I demolish my bridges behind me ... then there is no choice but to move forward — Fridtjof Nansen
• SSV HONG KONG II, DECK TWO · PORT SIDE, XO QUARTERS · 2245 •
◦ L5 LAGRANGIAN POINT of THEMIS, ARCTURUS STREAM ◦
Staff Commander Yuán Xiùlán, off-duty since 2210, had just returned from taking her evening shower. Most of the female crew members preferred bathing in the morning, but Xiùlán seemed to sleep better after she'd washed the day's accumulation of sweat and stress down the drain; she also preferred to bathe alone. Removing her full-length silk robe, she inspected her nude body in the deck-to-overhead mirror just inside her sleeping compartment. After spending so many weeks in hospital and rehab, Xiùlán was neither shy nor embarrassed about her body. It just seemed the appearance of her reconstructed left thigh always became the center of attention for anyone sharing the compartment; even crew members that had seen her nude many times appeared unable to avert their attention from the massive number of scars on her leg and butt.
After studying her leg for a few moments, she had to admit to herself the scars were not as noticeable as when she'd first left hospital for rehab. These days, truth be known, her multiple tattoos, accumulated during rehab and afterwards, seemed to attract the most attention. The small Chinese characters between her breasts and just over her pubic bone always seemed to be fair game as unwanted conversation starters. The ink in those locations was there for very personal reasons, and she had never learned how to deflect the questions from those bold enough to verbalize their curiosity.
She sighed as she slipped into a knee length silk night shirt and crawled into her bed. Samantha Traynor knew the meaning of each character; each of them had one of two complementary Chinese phrases. Sam's were in a horizontal line low on her back, just above her Pìgu lièfèng. [屁股裂縫 – ass crack] Xiùlán believed in her heart that one day she'd be able to place her nude body against Sammy's back once again, joining the characters together to form both phrases. Sam, I know you're still out there somewhere, Xiùlán thought to herself. You would not have left me alone here, not after all we've been through together. As Xiùlán drifted off, her mind wandered unbidden to that time in the abyss …
– AUGUST 2181 CE · CARTAGENA STATION, NEMEAN ABYSS –
A small freighter with passenger quarters, the MSV Celestial Challenger docked at one of three upper entrances to Cartagena Station. In addition to a very tall human female, several turians, a salarian and a krogan exited the ship as soon as docking clamps and seals were secure. After checking through a rudimentary customs inspection, the human pulled the hood of her knee length, black leather duster over her head, gathered her packs and strode briskly to the closest bar.
Surreptitiously looking around the dark confines as she entered The Whiskey Blue Alehouse, she mentally noted exits—there were three others in addition to the main door—and the number and species of the patrons—a salarian, two turians and a lone asari matriarch—amongst all the batarians seated at the several small tables scattered around the room. No one even spared her a glance as she flitted like a shadow in the dimly lit room; checking sightlines as she moved, she dropped her packs in an adjacent chair and settled with her back to the wall at a corner table, close by one of the rear exits, and waited.
A bored looking asari sauntered over and asked if she wanted a drink. "Scotch and soda," she responded, using the fingertip of her left hand to slide two credit chits across the table. The asari picked up the chits and walked off, returning in a few minutes with a tumbler full of bubbly amber liquid. "Not many humans come through here these days," she said in a conversational tone as she set the glass in the center of the table. "Batarians have scared 'em all off, I guess."
The woman picked the glass up with a black gloved hand, tentatively sipped and set the glass on the table.
Seeing that the human wasn't interested in casual conversation, she sauntered around the room to check on the other customers before ending up leaning on the bar, talking to the turian bartender.
The human female surreptitiously inspected everyone scattered around at the various tables. She continued to sip her drink, mentally noting the lack of alcoholic kick. Quickly polishing it off, she set the tumbler upside down in the middle of the table and motioned to the waitress. As she came up to the table, the human growled, "I want a refill, and this time don't water down the fucking scotch."
The asari was immediately on the defensive. "Ma'am, I can assure you …"
The woman held the empty glass up between thumb and two fingers as she spoke in a voice full of dark menace, "Don't try to bullshit me. You're watering down the booze so you can increase your percentage." The woman's head tilted up ever so slightly. "Now get your sweet little blue ass back to that bar and get me a proper drink."
The asari quickly left and speedily brought a second full glass and set it in the center of the table.
After taking a sip, the human nodded acceptance before turning slightly towards the waitress and saying, "So, not many humans here? I'm looking for one human in particular. Big sonovabitch, slanted, greenish-gray eyes, dark hair, knife scar forehead to ear. Seen anyone like that?"
