Author's Note: Reference to family for Earthborn Shepard, so a bit of a bend on canon.
When the Normandy first came into view at Arcturus Station, Anderson thought that wasn't his ship. It was too large, too sleek, and in the wrong colors.
It wasn't the ship he marveled at during its first reveal, a ship that was the highlight of his career, even if his run with it was short.
When Shepard had followed him from the Tokyo as his XO, she gave the same look as he had when she first laid her eyes on it. In awe, the first thing she said to him aboard their ship had been "What are our orders?"
Anderson had let out a triumphant laugh as his answer.
"Let's see what we can find."
That was three years ago. Anderson was now aboard the new ship, with four shifts in since he had taken command again for the Alliance. They had now left Omega, with Vega secured. The Lieutenant still hadn't spoken more than two words to Shepard.
Anderson had taken the cabin of the former Cerberus XO, his old cabin. Staying in there for too long made his legs itch, he needed to walk.
He walked the halls and took the elevator to each floor just to keep moving through the ship. The size was astounding, the Eezo core even more so. It almost felt wrong to admit it, to be amazed by another ship, even if it was the copy of his own.
Anderson worked his way back to the crew deck, this time, to look for Shepard, she was back in uniform but had become reclusive around the other Alliance officers. Probably not sure how to act around them, they were escorting her to her cell after all.
Anderson studied the deck; this version was a lot sharper, with more room than what any military ship needed. A lot more had changed, even the onboard VI system. A flicker of light appeared in his peripheral, almost taking him off guard.
"Do you need assistance, Admiral? You've been searching around the ship for quite some time." A different voice, a much more responsive and helpful one. He could see why Cerberus poured money into it.
"EDI right? Where's Shepard?" Anderson asked.
"In the starboard lounge, near the women's restroom. And yes it is EDI, is there anything else you wish to know Admiral?"
"No, uh thank you."
"Well if you need any more help wandering around the ship just let me know. But in the meantime logging you out Admiral." The orb dissipated within seconds. The responsiveness while helpful, put him off.
He found his way to the lounge with Shepard and Chakwas packing away boxes. Shepard waved him in as she placed away her last few bottles of alcohol. A window cascaded off behind her showing the endless black ocean of space.
"You know you can't bring that with you," Anderson joked while walking through the entrance.
Shepard spoke without missing a beat. "And here I thought I was packing for a slumber party with the Alliance." She was more of smartass then he remembered.
"I'll have you know I'm trusting Chakwas to hide them for once I do get my ship back." Shepard grounded out in between the stocking.
"And where shall I place them?" Chakwas asked.
"Hiding them alongside my model ships right?" Shepard turned as she answered the doctor.
"Ah, yes, because those have such great value," Chakwas said dryly. The doctor smiled as she spoke, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"Well, yeah, they are collectibles." Shepard paused and recomposed herself, the joking tone gone from her voice. "I guess I should be trying to keep up appearances, preparing myself for the circus and what not, Sir?"
"Don't start getting all formal on me now Shepard. We don't need to put on a show until Earth," Shepard smiled at his answer.
Anderson was still in the need to know basis of what went down on Arahdot. Whatever she and Hackett knew was still a mystery to him. He believed Shepard in the reports. But with her gone for more than two years, showing up alongside Cerberus, and more than three hundred thousand batarians dead with the whole system obligated? That was going to be a hard sell to the rest of the Alliance.
"Well then, how about one last drink before we hit Earth?" Shepard asked.
The doctor excused herself quickly at Shepard's offer. "I've learned my lesson with that, good luck Admiral." Shepard deflated a little as Chakwas turned towards the door.
"Not going to stay and share?" Shepard asked.
"I still need to check over things in the med bay, and besides, I need to pester Joker to remember to bring his medication with him." That was a standard joke of hers, but the humor in her voice wasn't there this time. The doctor patted him on the shoulder as she made her way out of the lounge.
"Anderson, how about you?"
"I may have been away from the Alliance for two years, but as I recall drinking on the job is still against protocol," Anderson answered.
"So is stealing a ship and I'm pretty sure punching Earth's ambassador is somewhere in the books," she placed out two glasses, blatantly ignoring what he said. "And that all worked out in the end, Sir."
"Well, when you put it that way, of course, I'll have a drink."
"Good, uh" Shepard paused, looking upon the several boxes. "You're not going to think any less of me if I actually can't tell the difference in the quality of alcohol?"
Anderson chuckled. "Only slightly. Any whiskey will do that's old enough to enlist."
"This should work," Shepard said as she grabbed a bottle of TM88 Peruvian-Whiskey, not one his favorites but it would do.
"So how is being back in uniform? Big change from Councilor?" she asked in between pouring the drinks. She handed him his drink, and they clinked their glasses.
"I could ask the same for you."
"Well I was hoping it wouldn't be due to getting a whole fucking colony destroyed and working with a terrorist organization, but you take what you can get." The tone in her was sharp; she must have meant it in jest, but it missed by a few lightyears. Anderson watched her stare out the window as Io passed.
They took their first drink in silence until she spoke again. "But I asked you first, how does it feel to be back?"
"Not thinking about how to dress in the morning has it perks," he joked to clear the air.
