Chapter 14: Pancakes
The shuttle ride back to Normandy was quiet. In the shuttle were Ashley, Liara, Vega, and Miranda. The others took a second shuttle.
Ashley had been thinking about Shepard's speech. She looked up and saw Miranda looking at her. Miranda saw Ashley looking up and gave her a smile.
After they returned to Normandy, Ashley headed straight for the captain's cabin. Shepard would be on the Kilimanjaro for a few hours, and she was looking forward to a shower and a nap.
Ashley took a quick shower and got changed. She was about to climb into bed when she heard a knock at the door. I wonder who that can be. John can't be back yet.
Ashley wanted a nap badly. She reluctantly went to open the door.
It was Miranda.
"Ash, may I come in?"
"Yeah, sure. I didn't expect to see you Miranda."
"I'm sorry for intruding. I know Shepard won't be back for a little while, and I thought we can talk."
"Sure. Why don't you sit down? Do you want something to drink?"
"What are you offering?" asked Miranda as she walked over to the couch. During the time she knew Shepard, she had not seen him drink. But she did know Ashley can drink. She heard Vega telling Garrus about the time Ashley drank so much that she passed out in the observation lounge. She missed her shift and Shepard had to go get her.
"Beer... and...Beer," replied Ashley as she rummaged through the small fridge. "I just picked these up on Earth few days ago."
"Sure, I'll give it a go," replied Miranda. She actually has never drunk beer before, but she decided she's willing to give it a try.
Ashley brought the beers over and sat down across from Miranda.
"I'm glad to see you back on the Normandy, Miranda."
"It's good to be back," Miranda replied.
"Will you continue to be the XO?"
"Yes, I will," replied Miranda. She then took a breath and said, "Ash, the reason I'm here is because I wanted to thank you for what you did back on the Citadel." Miranda paused, and then went on, "I wanted to tell you -"
"Wait Miranda," interrupted Ashley, "you don't have to tell me anything about last night. It's for the best you don't. I don't know if I can handle it."
Miranda thought for a moment and then replied, "Fair enough. But Ash, I wanted to tell you that no one has ever done something like that for me before. I just wanted to say thank you."
Ashley took another sip of the beer, "you don't have to thank me. I'm grateful you saved John. You were there for him when I couldn't be."
"I didn't do anything that you wouldn't have done. John is ... special," said Miranda slowly.
"I guess we can both agree upon that," replied Ash.
Miranda thought to herself and chuckled. She looked at Ashley, "did he ever tell you what he said to the Illusive Man after he blew up the Collector Base?"
"No, he didn't. Wait, hold that thought," Ashley went over to the fridge and grabbed two more beers. She walked back to the couch and handed one to Miranda, "okay, go on."
Shepard walked into the captain's cabin. He immediately noticed the smell of beer in the room. He saw there were about eight empty beer bottles on the coffee table. He looked over to the bed and saw Ashley asleep.
Shepard shook his head. He took off his jacket and got into bed. He put his arms around her. Ashley reflexively turned toward him and put one hand on his chest. Shepard grinned and closed his eyes.
"Good morning, Miranda," said Vega as he walked over with his breakfast tray. "Can I join you?" Vega sat down before Miranda could respond.
"Good morning, Lieutenant," Miranda replied, looking up from her data pad.
"You're always working. You got to relax, " teased Vega. He took several big bites of his pancakes.
"This is important work. I need to make sure Normandy gets back to operational readiness," replied Miranda.
"I know it's important, but sometimes you got to have fun...or just eat your breakfast," said Vega as he took another bite of his pancake.
Miranda was starting to get annoyed and slightly disgusted as Vega is talking with his mouth full.
"My responsibility is to Captain Williams. I want her to know that her ship and crew are ready for anything." said Miranda as she went back to her data pad.
"Are you going to eat your pancakes?" asked Vega as he eyed Miranda's plate.
"No... You may have them." Miranda pushed her plate towards Vega.
"Miranda, you should -"
"Lieutenant, I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to get this done before the morning briefings. Now if you'll excuse me..." Miranda stood up and walked away with her coffee.
"Sooorry," said Vega under his breath while he took another bite of the pancake.
"Good morning, Skipper."
Shepard opened his eyes and saw Ashley looking at him. He smiled and put his right arm behind her to draw her closer to him, "good morning, Chief."
"How did you sleep?" asked Ashley.
