Chapter 21: Normandy Reunion
With Edi back, Shepard decided to throw one last party before going back to work. This time, though, the party was aboard the storied vessel, the SSV Normandy SR-2. The guest list was small; Shepard's squad mates and some crew from the three major conflicts that had made the Normandy and Shepard so famous. Not all could be there, of course; Wrex and Samara were in Krogan and Asari space, and Pressley, Kelly Chambers, Legion, Mordin and Thane were dead.
In addition, Shepard brought his two children, while Liara brought Shiala, Alyna, and Athena, and Jacob and Bryn brought Roger. Shepard also made sure to include Captain Riley. With everyone from the Ilos/Battle of the Citadel missions, the Collector mission, and the Reaper war present, it was a very special, very poignant moment.
The mess hall was set up and decorated for the occasion, and Shepard had finally managed to track down Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardner, who was happy to be back aboard the Normandy. Joker, Ken and Gabby, along with Engineer Adams, Samantha Traynor, and Steve Cortez rounded out the group. But it was Shepard's squad mates from all three missions assembled in one room that made the occasion so special.
Garrus and Tali had been with the Normandy on all three missions, Ashley, and Liara had flown two of the three missions, with Liara joining the Normandy briefly to take down the old Shadow Broker, while Miranda, Jacob, Jack, Kasumi, Grunt, and Zaeed had joined the Normandy on the Collector mission, and Vega and the android Edi had come aboard during the Reaper War. Mordin, Legion, Thane, and Pressley were all represented by small portraits.
It was Edi's recovery that had prompted the gathering, and with so much lost during the war, to have back a friend thought lost forever was a true cause for celebration. The main table was taken up by a huge, 'Welcome Back Edi!' cake, and a banner which read the same was hung on the back wall of the mess hall above it.
Much of the evening was spent in small groups, with people mingling and moving from group to group. Joker never left Edi's side the entire evening, and Samantha, Gabby, Bryn, Tali, Jane, and Alyna gravited to the couple, forming their own subset of the Normandy crew. As they talked shop and waxed technical, Captain Riley joined them, prompting Samantha, Joker, and Edi to stand up to salute, but Riley waved them off.
"Come on, we're all off duty and we're all just soldiers," she said. "Did I hear one of you say the words, 'quantum entanglement'?"
"That was Samantha," said Edi cheerfully.
"Come on, Captain," scoffed Joker, "you don't want to get into that stuff. Talk about boring us with tech."
"Call me Lee," Riley said. "And I love tech. Why would you think it boring?"
Samantha lit up at this. "That's right, Joker," she said. "I had forgotten that Captain Riley is an N-7 Engineer!"
"Yes," said Edi, "and according to my files, one of the best."
"I hope you don't mind if I join you," Riley said. "The conversation here is more to my tastes, and even though I've been the Normandy's XO, I don't have the legendary missions under my belt that the rest of them do." She wistfully looked over at the gathering of Shepard, Miranda, Garrus, Jack, Zaeed, and Liara. "That's a group in which I'll always be an outsider."
"You know, I flew all those missions too," objected Tali.
"And you'd blend right in with them," said Riley. "I've seen you do it. But I don't have that connection with them; only with Shepard, serving as XO."
"Not for much longer," said Joker. "With him becoming the new Human Councilor, the ship's yours, right?"
"God, I hope so," said Riley. "But they could just as easily put me elsewhere."
"They could, but they won't," said Tali. "Mind if I spoil something for you, Lee?"
"Sure," said Riley, now curious.
"Shepard's going to make the announcement tonight," declared Tali. "He said that he had put it all in place for you. Just pretend to be surprised when he makes the announcement."
"Deal," agreed Riley.
The group raised their glasses, with Jane and Alyna along for the ride, finding this group to be very much to their liking. "To Captain Riley, the most lovely engineer we've ever rescued from a Turian fuel depot," said Joker, toasting the Normandy's soon to be skipper.
