Hannah Shepard always enjoyed the quiet moments she was able to sneak in between assignments. She stood on an observation deck at Arcturus Station, watching the ships float by en route to the docking bay. She turned off the auditory emulators and turned up her favorite recording of a classical Earth piece, Mozart's Horn Concerto No 3, loving the way it made her feel hopeful and warm. She took pride in her large collection of music from human composers like Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi, and Schubert. Of course, she had newer music as well, but nothing sounded quite as real to her as the old musical instruments made of brass, string, and reeds. Hannah tried to teach her daughter to appreciate it as well, hoping she would also prefer it over the dull synthetic sound of the 22nd century, but her daughter did not normally share her interest. As the song came to a close, Hannah took a deep breath and walked down the passageway back to reality.

When the Alliance built Arcturus Station as humanity's military hub for galactic relations, they made sure they included a school for military children in the design. They understood that kids shuttled back and forth from Earth would be impractical due to the various military family structures on board. Hannah was beyond grateful that her daughter could be close to her while she worked and had a stable environment when she was away on short-term missions. Hannah's daughter Marissa had spent many years traveling with her and her husband George when both of them were on assignment or if they were allowed to bring family on a controlled mission. The school was sectioned into elementary, junior high, and high schools and Hannah stood outside waiting for the bell to ring. Lydia Moreau was her favorite loitering partner; they talked about their latest projects and the kids. Lydia worked on the Station as an aircraft maintenance technician civilian contractor and she was paid nicely for her services, not to mention the healthcare benefits. Lydia took full advantage of the wonderful medical professionals available for the sake of her son Jeff who had a rare bone disorder that required braces, crutches, and weekly physical therapy. Lydia was married but her husband continued his work on their home colony and Hannah knew it was tough being far away from the people you loved. When the bell rang, Hannah heard stomping feet and raised voices, and out poured the mass of children; it was like a wave and the only thing to do was hold on.

Hannah's daughter loved to talk to her friends and teachers after school so she was often times one of the last kids out and due to his condition, Jeff was too. Hannah and Lydia survived the tidal wave and made small talk as their two offspring surfaced. Even though Jeff was a year younger than Marissa, she was still kind to him and spoke to him just like she did to everyone; he was no different in her eyes. Just as Marissa and Jeff were about to cross over to their mothers, Hannah saw a kid run out of the door and barrel into Jeff. Lydia saw it too and the only thing they could do was hold their breath. His braces didn't allow his reflexes to work naturally, so Jeff tumbled forward. With speed, Marissa threw herself forward, put her arms up slightly and Jeff landed safely and gently into her arms. Both mothers reached them just as the two kids started laughing and the offending child stood there shocked and muttered his apologies before he ran off. After Lydia realized that her son wasn't injured she laughed.

"I about had a heart attack! Jeff… Marissa, are you ok?"

"All good here!"

"You just saved Jeff from his nemesis… the full body cast!"

After getting him to his feet, Jeff noted, "Yeah. Good catch!"

After both mothers examined their children, the two pairs parted for home.

Today was April 11, 2168, and Hannah's little girl was turning 14. With her brown hair and grey eyes, Marissa Shepard looked like her mother, and she shared Hannah's feisty temperament as well. She also took after her father, with George's strong hands and nose apparent at a glance, but above everything, Marissa shared his love of technology. By the age of four, Marissa would build her own toys using any parts she could get her hands on. For Christmas one year, she had even repaired and donated hand-held holo-games for kids on Arcturus who had lost a parent in the First Contact War. Hannah was amazed at both Marissa's passion for tech and compassion toward people. There was a wonderful balance of mother and father in this girl, and Hannah knew George would have been so proud. This would be Marissa's first birthday after the death of her father, so Hannah wanted to make certain today was special.

Hannah had gotten approval for family leave in order to take Marissa to Earth for a few days. She wanted to give them both a chance to relax and share some quality time together. Joining the Alliance had been a great way to serve humanity, but sometimes Hannah felt her service came at the expense of her family. Hannah and George both knew raising a family in the military would be difficult but they wanted to share their love with a child. Hannah planned to take Marissa to the place where she and George met, her hometown of Bozeman, Montana. Even now, it remained a beautiful place Hannah remembered fondly, untouched by all the urbanization. Hannah was excited to return home and introduce her daughter to the wonders of nature still present there.

