of the floor.
She opened the interface to a slew of messages, all of which were from people she knew. That in itself was a pleasant surprise. The first, and oldest, was from Admiral Hackett. It read,
Commander Shepard,
I don't know if you'll ever read this, but I'm sending it all the same. The Crucible just fired and the Reapers are standing down. You did it, Commander. You gave every sacrifice value, you proved that what we did was worth something. But most importantly you've saved the lives of every citizen of our galaxy―my family included, and I cannot thank you enough for that. It has been the greatest honor I can think of to serve alongside you and see the things you have done, Commander.
I'm no good with words, Shepard, but I want you to know I consider you a friend, and if you ever need anything, I'll always lend a hand.
Here's to hoping you make it out of this damned mess in one piece,
Steven Hackett
Shepard felt a tear at her eye and wiped it away before it brought friends. She would need to reply, but not in the middle of the night. The Commander looked through the rest of her messages to find them of similar sentiment. All of them except for the one that made the omni-tool beep in the first place. Shepard opened her most recent message. It was from Tali.
Shepard,
Kaiden just sent word you're out of the hospital, so congratulations on defying death a second time. He says you can't really go anywhere, so you can't come up to see for yourself, but I wanted you to know regardless. The relay is complete.
As of three minutes ago we're live and transmitting, waiting for signals to be received. Nothing immediately, but that's no surprise, we haven't even set up contact with the Citadel yet. I'll keep you posted on progress, and you'll be the first to know when we find anything.
On a side note, you should see everyone up here, Shepard. Everybody's going crazy trying to find the Normandy, I think one of the higher-ups made it a top priority. We're all doing our best. I'm sure we'll find it.
Hope you enjoy a speedy recovery,
Tali'Zorah vas Normandy
Shepard skimmed the letter once more before she began writing her own response. Then she remembered that normal people slept at three in the morning. Less enthusiastically, the Commander finished her reply and saved it to be sent in the morning.
Now that her brain had been slapped awake, Shepard knew returning to sleep would be hopeless. So she examined her surroundings for a way to occupy herself. She was basically grounded, so there were to be no late-night misadventures (for the moment, anyway). Her apartment had screens for vids, but no networks were still running, there was no one she could call and bother, and the Commander knew if she didn't find a way to occupy herself, a certain blue someone would find a way into her thoughts.
Admitting defeat, the Commander went for her last resort; she opened her bedside drawer and pulled out the brochure on the hotel she was staying at and began reading information pamphlets. Maybe she could bore herself back to sleep.
After a dreadfully boring―and no longer accurate―pitch on tourist attractions in New York, Shepard found something worth reading: all rooms were equipped with VI terminals for anytime use. Shepard got up off her bed and set out finding hers. She had set the pamphlet down before reading the terminal was located in the main area of each room. After a few minutes of searching, however, the Commander found the terminal between the bar and the window wall in the main room. She punched the log in button. A holographic image of a man sprouted up from the floor in front of the terminal.
"Good morning... Commander Shepard of the Normandy, and welcome to The Silver Skyline Hotel. How may I be of service to you?"
Now that the galaxy wasn't in imminent danger, Shepard didn't mind the oblivious, factory-default calmness of the program so irritating. It still irked her, however. "What do I call you?"
"This program is referred to by the guests and staff as Vincent. How may I be of assistance?"
"Yeah, I heard you the first time," Shepard said, massaging her temple. "Have you been assisting any military personnel staying here?"
The program was quiet for a moment. "Spectre status recognized. Yes, I have relayed information, messages, and the like between many ranking officers."
"Like what?" Shepard asked.
"Please specify." End of the world or not, Shepard hated the things. She thought about what she actually wanted to know, and figured "everything" wouldn't be very descriptive.
"Where is the Citadel in relation to it's usual position in the Serpent nebula?"
"Citadel. Status report found circa seventy-two hours ago. From Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy to Admiral Mikhailovich. Contents concerning the Citadel with mention of location: "...the Citadel is almost half-way there, Admiral..." is this information helpful, Commander?"
"Yes, thank you. Can you display the entire report, as well as any response?" Shepard asked.
