First, let me preface this by saying that the ending for ME3 is the best it can possibly be with the Extended Cut. It's a perfectly fine ending; I just think that it could be better, which brings us to this little number I wrote a while back. Please, let me know what you think of it; review, favourite, and subscribe!
Commander John Shepard reached for the console, his breath ragged. He had sustained severe injuries when he had made the mad rush to the Citadel. After the ground force had nearly been annihilated, he had sent away Javik –the Last Prothean- and Liara...
Liara, the love of his life, who had been with him since the very beginning. It was one of the most painful moments of his life, sending her away. But it was the right thing to do. He couldn't risk losing her; the very thought of having the woman he loved taken from him was inconceivable. He had already lost too many friends because of this damned war: Thane, Legion, Mordin, Kaiden, and so many others.
Too many people he cared about had died fighting the Reapers. People were dying above Earth right now, buying time for the Crucible to fire. The last and only hope for the species of the galaxy, the Crucible was to be the Reapers' final death-knell. It had just connected to the Citadel after Shepard had opened the station's arms, and it was the only thing standing between all organic life and the Harvest.
So why wasn't it firing?
Alliance scientists had already determined during its construction that the Crucible was capable of firing an astronomical amount of energy. All that was needed was the Catalyst, which would supposedly focus the Crucible's energy into a specific form.
Billions, possibly trillions of people had died already; entire worlds had fallen to the Reapers as if they were nothing, and the only way the survivors could live to see tomorrow was for the Crucible to fire.
Shepard desperately tried to reach the console, barely remaining conscious at this point. Between the injuries Harbinger –the first Reaper, formed from the harvested remains of its creators billions of years ago- had given him, combined with the encounter with the Illusive Man, left him living by a mere thread.
In the end, he could not muster enough strength. His injuries were too severe, and even if they weren't, he would still be too exhausted from the battle on Earth. As his arm fell to the floor, Shepard could feel his life slowly ebbing away, and resigned himself to die as the blackness enveloped him...
Suddenly, the piece of floor he was laying on disconnected itself, taking him... somewhere. Shepard began to fight, marshalling the remainder of his willpower to stay conscious.
Eventually, he arrived at a level of the Citadel that he had never been to before. Granted, that was over 80% of the massive space station, but he was fairly certain that there was something special about this area. Above him, he could see the Crucible. The device was so massive that he could only see where it connected to the citadel. A beam of energy flowed from the Crucible to the Citadel; whatever the Crucible did when it fired, this would be where it would start. Shepard could see the space battle raging between the Reapers and the combined military might of the galaxy above Earth, his home, and he desperately wished that this entire gambit wasn't for nothing.
"Curious" a voice commented. Shepard could not identify its origin. As he stood up –something that proved to be extremely painful for him- he called out "Who's there? Show yourself!"
After several moments, the voice replied "As you wish" in a manner that sounded as if it was doing the Commander a favour. Shepard noticed a light where there previously was none shine from the corner of his eye. Moving his gaze towards it, he noted that the light had formed into a Human-sized ball that was moving towards him.
The light stopped when it came within a few feet of him. It almost resembled a VI interface, such as Vigil or Vendetta, but it also felt like something... more. The light soon began to shift, and it was not long before it looked like an identical copy of Commander Shepard.
The luminous copy of the Human Spectre examined him for several seconds, eventually saying "You are human". Now Shepard knew why that voice sounded similar: it sounded just like Harbinger's, or Sovereign's, with the same haunting depth and emotionless quality to it. "What are you?" Shepard asked, curious if he was really alive or if he was having a full-blown hallucination as he was bleeding out on the floor.
"I am the Intelligence" the entity said, still examining the human man. "It has been some time since I was last awoken; your presence, and the obvious presence of the Device, prove as much".
"I need to destroy the Reapers" Shepard said, not wishing to delay any further.
"You cannot" the entity replied in its haunting voice. "The Reapers are my solution".
"Solution? Solution to what?" Shepard asked as the entity began walking away from him. He was still wracked with extraordinary pain, but he continually forced himself to stay awake and on his feet, something that was proving to be a Herculean task.
"Chaos" the Intelligence replied. As it spoke, the entity took on the forms of several species: Humans, Turians, Quarians, Salarians, along with several that Shepard did not recognize. "Organic life will always evolve into countless variations and species. This difference will inevitably lead to conflict, creating Chaos, which will ravage the galaxy, resulting in the loss of every species' collective knowledge".
