Hi there, and welcome to my story.
I simply couldn't let Mass Effect finish like it did! Never wrote anything before, a brand new experience. Looking back, these first chapters appear a bit rough. Hope you can appreciate them for what they are :)
Update August 2014 - If you wanna give this story an honest try please read at least the first 10 chapters. Chapters are very short, I'm quite proud of 9, and 10 has got the Shadow Broker calling room service :)
Chapter 1, Twelve months
Karli sat in her hot tub, all by herself. The apartment was empty, and she was very glad for her solitude. Eyes closed, she leaned back. The hot water gave her comfort, and half asleep, half dazed, her mind went over past events...
Today, this very day one year ago she had faced an insane AI aboard the Citadel, and she had used the incredible energy of the crucible to end the Reapers. What a day that had been! More dead than alive, she hardly could believe she had made it there at all. So many had fallen in that final push in London...
The Citadel had been a nightmare, one large graveyard. One that nearly buried her.
Hackett's first search team had been very thorough, and their medic more than capable. She had been on the verge of death when they found her in the presidium. Somehow her recollection of that day was as sharp as a razor...
Her thoughts naturally went to Anderson.
He had fought hard, it was so unfair that he could not be here to enjoy the moment. Naturally, she had not been able to go to the funeral, but she had met Kahlee Sanders a few times, and their talks had been warm and thoughtful. She had offered to return the apartment to her, but Kahlee said it would remind her too much of Anderson, and the plans they had together.
A tear rolled down her cheek, and she did not mind.
Anderson, Palaven, Earth, Thessia, how many had lost their lives? Mothers, fathers and children... and then the cycles that had come before them... and for what stupid pointless reason?
Karli was crying out loud, she could no longer control herself. Two years ago, she would have felt embarrassed, but Liara had changed her.
The great Commander Shepard! If they could see me like this...
She never showed this side of herself to anyone. Only two people knew it even existed.
The created always rebels against the creator.
The catalyst's words chimed in her head.
Was he right? The news coming from Rannoch and the Geth/Quarian fleet was extremely encouraging. A week after the crucible had fired, Quarians had re-activated the Geth. For the past 12 months, messages had come about cooperation and mutual respect. The Quarians had appointed Tali as ambassador to the Geth, and she kept a close watch on that relationship.
The Geth had created a blueprint for a Quarian home, a house that could be produced (in Geth factories that had survived the war) and built within an 8 hour span. Within the last couple of months they had been instrumental in realizing the Quarian's dreams of living on their own home planet once more. The Geth had been patient, understanding, and very helpful. Things looked bright for the future.
For a few months, the keenest minds in the Galaxy had worked together, and they accomplished an amazing triumph: A machine that had wiped out the Reapers. Now the science teams, under the leadership of Dr. Cole and the Rachni, had set themselves a new task, repairing the Mass Relays. Seeing the destruction in the Galaxy, getting transportation up and running was crucial, and that meant the Mass Relays.
3 weeks after the Reaper war, the scientists had received six highly advanced prototypes, FTL-8 turian frigates. These took off for Thessia, Rannoch, Tuchanka, Palaven, Illium, and Dekuuna. The team that reached Thessia got a big surprise. The asari had already repaired their relay, and were working hard on several others in the region. Matriarch T'lavi had researched the relays for centuries, and was ready to act when they were destroyed.
So now, a year after the Reaper war, a large portion of the relays were operational, and the science teams expected to finalize their work within the next 3 months.
Karli turned to the tap, and started to add some extra hot water to the tub. She picked up a sponge and soap, and slowly started to soap up her leg. Her physical self was remarkably intact, and she just marveled at the thought of everything it had been through. Now if only my other afflictions were cured! Twelve months and my body still won't behave like it's supposed to. And the worry is getting to Blue as well...
Sadness overtook her when she considered she'd probably never be able to perform a charge again. Heck, I'd love to go an entire week without fainting!
One of the biggest surprise after the war had been the Quarians. 300 years aboard ships, had made virtually every Quarian an engineer, or at least a very good repairman. They offered to help rebuild earth, but this was kindly refused by the humans, who wanted to do it themselves. The Quarians stopped asking, and descended on the Citadel.
What happened there in the next 6 months was next to a miracle. Millions of Quarians, efficiently organized in cleanup and construction teams, swept through the Citadel like a whirlwind. Volus engineers focused on the Presidium, and both races were aided by Asari, who used their remarkable biotics for lifting and moving.
In addition, an army of keepers had come swarming out of the belly of the Citadel. It was impossible to communicate with these creatures, but it mattered little. They worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and were ruthlessly efficient. Everyone could see their results. A few weeks ago, the Quarian fleet had left for Rannoch, leaving the Citadel virtually completed.
This morning had been a very busy affair. The Alliance, Hackett, the other admirals had organized festivities in the main square of Zakera ward. If one could call it festivities at all, they had insisted it be low-key, remembering all the ones that had fallen. Yes, it was wonderful to think of the end of the war, but the cost had been immense.
Of course she'd been there, not fond of all the attention on her. She'd never been shy, but to be put on a pedestal was definitely not her desire. It had been a privilege to lay the first rose by the foot of the war memorial, but what had struck her most when she looked up was all the faces in the crowd. Hope, faith, confidence, gratitude, it was there in the faces to read. That was her favorite moment of the entire morning.
She had given her life, twice, to defeat the Reapers. She had lost close friends, faced impossible odds, travelled the Galaxy ad infinitum, and now to see the faces of those she had fought for, thanking her...
The goosebumps returned.