"All primary systems functional and online. I believe that we will be able to return through the Omega 4 relay now, Shepard," said EDI, the virtual intelligence aboard the battered Normandy SR2.
"Thanks, EDI. What about those hull breaches down in the cargo hold? Is it safe to go through a relay with holes in the ship?"
"The emergency barriers are designed to withstand significantly more force than is produced by travel through a mass relay. The Normandy is fit to travel, Commander."
"Commander, did you just insult the VI? I didn't think it could be done," said Joker in mock surprise from his seat at the Normandy's cockpit.
"I am not offended, Jeff. I responded to the commander's safety inquiry with the information she requested."
"Can you blame me for not wanting to get sucked out of a hole at FTL speeds, EDI? I've been spaced once, I really don't want to do that again," said Shepard.
"We get it, Commander. Setting approach vector for the Omega 4 relay now," said Joker, his hands busy on the monitors.
"All right, Joker. Take us back through. I've had enough of this system," said Shepard, giving a last wary look toward the Omega 4 relay. Why did it have to be red? Why couldn't it be a normal, calming blue like the rest of the galaxy's relays? The commander about-faced, leaving the cockpit to her favorite pair of co-pilots.
Shepard was mildly surprised by how fast the Normandy was able to be space worthy after an attack that would have crippled a lesser ship. Going up against the Collectors was considered a suicide mission by many people, and some of those people were on her crew. Luckily, the cargo bay got the worst of it, sustaining multiple hull breaches. Some of the Normandy's cargo was lost, including some rations and resources, but nothing that could not be replaced. The team had survived, if a little worse for wear. Shepard couldn't believe it, and the team definitely couldn't believe it. It was unwise to be optimistic before a mission like destroying the Collector base, but even at her most optimistic, Shepard would not have dared hope to bring her entire team out of it alive. She was pleasantly surprised.
The Normandy was nowhere near the biggest ship she had served on, but sometimes it seemed to Shepard that it took forever to get form one end of the ship to the other. As Shepard walked across the CIC, she began to feel tenderness in her muscles – all of them. A result of adrenaline surges and the physicality of combat. She was already visualizing the hot shower and and glass of Cabernet that she was planning to help herself to in her quarters. The ship's crew, steadfast as ever, were at their stations just hours after having been rescued from the Collectors. Yeoman Chambers had shared some of her experiences about her abduction with the commander, experiences that had sounded horrific to Shepard. Yet, there she was, typing away at her terminal. The commander knew that Kelly just wanted to make herself busy. Keeping her mind on her work would help her from dwelling on traumatic experiences, and Shepard understood the feeling. She knew she would be doing Kelly a disservice by dismissing her from her work. Shepard smiled at Kelly as she passed on her way to the elevator.
There would be ample time for a thorough debriefing with the entire crew later. It was Shepard's way to feel strange about taking time for herself, but she figured if she ever deserved some alone time, this was it. Doubtless, her crew were already decompressing in their own unique ways. She wondered to herself what those ways might be. Suddenly, she was extremely concerned for deck four – home to some of the most destructive members of her crew. Shepard had a vivid vision of Grunt and Jack laughing maniacally together and punching additional holes in the cargo hold. She shrugged it off and made it a point to head down to the engineering deck later.
In her cabin, Shepard removed her visor, placing it on the desk next to her private terminal. She considered flopping down onto her bed, but she knew she'd regret getting the white comforter dirty. Her armor was covered in soot and dirt. Most of the time the hardsuit felt like a second skin to Shepard, but at the moment it seemed more constricting than usual. She removed it gingerly, wincing once or twice as her stiff muscles resisted the movement. Dirt and debris loosened from her chest plate and gauntlets, falling to the previously clean carpet in tiny clumps. She could already hear mess sergeant Gardner chewing her out, and the thought of his tirade made her smile. Shepard inspected her armor. There were a few dings and scratches that weren't there before. Grunt would call them "battlescars" and tell her she should be proud. She was proud, but she wondered if she shouldn't start shopping for armor upgrades.
Looking in her bathroom mirror helped relieve some of the commander's worst fears; she was glad to see that she didn't look half as bad as she felt. There was a cut on her forehead that ran from her hairline to just past her left eyebrow. She remembered the hit. It was during one of the first skirmishes with the Collectors. Shrapnel had ricocheted from a blast that was too close for comfort. Facial cuts bleed a lot, which makes them inconvenient especially if they're near the eyes. It had stopped bleeding a while ago, but there was still a trail of dried blood from her eyebrow to the middle of her cheek, where it was smeared from having been wiped away. Her bottom lip was slightly swollen. Shepard knew from experience that it would be bruised for at least a week. She was not a delicate woman, and did not bruise easily. Apart from superficial injuries, her face and body were more or less in tact. Covered with soot and assorted alien remains, but in tact. Her red hair was snarled and matted. She hoped that a shower and a thorough conditioning would get it back to its normal bob shape.