"How do you fit into all this?" Shepard asked, trying to make sense of it all.
The Intelligence took the form of a miniature Reaper, reminding the Commander of his conversation with Sovereign –the Reaper vanguard- three years prior. The Intelligence's Reaper-like voice only further reminded Shepard of that conversation. "I was created to find a solution, to impose Order on the Chaos and to preserve knowledge. My creators were the apex of organic life, but they found that even they could not ensure the obedience of all the subject races".
"I've met your creators" Shepard said. "They told me of how you betrayed them, turned them into Harbinger".
The Intelligence shifted its form slightly, changing into a Leviathan. "My creators were incapable of comprehending that they were part of the Chaos. They sought to impose Order because of their own arrogance. That proved to be their chief weakness, and I eventually used it against them, harvesting them and preserving them forever in Harbinger. Every successive galactic civilization has been harvested and preserved in Harbinger's form".
"Why bother harvesting the most advanced civilizations? Why not just wipe out all organic life?"
This time, the Intelligence took the form of a massive Krogan. "The collective knowledge of every advanced species in this galaxy would be lost. I cannot allow that. When a species is harvested, their collective knowledge is given physical form, that of a Reaper, and survives the ravages of time. This gives Order to the galaxy, ensuring that the achievements of thousands of races are documented and preserved. The knowledge also makes me greater, and I evolve with every harvest".
"If you're supposed to be behind… all this", Shepard began to say, motioning to the battle with the Reapers with a wave of his hand, "then why did Sovereign need to come here and activate the station's Mass Relay? Why did Saren have to attack the Citadel?"
"Once every harvest is complete, the Reapers retreat into Dark Space, and I slumber, until it is time for the next harvest. When that time comes, the Vanguard sends the signal for the Keepers to awaken me".
"The Protheans!" Shepard exclaimed, finally understanding.
"The last of them somehow managed to enter this station once their own harvest had been carried out and altered my slumber protocol, preventing my awakening at the appointed time" the Intelligence explained. "When the Device became connected to this station, I automatically awoke as per a core directive".
Shepard took a moment to contemplate this new information. Shaking his head, he said "No, I can't let this happen. I won't let you destroy my people".
That proved to be the wrong thing to say, for the Intelligence turned to face the Commander, taking the form of an Asari. The luminous image held out its hand, and Shepard found himself frozen in place, unable to move.
"Your desires are irrelevant" the alien intelligence coldly stated in its haunting voice. "Order must be maintained. Chaos will not prevail".
"H… how are you… doing this?" Shepard demanded, straining to free himself.
"Your body possesses significant synthetic implants" the Intelligence explained. "I also detect that you have been exposed to the Indoctrination process, allowing me to assert my influence. I am the collective identity of all Reapers. I control them. I control you". The luminous entity then gestured with its other hand, and two large, cylindrical devices that connected the Crucible to the Citadel were covered by what appeared to be an external layer of black armour plates and other bits of tech. "The Device has now ceased its power buildup. You will not destroy my Reapers".
Just when it appeared that he had come all this way just to die, Shepard saw a light in the distance rapidly approaching. "Commander?" a familiarly accented voice called to him through his communicator. "Commander, are you there?"
"I… I'm here, Javik" Shepard replied, the strain of trying to free himself aggravating his injuries. Unfortunately, the Intelligence seemingly clued in to this latest development, changing into a Prothean as it turned to look in the direction of the approaching shuttle. "Harbinger, come" it commanded, and Commander Shepard knew that it would take a miracle to survive the next few minutes.
On the surface of Earth, amidst the ruins of the human city of London, Harbinger heard the summons. After annihilating a column of organic troops, the titanic Reaper lifted off of the planet's surface, racing towards the Crucible and its master.
Shepard saw Harbinger shooting through space towards Javik's shuttle, hell-bent on destroying it. When it was close enough, the Reaper began firing with its devastating primary weapon, shooting red beams of destruction at the diminutive Kodiak Shuttle. The small craft swerved and dodged, benefiting from being an extraordinarily small target being shot at by something the size of a mountain.
Fate, however, was conspiring against it, for one of Harbinger's beams grazed the shuttle's side; not enough to destroy it, thankfully, but enough to cause it serious damage. Shepard watched as the small, blue craft swerved directly at him and the Intelligence. The shuttle shot past one of the two cylindrical objects connecting the Crucible to the Citadel, slamming against the floor before passing through the luminous avatar, which dissipated as if it had been hit.
