This is an add-on to my Aftermath story. It is the interview Shepard agreed to with Emily Wong. Enjoy.
I asked at the BioWare's forums for questions. A few gave me some I could use. I will footnote them at the end. Thanks to those that helped out. I really do appreciate it very much.
It's a nice day for a walk around the Presidium. It's always a nice day for a walk when you live on the Citadel. Commander Shepard is on her way to meet with the reporter Emily Wong for the exclusive interview she agreed to give the reporter. Wong wanted to meet with the Commander to go over the topics Shepard is willing to talk about. Emily Wong wanted this to go smoothly and she didn't want the Commander to walk out in the middle of it. Wong also wanted to make sure this isn't a Khalisah al-Jilani type interview either with ambush/loaded type questions. Ms. Wong could tell from Shepard's expression in the interviews from al-Jilani, she didn't enjoy it very much. She did want to make this interview was pleasant, but also informative for the listeners.
Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre, Alliance officer, and savior of the galaxy walks into the Citadel News Net offices ready to meet with Ms. Wong. Shepard is wearing her dress blues again. She can't seem to not wear it lately. Last time she wore it was a very special day that she didn't know was coming. Well, she knew it was coming, just not that on that particular day. The Commander sat in a chair while waiting for Emily Wong to arrive. Well, Leia, are you ready for this? At least you look nice for this interview instead of always being in armor for the al-Jilani's interview. Yea, I think I'm as ready as I'm going to be. Be nice, smile and nod a lot. Shepard smiles as she thinks to herself. Wong walks out of her office and greets Shepard, "Thank you, Commander, please step inside my office. I want to go over a few things before we record the interview. If that is okay with you."
Shepard shakes Wong's hand after she stood up, "That's fine, Ms. Wong." Both walk into Emily Wong's office. The office seems rather plain with only a couple of chairs, a desk, a few awards hanging on the walls along with Wong's journalism diploma. Shepard sits down in one of the chairs while Wong sits in the chair next to Shepard. The Commander was sorta surprised that Ms. Wong didn't sit behind her desk. "Commander Shepard, again want to thank you for agreeing to this interview. I understand you want to keep your personal affairs private and I will respect that," she smiles softly to Shepard then continues. "Is there any topic outside of personal information you don't want to discuss, Commander?" asks Wong.
Shepard grins to the reporter, "Just that, Ms. Wong. Most of life has been public for some time now. People don't know everything, but there it is. I'm willing to speak about any topic you want. Any mention of my bondmate or what we plan in the future and I will leave. I can not state that enough. If that is going to be a problem, let me know now and we can not even do the interview. I am sorry if I am sounding a little cold about it, but that is just info that doesn't need to be made public" Wong just nodded to let Shepard know she understood completely.
"I understand, Commander, I am not al-Jilani. I do try to be fair in my interviews and I do know from your body language that you didn't enjoy the few times al-Jilani ambushed you when you were on the Citadel. I owe you anyway for all the help you gave me with the info about Fist and Citadel Traffic Control Station bug you planted for me," replies Wong. She adds, "I do want to ask about your time with the Alliance before you became a Spectre. About being a Spectre. About your disappearance." Wong noticed Shepard's slight body movement of uneasiness when she mentioned disappearance. Now, I wonder if that will be off limits too. Personal stuff, I can understand, but people want to know what happened to the great Commander Shepard for the two years she was missing. "And things alone those lines. Will these types of questions be okay for you, Commander?" smiles Wong at Shepard.
Leia thinks carefully for a moment before answering, "Yes, those types of questions are fine and some are things I do want to discuss believe it or not. Will we be doing this interview here in the studio or some place else. To be honest, I wouldn't mind having it done at the dock where the Normandy is located." Commander Shepard gives a slight grin towards the human reporter. She shifts some in the chair to get more comfortable.
Wong just smiles back, "Where ever you feel the most comfortable. If you want to do this at the Normandy, then we will do it there. We can leave now and get started if you like, Commander. No pressure." Shepard thinks to herself as she hears the no pressure, How many times can I hear that phrase. Miranda said it to me when we first got on board the Normandy and Liara said it to me after dealing with the Shadow Broker. Ah, Liara. That thought gave Shepard a huge lift in spirit. She knows deep down, she rather not do this interview. Wong has always been nice and fair when it came down to her dealing with Shepard. Better Wong than al-Jilani, Shepard chuckled softly to herself about what happened at Shanxi between the bitch reporter and Liara. Wong looked at Shepard not sure if the Commander heard her comments, "Commander?"
