War never came and went by without a price.
Shepard knew that, it wasn´t like he expected much from his efforts. Still, the result was unacceptable, even though most people saw it as a success.
The Reapers had been destroyed, the Catalyst`s plan was foiled… for now. However, that victory came with a price no one was able to pay.
Not even the most advanced computers of the Asari could calculate the number of casualties in this war. The Batarian race was gone, except for some lone survivors, the Krogans struggled for survival, although without the Genophage, they would actually have a chance.
The Geth, like the Reapers, were no more. But the immense hatred of the humans and Quarians didn´t exactly make that a casuality, but rather a pleasing side effect.
The Asari, though they were probably the luckiest race of them all, were devastated to see their homeland destroyed, exactly like all the others, something that has never happened in their time before.
And Earth… it was safe to say it could´ve been worse, but mankind wouldn´t have been fighting for much longer.
Now Shepard was back on his ship, the SSV Normandy, staring at the blank steel roof of his cabin.
Sooner or later, things would normalize. But for now, all lives in the galaxy hung in the balance, and one could speak of a "survival of the fittest" scenario.
"Shepard, your sleeping schedule is overdue." A voice came out of the loudspeaker from a corner of the room, and he groaned.
"I`m aware of that, EDI. I don´t think you`re able to sleep, but if you were, you would know how hard it is to sleep in a time like this." Instead of getting rest, all he saw when he closed his eyes was that young boy… it had been like that for weeks, months even. And now that he knew that kid by the name of Catalyst, he didn`t want to see him ever again.
It was probably some higher plan, thought out eons ago, unable to be comprehended by a mere biological species like humans, but all possibilities aside, there would´ve been better ways to solve the conflict of nature and science.
"I´m just reminding you that as a commanding officer, you should be in the best shape to make decisions. Especially in a time like this."
Another groan followed, before he got on his feet, finally abandoning the idea of sleeping. There were other things to worry about.
"Quit acting like my mother and patch me through to Joker. I just made a decision."
A static sound was heard for a brief second, before it was replaced by the cheerful voice of the young man.
"I´m listening, Commander."
"What's the nearest of the main council planets?"
Yanking on one end of his leather jacket, he shoved his head under a stream of fresh water, his face touching the sink as a shock of extreme temperature brought him back to his senses.
"Uhh, Palavan… I think. Why don`t you check it on the galaxy map?"
"Because i´m not standing in front of it. I`m getting dressed, if that's important for you to know. Anyways, pick up Garrus and the others, if they want to come along, Dr. Chakwas can take care of the wounded. Then head straight to Palavan… we owe the Turians big time, and I think we should do our best to pay them back."
"Copy that, Commander."
The speaker went silent, and a bit of peace came to Shepards consciousness.
This peace, silent, comforting…
Before he could react to it, his eyes were closed, and he sank to his knees, falling asleep in his bathroom, where he stayed for the next sixteen hours.
"Commander Shepard, you have a visitor."
EDIs mechanical voice brought him back from Morpheus`s lair, and Shepard jerked up in reflex.
"What the… i´ve been sleeping next to the toilet?"
Shaking his head, he got back up, slightly cold from having passed out with wet hair, but he was relaxed, refreshed and in a surprisingly good mood.
He quickly stroked through his hair to clear up its messy look, before he went to the door. A press of a button later, it opened with a hiss.
"Garrus! Nice to see you made it." He replied to the familiar, scarred face of the armor clad Turian in front of him.
"Barely. Some others weren´t as lucky… but that's the way it is. Are you busy?"
Not many people could interpret the mimic of a Turian correctly, thanks to having two jaws, but Shepard could see the smile on his face just fine.
"Not really. I could use some distraction after all what happened."
Stepping aside, he let him in, the door closing shut behind him, as Garrus walked straight to the small table and sat down on one of the chairs.
"Anderson´s been sent to the Huerta Hospital, but they`re not expecting him to live much longer."
Garrus words were a stab into Shepards heart, but he was used to stabs like these by now.
"It's a bullet wound with a lot of blood loss. They brought me back after i`ve been peppered with metal shrapnel, shock frosted in the void of space, decompressed and asphyxiated… not to mention the impact of several kilotons when I hit that planetoid after being dead for several hours."
Garrus smirked, but his face darkened right after Shepard finished.
"Yeah, but you were important to them. An icon. They needed you for a job, and they gave you your paycheck in advance. Anderson did his job already… they don´t really care, i´m assuming."
"They better care. That man did more to save the earth than anyone else, including me! And don´t tell me about paychecks – He´s an Admiral, and he´s been working overtime for months."
The Turian laughed shallowly, then shrugged. "Talk to them, then. Who knows. You united the Krogans and the Turians- sworn enemies for centuries. I´m sure you can arrange something."
Shepard nodded, then held his hand toward Garrus for a greeting. After a mere moment, the powerful claw of the Turian soldier grabbed it, and he pulled himself off the chair, where he and Shepard exchanged pats on the shoulder with one another.
"Glad to be back on board, Commander."
"Let's continue where we left off. There´s a lot more to saving a galaxy than what we`ve done so far.
End