The Citadel,
Crucible Control Room.
The Crucible fired, releasing a shockwave of red energy which hit every Reaper over Earth's orbit before continuing on to the Charon relay to hit other Reapers throughout the galaxy. Shepard was exhausted; he was down to his last ounce of strength. The run up to the beam and the showdown with the Illusive Man had taken up most of his strength. The last thing Shepard heard was Admiral Hackett reporting that the Reapers had stopped their attack, and the last thing Shepherd saw before passing out, was a bright light.
London,
Earth,
Three days after the end of the Reaper War.
The battle has ended, the Reapers have been stopped, but the battle had been a costly one. Admiral Hackett stood in front of a crowd of soldiers and volunteers who had gathered to mourn the loss at what remained of Westminster Abbey; he never thought he would be the one standing there to give this speech. He always thought that Shepard would be the one. Hackett took in a deep breath before speaking, "We are here today not because of the action of just one species, we are here because of the collective strength that we have mustered," Hackett paused for a while before continuing, "we are here standing and alive because of the sacrifice of those who will not be able to see this new age. What we can do to honor their sacrifice is to make sure that we remain united in the face of any adversary, to make sure that their sacrifice did not go to waste. The road to rebuilding will be long and arduous, but what we lost can be rebuilt and we can achieve even greater height." With that Hackett offered a salute to the crowd that has gathered, and his salute was returned by thunderous applause as well as salutes from the military that has gathered, be it Alliance, Turian or even Batarian.
The Citadel,
Huerta Memorial Hospital.
Five days after the end of the Reaper Wars.
Shepard laid still on the bed, his badly injured body was hooked up to numerous monitors that kept track of his vital signs. Shepard has lain comatose ever since activating the Crucible, but for the moment, doctors at Huerta Memorial Hospital had diagnosed that the commander was in a stable condition. After the firing of the Crucible which eliminated the Reaper threat from the Citadel, C-Sec managed to locate the commander who was in a comatose state and quickly rushed the commander over to Huerta Memorial Hospital for treatment. Only close friends and relatives were allowed to visit the commander at this time. Ashley Williams stood next to Shepard's bed, although she was a hardened soldier, she still could not hold back her tears at the sight of her beloved lying on the hospital bed, hooked up to multiple tubes. Ashley put her hand on the commander's shoulder and stroked it gently, "Remember when you came to see me after the incident on Mars? I guess we have come full circle, here I am at your bedside, I—just get better skipper. I can't afford to lose you, not again." Ashley leaned in and kissed Shepard on his cheek, and then she left the room, with tears still in her eyes.
The Citadel,
Lower Wards.
Armando Bailey loved being in and policing the lower wards of the Citadel, to him it felt right, it felt that he was doing something that mattered. The past year has been a roller coaster for Bailey who was made Commander of Citadel Security, from the attempted coup by Cerberus led by the traitorous human counselor Donald Udina, to the Reaper invasion of the Citadel. Now the biggest agenda on Bailey's plate was getting C-Sec back to full operational status and make sure that order on the Citadel remains as reconstruction takes place. For the most part, Bailey was pleased; there were no instances of looting being reported as every resident of the Citadel was busy in helping out with the reconstruction effort. So far, his rounds around the ward have been uneventful. The most eventful event to date was helping a group of his officers removing an obstruction in front of the Aeeghor Munitions shop. Bailey after a few good hours patrolling the wards, decided to take a break and admire the view or what was left of it.
"Commander Bailey," called out a voice from behind. Bailey snapped into attention and turned around and saw that the person that was calling out to him was Kolyat Krios, the son of the late Thane Krios who had saved Councilor Valern from the hands of Cerberus assassin Kai Leng during Cerberus' attempted coup. "Kolyat, what are you doing here?" asked Bailey as he closed the distance between him and Kolyat. Kolyat large Drell like eyes blinked and then replied Bailey, "I am here to assist in keeping the peace down here on the lower wards while it is being rebuilt. I volunteered with the Citadel Defence Force to give back to the community as well as to honor my father." Bailey nodded his head at Kolyat before activating his omni-tool and replied, "Well you can head over down to Section E, and they need a few extra hands down there." Kolyat nodded in understanding at his new orders and respectfully bowed to Bailey before making his way down to the Section E of the lower wards.