"Yes." The hologram stepped back and disappeared before being replaced by two fairly short blocks of text.
The first was Tali's report, mentioning that the citadel was half-way back to the Widow cluster, and had yet to pick up any other signals. The Alliance admiral's response was to take the Citadel towards Sur'Kesh if they couldn't get any readings.
Shepard thought that made sense. Sur'Kesh was just about the midpoint between Earth and the Serpent nebula, so they might as well have it stop along the way. But the more Shepard thought about it, the more concerning that was. They could only be a weeks journey at most from the salarian homeworld if they had covered this much ground already, but they still couldn't pick up a communication signal. The Commander would have to ask someone about this in the morning. For tonight she had done enough digging.
"Vincent," Shepard said. "I'm done with the reports, but I have another question for you."
The messages dissolved into nothing as the VI stepped back over his terminal and into view. "Of course, Commander. What can I help you with?"
"How come this hotel is so spotless while the rest of the city is a pile of rubble?"
"A difficult question," the VI said. "I cannot accurately answer."
"Can you guess? Or list off factors?"
"I can, Commander. Reports I have processed state that the Reapers targeted cultural and political structures first, and densely populated areas second in their attack. This was neither. We are located on the far outskirts of the city, and the luxury and size of our rooms do not allow for a large number of occupants."
"So the Reapers had bigger fish to fry. That and some luck, I guess. But there's not a scratch on this place."
"When it became known that our facility would be used to house people of import during the war recovery, our staff went to work at once on repairs and aesthetic touch-ups, so to speak."
"I see. Thanks Vince, that's all."
"Of course, Commander. Logging you out."
The next morning, Shepard sent her letter to Tali, thanking her for the update and asking if they had received any word from Sur'Kesh. When she finished with her omni-tool, the Commander found some breakfast and poured herself a glass of juice.
After her meal, Shepard once again found herself with nothing to do. She spent some time writing back all of the people who had sent her mail, she fed her fish, but there was nothing to physically do.
Laboring over to her bed again, the Commander picked up her omni-tool and checked for an Extranet connection. She was in luck: the hotel had wi-fi.
Most of the sites she looked at we're down, due to the obvious, but she finally found something she was looking for. After very little deliberation with herself, Shepard placed an order, hoping her boredom would be less insufferable when the thing arrived ((and no, you sickos, it's not a dildo. probably.)).
But now what? She had finished every possible thing she had to do that day in an hour and a half. It was barely ten in the morning, and the Commander had a whole day to get through. Sighing, Shepard got up and walked out to her balcony, examining the view.
She expected the setting was beautiful just a few months ago. Now it was patches of dirt between fields of scorched grass. A feeble creek ran down the middle of the valley the hotel was in. Shepard guessed she was at least thirty stories up as she stared down at the scarred land. There were hardly any other buildings in the area; this hotel must have been a retreat from the city that didn't sleep. Now there were military trucks and vans littered around the bottom of the building with armed guards on either side of entrances.
The sky was cloudless, but not clear. Smoke billowed into the air on the horizon, and Shepard assumed there were minor wildfires that needed to be put out still. Anything that wasn't an immediate danger could wait, she mused.
Left alone with her thoughts Shepard was left to analyze the war in her head. The battlefields, the politics, the victory, the losses, the sacrifice, the Normandy.
What had happened to Joker, Edi, Cute Specialist Traynor, Engineer Adams, Donnely, Daniels, Dr. Chakwas, Liara, and every one of her crewmates? Did they even make it out of the relay system, wherever they were going? And what about all of the other ships in the fleet? Did they all head for the same place? Or just anywhere they could? Was she allowed to hope for the best, or should she expect the worst? After so much death the first thing in her head was not to get her hopes up. She would likely be crushed if her heart ran away from her brain with best-case scenarios. Though to be perfectly honest the Commander wasn't sure what she would do if it turned out the Normandy didn't make it in the first place. She needed a drink.
... And there it was. Right on cue. Liara.
There was someone she could suffer a little more of at the moment. Everything felt a little colder, a little less lucid, with her doctor not around. "Pretty pathetic, Shepard," the Commander said with a hollow laugh. "Let's try to avoid the poetry, huh?" Her lecture didn't help much. Things still sucked. Maybe she'd ask Vincent if she could get a bottle of something.
