Chapter 38
Cassidy gathered the troop in the cargo bay. "Girls, we are working on repairing the mass relay. That's going to take a few more days. So, while we are working on that, you can avail yourselves of our facilities. There's the volleyball net behind me, a ping pong table behind you. There are games upstairs on Deck 3. This is the ship's cat, Callista." Callista walked in and jumped up to Cassidy's shoulder, then down again and sat at her feet.
"There are restrooms on Decks 3 and 6. Please stay on either of those two decks or here on Deck 5. If you are not sure where you are or need to get somewhere, you can just say, "EDI, how do I to my quarters?" "Follow the running lights on the floor." said EDI. The girls looked down at the lights running away from Cassidy toward the elevator. "OK, EDI, drop the lights." "Any questions?" asked Cassidy. A hand went up. "My name is Jennifer Heinz. If you need to repair the mass relay, how did you get here from Earth, where you defeated the Reapers?" Cassidy smiled. "Astutely noted, Jennifer. New technology. That's all I'm going to say about it. Other questions?" "How many aliens are on board? Oh, sorry, my name is Deanna Hughes." "We have: one turian, Garrus Vakarian; one quarian, Tali'Zorah; two asari, Samara and Dr. Liara T'Soni; two krogan, Urdnot Wrex and Urdnot Grunt; one prothean, Javik; one geth, Clowder; and one AI, EDI."
Another hand went up. "My name is Elizabeth Hacker. Did the Reapers destroy all the cities on Earth?" "Yes, pretty much. Many buildings are standing, like hotels, offices and some shops but anything that produced anything got blasted away. There are Alliance troops working with our friends who helped in the final battle, that are working hard to repair roads, water supplies, food processing, and so on." Another hand. "My name is Kaitlyn Barnes. What is going to happen to us girls?" "Kaitlyn, for the next week or so, you will be our guests here on the Normandy. Then we will take you to Earth. Once com systems get back up, searches can be run for relatives, if you want, or if you are of age, you can apply to be assigned housing and a job, you can join the Alliance, or you can go with us to Eden Prime or Terra Nova. If you are not of age, Mrs Hughes and Mrs Deepak are your guardians by the Youth Leadership Conference rules, and you will be assigned a place with them and schooling or apprenticeships will be arranged. Does that sound reasonable to you all? Here on the ship it is currently 21:43, or 8:43 pm. We run a 24 hour day. The sun set on us on Beckenstein, so its evening for you, too, right?" Mrs Hughes answered, "Yes, Captain. I think its time to get all the girls settled for the night, as its actually later in the evening for us than for you." Some of the girls started to say "But I wanted to ask her . . " "You girls will see me around tomorrow, I'll answer more questions then, OK?" said Cassidy.
The girls got up and started walking back toward the elevator. Garrus came up behind Cassidy and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "It hasn't really hit those girls yet, has it? Its been kind of like one very long camping trip with their troop, so things still seem kind of normal to them." commented Garrus. Cassidy replied, "Yea, I really feel for those two women, who will have to deal with the girls' grief, their daughters' grief and their own grief. Dr Chakwas will help if need be but, I wish Kelly Chambers was here."
"What is 'of age' for humans?" asked Garrus, as they were walking toward the elevator. "18 is when they can vote, sign contracts and such. 21 is when they can legally purchase restricted items like alcohol and recreational drugs. And turians?" "We enter basic military training at 15, schooling is continued as part of that training. We spend 2 years there and at 17 we are assigned to our first post, so that would be 'of age' for us, I guess."