Shepard snaps out of her thought, "Oh, sorry, Ms. Wong. Just thinking to myself. Yes, I would prefer to do this at the docks where the Normandy is being repaired. Can you meet me there in about an hour? I will need to inform the crew on what is going on and see if the workers are doing what they need to be doing. I will meet you there, Ms. Wong." Shepard gets out of the chair she was sitting in and smiles to the reporter. The Commander leaves the office and heads back to the Normandy. Emily Wong just nodded in agreement while watching the Spectre leave her office.
The reporter's boss walked in to her office. He was an older human about 55-years-old wearing a baby blue button down shirt and dress pants. He also really didn't think this interview was going to work. He had his doubt about one of his reporters actually getting this done correctly. It's been rumored around the Citadel that Commander Shepard was a very hard woman to pin down interview wise and after one of her interviews with Khalisah al-Jilani where Shepard just walked off when she didn't like where the line of questions were headed made it seem even hard to get a good interview from the great Commander Shepard. "Emily, do you really think you can pull this interview off without either looking like you are doing a fluff piece or pissing the Commander off and not getting much of an interview. I know how the few interviews with al-Jilani went and those were not pretty." Before you respond as he put his hand up for Wong to keep listening, "I know you are not that type of reporter, but Shepard is a hard woman to get a read on. You sure you are up for this, Emily?"
"Yes sir, Mr. Grant. I am very ready for this interview. She has helped me in the past with a few stories I was working on before you hired me. I do believe I am the only reporter she does trust enough to do an exclusive interview for. I am not al-Jilani, sir. Shepard approved of the line of questions I wanted to ask, so everything should be just fine. Emily smiled to Mr. Grant as she picked up her notes that were still on paper. Wong preferred paper notes over using an omni-tool.
"Good luck, Emily," was the last thing Mr. Grant said as he left Ms. Wong's office and headed back towards his office. Emily Wong left to get her camera and some lights to brighten up the docks around the Normandy then heads out.
Back at the Normandy, Shepard boards the ship to make an announcement to the crew. "EDI, open the comm I need to make an announcement." EDI does as the Commander requested. Shepard then addresses the crew, "Attention everyone, Emily Wong will be here shortly. She is the reporter I have agree to an exclusive interview with. Everyone is to stay on board, if you have any problems take them up with Commander Alenko, he is in charge while I am gone. The interview will be outside on the dock, so the Normandy will be part of the interview. We could take a tour of the ship, but I haven't made my mind up on that nor has she asked about it. Probably not, but be ready just in case. Shepard out." EDI then closes the comm. "EDI, is there anyway for you to record what is going on the docks?"
"Yes, Shepard, I can record if that is what you want," replies the ship's AI.
Shepard grins, "Then do it, EDI. I sorta trust Wong, but I don't really trust any reporter completely and I want to know if she edits the interview in a way to make me look bad. I've had enough of that shit with al-Jilani."
"Of course, Shepard," was the only reply. Shepard then walks back out the airlock to wait for Emily Wong to arrive.
Emily Wong is making her way towards a transport so she could meet up with Commander Shepard at the dock where the Normandy is located. Wong hears a woman calling her name, "Emily Wong, moment of your time?" She stopped and looked around to see who was calling out to her. "Over here," says the woman again. Emily turns to her left and see a woman with short black hair waving at her.
Ugh, al-Jilani. I wonder what she wants. Emily Wong walks over toward Khalisah al-Jilani. "Can I help you with something? I have places to be and don't have time for chatting." Wong had no expression on her face while looking at the other reporter.
"I heard that you are interviewing Commander Shepard. Thought I would just warn you about her. She is not a pleasant interview, Ms. Wong. Just watch what you ask. She could just up and leave or turn the tables on you and make you look bad." al-Jilani has a slight grin on her face while saying that. She knows she is the blame for the bad interviews with Shepard. Ms. Al-Jilani is always willing to make others look bad. It's her nature as a reporter.
Ms. Wong just nods in reply then walks away. Khalisah al-Jilani thinks to herself, That's rude of you, Wong. I hope your interview turns out like mine do, making Shepard look bad or try to anyway. Damn that woman, Shepard. I'm not done with you yet, Shepard mark my words. After that last thought, al-Jilani headed back to her normal haunts, the Wards.
Commander Shepard is sitting on one of the chairs from the Normandy. Another one is across from her. Might as well be comfortable. Shepard notices Emily Wong on the elevator, stands up to greet the reporter. The Commander has a slight grin on her face. "I had a couple of the chairs from the Normandy brought out here to make it more comfortable. I do hope that is alright with you, Ms. Wong," asks Shepard as she offers her hand to the reporter.