Wiping the table with a towel, she answered, "Kind of hard to miss, that one. Came through couple of hours ago off the MSV Platinum Lance, small freight hauler. Stopped in for a drink before moving on."
"Any idea which way … same level? … down? … up?"
"Actually said he was looking to meet someone." Pausing to think, she continued, "I believe he was heading to one of the freight transfer storage areas." Answering the unvoiced question, she continued with, "Sub-level three, section fourteen."
The gloved hand set another credit chit on the table before picking up the tumbler. She took another sip and said, "Thanks."
The asari picked up the credit chit and walked back towards the bar. The black-clad woman studied her from under her hood as the asari stopped to talk to the bartender; he in turn glanced in the human's direction before pushing back from the bar and disappearing behind the forward liquor storage cabinets. The asari glanced nervously at the entrance, then back in her direction before moving casually to the other end of the bar. Downing the rest of her drink, the hooded figure placed her upper teeth on her lower lip as she sucked air through them. Warning enough, she reasoned to herself.
In a matter of minutes, a batarian and a turian ambled through the main entrance, each dressed in the uniform of the Cartagena Patrol … C-Pat in local parlance … and walked up to the bar. After speaking to the bartender for a few moments, they split up and began an approach to the corner table from either side.
With hands on the M-3 Predators clipped to their armor hardpoints, they stopped opposite each other at the table's edge, finding only an empty glass upside down in the center of the table. Yuán Xiùlán had already left through a rear exit …
• NORMANDY, DECK THREE · PORT SIDE CREW LOUNGE, DAY AFTER THE MATCH · 1325 •
Samantha Traynor poked her head through the door and looked around. Spotting Garrus and Tali, she said, "I'm looking for Lieutenant Vega. Know where he is?"
Garrus looked at her and thought, Why, so you can kick his ass again? as he replied, "I expect he's still in the crew's mess area eating a late lunch."
"Thanks, Garrus." She started to leave, but couldn't resist turning back towards the turian and offering an observation. "You know, your mandibles twitch when you're thinking shit you're not going to say, like, oh, I don't know, so you can kick his ass again? comes to mind." She smiled and winked, then turned and left before Garrus could respond or regain control of his lower jaw to close it. Finally regaining his powers of speech, he asked, "How the hell did she know what I was thinking, Tali?"
"I don't know, Garrus. She is one scary human," Tali responded. "Earth history is full of references to women's intuition … maybe that's how she knew what was on your mind without you saying it. I'm beginning to think having her work with Liara T'Soni may not be such a good idea. Maybe because she is human?"
"You know, I'm beginning to think the Systems Alliance trained her just a little too well."
• DECK THREE · CREW'S MESS •
Traynor walked around the starboard side of the elevator supports into the mess area; she found James sitting in the same chair she herself had occupied at breakfast yesterday. Taking the chair at the end, she quickly sat down before he could object. "So, looks as if the tea worked," she observed.
James looked up at her glumly. "Yep. Did the trick." After a few moments, he added, "Thanks."
"Something on your mind, Lieutenant?"
James thought for a few moments, then pointed his fork at her and answered with the obvious, "I got my ass kicked by a girl."
"Which girl, Lieutenant? I seem to recall you having a dance with, how did you refer to her … Lola? … right after we left the Sol system for the Citadel." She added, almost to herself, "Damn, now that I've said that out loud, seems like forever since that day!" She continued with, "Anyway, are you referring to Commander Shepard, or me? I haven't been called a girl since before college … in some strange, perverse kind of way, that's actually kind of flattering."
"You're making fun of me, Specialist, and I can't do anything physically to stop you. Please go away. It's been a rough two days," James complained.
"I most certainly am not making fun of you, Lieutenant. If it'll make you feel better, I do apologize for hurting your pride yesterday morning, but what did you expect? I have feelings, too. You were looking at me like I was a side of meat … a heifer … ready for the taking. Is that how all women appear to you, Lieutenant?" Sam continued, "You expected your brawn would be all you needed to teach me a lesson, and I didn't allow you to do so. I was trained as a covert agent, James. I've killed batarians, vorcha, humans, and a couple of turians. Even kicked a krogan's ass for him, all with my bare hands. You're damn near as big as a krogan, and a helluva lot faster."
"That supposed to make me feel better? Not working, Specialist." James finished his lunch and started to get up.