"Tali," asked Edi, "I have a question for you; why did you need Miranda to revive me? As an AI technician, I would have thought that you would have the ability to do so on your own."
"Because you're so sophisticated that there were things that even I couldn't figure out," explained Tali. "And honestly, Miranda is incredibly brilliant; I've gained a new respect for her after this. But more importantly, Miranda is familiar with Cerberus programming, knew all of your passcodes, and knew how to deal with Cerberus' measures to keep an AI tech like me out. We really did need her."
"I'm thankful for you both, Tali," said Edi.
The party continued apace for another hour before Miranda held up a glass and gently rang it with her spoon to get everyone's attention as Shepard stood. The room quieted and all eyes were on Councilor Shepard.
"First of all, I'd like to take the opportunity to formally welcome Edi back to the Normandy," he declared. The room applauded loudly until Shepard held up a hand. "But this is more than just a welcome back," he announced.
At this, the lift door opened and Admiral's Hackett and Hannah Shepard joined the party. John raised an eyebrow when they walked in hand in hand. They joined him, Hackett shaking his hand. All of the enlisted and commissioned guests stood and saluted, Hackett quickly returning their salute.
"Councilor Shepard, the last time you and I shook hands on the deck of this ship, I asked you if you were ready to bring the might of the galaxy to bear against the Reapers. Today, we celebrate the return of a lost heroine from that conflict." He turned to Edi and summoned her to stand with him and the Councilor.
"Edi," said Shepard, "as a free willed AI, you are unique in all the galaxy. But while you may be a synthetic life form, you are very much one of us. To that end, I am honored to present you with this." Shepard handed her a framed certificate and a folder of papers. "You are now a citizen of the Systems Alliance, your personhood acknowledged and your rights as a person protected by Alliance law. No corporation, government department, or military entity can confiscate you for study or treat you in any way as being less than human. For you are that, and so much more."
Edi embraced Shepard tightly, moved to what would have been tears were she human. "Thank you, Shepard," she said, her artificial voice thick with emotion. "This means more to me than you can possibly know." Shepard kissed her on the cheek and hugged her.
"But that's not all," Shepard said enthusiastically.
"Edi," said Hackett, "As a citizen of the Systems Alliance, you have all the rights and privileges that any human has. This includes the right to enlist in the Alliance military. Do you wish to remain in command of Normandy's systems and cyber-warfare suites?"
Edi nodded in assent, saying, "Yes, Sir."
"Then in light of your past service," declared Admiral Hackett, "you are hereby promoted to the rank of flight lieutenant. You will now receive a regular salary and all of the benefits of an Alliance officer. Congratulations." With that, he pinned the lieutenants bars on her jump suit, the room applauding loudly again.
After a few moments, Hannah Shepard raised a hand and the room quieted again. This would be the first time that a Shepard other than John had addressed the crew of the Normandy.
"As you all know, Admiral John Shepard is now Councilor John Shepard," she said. "I would like to congratulate Captain Lee Riley; Congratulations Lee; the ship is yours." She handed Lee her orders and shook her hand. Riley put her hands to her mouth and emitted a gasp and a squeal of delight.
"Tali told you, didn't she?" asked John.
"How'd you know?"
"Because I've seen you get good news before, and that's not how you normally react."
"Sorry, Shepard," said Tali.
"So who will my XO be?" asked Riley.
"That brings us to the next order of business," said Admiral Hackett. "Major Esteban Cortez, come here."
Cortez looked around, as though it must be some other Esteban Cortez.
"Steve, that's you," said Shepard.
"Yes Sir!" Steve walked over to Admiral Hackett who presented him with the commander's insignia.
"Commander Steve Cortez, here are your orders. You are now the executive officer of the SSV Normandy SR-2. You've served with distinction and your record reflects it," declared Hackett. "Congratulations; you've more than earned it."
Cortez saluted and said, "Thank you, Sir." He was utterly flabbergasted.
