Milky Way I
Location: Serpent Nebula / Widow System / orbiting around energy anomaly / SSV Normandy SR-2
Miranda sighed as she entered the CIC and stepped up to the command post.
Around her, the mood was somber.
The time she'd allotted to remain in the system was now up.
Tapping the Galaxy Map, she zoomed out of the Widow System and the Serpent Nebula. Then she selected the Annos Basin and zoomed in on the system's relay. To her left, at the XO's station, Garrus watched the Galaxy Map as well, a grim look covering the turian's features, his mandibles tucked tight against his jaw.
"Is everyone accounted for?" Miranda asked the turian.
"Centurion's fighter is being secured in the hanger as we speak," Garrus informed her. "We're ready on your order."
Miranda knew that the squad and crew would not take the decision to leave without Shepard onboard well, but as acting CO she had a responsibility to the ship. Her hand hovered over the holographic display as she fought with herself whether to press it or not.
'Damnit Jon! Don't make me do this!'
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4 days earlier
Shepard stepped out of the elevator and into the CIC, his XO a few steps behind him as he stepped up to the command post.
"I still don't think you should be going out there alone. Or at all," Miranda told her CO for the umpteenth time since he'd told her of his intention to see the anomaly up close and personal in one of the Normandy's shuttles.
"Yeah, you've said that already. Several dozen times, in fact," Shepard noted wryly. "I'll be fine, Miranda. EDI will take all the readings and measurements we need and relay them to the Normandy. I'll just be taking the shuttle out to get a closer look."
Miranda narrowed her eyes at his statement. "Which you don't need to do. EDI can get her readings from here. You shouldn't risk yourself just for the sake of sating your curiosity, Jon," she chided her CO.
"Need I remind you that you said the same thing about Legion?" He pointed out. "And look what we learned from him."
"Legion was on the Normandy. And he was somewhat familiar to us," Miranda argued. "This thing is a complete unknown. And in space."
Seeing that Shepard wasn't going to be deterred from his course of action, Miranda sighed and let the matter drop as she took up her own post.
"How are we doing, Joker?" Shepard asked the Normandy's helmsman.
With the relay in the system designated as low priority on the repair roster following the crippling of the relay network at the end of the Reaper War, they'd had to travel to the Widow Systen via FTL from the Annos Basin, which meant they could only spend about a week in the system before beginning their return trip.
"I've set up a circuit two click's distance from the anomaly." Joker reported.
"EDI? Matthews? You picking up anything?"
The holographic representation of the Normandy before Shepard changed to the energy anomaly that he and his ship had been sent to investigate. The anomaly had appeared in the system two months ago, and fearing that they were seeing a kickback of the Crucible, the Council had tasked the Normandy with determining if it was something that they should be worried about.
"And is there any relation to the Crucible's energy?" Miranda asked in addition to Shepard's questions.
"Comparing my initial scans of the anomaly to the Crucible's output... Scanning... Scan complete. My analysis is that this anomaly has no relation to the energy the Crucible disseminated through the relay network."
"So what is it? How was it created? Where did it come from?" Shepard asked his questions in rapid succession.
"I require further data, Shepard," EDI responded.
"Start your in-depth scans, then."
"Beginning scans." EDI informed dutifully.
Shepard turned to Miranda as he stepped down from the Galaxy Map. "In the meantime, I'll head down to the hanger. The conn is yours."
Miranda said nothing in return, instead shaking her head in exasperation.
"We'll be laughing about this over dinner tonight, you'll see." He chuckled as he stepped into the elevator. "I'll be back in thirty."
As the doors closed, he heard Miranda address the ship AI, "EDI, can you call Garrus to the CIC."
"Calling Mr. Vakarian to the CIC."
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"Cortez." Shepard greeted the Armoury Chief as he stepped into the hanger and made his way towards his weapons locker to arm up.
"Captain," Cortez returned the greeting. "The Kodiak's ready to go. You sure you don't want a co-pilot out there with you?"
"I'm sure. I shouldn't be out there long, anyway." Shepard replied distractedly.
"Still don't know why you're arming up, though." Cortez mused as he watched Shepard do a quick last minute check of his gear. "Nothing out there trying to kill you."
Shepard, who was in the process of clipping his M-490 Blackstorm to his weapon's harness before moving onto his HMWSR Sniper Rifle, paused for a moment and then shrugged. "Old habit, I guess. Don't usually leave the Normandy without something equipped."
"Fair enough." Cortez acquiesced. "Better safe than sorry, right?"
"Right." Shepard chuckled as he slipped his HMWP Pistol into a specialized thigh holster on his left side before equipping his HMWSG Shotgun and HMWA Assault Rifle to his hardsuit.
Making sure that he had a full stock of thermal clips and grenades, he finished his prep by strapping his combat knives to his right thigh and left boot. After he was finished, Shepard unclipped his helmet from his belt and put it on as he strode towards the Kodiak - checking his HUD to make sure that his hardsuit was in normal working order as he moved.
"See you in a half hour," the N7 stated as he passed Cortez, who was standing by the shuttle's open hatch, and stepped into the cockpit.
"See you in half an hour," Cortez replied before Shepard closed the hatch.
Striding away from the powering up shuttle, Cortez called out to the others in the hanger that were using the gym. "Clear the hanger! Hanger bay door is about to be opened! I repeat; the hanger bay door is about to be opened!"
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"I take it you weren't able to sway him from doing this?" Garrus questioned Miranda as he took his post to the left of her.
"You know Shepard. Once he sets his mind to something, it takes nothing short of an act of God to turn him away from his chosen course."
"What's the human saying? Curiosity kills the bat?"
"Close enough." Miranda responded. "Though speaking of cats, Jon does certainly seem to have nine lives given how many close calls he's survived over the years, that's for sure."
"Or he has a really good guardian angel watching over him." Traynor chimed in.
Garrus glanced between the two women, looking decidedly perplexed at their words. "I've heard Shepard talk of angels; something to do with his religion. But nine lives? The turian is lost here."
Traynor chuckled.
"It's a human idiom." Miranda explained. "Because cats seem to be able to survive life threatening situations without a scratch, they're often said to have nine lives."
"Though technically, the Captain is down to eight lives now." Traynor pointed out.
"True enough." Miranda agreed before sighing. "I just wish he would stop tempting fate so much, Cerberus isn't around to rebuild him, again."
Garrus chuckled at that.
"Have you met the man?" The turian asked rhetorically after a moment of mirth. "The day that that happens will be the day the galaxy implodes."
The whole of the CIC's staff laughed at that statement.
Miranda just shook her head in bemusement, her eyes shining with her own silent laughter.
"Kodiak to Normandy. You reading me, Miranda?" Shepard's voice came over the ship's comm.
"Loud and clear, Jon." Miranda responded, turning serious.
"This thing is like nothing I've ever seen." Shepard reported. "I'm no scientist, but the readings EDI is getting are off the charts."