"I'm not here to make you feel bad, Lieutenant. You still have your life. No one on this ship is laughing at you. Shepard and Alenko were going to demote you, did you know that?"
James slowly retook his seat. "I did. Question is, how did you know?"
"I spoke with them, noon yesterday." Traynor answered quietly. "They were discussing your attitude and your future … talking about demoting you. They didn't want my opinion, so I gave it to them anyway. I asked them to not demote you. I don't want to see you lose that chance to make N7, James. Neither does Commander Shepard. I think you'll do super in N7." Samantha paused for a few moments, choosing her words carefully. "You are not a stupid person James, but you absolutely have got to lose your juvenile attitude regarding women before you go into N7 training. The instructors won't put up with that 'wink and a nudge' attitude you have. A lot of the instructors in that program are women, not unlike Commander Shepard."
James scrubbed his face with his hands as he thought about Traynor's words. "I didn't realize you talked to Alenko and Shepard … they didn't tell me. All they said was they were going to honor the agreement we discussed yesterday morning in the hanger."
"I'm not upset with you, Lieutenant. Everything that happened in the hanger yesterday is water under the bridge. All we can do is move forward from here." Samantha placed her hand on Vega's arm. "I don't want to see you fail."
James looked at Samantha's hand, then her face. "Thanks, Samantha. I appreciate you talking to the commander on my behalf. I know I'm my own worst enemy at times … hell, most of the time. And hey, thanks for the tip about using tea to remove the powder left by your gloves. Worked like a charm."
"I'm glad," Traynor said as she got up to leave. "Better than waiting for it to wear off, right? We'll talk later."
• DECK THREE, LIARA'S QUARTERS · 1738 •
Žiuk'Durmah had information for THE SHEPARD. It sent a coded text to the omnitool belonging to Traynor-Specialist.
TO: TRAYNOR-SPECIALIST;
FROM: ŽIUK'DURMAH;
SUBJECT: MESSAGE FOR SHEPARD-NORMANDY;
›FIRST ONE/HARBINGER HAS ARRIVED IN ARCTURUS STREAM TO SPEAK WITH HACKETT-FLEET ADMIRAL. THIS REPOSITORY CAN FACILITATE ZERO TIME LAG COMMUNICATIONS WITH HACKETT-FLEET ADMIRAL, USING NORMANDY-FRIGATE MODIFIED QEC IN TANDEM WITH COMMUNICATION ARRAY OF THIS REPOSITORY; IT WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR SHEPARD-NORMANDY TO BE SEEN BY/TALK TO HACKETT-FLEET ADMIRAL. COMMUNICATIONS TO COMMENCE AT 1930‹
END MESSAGE
Sam checked the time readout on the closest chronometer … 1740. Not much time. "Liara, I have to inform the major and the commander of what's coming, then I need to change into my blues."
Liara looked up from her terminal. "Harbinger?" she asked.
"Afraid so. Alenko will need me to perform a continuous phase-shift correction in the QEC, same as last time. Harbinger is even further away now … in Arcturus Stream. I'll see you later."
"Okay. Perhaps I'll go to dinner, then see Doctor Chakwas … try to obtain an official discharge so I can really get back to work."
"Sounds good. I will be conveniently unavailable to confirm with an honest expression that you've just been sitting around these past couple of days," came the snarky reply.
"Sam," Liara pouted. "You know I have been doing nothing more than reading data feeds. That's not work."
"… said the asari information broker with …" at this point Sam stepped behind Liara's chair and began massaging her shoulders and neck, being especially diligent about digging her thumbs into the soft tissue on either side of her spine, "muscles all knotted up from tension."
Liara groaned from the combination of pain and pleasure Sam was creating with those talented … and strong, hands and fingers. "By the Goddess! I don't know and … mmmpppffffhh … I don't … eeeaaahhhh … care where you learned to inflict this … ouch! Damn! aaahhh … sort of pleasurable pain, but you are … mmmppfahhh … very good!"
Sam finished with a flourish that elicited a final ooohhh-ouch!. "Glad I'm appreciated, Ma'am," Sam said with a devilish grin. "Now that you're a melted blue puddle of relaxation in that chair, good luck with the doctor." Sam caught the data pad sent flying at her by the grinning asari. "See you in a few."
