The Normandy had finally landed on Earth a few hours ago. The extra month that they had been gone had provided enough time for the Alliance HQ in Vancouver to reopen. There were still a few areas where the rubble hadn't been cleaned up around the city centre, and a lot of buildings that still needed to be repaired, but the most needed buildings had all been fixed, allowing the city to start to become functional at least.
Shepard hadn't had a chance to see much of it for herself, though. Only through the Normandy's external camera feeds while landing. She had been surprised to get coordinates for Vancouver instead of Abbotsford, so she had been interested to see the progress while they were flying over. It was far from the state they needed to be, but even seeing the roads cleared off, and things finally heading in the direction of rebuilding was inspiring.
She had successfully managed to get Hackett on the comms about a week ago, where she set up the meeting with him and Liara. She had decided to include Kaidan as well, since they would be discussing the job offer too.
After her crew had all departed, and her post tour checklist had been completed, she finally made her way down to the decon chamber where Liara and Kaidan had been waiting for her.
Kaidan wrapped his arm around her shoulder, feeling the same bittersweetness about the situation she was. The SR-2 may not have been the same, but the Normandy was where they met. It's where their relationship had started, and it was their first home in a lot of ways. They were excited to be leaving and starting their own new adventure, but it didn't mean they weren't sad about it too. Shepard reciprocated his gesture by caressing his opposite cheek, and giving the other one a gentle kiss, as the decontamination cycle began.
"I see the General is no longer making you sick," Liara said, teasingly.
"Thankfully," Shepard hummed in agreement. "Chakwas gave Kaidan some new soap, so we're all good now. Or at least, he's not the reason that I don't feel well anymore."
"Well, that's something at least. I'm glad. I suppose that's why your hair has looked so uncharacteristic as of late," Liara said, giving Kaidan an amused look at his puffier hair.
"Don't remind me," he said, as he tried to flatten down his puff more. "Hopefully now that we're here, I'll be able to find some other hair products. At least without having to use my biotics, it's kept the static to a minimum."
"Hmm, I'm just glad that I'm not the only one having to deal with side effects," Shepard said with a laugh.
Kaidan was clearly less enthused as he continued to try to flatten his hair down more, upset at how unprofessional he must look, but gladly taking the punishment for now. If it could help her laugh when she wasn't feeling good, that would only be a bonus.
The decon cycle ended, and the doors opened, revealing a sunny day that still had a chill to the air. Not exactly something typical for Vancouver, but it was welcomed and refreshing.
"Are you ready for this?," Kaidan asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," she said, being the first to exit. She was wearing her new admiral dress blues, exuding determination and purpose as she always did. She was slowly becoming herself again, even if her title had changed.
As they walked from the landing pad to the main building they could see construction drones busily at work throughout the buildings in the distance. Now that they had brought the drones back, it meant that reconstruction would likely go by a lot faster. Jane suspected that the whole city would likely be open within a matter of months at the current pace, resources permitting. That bode well for the state of the rest of the galaxy too. The drones must have only been brought back sometime within their tour, so they likely hadn't been much help before, but they certainly would help things progress quickly now.
It made Shepard happy for what that could mean for the relays. Though as far as those were concerned, construction would only be half of the battle. Trying to figure out the tech would probably be the harder part, though she had no doubt that some of the best minds out there were already working on it.
As they finally got up to the level with Hackett's office, Shepard paused in the reception area, looking around for something. Kaidan moved up behind her.
"Are you alright?," he asked.
She didn't even respond as she started running off to the bathroom. The subtle urge to vomit had been lingering all day, but that had become commonplace over the last week, and it didn't prevent her from having things to do. For the most part it was manageable, but something about the elevator ride unsettled her stomach enough for it to become urgent.
She ran to the first stall which had luckily been empty, and fell to her knees just in time to not make a mess all over the floor. It took a couple minutes for her to make sure that she was finished and regain her composure. She had her elbow on the toilet seat, resting her forehead against her hand, trying to get her breath back.
"I'm sorry to intrude, but are you okay?," Jane heard from behind her in a soft, concerned voice. Jane just clamped her eyes shut, and grimaced. This probably already didn't look good, and she didn't like that thought combined with how recognizable she was.
She opted to turn her head around to address the voice. That's when she noticed that it was Kahlee Sanders.
"Admiral Shepard?," Kahlee asked in surprise.
The shock of seeing her was enough for another wave of nausea to hit, as she lurched forward and vomited again. It wasn't just the shock of seeing someone she knew, but the fact that it was Kahlee specifically made it difficult. It had very suddenly brought on unaddressed feelings of Anderson.
"Do you need me to call a doctor?," Kahlee asked when Shepard was done again.
That didn't bode well. She would probably want some answers.
"No, that's okay."
"Are you sure? I know your recovery was quite difficult."
"Thanks, Kahlee, but that really won't be necessary," she said as she flushed the toilet and stood up, finally feeling enough like herself again. "This doesn't really have anything to do with my recovery."
