Original story time. Well, hopefully original. Anyway, here goes.
Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3 spoilers throughout the story. Do not read if you are still finishing the games.
Commander Shepard. First human Spectre. Captain of the Systems Alliance vessel, the SSV Normandy. Assembled crew after crew to take down various threats, from Saren Arterius, the rogue Spectre, and his flagship, Soverign, a Reaper, to the Collectors, the Protheans who were believed extinct by the Reapers, but really enslaved to capture humans to power the super Reaper. Defeated the Reaper invasion on Earth at the cost of his own life.
Many of his crew were dead or scattered. Joker, the famed pilot of the Normandy, along with EDI and Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams, disappeared in the battle and were lost. Miranda Lawson, Shepard's lover, retired and was never seen again. Many believed she killed herself in grief.
Jacob continued life with his family. Grunt died in the battle for Earth in a gunship. Samara was found dead on top of Reaper infantry. Wrex was crippled after the battle and went back to his home world, only to marry Eve and live with his children until his dying days. Garrus and Liara married each other and moved back to Garrus's home world.
Tali and Legion, having mended their friendship after the incident on Rannoch, created the Joint Council, consisting of three geth leaders and three quarian leaders, plus Tali and Legion. Zaeed was never found, presumed dead. Jack opened her own school and named it after Shepard.
Javik, despite having wanted to die, decided to live instead, becoming a new council member in the Citadel, along with Admiral Hackett, who retired after the Reaper War. Dr. Chakwas retired and helped James deal with losing Steve, who crashed into a Reaper, killing it and himself.
Commander Shepard died saving Earth. It cost technological advances, but it was worth the lives saved. However, a new threat loomed on the horizon. The Reapers were destroyed, Collectors wiped out, and the geth had been brought to peace. So who was this new enemy and who would stop it?
"Maxy! Order on table twelve!" Barnabus rang the bell. For a krogan, he was very peaceful and preferred to cook rather than fight. He stalked back from the counter, flipping over a turtle egg on the giant stove.
A serving girl walked up to the counter, grabbing the plate and walking back to table twelve. "Here you go," she said with an Australian accent. She had short, roughly cropped black hair. Her loose fitting clothes rustled as she walked past the tables. She had left her tight uniforms back when she left Earth.
She saw the host, Markus, a turian, seat a couple of men at a table. One was another turian and another a human. The saloon on Harnek was right in the intersection between most planets, giving them human, krogan, elcor, all sorts of species. Markus nodded at her and she got her pad out.
"Hi, gentlemen, what can I get you?" Maxy said, looking between the two men.
"Wow," said the turian. "I'd like a piece of that, and I'm not even attracted to humans." He leaned back in his chair, gazing at her ass.
"Excuse me, sir, that's highly inappropriate," Maxy said, blushing in an embarrassing way. Behind her, Markus sat another man at a table.
"Yeah, I'll have the special," said the human. "Excuse my friend's rudeness, he isn't accustomed to our ways." He handed her a credit chip, winking. "Meet me outside?" She never even saw his hand reach up and squeeze her ass.
Maxy's eyes widened and she swatted his hand away. She swiveled in place and landed a kick on his face, hearing a sickening crunch. Markus looked up from his podium and gasped, his mandibles twitching along with the human's turian partner. The turian stood and pulled a pistol out of his holster.
"Get the fuck out!" yelled Barnubus, slamming the turian against the wall by his neck. He threw him out the door, then grabbed the human. "Don't touch my waitresses." His nose was bleeding and crooked. Maxy suspected his nose was broken. Barnubus threw him out, too.
"Thanks," Maxy said, blushing. "I didn't need your help though."
"I know you didn't," Barnubus replied. "Just felt like giving it." He walked back into the kitchen, muttering something about the turtle egg being burnt.
"Waitress?" said the man behind her. She turned and saw him smiling at her. He had a face that reminded her of him…the one who had changed her life. In some insignificant way, he did. Though he also looked completely different.
"Sorry, sir, for that disturbance," said Maxy, smiling. Her head was hot with the blood rush she had gotten, and she assumed she was still blushing. "What can I get you?"