Shepard tried to remember a more satisfying shower, and she wasn't sure if she could. She didn't care if she used up all the Normandy's hot water reserves, it was worth it. Thankfully, her hair did return to its normal shape. Her injuries looked far less dramatic after the blood and the dirt were cleaned off. She figured a trip to see Doctor Chakwas was in order eventually, but in the mean time she combed her hair away from her face and applied a small amount of medi-gel to her forehead. She walked over to her bed for that well-deserved flop.
Her head was swimming with memories from the fight. She remembered every wrong step she made, every time she let the enemy have the upper had when she could have prevented it. Sure, they came out victorious, but close calls like that could have cost her or her squad their lives. Shepard constantly thought about the people who had died under her command. They drove her to be better, faster and stronger. There wasn't a cycle that went by that she didn't think of gunnery chief Ashley Williams and the family she left behind. Shepard heard Ashley's voice every time she went into battle, forgiving her for her decision to rescue Lt. Kaidan Alenko and leave her behind on Virmire.
At the moment, however, the giant metal face of the human-reaper embryo was what haunted her thoughts. She had shot those glowing orange eyes right out of its head. She and her team had destroyed the Collectors' project which had cost hundreds of thousands of human lives. There was so much they didn't know about the reapers. Why were they building one to look like a human? Shepard was afraid to find out the answer to that question, but she knew it was important. Her team destroyed the reaper and then destroyed the whole Collector base contrary to the Illusive Man's wishes. He was less than pleased with Shepard at the moment, she knew that for a fact. She didn't think he would make a move against her, but she had been surprised by his actions before. He was notorious for placing her entire crew in dangerous situations that could have spelled their death. She didn't know if she could count on his regard of her as a "human icon" to keep him from trying to kill her, or at least from trying to stop her from defeating the reapers so that Cerberus could claim the glory.
Shepard rolled her eyes. She had almost believed that she and Cerberus were on the same side - or at least had similar goals. She should have known better. The Illusive Man believed he could use the reaper technology, but how many times had Shepard shut down Cerberus operations gone wrong? She felt confident that she made the right decision. The approval of her crew helped. Even Miranda had supported her decision to destroy the Collector base. Even so, Shepard couldn't help but feel nervous. Pissing off the Illusive Man was not something she had planned, but she was pretty sure she was prepared to live with the consequences.
Shepard sat up on her bed and stretched. She felt the ship decelerate after the jump through the Omega 4 relay. She smiled to herself, glad to be back in space she recognized.
"Congratulations, Commander. First humans to make it round-trip through the Omega 4 relay!" rejoiced Joker over the comm.
"If anyone could get us in and out safely, it was you, Joker. Put us in orbit around Omega. Let's see if we can find some salvage parts to patch up the hull," replied Shepard.
"Aye aye, Commander."
Shepard found her way into the briefing room by way of the med bay. Doctor Chakwas had dressed her head wound somewhat more dramatically than she would have liked. The gauze wrapped around her head made her look like she just had brain surgery.
"Medi-gel will stop the bleeding, Commander, but it won't help that cut heal. It needs to stay covered or it will scar," the doctor had said. Shepard had known Dr. Chakwas for a while, and she knew how fruitless an argument with her would have been. She would just have to suck it up and look wounded.
"EDI, give me access to the ship-wide intercom, please," requested Shepard.
"Certainly, Commander. Intercom is now ready for use," replied EDI. A charming low bell tone resonated in every room in the Normandy.
"Shepard here. Congratulations, team. By now you've noticed that we've successfully navigated the Omega 4 relay. Each and every one of you has contributed to this achievement in your own way. We've all heard that it couldn't be done. We proved them wrong. Our fight is far from over, but for now we've all earned a little R&R. We'll be docking at Omega station shortly. Before anyone is dismissed, I'd like to meet with all officers, specialists, and team members in the briefing room in five minutes, please. All other crew members should expect a leave schedule from their commanding officer shortly. Shepard out."
Shepard paced the length of the briefing room several times before Jacob walked in. He looked at her bandaged head and raised an eyebrow.
"Sometimes I think Chakwas gets a kick out of making people look like gimps," said Jacob. Shepard laughed, and her hand self-consciously found its way to her forehead.
"It's not as bad as it looks. It would take more than a smack to the head to take me out," she replied. Jacob smirked. "Shut it, Taylor," said Shepard preemptively.
