~ONE~

"The stars look more beautiful when viewed from Earth. Why? Maybe because when you're just a tramp without a nice roof over your head, a scrap of food to quiet your complaining tummy, and even a shred of sense of dignity or peace around you, you'll quickly fall into the trap of thinking that your shitty life isn't worth living for another day. But when you look up to the skies and see those tine little balls of light twinkling against the backdrop of dark skies, a sense of hope suddenly fills you. You realize all the possibilities that like beyond those stars. And, for some reason, those tiny balls of gaseous matter always encourage me to fight for a better life for another day…"

Joker never understood when Shepard told him those words. He thought it was just a quirk that Earth-born humans had; since, from what he heard, the stars looked different when you were standing in Earth's soil. But he never knew for sure. After all, he was a colony kid who grew up in a space station watching star-ships fly above his head. Stars surrounding him were just a part of his normal life.

And yet, these ordinary orbs of light managed shed something extraordinary— something that he never thought that he would actually feel.

He first saw it during in the rare hours he was forced to leave the bridge because of the immediate call of nature or a very stern Dr. Chakwas reminding him of his medication. As he limped down the hallway to the Med Bay, he spied the commander going to the Starboard Observation deck while Alenko was out chatting with the crew in the mess hall. When he followed her inside, he just saw her sitting on the couch. The peaceful silence prevented him from saying a witty remark or a casual greeting and led him to sit a few inches beside her. Her posture, usually tough and rigid, was relaxed. The short, messy, jet black hair matched the void of the galaxy between the lights. Her thin, pink lips pursed into some dour frown, as if trying to remember something. The scarred, fair skin that she had glowed with the relaxing light of the deck. His regs-conscious side warned him of the implications of staring at his commanding officer for too long. He wanted to look away but then he made his biggest mistake.

His gaze fell on dangerously mesmerizing glimmer of her gray-blue eyes, viewing the cosmic design around them.

And he never forgot that day.

A part of him chastised him for even feeling that way for a woman he highly respected; but another part of him longed to see that rare, soft glimmer in her eyes. He was probably an idiot to hope for such vulnerable moment to happen again in a time of war. But every time they would come across a star field, he silently wished that he would come to witness that scene again.

But that day never came.

And now, the stars served as a bitter reminder of the things that could be but never happened—and the twinkling lights brought more pain than his brittle bones could do to him in a lifetime.

"The event is about to start, Jeff," EDI's cool, steel voice brought him back to the present, "Are you alright?"

Joker blinked. Water began to gather at the corner of his eyes although it was probably just a little dew. "Yeah, I'm good. We better get going."

He turned around and saw the unshackled AI's mobile platform looking more like a human than a machine. Instead of grays and silvers, she had brown hair, hazel eyes and a fair skin. Her elegant, black evening gown barely left anything to imagination as the silky texture of her clothing emphasized her feminine curves. For a couple of minutes, Joker wondered if Shepard would also look that good in a gown like that but he quickly pushed the thought aside.

"What's with the get up?" he chuckled, "Didn't know that you're going to take the don't-let-them-know-you're-not-human plan this seriously."

The feminine AI straightened her gait and put her hands behind her back. Her facial expression was blank but he could feel her cold stare boring through his skull. "I believe that this is the most optimal action in my current situation," EDI explained, "After all, it is widely believed that all synthetic life was destroyed when the Crucible fired."

Joker gave a slight nod. "Riiiight…" his voice drawled, "That's why you have to get the attention of all the news-people attending at the opening of the Commander Mathilda Shepard Military Academy."

EDI tilted her head. "I have researched the extranet regarding the fashion of the past century— the days where humans live without the influence of the Mass Relays and space expeditions. This is how their women dress in such occasions."

The helmsman grinned. "So you're really focusing on living among humans and not being the Normandy anymore? Can't say I'm happy losing my co-pilot."

"Jeff, the Normandy is already removed in the Alliance Regs and now considered as out of commission," EDI retorted, "There is no point staying there anymore."

A dead weight fell on his heart as he recalled Admiral Hackett's decision. The Alliance could not risk the galactic community knowing that a synthetic bearing the Reaper Code survived the Crucible's blast. Whether dumb luck, rigorous development of the Crucible, or his stellar piloting skills that saved the AI from total annihilation, the fact remains that there was still animosity towards synthetics remained after the dusts of the Reaper War had settled. EDI's survival could spark a war between humanity and the alien races. The only choice they had is to put the Normandy as out of commission and dock it in the newly opened military academy as a memorial museum. EDI—or publicly known as Professor Evangeline Pi— would serve as the professor in Computer Engineering and Robotics while Joker would be the Chief Flight Instructor in star ship aviation.

Joker shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's for the best," he sighed, "I don't want anyone taking command of the Normandy anyway. Commander Shepard is the only captain of the Normandy. She will always be."

"Jeff…" EDI whispered. Her expression softened in his eyes but he wasn't really sure if her mobile platform allowed subtle changes in facial expressions, "I know how much the Commander means to—"

"We better go," Joker cut her off, "Don't want to miss the big reveal of the Commander's statue in front of the Academy."

EDI silently nodded and went to his side to guide his steps in the grassy hillock overlooking London City. While he still took his medication at Dr. Chakwas' strict orders, he would rather have his "mobile assistance mech" to prevent him from breaking his legs. At first, it was awkward, but then he found it more comfortable than using leg braces. And for some reason, some people in Earth would find it sweet and romantic.

He looked up the starry sky one last time. A lot of things had changed in his life, and yet the stars still remained in their own place. He knew that those stars were already dead in some light years away from Earth, but the light that inspired a lot of people to fight for the life they dreamed of remained in the velvety blue night sky.

And just like the stars, Commander Mathilda Shepard would always be etched in his memory forever.

Then a loud, blunt sound whizzed past his ear. The next moment he knew, EDI's platform lay still on the ground. He tried to look what caused it but his gaze was met by a barrel of a gun. Behind the gun was a shadow that everyone thought had perished along with the Reapers. It was the very person that he had always wished would come back to him.

But the mesmerizing glimmer was replaced by a cold, dead on stare.

His thoughts said otherwise but his lips only had one word to utter. "Commander?"

A/N: This story is written for WA One-Word Prompt Challenge with the word "Stars". But I saw much potential here for a Shoker Fanfic that I decided that this will be a multi-chapter fic. :D