It had been a long and exhausting day, regardless of the lack of physical activity Shepard had. She was asleep before sunset, just barely, thanks to the morality carnival she was attending. And a few glasses of gin. But mostly the first thing.
So Shepard was not particularly happy when she was jolted out of her rare dreamless sleep by a loud, irritating, and familiar beeping noise. She forced an eye open to see an orange fuzzy something blinking a few feet away. Her damned omni-tool was making a ruckus. Though not it's usual ruckus. Someone was trying to speak with her. The commander lunged for it before deciding whether or not to answer. It was only because the clock read eight that she decided to pick up.
"Mmhello?" she grumbled.
"Shepard? Is that you? Were you asleep? Keelah, I'm sorry. I know you need your rest."
"'s fine, Tali. Wha'dya need?"
"Have you been drinking Shepard?"
"What did you need, Tali?" the Commander repeated impatiently.
"Right, sorry. Umm... yes, anyways... uh―OH! Yes, I have great news: we've established communications with Sur'Kesh!"
Shepard sat up, trying to clear the pounding from her head. "What? That's great! How are they, what do we know?"
"Same situation as here," Tali said quickly. "They were all hit with that green pulse, infused with cybernetics, and the Reapers have ceased all attacks. We just sent them some engineers to help rebuild their relay. They're only half done."
"Can't say I'm surprised after we borrowed all their engineers. Any problems using the Citadel as a relay? The last person to use it like that was Saren."
"Actually, the last person to use it was you Commander, if memory serves. And no, there were no issues. All the preparations for the Citadel were made weeks ago. It's been good to go since we took it out of the Sol system."
Shepard was relieved. The first hurdle in rebuilding had been passed. The galactic residents could finally begin putting themselves back together.
"Garrus is leaving in the morning," Tali said. "He was requested for help with the rebuild and with the Reapers and... well, everything."
"At least one of us is getting away from everything here. I could use a little vacation," Shepard sighed. "Anyway, tell him I said goodbye."
"You can tell him yourself," Tali offered. "He's coming to see you."
Shepard's eyes went wide. Not that Tali could see them. "What, now?"
"That's what he said. Also mentioned a bottle rebellion or something."
"Of course he did," Shepard sighed. "I shouldn't have missed on the Citadel. Anyways, it sounds like we're piecing things back together, and it's good to hear. Keep doing what you're doing, Tali, and we'll have things up and running again soon."
"Thanks Shepard," Tali's voice was much quieter now. "I appreciate it. I'll let you go."
"Tali," Shepard said before the quarian could hang up. "Stop by and see me sometime, okay?"
"Got it." Shepard heard a click, and their conversation had finished.
The Commander smacked her light switch absent-mindedly as she stood up. Her room wasn't a mess, but she felt like her face might have been. Shepard trudged over to her bathroom sink to assess the damage. Not precisely the picture of sobriety, but after having taken a fair share of beatings, the Commander knew how to look professional after a hard day.
A few dabs of makeup later there was a knock at the door. Shepard tried to un-tussle her hair, with some success, before hiding her half-empty bottle on the way to the door.
"You know we humans have a saying, Vakarian," Shepard said as she opened the door and crossed her arms. The turian in front of her wasn't wearing his holo-targeter for once and it almost didn't look like Garrus. The armor was still there in full, however.
"You humans have a lot of those," Garrus said. "Well, come on, out with it."
"It's called "inviting yourself over," Garrus. Not the best plan for a warm welcome."
"I can see that. I'm still out in the hall." Shepard wasn't sure if turians could smirk, but it looked like Garrus was giving it his best effort.
"Oh, get in here, Vakarian." The Commander stepped aside and waved Garrus in, who nodded his thanks and proceeded into the great circular room.
"Quite the place you got here. How's the rent?" Garrus walked leisurely with Shepard across the room to the window wall and took in the sights.
"Probably through the roof."
"On the house?" Garrus asked, not a hint of surprise in his voice.
"Yeah."
"They'll be paying you off for as long as you live, Shepard. You know that, don't you? Everyone owes you everything."