"And again, I reiterate that you don't need to be out there."
"Killjoy," came his humoured reply. "Honestly, I don't know why you're worried. Nothing's happ-"
Shepard's transmission with the frigate was suddenly cut off.
"Jon? Jon, do you read me?! Jon!?"
All she heard was static.
"Mathews? Hadley? What just happened! Report!" Miranda demanded.
"The anomaly just surged in power, ma'am. It must've made contact with the shuttle and fried its systems." Matthews responded from his station.
"I'm not getting anything from the Kodiak, ma'am." Hadley reported. "Propulsion, communications, weapons systems, eezo core; all dark. Everything's offline-"
"Uh-oh..." Matthews broke into Hadley's sentence.
Miranda's feeling of dread rose sharply.
"Report!" She barked again.
"The anomaly just surged again, ma'am. It's drawing the Kodiak in." Matthews reported.
Before Miranda could say or do anything, Joker's voice came over the intercom, "Everybody hold on!" The helmsman called out as he steered the Normandy towards the anomaly.
"You sure that's a good idea, Joker?" Garrus asked. "If that thing fried the Kodiak, it might do the same to the Normandy," the turian warned.
"It's a risk we have to take." Miranda broke into the conversation. "Floor it, Lieutenant Moreau. Get us to the shuttle."
"Aye, aye, ma'am. Flooring it."
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The Normandy broke her orbital circuit and aimed her nose at the anomaly and put full power to her thrusters as she began a hard burn to try and catch up to the ensnared shuttle and retrieve it.
The frigate was about halfway to the anomaly when it surged for a third time, this time radiating a bright light.
When the light faded, the Kodiak was nowhere to be seen.
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"What do you mean 'the Kodiak's gone?'" Miranda asked, repeating EDI's announcement to her following the third surge.
"I can no longer detect Shepard's beacon, or any trace of the Kodiak." EDI reported.
"How is that possible?" Miranda demanded.
"I do not know."
"What about the anomaly?" Garrus queried.
"It is still there, but it is now dormant. It should be safe for us to approach without being affected," EDI informed the group.
"Do it." Miranda ordered.
"Aye, aye. Approaching the anomaly." Joker acknowledged.
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The Normandy continued speeding towards the iridescent green cloud, but when the frigate reached the anomaly, she passed through it harmlessly and emerged on the other side no worse for wear.
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"What do we do now?" Garrus asked Miranda after EDI had reported in.
"For now, we stay in the system for the next few days and try and figure out what just happened." She replied before addressing Joker. "Resume previous orbit, Lieutenant Moreau. Hadley, Matthews, EDI; keep all sensors on the anomaly at all times. If it so much as sparks, I want to be informed."
"Aye, aye. Resuming course," Joker acknowledged.
"Yes, ma'am." - "Aye, aye, ma'am." - "As you wish, Executive Lawson."
"And if we can't find and retrieve him before time runs out?" Garrus asked, drawing Miranda's attention back to the ship's second officer once her orders had been acknowledged.
Miranda said nothing, but they both knew what would need to happen if that occurred.
And neither of them liked it.
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By dinner, word had spread through the entire frigate of what had happened to the Kodiak, and by extension, Shepard.
"Shepard's missing?!" Tali demanded as she stormed into the mess hall. "When!? How!?"
Garrus moved to try and calm his wife down, guiding her to one of the nearby tables before he began to tell her all the information he had about what had happened.
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"And there's no sign of him?" The quarian fretted when Garrus had finished talking. "At all?"
Garrus shook his head. "None."
Tali was silent for a few minutes.
"Why don't we talk to EDI?" Kasumi suggested.
The petite Japanese woman had appeared in the mess hall at about the halfway point of Garrus' explanation and had sat down to listen, though the normally bubbly thief was a great deal subdued - just as affected by the news of their fearless leader's disappearance as everybody else.
"You said that EDI had sensors on the shuttle the whole time, right?" Kasumi asked Garrus who only nodded his head in accordance.
Kasumi turned back to Tali, putting an arm around the younger woman's shoulders to offer comfort to the distressed quarian, "We can take a look at the data she got, see if there's anything in it that the others may have missed."
That seemed to focus Tali.
"We can do that." She agreed. "But there's a couple of things I need to do first before we get started. Can we meet in the War Room in an hour?"
"Sounds fine," Kasumi nodded her head before she left the table to line up to get her dinner.
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After she'd eaten dinner with a somewhat somber squad and crew, Miranda made her way down to Deck 4 in the elevator, down the stairs into lower engineering and then out into the Shuttle Bay.
"Centurion?" Miranda called out once she'd entered the hanger.
"Here," Tali's voice answered in lieu of the geth's.
Miranda found Tali surrounded by the Normandy's geth squad, who were all listening to what she was saying intently. The squad's leader, a geth Juggernaut, turned its head to look at Miranda at her approach, it's three whitish-blue optics focusing on her.
"Lawson-Executive." Centurion greeted her in its low synthetic voice-tone. "Creator Tali'Vakarian has just informed us of Shepard-Commander's Missing-In-Action status. Permission to help in the effort to locate him?" Centurion requested, it's head flaps shifting to convey the massive platform's agitation.
Centurion, along with its small squad, had been part of Shepard's bodyguard team whilst he was recovering on Earth after the end of the Reaper War, so him suddenly vanishing now no doubt didn't sit well with the synthetics.
In honour of what Legion had done to give the geth individual sentience, many geth had had their headflaps changed to the movable configuration - the improved communication with organics being a pleasurable side-effect. The geth collective also continued to call Shepard by Legion's moniker for the respected Spectre despite the man earning his Captain's rank after the war in recognition from the Alliance for all that he'd done for the galaxy.
Centurion's team had also changed their body paint to match the Alliance's colours once they'd come aboard the Normandy.
"That's actually what I came down here to ask, Centurion," Miranda informed it. "I'd rather not risk our last Kodiak or any other members of the crew to the anomaly if it becomes active again. Permission granted. You can start at oh-six-hundred in the morning."
"Understood, Lawson-Executive."
"Permission to accompany you when you deploy, Squad-Commander?" Ghost - a Hunter platform - asked its leader.
The Juggernaut looked down at the smaller unit. "Permission granted, Ghost-Unit."
"Thank-you, Centurion. For doing this, I mean." Tali said softly to the geth.
"We are a part of Shepard-Commander's team, Creator Tali'Vakarian." Came Centurion's matter-of-fact response. "We know that Shepard-Commander would not hesitate to do the same for any one of us, if we were missing. We are simply following his example. Nobody gets left behind," Centurion repeated Shepard's mantra.
"Oohrah!" Crosshairs - a Sniper platform - intoned as it had heard Shepard do before.
"Oohrah!" Centurion and the rest of the geth squad echoed in their electronic voices.
Miranda found herself choking up at the show of camaraderie from the synthetics towards Shepard.