That's one good kid you got there Thane, mused Bailey to himself before getting back to the work that he was previously doing.
Turian Embassy,
Presidium Embassy.
"I want you to be in charge of the rebuilding efforts on Palaven," said Primarch Adrien Victus to Garrus who was taken quite aback by the Primarch's statement. "Err, I don't think I am suited for that kind of job," replied Garrus to the Primarch, "I am more of a solider than a bureaucrat who just sits in some office and looks at reports after report. Furthermore, I have some other more pressing matters at hand right now. Primarch Victus looked at Garrus, a hint of disappointment could be seen on his face, "I am really sorry to hear that Garrus," Primarch Victus made his way to the Embassy's windows and looked out of it, the signs of battle were still present, the once beautiful view was now gone and was replaced by rubble and scorch marks "I too felt the same way when I was asked to be Primarch of the Turian Hierarchy, but the situation at the time made it clear that I would do the most good for the Turian people by being a bureaucrat than a soldier."
Garrus looked at his Primarch; the man that stood in front of him was more of a soldier than a diplomat or a bureaucrat, in reality the Primatch and he had a lot in common besides both being Turian of course. Garrus finally replied the Primarch, "I am sorry sir, but I promised someone that I would help her in rebuilding her home, and I intend to keep my end of the promise." Primarch Victus turned away from the window and faced Garrus, "Very well then Garrus, I wish you all the best, and Spirits go with" Garrus nodded his head and made his way out of the embassy office.
Council Chambers,
Citadel Tower.
Urdnot Wrex was getting more and more impatient; the time the citadel council took for deliberating whether or not the Krogan should be given a new planet was taking longer that he had hoped for. Well at least this is better than trying to escape the droves of females that's trying to constantly mate with me, mused Wrex while looking down at a datapad in his hand. The data on the datapad showed that the krogan population has been growing ever since the genophage was cured, and the Krogan race would need a new habitable garden world to sustain its new population boom.
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, an Asari came up to Wrex and informed him that the council has finished deliberations and would like to see him in the council chamber. Wrex made his way into the council chamber, a place that no Krogan has stepped into since the beginning of the Krogan rebellions. Hopefully I would have more luck in convincing the council than my ancient predecessor, mused Wrex as he stood in front the assembled council.
The first councilor to speak was the Asari councilor, Councilor Tevos. "Urdnot Wrex, we have debated the matter of whether or not to give you another planet to settle on a great deal of thought, and we, the council decided that the Krogan people would be given a new colony to , we have agreed that the Shroud which was destroyed is to be rebuilt and terraforming teams are to be sent to Turchanka to help speed up the planet's" Wrex could not believe his ears, after centuries of being put down by the council; the council was finally giving a new lease of hope to his people. "We feel that giving the Krogan a new planet to settle is the least the council could do to repay the debt that we owe you, I know that Palaven will always be indebted to you," said Councilor Sparatus. "Use this new hope wisely Urdnot Wrex, and usher in a new age for the Krogan people," remarked the temporary human councilor Dominic Osoba. Wrex nodded in agreement at the temporary human councilor's remark before thanking the councilors and taking his leave. But before Wrex exited the chambers, Wrex was stopped by the voice of the Salarian councilor Valern, "But be wary Urdnot Wrex, we Salarians although indebted to you in a certain degree will still keep a close eye on you and your people. Therefore we still feel that the Krogan should not be allowed to produce any sort of space going crafts until we deem it possible" Wrex did not turn around to face the councilor or offer a rebuttal, instead he continued on his way out of the chamber. What he has acquired is more than anything he could have dreamt of.
Quarian Embassy,
Citadel Presidium Embassy.
Tali Zora vas Normandy was busy helping to set up the new Quarian embassy on the Citadel. Ever since the Quarians managed to broker peace with the Geth with the help of Commander Shepherd, which resulted in the return to the homeworld as well as the addition of the massive Quarian Migrant Fleet to the war against the Reapers, the Quarians were allowed to reopen their embassy on the Citadel after their previous embassy was closed by the council due to losing their homeworld to the Geth in which they created.