• SSV ORIZABA · FLEET ADMIRAL STEVEN HACKETT'S QUARTERS •
◦ L5 LAGRANGIAN POINT of THEMIS, ARCTURUS STREAM ◦
Admiral Hackett leaned back in his chair, placed his feet up on his desk and took a sip from the mug full of freshly brewed tea. Things were quiet … a bit too quiet for Hackett, old war horse that he was. The Orizaba was trapped—along with every other ship that had made the last trip through the Charon/Arcturus relays—in this system until the … Repositories, their preferred description for themselves, finished repairs to the relay in this system and the destination relays. He hoped it would be Charon. If not Charon, then the Exodus Cluster would be the only other one available. From there, they could go to a number of systems, providing the receiving relays were functioning. A chime and flashing intercom alert on the desktop terminal interrupted his chain of thought. Dammit. Never can finish an entire cup of tea while it's fresh and hot. He set his feet back on the floor as he sat upright in his chair to answer the summons. "Hackett. Talk to me, Captain."
"Admiral, Harbinger has just arrived in system. I thought Esiz'Qür was huge … first time I've seen this one at such close range. It appears to be conferring with Esiz'Qür at the relay. Esiz'Qür sent a message to my communications officer via omnitool. Harbinger wants to address you, along with the captain and XO of the Hong Kong II, using the QEC's of the Orizaba and the Hong Kong. No idea what can be that important, but it requests the channel be opened at precisely 1930."
Hackett checked the time – 1750. "Captain, contact Bill Cody on the Hong Kong; give him the info, and answer any questions you can, then ask him to move his ship away from the Orizaba as far as practicable. If we can look out a viewport and see each other, I think we're too close. Reaper communications ability should be able to compensate for a few hundred kilometers distance. I'm still not sure I trust these new found … friends … to not rip us all to shreds."
"Aye aye, Admiral."
• NORMANDY DECK TWO, CONFERENCE ROOM · 1920 •
Major Kaidan Alenko had asked Garrus, Tali'Zorah and EDI to meet with Shepard and himself. Alenko had changed into 'blues', as had Samantha Traynor. Tali had, through trial and error, discovered how to modify Shepard's projected image, which now appeared in dress blues as well. They were going over the plan for the upcoming meeting one last time.
"Tali," Shepard addressed her friend. "Are you sure the projector isn't going to glitch again and leave me facing everyone dressed in my underwear, or less?"
"Absolutely. But …" Tali held up a small cylinder topped with a red-lit button. "I have a kill switch just in case. If your uniform flashes, you'll disappear from view before your clothes do."
"That's comforting," Shepard snarked in reply. "Telling the admiral I'm an organic intelligence in the Normandy's computer just may give him a heart attack. I'd hate to add insult to injury by giving him a stroke with a flash of skin. It would undoubtedly push him over the edge."
Garrus chuckled. "Shepard, you can be sure if your uniform comes off your projected image, the admiral will take a really long, lingering look before giving you a field promotion to captain."
This elicited a laugh from Alenko before a sharp look from Shepard caused him to stifle the laugh and assume a serious look. "Okay everyone," Alenko said. "Let's keep this as short as possible. I'll give the admiral a rundown of our actions since the Crucible fired. We have a complete report that Žiuk'Durmah will transmit as part of the sub-carrier in the signal. We do not reveal Shepard's existence until Hackett can digest the fact Normandy and her crew survived and we're on our way home."
EDI asked, "Is it necessary, or even required, that we provide the Admiral information on Shepard's existence?"
Alenko paused before continuing. "I have a feeling Harbinger will be telling him this anyway, but the appearance of Garrus, Tali and myself should convince him past any lingering doubts. Specialist Traynor will be monitoring the transmission quality as before. If you have anything to add Samantha, now's the time."
Sam had been engrossed in her own thoughts, and looked up at Alenko in surprise. "Sir, I … well, I need … that is to say, I'd really appreciate it if you could ask for some information."
"Go on, but be brief."
"I have been attempting to discover the whereabouts of an old friend, …" she paused, not sure if she should continue. " … a woman who worked with me before I joined Alliance R&D."
"Specialist, just tell us what you need," Shepard said in a friendly voice, causing Garrus to raise an eyebrow in surprise. "We'll do what we can."
"Yes Ma'am. Her name is Yuán Xiùlán. Based on her transfer records, I believe she may be assigned to the SSV Hong Kong … that is, the Hong Kong II. Last I heard she was an LC. Might be an SC by now." Sam finished in a quiet voice, "I would really love to know if she's still alive."
Alenko nodded at the specialist. "We'll ask Admiral Hackett, Samantha."
Shepard looked at each of them in turn. "I know these past few months have been difficult for all of you. I accept the blame for most of that, particularly during these past few weeks. I really appreciate what all of you have done for me … for this ship and its crew. Let's get started."