As the rest of her team filled the small briefing room, Shepard was pleased to see Chakwas had gotten her well-meaning hands on some of them as well. Garrus sported a sling, Samara had her knee wrapped, and Engineer Donnelly had a bandage over his ear, which covered almost the whole left side of his head. Most of the crew had already cleaned up. Zaeed and Grunt seemed to be the only ones who didn't feel the urgent need to shower after the battle. Thane entered and Shepard noticed his eyes widen slightly with concern as he looked at her. Damn bandage, that's precisely what she wanted to avoid: unnecessarily worrying anyone, especially Thane. He walked over to stand next to her, and discreetly grabbed her hand.
Shepard noted with amusement that Mordin was the last to arrive, even though his office was closest to the briefing room. Probably running tests on Collector tissue or tech, she figured. She briefly wondered if Mordin ever slept, trying to remember if she'd ever even seen him tired. She tried to bring her focus to the meeting she'd called. When she looked around the room, she was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of pride and relief. No one was killed, or even seriously injured. She wanted to give everyone on her crew something nice, something they deserved. The best she could do at the moment was shore leave on Omega. Even she wasn't particularly excited at the prospect of hanging around in the lawless station, but it was a change of pace, at least.
"Thanks for coming, everyone. Like I said, I'm not officially considering this mission completed," Shepard gave a meaningful glance to Samara, who nodded in response. "However, we've docked at Omega station for a break and repairs. I would like for everyone to have some shore leave, and as we'll likely be here for the next forty eight hours, I think twenty four hour shifts are in order. CO's should make schedules for your subordinates and give them to Miranda as soon as you can. If you report directly to me, I've already given my list to Miranda, so you can check with me or ask her about your leave. We'll debrief the last mission after the Normandy is repaired, giving everyone some time and distance to collect their thoughts. Use it well, people."
"Excellent, am looking forward to checking up on the clinic in person," said Mordin.
"My parents live there, anyone looking for a place to stay on Omega would be welcome," said Ken Donnelly.
"Great, thanks Ken. Let's save the logistics for after this meeting, though. Looking to keep it short," said Shepard. Ken flushed slightly, but waved and gestured that anyone who wanted to could talk to him after the meeting. "So, if there are no questions," Shepard paused, looking around. Others were looking around as well, clearly anxious to be off duty. "Great, thank you everyone. Told you it'd be short. I'd like to speak with Tali and Garrus for a minute, everyone else dismissed."
With great bustle and murmur, the group shuffled out of the briefing room. Thane squeezed Shepard's hand, whispering softly, "Your quarters, one hour," as he left. The low vibrations of his voice gave her goosebumps. She smiled. Garrus caught the end of that exchange and looked meaningfully at Tali. She shrugged. The quarian perched herself upon the table waiting for Shepard's instructions.
"The Normandy's got some holes that need to be patched up. Garrus, you know Omega. Where is a good salvage yard?"
"A good one, Commander? Or a reputable one? I shouldn't have to tell you that there's a big difference on Omega," replied the turian.
"Honestly, at this point, reputation doesn't concern me as much as cost. I'm afraid we're cut off from Cerberus credits. I haven't got a chance to ask the council for help yet, but that is probably the next stop. We're working on a budget here."
"In that case, there is a place down in the lower markets that I've worked with in the past. I'll have to see if my contacts are still active, but if they are, the proprietor there owes me a favor," said Garrus. His eyes squinted in a grin.
"Excellent, we'll start there. Tali, I'll need you when we get the parts to actually fix the hull. EDI's got systems under control, but I'll need you for the physical repairs."
"You can count on me, Shepard. I'll make a list of supplies we'll need. I'll be in engineering if you need me," said Tali'Zorah.
"I have already compiled a list of components necessary to complete repairs on the Normandy, Tali'Zorah. Forwarding it to your log now," said EDI, popping up from the table. Tali threw her hands up and huffed. Shepard gave Tali a sympathetic smile. The quarian mistrusted VI technology, and with good reason. Shepard knew Tali struggled with more of a personal grudge against EDI for being associated with Cerberus.
"Well then, that's it. Meet me at the airlock in -" Shepard looked at her omni-tool for the time. "Three hours. You guys know what to do, so do it. We're done here, dismissed," said the commander. Shepard followed Garrus and Tali out of the briefing room into the CIC. She let them take the elevator down first, choosing to wait for it to come back up. Looking across her bridge, she could see Joker adjusting his monitors, talking to Omega flight control over his earpiece. EDI's holographic image seemed to hover behind him, and Shepard could tell she was trying to offer some advice to the helmsman. The elevator returned to her level and Shepard boarded, smiling as she thought of Thane and what he had in store for her in her quarters.