"Now that's genuine surprise," Shepard said, elbowing Riley.
"And that makes room for you, Lieutenant Commander Moreau," said Admiral Hackett. "You'll be back at the helm of the Normandy, and Edi will be beside you, as she was when you flew her last. Lieutenant Kariana will be your copilot; she's looking forward to working with you both."
"Thank you, Sir!" Joker shook Admiral Hackett's hand and then turned to Edi. "Edi, now that you're a legal person, I need to ask you something."
"What is it, Jeff?" she asked.
"Edi," he said, producing a ring and dropping to one knee, "will you marry me?"
"Yes, Jeff," she said, smiling broadly.
"Oh, thank God," he said, gently sliding the ring onto her finger, and relieved that the moment in front of the crew had gone as he had hoped. "Now, can you help me up?"
"My pleasure, Jeff," she said warmly, helping him up. She then dipped him and kissed him passionately, which brought the room to thunderous applause. Edi looked around, clearly surprised by the strong support and acceptance by everyone. After her surprise wore off, she smiled, pleased to have that happy ending that humans wrote so much about in literature.
#
In the days that followed, the Destiny Ascension and a Turian cruiser came through the Horsehead Nebula relay and then made their way to the Sol System. It turned out that the Asari, who were much closer to the Serpent Nebula than Humanity was, had sent their own deep space vessel to the location of the old Citadel and fixed the relay. Once this had been done, the Turians, who had fixed their own relay, sent a ship to investigate.
Now, the new Asari and Turian councilors were able to join the new Citadel Council. Councilor Linron was ecstatic at the news, glad to have what she hoped might be allies to offset Shepard. While she found him much more likeable than she had originally expected, they still saw some matters, particularly those regarding the Krogan, very, very differently.
The new Asari councilor was Irissa. Unlike Tevos, she was harder, colder, and less flexible. The new Turian councilor, Quentius, on the other hand, was far more amiable than either the new Asari councilor or his own predecessor, Sparatus, who had often been at odds with Shepard. Linron was a bit worried, as Quentius took to Shepard almost immediately, and Irissa seemed adversarial to Linron just as quickly. Amazingly, she found that her one real friend on the council was of all people, Shepard.
When they were not discussing the Krogan, it seemed that she and Shepard had a lot in common. She wondered how much different things might have been if she had been more cooperative with him during the war. Regardless, he seemed determined to be a team player. It did not take long for the amiable Quentius to develop a good working relationship with her, and soon, even Irissa settled into her role and found her place among the four.
The first order of business was the Citadel itself. Linron was adamant that it be moved to the Serpent Nebula. While Irissa was inclined to agree, she pointed out that the relay system made the Citadel's actual location irrelevant. Quentius was quick to point out that the new Citadel was built with resources and labor provided almost entirely by Earth and humanity. Linron feared that Shepard would seize the opportunity to press for keeping the Citadel in the Sol System, but he surprised them all.
"The Citadel should be in a neutral system," Shepard declared. "And barring some kind of black hole having appeared in the old location, there's no reason not to return the Citadel to its original location."
"Shepard," exclaimed Quentius, "your people want it to remain in the Sol System! Are you certain you want to see it moved?"
"Not all our people," Shepard qualified. "Only those who are too shortsighted to understand why that would be a problem. One of the things that always bothered me about the old Citadel is that we never earned it; we just found it, assumed it was Prothean, and began settling it and using it. This time, it was built by us. Not just humanity; though we provided the bulk of the manpower and some raw materials, labor and design was very much a multi species effort; many Asari, Krogan, Quarian, Salarian, and Turian people were stranded in the Sol System. Doubtless you've seen the vibrant communities they have established. And much of the material was also taken from the remnants of the many ships that were destroyed and of the old Citadel.
"And the new Citadel is not finished; this is something that is publicly known but seemingly ignored. Once it's relocated, each of the member races will contribute something of their own to it, something uniquely 'them.' This time, we build the Citadel; we build galactic community without the unseen hand of the Reapers directing our evolution."