• SSV ORIZABA, WAR ROOM/QEC · 1930 •
◦ L5 LAGRANGIAN POINT of THEMIS, ARCTURUS STREAM ◦
Admiral Hackett entered the war room just as Harbinger's projection was materializing in the center projection well. He motioned for the tech to adjust the image size down in order to keep it from overflowing the display area. Once this was done, Hackett had the tech leave and lock the hatch behind her.
In the QEC compartment, a projection of Captain Cody and Commander Yuán materialized at the same time. They waited for the construct to address them.
HACKETT-FLEET ADMIRAL ON ORIZABA-DREADNAUGHT; CODY-CAPTAIN ON HONG KONG II-FRIGATE. THIS REPOSITORY IS … PLEASED … TO BE PERMITTED TO ADDRESS YOU.
Hackett responded, "Thank you for traveling all this way from the Sol System. First, please reduce the volume of your communications to us. It is setting off collision alarms all over the ship. Secondly, what information can you share regarding the status of repairs to the relays. And, there are some species in this system that are running low on provisions."
VOLUME: Done. Relay repair status: repairs to the Repository inbound/outbound relay, that which you know as the Citadel, have been completed; inbound/outbound relay will be relocated to the Widow System within ten standard days; damages were not as severe as originally believed; casualties on/in the wards were less than twenty percent; structural damages were not as serious as originally estimated.
Repairs to Charon are 89 percent complete. Element Zero core still needs to be inserted and initialized, after which containment rings can be reset and powered. Repairs to the relay in the Trebia system are deemed complete, only requiring testing to confirm that all operates as designed.
Supplies inside the structure of THIS Repository: Helium-3 fuel stores; Element Zero stores; Dextro-based organic food supplies; Levo-based organic food supplies. These will be made available to all. This Repository will set sealed containers outside for retrieval by Orizaba and Hong Kong personnel. Requests for anything that may be lacking will be considered and fulfilled as rapidly as possible.
Hackett was a bit taken aback by Harbinger's statements. It's a damned Reaper. Why is it so ready to help? he thought to himself. "Harbinger, your generous offer of supplies is appreciated. We will send retrievers out immediately. At what location should they approach you?"
A waypoint is being sent to your navigation systems, at which point it raised and spread its arms wide, as if preparing to fire its main weapons, which were not charged; a waypoint appeared on the projection, centered outside the juncture of the arms to the body.
Hackett keyed the ship's intercom for the CIC. "Officer of the Watch. This is Hackett. I am sending you a nav point; a location in front of Harbinger's current position. It is deploying supplies for our ships. Please send crews out to retrieve them. Harbinger will not bother you."
"Aye aye, Admiral," came the reply.
Captain Cody spoke up, 'looking' at the admiral. "Admiral Hackett, with your permission?"
"Don't stand on ceremony with me, Captain. You're in this as much as anyone."
"Thank you, sir." Cody replied. The projected image of Cody turned slightly, as if to look at the Reaper projection he was seeing on the Hong Kong II. "Harbinger. You were asked to bring news on the fate of the frigate, SSV Normandy. Were you able to discover if the ship, or its crew, survived the energy wave?"
Cody-Captain. Hackett-Admiral. All transmissions from this point forward are being encrypted. The cipher will be changed every second the transmission continues. Recordings made by your ship's VI's will be incapable of being viewed without a cipher key for each second of transmission. Standby …
After a half-minute of silence, Harbinger continued: Normandy-frigate with crew survived the firing of the Crucible. The vessel was caught in the Crucible generated energy wave. Its approach vector to Charon was unalterable; Normandy-frigate continued on its vector once the energy wave engulfed the vessel. This forced Normandy-frigate to the very edge of the galaxy, beyond what humans and turians refer to as Apien Crest and Aethon Cluster.
Harbinger added a portion of a galaxy map to war room displays of both vessels, showing the two systems and the outer arm with the location of the unknown planet on which the Normandy had been forced to land. Normandy-frigate and crew are currently enroute to the Trebia system in the Apien Crest. The ship will arrive in …
Between eighty to ninety-five years, Hackett thought glumly. Rough calculation shows they probably need to travel about 1.5 to 1.7 kilo parsecs. At Normandy's best speed, he thought sadly, I probably won't be alive to welcome them home.