Emily Wong shakes Shepard's hand, "That is perfect, Commander. Thank you. If you would give me a few minutes to set up a couple of lights and the cameras then we can get started." Emily then takes out two cameras that looks similar to the one that al-Jilani uses when ambushing people in the Wards. One is pointed towards where Shepard is sitting. The other camera is set up facing where Wong will be sitting. Ms. Wong takes out the lighting and sets them up next to the railing facing the chairs. The lights give the area plenty of light. Shepard was a little surprised by that. The lights were not very big, but held quite a punch. Wong closes the case that held her equipment and sat down in the chair across from Commander Shepard, "Are you ready Commander?"
A soft smile crosses Shepard's lip, "As ready as I will ever be, Emily. Let's get started." Shepard sits straighter in the chair trying to look like she is standing at attention, but was finding that difficult to do in these comfortable chairs.
Emily Wong nodded to Shepard, "I'm Emily Wong, today I have the pleasure of an exclusive interview from Commander Shepard of the Normandy." The camera the faced Shepard moved slightly to get a view of the Normandy. Some of the damage is in the shot, but also one could see the repairs being done to the frigate. The camera then returns to its original position. "Commander Shepard, thank you for this agreeing to this interview. I feel very privilege." Wong smiles softly to the Command in which the Commander returns.
Shepard does want this interview to go better than the ones with al-Jilani. Those always seems awkward to Shepard and she really didn't like it. Shepard replies, "You are welcome, Ms. Wong. I'm finally able to come up for air." The Commander smiled and nodded.
Wong starts asking her first question, "Commander, many humans know of your heroics on Elysium. Now, the whole galaxy knows you for your heroics against the Reapers. Many would like to know what made you join the Alliance military at eighteen?"
Shepard smirks slightly, "Both of my parents were Alliance. My mother is Captain Hannah Shepard of the SSV Orizaba." Shepard pauses slightly then decides she won't mention anything about her father. "So, I just followed in their footsteps. I grew up with that lifestyle, so I suppose I didn't know any better. I went to N7 training and took a different path within the Alliance. I liked being part of the ground forces." Shepard smiles to the camera.
Emily knew about Shepard's mother. It was known that Hannah turned down an admiralty star. Wong smiles at Shepard then asks another question, "How many years did you serve before becoming a Council Spectre?"
"I've been a Spectre for over three years and I've been with the Alliance for almost fifteen years," Shepard still keeps a slight smile on her face while answering.
"Commander, as a Spectre, you serve the galaxy as a whole. 'Many would like to know. What do you think about working with aliens?'[1] You always have aliens on board the Normandy. What does the Alliance think about that?"
That question took Shepard back slightly, but she didn't give that away. "To answer the first part, I enjoy working with every member of my crew. Human or alien. Some of my closest friends are aliens. We, humanity, have to work together to keep galactic peace. Everyone must work together. I think now there has been enough destruction for everyone that working toward a common goal will be easier. Time will tell on that and I will leave that to the politicians. I'm just an officer in the Alliance Military. As for your second question, there are some within the Alliance that does not like the fact that aliens are aboard the Normandy. Since, I'm a Spectre, they can't do anything about it." Shepard knew that last statement wasn't going to go over very well with the brass, but she was retiring and didn't really care what anyone outside of Hackett, Anderson, and her mom thought when it came to the Alliance.
Emily took a moment before asking her next question. That answer was going to ruffle a few feathers and she didn't want to fan that flame. Maybe Shepard really didn't care, but Wong had no way at the moment to know for sure. She really wanted to ask, "Commander, though you are a Spectre you still hold an officer's commission in the Alliance military. Has this caused any conflict of loyalties for you? If you ever had to choose between serving the Council and serving the Alliance military, which would you choose?"[2] She knew that last part was a little al-Jilani-ish. She asks this instead, "Even though are both a Spectre and an Alliance officer, has this caused any conflicts?"
Shepard rubs the back of her neck before answering, "I'm a Spectre. I think that is just as important as being an Alliance officer. If I'm on Council business and I get a message from Alliance command. If I have time, I will do what they need from me. If I don't have the time, I tell them I can't. They will have to have someone else take care of it. I can't be in two places at the same time and Council business comes first. I know some don't like it." Shepard shrugs her shoulders slightly. Her face shows no emotion just a slight smile.
Wong now fears the interview is in trouble. She smiles to Shepard, "Did being a Spectre have any bearing on you saving the Council during Saren's attack on the Citadel?" Emily threw caution to the wind with that one.