"I slept great" smiled Shepard. Just for that moment, everything seems right.
"Ash, let's get married."
"Okay...When?" asked Ashley.
"Real soon..."
"What? Like today?" joked Ashley.
"Yeah. Why not? Let's get married today." Shepard sat up.
"Shepard, you know I want to marry you more than anything else. But now that the war is over, I want to do it right."
"What do you mean?"
"For one thing - I need pick out a gown. I need my family here. And I'd like to walk down the aisle." said Ashley as she looked at Shepard.
Shepard looked into her eyes and gently brushed her hair to the side, "you're right, it should be perfect." Shepard embraced Ashley in his arms.
After a few moments, Shepard looked up and saw the beer bottles. He teased Ashley, "by the way Ash, next time if you wanted to get drunk, you should wait for me."
Ashley looked over at the empty beer bottles and realized what he was referring to, "Oh that. Don't worry, I didn't drink all that. I had company."
"Oh really. Who?"
"Miranda."
"Miranda? Are you two friends now? What did you talk about?"
"Nothing really. We just had girl talk. And yes, we're friends. Why do you find that surprising?"
Shepard didn't know how to respond and decided not to push any further, "I'm hungry. I'd like some pancakes."
Shepard and Ashley headed down to the mess hall to get some breakfast. Shepard looked in one of the food trays, "hey, we're out of pancakes again."
"Guess you'll have to get up earlier," teased Ashley. She put some fruit, a hardboiled egg, and something that looked like waffles on his plate.
"I don't like-"
"Just eat it. Stop making a fuss," replied Ashley as she put more fruit on his plate.
Shepard and Ashley walked over to the table and sat down next to Liara and Traynor.
They exchanged "good mornings" and Ashley began peeling her banana.
"Ash, I think you gave me way too much fruit," complained Shepard.
"Shepard, why are you making such a fuss. You need a balanced meal to help you heal and get strong again," replied Ashley as she took a bite of her banana.
"I wanted pancakes," replied Shepard.
"I think Vega ate most of it," said Traynor giving a little laugh.
Shepard sighed and took a bite of the apple.
"Captain, is that a ring on your hand?" Traynor asked noticing the reflection on her ring finger.
"Yes. It is," replied Ashley.
"Congratulations!" said Traynor. "That's a beautiful ring."
"Thank you, Traynor," replied Ashley.
"I'm happy for you and Shepard," said Liara reflecting back almost three years ago when she and Ashley served together on the first Normandy. At that time, both of them were interested in Shepard. In fact, she actually called a meeting between the three of them making Shepard choose. At first Shepard did not want to choose and even joked about being with both of them. This made Ashley very upset. But at the end, Shepard still chose Ashley. Even though Liara was disappointed, she wanted Shepard to be happy. During the last three years, she was able to develop a friendship with Shepard, something she will always treasure.
"Liara, thank you. That means a lot to me," replied Ashley.
"So when are you going to tie the knot?" asked Traynor.
"We want to do it soon. But I want a ceremony, a gown, and walk down the aisle," said Ashley.
"Really? I would have thought you'd be getting married in your battle armor," teased Liara.
Shepard decided it would be best not to make any comment. He started to work on his waffles.
"I know that's what a lot of people think of me. But I do have a side that desire that romantic stuff," replied Ashley.
"Captain Williams, Admiral Hackett is calling," said EDI over the intercom.
"Thank you, EDI. I will take it in the communications room," replied Ashley.
Ashley excused herself from the table and got up to go, "Shepard, you probably should come, too."
Shepard took one last bite of the waffles and got up to leave, "wish we had pancakes."
Ashley and Shepard walked over to the communication room.
"Good morning, Admiral Hackett," Ashley said.
"Good morning, Captain," replied Hackett. "I'm also trying to reach Shepard, is he there as well?"
"Yes, Admiral. I am," replied Shepard as he walked into view.
"Hello Shepard. Good to see you. Captain Williams, we just received an urgent distress call from Mars. It's from Brynn Cole's science team."
"Do we have any more information?" asked Ashley.
"We only got a short video distress call from Jacob Taylor. I believe you both know him. Anyhow, his message said they were under attack and they had casualties. Then the video feed was cut off."
"What do we know about their mission?" asked Shepard.