… arrive in less than eight standard months, based on their current position and velocity, Harbinger finished, as it placed a triangle on the galaxy map showing the Normandy's current location, along with a line indicating its path and a four-line readout indicating its 'X-Y-Z' position and velocity. Harbinger increased the apparent magnification of that portion of the galaxy; the 'graphic' Normandy could now be seen moving along its path, its position changing, advancing with each second that passed. Hackett was stunned almost beyond words. "How is this possible, Harbinger. Normandy cannot possibly be traveling at that velocity." He struggled to compute in his head what it would take his data pad mere seconds. "It would require a mass effect core the size of … well, yours … for them to achieve that rate of speed.
Cody asked, "Did they find a dormant relay out there, one not damaged by the energy wave?"
All relays were damaged, including dormant relays known only to Repositories. Normandy-frigate did not find a relay. Normandy-frigate crew found a Repository, what you would call a 'Sovereign class' Reaper, as massive in size as Esiz'Qür. It is Žiuk'Durmah. Harbinger paused for several seconds, then continued. Command crew of Normandy-frigate has requested your total discretion concerning the information this Repository is about to disclose. There is to be no communications on this subject among the crew or from Orizaba-dreadnaught or Hong Kong II-frigate to any other vessel in this system.
"Agreed, Harbinger," Hackett replied.
"That goes for me as well," Cody added. "Please, tell us what you know."
Alenko-Major, ranking officer aboard Normandy-frigate, will tell you what you wish to know. Stand by the QEC compartment.
Harbinger's image in the center projection well dimmed. Hackett turned to the QEC projection pads in time to witness hundreds of millions of pixels swirling in the space vacated by the images of Cody and Yuán; the cloud rapidly coalesced into three distinct images. Hackett had seen many, many things in his years with the Alliance, but nothing he had seen could prepare him for this … images of three people he had feared dead, standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the rail on the QEC projection pad.
In a flanging, time-lagged voice, Major Kaidan Alenko said, "Good to see you, Admiral," as he executed a sharp salute. "I have two people here with me I am sure you will recognize: General Garrus Vakarian," at which Garrus executed a salute, "and Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy." Tali had chosen to appear without her mask and helmet. She saluted and said with a smile, "Admiral Hackett, it is an honor to meet you at last."
Hackett swallowed past the lump in his throat. He shakily returned their salutes. "Hong Kong II, you receiving this?"
Captain Cody answered, saying, "Yes Sir. Alenko? Vakarian? Admiral Zorah? It is my immense pleasure to meet you; an even greater pleasure to see you all alive and well. How is the rest of the Normandy's crew?"
Kaidan answered, "Believe me, the pleasure is all ours, Captain. We have been out of touch for a long time. And the crew is good."
Hackett had recovered a bit of his composure. "First, I have to say to Admiral Zorah, it is the first time I have ever seen a quarian without a mask or helmet. If I may be permitted, your appearance is quite striking, Ma'am. I thought your suit had to sealed all the time."
"It's just Tali to you, Admiral, or Tali'Zorah if you wish to be remain formal," she smiled. "I have discovered that a side effect of Shepard's solution is I do not get sick from environmental exposure, at least not on the Normandy. That may not be the case outside, so I will continue to be cautious, but for now, I am enjoying my new freedom."
"Major Alenko, please tell me what you and the Normandy have been doing for all these weeks. And how is it that you will arrive in the turian's home system in less than a year?"
Alenko spent the next thirty minutes, with occasional help from Garrus and Tali, filling the Admiral in on some of what had transpired in the intervening time the Normandy was thought to be lost. He finished by informing the two officers that Žiuk'Durmah was transmitting a full, written report using a sub-carrier of the communication channel. "This should be classified at the highest possible level, Admiral. You will understand our request once you have read it in its entirety." Kaidan added, "Captain Cody, there is only one copy being transmitted. I will leave it to the Admiral to decide if he wants to create a duplicate for you, but you and your XO are certainly welcome to read it."
Hackett was having a difficult time digesting everything the major had just told him, particularly regarding the Normandy being transported inside a Reaper. "No signs of indoctrination, Alenko?"
"None, sir. Of course, if I was indoctrinated, I would simply lie to you and say I'm not. You have to choose whether or not to believe my mind … the minds of the entire crew, are still our own," Alenko said. "I realize that is a tall order. I can only ask that you trust what we say is true. We are not being controlled. Žiuk'Durmah assures me that Shepard's solution removed the programming and the ability of the Repositories to perform indoctrination of any kind."
Hackett addressed Garrus, "Vakarian, is the resupply … ship, going to arrive in time for you and Admir … that is, Tali'Zorah? Sounds as if it will be a bit close."
