They find Commander Shepard's body nine days, 2 hours, and 47 minutes after the Crucible fires, tearing the universe apart. In the end it's the N7 that they see first, his armor's insignia standing out from the rubble that surrounds and covers him. The part that gets her, though, is that it wasn't the rubble that killed him, or bleeding out, or being crushed. In the end, he died of dehydration, because he was trapped, because they didn't rescue him soon enough.
She stands with bits and pieces of the old crew, the ones who were on Earth, staring at him. Despite him being dead, his body is kept in a hospital bed. A bit of a waste, given all the wounded from the clash with the reapers, but it wasn't her choice.
Miranda is the first to speak, voice dull and weighted. "He's more in tact than last time, but we don't have the resources to recover him again."
"The Alliance would want to fix him, right?" Jacob pipes up, his voice certain, a strong facade that hides his grief.
Immediately other friends pipe up and agree. Really, any species' government would pay to have him back. They could get the funding. The council would pay for him. He's their hero. Of course someone would-
She can feel her heart lodge in her throat as their chatter continues, growing more and more hopeful. She can't let this happen, she can't. "Wait." Her voice cuts through, and they all look at her, waiting. Some of them smile, but most have noticed her grim look and wait. "We're not going to recover him."
The uproar is immediate. Jack is, naturally, the most aggressively vocal. "Are you shitting me? What the fuck are you talking about 'not going to recover him', are you still fucked up on pain killers?!"
Samara is more level in her retribution. "It does seem odd that you would not wish to recover him, Jane."
"It's not that I don't wish to-" Jane starts, struggling a bit. Her healing side aches, but she tells herself its just stress, that she didn't just split her stitches. The others stare at her, most look pissed. "He made me promise," Jane admits.
Immediately the somber air returns to the room. She continues. "You all remember how messed up he was when Cerberus brought him back, how long it took him to get back to normal. It's just...it's kinder to let him rest. It's what he wanted." She can feel something suspiciously like a sob catching in her throat. "So please," Jane continues after a shuddering breath. "Just let him go. Don't save him."