Disclaimer: This story is not canon in any way, shape or form. The Admiral character is my own invention, but everything here is property of Bioware and should be treated as such.
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Remnants of the Past
Chapter One: Homecoming
i.
The holographic daylight of the Presidium gleamed off the smooth white and silver surfaces, dazzling to look at for too long. Beyond the office window, hovercars slipped smoothly by. Far below, the fountains were a faint gurgle. It was a far cry from how the Citadel had looked not two months before.
Commander Hanna Shepard sighed and turned away, sipping her coffee. She was uncomfortable. Having spent most of her childhood in the tight confines of one Alliance military ship or another, she still struggled to adjust to the wide open spaces of the Citadel. Even the paradise of Vampire had done little to relieve it. Bitterness welled up inside her, sudden and intense, and she swallowed. Ashley had died there. Some paradise.
From the desk, her communications unit chirped. She crossed to the desk and touched the panel with a fingertip.
"Shepard here."
"Commander, it's Anderson."
"Counsellor, it's good to hear from you."
"And you, though I wish this were just a social call. We've got trouble."
Fear crawled its chill way down Shepard's spine. "Not the-"
"No, not the Reapers. Not yet. At least, I damn well hope not." There was a pause. "It's the quarian Flotilla. We received a distress call twenty-four hours ago."
"The Flotilla asked the Citadel for help?" Shepard was incredulous.
"It gets stranger. We didn't get much more than that they're passing through the Athens system in the Artemis Tau Cluster and required evacuation ships immediately."
"Why is the Flotilla way out there when things are so dangerous?"
"I don't know, Commander, but it seems they've run into trouble. Can you meet me in Undina's office in the Embassy Complex? Tali'Zorah na Rayya is there. She is being very vocal about her concerns for the Flotilla."
"I'll be right there, Counsellor."
Shepard shut off the communications channel and drained her coffee. She scraped her fingers through her black hair quickly, hoping it was serviceable, and then took the lift down to the Presidium's ground floor. A Rapid Transit hovercar was parked nearby, and she took it to the Embassies. Anderson met her as she crossed the busy waiting lounge. He shook her hand warmly.
"Commander," He said, "It seems we only see each other when there's a crisis."
"We'd both be out of a job without one crisis or another," Shepard said dryly. The two of them scaled the steps up to Undina's office.
"He's in a bad mood," Anderson said, his face expressionless as always. "The Council doesn't want to send anyone, and neither does he."
The two of them stopped on the stairs, Shepard frowning.
"The Flotilla is requesting urgent assistance and they want to ignore it?" Shepard shook her head. "We're going to need all the help we can get when the Reapers arrive. What kind of message does it send out if we start abandoning people?"
"You know me, Shepard," Anderson said, "I tried to have ships sent straight after the transmission arrived." A tightening around his jaw betrayed his frustration. "The volus and turian counsellors spoke against sending a fleet and the others went along with them. They're afraid of being undermanned."
"So we do what we did before."
Anderson didn't answer as they continued upwards. He touched the access button and the office door slid open with a hiss. Immediately, the sound of arguing assaulted them.
"-cannot simply sit here and do nothing, Ambassador!" Tali's distinctively musical voice was indignant and strained. "If the Admiralty Board has seen fit to contact the Citadel directly, whatever is happening must be serious!" Her slim form bristled with tension.
"Equally," Undina was pacing behind his desk, gesturing animatedly, "If half our military is wrapped up in offloading quarian refugees when the Reapers arrive, there won't be a Flotilla to aid." His scowl turned to Shepard and Anderson as they entered the bright room. "Commander Shepard. I trust you can make Tali'Zorah see sense on this matter?"
"Commander," Tali's voice was both parts relieved and nervous as she hurried over. She took hold of Shepard's hand in both of her own two-fingered ones and squeezed. Her gloves were cold. "Thank you for coming. I requested your presence here."
Shepard released Tali's hands gently. "Calm down, Tali. What do we know about how much trouble the Flotilla is in?"
Tali shrugged. The very human gesture looked strange from the quarian in her biosuit.
"Precious little, Commander. I have been able to get in contact, but the message was garbled. They said that three ships had been lost - cruisers - but did not say how. They called for an emergency evacuation." The dark visor of the biosuit turned to regard the silent Undina accusingly. "That was some time ago."
"Counsellor," Shepard turned, not bothering to address Undina, "As a Spectre, I'm free to go anywhere I wish if I feel it's necessary, is that right?"
"That is correct. Within reason, of course."
"Would within reason include taking the Normandy to the Athens system to investigate this distress signal? Most of the crew is still on board."