3 more days and EDI said, "Activating the relay now, Captain." Once the rings got going, EDI said "Krogan relay is active, Apien Crest relay is active, Athena Nebula relay is active, Minos Wasteland relay is active. Receiving signal from the Destiny Ascension. Patching it through . . ." "This is the Destiny Ascension to the ship in the Serpent Nebula, please respond." "Destiny Ascension, this is Council Spectre Alliance Captain Cassidy Shepard on the Normandy. Council Spectre Alliance Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams is on board as well." "One moment please, Captain . . . This is Councilor Tevos. Shepard it is so good to see your face. Please tell me, is the Citadel intact?" "Not entirely, Councilor. When I was last there about 5 weeks ago, the keepers had mostly repaired the Citadel tower and were clearing the debris in the Presidium. According to the Citadel control panel, only 5% of Zakera Ward was accessible, somewhat higher percentages on the other wards. No survivors on the Citadel unless they managed to evacuate. Are Councilors Valern and Sparatus with you?"
"Valern is anxious to go home. The salarians will be appointing a new Councilor. Sparatus is on Palaven, helping to direct reconstruction. Is the way open to Earth then?" "Yes, Councilor." "Then we will be on our way there, via Sur'Kesh. What are your plans now?" "I have some passengers to drop off then there are more relays that need attention." "Very well. We'll talk later. Destiny Ascension out."
"Joker, take us to Tuchanka." "Krogan homeworld, coming up, Captain." "Wrex, we'll be on Tuchanka before lunch." "Finally. Though I bet Bakara has everything in hand, and if her hands are full of babies, then Uta will have things in hand."
Tuchanka: Cassidy, Garrus, Wrex and Grunt got out of the shuttle. Wrex led the way down into the Urdnot camp. Uta was there to greet him. "If you want to see Bakara, you'll need to head to the women's camp." Wrex said "Grunt stay here." "Come on Shepard, Garrus. This way." They went down into a tunnel and got in a truck.
Wrex drove them for about 15 minutes. They stopped at a barricade and got out. Wrex walked them past the barricade and through a door. It was a krogan hospital. Wrex walked to the stairs and started downward. Finally the reached a door and the guards inside directed Wrex to the left.
They finally reached Bakara, who was in a chair, leaning back, her belly swollen. "Shepard, Vakarian, Wrex. I'm sorry I can't get up to greet you properly. I'm being treated for another infection." Bakara reached out a hand and took Cassidy's. She continued, "I am so pleased to see that you survived the destruction of the Reapers. You, too, Garrus. Wrex, you are just in time to knock some heads that Uta and I have had declared enough of them." "Well then, I guess I've got work to do. Good thing I've got Grunt. Shepard, you send the rest of my people home soon, please." "Will do, Wrex. Bakara, take care and let me know when the baby comes, eh?"
Wrex walked Cassidy and Garrus back to the truck and took them back to Urdnot camp. Cassidy and Garrus said goodbye to Grunt and went back to the Normandy. "Palaven, please, Joker." "Palaven by dinner time, Captain."
When they arrived at Palaven, EDI said "The Baton Rouge is here. Evette says hello and that they just arrived about 30 minutes ago." "Hello to Evette. I hope she and the Baton Rouge are doing well."
Cortez took Cassidy and Garrus down in the shuttle and were escorted to the ground floor of an otherwise ruined building. They went inside and were directed to a guarded door at the end of the hall. The guards opened the doors and Cassidy and Garrus walked in. Councilor Sparatus and Primarch Victus turned around. Sparatus said, "Captain Shepard, Adviser Vakarian, welcome. The Primarch, here, also just arrived. I was just bringing him up to date on our reconstruction efforts."
Victus came and shook hands with Cassidy. "Captain,we were astonished when the krogan came to our aid. We were elated on Earth when the Crucible fired and the Reapers fell over, "apparently thoroughly overloaded" was the report. Then we were relieved to get on the Baton Rouge and get to Noveria. Then the Baton Rouge was finally able to get through to here. For all these things, we have you to thank. First, I name you an honorary turian. Next you are being added to the ranks of the Heroes of the Turian Heirarchy. We will have a public ceremony once we get communications back up." "I'm honored, Primarch, Councilor."
Sparatus said, "Dinner is being prepared. Let's go sit over here." Sparatus led them over and poured drinks, with Cassidy's coming from a blue-ribboned bottle. They all sat. Sparatus continued, "Victus here tells me that the Citadel is in a sorry state from the orbital view. Apparently you have been on the station after the battle?"