Tali mused while looking at her fellow Quarians who were busy setting up the embassy; just imagine, a few years we were considered nothing more than wondering vagrants and now we have our homeworld back, an embassy on the citadel and more that that, we are respected once again.
"Admiral Tali, Admiral Tali," said a voice from the room which Tali recognised immediately as the voice of one of the technicians, Veetor. Tali turned to face Veetor who was coming up to her and replied , "Yes Veetor how can I help you ?" Veetor took a moment to compose himself, the mental trauma of witnessing every human colonist being abducted by the Collectors on Freedom's Progress still haunted him greatly, although he was getting better he still suffered from the occasional anxiety attacks, Veetor took a deep breath in and finally answered Tali, "Admiral Tali, we have finally installed the embassy's security system and the quantum entanglement communicator has been finally linked to Rannoch. And Admiral Koris wants you to contact him at the quickest convenient." Tali nodded and thanked Veetor for the update, before saying, "Good job Veetor." Veetor just nodded and activated his omni-tool for the next task at hand.
Tali made her way to the embassy's communication room to contact Admiral Zaal Koris vas Rannoch. The door to the communication room slid open to reveal two technicians, one male and one female working on the QEC. The female technician stood up and greeted Tali, "Admiral Tali, the QEC is ready and has been patched through to the homeworld, just push this button to activate it." Tali thanked the two technicians and both of them took their leave from the room. Tali stepped on to the QEC pad and proceeded to press the command button to activate the device. Not long after, the holographic image of Admiral Zaal Koris appeared to greet Tali, "Tali how are things coming along on the Citadel ?"
"The embassy is almost operational Admiral Koris, it should be fully operational in two days time," answered Tali. Admiral Koris nodded his head, "It is so hard to believe that we have gotten back everything we have lost and more in just a mere couple of months. And to think that we nearly lost it all by going to war with the Geth." Tali nodded in agreement with the older Admiral, although Admiral Koris was the one that wanted to exile her from the Migrant fleet two years ago, Tali now had a deep sense of respect for the older admiral who believed that peace could be reached with the Geth despite the history between both peoples.
"Admiral may I ask you a question ?" queried Tali to Zaal Koris. "Of course Tali," replied the Admiral. "What's the situation on Rannoch ?" asked Tali. Ever since the Quarian people returned to the homeworld, every Quarian has been fixated with the rebuilding of the homeworld. Admiral Zaal Koris shifted to the side just slightly and replied Tali's question, "Well as the former leader of the civilian fleet, I am currently leading the civilian effort in building farms and setting up civilian structures like medical facilities and housing. As far as I know, Admiral Xen is trying to start up a ground base facility for her Special Projects operation, but I could be wrong. Admiral Han 'Gerrel on the other hand has been running patrols and drills with the Heavy Fleet, I think after years of being on guard protecting the Migrant Fleet, he is still not use to peace. And Admiral Shaala 'Raan has been in talks with the Citadel Council on the status of our Liveships, due to the armaments we installed on it for the war. She is trying to assure the council that we will disarm the Liveships, which of course Admiral Gerrel has protested disarming them as he said we might need them, but we have started disarming the Liveships anyways as a symbol of goodwill and cooperation. As for the Geth, the Geth are assisting us in carrying out the heavy work as we have yet to acquire much heavy machinery" Tali nodded and took a moment to absorb all the information that she has recently received.
"Is there anything else Tali ?" asked Admiral Zaal Koris. Tali took a moment before replying the admiral's query. "Admiral Koris, I would like to resign from the admiralty board." Admiral Zaal Koris immediately questioned Tali, "Why would you want to do that Tali ?"
"I feel that I have enough of fighting as well as adventures and now I just want to settle down on the homeworld and help to rebuild it," answered Tali. Admiral Zaal Koris gave out a huge sigh and then replied the young Quarian, "Tali, I respect every thing you have done for the fleet, even if we have never seen eye to eye in the past. And if you ever want to return to the board, a position is always open for you. I will inform the rest of the Admirals about your decision to step down. Be safe Tali 'Zorah vas Rannoch, Keelah se'lai." Tali bowed her head slightly as a gesture of respect to the older admiral and wished him, "Keelah se'lai Admiral Koris." With that the QEC was deactivated and Tali made her way out of the communication room.
