I do not own Mass Effect or any of its characters or settings. Thank you for reading!
After five weeks of wearing nothing more restrictive than her bathing suit for physical therapy, the dress uniform chafed. Was the collar always this uncomfortable?
She'd spent the day giving interviews and recording little vid clips. Admiral Hackett asked her to use some of her fame to boost morale and convince people to keep going. If standing in front of a camera was going to help people, she'd do it. It just seemed ridiculous.
"I'm Commander Shepard," and this is my favorite store on the Citadel. "And I don't deserve any more praise than any other soldier of any species. But there are people who will listen to me. So I'm going to use that to say that this is still a time when we need to band together. Everyone lost a lot in the war against the Reapers. We all lost people we love, and everyone's home is damaged now. We need water and food and medical supplies. We need engineers, we need salvage teams, we need construction workers. We need nurturers for our children. There is something that every one of us can do to help the people around us. If we wait for the problems to be fixed by someone else, or if we try to use this as an opportunity to get rich, everyone suffers."
The important thing, according to Diana Allers, was to give the camera plenty of eye contact. Make people feel like you're talking directly to them.
"You banded together to fight for the chance to survive," she said. "And for many of us that fight is not over. Every life is important. Take care of each other."
She nodded, paused a moment so that they didn't have to edit too close to the end of her speech, then sat down. It was still hard to stand up for more than a few minutes at a time. She hated it. But it was getting better.
Past the camera and the small team of videographers that came with it a drell was leaning against the wall. Feron caught her eye and smiled. Then he started towards her.
"I didn't want to interrupt," he said. "You were very authoritative."
"Thanks." Could this be a social visit? She didn't think Feron did social visits. "What's up?"
"I may have found a way to communicate with your friend from Noveria," Feron said. "Would you care to come with me?"
Shepard glanced around. He had to be talking about the rachni. She didn't want to discuss deep-space boogeymen in front of all these cameras.
"Sure. Let's go back to my room," she said. She caught the eye of one of the videographers and waved him over. "I'm taking a break to talk to my friend, here. We might be a little while."
"Whatever you need, Commander Shepard,"he said. With more effort than was pretty, she stood up. The videographer made a motion like he wanted to help her. But Feron stood still. He knew better. She took one shaky step, then another. Once she got some momentum going it wasn't so bad. Her room was just a few doors down the hall. She made it, but the effort was draining.
She maybe should have saved that energy for the talk ahead. But damnit, if she could walk she was going to. No one who had ever dealt with convalescing Marines was surprised to see her push herself too far. That didn't mean they approved.
She'd set a proper high-backed chair up in front of her comm unit and had her room rearranged so that the bed wasn't visible from the vid pick-up. It was embarrassing enough to have to talk to people from the hospital without feeling like the world could see into her bedroom. She sat down. Feron perched on her visitor's stool.
"I've been working with Dr. Bryson on cataloging those vid calls you asked me to look out for," Feron said.
"Yes, Liara's been keeping me updated." Liara hadn't said much about Feron's attempt to go over her head, so to speak. She'd just quietly thanked Shepard for backing her up on the ethics issue. Would it be rude to ask if Feron got in trouble?
"Well, we found something. It was someone asking for you, actually," Feron said. "She was trying to hail the Citadel. Of course, there's no one to answer there. It took us a while to even find these records. But she left a lot of messages for you."
"What makes you think she's with the rachni?" Shepard asked. Feron punched a code into his omni-tool. The vid screen came up. The asari in the vid message was wearing the black combat armor of a commando. She had several healing cuts on her face. Her eyes were rolled all the way back, showing only white. Just like the asari on Illium who had passed her that message from the rachni.
"We seek Commander Shepard," said the asari. Shepard's heart beat faster. That deep, rolling voice was very familiar. It was how people spoke when the rachni were controlling them. "We sang a bargain on Noveria. Our song was pure, but now there is great need. We must break our word."