"That's not how I see it, Garrus. But there's probably not much I can do about it. You getting the same treatment?"
Garrus looked around the room before answering. "Yeah. All of us are, Shepard. We were the Suicide Squad to us, but the Dream Team to the rest of the galaxy. Me, Tali, Kaiden, Jack, Mr. Vega, I don't know if we can count Samara, she pretty much always got what she wanted, but even Jacob and Cortez are getting some of it." Garrus paused to think. "Oh, and we have to get you up to the fleet before all of this is over. If I see the asari councilor asking Admiral Hackett for advice again I might actually die laughing."
"I bet the Admiral appreciates it," Shepard said sarcastically.
"Oh you know the guy, Commander," Garrus said casually. "No time for fun, but glad to help anyone. And he's got a good answer for anything you throw at him."
"Yeah." Shepard looked Garrus over, checking for wounds she might have missed at his last visit. "So how the hell did you and Kaiden make it out alive after that Reaper shot at us?"
"Well I learned how to duck," Garrus laughed. "Or at least that's what the Major tells me. I can't remember anything after that open field before we..."
"Ran towards the beam."
"Sure. I woke up in pretty bad shape after a few days—not like you, though. They had me hooked up to a bunch of machines and IV drips. I got through after a few blood donors and healed over the next few weeks. I was fine by the time you finally came to."
Shepard had no idea he went through his own ordeal. Garrus was likely downplaying his injuries, and Shepard suspected the turian had his own little chat with death while she was under. Was this what it had been like for everyone else? "I'm glad you're okay, Garrus."
"Same to you, Shepard." The two were quiet for a while. Shepard sat down in one of the massive armchairs while Garrus toured the rest of the room. When he sat down on the couch, Shepard broke the silence.
"Are you, uh, are you keeping in contact with Tali?"
"Yeah," Garrus said awkwardly. "Yeah, Shepard... She's pretty great."
"I know." Shepard took a long, slow breath. "I'm glad you two found each other."
"Don't do that to yourself, Shepard, it won't do you any good to think like that." Garrus warned. The turian was up and face to face with Shepard in a flash. "Do you know where Liara is right now?"
"No," Shepard said, not looking him in the eye. She hoped he wouldn't see her eyes watering.
"Well then you're in luck, because I do." Garrus put his hand on the Commander's. "She's in the cockpit, shouting at Joker, telling him to get his broken ass in gear and get them the hell back to Earth so you don't have to wait on her. And you can be damn sure they're coming, Shepard. I guarantee it."
A tear escape's Shepard's eye and she wiped it hurriedly. "Thanks Garrus."
"You know, Commander, I can finally take your word that you're actually a female."
Shepard choked on a laugh. "And why's that, you jerk?"
"Well us aliens have this saying about humans," Garrus said. "You haven't met a female until she's cried in front of you."
"Well I'm not a fan of breaking my rule, Vakarian. I don't cry."
"You're off duty, it's fine." Garrus reassured her. "If you're going to cry, go big or go home, Shepard."
The commander wiped her watering eyes again, refusing to let a second tear past her defenses. "Another human phrase. You've been listening."
"I try. But it's a lot to pick up," Garrus said. He stood and gave the Commander some space. After a few moments, when Shepard had sniffled her last sniffle, Garrus asked, "So are you going to give me the tour or what?"
Mehhhh... so that's done. I'm not really a fan of this chapter. Too choppy. But I couldn't find another way for things to happen over time without those breaks in the story. And if I wrote out the connection from one chunk to another this would be the most boring story in the world. So if you're still awake, that means I win at life.
Anyways, I hope you like my fix-its and societal rebuild ideas and whatnot. I tried to keep things fairly canon... which means I went plot-hole searching.
Sorry it was such a long chapter for no Liara :( She's all next chapter though, so if you've stuck with me, you might as well keep going maybe, yez? After reviewing, of course.
But seriously, please review. I'm a dude writing out a lesbian relationship. If I suck at it, don't you think I deserve to know? What was good, bad, funny, UNfunny, cheesy, corny, well-worded, just kind of crappy, and so on? I NEED TO KNOW!
But really, thanks for reading. I appreciate it :)