There was a certain atmosphere aboard Arcturus Station. The air stung with a strong anticipation of the events which would take place inside the Alliance courtroom, fear lining the faces of the human diplomats. It had been five months since the incident in the Bahak system. The politics had been nothing short of difficult between the Batarians and the Humans. Today, however, after much stalling by the Alliance, those responsible would finally have to answer for their crimes.
A man leaned against the window of his quarters, the billions of stars of the vast emptiness of space filling his features. His head rested limply on his left arm, his shoulders slumped slightly and his gaze completely observant, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of something, anything that could release him from his current position.
"Shepard?"
The man turned towards the door to his room, hearing his name and recognizing the soft, metallic voice which had called it. There stood a masked feminine figure, a purple veil adorned with intricate swirling shapes flowing across her body, hugging her delicate frame.
"Tali," Shepard replied, a small smile finding its way onto his features, "You come to check up on me?"
The Quarian took a step forward, her expression clearly one of discomfort. The single light at the chin of her helmet flickering as she began to speak.
"I... I just... wanted to say that I'm here for you. We're all here for you."
Shepard sighed. "Thanks, Tali, but... I'm not sure how things will work out this time. I'm not so good when it comes to politics."
"You were there for me when the Admiralty Board accused me of treason, Shepard," Tali stated, her voice taking a lighter tone, "Keelah, you exonerated me with a single speech! If that isn't proof enough of your abilities..."
Shepard chuckled as Tali trailed off. "At the time the admirals seemed more interested in the Geth than you. All I had to do was point that out and make a scene."
He walked across the room, picking up a datapad and looking through his notes on the Collectors and the technology they had recovered from their base. He frowned, thoughts nagging at the back of his head.
"The problem is that this time I'm the one obsessing over the machines and they're the ones doing the accusations."
Tali walked up to him, her left hand finding its way onto Shepard's shoulder.
"You will get through this, Shepard. They can't ignore the Reapers. Not after what we found at the Collector Base."
Shepard snorted. The Council would be at the hearing, but he doubted that they would ever manage to recognize his countless warnings against the Reapers as anything other than a major delusion.
"Hey," Tali whispered, "If it helps, I think you'll be alright."
She wrapped her arm around Shepard's waist and he turned and did the same, hugging her delicately as he rested his head on her helmet. Together they stood and rocked back and forth, comforting each other. Finally, Shepard spoke, looking downward with a contemplating stare.
"Tali, I've been branded a terrorist by the Batarian Hegemony. I killed 300,000 people. I've worked with Cerberus. Plus, the Council will be at this hearing, too, and you know their opinions on the 'Reapers'." Shepard spat the last word. Were his hands not resting on the quarian's waist, he would have done air quotes.
"You're also a Spectre. The first Human Spectre. The Alliance can't afford to lose you. They won't let the Batarians win this." Tali reassured him. Shepard said nothing, his gaze still fixed towards the floor.
"Are the Batarians still looking towards... execution?" Tali visibly shivered as she completed her sentence. Shepard had died once already, saving the crew of the original Normandy in an heroic sacrifice. To be taken again because of a need to appease the Batarians would be an insult to everything he had accomplished.
Shepard nodded. "I doubt Hackett's going to let them pull it off though. Ultimately it's the council that has to make up its mind regarding what happens to me. I just hope they make the right decision."
Tali pulled Shepard closer. "As do I." She muttered into his ear.
"Ahem."
Shepard and Tali jumped at the sound of a third voice, splitting apart and embarassedly turning their attentions toward the intruder.
"Figured I'd find you two lovebirds here," the Turian standing underneath the doorway stated. "What, no hug for me?"
"Bosh'tet!" Tali exclaimed, her face, unbeknownst to the world, red.
Shepard chuckled and relaxed once he recognized his friend. "Sorry, Garrus, no scars allowed."
