Dossier: Recruitment Run – Emilia Shepard
A knock at the door of her assigned quarters interrupted. She was glad for the interruption. All these months of being grounded and investigated while the Alliance brass decided if she was still the same Shepard she was before Cerberus was making her climb the walls in boredom. She wanted to be out there, fighting this war she could feel was coming. It was close, she could tell. It was all she could do to forestall it, but it was inevitable. The Reapers are coming. The only question is when.
She flicked her screen off and answered the door.
"Admiral." She saluted David Anderson.
He sighed. "Shepard, we need to talk."
Emilia Shepard brushed her hands through her short but uneven brown hair and gestured at a chair, shutting the door behind Anderson. She sat across from him and looked at the man she'd known for a long time.
"I swear sometimes, the brass can get to talking and not stop even when the politicians have had enough talking." He groaned. Shepard knew he was a soldier like her, he couldn't stand inaction. "We need you."
She raised her eyebrow dryly. "So they've finally decided my 'story' is worth listening to?"
"The patrols we had following up your reports in the Bahak system have gone dark."
Shepard froze. "Bahak… that's batarian space. That's where Kenson tried to"-
"I know. We lost contact with them a little over a week ago. It's taken since then for me to convince them to get you in on this. They've got orders for you."
Shepard held up a hand. "I don't take orders from them. They're not my superiors any more. Hell, I don't even take orders from the Council since they decided to suspend my Spectre status pending the outcome of this investigation."
Anderson held out her dog tags. "They're offering you your position as Commander, Spectre and commanding officer of the Normandy back."
"And in return, I investigate the Bahak system?"
"In return, you rebuild your squad and give them reliable intel on the Reapers' invasion. Give them options."
She sighed. "I'll need very specific people. Very qualified people."
"Anyone you want, so long as they're not dead. We're not Cerberus."
She almost smiled. Almost. "You'll get your list in half an hour. Where's the Normandy?"
"One condition. You convince them to join you."
This time she smiled. "Just watch me."