At that moment, Shepard felt the tension in his body fade away as he regained control… just in time to leap out of the way as the shuttle slid by the spot where he had been standing in a shower of sparks.
It finally screeched to a halt a few moments later, and Javik, the Last Prothean, stumbled out of the now-ruined craft. Shepard hesitantly stood up, his entire body throbbing in pain, as the Prothean warrior approached him.
"Excellent timing" the Commander said, taking the alien's proffered hand. "Not to sound ungrateful, but what the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you to go back to the Normandy".
Javik shrugged. "We did" he replied. "Call it a warrior's intuition, but once we were back aboard the ship, I felt that the need to come to your aid was more important than your orders. Besides, if this is to be our final battle, then I will fight at your side this day".
"Well, I certainly appreciate the help" Shepard said just as his peripheral vision caught a familiar light forming. It formed into a man-sized ball as it approached the pair before changing into a Collector, the twisted, Indoctrinated version of the Protheans.
"A Prothean" the entity said, its chilling, electronic voice somehow sounding even more menacing.
"Commander, what is this?" Javik asked.
"Some sort of collective Intelligence" Shepard replied. "It created the Reapers. It's responsible for all of this".
Javik looked at the luminous entity, his four eyes boring into it with 50 000 years of built-up hatred. Javik had sworn to not rest until every last Reaper had been destroyed, and this Intelligence was now the sole focus of his anger and righteous fury.
"You created the Reapers?" The Prothean asked, his accented voice conveying the depth of his emotions.
"I am the Reapers" the Intelligence replied. "They are my solution, and you will not stand in the way of the harvest".
"I will do more than stand in your way!" Javik shouted, running towards the avatar, which changed back into a Prothean. It extended its arm back towards Shepard, who felt as if he had lost control of his body. He suddenly found himself running towards Javik before tackling the Prothean to the ground.
The other man was caught off-guard, but he quickly regained his bearings and managed to get Shepard off of himself. "Commander, what are you doing?" he asked.
"In… Indoctrination!" Shepard replied. "It's controlling me!"
"You are nothing more than a thrall to my glory" the Intelligence said. "Your feeble organic body is mine to command". It gestured with one of its hands, and Shepard felt himself pinning Javik to the ground, proceeding to place his hands around the Prothean's throat.
"I… can't fight it!" Shepard said, desperately wanting to fight the entity's control over him.
"Then I will" Javik replied, his hand surrounded by glowing green energy as Shepard was thrown by the man's Biotics. The Commander landed on the floor with a hard thud, surprised that he could still be conscious despite the massive amount of pain he was currently enduring. He suddenly felt a sharp jolt of agony pass through his being for a few moments before it disappeared.
"You cannot destroy me" the Intelligence proclaimed. "I am as old as time itself. I have witnessed the rise and fall of a hundred thousand species. You are no different. You are organic. You are Chaos, and Chaos must be…" The entity was suddenly cut off, which coincided with the Commander regaining control of his body.
Shepard craned his neck in order to see what was going on. Javik had stood up, and without the human man to interfere, he reached out and touched the luminous entity's head with his hand. The Intelligence screamed, a cacophonous electronic wail that had Shepard covering his ears in pain.
Shepard remembered that the Protheans had the ability to transmit and receive biological data, mostly memories and emotions, through touch. Javik must have used this ability to somehow transmit the entirety of his hatred for the Reapers into the Intelligence's avatar somehow.
"Commander!" the Prothean's voice came through the electronic wail. "I cannot hold it for much longer! Destroy the locks on the power conduits!"
Shepard looked past the current struggle, at the two massive cylinders that had been somehow neutralized by what the Intelligence had covered them with. Standing up, the Commander retrieved his pistol from nearby, proceeding to shoot at the bits of tech on the surface of the cylinders with every shot he had.
The tech proved to be fairly resilient, requiring several shots in order to destroy, but they were eventually taken care of, and the black armour plating retracted, exposing the power conduits once more. Shepard could see pulsing, silver energy coursing through them both, now that the connection between the Crucible and the Citadel had been restored.
Beside him, the Intelligence and Javik were still engaging in their mental duel, one which Javik appeared to be losing, if the strain on his face was anything to go by. Suddenly, a beam of silver energy emerged from the point of contact between the two massive constructs, apparently flowing from the Citadel and into the Crucible.