"Well, okay. If you're sure-," she said, cutting herself off as she realised what Shepard was probably implying. "Oh," she said absolutely shocked. To be honest that was Kahlee's first thought when hearing a woman puking in a public washroom, but when she had seen that it was Shepard she was more concerned than anything which had made her completely forget about the possibility for her.
They shared an awkward bit of eye contact before she heard the door open. She was glad to see that it was only Liara coming to check on her. She just looked between the pair for a moment.
"Jane? Are you alright?," Liara asked.
"Yeah, I think I'll be okay now. Thanks, Liara."
"Oh, well let me get you a cup of water or something," Kahlee said before immediately going to the water cooler.
"Thanks, Kahlee," she said, as Kahlee handed her the cup. She took the first sip to swish around her mouth and spit out before drinking the rest.
"Well this was certainly unexpected. Congratulations, Admiral."
"Please, Kahlee, you can feel free to call me Jane," she said a bit hesitantly. She had barely liked the idea of telling Liara about this a week ago, but at least Liara was her closest friend. She didn't exactly like the thought of this getting out yet. "But thank you," she finally conceded. "Listen, though. I'm only about 9 weeks in. No one knows yet. Well, except Liara," she said pointing to her friend, who smiled shyly at the gesture.
"Oh. Of course. I understand. You won't have to worry about anything coming from me."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
"I'm happy for you, Jane," She said, pausing before continuing. "And just so you know, David would have been happy for you too."
Jane inwardly cringed at the mention of him. She had wanted to confront Kahlee for some time, but she had been away setting up the new Grissom Academy while Shepard was busy stuck in recovery.
"Thank you," she said with a painful smile. "I have a meeting that I'm already running late for, but I've been wanting to talk to you about him, actually," Jane managed to get out.
"There's something I've actually been wanting to get in contact with you about as well. I have a temporary apartment here for my stay. Could I maybe convince you to come to dinner tonight? You can invite your spouse too."
"Sure, Kahlee. That sounds perfect."
Kahlee gave her the coordinates along with a time for them to be there. They parted ways and Kaidan looked after her, concerned as they came out of the bathroom. Jane explained that she was fine, but now they had dinner plans that would likely get emotional, before going to talk to the receptionists and let them know they were here for Hackett. They were ushered in right away since they were already running behind schedule.
Hackett greeted them kindly enough, albeit giving Kaidan a questioning glare at his choice of hairstyle. Shepard still felt bad for wasting his time though.
"Sorry, we're late Admiral. I ran in to Kahlee Sanders on the way in and got distracted," she said. Not entirely lying about her situation, but also fudging the truth a bit.
"Oh good. So she's told you about the apartment then."
"What?"
"I guess not. I seem to have a knack for running my mouth lately," he said concerned. "I told her you'd be in town today. She had wanted to tell you about it for a while now."
"She did say that she wanted to talk to me, but we set up a dinner for it."
"Ah. Of course you did. My apologies. At any rate, I guess I've already done the damage. She's handed over her rights to Anderson's apartment. I was trying to set up accommodation for you up on the Citadel should you accept my offer, and I found your name on the title. Anderson hadn't included it in his will, and Kahlee's was the other one, so as soon as you left on your tour I got in contact with her to see what the deal was. She immediately said that she didn't want it and to give it to you. So I've had repair crews up there completing it for you. There was a decent amount of damage, but a lot of the items were salvageable. It should be ready for you now, should you want the job."
"Wow," she and Kaidan said, looking at each other. That certainly wasn't what she had expected when Kahlee said she wanted to talk to them. The idea of taking the apartment didn't feel right to them at all.
"With all due respect, sir. I don't know if we can accept that. It really should be Kahlee's."
"Well, you yourself said you're having dinner with her tonight. I'll let you discuss it with her. I hope that doesn't mean you've decided to reject my job offer?"
"No, actually. I've come to let you know that I accept."
"Oh, that's fantastic. I have to say, I was a bit worried for a moment there. You'll do great. I've been getting a good Admiralty board set up there for the location. I think you'll like the people you'll be working with. I've also been looking into options for you, Alenko," he said moving his gaze over to Kaidan.
"If you'd prefer to stay more in the Alliance, there are plenty of openings, but I've gotten word from the council that they would be interested in you to run Council security. They were happy with your service before, and as a Spectre, they'd like to have you again."
Jane looked over at Kaidan, trying to gauge his reaction. He seemed receptive to the idea, which was enough for her, though she didn't particularly care for the fact that it might put him in more danger than most positions for a General. Kaidan knew how to protect himself though, and she knew he would do fine if that's what he wanted.
"I actually think I like the sound of that. Thank you, sir."
"Great, now that that's dealt with, I'll give you each two weeks to get settled before reporting for duty. Let me know if you don't end up taking the apartment, otherwise I'll have to try to get you new accommodation asap."
They nodded in acknowledgement.