"After Dr. Cole's briefing to the Council, she wanted to get started on finding the relays. She worked with Dr. T'soni and concluded the Prothean database on Mars held the most promise. She took six other scientists. Jacob Taylor went to provide security along with a platoon of marines."
"I thought the Reapers destroyed all the buildings we had on Mars," asked Ashley.
"They did. But Dr. Cole told us of a Cerberus base that was deep underground. She thought it was likely abandoned after the Crucible was built. But I insisted they bring the marines."
"What are your orders, Admiral?" asked Ashley.
"I need you to go to Mars and find out what happened to the team. You are to recover the science team and any Prothean data you can regarding the relays. Finally, secure the base and take out any hostile forces."
The Admiral went on, "Williams, Shepard, I can't tell you how important it is to get the relay information. We need to find the dormant relays so we can get our friends back to their home world."
"Admiral, we will find the data," replied Shepard.
"I know you will," smiled Hackett, "it's good to have you back. Now, if there are no other issues to discuss, I will need to brief the other admirals."
"Admiral Hackett, I know this may not seem like the most appropriate time, but may I have permission to ask you an unrelated personal question?" asked Ashley.
Shepard looked at Ashley wondering what she was about to say.
"Admiral, John and I want to get married. I was wondering if you would honor me by walking down the aisle with me?" asked Ashley flustering a little bit for words. She was not sure how Hackett would response. Besides Shepard, the two other men she respected most were Anderson and Hackett. She's always wanted to walk down the aisle with her father. But now that her father and Anderson are both gone, she felt naturally inclined to ask Hackett.
"Williams, it would be my honor," replied Admiral. "So be safe on this mission and come back so we can get you married."
"Yes Sir!" saluted Ashley and Shepard.
Hackett returned their salute and the video feed ended.
"Ash, I'm going with you!" insisted Shepard.
"John, you're not ready. You can barely stand up just a couple of days ago. I don't want you down there getting hurt," shot back Ashley.
"Ash, I can get around fine. You've seen me."
"John, please don't make this hard for me. I don't want to be down there worrying about you. That can compromise the mission. You've had to make calls in the past. This is my call to make and I'm making it."
Shepard finally relented, "okay Ash. Aye-aye, captain."
"Don't make fun of me," said Ashley.
"I'm not. You are right. And you are the captain now. But if you get into trouble, I want to hear –"
"John. You will always be my knight in shining armor. I know you'll be there for me. I love you." Ashley gave Shepard a tender kiss.
"EDI, set course for Mars. Also, gather the ground team in the War Room for a briefing in ten minutes," said Ashley.
"As you wish, Captain Williams," replied EDI.
"EDI, ask Commander Sterling to bring the Kilimanjaro to Mars as well," said Shepard.
"As you wish, Admiral Shepard," replied EDI.
Ashley looked at Shepard, "is that really necessary? Do we really need a dreadnought for this mission?"
Shepard shrugged, "what? I like to be prepared."
Ashley shook her head gently, "Shepard."
Everyone assembled in the War Room. Tali and Garrus got there first, followed by Wrex, and Vega. Next came Liara, Traynor, and Cortez. They started to talk amongst themselves. A few minutes later, Miranda walked in. The room got quiet.
"Good morning," said Miranda. "Before Captain Williams begin her briefing, I wanted to go over a few things."
"Vega, did your armor come back from repair?" asked Miranda as she is still thinking about their breakfast conversation.
"Uh, no. I'm using the standard issues one for now," replied Vega.
Miranda already knew the answer before he responded. She was trying to make a point that he should be prepared, "Lieutenant, that armor is one of your most important gears. You need to have that fixed."
"Yes Ma'am!" responded Vega, feeling a little singled out.
Miranda continued, "Garrus, how is the Thanix Cannon repair coming along?"
"The cannon have been repaired and fully operational," replied Garrus.
"Thank you, Garrus," said Miranda as she gave Vega a glance.
"Tali, what is the progress on the Tantalus Drive Core?" asked Miranda.
"We've got the drive core back online. But there are still power fluctuations interrupting sustained stealth use. We're running diagnostics now," replied Tali.
"That's great work to get the stealth drive working again. Keep at it," encouraged Miranda.
Tali thought Miranda's comment was more positive than usual. But she accepted it and replied, "Thanks, Miranda."
"Wrex, what is the status of the armory?"