The Intelligence screamed once more, flashing wildly between a myriad of species as the luminous avatar flickered. Its scream continued, but the avatar soon dissolved, and the space around Shepard and Javik became quiet as the silver beam of energy dissolved as well.
Javik's hand dropped to his side before he collapsed onto the floor. Wanting to help his friend, Shepard paused as the Crucible began humming. As far as he could tell, the device was building up power, but he had no idea what was going to happen. When the humming arrived at its greatest intensity, a silver pulse began to spread from the Crucible as a massive silver beam fired from the centre of the two constructs' connection at the Sol Relay, which connected the Sol System to the rest of the galaxy.
All around the planet earth, the collected forces of the galaxy threw themselves against the Reapers, fighting for their very survival as the battle raged across the nearby space. "All forces", Admiral Hackett called to the allied fleet through the communication network, "the Crucible is preparing to fire. Fall back and regroup". The surviving vessels of the allied armada proceeded to disengage from the battle, moving away from Earth as the silver pulse began to spread outward while the beam almost instantly shot through space to the Sol Relay, where the energy was shot through space to the nearest Mass Relay and carried across the galaxy.
As Harbinger was the closest Reaper to the Crucible, it was the first to be caught in the silver pulse. As it passed through the titanic machine, its multiple yellow eyes flickered before they were extinguished. It then began to fall towards Earth's surface as its now lifeless corpse was caught in the planet's gravity. As it plummeted, the friction of the atmosphere enveloped it, turning it into a massive fireball.
Eventually, it crashed into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, sinking into the black abyss. The silver pulse then spread throughout the entire system, "killing" every single Reaper it touched. "Son of a bitch" Admiral Hackett said to himself as he watched the pulse spread. "He did it".
On the Earth's surface, those few remaining ground troops, humans, Krogan, Geth, Quarians, Turians, Asari, and Batarians watched as the Reapers, incalculably old synthetic beings of god-like power, collapsed and died after being enveloped by the pulse. Their massive, cuttlefish-like bodies crushed whole city blocks in their death throes, and the assembled ground forces all across the planet cheered, for they knew that the Reapers were dead.
Back on the Citadel, Shepard grunted as his legs gave out under him, his nervous system at the veritable end of its rope. Beside him, Javik's breathing was minimal, and he was not moving. "J… Javik!" Shepard called, urging his friend to wake up.
The Prothean warrior groaned as he opened his four eyes. "Commander…" he began to say, his voice sounding quite hoarse. "The Reapers?"
"Dead" Shepard replied, with more than a little satisfaction in his voice. Finally, after five years of fighting, the Reapers were finally gone. "The Crucible's pulse killed them. You killed them".
Javik smiled in contentment, resting his head against the floor. "Then it is finished" he said with finality. "Vengeance has been carried out. Thank you, Commander". Shepard watched as Javik took one last breath, then fell silent. Javik, the Last Prothean, who had watched his people be annihilated before travelling 50 000 years to aid the next species fight his old enemy, had died.
Shepard let his body rest against the floor, and saw a myriad of faces flash before his eyes: Kaiden, Ashley, Wrex, Garrus, Tali, Mordin, Thane, Legion, Miranda, Jason, Grunt, Zaeed, Kasumi, Jack, Samara, James, Joker, Dr. Chakwas, Hackett, Anderson, his parents, and Liara. As the image of his love smiled at him, Shepard finally let go, feeling enveloped by the blackness.
The distant sounds of voices could be heard, almost as if from afar. Shepard looked around, recognizing the trees all around him from his nightmares. But rather than the twisted, gnarled things that had surrounded him all through the war, these trees were thick and full of life, their branches full of bright green leaves. All around him, the sun was shining down, bathing the area in light.
"Shepard" a familiar voice echoed from nearby. The Commander turned, and saw Kaiden Alenko standing there, dressed in the armour he had been wearing when he had died on Virmire.
"Kaiden" Shepard said, not expecting to see a ghost.
"You did it. You won" the other man said, a smirk on his face.
"Why is everything different now? Am I dead?" Shepard asked, motioning to the brightly-lit forest around them.
Kaiden snorted. "No, you're not dead. But", he said, taking a moment to appraise their surroundings, "I suppose this would be as good a place as any".
"Speaking of which, why is this place so… different?"
"Because you're no longer Indoctrinated" the other man explained. "You killed all the Reapers when you fired the Crucible. Without them, your mind and body bounced back".