As soon as Tali stepped out of the communication room, Tali was greeted by a most welcoming sight, which was that of Garrus Vakarian, her comrade, her best friend and lover. Garrus walked up to Tali and embraced the Quarian, which she returned to the Turian. Most of the Quarians who were working did not pay much attention to the duo's gesture of affection to one another and were more fixated with their work and hand.
"What are you doing here ?" said Tali toy-fully. Garrus smiled at Tali, and replied, "Well I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by to see whether you needed to be saved from any assassins that are trying to kill you," replied Garrus jokingly. Tali laughed, that sentence brought back memories of how she first meet Garrus and Shepard at that dirty alley near Chora's Den. "Well I don't need saving as I can take care of myself now," replied Tali playfully. "Ooh have we got a feisty one over here. Anyways, remember that sushi place that Shepard closed when he destroyed the fish tank trying to escape the mercenaries after him?" Tali nodded and replied , " Of course I remember, I wanted to go and eat there and show the whole Citadel that Tali 'Zora vas Normandy has gotten somewhere in life, but Shepard had to go and close the place." Garrus chucked slightly and replied, "I love it when you're angry. Anyways, the shop has recently reopened and they are having a special on dextro based sushi, I was wondering whether you would like to go?" Although Garrus could not see Tali's face due to the mask from her environmental suit, he knew that she was smiling. The next thing that happened, was Tali quickly pulling the Turian's hand to make him follow her to the embassy's exit.
Somewhere on the Citadel Presidium Commons ,
Javik felt rather uneasy as well as restless. All his life Javik only knew one thing, which was battle. And now, it was over. His greatest enemy, the Reapers has been defeated in this cycle. Vengeance for his people has been carried out and now he has nothing to look forward to.
The view he had of the Citadel was amazing. In his cycle, the Citadel had already fallen and its existence was thought to be a myth by the time he was born. Although this was his fourth time on the Citadel, this was the only time where he felt like he could enjoy the view without the thought of the Reapers coming to destroy everything.
Dr. T'Soni has already asked him to co-write a book about the Protheans with her, an endeavour that Javik accepted as he had nothing left to do, probably the only thing to do in this cycle was to inform this cycle about what little he knew about his Prothean heritage and history. Javik also for a moment entertained the thought of going to the Hanar homeworld of Kahje to live as a king amongst them, but felt that it was not a honorable thing to do.
Javik reached into one of his suit's compartment and brought out the memory shard that he had retained from his own cycle. Javik stared down to it, the shard gave out a faint green glow. The urge to merge with the shard which contained the memories of all the previous owners and remember all the memories from his own cycle was always at the back of his head. But there was another voice at the back of his head as well, which was that of the commander which told Javik to let the pass be buried in the past and the dead to remain dead. Javik looked down at the memory shard one more time and proceeded to throw it into the body of water located at the bottom of the Presidium Commons. No more looking back at the past, mused Javik, there is now a future to look forward to.
Javik then walked away from the spot he had on the Presidium Commons and mused, perhaps peace would be something nice to look forward to.
Lair of the Shadow Broker,
Hourglass Nebula.
Dr. Liara T'Soni entered the ship that served as her shadow broker base of operation. The air in the ship felt cold as well as stale, and the sound of lightning from the storms outside could be heard if only slightly. Liara has not been on this ship ever since she transferred all her operations as the Shadow Broker aboard the Normandy to be close to Shepherd and the rest of the crew of the Normandy.
Liara made her way to the main command hub and proceeded to press a few commands in to the console. Liara made sure that all her agents were reporting in with their reports. Liara was absorbed in checking up on the status of all of her agents that she did not realise that her friend Feron had entered the command hub until Glyph had informed her about it.