Garrus simply ran his hand across his right cheek, outlining the extensive scar that had been the result of an exploding rocket. It had healed, but it was still a grim reminder of his days as a vigilante on Omega. An expression of mock hurt lined his features. "That's a bit of a hypocritical statement."
Shepard shook his head, amused. "What's going on Garrus? Not like you to just drop in on me at this hour."
"Anderson told me to warn you that the hearing's going to start a bit early. You might want to start heading toward the court room in half an hour or so."
Shepard nodded, then exhaled. Garrus's expression was similar to that of a raising of an eyebrow.
"You alright?"
Shepard looked up, prepared for what was to come. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Come on," Garrus said, "Lets go gather the rest of the team."
Garrus walked out, followed by Shepard and Tali, leaving the room empty and quiet aside from the hum of the ventilation system.
"Remind me again why the fuck I'm supposed to be here."
Jack had never been one for patience, nor had she ever been one for anything regarding politics. All she wanted right now was to be out of the same damn room she had been stuck on for the past few weeks and go somewhere less boring.
Miranda Lawson sighed, turning to the convict. The relationship between her and Jack had never really gotten much better since the attack on the Collector Base, but fortunately they had managed to remain professional, most of the time. "Shepard needs us, for one, and the Alliance impounded the Normandy, so you couldn't escape even if you wanted to. Plus they need to question the entire crew. That means you as well, Jack."
Jack frowned, clearly unhappy with the prospect. "Yeah, yeah. It's all just a load of horseshit, though. We don't deserve this. We saved all of these assholes from the Collectors, that should have been enough."
"It's not branded a shadow war for nothing." Shepard said as he strode into the lounge. Immediately, everyone straightened up. Some men threw salutes and conversations quickly died out amongst the members of the Normandy crew.
A grizzled veteran sitting across from Jack stood up from one of the tables strewn about the room, putting down the cards in his hands. "About goddamn time you got here. We doing this?"
Shepard let out a snort. The mercenary hadn't changed one bit. "Yes, Zaeed. Alliance security's coming here to escort us to the courtroom. I want everyone to cooperate and start heading down there in five minutes."
His eyes wandered around the room as Garrus and Tali followed him in. Thane had been meditating with Samara near the massive window of the room. It reminded him of the port and starboard observation rooms on the Normandy. The calm aura that emanated from those rooms were not lost on the assassin and the justicar, both of them silently contemplating the situation, preparing themselves mentally for what was to come.
Zaeed had been with Grunt, Jack and Jacob, the four of them in a heated game of Skyllian-5. By the chips on the table close to the now-empty seat, it was clear that he had taken most of the winnings. Mordin had been typing away at his omni-tool, possibly analyzing data and continuing any medical research he could whilst the Normandy's lab had been taken away from him. Finally, Miranda and Kasumi were sitting on the long sofas, discussing god knows what before Shepard had walked in.
They all began standing up, following Shepard's orders. Tali had turned to Shepard as everyone shifted.
"What about Legion, Shepard? Is it going to be with us at the trial?"
"I don't know, Tali," Shepard said, rubbing his brow at the memory of the Alliance sequestering Legion after the Normandy was taken from him, "The Alliance still wants to keep it under surveillance. They don't trust it enough to let it wander the station. Still, I gave it direct orders to do whatever the Alliance requests of it as long as it keeps itself alive."
Tali merely nodded, gave Shepard some final reassuring words and then went off to talk with Garrus and Kasumi by the side. Joker, who had been with the rest of the ship's crew chatting away in the lounge walked up to Shepard, an unsure expression on his face.
"Hey commander," he began, "Any word on if the Alliance is done screwing with the Normandy yet?"
Shepard frowned, shaking his head. Since the ship had been taken away from him, Joker had been worrying non-stop about the Normandy and, to a certain extent, EDI.
"I have no idea what the Alliance has done with the Normandy or if they've finished. Only thing I know is that they want to scrub it of anything Cerberus and repurpose it to be an Alliance ship, Joker."
"Does that mean we're going back to the Alliance?" Joker said, a look of uncertainty in his eyes.