Shepard replies, "No, actually. Even if I wasn't a Spectre, I would have saved the Council. It was the right thing to do." Again no emotion from Shepard's face just the same smile.
The vibe Shepard was omitting was growing slightly darker, but she didn't seem like she was about to get angry or walk away. So, Wong continues, "The official story was that you died. Commander Shepard, the galaxy wants to know: Where have you been all this time?" [3]
This was a question Shepard knew was coming, but was unsure how to actually explain. She takes a deep breath before answering this one, "Well...I died." Shepard took a very long pause. She knew it was coming and wasn't prepared to answer.
On the Normandy, Liara is listening to the interview in the her and Shepard's quarters while EDI records the interview as requested by Commander Shepard. Joker was the only other one listening to it. It wasn't being broadcast through out the whole ship. Liara gasps a little at the bluntness of Shepard's answer to Wong's latest question. Liara thinks, What else are you going to say? Oh Goddess.
Shepard continues, "I was rebuilt. I really don't know the details on how it was done and I don't know if I want to know. All I know, I woke up at a space station under attack and I've been fighting since. Mechs, collectors, reapers, heretic geth, and different merc groups." Shepard is putting Cerberus in the with the latter. They're gone and no need to be mentioned again. "Anything else as far as I am concerned is classified information. Which I have no comment for," said Shepard maybe a little too sternly. The Commander relaxes slightly, giving Wong a clue it was okay to continue.
Emily Wong smiles to the Commander, "There has been rumors about the Normandy going back out on the Council request to visit all the home worlds of Council races? Can you confirm those rumors, Commander?"
Commander Shepard's demeanor soften, "Yes, once the repairs are done, the Council has ask that the Normandy and everyone the serves on her to visit all Council races home worlds. Then the Normandy will go to human colonies and help in any way needed. We will take supplies and give aid anyway we can."
Wong was quick with a follow up, "Who's idea was this, Commander?"
"If you are asking which Councilor thought of it, I am not sure. They first told me about it on Earth. Before the Normandy docked here on the Citadel. Then we had another meeting to finalize the mission. It is something the crew is excited to do," answered Shepard the best she could. She really didn't want that much information out there just yet. Even if this was suppose to air after they leave.
Wong wasn't sure what to ask next. So, she decided to throw some fluff out there. It was something a little personal, but not in the topics Shepard wasn't willing to talk about. Or she hope so anyway. "What types of hobbies do you have, Commander?"
Shepard smiles, "I enjoy putting together model ships. I've collected quite a few actually. That is about the only hobby I have time for. Not much free time saying the galaxy." Shepard cocks her head slightly to one side grinning.
Emily Wong smiles with that answer, "I suppose that is true, Commander. One last question, if you had it to do over again, what would you have done differently?"[4]
The Commander just sat there in thought, Wow, Wong, what a question. I wouldn't have died and worked with Cerberus. That is what I would do different. I don't even want it public that they rebuilt me. Sorry, Illusive Man, I know what honor is and I know what you do as a whole is wrong. I'm not sorry your gone. Shepard put her hand up to let Wong know is was still thinking about how to phrase her answer. "I'm not sure I could have done anything any differently. The job got done and that is what matters in the end. I'm not sorry for the decisions I made the past few years. A few didn't have the outcome I wanted, but we kept going through the hard times and enjoyed the good ones." Ok, I lied, I am sorry I worked with Cerberus, but damn it, no one else was doing anything.
Emily Wong offered her hand to Shepard and thanked her for the interview. Shepard shook Ms. Wong's hand and just smiled. Shepard then got up from the chair and returned the short walk to the Normandy's air lock. Before entering, Shepard walked back to Wong, "You're welcome, Ms. Wong. If I ever decided to do another interview, I will do another exclusive for you." She shakes Wong's hand again then heads back inside the Normandy. Emily Wong gathers her equipment and puts everything back into the case. A couple of the enlisted marines came outside to gather up the chairs. Wong thinks, You really do get things done, don't you, Commander Shepard? Efficient too. Emily smiles at the duo then heads to the elevator to head back to her office to do the intro to the piece and outro. It didn't go as bad as she thought it could have gotten. Wong got under Shepard's skin some or so she thought anyway. The two marines watch Ms. Wong board the elevator like they were told to then brought in the chairs after she left.
Footnote:
[1] S.A.K
[2] Jamesp81
[3] Orion1836
[4] TheMarshal
I want to thank those listed above for some great questions.