Bioware/EA holds the rights to all characters, names, locales etc. of the Mass Effect series.

The story surrounds Messalina Shepard and her mother Hannah during the events of the Eden Prime and Reaper Wars, but also going back and forth for thematic purposes. I've tried to keep most of the facts based on canon. Most characters are established with only a few OCs.

I've completed the story for now, but have left some loose ends here and there for other related stories.

Thank you everyone for reading/following/faving. Special thanks to Sun Tsu Toriden.

- November, 2186

Space, beautiful and imperfect. The Illusive man was wrong, thought Messalina, as she looked about her in what seemed to be open space, open to the stars. All of space was beautiful, and only for all its imperfection. Vibrant pretty explosions patched the field with bright orange and flashes of red. Beautiful ships crumbled and crashed against the sleek and slender dark purple hue of the Reapers. Messalina wanted to breathe in and smell the vacant coldness of space. But when she breathed, her ribs ached. She laid a hand tenderly against her side, where an unnatural movement of her ribs told her that she had fractured a couple. It would explain why she was short of breath, coughing blood from time to time; some of her ribs must have punctured her lungs.

She wished she could sit down, but her right ankle was weird, and cried out everytime she put pressure on it. Besides, she couldn't trust herself to ever stand up again. It had taken her every effort to walk up to the control panel again.

"You have a choice." The irritable program persisted.

Messalina ignored the hologram. He took semblance of the boy she had seen when she had evacuated Earth. The boy in one of the Alliance HQ buildings -probably a family of one of the officers who worked there, a military brat, like herself. But she had become too desensitized to appreciate the novelty of the Catalyst having read her thoughts. Somewhere, she thought, in the mainframe of this wretched ghost machine, was a rude little program, provoking her. She briefly wondered if the Leviathan had been such an irritant and nagging race in its heyday. No, she shook her head, despite what the Leviathan wished to think, the AI had developed for Eons on its own. It had incorporated countless identities within itself. Leviathan had been diluted in its blood, and now the consensus of this machine was a jumbled mess, asking her for her opinion.

After drilling the little twit, she had made up her mind, of course. There was no doubt in her mind, and she felt at peace with herself. It was an odd feeling. She could rarely trace such tranquility. Even with Liara, she had never felt so much at peace. It had been more, and more later on, urgent with Liara, as if she were trying to inhale one last time. But this, it had felt familiar, like a hidden memory deep from her childhood.

She tried recalling every happy moment in her life. Despite being few enough as they were, they came with difficulty. It was difficult accessing her memory. A blinding headache rudely shouted at her. She took a deep breath again, eventually coughing up a fistful of blood.

Garrus… she thought, suddenly. Where was the damned Turian when you needed him. Ah, she sighed, she had pushed Liara on him… told him to get lost. Yes… So much for back up when you need him.

"I'd like to think I did him some good." She spoke aloud.

Either the hologram couldn't read her mind fully, or decided to ignore her, it didn't respond.

He'd be laughing his bony butt off, she thought. "Garrus, Garrus, Garrus…" she chirped to herself, walking forward. "Tali, Tali, Tali…"

Messalina paused. She had only moved three steps, but she was out of breath. She balled her fist, one hand tightly on the grip of her pistol. She was determined to recall all her friends, one last time, before she said good bye.

"Wrex," she said allowed. "Bakara. Grunt."

She stumbled, tripped, her pistol slid off a few feet. Gratefully, she could see that the hologram had disappeared; satisfied that she had made her choice. It was more fitting to be alone, now. Just like she imagined. Despite the hopes and dreams that Liara tried to instill in her, she knew what was coming around the corner for her. She had known for a couple of months, and maybe further than that. It had become her destiny. Something she had difficulty understanding at first, but later grew to accept. It was easier once you accepted it. She had to overcome the dread and fatality of it all. But once she was above the hill, everything seemed smooth.

She crawled a few more. "Zaeed.. Massani.. and …." She furrowed her eyebrows "Jesse. Jack… and Eezo. Yeah, that's about right."

She reached her pistol, closed her eyes and screamed as she pulled herself up with all her might.

"Thane, Kolyat, Kal, Bailey, Anderson…. Traynor… Jeff… EDI, Legion." Oddly, she now felt her strength returning to her. Cautiously, she stepped forward, feeling no pain in her ankle. "Javik, Admiral, Jacob…. Pressly."

Her breathing softened. "Am I dying? Funny thing, making such a fuss about dying. I guess I'll be finding out, soon enough. Mordin… Mordin… Kaidan. Yeah, see you soon, Mordin. Gosh. I have a lot of friends. Feron, Samara, Emma, Karen, Michel, Gabby, Kenneth, Rupert, Greg, Jacob, Kirrahe, Conrad… Yeah, here's to you, Conrad."

Her legs felt stronger, now, almost ready to run. "Miranda."

She tried to remember if she missed anyone. She felt light, at her peak. Every pain in her body seemed to have melted away.

"Oh, yeah... Ashley … bitch." She broke into a wicked smile.

Finally satisfied, she congratulated herself. She wanted to save two people for last, to call to them one last time.

"Mom… Liara…."