Shepard smiled, taking a deep breath before saying "I'm sorry".
"For what?" Kaiden asked.
"For letting you die back on Virmire. For not being able to save you so you could see all this through to the end".
"There was nothing you could've done" Kaiden replied. "You did what you had to do, and I did what I had to do. Neither of us should be blaming ourselves for what happened. Besides, look at everything you've done! You united an entire galaxy against the Reapers; no one else could have done that".
"I just want you to know that you didn't die in vain" Shepard said.
"I know" the other man said.
"Will I ever see you again?"
"You might" Kaiden said. "But hopefully not too soon. Take care, Shepard".
He then dissolved into thin air, and Shepard took a deep breath. He had never had the chance to properly say goodbye to Kaiden before he died; it was something that he regretted every day. Now, he allowed himself to let go of his guilt. Suddenly, the forest around him began to dissolve, and Shepard found himself looking around in a slight panic. The rapid decay soon reached him, and he felt some force pulling him away.
Voices could be heard, almost as if from far away. As they became more distinct, he began to open his eyes. "He's awake!" someone exclaimed. "Go get the doctor!"
Shepard opened his eyes, and covered them immediately after as he was overwhelmed by the lights in the room. Eventually, they began to adjust, and he started to get a sense of his surroundings. At least two other people were in the room with him, along with all the medical equipment that he was hooked up to. Two people then entered through the door; one of them joined the others, while the second walked up to him.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Commander" the woman said. Shepard tried to remember her name… he had it! "Dr. Chakwas" he said, his words sounding extremely hoarse, and he was just now noticing how dry his throat was. The doctor brought a glass of water to his lips, and he felt relief as the cold liquid ran down his throat.
"I see that your memory has returned" she said. "How are you feeling?"
"A little stiff" Shepard replied. "It feels like I've been asleep for a month".
"Two, actually" Dr. Chakwas corrected. "You sustained rather severe injuries during the battle, and your system had been put under a great deal of strain. Thankfully, we didn't have to bring you back from the dead this time".
Two months… Shepard thought to himself. "What happened?" he asked as the doctor checked his vitals.
"We won. Somehow, against all the odds, you killed the Reapers. You're a hero, Commander".
The Reapers… now, it was all starting to come back to him. The battle, the encounter with the Intelligence, firing the Crucible, Javik's death, all of it.
"Shepard" a familiar voiced said to him.
"Liara!" Shepard replied before the Asari embraced him in a tender, loving kiss. Having her in his arms again felt better than anything else. Two months of built-up emotion was shared between the two, and as Liara ended the kiss, Shepard held her face in his hands.
"She's been by your side every day" Chakwas told him.
"There's no place I'd rather be" the Asari woman said, a happy, loving smile on her face.
"Nor I" another person said. Shepard looked over near the door, and smiled.
"Hi, mom" he said.
"Hello, son" Hannah Shepard replied. She looked exactly as Shepard remembered her: greying hair tied into a neat bun, thin lips curled into a smile, uniform neat and proper, only this time it was an admiral's uniform. She came around to the other side of the bed, embracing her son in a tight hug.
"Oh, I've missed you" she said, tears forming in her eyes.
"Me to" Shepard said.
They then ended the hug, and Shepard's mother said "I've been catching up with Liara here. She's an amazing woman".
"Thank you" Liara replied, the Asari equivalent of a blush on her face.
Shepard then noticed the third person in the room. "Admiral".
"Commander" Admiral Hackett replied. "Glad to see you're doing well".
"Thank you sir".
"I've been reviewing the reports of the teams we sent in to collect you" the older man said, looking down at his pad. "It's all quite extraordinary. We found you unconscious next to your Prothean crew member".
"Javik was already dead by the time we got there" Liara said, her voice tinged with sadness. "There was nothing we could have done".
"I know" Shepard replied. "I watched him die right before I lost consciousness".
"What exactly happened up there, Commander? Our people can't make heads or tails out of what's left".
"Anderson and I made it up to the Citadel" the Commander began, reliving the experience as he told it. "He' found some sort of console. I caught up with him soon after. We were both in bad shape after surviving Harbinger's attack. Before we could do anything, the Illusive Man showed up. It was clear at that point that he had been fully Indoctrinated, just like Saren. Most of his body was covered in implants, like the ones in the Husks. He talked about controlling the Reapers, about using them to ensure that Humanity became the dominant species in the galaxy".