"Either that, or we're going to be grounded for longer than I'd like."
Shepard hated being in the dark. If this were a ground mission he would be able to find a different route to his target. Interstellar politics, however, did not seem to follow the same rules.
"That won't happen so long as I have a say in this, Commander."
Shepard's eyes lit up, and a smile formed on his face as he turned around towards the source of the new voice.
"Anderson!" Shepard greeted, shaking the councilor's hand, "You have no idea how relieved I am to see you here."
Anderson smiled weakly. "You look good Shepard. A little soft around the edges, though. Arcturus Station been treating you alright?"
"Yeah, it's not so bad in the end," Shepard replied, "The hot food and soft beds helped."
Anderson let out a small chuckle but then crossed his hands behind his back, a serious look now crossing his face."I hope you're ready for this Shepard. We have one shot at this, and it'd be a damn shame to lose you now."
Shepard straightened up. "I have no intention of letting this hearing decide my fate, Anderson. After this is over, though, I'll need my ship back. We've got bigger problems than a war with the Batarians."
"You think the Reapers will show up soon?" Anderson asked, worry now plainly on his features.
"Without a doubt, Anderson." Shepard said, "Destroying the Bahak Relay bought us some time, but that was months ago."
Anderson merely nodded. "I'll do my best to get you through this, Shepard. Ultimately, you're still a council Spectre. It's up to us to decide what happens to you now. Know this, however: you've already got someone who'd sooner die than let the Batarians have you."
Shepard smiled. "Thanks, councilor."
The team had been escorted into the Alliance courtroom. It was a large hall, clearly meant for significant cases. It was elegantly decorated, though this did little to put Commander Shepard's mind at ease.
Shepard looked around the courtroom. Present were the Citadel Council, the four leaders sitting in front of the commander. Admiral Hackett sat to the left of the council, and a Batarian representative whose name Shepard did not know sat at a desk to their right, his four eyes betraying his otherwise calm body language. The Turian councilor, Sparatus, also seemed quite collected, his eyes intently going around the room. Not wanting to make eye contact with the Turian, Shepard turned his gaze towards the Asari councilor, Tevos. Even in this, what was probably the most dire moment of his career, Shepard couldn't help but notice the Asari's beauty as she sat upright, her hands folded neatly on the desk in front of her. Finally, Shepard noticed the Salarian councilor, Valern, as he discussed something with Anderson, who seemed quite weary.
What he did not expect to see was Lieutenant-Commander Kaidan Alenko among the Alliance officers. They had been close friends in the past, especially during their fight against Saren. Kaidan was busy discussing some matter or other with ambassador Udina, another face that Shepard didn't think he would see at the trial. He knew this had been a large case, but if Udina was here then it meant that relations must have been tenuous at best.
Shepard could see the Normandy crew in the stalls, and his ground team sat beside him in a long row. To his sides sat Garrus and Tali, both looking prepared for what was to come. His entire team, in fact, was quiet and concentrated, ready to defend their commander against anything and everything the galaxy threw at him.
Shepard smiled slightly, a feeling of pride encompassing his whole body. His eyes returned to the front, now fierce with energy, as he waited for the trial to begin.
Well, then! I hope you enjoyed this introduction to Shattered Network. I never really did like how Mass Effect 3 played out. I felt like it abandoned too many things that made Mass Effect powerful and good. I especially hated how some parts of the lore were ignored or simply sidelined. Casey Hudson said more than once that Mass Effect is a story that the player makes as he goes along. This is my interpretation of that story. Shattered Network is meant to capture an atmosphere that Mass Effect 3 failed to: a light of hope in a sea of desperation. The Reapers in this story will be absolutely ruthless, cunning and thorough, but I plan to adhere to the Mass Effect feeling as much as possible.
Oh, and I won't go too heavy on the Tali/Shepard elements, but I do plan on fleshing out their relationship in some later chapters. I also don't like making promises about chapter releases. This is my first real project, but I hope to see it through.