The message cut off. That. . . didn't sound encouraging.
"I need to talk to that asari," Shepard said. Feron smiled.
"I thought you might. I can connect to the comm unit she was using right from here. We traced it to a ship drifting in the Maskim Xul system," Feron said. "Are you sure you're ready to talk to them?"
"I'm always ready," Shepard said. If people would stop wasting time treating her with kid gloves she might actually get something done. Feron tilted his head in acknowledgment, but not necessarily agreement, and connected the vid call.
It didn't take very long to get an answer. The same asari appeared in the holo screen. But this time, her eyes were completely normal. They were a deep green.
"Commander Shepard," the asari said. She looked confused. "When you didn't answer for so long I was afraid you might be dead. The news reports were. . . conflicting."
"I'm sorry, your messages were going to the Citadel," Shepard said. "Who are you?"
"Janilla T'Foran," the asari said. "I used to be a commando. But now. . . now I'm helping the rachni. And they're helping me."
"You're not under any duress or in any trouble?" Shepard asked. She could believe that a lost soul might want to commune with the rachni. But watching the translator speak words that weren't theirs always bothered her.
"Not the kind you mean, Commander." Janilla smiled a bitter smile. "I'm quite willing to help the rachni speak."
"May I speak with the rachni queen now?" Shepard asked. Janilla nodded, and stepped back from the comm unit. She closed her eyes. Then she reached her hands out and threw her head back. Did she have some telepathic way of contacting the queen? Shepard never was very clear on how this worked. Dr. Bryson might know.
When Janilla opened her eyes again they were white.
"Hello," Shepard said. Janilla tilted her head.
"Long has it been since we heard your song," the rachni queen said through Janilla's lips. "We feared you were silent forever."
"I was very badly hurt. I only just received your messages," Shepard said. "What happened to the rachni? I thought that after you helped with the Crucible you could live in peace with the rest of the galactic community."
"So did we," said the rachni queen. "But where my children go, fire follows. They are killed. On our homeworld we are killed. In space we are killed. We have no safe place to sing the dark. I must make a safe place for my children."
"Who is attacking you?" Shepard asked. Liara had mentioned skirmishes. But she'd never thought to ask what happened on the rachni homeworld. It was a toxic world. It wasn't exactly heavily populated. Why not give it back to the rachni?
Obviously being comatose for several months made her wits slow. She should have thought of this.
"Many ships. Asari. Krogan. Salarian. Human." The rachni queen's echoing voice seemed sad. But it was hard to tell. Janilla's face was perfectly blank. But then, she was just a translator. "We fear you are the only one willing to listen for us."
"People are afraid of you." There had to be some way to fix this. She could not be responsible for another rachni war. The rachni wanted to be peaceful. She could swear that much was true. "The only thing most people know about the rachni is that they were a threat thousands of years ago. Trust has to be earned. It can be earned best by working together, communicating."
"We tried to help rebuild the mass relays," the rachni queen said. "Our ships were turned into floating cinders. My children were killed. Our help is not wanted."
"They didn't know what you were trying to do," Shepard said. She had to rein this back in. "I'm sorry for the loss of your children. You've suffered more than most. Lost more than most."
"We do not mourn. We starve," said the rachni queen. "We need our planet. We need places to expand."
Krogan expansion was bad enough. But rachni expansion would probably tip the cart right over.
No. There had to be room for everyone. Or else the Reapers were right, and they needed to be culled for the good of all life in the Universe.
"If the people repairing the mass relays had known you were there to help they would not have fired on your ships," Shepard said. Or so I fervently hope. "You're speaking through Janilla now. If I send you more translators could you speak through them and talk to the groups that are repairing the mass relays? If you explain what your children are doing they'll let you help. They'll want you to help."
Feron's eyes were huge, his eyebrows raised in shock. She spared him a quelling glance. I know what I'm doing. I hope. This couldn't be a bigger gamble than the one she took with the geth. Could it?