Commander Shepard's words shocked his three colleagues. Humanity's time on the Council had begun under the respected, but politically incapable Councilor Anderson, and then continued under the very politically astute, aggressive and manipulative Councilor Udina. Both of them were concerned with advancing and protecting human interests. Shepard was like neither of them; he had far more political savvy than Anderson had, and while he sought to represent and safeguard Humanity, he also sought to do so as part of the galactic community, and sought to safeguard the rights of other species.
"Well said, Councilor," gasped Linron, almost unbelieving of what she was hearing.
"Indeed," said Irissa. "I was unsure about your selection, Shepard, but I see now why your people placed you in this position."
"This is wonderful," said Quentius. "I had expected a much more partisan council, but if this first meeting is any indication of things to come, then I believe a new golden age is upon us!"
"I agree," said Shepard. "But there is one matter that needs addressing. As you know, the Krogan relay is being repaired as we speak, and their com buoy is active. Within a month, the Krogan will send an ambassador; an ambassador whom they hope to see become the first Krogan councilor. Given the massive effort they put in during the war, fighting on the ground on member race's worlds, they have a strong case."
Linron winced at the thought of a Krogan councilor, though she was not surprised that Shepard broached the subject.
"What are your thoughts, Shepard?" asked Quentius before Linron or Irissa could comment.
"Hard to say," Shepard said. "They've certainly earned it, but so did the Quarians, and they're just happy to have an embassy. Also, the Krogan are demilitarized, so while they're well suited to contribute militarily, they have no ships. Part of being a member of the council is a species' ability to render aid to other Council worlds. And while firmly believe that the Krogan are deserving of a seat, particularly in light of their recent efforts, I don't believe that they are in a position to meet those demands. Not yet, at least."
"I believe that inviting them to open an embassy is more than generous," offered Quentius. "And as for a Council seat, perhaps there is an intermediate step."
"What are you thinking?" asked Irissa warily.
"Admission to the Spectres," said Quentius. "That is often a first step to a species taking a full seat on the Council; it was for Humanity. In the meantime, allowances for them to produce limited military vessels should be granted, and perhaps Krogan production of commercial vessels should also be encouraged."
It was Linron who shocked the Council next. "Shepard, Quentius, what you're both suggesting is … quite logical. I would vote in favor of a proposal along those lines."
"As would I," said Irissa revervedly.
"I move that we put together some proposals along these lines," said Shepard, "and then get a feel for the Krogan ambassador and take it from there."
All agreed, and soon, the new Citadel Council was working productively and cooperatively in an unprecedented way. The Krogan ambassador did arrive, and all were thrilled to see that Urdnot Bakara was the chosen representative. She found the proposal drafted by Shepard and Quentius to be more than fair and vowed a new era of Krogan participation in galactic affairs.
It was agreed to retain the Spectres now that the galactic community was coming together, and the Council was grateful to have a former Spectre among its ranks. Shepard drafted numerous proposals to how the Spectres should be regulated, so as to avoid a repeat of Saren and Tela Vasir. It seemed that at last, the galactic community was truly a community.
#
The school year was nearly over, and Zack's middle school years were now two thirds of the way over. Always a quiet boy, he had not become overly social in school. While he did not have a large social group, neither was he plagued by bullies. With less than a month of school left, he found himself joined at the lunch table by an unlikely pair; a Turian girl named Tacita and a Drell boy named Vandro. He knew them from class, but aside from greetings and some in class interaction, they had never spoken. Perhaps they would become closer over the summer and in the eighth grade next school year.
"You're Zack Hudson, aren't you?" asked Tacita.
"Yes," he said. "And you're Tacita and Vandro."
"Yes," replied Vandro, extending a hand. Zack shook Vandro's hand, unsure of where the conversation was going.
"I saw you in the Armax Arena over the holidays with Councilor Shepard," Tacita said. "You fight well. But we were wondering how you know Shepard."