"That's the main reason I enlisted," she said dryly.
Anderson joked back. "I joined because of a dog."
Shepard got up on the edge of her seat at that and laughed. "You're going to have to tell me that story." She stared at him insistently until he complied.
"Fine, fine fine," Anderson said, waving her over. "Well it was a lot of things, but the dog was the straw that broke the camel's back. Back when I kid there was this mangy little son of a bitch that barked at me every day. It would snarl, and I'd run." Anderson paused to look over at her.
"Oh my god, you're serious."
"Very." Anderson continued. "And then one morning, I was just in a bad, angry mood, I can't remember why. But he started in on me like usual, and that time I just snapped. I started barking right back at him. We both kept at it until we had nothing left. He never barked or so much look at me again after that." Anderson smiled at the old memory; Anderson had to thank that mangy old bastard, he couldn't imagine his life without the Alliance.
"Okay, so what does that have to do with joining?"
Anderson took a sip of his whiskey for a more dramatic pause and leaned over to Shepard. "Well, I enlisted because sometimes, you just gotta howl to make things right."
"And they call me crazy." Shepard laughed.
Anderson had recounted that story so many times through his career. It surprised him that he never told her. Even throughout the years she'd been at his side. Hell, this was the first time they'd even shared a drink together. God willing it wouldn't be their last.
"Don't worry I got my fair share of that from the Council and others while you were gone."
"Well, thank you for holding my place, but I'll take back my soapbox so I can yell, howl, or whatever at the Alliance on all this shit with the Reapers."
"Don't think you're in this alone, I'm going to do my damnedest to get you through this."
"Of course, I know you would. You are now." Shepard sighed and sunk back into the couch.
They let a silence fill the lounge as the Normandy passed through the asteroid field. Just watching the space until Shepard continued with her questions.
"So, who's the muscle? We went a long way to get him."
Anderson propped himself up as he answered. "Your guard-."
"Oh, Jesus Christ, I'm more than cooperating, did we need to go out of the way for just one guy?"
"Not to guard you, but to guard others against you, I need someone I can trust." Shepard looked down at her drink as he finished speaking.
"I can protect myself," she mumbled out, sounding almost child-like.
"The Alliance has gone public with your actions. You're a target by the Hegemony and God knows how many anti-Cerberus groups, you're not doing this alone."
"What about Charlotte and Alex? Are they targets? They were announced as my sibling at my memorial. They're civilians. They should be the ones to have guards, not me." Shepard rocked back into the couch, watching as the Normandy pass Mars. They'll be home soon.
"I made sure security measures were taken before the confirmation."
Shepard sighed of relief and sunk further down into the couch. "They're going to be so pissed with me."
"That's what has you worried?" Anderson laughed. He had just told her she'd be a target for millions, and she worried of the wrath of her half brother and sister.
"I didn't exactly contact them until after Bahak."
"Seriously?" That took him by surprise, even when he'd been on bad terms with parents or even Cynthia, his family been the first to know what was going on with his missions.
"Getting brought back from the dead only to be shipped off to a suicide mission, I didn't exactly want to get their hopes up. If they cared." Her voice dropped again, while stirring the drink that she'd been nursing.
Anderson had remembered a young woman and man trying to remain stoic in front of the camera during the few words they spoke at Shepard's memorial. And he remembered how quickly it fell to anger and rage on her brother's part and sadness and tears of her sister's in privacy with him.
"They do." Anderson patted her back, trying to get a rise from her. He got a reassuring smile from that.
"Well, thank you, for making sure they're safe." A crackle of the system filled the room as she finished speaking.
"ETA to Vancouver base in twenty minutes Admiral," Joker called over.
"Better drink up," Shepard quipped. They took another drink as Earth began to grow in the window. They were getting so close; Anderson could almost make out the oceans from the clouds.
"I haven't seen that sight in years," Shepard said with slight shock.
"Nothing like returning home?"
"I wouldn't call Earth home. This ship has been for so long to me." Shepard turned to him as she spoke. "It's not an easy thing. Turning a ship like this over is it, Sir?"
"Well, I had someone I trust."
"Ha, well you sure did, I ended up getting it destroyed," She paused, and coughed and looked down at her feet. "But, uh, thank you again, for everything."
"Of course."
A lot was written, reported, and gossiped about Shepard over her years of service, more so now with the news of Bahak breaking. But that was surface knowledge. They hardly tried to get to know her.
But Shepard was a woman he'd trust his life and many others with. Even with her jackassery at times, she didn't hesitate to give her life to the ship and crew that they both had marveled at almost three years ago. Shepard gave more than they even could and still willing and ready to fight. She would be willing to give her life to stop the Reapers, even the damn Council or Alliance wouldn't listen.
Honest to God, this wasn't going to be easy. War is not orderly. It doesn't follow rules and regulation that the Alliances were likely going to implement slowly while raking through her career. He'd been on the side of that before and wouldn't wish it on anyone. But if anyone could go through the ringer with Alliance brass, that would be Shepard.
Anderson raised his final sip of his drink to hers. "So Shepard, ready to get back to fighting the good fight?"
She gave him a small smile and returned the gesture.
"Let see what we can do."
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.