The message first went to the Council chambers and then the ambassadors. It spread to Alliance official channels and C-Sec's secure line. A separate message bounced off of the C-Sec network via internal forwarding and was uploaded directly to Emily Wong's dataset. She patched it into her extranet network just as the Citadel Broadcasting Domain aired a live feet to the Galactic News. It spread like wildfire across the galaxy, from planet to planet, vid-screen to console to omni-tool.
The message was simple—a two-and-a-half minute clip. The first thirty seconds were of the Normandy's external cams showing the destruction of the Collector base as they raced toward the relay. Saia Shepard's voice came in at about 00:15 seconds.
"At the cost of tens of thousands of human lives, the Collector threat has finally been eliminated. Their base has been destroyed. Some of the finest men and women of all species risked their lives today to end this dire threat. I am proud of each and every one of them—those that lived and those that died. They deserve your gratitude."
Shepard's face appeared on the screen as the footage of the exploding Collector base ended. Her skin was scraped and mudded, red hair tangled and wet with sweat, and her blue eyes were hard with war. She still wore her sniper's visor and armor, which was scraped and dinged and worn down. The N7 logo was proudly gleaming through the gashes.
A loud shout rose up among the galaxy as the woman they'd called hero, traitor, idol, and enemy stood before them, alive and victorious. Regardless of thoughts and feelings past, the small seed of faith humanity had carried that she would save them blossomed.
"You should know why the Collectors abducted so many human colonists. They were attempting to use our genetic variance to continue Reaper reproduction. We were being melted into feeding fluids and pumped into the new machine, and a Human-Reaper was being construction."
The horrific image captured by the core-team's omni-tool flashed across the screen, provoking gasps and murmurs and even shrieks from the viewers.
"This abomination was destroyed with the base. However, we now know what they're after and why. No one in the galaxy is safe."
Shepard's face came back on-screen.
"You may not want to hear this—you may even deny it, even with the given proof—but everyone has a right to know the truth: the Reapers are real and they did not die with Sovereign. We are all in danger of Reaper retribution, of genocide under the machine-ships waiting patiently in dark space. It's time for us to face this, once and for all."
She sighed and suddenly looked tired—weak.
"We survived…" she whispered. And the video cut off.
Kaidan Alenko was frozen in his chair, eyes locked on the blinking letters on his screen that told him there was no more. He jumped a little when the beeping at his terminal interrupted his shock, and he had to steady his hand to accept the call.
"Anderson," he said before the councilman could speak. He tried to say that he wanted to go find her, to be there for her and help her like he should have done ages ago. But nothing came out.
"Staff Commander Alenko," Anderson began. "I want you to find Spectre Shepard and make sure she's not just alive… but stays that way."
"Is this an Alliance order, sir?" Kaidan wanted to know.
"No," Anderson replied.
"For the Council, then?"
"If you have to have a reason, Commander, then use whatever one would best suit your needs."
The call ended and Kaidan sat there, holds folded into one another, for several silent minutes. He wasn't even considering Anderson's implications—that he knew about the feelings between him and Shepard. He was focused on her. She was alive. No—she was okay. Was she okay? She looked like she'd gone through hell and back.
He tapped on the holopad in front of him until her video played again. He zipped through the opening until her face appeared. Kaidan closed his eyes and listened to her voice for a moment, remembering her lips whispering against his ear. He reached out suddenly and paused the video. His eyes flicked open and he stared at her face. Those blue eyes were electric with survival.