She hasn't use to look at stars. Born on space station, Alyson considered shining dots as usual - other people see air like this, substance which is always nearby but never considered as something important. Several lines of data on navigator Green's, cheerful old man with long gray moustache, console. View from tiny illuminators later. Different pattern, interesting during few seconds, at times her family moved at another location. Alyson's first boyfriend told once her eyes are as blue as evening sky and stars lit there up when she laughs. Girl didn't trust then - sky is always black and her irises are blue, so went and checked. Cosmos really looked blue at the evening on Earth. Shepard never returned to this question anymore.
Until that one holiday. Back on Earth, at one of the Alliance headquarters, in the short break between meetings and discussing the respond on possible Reapers invasion. She stood by the wall, trying to convince herself not to tear the next pigheaded politician head off with own biotics. Kaidan looked out of window as searching something and then waved Alyson to join.
"Today is a special day for religious people. Tomorrow we will celebrate the birth of Christ and now there is a magical night. It is believed that person who will see a first star this night may imagine a wish, and it will come true next year".
"See the first star? If they are not always there?"
"Technically yes, but during the day they are invisible, so young and old people are looking out of the windows to make their deepest wishes. I've just decided to tell you... Don't know really why".
Shepard was going to respond she never believed in god - at least she wandered all her life across the galaxy and never met one - but the sight of tiny star, so vulnerable among the shadows of skyscrapers touched something inside her, made her change own mind and thought about wish.
Two days after, dying in space, she only thought was about this. And now, saving the last minutes before suiting up for suicide mission, knowing that it's definitely not that day, battle hardened SpeCTRe risked to repeat the plea once more:
"Please, God... Any god that hears me now... Protect the man who shown me stars"