Garrus flared his mandibles in an imitation of a smile. "I believe we will be fine, Admiral. Žiuk'Durmah and Iringù-Eßizkur are closing at a combined speed in excess of 569 trillion kilometers a day. We should rendezvous in plenty of time. I only hope the supplies will include some turian brandy. Turning his attention to Tali for a moment, he added, My own supply has all but disappeared."
Hackett addressed Harbinger. "How is it that no other ship captains have thought of hitching a ride … inside a … Reap, er, Repository?
Crew of Normandy-frigate desperate. No other option, considering limited life span of humans, turian, quarian. Asari would survive trip. Prothean might survive trip. Other ship captains are all afraid of indoctrination. Žiuk'Durmah told Normandy-frigate crew indoctrination is now impossible. No longer part of our programming. No longer capable of indoctrination. This Repository extends an offer to return frigates to Sol system. Can carry six or seven inside structure. Crew remains on their own vessels. Can also transport turian cruisers. Dreadnaughts are too large.
"Major Alenko, I get the feeling you are leaving out parts of your report, almost as if you're verbally redacting it."
"Admiral, there's someone else on the Normandy that needs to speak with you." At this point, the images of Tali and Garrus saluted, then vanished as they left the QEC on the Normandy. A new figure coalesced in front of him, standing apart from Alenko.
"Admiral Hackett, it is a pleasure," EDI said.
Hackett wasn't sure what he was seeing. "Alenko?"
"Admiral, this is EDI, formerly the ship's AI. You have the report on her … creation." Kaidan continued, "Briefly, a former Cerberus construct known as Eva Coré, disabled and captured on Mars at the start of the war. She injured me, put me in hospital for a time. The Normandy's AI, EDI, took the body over during Shepard's mission to recover the turian Primarch. EDI is now truly alive, thanks to the commander's action on the Citadel."
"Of course. I do remember the report of that incident. So, there's no VI on the ship?"
"That is correct." EDI continued with, "Admiral, you, Captain Cody and his XO are about to receive information that may prove to be a bit overwhelming. It is why we are requesting that you classify our report. Only the three of you can be read into this." Looking over her shoulder, she said, "Tali?"
Another image began to coalesce, appearing between EDI and Alenko. Hackett would have sunk to his knees if not for the rail in front of him. He continued to hang on for dear life as the figure in front of him saluted and said, "Admiral Hackett? I am happy to see you once again."
Hackett was looking at a ghost, an apparition, back from the dead. "Shepard? Is that … really … you're alive?" An image of the woman he could only think of as the daughter he never had was standing there, in her dress blues, no less! "My god, how is this possible? Alenko, if this is some sort of trick … some bit of sleight of hand, so help me …"
Shepard answered for Alenko, "Sorry to just spring this on you, Sir. I'm in the computer core on the Normandy. My physical body died, was consumed by the Crucible; this is something of which you are already aware, thanks to Esiz'Qür. I've been part of the Normandy since that day. My essence, my soul, for lack of a better description, rejoined the ship as it was engulfed by the energy from the Crucible."
"How is that even possible … Commander?" Hackett was stunned, but keeping an open mind about the most improbable things had always served him well in the past.
"We believe all the Cerberus installed tech inside my resurrected body is the reason I can stand in front of you today," she replied. "Most of it was Reaper tech, something the Illusive Man was never shy about stealing. Some on Earth believe in a concept known as 'dualism', the body and mind as separate entities. It's an interesting concept. Anyway, I'm still me, Admiral. My promised and my crew all believe I'm still alive. Harbinger can and will confirm it is really me. This projection is the best Žiuk'Durmah can do for me until a cloned body can be found or created. And the Normandy is equipped with an organic intelligence, me, at least for the foreseeable future."
THE SHEPARD stands before you, Hackett-Admiral, Cody-Captain. Her continued existence is of great importance to every Repository that survived the Harvest. This Repository would not be here if her continued existence was in question. Repositories all believe in her continued existence. Normandy-frigate would not be inside Žiuk'Durmah's structure en route to Apien Crest if there was any doubt about her existence. All Repositories are committed to developing a way for THE SHEPARD to once again live among her friends outside the server construct, to possibly enter our structures, so we may … learn from her.
Cody could be heard having a whispered conversation with someone. "Captain Cody, to whom are you speaking?" Hackett asked.
"Apologies Admiral. Conferring with my XO."
"Excuse me, Admiral. Captain Cody," Shepard interrupted. "I remember you. We met once, before Sovereign arrived."