"We would sing to them if we could," the rachni queen said. "But you want us to repay their fire with assistance."
"I want you to find your place in the galactic community," Shepard said. "I want people to know you're trustworthy so that they will live beside your children in peace."
"Do you think that's possible?" asked the rachni queen. Shepard took a deep breath. If she was wrong, it could be war. But if she didn't try it would be war anyway. And the best case scenario would leave millions of rachni dead, and not a few other people with them.
"I know it can happen," Shepard said with a lot more confidence than she actually felt. "If you help repair the mass relays I can get you your home world back."
Feron closed his eyes as if in deep pain. Fortunately he wasn't visible in the vid pick-up.
"If you truly believe that is so, it may be so," the rachni queen said. "Send me your translators. We will sing to the galactic leaders. And we will see what happens."
"Where can I send them?" Shepard asked. "Are there other queens? We may not be able to get many people who are already in your star system."
"This one will send you coordinates for two other queens," said the rachni queen. She must be referring to Janilla. "We all sing together."
"Thank you," Shepard said. "I won't let you down."
The rachni queen regarded her in silence for a moment. Then she cut the comm. Shepard blew out her breath in a huff.
"Are you out of your mind?" asked Feron. Shepard frowned at him.
"What, you don't think I can do it?" The comm console pinged. She used her omni tool to open up the message. It was the promised coordinates. There had to be something she could do with one of these sites. She sent the information on to Liara and Feron. She was sure Liara would be calling herself very soon. Probably with the same question Feron had just asked. For some reason it would be less offensive coming from her.
"I think that the council races are going to object very strongly," said Feron. Shepard shrugged.
"They usually do. See what kind of communication team you can get to those three coordinates. The two I just sent you, and the queen we just spoke to. Now that we have a way to warn the rachni, make sure they don't hurt any of those people, we may be able to use the folks you wanted to use before. But this is volunteer only," Shepard said.
"What if the rachni kill the translators? Or sabotage the mass relays? Or start attacking ships?" Feron asked. Shepard took a deep breath, for patience, and to steady herself.
"Then there will be war. Again. But at least we'll know we did everything we could to stop it," she said. "Now get me a nurse who can give me some kind of stimulant and get on scrambling those communication teams. We've got a lot of work to do."
She should probably start with Admiral Hackett. He was usually fairly receptive to her ideas. He could help her convince everyone else. If they helped rebuild the mass relays the rachni would have earned their own planet back. And maybe a few others, besides. The rachni could only use toxic worlds. How hard could it be to persuade the council to let some of those go? They never give resources lightly.
She had to try. She was the Hero of Earth. Or at least that was what they said in the vids. It had to be good for something.
Kaidan wasn't sure if it was hot or cold, but it burned every nerve ending in his body. The pain washed over him and receded as quickly as a wave lapping on the beach. I want to go home.
His biotics were almost out of control. Almost, almost. . . he couldn't lose control. He could kill someone. He couldn't even see, the world was just static. Nothing but white noise.
Someone was holding him up. There was a yank, and a ripping noise, and the bindings on his arms and chest came loose. Then his hands were released and the person holding him let him fall to his knees. It hurt more than it should have. Like falling on ice with bare skin.
His eyes were clearing up. Everything was kind of gray, but he could almost make out the outlines of his hands against the floor. His biotics crackled along his skin. Had to take deep breaths. Had to get it under control. He could be anywhere, surrounded by anyone.
Aria T'Loak froze me. How much time have I lost? A month? A year? A century?
"As promised," a familiar voice drawled. "Get them off my station."
"You might have the decency to wait until they're both on their feet." That was Liara's voice! "We barely have Javik secured."
"I'm not a decent person." The other voice must be Aria. His control slipped, and his biotics crackled over his skin again. What he wouldn't give to let loose with a full biotic kick right to her throat. . . but he had no idea what the tactical situation was. He couldn't kill her. At the moment.