"Oohrah," she quietly intoned.
As worried as she and the crew were about him, they at least still had each other while Shepard was on his own, possibly crashed on some unforgiving, God-forsaken planet, potentially badly injured and bleeding out...
Miranda shook her head to try and clear her mind of the treacherous thoughts.
Shepard was an N7, she had to remind herself. His training in the ICT and Alliance basic had covered how to survive if a marine ever found themselves stranded in a new environment.
'He'll be fine.'
'He has to be.'
'He has to be...'
The Normandy was his ship, one name rarely said without the other. Shepard of the Normandy. Shepard vas Normandy, as Tali would say.
'Wherever you are, however long it takes; I will find you and bring you home, Jon. This I swear.'
"Miranda?" Tali's voice broke Miranda from her thoughts and she turned to see the quarian looking at her, her body language expressing her worry and concern with everything that had happened. In a move that surprised Miranda, Tali stepped forward and hugged her.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
Location: Local Cluster / Sol System / Citadel / Presidium / Silversun Strip / Silver Coast Casino
Galactic Year: 2189CE
"One word for you; Sanctuary." Shepard told Miranda in response to her question as they slow danced on the dance floor.
"Sanctuary?" She half repeated, half asked.
Given how close they were to each other as they moved, many onlookers assumed that the fetching pair were a couple. While there had been a few moments during the suicide mission where the pair could have begun a relationship, they couldn't be further from the truth. They'd certainly had the chemistry for it, but Shepard had known, just as she had, that he was rebelling after Ashley's mistrust of him on Horizon.
And so he'd remembered his honour and had chosen to remain faithful to Williams. However, even a man like Shepard, who was patient, loyal and fair for the most part, had his limits. Ashley's continued mistrust of him and his loyalties that had come to a head during Cerberus' failed coup had caused a fracture between them could never be healed. They had both gone their seperate ways shortly after the coup.
Unbeknownst to all, Bailey and Ashley had started seeing each other after that and the pair had married a month prior.
When the news of Shepard's discovery - and subsequent survival from what had happened there - on the Citadel had spread, Miranda hadn't hesitated to track him down so that she could offer her aid, knowledge and expertise to Huerta's surgeons with Shepard's operations and recovery.
During his recuperation, they'd discovered that the spark between them was still very much alive and kicking, but once again they hadn't acted on it as he'd focused on his PT and she on helping the Alliance as they had begun to rebuild humanities' war-torn home planet.
Once the frigate - along with the faster ships of Sword and Shield - had arrived back in the Sol System in late 2188, Miranda had come back aboard the Normandy at Shepard's request to resume her duties as XO.
"What happened on Horizon hit a little close to home for her - your confrontation with your father, I mean," Shepard's voice snapped her from her thoughts.
"Given her history with her own father, seeing you refusing to bend to Henry Lawson's will and demands struck a chord in her," Shepard explained as they continued their orbital circuit.
"You and Oriana didn't see it, being in the Med-bay getting checked out and all, but when we got back to the Normandy, she sequestered herself in the Port Observation deck bar and... ah... started drinking turian brandy. Traynor gave me the heads up with what was going on so I kept her company until Garrus arrived to take care of her. While we were waiting for him she told me that, although she disliked you, she respected your courage to defy your father," Shepard told her.
"I think her friendliness now is an extension of that," he continued. "Though if you tell her any of what I've just said to you, you might have to put me back together after I get blown to bits when my shields fail at a critical moment in a firefight."
Miranda rolled her eyes and raised a hand to smack his chest. "You've dug your own grave if that happens, Jon."
Shepard gave an exaggerated wince in response to the hit and Miranda raised an eyebrow at him as if to say 'Really?'
Chuckling, Shepard darted forward to give her cheek a quick peck.
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Location: Serpent Nebula / Widow System / orbiting around energy anomaly / SSV Normandy SR-2
Much like with Jack, a respect had grown between the two women in the years that had passed since the end of the Reaper War. They'd never be BFFs, but there was a friendship there now where there had been nothing but doubt and mistrust on Tali's part given what Cerberus had done to the Migrant Fleet before.
To that end, Miranda awkwardly returned Tali's embrace before the two women parted and went their seperate ways.
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One of her tasks done, Tali turned away from Miranda and strode towards the Armoury. She began to perform maintenance on her weapons in hopes of distracting herself from worrying about their absent Captain, though her eyes fell on his and Ashley's secure lockers where the two Spectres kept their weapons.
Following the end of the war, the Council had inducted many new Spectre agents to bolster their flagging numbers. Wrex had petitioned the Council for a few of his own people to be included, which had met with a great deal of controversy and resistance - especially considering that the Spectres had been created in response to krogan expansion making the Council uneasy.
Shepard, though, had not hesitated to back the Urdnot clan chief.
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Location: Local Cluster / Sol System / Citadel / Presidium / Council Chambers
Galactic Year: 2188CE
"Need I remind you, Councilor," Shepard started, his gaze squarely on Sparatus, "That the krogan helped your soldiers hold off the Reaper ground forces while Palaven was evacuated during the war. Not to mention that they fought to help races that wouldn't have done the same thing for them. The krogan have paid for their mistakes. And what better way to show that they are trying to get past their bloody history and work towards a harmonious future with the other races then to allow them to join Spectre ranks."
"The krogan helped in the Reaper War, but they did the same in the Rachni War too," Valern informed Shepard. "We are at the unknown part where the krogan might expand again with the Genophage cured. People are going to fear that." The salarian continued in a warning tone. "Giving them more power could only make things worse. They've proven themselves as fighters, but not politicians."
Tevos put her hand up to stop Valern from saying anything more before the four Councilors voted. The new human Councilor, Dominic Osoba, was the last to input his vote.
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"I'm sorry, Wrex. I know it's not exactly what you wanted..." Shepard started to say once they'd left the Council Chambers.
"No, I get it." Wrex shook his head. "Baby steps. The galaxy still fears what my people did. Thanks for the support, Shepard."
"Least I could do, even if it didn't work out."
The pair lapsed into silence for a bit before Wrex spoke again.
"I hear that Zorah is about to become Vakarian in a week's time." Wrex informed his human friend to draw their conversation away from what had just occurred.
Shepard laughed. "I was asked to pass on a message from Tali: she wants the crazy head-butting uncle she never had to be at her bonding ceremony."
"Tell her that I'll be there. Wouldn't miss it - what was it that I heard Williams say once - for the world?" The krogan gave one of his deep, rumbling laughs.
"Spot on," Shepard laughed.
They continued walking through the Presidium on the way to C-Sec HQ where they would catch a shuttle back to Earth.
"You must be relieved that the Normandy's finally back in the system." The Urdnot chief commented as a few Alliance marines passed them on their way to the elevators.
"Words can't properly express how I feel." Shepard responded earnestly. "I'll feel even better though, once I'm cleared for active duty and I can get back in the thick of the action."