"Feron, good to see you," said Liara as she gave the drell a hug. The drell returned the embrace and replied, "It's good to see you again Liara. I am guessing that you would want to start operating out of this ship again since the Normandy is stuck in drydock indefinitely ?"
Liara looked back to the main screen which contained many separate screens, each showing a different vid or piece of information. Feron waited for the shadow broker's reply. Finally Liara answered her friend, "No. We are moving our operations." Feron was rather taken a back by his friend's answer but composed himself enough to ask, "Why ?" Liara placed her arms on the main screen's computer terminal, looked up to it and answered, "I feel that at times like this, we need to be close to the people we care and love. And with the line of work we are involved in, I think that we need to be close to the people we care and love about so that we do not forget ourselves" With that answer, Feron immediately knew that Liara wanted to relocate the shadow broker's base of operation to the citadel as many of her comrades and good friends were on the Citadel at this current moment in time.
"I will contact our associates on the Citadel and inform them immediately to begin setting up an operation base there as well as a front for it," said Feron to Liara who was still staring at the main screen. Before Feron left the room to carry out the setting up of operations on the Citadel, Liara turned around , "Thank you Feron." Feron turned around to face Liara and smiled before bowing slightly and then making his way to the room's exit to prepare for the move.
Emergency Civilian Housing,
The Citadel.
Although the war has ended, there were still many refugees staying at the emergency civilian housing. The lack of transport ships to ferry these refugees back to their respective planets meant that many refugees were still staying on the Citadel.
James Vega was one of the many people that were still in the Emergency Civilian Housing, but unlike most of the inhabitants down there, Vega was down there to assist the various refugees in getting their belongings packed when they were about to leave or helping refugees that were still staying in the emergency civilian housing. Ever since the Reaper thereat had ended, Vega thought that the best way to use his downtown before starting the N7 training program was to help the less fortunate.
Today, Vega was helping a young lady from Benning who had escaped Cerberus attack on that world. "Thank you so much ," said the young women to Vega who has carrying her luggage. "No problem senorita, my pleasure to help," replied Vega as they made their way to the docking bay. Unlike many refugees, Miss Lee was lucky enough to get a transport back to her planet. Vega was deeply impressed by these refugees, many of them have gone through so much and yet they still remain strong in the face of adversity.
After Vega had finished helping load Miss Lee's belongings into the transport back to Benning, Vega made his way back to the Emergency Civilian Housing to either help another refugee in getting on their way , or play a game of poker.
SSV Kuala Lumpur,
Briefing room.
"Do you have any more information about any other Cerberus locations?" asked the Kuala Lumpur's commanding officer Yi Tan. Miranda Lawson, former right hand man of the Illusive Man was sitting on the other end of the room. Miss Lawson got up of her seat and made her way to the briefing room's large observation window before finally replying the captain's question, " I have told you everything I know about Cerberus , but you have General Petrovsky under arrest, I should think that he has more information about Cerberus' recent projects and locations." Captain Yi nodded in agreement with Miranda's statement before apologizing, "I am sorry Miss Lawson, it is not that I do not trust you and the intel you are giving to Alliance Intelligence. It's just procedure since you were a rather high ranking official within the Cerberus chain of command." Miranda turned around to face Yi and replied, "You do not need to apologise captain. If I were in your shoes and you were in mine, I would have done the same thing."
Although Yi hated Cerberus for its actions in the name of humanity, Yi could not bring himself to hate Miranda. There was something about Miranda that Yi liked, maybe because she saw Cerberus for what they really were and helped the Alliance, or was it because of something else ? All Yi knew was that it was wrong to try and keep Miranda trapped on board the Kuala Lumpur. For all he knew, Miranda might have family she wanted to see, just as Yi wanted to visit his own family that was down on Earth.
Yi activated his omni-tool and pressed and entered a few commands into it. "Miss Lawson you are free to go. Have a safe journey. And if you ever want to join the Alliance, the opportunity is always open" Miranda made her way to the briefing room's exit, but before she exited the room she smiled, "good bye captain, and I just might take you up on your offer."
After Miranda had left the room, Captain Yi made his way to the briefing room's observation deck and looked out of it and saw the wondrous view of the Citadel orbiting Earth.