The full crew of the Normandy stood in the cargo bay. Tables with food and booze were set up nearby, not yet touched. A nervous energy ran through the crowd, little conversations in hushed whispers. Kaidan saw James and Steve having an uncharacteristically serious chat about something. Adams, Chakwas, and Liara were huddled shoulder to shoulder, whispering. The enlisted crew seemed to be doing their own thing, Privates Westmoreland and Campbell leading the gossip.

The name of the day was Shepard, that was for certain.

Finally, a Kodiak approached the open cargo bay doors, sliding through the atmosphere barrier and touching down across from the Normandy's own Kodiak. After a moment, the shuttle door opened, and there was Shepard in his wheelchair, wearing his casual uniform, being pushed by a private.

The cargo bay erupted into clapping, cheers, whistles, and more than a few victorious hoots.

"All right, all right, settle down!" Shepard yelled, smiling. The cheering slowly subsided.

"Crew of the Normandy," Shepard began. "It is through your tenacity that we are standing here today. Due in no small part to your actions, the Reaper War is over." A few scattered claps went around the room, but Shepard clumsily waved them off. "Five months ago to this day, the Reapers invaded Earth. Most of you were unprepared that day for serving aboard a ship on the front lines. Despite that, you have proven yourselves many times over to be the finest crew a commander could hope for. More than that… you became my family.

"So it is with a heavy heart that I tell you: this will be the last time I stand before you as your commanding officer." A few murmurs rose from the crowd. "As we speak, the paperwork for my medical discharge is being processed. The truth is, though I am grateful even to be alive, my days as a soldier are over.

"Still, while this may be the last you'll see of Commander Shepard, the Alliance soldier, it is not the last you will see of John Shepard, the man. Admiral Hackett has seen fit to permanently assign the Normandy to the command of Major Kaidan Alenko, with a mission of protecting galactic peace under the banner of the Citadel Council Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. And while the vids may say otherwise, being a Spectre is more than a combat role. It is about getting the job done, whether that be by combat, by superior intel, or by simple diplomacy. As such, it is a near certainty that you will again see Spectre John Shepard in the months ahead."

A round of cheers went around the room. Shepard waited them out.

"With all that in mind, let us celebrate the end of the Reaper War! Let us celebrate our future!"

With that, the cargo bay once again erupted into applause, which gradually dwindled as people peeled away and went for the food.

Kaidan walked over to Shepard and clasped Shepard's shoulder. "Great speech," he said. "Nice and short."

Shepard smiled up warmly at Kaidan. "It's good to finally see you in person again."

Kaidan smiled back and gave Shepard's shoulder a squeeze.

"Shepard!" Tali exclaimed as she ran up to them. "I'd hug you, but…"

"Hey, Tali. How've you been?"

"Oh, fine. I'm more interested in how you've been."

"My lack of mobility's a little frustrating, but I just keep reminding myself that it's temporary."

Garrus and Liara wandered up to the group, each bearing a plate of finger-food.

"So Shepard," Garrus began, "I assume you've run this plan of yours past the Council?"

"Yup. Tevos thought it was a great idea, of course. Valern waffled a bit, but he thought it was worth trying out. And Sparatus surprised me by saying I'd proven I could sweet-talk the suit off a volus, so I should go for it."

"Hah! The man's come a long way since 'Ah yes, Reapers. We have dismissed that claim.'" Garrus popped a cheese-cracker-thing in his mouth.

"Did he really say that?" Liara asked.

"Yup," Shepard said.

"Oh, by the goddess," she mumbled, facepalming with her free hand.

"I still can't believe it took a full-scale invasion for them to take you seriously," Tali said. "Even if Sovereign had actually been a geth dreadnought… shouldn't they have been curious about how many the geth had, or how long it took them to build?"

"They were scared," Shepard said. "They wanted to believe it was a problem they could fix with the tools they had. In hindsight, it would have been nice to have the Crucible ready to go before the Reapers showed up, but we didn't know about it then. Without the Crucible… well, there really wasn't much that could be done. In the end, it didn't matter very much whether or not they believed me."

Tali shook her head. "Maybe it'll make more sense with a plate of food in front of me."

"Dextro is marked with red servingware," Garrus called out as she left. He turned to Liara. "So how's the Shadow Brokering?"