"Can I ask you a question and get an honest answer?" Zack asked them.
"Sure," said Tacita without hesitation.
"If you hadn't seen me with Shepard, would either of you even be speaking to me right now?"
"Yes," replied Tacita, again without hesitation.
"Probably not," replied Vandro. "Nothing personal, but you're kind of like us; nobody really notices us in school. It's good in that we don't get bullied, but we don't make many friends either."
"Fair enough," said Zack. "The reason I was with Shepard is because he's my dad."
"Get out of here! No way," exclaimed Vandro, gently punching him in the shoulder. "You're way too old to be Shepard's son."
But Zack just laughed. "No, seriously; he's my dad. My father died in the war, and I grew up on Callisto in the Jovian colonies. Miranda Lawson was my teacher. When she married Shepard, they adopted me."
"You asked us for an honest answer and then make up a story like that?" Vandro shook his head in frustration.
"And that," said Zack, "is why I don't advertise it."
Tacita shook her head at the Drell and said, "I don't think he's lying. I saw them at the Armax Arena several times together. I also heard that he's been there with Miranda Shepard. And Shepard did adopt a son and a daughter recently."
"Yup," said Zack, glad to have an ally, but unsure how much he really wanted to say just yet. After all, why make connections now when he was going to the Academy next year? But then, he had an idea.
"Look, if you're really that interested, Vandro, why don't you guys come by our apartment after school? We've got a killer holo-vid gaming system and plenty of food. I'm sure my folks won't mind."
"You mean it?" Tacita lit up at the idea.
Vandro nodded. "Sure," he said.
#
Miranda and John were at home enjoying the afternoon on their balcony, sipping gourmet coffee. Though they were on a space station, their view of the commercial district was panoramic and always beautiful. A bouquet of roses, brought home to Miranda by John in honor of their one year anniversary, scented the air.
As they enjoyed their afternoon together, basking in the joy of a year of marriage and waiting for the kids to come home, they heard the door open. They were expecting Zack and Jane, but heard too many voices for it to be just the two of them. It did not take long for Zack and Jane to find them on the balcony, two friends from school; a Turian and a Drell, with them.
"Hey, Zack, Jane," said John, standing.
"Wow," exclaimed the Drell, "you really are Shepard's son!"
"And Miranda's," added Jane as she hugged her mom.
"Dad, this is Tacita and Vandro," said Zack, introducing his friends.
"Pleased to meet you," John said, shaking their hands. Miranda rose and did likewise.
"It's an honor, sir, ma'am," said Tacita.
"A great honor," agreed Vandro, embarrassed that he had ever doubted Zack.
"Very pleased to meet you both," said Miranda. "So, what are you kids up to? And would you like to stay for dinner?"
"We're playing that new Mass Effect game on the holo-vid game console," said Zack. "They've even added a playable Commander Shepard! But you need 100,000 points to unlock it."
"Oh yeah," laughed Shepard. "I seem to recall something coming my way about that. I get a royalty on it. Hah; more money I don't need."
"We can stay for dinner?" Tacita was excited, and when Miranda nodded, she immediately called her parents to ask them if it was alright. Vandro did the same. When they both got an affirmative, they high fived each other and ran off with Zack and Jane to fire up the game.
"Well, it seems our son has finally started to make friends in school," observed Miranda.
"Yeah, and with less than a month of school to go," noted John. "Better late than never, though."
"Indeed, and … what's this?" Miranda noticed that an envelope had been placed on her chair during their chat with the kids.
"A little something I knew you'd want," he said. "I'd have given it to you earlier, but I wanted to spread the surprises out through the day."
She opened it and saw two tickets for a cruise to Illium. She looked at him as seductively as she could, saying, "Oh, John, you remembered!" She slid her arms around him and kissed him. "Illium! Oh, how I've missed that place!"