Aria and Liara were both asari, and they measured their lifespans in centuries. The two of them arguing over him didn't give him any clues as to how long he'd been frozen.
"Can you stand up, Major?" That was Vega's voice. He didn't sound so good himself. But it was a good question. His vision was a little blurry, still, but those were definitely his hands. And that floor looked about as brown and scarred as the parts of Omega he remembered. So maybe he was all right.
He pulled his arms back so that the center of his weight was over his feet, and stood up. He could do it, but he was glad it didn't look like they were going to have to fight their way out. Aria was standing on the left of him, with her soldiers. Liara was standing on the right with James, and Garrus, and Tali. Where the hell was Javik?
"Let's go," Liara said. She was looking at Aria, but she must have been talking to him. He started walking. Liara led the way out. Garrus brought up the rear, looking back at Aria. Maybe he wanted to see her dead as badly as Kaidan did.
"What the hell happened?" Kaidan whispered to Vega. James just shook his head.
"I been defrosted maybe five minutes longer than you," Vega said. They arrived at an airlock. The batarian soldier there watched them approach in silence and never challenged their right to leave. That was probably a good sign.
The airlock opened into the Normandy. He'd never been so glad to see a ship. He waited until the doors closed behind them all to round on Liara.
"Where the hell is Javik?" he asked. She held up her hand, forestalling him.
"I had Javik's cryogenic stasis pod taken to the shuttle bay without opening it. These pods aren't exactly top of the line. Given his unique physiology I wanted to thaw him out in more controlled conditions," Liara said.
"Aria could have stood to be more gracious about the exchange," Garrus said. "Not that I'm surprised at how that went."
"I think I'll have that woman's little empire destroyed," Liara said. She didn't even sound angry, just thoughtful. "But not today."
"How the hell did you get us out of there?" Vega asked. Which was a good question, but Kaidan had a more important one.
"Is Shepard all right?" he said. Liara smiled at him at last, shaken out of her quiet plotting to have Aria deposed.
"She's walking, talking, and negotiating galactic treaties. She had a lot more to do with your release than I did," Liara said. "Aria was sharing Omega station with that federation of batarian slavers. Neither party had enough man power to take over. Shepard got Aria's mercenaries home to her in exchange for the three of you. When Aria solidified her power base she called us to come get you."
"How did Shepard manage to get those mercenaries from Earth to here?" Kaidan said. Surely they would need the mass relays. They'd estimated it would be at least two years to repair the relay at Omega. Did I lose two years?
"She talked the rachni into helping rebuild the mass relay system in exchange for their homeworld and a couple of other toxic planets," Garrus said. Tali sighed and shook her head.
"Giant spiders everywhere. Everywhere you go," Tali said.
"Helpful engineer spiders," Liara added. "Several main lines of transit are already fixed. Much faster than we anticipated."
"How much faster?" Kaidan asked. He shared a look with James. Two years was a long time to be out of the world. A lot could happen. Friends and lovers could move on. Family could die. Was this how Shepard felt when she woke up in that Cerberus lab?
"You've been frozen about four months," Garrus said. "Call it a perk of being Shepard's partner. Lots of people say they'd move heaven and earth to see a lover again, but she's actually capable of doing it."
"Always knew Lola was sweet on me," Vega teased. Kaidan rolled his eyes.
"If the mass relays are fixed, does that mean we can get to Earth?" Kaidan asked. He glanced around "And, ah, Palaven and Rannoch and Thessia?"
"We're headed to Earth right now, actually," Liara said. "With a brief stop at Jump Zero. Shepard's meeting us there."
Shepard's meeting us there.
"I think we have about an hour before we get to the relay," Tali said. "So if you fellows want to shower before we get to Jump Zero you have time."
"What, you think I stink?" Vega asked. Kaidan tapped the back of the other man's armor.
"Even Marines have to wash up sometime," Kaidan said. "Let's go."
Home. Home, home home.
Shepard's meeting us there.