Wrex smiled. "And that's why you're an honorary krogan, Shepard. And a hero to my people."
"I thought that was because I rescued Bakara from Cerberus and then cured the Genophage." Shepard joked.
Wrex chortled. "That too. You would've been a good krogan if you'd been born as one of my people." The krogan told his human friend.
"I admit, having a second set of vital organ's would have been really handy when the Collectors tore the original Normandy apart. Though Cerberus mighten've touched me with a ten foot pole when I bit the dust." Shepard mused before shrugging. "Ah, well. There's always reincarnation, I suppose. Though you'd better watch your tail, old man, if that happens. You might find that your harem's eyes start wandering to a handsome young upstart that's suddenly appeared in the Urdnot camp."
"Ha! Keep dreaming, Shepard." Wrex shot back before tilting his head. "Rein-what?"
"Re-in-car-nation." Shepard sounded the word out syllable-by-syllable so that Wrex could hear it properly before he explained what the term meant. "Some human cultures believe that when you die, you're reborn into another form. So I could become a krogan. Though if that happens, they may need to change the little ditty that I've been hearing about recently."
"Little ditty?"
"You can fight like a krogan, run like a leopard. But you'll never be better then Commander Shepard," the grounded Spectre recited.
Wrex began to roar with laughter.
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Location: Serpent Nebula / Widow System / orbiting around energy anomaly / SSV Normandy SR-2
Her calibrations done on the shotgun and heavy pistol and seeing that both were in perfect working order, Tali returned her weapons to their compact state and left them on the table before leaving the hanger, sending a message to Cortez about what she had done.
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Kasumi was already in the War Room - though since the end of the war, it had become the squad's new conference/meeting room - when Tali arrived and was poring over the data EDI had given her in hopes of finding something, however small, that would point them to their missing leader.
"Anything?"
"Maybe?" Came the thief's distracted answer. "EDI, can you pause the footage and rewind thirty seconds?"
The AI did as directed.
"Now can you enhance the image."
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3 days earlier
"Shepard's MIA?" Admiral Steven Hackett's holographic image repeated Miranda's words back to her. "How? When?"
Miranda had tossed and turned most of the previous night, only getting a few scant hours of sleep.
When oh-seven-hundred had rolled around, she'd made her way to the Comm Room and asked EDI to contact Hackett so that she could personally inform the Admiral of what had happened to Shepard. EDI had brought her up to speed with the information that Tali and Kasumi had dug up while she'd made her way from her room in the SOQs - where the old Starboard Observation room had been - on Deck 3 to the Comm Room.
"I don't know, Admiral," Miranda told the man honestly. "One moment we were talking to him, the next, the anomaly had fried the Kodiak's systems and drawn him into it. That's the last we saw or heard from him. The Normandy attempted to follow, but we passed through the anomaly harmlessly. As for when, a day ago, sir."
"I'll contact Councillor Chan and petition PACT to dispatch a RRTF team to the Widow System immediately." Hackett informed Miranda.
Following the end of the Reaper War, the multi-species alliance that had been forged to defeat the machines had been turned towards a new purpose. The Milky Way Accord, or MYA, had been written and signed by the Citadel races with the addition of the krogan, quarians and geth. Following the treaty's creation, the Peacekeeping Alliance Coalition - PACT - had also been brought to life.
A single member of each race had been chosen to make up the governing Council of the newly formed organisation, who would decide how and where to deploy the respective branches of PACT as the galaxy started to put itself back together.
The creation of the Relay Restoration Task Force had been the first act of the PACT Council, with the best engineers and scientists of every race coming together to learn how to fix the crippled Relays to restore fast travel across the Milky Way.
"Now, what can you tell me about the anomaly, Commander?" Hackett asked in his usual brisk, military manner.
"It's artificial but extremely powerful. According to EDI's analysis, it isn't related to the Crucible's output at all, and likely appeared here as a result of a surge of whatever it comes from."
"Any way of tracking the anomaly back to its source?"
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Nearly three-quarters of an hour later found the Normandy's XO - now acting CO - making her way through the mess hall on her way to her and Liara's shared office. Upon leaving the Comm room, EDI had informed her that Centurion and Ghost had started their investigation of the anomaly in their own geth fighter craft and had sworn that they would keep in constant contact with the frigate.
"I'm not interfering in, interrupting and/or disturbing anything I'll regret seeing am I?" Miranda announced her presence to Liara as she strode into the room.
When Miranda had resumed her duties as Shepard's XO, Liara had surprised her by asking the human woman to work with her and become co-Shadow Broker.
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Location: Local Cluster / Sol System / Earth / North America / Canada / Vancouver / Alliance Spaceport / Dry Dock / SSV Normandy SR-2
Galactic Year: 2188CE
"I'll be blunt: I would like you to work with me," Liara said.
Miranda crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the asari's declaration. "As an agent for you?"
"No, I said work with me, not for me," Liara clarified. "As a partner."
At that, Miranda was shocked. "As the Shadow Broker?" She asked as she leaned back in her seat, considering the opportunity that was being offered to her.
Being the Shadow Broker was something that could tip the balance of power in her favour for once. It would be like everything she had done in Cerberus... except that she wouldn't answer to anyone but herself. It would be her choices, with her consequences... a chance to control her own destiny. Maybe even prove to herself that she was more then what her late father had created, more than her looks and her biotics. The culmination of perfection and imperfection that Shepard had always said she had.
Already, the possibilities seemed endless.
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Location: Serpent Nebula / Widow System / orbiting around energy anomaly / SSV Normandy SR-2
"You can look. Javik isn't here."
The other surprising thing, given Shepard's reports about how the Prothean and asari had nearly come to blows following the groundside events on Thessia during the war, was that Javik and Liara had become a couple sometime during the Normandy's trip back to Earth.
Shepard had accidentally walked in on them in an intimate moment once - and had beat a hasty retreat once he'd realised the fact, though according to Chakwas, the N7 had been quite red-faced whilst doing so - and so had started the exchange that Miranda had just stated upon entering to hopefully prevent a repeat.
"Still nothing?"
Miranda shook her head. "How soon can one of our Normandy-class ships be in the system?"
When Liara had taken over the Shadow Broker's empire after killing her predecessor in 2185 she discovered that the yahg had had six Normandy-class ships commissioned for his armada. And that the last of the ships had been put through it's shakedown run just prior to them kicking in his ship's doors over Hagalaz.
"I've not long heard from the Canrum. Feron has completed his last mission and is awaiting new orders."
Feron had been given command of one of the new ships, the ISV Canrum - named after the Battle of Canrum during the Krogan Rebellions.
"Fill him in about what's happened to Shepard and tell him to prep his ship for long deployment. I want him here ASAP to keep vigil over this thing once we leave. Then see if we can set up a rotation with the rest of the six so we have eyes and ears in the system constantly."