"I've already made arrangements," John informed. "Oriana said she'd stay and watch the kids, and my mother and her new beau, Admiral Hackett, have also volunteered to make appearances. Two weeks, just you and me. And all the trouble we can get into on the 'anything goes, anything for sale' Asari colony."
"Mmmm, sounds like a fitting end to our first year as husband and wife," Miranda purred, snuggling closer to him.
"With Zack going to the Academy in two years, we'll only have Jane at home," John observed. "And she has indicated a desire to go to the Academy too. And with me no longer in the Navy, we'll have a lot of time together. The Citadel will be in the Serpent Nebula, so weekend trips to places like Illium should be well within reach for us in the future."
"I'd like that," agreed Miranda. "I must say that it's nice to finally reap the benefits of the peace we've fought so hard to achieve. We did the work; now we can revel in it … and in each other."
They shared a passionate kiss, finally breaking when the door chimed again. The walked hand in hand to the door and checked the screen, seeing a girl about Zack's age. She was plain and wore glasses, an unusual item in this day and age. Her hair was a long, straight, mousy brown and she was very thin. She looked very much like a stereotypical nerd from the vids.
"Probably a friend of Zack's," said John.
"And a girl his age," Miranda noted cheerfully.
John opened the door and looked down on the slight, five foot-four inch girl. She shrank back a bit when confronted by the powerful former Spectre and the tall, voluptuous Miranda.
"Can I help you?"
"Um … I'm Tara Britt," she said by way of introduction, abruptly extending her hand as though she were afraid she might miss this important social cue. Shepard shook her hand firmly, but not too tightly. Miranda did likewise. Then Tara's eyes widened and she went a bit pale.
"Oh … my God! I just shook hands with Commander Shepard!"
"Admiral retired and Councilor Shepard now," corrected Miranda politely. "He hasn't been a Commander in years."
"I'm so sorry …" Tara began, but Shepard waved his hand and smiled.
"It's alright," he said. "Commander Shepard was the highlight of my career. Good to meet you, Tara. And this is my wife, Miranda. Come on in." They stepped aside so as to allow her to enter. She timidly crossed the threshold, apparently unaware that Shepard was Zack's father.
"Dad, Dad," called Zack before they could say more, "she's with us! We sent her an invite to join us for the game. Alyna should be coming along too; she said Shiala would bring her."
"Well, by all means, Tara, please come in," John said, chuckling.
Zack met Tara and the two stood there momentarily looking into each other's eyes. Tara blushed and the moment passed, but it was cute.
"Come on," Zack said. "We're all in the game room."
As they ran off, she called back, "Good to meet you, sir, ma'am!" Then they heard her say to Zack, "I didn't know Commander Shepard was your dad! Why didn't you tell me?"
They did not have an opportunity to close the door when Shiala arrived with Alyna. Alyna bid her mom goodbye, ran up and hugged John and Miranda, and then ran off to the game room.
"Staying for dinner?" asked Miranda.
"Thank you, but no," said Shiala. "Liara and I decided to take advantage of you hosting the kids and, how did she put it? Ah; go to that sushi bar before your husband blows it up."
"Very funny," he said rolling his eyes.
"You two have fun, Shiala," said Miranda.
Shiala left, leaving Shepard and Miranda alone again.
"We have about three hours before they'll be ravenous," said Miranda. "I say we call in a pizza … or five … and skip cooking. That leaves us three hours all to ourselves."
Shepard smiled and then scooped her up and carried her to their bedroom. With the rewards of peacetime all around him, and a Citadel Council that was focused on the needs of the galactic community, he felt like he had finally won the battle. He knew that Zack and Jane would all too soon grow up and go their own way. While he expected a long, happy life with Miranda, his years as a soldier had taught him how ephemeral life could be. Miranda was here, in his arms now. Savor the moment, he thought as he looked at the beautiful woman he held in his arms.
#
Shepard and Miranda lived happily, but not boringly ever after. And this is hardly the end of their story!