"You'd be relieving the Council of a potentially embarrassing problem. They'll make noise, but they won't stop you, I'll see to that." The ghost of a smile passed over the Counsellor's face. "Don't be surprised if they take all the credit, though."
Undina was pressing his thumb and forefinger into his eyes. He sighed heavily.
"Anderson, the idea was that Shepard was to come here to talk sense," He grumbled.
"And she is, Ambassador," Anderson said. "We can't leave people to die out there. If we've come that far, fighting the Reapers just isn't worth it."
"Tali," Shepard said, laying a hand on the quarian's slim shoulder, "Can you find Wrex and Garrus? I want them involved."
"I can do that, Commander," The vague hint of blue eyes behind the visor was fixed on her face. "Thank you for this. I do not think I will be able to repay you."
"Don't worry about that. Just find the others. We leave as soon as everyone is aboard."
ii.
The Normandy slipped quietly out of the Citadel docking port less than two hours later, guided by Joker's expert hand. As the sleek Alliance ship turned to speed away into the purple nebula, Shepard watched his hands flying deftly across the controls. Joker had been excited about the unexpected mission, tired of languishing in the dock and attending tedious debriefings in his hover-chair. Like her, he needed to be doing something – almost anything – that avoided being stuck stationside.
Standing a short way behind the pilot's chair, Shepard permitted herself a small smile. Joker had even got the medal he wanted, after a lengthy speech by Undina. She had almost laughed aloud at the Flight Lieutenant's expression.
"I can hear you thinking, Commander," He said without turning. Beyond the viewport, the points of the Ward Arms were sliding by. "You don't like this, do you?" When she didn't reply, he said; "Think it might be geth?"
"It's possible. What I can't work out is why the Flotilla is so far out of its way." Shepard grimaced. "Not that Citadel space is much safer at the moment."
"Rare resources?" Joker shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm keeping this baby's weapons charged."
It took the Normandy a few minutes to thread its way through the New Council Fleets surrounding the Citadel. Everything from the sharp, unlovely capital ships of the turians to the streamlined asari battle craft was in evidence. They even passed two ungainly volus freighters that had been modified for war. Alliance dreadnoughts spearheaded most of the Fleets. Shepard wondered privately if they would be enough.
The star, Widow, gleamed an intense violet through the nebula as the Citadel disappeared behind the thick cosmic cloud banks. Shepard breathed a discreet sigh of relief. It was good to be back in space.
They hopped relays to the Artemis Tau Cluster and then went into FTL for the journey through to the Athens system. The crew spent the time being briefed, eating and sleeping. Tali went over quarian customs and etiquette with everyone and talked with Garrus about her Pilgrimage ending. Shepard made love to Alenko. Joker complained about politicians and boasted about the 'Sovereign shot.' Things were oddly peaceful. As Shepard lay with Alenko in the semi-darkness, a cliché came to mind. The calm before the storm.
They came out of FTL just inside the Athens system. Joker let the Normandy cruise through the blackness of space, suspended in nowhere as he made long-range scans.
"I've got the Flotilla, Commander," He said, and his eyes were wide. "And how could I miss it? Will you look at the size of that thing?"
"The quarian race in its entirety; millions of my people together in a single fleet," Tali said with more than a little pride. She was standing beside Shepard, taking in the readouts from over Joker's shoulder.
"I thought you once said size isn't everything, Joker?" Shepard said, stifling a grin.
"Yeah, well, I did, but look at it!" He tapped the control interface, shaking his head. "This thing has size and firepower. I'm reading tens of thousands of ships, Commander." He took in the data quickly; most of it scrolling faster than Shepard could read. The distant light of Athens was a golden glow seeping through the viewports. "The Flotilla is clustered around the gas giant, Circe. There are also a few thousand ships orbiting Proteus." He turned in his seat to look at Shepard, blinking. "No sign of any hostile craft, ma'am."
"Nothing?" Shepard asked, frowning. Something so serious that the Migrant Fleet was prepared to ask for help and yet there was no indication of hostile activity. That did not sit well in her gut.
"They could be using the shadows of the planets to hide," Tali suggested. Her voice was nervous. "Or the star's vigorous radiation. See how it fluctuates?" She pointed to the data. Joker rolled his eyes and snorted.
"No offense, Tali – you're a brilliant engineer and all – but I know how the Normandy's scanners work." He narrowed one eye. "There's nothing hiding out there, just the quarian ships smack bang in plain view."
"Isn't there a colony on Proteus?" Shepard asked.
"It's one of ours, Commander, a test site under the planet's ocean," Joker said, then grimaced.
"They won't be happy about the quarians leeching the system's resources."
