Leanna Shepard in
The Edge of Time

Preview

The Normandy was in ruins, the bodies of the dead strewn about Leanna Shepard's feet. She watched in horror as an indoctrinated Ashley Williams snapped the neck of her love, Liara. She drew her gun, advancing on Shepard. She spoke with the voice of a Reaper.

"You have reached the end Shepard. Your death is inevitable."

With no time to think, she grabbed the shotgun from Grunt's corpse beside her. Kneeling, she tried to fire, but the weapon was overheated. Ashley advanced slowly, her eyes glowing red.

"There is no one left to save you Shepard. You will die alone, just as you've always been."

Ashley grew nearer. She lowered her weapon to Shepard's forehead.

"Accept your end."

Just then, the deck beneath them began to shake. Ashley stumbled. Shepard fell backwards. She heard metal shearing beneath them. A hole began to open.

Ashley fell backwards into the hole, and from it emerged a giant worm-like beast, a Thresher Maw, and riding on its back, a Stetson wearing Kaidan Alenko.

Leanna Shepard awoke with a start. Her hand immediately reached out to her side. She felt a warm body. She heard the sound of gentle breathing. She breathed a sigh of relief; Liara still was alive.

She sat up and rested her head in her hands. She knew it was just a dream, but it had felt so real, up until the part with the Thresher Maw anyway. Still, she had to remind herself of everything that had truly happened.

Her friends were still alive, most of them anyway. Ashley hadn't been indoctrinated. She'd gotten her own ship and crew now, but the two had promised to stay in touch. The Normandy was fine. It may have been a bit damaged in the battle, but the Alliance was giving it a full refit.

A voice called out in the darkness, "Shepard?"

"It's nothing Liara. Just a bad dream."

"I saw. Did you want to talk about it?"

Leanna smiled. "I'm good Liara. Hearing your voice is enough." She lay down on her side, facing Liara. "We need to get some sleep anyway. Tomorrow's a big day."

"You have two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Shepard replied to Admiral Anderson incredulously.

Shepard and Anderson were standing in the very same dock where he had handed over command of the Normandy nearly three years ago. That time, she'd been so concerned with her mission to stop Saren, she'd barely noticed the significance of that moment. This time around, Anderson was delivering some very unpleasant news.

"Two weeks, and then you and the Normandy report to the new Citadel fleet."

"But two weeks? That's barely enough time to visit even half the places on my list."

"I'm sorry Shepard, two weeks was the longest I could get you for a victory cruise. Hell, the fleet didn't even want to give you that."

"It's not just a victory cruise; it's my Honeymoon for crying out loud!" Shepard sighed. "What's the big rush anyway? The Reapers are gone, the Galaxy's at peace, and the worst thing the fleet will have to deal with are slavers and pirates."

"And what would happen if one of those pirates manages to get their hands on the Normandy while you're out on your own? The Normandy is the most advance ship in the galaxy. If it were to fall into the wrong hands, it could upset the balance we've managed to create since eliminating the Reapers. The Normandy, and its Commander, need to be at the head of the Citadel fleet so people can sleep safely."

"So that's it. It's not about what it or I represent. It's about what we symbolize. You know, I think I might hate this more than a desk job."

Anderson chuckled. "I doubt that. Those two and a half years I spent as Councilor were some of the most boring of my life. The Council stonewalled me at every turn. At least in your case, you'll be in charge."

Shepard shook her head. "I used to be a Spectre. I was independent, could go wherever I wanted, take whatever missions I wanted. Now, I've got a fleet. We'll have regular patrols, have to take orders, and the moment I try to use my own personal judgment, I'll likely be accused of favoring one species over another."

"You're still a Spectre. And as far as overcoming bias, you're well on your way with your selected crew: Quarian, Turian, Krogan, Asari. I'm surprised you don't have a Salarian in there though."