"You're exactly who I was looking, for actually," said the man. For a second, Maxy thought he would pull what the other two had. "No, no, don't worry, just sit. I'd like to talk, Ms. Lawson."
Lawson. Chills ran down her spine. She looked at the man, trying to contain her hidden fear and surprise. "I'm sorry, I don't recognize the name. I'm Maxy Orin. Who is -?"
"Stop playing with me, Miranda," said the man. "Sit down."
"This guy bothering you, too?" Barnubus called from the kitchens, glowering at the customer.
"No, Barny, just…just taking his order," Maxy said, nodding at her boss. She sat down across from the customer staring him in the eyes. He had deep blue eyes that made her lose herself. They crept into her soul, they were so bright. "What do you want?"
He pulled a file out of the bag he hung over his chair. Ever since the Reapers were defeated, technology had gone backwards quite a few steps, requiring paper again. He nodded towards the file as he slid it across the table. "Read."
Maxy opened the envelope and shuddered at the first image. In a large font at the top was written "COMMANDER JOHN SHEPARD." Underneath was his picture. His perfectly shaved head, rounded eyes, his plump lips Miranda had loved so…
Maxy shut the folder, shutting her eyes. When she opened them again, she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She looked at the man, who stared at her intently. "Read."
She opened the folder again. His army photo still stared at her, emotionless. She looked down the list of personal achievements: First Human Spectre, Commander of the Normandy, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Award Receiver for Numerous Acts Across The Galaxy"
"Status: KIA"
"Crew Members over the Years:
Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko: KIA On Virmire
Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams: MIA After Reaper Battle
Corporal Richard Jenkins: KIA On Eden Prime, First Reaper Contact
Second Lieutenant Jeff Moreu: MIA After Reaper Battle
Garrus Vakarian: Retired
Tali'Zorahh nar Rayya: Retired from Military Employment
Liara T'soni: Retired
Urdnot Wrex: Retired
Private Jacob Taylor: Retired
Miranda Lawson: Missing, Presumed Dead
Jack: Retired from Military Employment
Urdnot Grunt: KIA
Legion: Retired from Military Employment
Mordin Solus: KIA on Tuchanka
Zaeed Massani: MIA, Presumed KIA
Samara: KIA
Thane Krios: KIA
Dr. Karen Chakwas: Retired
James Vega: Military Leave Due to Unstable Conditions
Steve Cortez: KIA
Javik: Retired
Samantha Traynor: Retired from Military Employment
Engineer Greg Adams: Still working for the Systems Alliance"
So many of Miranda's friends killed in action. She knew Thane and Shepard were close, and had heard of how hard Shepard had taken it. She was glad to hear when John had found Kai Leng, the assassin, and stuck him through. Mordin had been an exceptional doctor, Samara an elegant –
'Put those thoughts out of your mind, those days are behind me,' she thought, flipping the page. A useless page of disclaimers. She turned another page. Biography of John. She turned another page. Each of his crew members photos. She'd never known Kaidan, who had also been a good friend of John's. He was very handsome, and looked like a nice man.
She sniffed and rubbed the tears from her face. So many dead, needless deaths. Thane still had a good two months left before Kepral's Syndrome would have taken him. Grunt had been little more than a toddler in krogan terms. Samara had lived a good life and died a hero…but a hero died too soon that day.
"Miranda –," said the man, leaning forward.
"Maxy," she said, closing the file and sliding it across the table to him. "My name is Maxy and if you came here to make me weep, you've done a great job. Now order something or get the FUCK OUT OF MY SIGHT!" She stalked back towards the kitchens and slammed the door open, feeling more tears fall down her face.
She slammed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Panting, crying, and about to scream, she looked at herself in the mirror. She would not get another face job, nor could she with the technological disadvantages. The best she could do was cut her hair and hope no one recognized her. But obviously, someone had.
Miranda Lawson had lost not a commander, not a friend, but a lover back on Earth. Reliving the experience was horrid, even as the battle came back into her mind, the battle that decided everything, the battle that changed her life.