"Consider it done." Liara stated, but as the former Cerberus loyalist made to leave, the asari called out to her. "Miranda."
Miranda paused in the doorway at the call of her name, though she made no move to turn and look at the maiden.
"Are you alright?"
The asari, like the rest of the crew, had noticed that the CO and XO had been slowly becoming much closer over the last few months. Scuttlebutt had even said that the pair had become a couple just prior to them getting their current assignment and shipping out.
But Liara had been around the two humans long enough to know that they were still only just friends. But that didn't mean that Miranda couldn't be - wasn't - just as distressed by his absence as everyone else. The Normandy's crew were just as much a family as they were a team, after all.
As Shepard himself had once said to Javik, "The Normandy's crew have been through a lot together. That kind of thing bonds you in ways that you can't really explain."
"I'll be better once Jon's located and back on board," was all that Miranda said before she left the room.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
"Still no sign of Battlemaster?" Din asked Miranda as he ambled up to the line to get his lunch.
Miranda turned to regard the young krogan.
The firstborn child of Wrex and Bakara, Urdnot Mordin - named in honour of the late Dr. Mordin Solus - was a splitting image of his father with his mother's eyes.
Din, like all of the krogan children born after the Genophage cure had been released, had grown up listening to stories about Shepard's exploits and had idolised the human warrior even before he'd met him - at the tender age of ten - in 2197 when the Normandy had made the first relay to relay jump to the Krogan DMZ since the end of the Reaper War.
So when he had passed his Rite of Passage two years prior, he had immediately chosen Shepard to be his Battlemaster and had joined the Normandy's crew and Shepard's squad.
Wrex had wholeheartedly approved of his son's choice, not only because he'd be learning from the best, but that by having a krogan on the Normandy he hoped to show that the krogan people were not falling back into old habits and were trying to take the steps to show that Shepard's - and the galaxy's - trust in them was not misplaced.
Din, like Grunt and Wrex before him, was always eager for a fight and was the squad's heaviest hitter. That dependancy, teachings and expectation from Shepard - as well as Wrex to represent the new face of the krogan people to the upmost of his ability - had greatly matured and settled the seventeen year old young male during the time he'd been on the Normandy.
Often Shepard and Din - and occasionally Vega and Garrus - could be found in the hanger together talking about how the previous mission had gone while working on maintaining their respective weapons or in the War Room discussing battle tactics and strategy.
"Not yet," Miranda responded as Gardner gave her her tray of food and she made her way over to where Liara and Javik were seated.
"Hey, Junior," Vega greeted Din as krogan and human took a seat a few places down from the two women.
"Vega," Din returned the greeting before he started to eat.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
Before she turned in for the night, Miranda returned to the CIC.
"Has Centurion returned to the ship?" She asked EDI as she approached the Galaxy Map.
"He has not," The AI reported.
"Open a channel to his ship, please." Miranda instructed.
"Establishing connection, Commander Lawson."
The holographic image of the Normandy changed to a vid-call screen when Centurion accepted the communique.
"Lawson-Commander?" The Juggernaut queried, it's flaps conveying curiosity as to why the frigate would be contacting them.
"I'd like you to return to the Normandy for the night shift, Centurion," Miranda requested.
"With respect, Lawson-Commander, we do not require sleep as organics do. We can continue to search and patrol for Shepard-Commander while off-duty Normandy crew gets their required 'rack' time," Centurion stated more then protested.
"I'm well aware of that, Centurion. But I'd still prefer that you only do your patrols during the day shift so that we can come to your aid if something happens. I don't want a repeat of what happened to Jon if I can do anything to stop it," she stated worriedly.
She'd already failed Shepard, she refused to repeat her mistake when the crew's safety and well-being was now her responsibility, refused to let the man's faith in her be for nothing with how the Alliance and Council had protested him making her his XO once again after the Reaper War.
"Understood, Lawson-Commander. Executing command. Joker-Lieutenant, EDI-Unit, prepare to open the hanger bay door for our approach."
Once EDI reported that the geth were on board Miranda left the CIC, heading to her quarters.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
2 days earlier
"Is something wrong, pater? You and mater seem upset." Livitia Vakarian asked her father via the QEC, which broke Garrus from his thoughts to look at her.
Once he and Tali had been bonded, they had spoken at length of adopting a couple of youngsters displaced and affected by the war.
When the Apien Crest had been made travelable again in 2198, Palaven's orphans had been their first chance to add to their little family. The then twelve year old spunky young caramel skinned and light grey plated turianess child had caught his and Tali's eye immediately.
In the same fashion, the Normandy's crew had taken to the sparky youngling soon after, though it had taken Livitia a little time to get used to her new extended family in return. But most surprising of all to the new parents was that Shepard had seemed to connect with their newly adopted daughter within a few days of meeting her.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
Location: Apien Crest / Trebia System / in orbit around Palaven / SSV Normandy SR-2
Galactic Year: 2198CE
"I know what she's going through because I've walked every mile," Shepard explained to Garrus as they sat in the mess hall while Chakwas checked Livitia over. "Few outside my family, Ashley and Miranda know this, but I was an orphan myself until I was fourteen."
Garrus' jaw practically hit the floor.
"Careful, Vakarian. You'll catch flies," Shepard noted as he took a sip of his coffee from his commemorative mug - though the cup's writing was now almost completely gone from when he'd first been given it by his crew after they'd returned from the Galactic Core.
When Garrus found his voice again he blurted out, "You? An orphan?!"
"My birth mother left me on the doorstep of one of Vancouver's orphanages when I was just barely two hours old," Shepard told his friend without batting an eyelid. "But I was lucky, despite my gang days, to be found by someone who could see that I could be better then the life I was leading if given the chance. Akamai knows that, too."
"Akamai?"
"Polynesian word, means clever or intelligent." Shepard explained before grinning at his turian friend. "Suits her, don't you think?"
Garrus chuckled in agreement before taking a sip of his own drink.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
Location: Serpent Nebula / Widow System / orbiting around energy anomaly / SSV Normandy SR-2
Garrus took a breath, as he tried to figure out how to break the news of Shepard's disappearance to his child as gently as he could.
But when he drew blanks, he opted for a simple, "Shepard is missing."
Instantly Livitia's mandibles began to open and close rapidly, a sure sign that turians were agitated or upset. "Patrinus is missing? When?! How?!"
Like he had done two days prior with Tali, Garrus explained what had happened to the first human Spectre.
"And you haven't found a way through the anomaly?" Livitia asked when her father had finished speaking.
Garrus shook his head. "It's been dormant since it took him. Centurion and it's ship have been trying to see if they can provoke a reaction from it but so far nothing's happened."
His daughter took on a pensive, concentrated look as she fell silent for a few moments, looking away from him. When she looked back at him, there was a determined glint in her eyes. "Can you-"
"No, Livitia," Garrus cut her off with a firm tone of voice, knowing what she was about to ask.
"I can help!" She protested.