"It's so strange to think that my son grew up here," said Elizabeth Alenko. They were both seated in the main transit hub of Jump Zero, on a dais on a stage near the docks where the Normandy was expected. The arrival of the Normandy from the Omega system had become a media circus. Shepard was back in her dress uniform. She hadn't worn combat armor in months but she could swear it was more comfortable.
"Why is that?" she asked, with a small smile. There were three vid cameras pointed at them. But no microphones. That she knew of. She hated this.
But she wouldn't miss her crew docking for anything. They're almost here.
"I've never even seen this place," Elizabeth said. "It's so cold."
It wasn't temperature the older woman was referring to, Shepard realized. Jump Zero was an early space station. It was built along very utilitarian lines. Early space installations always looked very Spartan. Even more so than the poorest modern colony. People just believed in the positive effects of a peaceful decor, now. They didn't use to bother.
"Whatever this place was for Kaidan, he couldn't be the man he is today without it," Shepard said. "So if you ever get the power to go back in time and change things don't change that one. Please."
There was a flurry of motion among the videographers. Admiral Hackett had arrived. There was a man who looked totally comfortable in his dress uniform. Years of practice, or an unnaturally long neck and narrow sides? He smiled and nodded at the cameras and then mounted the steps to the dais. There was a podium along with their chairs. She hoped that she wasn't expected to speak today. But she probably wasn't that lucky.
"Commander, Mrs. Alenko," Admiral Hackett said, nodding at each of them in turn. He went on to greet the other people on the dais, all the friends and family of the crew that could make it, before sitting down next to Shepard. Cortez had looked very gratified to get personally greeted by an Admiral. Miranda just looked smug. The whole gang was out in force today. She remembered Kaidan saying that after everything was over, there was going to be a hell of a reunion party. Dancing and crying, hugging in the streets. They weren't in the streets but she had no doubt that the rest of his prediction was spot on.
"Commander, I have a problem," Admiral Hackett said. His voice was very quiet. His face was resting in a benign smile. No doubt it looked like he was just making small talk. But she wasn't that good of an actress. Her surprise had to be showing on her face.
"What's that, sir?" she asked. What the hell happened now?
"I've got krogan and rachni that want to expand into our territory," he said. "I've got millions of civilians still without access to power or to clean water. The council wants to move the Citadel back to where it used to be, but they want us to help pay for it. Like we brought it here. I've got turians and salarians and krogan all arguing just off the edges of my borders."
"Yes. Sir?" Where the hell was he going with this?
"Commander, I need someone to go put out these fires that are brewing. They're always going to be brewing. We just have to keep snuffing them out. I was thinking of taking the Normandy and making it a mobile command center. Just like we originally planned," Admiral Hackett said.
You're not taking my freaking ship.
Except it was his ship, actually. Where did that leave her?
"I need an Ambassador. Someone to promote our interests before the Council, out in the galactic community. I would like it to be you," he said. Oh, he wasn't taking her ship away. He was offering it back to her. "But maybe you're enjoying this extended vacation you're calling rehabilitation. Do you want to retire, Commander?"
It took her several moments to think of how to phrase her answer.
"Sir," she said. "If I have to sit still in one place for another day I think I'll go mad. I'd be honored to be your Ambassador."
"Good," Admiral Hackett said, leaning back. "But you know the Normandy has a solid two weeks of repair ahead of her. You're going to be spending a lot of time in front of the cameras until then."
"Worth it," she muttered. She was going to say more, but the faint sound of docking clamps grinding into place stopped her cold. This dock didn't have big picture windows or mass effect field barriers. She couldn't see the Normandy. But there weren't any other ships scheduled to dock.
She stood up. Little camera drones flew around her face. But they didn't block her view. The airlock door was only ten meters away. It took forever for those doors to open.
There they are.
Her heart lifted. She could see everyone, everyone who was on the Normandy when it got to Omega. They were grinning, a little surprised to see the party in the docking bay.