Wrex was not used to dealing with females in his military unit. But since joining the Normandy, he had come to respect his female squad mates. He especially admired Williams, though they didn't start out as friends. On Virmire, when he raised his shotgun on Shepard, he saw Williams raise her rifle on him. But over the last three years, he came to respect her skills and ferocity on the battlefield. So, now that she put Miranda in charge as XO, he decided he will give the ex-Cerberus officer a chance to prove herself.
Wrex responded, "The armory was replenished when we returned from our last trip to Earth. So we're back in business."
"Thanks, Wrex," replied Miranda.
"Traynor, have you been able to get any further communications on the QEC from the other systems?"
"So far we've only heard from Thessia and Palaven. But I'm working with the Salarians at the moment in contacting their home planet," replied Traynor.
"Good. Keep at it."
"Cortez, how's the repair coming along on our second Kodiak? The ride back was a little bumpy yesterday."
Cortez replied, "Sorry about that. The dampeners needed adjustment after our initial repair. I've worked on it this morning and she should fly fine now."
"Thank you," replied Miranda as she noticed Ashley and Shepard walking in.
"Captain Williams, here are the updated status for Normandy. I just went over it with the crew. I was about to ask Liara about the status of her relay research," said Miranda as she handed Ashley her data pad.
"Thank you, Miranda," replied Ashley. She paused and quickly scanned the data pad. She admired how organized Miranda is. The data pad allowed her to quickly see how her crew and Normandy was doing. Everything was there - armor, communication, shuttle, Thannix Cannon, Drive Core, and even Vega's armor.
"This is really great, Miranda. Thank you!"
Miranda smiled and walked over to stand by Liara.
Ashley turned to the group, "we have a new mission today."
"About time," said Wrex loud enough for the group to hear.
Ashley ignored Wrex and went on, "Admiral Hackett just contacted me about Dr. Brynn Cole's team on Mars. They sent out a distress signal a short while ago. They said they were under attack before their transmission was cut."
"Oh no," gasped Liara. She knew Cole had gone there to try to get the data on the relays. Liara had been working with Cole and had pleaded with her to wait for the Normandy to join her before she left. Cole had told her she had Jacob Taylor and some marines to provide security.
Ashley continued, "This is an old underground Cerberus base. Our mission is to extract the science team, recover the Prothean data on relays, and secure the base. Any questions so far?"
"Do we know who we're fighting?" asked Garrus.
"Does it matter? I just want to shoot at something, anything," responded Wrex.
"We don't know who our enemy is. So we'll have to be ready for anything. And Wrex, you might have to wait a little longer. On the initial drop, I will be taking Tali, Liara, and Miranda."
There was a chorus of mumbling. They would never do this to Shepard, thought Ashley.
"Captain, don't you think it would be good for one of us to come along?" asked Vega as he gestured with both hands to Garrus on the right and Wrex on the left.
"Do you want to clarify that?" Ashley glared at Vega. Shepard was standing behind Ashley and shook his head to signal Vega not to go on.
Vega obviously did not see Shepard's gesture and responded, "what I mean is you have an all girls team, and I was thinking one of us should go and-"
"And protect us?" said Ashley raising her voice.
"Yeah Loca, something like that."
"Lieutenant Vega, besides making chauvinistic remarks, are you familiar with Cerberus security protocols, know how to hack into a complex VI system, or can search through volumes of Prothean data?" shot back Ashley.
"No, but-"
"I chose the team members based on their areas of expertise for this mission. You, Garrus, and Wrex will be on standby as the backup team."
Garrus, trying to defuse the situation, responded, "We'll be here. You can count us."
"Good," said Ashley calming down a bit now. "Everyone dismissed."
Ashley went back to the cabin to change into her armor.
Shepard followed her in, "Ash, are you okay?"
Ashley started to take off her uniform, "yeah, I'm fine."
"You were a little hard on Vega back there," said Shepard.
Ashley started to put on her blue armor, "it's just that, he's...it's not him. It's this whole captain thing. All my life I've had to work harder than everyone else around me because of my family name. And now, after saving the galaxy, and finally given command, I am still having to prove myself."
Shepard walked over and helped her adjust the armor, "Ash, no one is doubting you. You've earned the right to be where you are. You just need to be yourself, and let the crew get to know you. Once they know the true you, like I know you, they will follow you anywhere...even to hell itself."
Ashley looked at Shepard and replied in a soft voice, "Thanks, Skipper. This is why I love you."