"I know you can, carissima," Garrus responded, his tone softening. "But leave this to the Alliance and the two Councils. Hackett already knows, and is no doubt already organising something. Once Primarch Victus gets word, I'm sure the Hierarchy will get involved as well. You focus on your training and military work, leave this to everyone else."
Livitia sighed, relenting. "I understand, pater."
"Your mother and I will keep you in the loop. I know how much you look up to Shepard," he said consolingly.
"Thank you." She gave him a grateful look before something on her end caught her attention. "And I've got to go. I'll talk to you in a few days?"
Garrus nodded his head. "We should be starting heading back to the Annos Basin day after tomorrow."
"Alright. Love you, pater."
"I love you too, filia."
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
"We've just finished repairing and restocking the Canrum. We'll be leaving the dry dock in a few hours," Feron informed Liara, before pausing, "Still no sign?"
The asari shook her head. "None."
Like everyone who had been informed of the respected human's MIA status, Feron had been dumbfounded.
"Shepard's missing? Well, shit?" had been his response to being informed when Liara had contacted him with his new orders.
The different reaction to the news had brought a smile and - much needed - laughter from the information broker.
"He's tough, Liara. I'm sure, wherever he is, he's fine." Feron said, bringing Liara back to the present.
"That's what we've all been clinging to," Liara responded honestly, "But…"
"It doesn't stop you all from missing him," Feron finished for her with an understanding tone. "Well, while this is déjà vu, searching for him like we did before and all, at least he's alive this time. And I won't end up on the bad side of the Shadow Broker because of searching for him. Or at least, I hope I won't," He amended, knowing how close Miranda and Liara were with the first human Spectre.
His words drew another laugh from Liara. "Thank you, Feron. And safe journeys."
Feron smiled. "No troubles, Liara. And same to you."
With that, the drell signed off to finish his preparations before the Canrum left the Citadel.
Hearing that the mess hall was starting to fill up with hungry crew, Liara chose to leave her room to get some food of her own. Collecting a tray from Gardner, she sat down at one of the tables.
"Doc," Vega greeted Liara as he and Cortez sat down next to her with their own meals.
"James. Steve," the asari returned the greeting before she began to eat, listening to the conversations around her and observing the crew interactions, both romantic and platonic.
Unsurprisingly, with everything that the Normandy's crew had been through, romantic bonds had formed between some of them. Shepard had once joked, with the Normandy filled with so many couples, that he was going to have to talk to Alliance command to get the frigate's name changed to the SSV Love Boat. And while Liara hadn't understood the reference, nor any other of the alien crew members, his fellow humans had, and he'd received various reactions from them as a result.
"Hey, Vega." Ken's Scottish burr was heard as the engineer took a seat at the end of the table, his fellow engineer and now wife, Gabby right behind him, bringing the asari maiden from her thoughts. "Poker tonight?"
The burly marine looked up from his food before he looked in the asari's direction . "I'm game. Ash, Doc, Esteban, you in?"
"Count me in." Ashley responded. "Don't forget about the other Doc, though."
"What about you, Commander?" Vega asked Miranda as she took a seat next to Liara. "You in for poker?"
Miranda shook her head. "Thank you for the offer, Lieutenant, but I'll pass. I have reports I have to see to."
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
An hour later found James, Cortez, Ken, Gabby, Ashley, Liara, Patel, Goldstein, Kasumi, Chakwas and Tali gathering around the poker table in the Port Observation room.
As they took their seats, however, one seat was left vacant - the seat that Shepard usually took when he played.
The group said nothing as they settled in until Vega broke the silence, "So, who's ready to loose all their creds to yours truly?"
Cortez rolled his eyes at the familiar pre-match bravado Vega put forward. "You talk the talk, Mr Vega. Rarely do you walk the walk. I believe our resident CMO cleaned you out last game. The Captain the game before that."
"I still can't believe how well you play, Doc." Ashley remarked to Chakwas as Ken handed out the cards. "You and Jon always seem to be the best players here."
"I'm sure that those who know the story have shared it." Chakwas responded.
"First patient fresh out of medical school." Kasumi said, having heard the story from Tali.
"Yeah, but Loco never keeps it. You know that he gives back everyone's money at the end of the game." Vega responded to Cortez's taunts.
"So he can reel you in during the next game. Lather, rinse, repeat." Cortez shot back. "When ever will you learn?"
"Garrus asked him once, when the Normandy was about to disband after Bahak, why he never took his winnings." Tali spoke up, ignoring the mock argument between Cortez and Vega, who continued their bickering.
"I'll learn when you beat me, Esteban. Which is never." Vega paused as his words sunk in. "Wait, that came out wrong..."
"Insult backfire at its finest, Mr Vega." Cortez crowed at his victory. "That's what you get when you don't think before you talk!"
"Yeah?" Gabby asked the quarian with interest, also tuning out the two squabbling men. "What'd Shepard tell him?"
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
Location: Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik / en-route to Omega / Normandy SR-2
Galactic Year: 2186CE
With the crew of the Normandy about to disband, they had started reminiscing about the mission and swapped stories and anecdotes. One story Garrus had overheard the crew talking about was when Shepard had once played Skyllian-Five with a few people. By all accounts, he had cleaned up in that game. When he was done, though, he had given his money back to them and left.
On a whim, Garrus asked him why he did that.
Shepard just shrugged, "I'm the CO. Never put yourself in a position where you take anything from your subordinates. Not unless you can give it back. It's already more than enough that they're giving you their lives."
Garrus had never regretted becoming friends with Shepard and that was just one of the many reasons why.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
Location: Serpent Nebula / Widow System / orbiting around energy anomaly / SSV Normandy SR-2
"Jack doesn't call him 'King of the Boy Scouts' for no reason." Chakwas commented as she took a look at her cards. "A true Paragon, if ever there was one."
"Until you piss him off, then 'Hello, fire and brimstone!'" Ashley chuckled.
"As every idiot who thinks they can pull a swift one on him has found out the hard way." Tali said sagely.
"Oohrah to that!"
The table's occupants all laughed or chuckled before they settled in to play cards.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
As they played, Liara didn't fail to see everyone glancing at the empty chair, as if they were expecting Shepard to appear and join the game.
Tali also restrained herself from activating the Shepard VI program she had on her Omni-tool, which, under normal circumstances, was brought out to either rattle her fellow players if the Captain wasn't playing or to annoy Shepard if he was, knowing that what was usually an innocent prank might not go down well in the current circumstances.
They played for several more hours, with Chakwas, once again, being the nights victor, before retiring to their respective quarters.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
1 day earlier
Against her better judgement, Miranda allowed the Normandy to remain in the system for one more day.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
"How're you holding up?" Bailey asked Ashley as she paced around in front of the QEC.
The Comm room had been used near solidly since Shepard's disappearance so Ashley had had to wait for her turn to let her husband know of what had happened.