"Good. Now I believe you told me there was another reason for wanting to meet today? I assume that's why Ms. T'soni is here."
"Yes," Shepard said. "I know this will probably sound absurd to you, but please just hear me out before you say no."
"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to end up regretting allowing this meeting," he grumbled out. "Alright, go ahead."
"Well, we were thinking that you should forfeit the Normandy to the Interspecies Initiative, and let Liara run it."
"Are you insane? That's the galaxy's most powerful ship. Why would you think I'd be willing to give it up?"
"I'd be willing to pay for a replacement," Liara broke in entirely seriously.
Hackett huffed out a laugh at that. "You can't be serious. Do you know how much the Normandy cost to make?"
"I am well aware of how much it cost. I wouldn't have offered if I couldn't afford it."
"This wouldn't have anything to do with your information brokering would it? I don't want to be indebted to the Shadow Broker."
"I can assure you that won't be an issue."
"Listen, Ms.T'Soni, I'm grateful for everything that you've done throughout the war. You're a big reason we're all even here right now too, but I'm honestly not sure if your word is good enough in this case."
"What if I said I can vouch for her?," Jane spoke up.
He looked at Jane and saw that she was serious. It made him wonder just how much about Jane's career he didn't know about even still. Could she have really known who the Shadow Broker was?
He was silent for another moment, clearly starting to give it some real thought, though still very much on the fence.
"Plus, think of how well this could go over as a peace offering," Jane said. "It would do nothing but paint the Alliance in a good light. You get to be the generous hero giving away the best ship in the galaxy in the name of galactic peace. You can't deny that the Normandy has always been a symbol of interspecies cooperation. Not to mention that it would be a nice last way to give Cerberus the finger by giving their ship to a cause that they wouldn't have stood for."
"Hmm," Hackett grumbled out in consideration for a moment. "I have to say, I don't care for your attempted manipulation, Shepard. You should know by now that I've never cared for hero worship either, and I don't need it as an excuse to do something nice. That being said, you've brought up some interesting points. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I actually might be okay with this. I'll bring it to a vote asap, and let you know how it turns out."
"Thanks for at least hearing me out, Steven."
"Yeah, sure. If that's everything, I've got far too much work to get back to. Seriously, you can't start work soon enough for me. Be grateful that I've given you two weeks."
"Oh, believe me, I am. Just one last thing. How's my mother doing?"
"Why does it feel like any time you ask me about her, there are nefarious intentions behind your inquiry?"
"Don't worry," she said with a laugh. "No nefarious intentions here. I just haven't managed to get in contact with her for a while."
"Oh, yes, well I sent her on a short mission to Terra Nova to bring back more refugees before she decides on more permanent placement. Ada went with her this time just so you know. In fact they should be returning shortly too. They might already be within comm range, if you wanted to try again soon."
"Sounds good, Hackett. Thanks for letting us know. We'll let you get back to work now," she said as they all got up to leave his office.
As they left, Liara parted ways with them so they could all go about their days. Kaidan and Shepard went back to their temporary accommodation to freshen up before their dinner with Kahlee.
After they arrived, they admitted to her right away that Admiral Hackett had already told them about the apartment, and started off by protesting the idea of taking it. Kahlee immediately said that she wouldn't be needing it thanks to setting up the new Grissom Academy. There would be permanent housing there for her, so she would have no need for it.
Kahlee had even gone as far as to say that she and David had already discussed it before the end of the war, should one or both of them not make it. David had technically told Jane that the apartment was hers now, but Jane never thought that to mean permanently. She had never intended on keeping it past their forced shore leave. Short of Kahlee and David both retiring, neither of them were ever on the Citadel ever since David relinquished his councilor status. Kahlee simply didn't have the need for such an extravagant apartment.
She had also told them that Hackett had let it slip that they had gotten married there. Kahlee liked that they already had a special attachment of their own with the place. She said that if she lived there it would only be filled with memories of all the things that she had planned for with David, but for them they could make all new memories of their own, especially with a new baby on the way.
In the end they had all finally agreed that it was in everyone's best interest for Kaidan and Jane to take it, with the stipulation that if Kahlee ever needed a place to stay, that it was always there for her. It meant that they would have a home, Kahlee wouldn't be burdened by a house that she didn't want, and the Alliance wouldn't have to find new housing for anyone. They had even offered to pay Kahlee, but she told them that the Alliance had already reimbursed her for it. She told them to think of it as a signing bonus.
The rest of their evening was both more relaxed and more emotional. They shared stories of David, and sentiments of how much they missed him. Jane had told Kahlee about their last conversation together. About how much he loved her, and how much he regretted not being able to settle down with her. Jane told her about how she had stayed with him as he passed, to let her know that he wasn't alone.
As Jane remembered him fondly, she realised that she had somewhat followed in his footsteps, and vowed to herself to continue to lead on under his example. If there was ever a worthy cause to aspire to, it was to be as good of a role model as he had been to her.