"Still offline," Liara said. "If I came online too soon after the Normandy re-entered comm range, it'd be a little too on-the-nose. My opsec isn't nearly as good as my predecessor's, but I'd like to think that there are some people out there who haven't figured out who I am." Liara sighed. "I'm still unhappy that the Illusive Man tracked me to Hagalaz."

"Mr. Illusive was pretty fond of sleeper agents," Shepard said. "He probably had people spying on your network. Most of your contacts work openly as information brokers, don't they?"

"True. I have my own spies, but they're a limited resource. They mostly collect high-level intel from the major governments. Anyway, enough work talk. This is supposed to be a party."

James and Steve wandered up to the group, cervezas in hand. "Party? Who said party?" James said, and took a sip of his beer.

"So Shepard," Steve began, "any immediate plans now that you're leaving the Alliance?"

"Kaidan wants to take me to the family orchard and meet his mother," Shepard said. "As soon as he tells her about us, at least."

"Meetin' the parents," Vega sing-songed. "Sounds serious."

"Do I hear wedding bells in your future?" Steve asked.

Kaidan looked down at Shepard and flashed him a smile. Shepard grinned back.

"We, uh, haven't really discussed that yet," Kaidan said. "But who knows? It may be in the cards."

James looked over at Liara's plate. "Are those the little things with cream cheese? Oh man, I've gotta get me some of them. C'mon Esteban."

"You go ahead, I'm good," Steve said. James made a beeline for the food table.

Garrus glanced over at Tali, who was still filling her plate. "Say, Kaidan, you're from Earth. Any ideas on somewhere scenic that I could take Tali?"

"Hmm," Kaidan began. "Now that I've seen Rannoch, I wonder if she'd like the Mojave or Sonoran Deserts. Or if you wanted to change things up, maybe a tropical island like Maui. Or, it's early March, so the Alps might be nice if you want to see the last of the winter snow — they're a gentle-sloped mountain range in Europe."

"Good ideas," Garrus said. "I'll do some research."

A crowd of enlisted crew approached Shepard's group. "Commander Shepard, sir?" Private Westmoreland said.

"Yes, Westmoreland?" Shepard asked.

The crowd saluted him. "It's been an honor serving with you, Commander," Westmoreland said.

Shepard awkwardly tried to salute back. He was sure his form was bad, but it was better than leaving them hanging. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Thank you, sir."

With that, they ended their salute and headed toward the booze.

Tali came back with a plate of food. "That was nice of them," she said. "Come on, Garrus. We've monopolized enough of Shepard's time. Let's go tease Ken and Gabby about the fact that they're finally dating."

"They've been dating for longer than we have," Garrus pointed out as they started to walk away.

"Yes, but they've been dancing around each other for longer. Don't tell me you didn't notice. They've been flirting since back when they were Cerberus."

"You spent more time with them down in Engineering."

"Because you spent all your time 'calibrating'. I never thought I'd be the other woman to a gun."

And with that, they were out of earshot. Kaidan chuckled.

"What?" Shepard asked.

"Oh, just thinking about how long we were dancing around each other."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't be dense, Shepard," Liara said. "I noticed you two flirting in Port Hanshan on Noveria."

"We were?" Shepard asked.

"I, uh, don't remember that," Kaidan admitted.

"I mean, I knew I found Kaidan attractive," Shepard said. "But I was trying to avoid flirting. Between the mission and the fact that I didn't think he was interested in guys."

"It's true that a guy has to be pretty special for me to be interested," Kaidan said meaningfully.

James chose that moment to return, with a plate piled high with those little things with cream cheese. "Interested in what, Blue?" he asked cluelessly. "I just caught the last half of that."

"Kaidan and Shepard were just discussing how long it took for them to realize how they felt about each other," Steve said.

"What do you mean?" he asked, popping a snack in his mouth. "Loco, weren't you all desolado over him during your house arrest?"

"We didn't start dating until after the Citadel coup," Shepard said.

"Oh man," James said. "When I heard you and Blue arguing on Mars I thought I'd finally met the pendejo who broke your heart."

"You didn't say anything," Kaidan said.

"Contrary to popular opinion, I know when to shut my mouth."

"Could have fooled me," Steve said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Esteban."

"Anyway," Shepard interrupted, "the important thing is that we have each other now."