"It feels strange, not to see him in one part of the ship or another," Ashley freely admitted. "I keep entering the hanger, Liara's office or the Med-bay or any other area expecting him to pop up. But he's not… he-he's not…"
Bailey saw his wife start to break down and his heart went out to her. "Damn, I wish I could be there."
"Not much you could do even if you were. I'll be okay so long as I can keep my mind occupied," she assured him.
"That mean your Spectre gear has probably had a number of check overs by now?" He asked her wryly.
"As well as half the armoury," she responded with a wry smile of her own.
Bailey laughed before turning serious. "Does the Council know?"
She shook her head. "No, Lawson wants to keep it under wraps until we get back, tell them personally…" Ashley trailed off as a thought occurred to her and a hand shot to her mouth as she stopped dead and turned to look at Bailey's holographic image.
"Oh, God…" she gasped.
"What? What is it?" Bailey asked in alarm.
"In all the commotion… the Council aren't the only ones we'll have to tell in regards to Jon's disappearance. Mama Rosa, Jean and Gale..."
"I can do it, if you want," Bailey offered without hesitation, having met Shepard's family years ago when his mother had invited the Normandy's crew and their loved ones to a banquet feast at the family's property outside Vancouver so that she could get to know the people her son worked with. "Take a shuttle to Earth this afternoon."
"No," Ashley shook her head. "Thank-you, but no. This is something that I have to do myself, I owe them, and Jon, that much. Though it's going to tear them up something fierce. Ma came close to shutting down after the Collector ambush when Anderson and I went to tell her."
"At least he's MIA this time around," Bailey pointed out.
"For now," Ashley stated. "But how long before the Alliance and the Council lose interest in trying to find him and declare him KIA, again?"
"Considering all the powerful friends Shepard has, not to mention how famous and adored he is after stopping the Reapers, I suspect they'll face a lot of outcry and protests if they do that too quickly. And if the press were to get ahold of those intentions…"
Ashley laughed. "Playing nice with the reporters for once, Armando-Owen?"
"I owe JJ my life," Bailey responded matter-of-factly. "They do too, though they're damn quick to forget that when it's convenient."
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
Maintaining her weapons had always been a way to relax for Ashley, to focus her mind on something else other then what was happening around her. As she'd admitted to Bailey, her Spectre weapons were already calibrated and in perfect working order, had been several times over, but after her talk with her husband she felt the need to do something with her hands, so she had trekked down to the hanger to run the checks yet again.
Cortez had greeted her as she collected her weapons from her locker and placed them on one of the nearby work tables before she began to work. A whine followed by a nudge to her leg brought Ashley out of her focus as she worked on her sniper rifle and she looked down from the work bench to see a worried set of brown eyes looking up at her.
"Hey there," she bent down and greeted the dog as she scratched behind his ears.
In all the worry about Shepard, almost all had forgotten about his faithful canine companion, Toby. When Shepard's PTSD had flared following the end of the war, the marine had applied to get a Service Dog to help him cope while he - and the rest of the Hammer forces on Earth - had waited for Sword and Shield to return.
There had been a few protests from Alliance command when the marine had applied to allow the dog to accompany him on the Normandy when he'd returned to active duty, but Shepard's Spectre status, and the backing from the Council, had allowed him to overrule the Alliance and put one more member on the Normandy's crew roster.
His first companion; Jessica - a Kelpie/Border Collie cross - had become a much loved member of the frigate, if she wasn't with Shepard, she was with some other crew member, within reason - Miranda was one of the few who wasn't a dog, or pets in general, person - being treated like royalty.
Sadly, Jessica had passed on several years prior requiring Shepard to ask for a new dog.
The boisterous and cheeky German Sheperd had been his new match, and Shepard, nor his crew, hadn't failed to see the humour of one Shepard taking care of another. Like Jessica before him, Toby was accepted by the crew and spoiled rotten.
Another whine from the German Sheperd followed by him pawing her leg brought Ashley back and she left the table to kneel on the ground in front of the dog. "You're missing him as much as the rest of us, huh, boy?"
From what Cortez and Vega had said, Toby had seemed to know instantly that his master was gone and had been inconsolable, howling for hours after Shepard had been taken by the anomaly and only stopping once exhaustion had set in. Since then, the dog had refused to leave the hangar, looking up at every visitor to Deck 5 with hope in his eyes that they were bringing good news about his human only to fall into despondency when they had nothing.
"Jon's an N7," Ashley told Toby. "That means he's tough and smart. Wherever he is, I'm sure he's okay. Probably found himself in a situation that only he could, but okay."
Toby responded to that by laying down on the deck and covering his head and eyes with his paws, which drew a laugh from Ashley.
"I think that's what we all feel when he does stuff like this, so don't worry," She informed him with a pat to the head. "He'll be back, and you can chew on his shoes to tell him off, deal?"
That earned an affirmative bark and an offered paw to shake.
With both human and canine feeling a little better, Ashley returned to her HMWSR and Toby sat at her feet as she worked.
Once she was done, she stowed her weapons in her locker and said goodnight to the dog before heading for her bunk in the Crew Quarters.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
1 hour ago
Miranda woke on the final day after another restless night.
After having a shower and a quick breakfast, she made her way up to the Captain's Quarters on Deck 1. Shepard had given her access to his quarters years ago, so the door hissed open as she approached it, allowing her to enter unobstructed.
Once past the door, she stopped taking in the room and its stillness.
Normally, Shepard would be returning from the gym at this hour and would have a quick shower and change into his uniform before heading to the mess hall for breakfast. If she had anything urgent to bring to his attention she would usually make her way up here and travel back down with him, but the room was devoid of any activity.
Just like it had been for the past four days, and would remain for the foreseeable future.
"Where are you, Jon?" She softly asked the room. "Why can't we find you and bring you home?"
Nothing but silence was her answer.
With a soft sigh, she made her way further into the room, past his personal terminal and ship model collection, to take a seat on the sofa. She sat quietly, studying the familiar neat and tidy presentation of Shepard's living quarters.
Shepard's adoptive mother; Rosanna and her late husband, Nicolas, had also been Alliance marines before they had left the military to try and start a family and had run their household in a similar fashion, expecting her three adopted children to keep their rooms neat and organised at all times.
The only thing that was out of place now in the Captain's room was before her on the coffee table; a piece of 16 count cross stitch fabric, mottled blue in colour, in its hoop, the image on it half finished, the design's printed pattern beside it and a box that held Shepard's DMC embroidery floss skeins to the left of the hoop.
It had come as quiet a surprise to the squad and crew when they had learned that their CO was quite the embroiderer, not just with cross stitch but with long stitch and candle wicking as well, having taken it up when he was a teen to try and keep himself out of trouble once he'd been adopted into the Shepard family.