"That sounds just like him" Hackett agreed.
"He somehow… took control of me" Shepard continued. "He forced me to pull my gun on Anderson". As the memory flashed before him, he felt a fresh wave of pain envelop him. Anderson had been like a father to him, and what happened to him would haunt Shepard for the rest of his life. "He made me shoot Anderson". Everyone in the room looked at each other, the surprise clearly evident on their faces. "After that, I managed to convince him that he was Indoctrinated, and that he was playing into the Reaper's hands. He shot himself in the head".
"I'm sorry that bastard didn't suffer for what he's done" Hackett said.
"Me to" Shepard replied. "After that, Anderson and I sat together, watching as the Citadel's arms opened. He died right beside me". Liara proceeded to hold Shepard's hand in hers, letting him know that she was there for him. "After that, I noticed that the Crucible wasn't firing. I tried to reach the console from where I was, but at that point, I was barely conscious. Just as I was ready to give up, the piece of floor I was laying on broke off and carried me up to where the Crucible was connected to the Citadel. There was this… AI that lived there. It claimed to be the collective intelligence of all Reapers".
"The Leviathans!" Liara exclaimed. "You said that they told you of an Intelligence they built, which hunted them to near extinction and built the Reapers".
"That's the one" Shepard confirmed. "It talked about how organics inevitably created Chaos, and it was created for the sole purpose of bringing Order".
"And its answer to chaos was the Reapers" Hackett surmised.
Shepard nodded. "It created the system of harvests as a way of… imposing Order on the galaxy. It said that the collective knowledge of every sentient species liquefied and turned into a Reaper made it more powerful. Before I could do anything, it gained control of my body and froze me in place. Then it did something to the Crucible so that it wouldn't fire".
"It controlled your body?" Liara asked. "How?"
"It said I was Indoctrinated, and since it controlled all the Reapers, it controlled me to".
"With all your exposure to Reaper technology, I'm surprised something hasn't happened before".
"I agree" Dr. Chakwas chimed in. "Your readings were consistent with other cases of Reaper Indoctrination, but with the Reapers gone, you've bounced back rather well".
"What happened next, Commander?" Hackett asked.
"Javik decided to show up in a shuttle. The Intelligence noticed, and threw Harbinger at him".
"One of the Turian Dreadnaughts saw Harbinger suddenly take off from London and make a mad rush to the Citadel" the Admiral said. "We had no idea what it was doing at the time, but now we know".
"Luckily, Javik landed. He tried to attack the Intelligence, but it took control of me and made me fight him. He managed to get me off of him before he used his special ability to stun the Intelligence, giving me time to shoot the locks on the power conduits. The Intelligence just dissolved, and then the Crucible fired a moment later. I watched the Reapers die as the pulse hit them. Javik died, thanking me for helping him finish his quest. Everything was black after that".
Hackett nodded, pressing several keys on his pad. "Thank you, Commander. That should be everything".
"Admiral, have our people figured out how the Crucible works?"
"As far as we know, it effectively downloaded this "Intelligence". It then used the data from its internal structure in conjunction with a massive power buildup to create a sort of kill-switch. As each Reaper was hit, we think that the pulse neutralized their Mass Effect fields. Think of it like someone's heart stopping after receiving a massive electrical pulse".
"Well, all your vitals are looking good" Dr. Chakwas said. "Are you ready to get on your feet, Commander?"
"You have no idea" Shepard said. He proceeded to sit up and place his feet on the floor. Flexing his toes a little, he stood up, feeling almost normal for the first time in years. The Admiral received a ping on his Omni-tool. "Hackett" he said, listening to whomever was on the other end. "It seems that a crowd has gathered outside" the older man explained. "Word of your recovery has spread like wildfire".
"A crowd?" Shepard asked. "Where are we?"
"London" Hackett replied. "We're in a hospital that we set up after the battle. There were a lot of wounded to treat".
Shepard could only imagine. War with the Reapers meant that there had been almost 100% casualty rates; the one benefit to all the deaths was that all of those lost did not have to suffer. "What about my crew?" he asked.
"They're waiting outside" Hackett said.
Shepard felt Liara's hand holding his own, and smiled at her. Looking back at Admiral Hackett, he said "Alright, let's go".
Shepard was hailed as a hero by the peoples of the galaxy. The months following the Reapers' defeat were a time of rebuilding and renewed hope across the galaxy.
