AN: Mass Effect doesn't belong to me!
A lone figure is walking between rows of tombstones in a dark and windy day. Small groups are visiting some of the graves, but never a large group. Most graves are unattended because there was no one left to visit them and many more were nameless. Everyone else is at his memorial. Everyone in the Sol system will be visiting the Shepard Memorial for next few weeks. But after that, he will be forgotten again until next year.
As she is approaching her destination, she notices a small crowd there. A huge battle-scarred clan leader and his baby-faced krogan guard. A man attended by his disability mech. A former Cerberus cheerleader. Also there, was a father with his son named Shepard. A huge N7 operative was saluting, as well as a female Spectre. A petite japanese woman was holding a holo-call from a quarian admiral. The Shadow Broker isn't here but wherever she is, the Broker is watching. And last but not least, a young boy stood in the middle of the group.
When the group noticed her, they murmured, nodded towards her, looked at her with some animosity, but they all moved out and gave her the privacy she wanted. Before her lay 3 graves . Garrus and Javik was with him until the final moments. The Shepard Memorial was just a show, everyone in the team agreed that John wanted something simple. She stares at the central tombstone, feeling her emotions welling up her throat.
"Hey, dumbass." she said and turns around angrily, but stops halfway through,
"While you and Garrus are drinking each other under the table, the rest of us have to coop with the shit you left behind…. And tell that idiot he can never outdrink me."
After pausing for a few minutes, she continues.
"A couple of days ago, my students and I uncovered a bunker. The entrance was blocked from the outside and their supplies ran out years ago. Those fuckers had started eating each other in order to survive. Shit, they even attacked us when we opened that door."
"The krogans rebelled again last week and the remnants of the fleet threatened to bomb them from orbit. Damn that Wrex, things could've gotten really interesting."
"Most turians and quarians are in cryo-stasis now. I had my bet on the turians eating the quarians, those damn lucky fuckers. Leaving all the heavy work for us now."
"The asari, salarians and geth have finally started working on improving FTL drives and repairing the Mass Relay, but I wouldn't bet my ass on results any time soon."
Her rant was suddenly broken, as someone was calling out to her. Jack turns back to the tombstone and touches it, biotics glowing, but the look on her face softened.
"See you next week, dumbass," whispered Jack, "Thanks to you, I have someone to care of."
Jack turns towards the young boy, took his hand and started walking towards her car.
The end
The setting is:
-Shepard chose the red explosion/ pill, existing technology and synthetics were not destroyed but the Mass Relays were permanently disabled.
-The Normandy doesn't leave the system.
-The resources to sustain the fleet and armies come from the other planets in the Sol System, but the casualties were really high
-Quarians and turians were slowing and gradually sent into cryo-stasis so the survivors need to spend less time and resources on dextro-amino foodstuff but still many did starve.
-Returning to their home worlds was not a priority, but stabilizing the situation is, that's why the FTL and Mass Relay research were delayed.
-Shepard and Jack spent a moment together after they met up in Purgatory.
-Jack knows about Garrus and Shepard's drinking games, so she assumes they are drinking wherever they are now.
I am not going to comment on the endings :P, but this is my version of the epilogue. Like? Dislike? Let me know.