Indeed, he'd copped a bit of teasing in the wake of the discovery, but it had soon died down in favour of curiosity, since, with FTL the new norm of travel and travel times going to days, weeks and/or months instead of hours and days when the relays had been functional, evenings working on his latest project had become a familiar sight for those who sought him out in his quarters for one reason or another.
His latest article of work, a representation of the Milky Way, was, from what she understood, to be a part of some sort of collage.
As she studied the unfinished piece she remembered that he'd mentioned off hand to her a week ago that some of his supplies were getting low. A plan formulating in her mind, she leaned forward in her seat before she addressed the Normandy's AI, "EDI, can you take an account of the skeins, see what colours Jon is low on, as well as any other supplies he was going to order?"
"Shepard has done that already, Commander Lawson." EDI responded. "The list is on his personal datapad, which is located in the-"
"-top drawer of his desk." Miranda finished for the AI, already aware of where Shepard kept the aforementioned device. "Thank you, EDI," she said to the AI as she stood up. "Though that is something I'm going to have to get used to; being called Commander instead of Executive," she stated softly.
"Executive Vakarian expressed something similar a few days ago." EDI informed her.
"I can imagine. That's all for now, EDI."
"Logging you out, Commander."
Striding purposely to Shepard's office, she retrieved the datapad and copied the list within to her Omni-tool. She'd talk to the crew and squad about purchasing the needed bits and pieces later, in hopes of bolstering their spirits from what was about to happen.
A knock at the door drew her attention, followed by Garrus' flanging voice, "Lawson?"
"Enter," she called out, not looking up from the datapad.
The door opened and the turian entered.
"Checking out your new quarters?" Garrus quipped in greeting.
Miranda rolled her eyes before levelling a look at her second in command, not saying a word.
"So we're committing to this?" He asked, all humour gone from his voice.
"We don't have a choice. Our supplies are already tight enough as it is."
Sighing, Garrus took off his Kuwashii Visor to rub his eyes.
"You know that this is what he would do in our place. And unlike the Collector Base, he's not going to pull a miracle out of his ass and appear out of nowhere just in the nick of time, as much as we've been hoping and praying that that would happen again and this would all be solved."
Garrus snorted at that.
"I don't want to leave him behind, either, but the responsibility to the ship and crew is now on our shoulders."
Slipping his trademark visor back into place, Garrus straightened. "I understand. Orders, Commander?"
"Make sure Centurion and Ghost are back on board. I'll be down shortly."
Nodding his head, Garrus turned and left the room.
Once the turian was gone, Miranda returned to the main part of the room to pack away the cross stitch into the storage box that Shepard kept his needlecraft in and tucked it away beside the sofa.
That done, she took one last glance at the room before leaving for the elevator.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
Present
Miranda sighed as she entered the CIC and stepped up to the command post. Around her, the mood was somber.
The time she'd allotted to remain in the system was up - overdue now, in truth.
Tapping the Galaxy Map, she zoomed out of the Widow System and the Serpent Nebula. Then she selected the Annos Basin and zoomed in on the system's relay. To her left, at the XO's station, Garrus watched the Galaxy Map as well, a grim look covering the turian's features, his mandibles tucked tight against his jaw.
"Is everyone accounted for?" Miranda asked the turian.
"Centurion's fighter is being secured in the hanger as we speak." Garrus informed her. "We're ready on your order."
Miranda knew that the squad and crew would not take the decision to leave without Shepard onboard well, but as acting CO she had a responsibility to the ship. Her hand hovered over the holographic display as she fought with herself whether to press it or not.
'Damnit Jon! Don't make me do this!'
She knew what Shepard would do if their positions were reversed. What he expected of her, personal feelings aside. Her mind made up, she touched the holographic representation of the relay, setting their course out of the system.
Jokers voice came over the comm immediately after the coordinates appeared on his Nav screen. "Wha-? We're leaving the system? Without Shepard?"
"We don't have a lot of options, Lieutenant. We've already exceeded the time we were to spend in the system. Wherever the anomaly took him, it's not letting us follow. At least for now."
"Yeah, but-" the flight lieutenant tried to protest.
"What do you think Shepard would want us to do, Joker?" Miranda interrupted, knowing what the Normandy's helmsman was about to say. "Stay and run out of supplies or leave and return? We've done all we can for this trip."
"Miranda is right, Jeff," EDI's voice was heard over the comm, trying to soothe her partner's distress at leaving their Captain and long time friend. "Shepard would not want us to linger in the system with our stores so low."
The helmsman said nothing for a few minutes.
Eventually, he broke his silence. "Setting a course for the Annos Basin relay. Going to FTL," he announced, though it was clear from his tone of voice that he didn't want to say the words.
Miranda felt the same way.
'We'll be back, Jon,' she reiterated her silent vow from a few days ago.'Wherever you are, however long it takes; I will find you and bring you home.'
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
The Normandy broke the orbital circuit she'd been following for the past few days, though it was done slowly, as if the ship herself was fighting the action knowing that her true commanding officer wasn't on board. However, eventually she flashed forward as she jumped to FTL and left the system to begin her two month journey back to the salarian home system.
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
Acronym Index:
PT: Physical Therapy
SOQ: Senior Officers Quarters
CMO: Chief Medical Officer
::::::::{}==[] ~ o ~ O ~ o ~ []=={}::::::::
Latin terms:
Pater: Father
Mater: Mother
Patrinus: Godfather
carissima: dear
filia: daughter
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Authors Notes:
So there's the story as to how JJ found himself in Thedas. Things from JJ side on Thedas will be mostly covered in the next chapter, outside of the memories that the Nightmare takes from the spacer from his time in the Fade.
PACT, Miranda being co-SB with Liara comes from LuxDragon's works, as well as the snippet about Liara making the offer and Garrus asking Shep about the Skyllian-Five game. Used with permission.
The previous SB having the Normandy-class ships - which look like the SR1 - commissioned is from Sharrukin's works. Used with permission.
I was inspired by the ME3 Multiplayer with a couple of my OCs; Centurion is a Geth Juggernaut Soldier and Din - though technically he's - in part - cannon I've just made him a reality - is a Krogan Warlord Sentinel-in-training.
And the little ditty JJ mentions - well I think most ME fans would recognise it - is 'Commander Shepard' by Miracle of Sound
So at this point, I'm going to explain what type of chaps will make up Starborn.
The first are Main Mission chaps - Wrath of Heaven ect - If they're in one location, then it will be a single chap, but for others like The Threat Remains and Here Lies The Abyss that have two or three stages they will take place over multiple chaps.
The second are Location which will cover time spent in a location and what happens there - including closing rifts, the location's main mission, side missions and Inner Circle missions.
The third are Interlude, which is basically time in Haven and later Skyhold talking to companions and getting missions and such.
The forth and last are what I've just written; Milky Way. These are basically what's happening out in the galaxy as the Normandy's crew and the rest of the galaxy wrap their heads around what's happened to JJ and their attempts to find the human.
All story DLC's will be included in Starborn as well, and will have their own chapters.