She took one step, and then another. She'd imagined maybe saluting them. Very dignified. Or going down the row and shaking their hands like a proper senior officer. But Kaidan was striding toward her like he'd plow through an Atlas if it dropped in his path.
She met him halfway. His arms were warm around her sides, his shoulders wonderfully solid under her hands. Her lips found his. And then there was only the feel of him, the pounding of her heart, the warmth of his chest against hers.
Somewhere very far away there was cheering, and hooting, and what sounded like some very ribald comments. But none of that mattered. It was like coming out of a dark and narrow foxhole into the light of day.
He pulled away far enough to rest his forehead against hers. Little biotic pulses danced off him and around her. Like he was leaking lightning. She'd only seen him do that once before. It was a sure sign of his fragile hold on self-control. But she didn't mind in the least. She was pretty out of control herself.
"Never leave me behind again," he said. She laughed, but it sounded more like a sob. Get a grip, Commander.
"Careful what you wish for. Hackett just asked me to be an Ambassador," she said. It was better than saying all the dippy, sappy things that flowed through her mind half words and half just emotion. Maybe later, in private, she'd air some of those thoughts out. He would probably like that.
"Good. I was a little afraid you'd want to retire," he smiled. What the hell. She'd already made out with him like a teen bride reunited with her ensign. She kissed him again.
"Never. I was afraid you'd want to retire," she said.
"I do want to take you to see the family orchard," he said. "But no. Wherever you go, I'm with you. Unless you decide you don't want me around."
"Would you two get a room already? Some of us have people to kiss too, you know." That sounded like Vega. The both ignored him. But, now that the initial rush of seeing him was fading, it was a little bit embarrassing how she'd run up to him like that. In front of the Admiral. And his mother. And whoever would watch the vid recording. Until the end of time.
Okay, now she could feel herself blushing. She stepped back, smoothing the front of his uniform with her palms. He watched her pull away, his dark eyes grave. Maybe he thought she was pulling away because of what he'd said.
"That's never going to happen," she said. "I definitely want you to come with me."
The corner of his mouth ticked up. I love you. She couldn't say it in front of so many people. Not yet. She could barely bring herself to say it at all. It was all new to her. But with a little practice, maybe it would come easier.
And now they had time. All the time in the world.
She let him go hug his mother and turned to her crew. Vega shouldered to the front and caught her up in a big bear hug, ending with a resounding, smacking kiss on her cheek. Liara and Tali also came in for hugs. Garrus was more reserved. She didn't press him, but she did grin. He was the only one managing to retain his dignity. Even Engineer Adams, after watching Tali and Liara, held out his arms for an embrace.
Joker was the last one out of the airlock. His smile was a little lopsided, his face a little strained. He saluted her. She saluted back. Then she hugged him. Gently, so she wouldn't rattle his fragile bones.
"I didn't realize we were at the hugging stage, Commander," Joker said. He was clearly embarrassed. She just grinned at him.
"What girl could resist hugging the best helmsman in the galaxy?" she asked. He stood a little straighter.
"That's a good point," he said. They both stood back and watched the media circus begin. Or continue. Kaidan had been dragged to the podium and was standing next to Admiral Hackett. The Admiral was giving a very stern military-style speech to the cameras. And Kaidan looked every inch the second human Spectre. Capable, respectable. Not at all the sort of man who kissed a fellow officer in a docking bay in front of the whole galaxy.
She was never going to live that down.
"We got all this good press, but what's going to happen with the Normandy now?" Joker said. "Without a war on she might become some kind of civilian ship. Are we going to let that happen?"
"I know exactly what's in store for the Normandy," said Shepard. "Admiral Hackett just made me a very interesting offer. How do you feel about being helmsman for a mobile command center?"
Liara, standing nearby, heard her say it. And she smiled, too.
"Room for a lowly information broker?" she asked, very quietly. Shepard almost laughed out loud.
"Oh, I think we'll find room for everyone."