"Utilising," Tali corrected sharply, then sighed bitterly, "But it is possible there has been a disagreement with the colonists. Hostility with the Flotilla is common."
"Perhaps the Admiralty Board can tell us more," Shepard said cautiously. A situation between the Migrant Fleet and an Alliance colony was the last thing they needed. "Take us into orbit around Circe, Joker, and broadcast our intentions from a reasonable distance. If they've recently been attacked, they'll be jumpy."
The visor of Tali's environmental suit turned to regard the Commander silently. Uncertain. Shepard looked back.
"We're strictly neutral here," She told her. "If there's a problem between the Fleet and the colony, we'll deal with it."
Tali turned away and Shepard didn't know if she was reassured or not. She stood with her hands behind her back as they slid into FTL. A few minutes later, Joker dropped back to a cruising speed while the planet was still a distant yellow bulk. He touched the communications button.
"Quarian Flotilla, this is the Alliance frigate Normandy. We were dispatched to investigate your distress call. Please respond." There was no reply, and Joker repeated the message. Only as the sphere of the planet loomed bright and huge several hundred clicks away did a faint reply crackle into being.
"…Alliance vessel. This is the flag…of the Migrant Fleet, Unbroken Hope." There was a blast of static that could have been frustration. "…You all they sent?"
"Patch me through, Joker," Shepard said. She waited. "This is Commander Shepard, Unbroken Hope. I'm a Council Spectre. What was the cause of the distress signal?"
"While not wishing to sound- …rateful, Commander, your arriv- …too late." There was a pause. "Those who needed evacuation are dead."
Shepard swore under her breath. "I'm sorry to hear that. To whom am I speaking?"
"Admiral Jalin'Or na Serren." The signal had steadied. "I wish you could have come sooner." A painful silence reigned for a few moments. "The Unbroken Hope is currently orbiting Circe's northern hemisphere. Please dock with us there, but do not attempt to leave your ship."
"Understood, Admiral." She turned to Tali as Joker cut off the channel and gave her a questioning look.
"They will bring environmental suits, Shepard," She said, tapping her own visor. "So you can move around the Flotilla without being a medical risk." Tali shook her head. "Feel honoured. It has been many years since outsiders walked the corridors of quarian ships."
The Normandy swept on through the pinpricked darkness of space towards Circe. The immense, dark yellow sphere of the gas giant swam up and enveloped the viewports of the ship with shocking alacrity as they came into orbit around it. Endless clouds of sulfur and chlorine spiraled and flowed across it in an eternal, silent dance, twisting and pooling from pole to pole and collecting in vicious storms around the equatorial band. The planet's sickly glow seeped into the frigate's bow and gathered on the controls, making Joker squint.
But it wasn't the enormous, disease-coloured gas giant that stunned Shepard. Hanging lazily in orbit over its northern hemisphere were more ships than she had ever seen during her service – even at the battle over Torfan there hadn't been this many. Thousands upon thousands of ships of all designs and sizes formed a blanket all around it. Gigantic military craft bristled with armaments - carriers and dreadnoughts kilometers in length, surrounded themselves by hundreds of civilian ships of a graceful sweeping design. The smaller ships were clustered in their shadows like young animals seeking the protection of mother. Countless lumbering transport vessels and clouds of fighters drifted across the expanse between the leviathans. Shepard shook her head in wonderment. There was no other word for it. The Migrant Fleet was a swarm.
As they glided through the midst of the Flotilla, Shepard gazed at the extent of it, often unable to tell the origins of some of the enormous craft. There were some that had obviously once been Alliance; others were adapted krogan or salarian in design. There were even some – old, beaten and rusted - that looked disconcertingly like geth dropships.
"More appropriately, the geth ships look like ours," Tali explained when Shepard asked her about it. "The geth are innovative, but they took their understanding of spaceflight from us. It is only natural that their constructs will look similar."
Joker let out a low whistle as they slid up and over a collection of oval-shaped vessels that Tali identified as family ships and the Unbroken Hope came into view.
"Now that's a flagship," He said in awe. "Destiny Ascension, eat your heart out."
The ship was truly colossal. Bathed in the wan light from the gas giant, its blue-black port side towered over the Normandy like a great steel mountain as the frigate settled into a docking bay. The moment that they were secured in place, shutters closed the bay off to space with an audible hiss.
"Uh, that feels a lot like being trapped," Joker said uneasily, glaring at Tali. "Is this normal?"
Tali wasn't listening. She was pressed against the diagonal slash of the viewport, staring out into the artificial cavern beyond that was clinical in its brightness.
"I am home," She breathed.