"Mordin's officially retired and he was the only Salarian I could think of. I talked to him though. He recommended a younger scientist he worked with in the Special Tactics Group. He won't be meeting me until we get to the fleet though. Guess I'll have to tell him to meet us earlier."

"Look Shepard, it's perfectly natural that you might be nervous about this position, but you need to do it. The public at large isn't fully convinced that all the Reapers have been destroyed. Knowing that the woman who destroyed them is out there, making sure they're protected, will make everyone feel safer." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, a fleet is much better than a solitary ship for raising children."

Shepard took a step backwards. "Whoa there, I don't think Liara and I are anywhere near having kids. I mean, she hasn't even hit her matron stage yet."

Anderson shrugged. "It's something to think about anyway." He gestured to the Normandy's entryway. "Don't let me keep you. As I said, you have two weeks; enjoy them however you choose. The Normandy is yours."

Shepard saluted. "Thank you Admiral."

Anderson returned the salute. "Say hi to the missus for me."

For the first time in a month, Lt Commander Leanna Shepard stepped foot on the Normandy. She'd missed it more than she cared to admit.

"Captain on deck!" a familiar voice called out.

Leanna turned to her left. Joker was sitting in the pilot's chair, a smirk on his face. He'd already regrown the stubble he'd shaved off for Leanna's wedding.

Leanna walked towards him. "It's still just Commander, Joker."

"Really?" Joker cocked an eyebrow. "I would've thought they'd've promoted you to Admiral by now."

"I'm still a Spectre. According to the Council, that's above any rank, except for their own of course. That's why I can command a fleet even though my Alliance rank says I shouldn't."

"I still think you should start calling yourself 'Commodore' or something. I'm not sure the other captains in the fleet will take orders from a 'Commander'."

"They will if the next word is 'Shepard'." She hastily changed the subject, "We have everyone on board?"

"Let's see, we've got everyone except for your science officer. Oh, and a crew. Any chance we'll be getting one of those soon?"

"EDI?"

A blue transparent orb popped up next to Joker. It oscillated as it spoke, "Yes Shepard?"

"Can you replace the functions of a crew for the next two weeks?"

"I am capable of handling everything with the exception of food preparation."

"There's not too many of us and Kelly can cook, so I'm not too worried about that. We can pick up a crew when we rendezvous with the fleet. That's where we'll be getting our scientist anyway. Satisfied Joker?"

"I guess. I'd just be happier if there were more people down here for me to ignore."

Shepard chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, you can ignore EDI."

"I'll do my best, but I think she's figured out how to override the mute button."

Shepard shook her head as she walked towards the CIC. "I'll talk to you later Joker."

"See ya Commander."

Shepard strolled slowly to the back of the CIC. She'd been wondering why everything seemed brighter when she realized that the Alliance had painted the interior of the ship white. Well, not exactly white. It was sort of a… she couldn't place the color. She'd always been bad at identifying the names of colors. She'd just call it white for now until someone told her otherwise.

"Welcome back to the Normandy Commander."

Shepard smiled. Standing next to the Captain's Post, from where she could access the galaxy map and plot the Normandy's course, was Kelly Chambers. Kelly had been appointed her Yeoman aboard the Normandy when the ship was initially built by Cerberus, and since then, Shepard couldn't imagine running her ship without her there.

"It's good to be back, Kelly. Any messages?

"You've got some fan mail on your private terminal."

"It can wait. Anything else?"

"I think everyone's just waiting on your orders to move out."

"Liara's on board right?"

"Yes. I believe she's currently in your room in the Loft."

Shepard nodded. "Good. Guess I better address the ship."

Kelly gestured to Shepard's terminal on the other side of the Captain's Post. "The intercom's ready whenever you are."

Shepard walked over to the terminal. She pressed the intercom button.