"Do you have your stuff packed? We'll be leaving in a few hours," Hannah said as they walked from school back to their quarters.

"Yes, Mom," Marissa inflected with teenage 'tude. "Do you think we could get some ice cream before we go?" Marissa said with a big smile.

"I'll think about it."

They arrived at their quarters, and immediately Hannah saw she had a message on her terminal.

She sighed with dread knowing she was going to be disappointed, but she had to check the message. She said, "Marissa, put your things away and stay out of the galley. I'll fix supper in a little while."

Marissa mumbled an "Okay" and vanished into her room.

Hannah opened the message:

SYSTEMS ALLIANCE

951-753

11 April 2168

SHEPARD, HANNAH, LT

Arcturus Station

You are to proceed on temporary additional duty as shown below and are to return to your permanent station on completion of the duty.

Temporary duty to: The Citadel

Number of Days: 5 days unless additional time is needed by the Citadel Human Ambassador but no more than 20 days.

Will proceed date: 12 April 2168 0800 Docking Bay B15 Arcturus Station

Security clearance: Secret

Purpose: You are to accompany four human diplomats for attendance at the Human-Turian Settlement Conference on 14 April 2168. You are to act as a liaison representative of the Systems Alliance. Ambassador Goyle will lead the negotiations and you are to assist in any capacity she requests. Captain Marshall will have further information on the diplomats and the conference upon your departure.

ADM AHERN

"Damn!" Hannah knew this was going to happen. No matter what she did, time with her daughter seemed transient. She wanted to leave for Earth in a few hours, not go to the Citadel to babysit diplomats. What was she supposed to do with Marissa, just leave her here? Hannah quickly filled out a special request form and fired it off to Admiral Ahern and Captain Marshall. She was hopeful this trip wouldn't be a complete wash.

Hannah loved the Alliance, but sometimes she wanted to say screw it all and take her daughter back to Earth but Hannah knew she would never leave. Since joining at 18, it had been her entire world and George would have convinced her to stay. While Hannah was every bit the rebel, George had always been the compliant soldier. They both had benefited from the balance their conflicting personalities created in their marriage. Hannah picked up the holo that was sitting on her desk of their wedding day. Oh, how she missed him!

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for a message to pop up on Hannah's terminal. It was from Captain Marshall and copied to Admiral Ahern.

"Lieutenant Shepard,

After reviewing your paperwork, assignment, and personal situation, I am allowing your daughter, Marissa Shepard, to travel with us to the Citadel. You will have to make arrangements for her care. Any expenses resulting from those arrangements are considered yours and cannot be submitted to the finance office. I will make sure Marissa has clearance to board the ship and I look forward to working with you on this assignment. See you at 0800 at Docking Bay B15.

Captain Marshall"

Hannah sighed with relief, stretched out her tired back, then walked into the bedroom. Marissa was playing with her omni-tool, changing the color from orange to purple to green then adding patterns and so on. Hannah just watched her for a minute before interrupting.

"Hey Mare, something's come up," said Hannah, "we won't be going to Earth tonight after all." Marissa looked at her mother and stuck out her bottom lip. Hannah took a breath. "How does the Citadel sound? I have to work, but we can still have an adventure. Does that still sound okay?"

Marissa's face brightened, thoughtful for a moment and said, "Yeah, it's cool, Mom. I think I have to re-pack though."

"Good! I'll get the details of the assignment tomorrow and then we can make plans," Hannah replied. She walked into the kitchen and started preparing supper.

After supper was over, Marissa sat at the table reading a book while Hannah cleaned up. "Oh hey, check out your surprise," Hannah called. She pulled a cake out of the icebox and set it on the counter. It was a simple single layer confection made of vanilla cake and dark chocolate icing. On top of the cake were the words Happy 14th Birthday Marissa written in yellow icing. "I have ice cream too," said Hannah with a smile. "It isn't exactly how I planned, but we'll just roll with it."

"Thanks, Mom! You're the best!" said Marissa. "The Citadel will be fun and it'll be cool to finally meet some aliens! I'll update my translator."

Hannah's face dropped from a happy expression to a frown and she bit her lip. "Mare, I'm sorry your dad isn't here. He would've had some crazy contraption on this thing. But, I know he would be proud of you. Happy Birthday!"