_ 1:12, P.M. _
"Was it worth it?"
It was a question James found himself repeating, every day of his life. But this time…Was different. Different, as in now, he had another answer.
Fourteen years ago.
Batarian slavers attacked Mindoir. Anything within their sights was destroyed to a level beyond recognition. The ones who could fight had done so. And each was felled, one by one. In the end, he was the only one left. The last native alive to tell the tale. As the Alliance patrol escorted him to safety, James had asked himself,
"Was it worth it?"
Was it worth surviving? Initially, he didn't think so. Part of him wished he were killed, along with his parents. That he died, along with the rest of his unit, on Akuze. That it was him who stayed on Virmire, rather than Kaidan. That Cerberus had never interfered with his death, by the Collectors. It'd be easier then; no more inescapable memories, no more..Decades of guilt. No longer would he have to carry the burden of being humanity's…No..The galaxy's savior. Had he'd died, someone would have come along to take his place. If not…Well then, it wasn't his problem, now was it? If he had died, it never would have been, to begin with. Death makes things..Simple.
He should know. He was there.
And while he was, he found it peaceful. After fourteen years, he was finally able to see his parents, again. Everyone he knew and loved. Everything he thought he lost. To be lost in the memories he held dear, rather than the ones he resented, was…Easy. There'd been no feelings of guilt. No wondering about whether he could have done things another way. The right way. Things were simple. Everyone was happy. Everyone was…Content.
And then he'd wake to gunfire.
He couldn't complain; two years of being content was the best 'shore leave' he'd ever gotten. But just the same, he rather have everyone fail him, before he had failed them all. Getting killed made them cautious. Returning the favor had them rejoice. But he didn't redeem himself. Not yet. Redemption would come when the Reapers were finished.
But until then, he settled for a fight of near equality.
The fight with the void.
Mindoir was where it began.
And here is where it will end.
Once the shuttle touched down, James and Jack had set up, stacking their belongings on top of each other, to minimize the time it took to carry it, at the cost of taking less strength to carry it. While doing so, a car had parked near the landing pad. And from it exited two men, and the governor of Mindoir, Lori Smith. Jack was the first to notice, placing the visor she'd been given by James onto her eyes, when she did. He frowned when he saw it. "Really?" James had said, weakly smiling out of realization. Jack had shot him a quizzical look. "C'mon. Jack, I thought you were kidding."
"Yeah..Fuck that." Jack replied, in a playful tone. "You did a bad thing, Shepard. Gotta pay for it."
"James Shepard?" Lori would call, to which James had looked towards her, nodding to confirm his identify. Accepting, Lori would signal the bodyguards to move to the storage cases, to help Mindoir's renowned guest settle in for the few days that he was going to be here. Lori had approached James after the signal, extending her arm forward, once she was within said limb's reach.
"Lori Smith. It's an honor to have you here."
"It's an honor to be here." James would reply. Once he had done so, Jack had approached the two of them, intentionally shoving James' shoulder forward, while clearing her throat.
"Name's Jack." Jack had said.
"She's with me." James had followed up, placing his arm around her shoulder. "..It's not going be a problem, is it?"
The small event took the governor by surprise. Even more so because of Jack's appearance and the fact that she, along with the rest of the colony, thought that James was coming to Mindoir alone. Alas, she managed to hide it behind professionalism, and had nodded, upon confirmation.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Jack." Lori would begin, to which Jack had scoffed. "Y'know, you might as well drop the 'miss' shit, 'cause I ain't being polite." Jack had turned her head elsewhere, adjusting the visor, to get a clearer look at the colony. "So where the hell are we staying?" Once that was heard, an incontrollable smile had come across Lori's face. "About that..Shepard, there's something special, waiting for you, in the colony." Lori would move to the passenger's side of the car. "I'll have my men drive us to it. Harris! Willem! Let's hurry it up!" Lori would say, as she re-entered the car. As the bodyguards moved the cases to the vehicle, the Kodiak shuttle had took off, on a course back to the Normandy, and James had entered the backseat, with Jack in tow.
_ 1:30, P.M. _
"…And there's the plaza." Lori had been giving James a small tour of the new thing that was built, after his departure, and the colony's recovery. A melody had been playing on the speakers of the car, though almost so silently, that it wasn't acknowledged, at all. "You touched down just after we finished the opener; one of my people caught your shuttle." Lori had finished, to which James had nodded.
"Alright." He'd reply. He'd then point to a large, grey statue, standing in the middle of the plaza, performing a salute to the skies above. "I take it that's the likeness you were talking about?"
"Ah, yes. At the time we built it, we were in talks about..Well, your armor."
"What for?"
"Well….. In the numerous videos we've seen you in…Well, you seemed to change suits constantly."
"Ah..…Yeah, capability issues. I wouldn't wor—"
"What the FUCK are we listening to?" Jack had said, visibly annoyed. "Seriously, how the hell can you sit here and NOT notice this shit – it's repetitive as fuck!"
Again, Jack speaking caught Lori off caught, but she managed to collect herself quickly enough for it to not be evident. "My apologies." Lori had said, nodding. "Willem. Turn off the music." The bodyguard driving the car had done as she asked. And, after doing so, had spoken back.
"We're coming up to the building, now."
Hearing this, James had looked out of the window. As the car pulled to a stop, his eyes had come upon something he'd thought he would never see again. Something he thought he'd lost, forever.
His home.
Door hissed, lifting up from the vehicle, allowing the others to exit from it. The first was James, eager to see if what he had been seeing wasn't just some mirage, of some sort. He damn near slapped himself – or pinched. He didn't know which to do, causing him to simply stand there, in front of the 2 story building.
It looked like an average 20th century household. Its walls were made of amber colored bricks, its roof made of slate. There were few windows; it's most notable being a large, horizontal window that had panned the front wall of the second floor, revealing a large bedroom, its contents nearly the same as it was when James had last saw it.
"We wanted to do this for you." Lori explained. "It was the least we could do."
James had no words for her. There were none that could describe this moment. A small smile crept upon his face had Lori had reached for the keys.
"Here." She'd say, handing the keys over to him, to which he readily accepted. "We'll get out of your hair." Lori had signaled the bodyguards to start the car, and had turned to leave.
"Your belongings were passed, before we got here. They should be in the living room." Were Lori's final words, before entering the car. As it pulled out, Jack had approached James, gazing upon the household, just as he was. However, its value to James was unknown to her, and thus, she slightly shook her head, as she turned towards him.
"The hell's keeping you?" She'd say, raising a brow.
He could have answered that, in any number of ways. The way he felt like answering, though, wouldn't have been appropriate. He was damn near close to getting shockwaved, on the ride to Mindoir; he wasn't about to spoil this moment – and have his home and relationship destroyed, in the process – by slapping her with a smart-ass remark. James had shaken his head, pulling himself away from those now vivid memories of the past, and gripped onto the keys set across his palm.
"Nothing." James replied.
"It's nothing. Let's go set up."