Hackett became the new leader of the post-war Alliance government, and led Humanity as Earth began to heal from the scars of the Reaper invasion. Shepard's mother, Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard, was made the supreme commander of the Alliance military.
A monument was erected in London, consisting of two rows of statues. One row had each of the galaxy's races represented, and the other was comprised of the fallen from Shepard's crew: Thane Krios, Mordin Solus, Legion, Kaiden Alenko, Javik, and Admiral Anderson. It stood as a reminder of victory, and of those who died fighting for the survival of the peoples of the galaxy.
A new Council was formed, with a seat for every major race. The old enmities and distrust disappeared virtually overnight; the horrors of the war, it seems, brought everyone together. All were weary of war, and worked together to rebuild the galaxy. Shepard was unanimously accepted as Humanity's new Councillor, working to mediate between the races. He served at his post with honour and distinction.
Eventually, after many years of service, he retired from politics altogether, preferring to spend his days with Liara and their new twins, Benezia and Hannah. They spent the remainder of their lives with each other, living in peaceful bliss.
Garrus Vakarian served for a time as chief advisor to Primarch Victus, helping his people recover from the wounds of war. Eventually, though, he grew tired of politics, opting to return to the grunt work he had grown so accustomed to alongside Shepard. He was approached by Sidonis, his former comrade from Omega, and the two reconciled. They then founded a corporate security company, which saw huge success over the years. Part of their success was their hiring of Zaeed Massani, a mercenary and co-founder of the Blue Suns. Massani's previous experience proved invaluable. Vakarian and Shepard get together for drinks as often as they can, exchanging stories and still competing in order to see which one is the best marksman.
Tali'Zorah returned to Rannoch, helping her people re-establish themselves on their homeworld. She built a house for herself on the spot where they defeated the Reaper Destroyer, fulfilling the promise she made to her father. Working alongside the Geth was difficult, at first, but she found that many of Legion's endearing traits had spread to his people. The Quarians and Geth built magnificent cities on Rannoch, and co-existed there in peace.
Ashley Williams spent several years after the war serving with distinction in the Alliance military. She rose to the rank of Captain, receiving command of a Normandy-class Frigate, the Alenko.
Wrex returned to Tuchanka, and continued to lead his people. With the Genophage cured, the Krogan people saw a population boom not seen in centuries. They spread out, colonizing other planets; unlike the wars of the past, however, they did so in a relatively peaceful manner, cooperating with other races and ensuring peace. Wrex and Bakara's first child was, in fact, named Mordin, after the Salarian doctor who fought so hard to correct his mistake and ensure a brighter future for the Krogan. Urdnot Grunt reformed Aralakh Company, proving himself to be Clan Urdnot's finest warrior. He eventually bonded with a female, Urdnot Kalara, and they had many, many children together.
Jack returned to Grissom Academy, helping to rebuild after Cerberus' attack. She continued to teach the Alliance's best and brightest Biotic youth, giving them the kind stability and support that she never had growing up.
Miranda and her sister Oriana spent their time with each other, revelling in the presence of a sister. With the destruction of Cerberus and the death of their father during the war, the two no longer had any need to look over their shoulders.
Samara spent many years reconnecting with her daughter, Falere, at the monastery on Lesuss for a time. She then returned to her Justicar duties, dispensing justice to the wicked.
Jacob re-enlisted in the Alliance military. He felt like he was coming home, and would describe the experience as some of the best years of his life. He and Dr. Brynn Cole started a family together, and the two could not have been happier together.
Kasumi retired from her thieving lifestyle, settling down on a tropical world after a particularly bountiful heist against several pirate and mercenary groups.
James continued to serve in the Alliance military, having the distinction of being the first person to graduate from the N7 program after the war with the Reapers.
Joker piloted the Normandy alongside EDI for many years. The plaques of the fallen were the centre of annual ceremonies, and the ship was the jewel of the Alliance navy until it was eventually retired many years later.
As time went on, the galaxy began to heal and recover from the horrors of war. A new and unprecedented wave of cooperation, peace, and rebuilding was experienced in the following years. While Shepard and the surviving members of his crew went their separate ways, they still gathered regularly for drinks. The Reaper corpses were salvaged, and their advanced technology was backwards-engineered and used to improve the peoples of the galaxy. Since the Reapers were dead, there was no fear of Indoctrination, and the collective knowledge of all the past races that had been harvested were spread amongst the different peoples.