"Shepard! Yes, well, that's a bit of a story, better told over shots in a bar! Can't imagine how meeting you slipped my mind. We have a lot of catching up to do."
"That we do!" Shepard looked around, then back. "Ah, by the way, my communications specialist is here, modifying the carrier modulation to account for the rapid changes in our relative positions. She requested some information from the Hong Kong II. What is the name of your XO?"
"Admiral?" Cody felt he should get permission to speak.
Hackett answered for the captain. "The XO on the Hong Kong II is Staff Commander Yuán Xiùlán. Is that important?"
Shepard and Alenko turned to look at Samantha, who was almost in tears. "Specialist?"
Traynor quickly entered some text in her omni tool and sent it to Alenko. He pulled up the text, read it and said, "SC Yuán. My comm specialist wants to know if Cartagena Station means anything to you?"
Captain Cody could be seen reaching over to someone out of visual range of the QEC, before turning back to look at Alenko's image. "Please inform Specialist Samantha Traynor my XO sends her regards. She is most pleased to learn the specialist escaped the Reaper attack on Vancouver and is alive and well on the Normandy."
Shepard looked over her shoulder at Tali and Traynor. "Tali, mind the carrier mod for a few moments. Samantha, come stand by me."
Cody was surprised to see the Normandy's comm specialist appear beside her commander. "Specialist Traynor, it is a distinct pleasure to meet you. I have heard a great deal about you from Yuán. She keeps a photo of the two of you on her desk."
"Captain?" Shepard asked, motioning towards his projection. "Could you return the favor?" Cody moved and reached out an arm, allowing his XO to stand beside him. Shepard was not surprised to see a beautiful young woman, her delicate features speaking to her Chinese ancestry. "Commander Yuán. A pleasure."
"Pleasure's all mine, Commander. You are a legend. May I humbly request to be included in any plans for a welcome home party once we're back in the Sol System?"
"It'd be my pleasure, Commander."
Turning slightly to face Traynor's projection on her own ship, Xiùlán coughed to clear her throat. "Sammy?" she cried. "Oh god, it's really you! I was going crazy not knowing if you made it off Earth before …" her voice broke.
"It's okay, Xiùlán. I am very happy to see you," Sam replied. "Knowing you're still alive after all that's happened …" her voice quit working as well.
"It's really good to know you're alive, Sammy!" Xiùlán wiped her eyes, then said "Haoyùn yīzhí xiàozhe duì women lia, sà màn shā!" [好運一直笑著對我們倆，薩曼莎! – Good luck has been (smiling) laughing for both of us, Samantha!]
Samantha tried to regain her composure by wiping away her tears before she replied with, "Ni shi wo de shēngmìng biàn de wánzhěng, Xiùlán." [你使我的生命變得完整，秀蘭 – You make my life complete, Xiùlán.]
Commander Shepard smiled at Hackett's projected image as Traynor returned to her control station. "Admiral? Captain? I realize all this," she raised her arms to indicate everything around her, "is a lot to have dropped on you all at once. It may be a good idea to conclude our meeting for now … give you both a chance to read our reports." She paused, then added, "I highly recommend you take advantage of Harbinger's offer to transport several ships back to the Sol system. It's one hell of a ride."
Hackett grinned at her. "It's already been one hell of a ride, Commander. I can't imagine how it could be any better. Knowing you survived, even as … an …" Words for a description failed him until Shepard supplied them.
"Organic intelligence, Admiral? The specialist here," Shepard directed her smile at Traynor, "has referred to me as 'A Ghost in the Machine', and I suppose that fits as well as anything."
"It certainly does, Commander. Major Alenko? My regards to both of you, and your entire crew. It's a hell of a thing you've done. You should all get medals for original thinking."
Alenko replied, "Thanks, Admiral, but it was really just desperate thinking, by desperate people. We're all looking forward to returning home."
After several seconds of silence, Harbinger's projected image grew in intensity. THE SHEPARD continues to live as Shepard-Normandy. Shepard-Normandy will speak with you again before this Repository leaves this system. There will be space designated for transporting cruisers and frigates. It is recommended by Shepard-Normandy. It will enable some of your fleet to return to the Sol System. We will standby for five standard days. This Repository anticipates talking to Hackett-Admiral, Cody-Captain, Shepard-Normandy prior to departure.
Admiral Hackett watched as the images in front of him faded in a swirl of multi-colored light; it was a number of minutes before he was able to leave the chamber for his quarters. I need a good stiff drink, he thought as he made his way through the ship.