"This is Commander Shepard. Glad you could all make it back to the re-refurbished Normandy. We have two weeks before we have to rendezvous with the Citadel Fleet. Between now and then, the Normandy will be making its victory cruise. Also during that time, I intend to celebrate my wedding to Liara. Until then, the Normandy will be operating on a skeleton crew. Try to have fun these next weeks, because when we join the fleet, we'll all have to be much more professional than I've allowed on the ship. And don't worry about seeing me; I'll be stopping by everyone's stations as I tour the ship."

She released the button. "You know, it's much easier to be inspiring when the threat of invasion is breathing down your neck. I'm not sure what to say during peacetime."

Kelly smiled at her. "You did great Shepard."

Shepard didn't quite believe her. She pressed the other button for the comms. "Take us out Joker."

"Aye Commander."

"What a day," Leanna called out as soon as the doors to the Loft opened.

Liara looked up from the small alcove she had made in her and Leanna's now shared living space. "Is it something you wanted to talk about?"

Leanna walked over to the bed and flopped down on it. "Absolutely not. Tonight, I want to experience Wedded Bliss with my wife."

Liara smirked. "Did we not do that last night?"

"Yeah, but that was our wedding night. This is our honeymoon. They're two completely different types of wedded bliss."

Liara stood and started walking seductively towards the bed. "And how would you know that, Mrs. Shepard? Have you been married often?"

Leanna put on a playful smile. "Nope, just the one time. There was this great girl: cute, sexy, blue, freckles."

"She sounds beautiful."

"She had a great sense of humor too, always knew how to make me laugh, sometimes without even trying."

Liara chuckled and shook her head. "You never give up, do you?"

"No Mrs. T'Soni-Shepard," Leanna wrapped her hand around a part of Liara's upper thigh, the area she now knew was called 'Azure', and squeezed, "I never do."

Liara's eyes turned black and she lifted her head up in ecstasy.

It was at that very moment that Shepard began to feel a light breeze across her cheek. "Did you just feel something?"

"By the Goddess I did!" Liara leaped upon her in a full body embrace.

Leanna tried to push her off. "Liara, wait. There's something wrong."

The airflow was speeding up. Liara didn't seem to notice as she continued to paw at Shepard, getting her already half-way out of her uniform.

"Liara, I'm serious. Something's not right here!" She forcefully pushed Liara away.

"Shepard! What is…?" Liara suddenly noticed the air in the cabin was moving. Her eyes went from black to their natural blue. "What is going on?"

Shepard hit the comm button on her nightstand. "Joker, I think we have a hull breach in the Loft. We appear to be venting atmosphere."

No answer.

"This is Commander Shepard to any available personnel. The Loft is venting atmosphere. We need help containing it."

The only thing she heard was the sound of the air as it continued to move.

Shepard ran over to her personal terminal. Try as she might, she couldn't connect to any of the ship's systems. She couldn't even raise EDI to alert the others.

Shepard began to hear a grinding noise that she could only assume was the crack about to burst. "Come on Liara, we've got to get out of here. We can seal the room from the outside and fix it up later."

"Shepard?"

"Liara, move!"

"Shepard, look!"

Leanna looked up at Liara. Her mouth was gaping open and she was pointing to something. She followed Liara's gaze to something that made her freeze in shock.

There in the middle of the room, was a large, ghostly-looking rectangular box. It was blue, with a light on the top and writing on it that she couldn't quite make out yet. As the grinding grew louder, it became more solid looking.

Leanna had to rub her eyes to believe what she was seeing was real, but it was still there. After a minute of the grinding noise, the box was fully materialized. The grinding noise ended with a large banging sound, as if someone shut off a piece of large machinery.

Leanna and Liara stood next to each other, facing what they could only assume was the front of the box. Sure enough, a door opened in front of them. A man wearing a tweed jacket and a red bow-tie stepped out of the door.

"Hello," he said to them, "I'm the Doctor."

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this preview of The Edge of Time. It may be some time before I have new, publishable chapters, but they will come, just as soon as I am finished with Mass Effect 2.5. There are many more surprises to come so don't miss out on the action.