Prelude

"How bad is it?" Anderson walked with Admiral Hackett through the control room at Arcturus, the mood of the station tense and worried. The control room was abuzz with activity, people frantically scrambling to figure out … something. It was clear: something big was coming, and Anderson felt his stomach knotting up.

"Bad," Hackett replied grimly. "We just lost contact with two of our deep space outposts. There's something massive on long range scanners."

They're here, Anderson thought. "Is this what Shepard warned us about?"

"I'd stake my life on it," Hackett replied.

We're dead, Anderson thought. They've ignored this threat for three years, and now it's here. Humanity … galactic civilization … it's all going to end. We're all going to die.

"How long do we have?" Maybe, he thought, we have time to prepare … something …

Hackett dashed that hope. "Not long. I've sent word. The fleets are mobilizing."

Anderson stopped dead in his tracks. It was finally happening. Everything Shepard had warned them about was about to happen. "God help us all."

Shepard looked out his window from his room in the Earth Alliance Headquarters. A little boy was running around in the courtyard with a toy F-61 Trident. It brought a smile to his face, remembering running around the yard doing the same thing. He wondered if the boy was dreaming of a future in the Alliance Navy or Marines, or if he just liked playing with toy ships as all little boys do. The bright sunny day and the sight of children at play reminded him of how oblivious the galaxy was to the impending threat … and of just what it was that he and Miranda were fighting for. An Alliance shuttle was coming in fast, but it disappeared from his view as quickly as it had appeared.

Because of his involvement with Cerberus, Shepard was under house arrest, being questioned about Cerberus by seemingly ever branch of Alliance and Council law enforcement. In spite of his testimony, and that of Miranda and Garrus, it seemed that aside from Anderson and Hackett, it seemed that the Alliance brass and the Alliance Parliament denied the Reaper threat, as did the Citadel Council. His wedding plans with Miranda had been put on hold as a result, and more than a few hints had been made to him that because of his working with Cerberus, his career may be over. Only Admiral Hackett's efforts kept the vultures at bay. In spite of everything he had done for Humanity and for the galaxy, Shepard was disgraced. Lockdown, however, had been productive.

Miranda, on the other hand, was welcomed with open arms, being a defector from Cerberus. She had been presented to the Council as a Spectre candidate, and was off on missions being evaluated, just as Shepard was to be evaluated with Nilus almost three years ago. She was not supposed to have any contact with him, but the crafty operative found ingenious ways to get messages inside to Shepard. It seemed that she was serving under a Salarian Spectre named Jundam Bau, and they were getting along famously; Bau, as it turned out, was a good friend of Mordin, and delighted in hearing about Mordin's role in the Collector missions. Bau also made it clear to Miranda that he and others in STG were behind Shepard 100%, and were working behind the scenes to change the Salarian Union's position on the Reapers, though they were meeting heavy and entrenched resistance.

Of course, Shepard had no way to respond to her … well, he could, but he dared not jeopardize his tenuous position any further. For her part, Miranda knew that he would be silent; they had discussed that before his lockdown, but it killed him not to be able to tell her he loved her. On the other hand, Shepard had spent a lot of his downtime time honing the fine control of his biotics. As the only known human who could use biotics without an amp, Shepard was singularly unique. Mordin had speculated that the commander was the next step in human evolution, and hinted that a marriage with Miranda could produce offspring who would share Shepard's unique ability. The thought made him smile, and he hoped that perhaps Miranda could sense his love for her.

As his attention drifted back to the children at play outside, his door chimed. It was not a mealtime or time for his scheduled therapy session, so he assumed it was a visitor. He opened the door, half expecting another interrogation from some Alliance IA officer, but instead, it was Lieutenant James Vega, his handler. The massive marine stood straight and tall, firing off a crisp salute.

"Commander," the big marine said, a look of worry in his eyes.

James Vega was a massively built man, probably the most bulked up man Shepard had ever laid eyes on. Could have used you against Saren, he thought.

"You're not supposed to call me that anymore, James," Shepard rebuked, not returning the salute.

"Not supposed to salute you either," Vega added. "We gotta go. The defense committee wants to see you."

Shepard tossed the datapad he had been holding on his bed and followed James. "Sounds important."

Somehow, he knew that Anderson had been aboard that shuttle, and somehow, he knew they were here … the Reapers were finally here, and the only hope the defense committee had was in a disgraced commander whose warnings had gone unheeded for years. He only hoped that Miranda was alright. The Reapers had promised to return, and Shepard had promised to stop them. Now it was time to make good on that promise, and win a future with Miranda … and for the galactic civilization.