Garrus answered, "Yes. The keepers focused on the Citadel tower first and then the Presidium. We were there just over 5 weeks ago and the keepers were replacing glass in the offices of the tower and removing debris from the Presidium." Cassidy said "Tevos said she was taking the Destiny Ascension back to Sur'Kesh to take Valern home and that the salarians would send a new Councilor. She then planned to head for the Citadel. She may be there even now." Sparatus said, "And who are you going to recommend this time for the human Council seat, Shepard?" "She won't thank me for it, but I think Admiral Yvonne Carter will do an excellent job. She is retired so she won't be there for long, but until we can get a Parliament going again, she can take care of business. She is pragmatic yet thoughtful and considerate."
Victus asked, "So what's next for the Normandy?" Cassidy said, "We have an asari friend to deliver to Thessia, a troop of Youth Leadership girls to take to Earth, our quarian friend to return to Rannoch, and some other friends to deliver to Illium." Sparatus said "Well now that you have opened the Widow relay, you have access to Illium and Omega. So, how did you get to the Widow relay to open it, did you scavenge some technology?" Cassidy said, "Yes, you could say that. The geth added two decks to the basement of the Normandy to house the power source from the Crucible. That enabled us to sustain FTL flight for just over 4 weeks from the Annos Basin to the Serpent Nebula." Sparatus said, "All of the Reaper corpses we have found had their power sources melted from the energy burst from the Crucible, I take it that's the case with all the ones your troops found on Earth, Victus?" "Yes, that's correct, Sparatus." said Victus. Sparatus looked at Cassidy, "So, the only functional one is in the Normandy?" "Yes, Councilor." said Cassidy. There was a silent pause, then Victus said, "4 weeks, so your dextro stores must be getting low, if you have a quarian using them as well." Garrus said, "The frozen stores are nearly gone and the dried is a little too familiar now." Victus sent a text message on his omni-tool. "Shepard, have your shuttle pilot dock with the agricultural ship, the Parnian, they will have some crates of fresh supplies for your ship." Cassidy sent a text to Cortez.
Their dinner was served. Cassidy's was two roast squab and baked perch, with garlic mashed potatoes. Sparatus said, "I hope your meal is satisfactory, Shepard. The family that lived on this estate kept a small levo farm for the birds and tanks for the fish. The vegetables are grown in pots at the farm." "Its very good, thank you." Garrus asked, "What happened to the evacuation shuttles that took the last trips from Palaven? My father and sister were on the last one, I believe." Victus said, "They were supposed to meet some agricultural ships that were orbiting a star between the systems in the Minos Wasteland. Did they return, Sparatus?" Sparatus replied, "Yes, the agricultural ships, the evacuation shuttles, and our remaining fleet returned about a week after the Digeris ships got our relay back open. Lieutenant Varian, would you look up where Garvin Vakarian was assigned? Ah, thank you. Yes, arrange a shuttle to depart in 20 minutes. They are at the Haldat estate, Garrus." "Haldat? Is that the one way out by . . ." "Yes, they have fungus farms, underground. They cut the power to the surface facilities and barricaded themselves in the farms on the lower levels, where they had emergency supplies, thanks to your efforts, Garrus. The Reapers hadn't found them out before the end, so now they are housing some of the people." Cassidy sent a text to EDI and Cortez that she and Garrus would not be returning until the morning.
They finished dinner. Sparatus shook Cassidy's hand again and said, "I expect to see you at the Citadel before too long, Spectre. There will be things that need doing." His voice was serious but his subharmonics and flanges showed amusement. Victus took her shoulders and leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. He said in her ear, "I want to thank you again for giving and sharing with me time with my son at the end. I would like to stand in the father's place for you at the family ceremony, if you will have me." Cassidy felt touched and kissed him on his cheek and quietly said, "I would like that very much, thank you." She stepped back and Victus said, "I'll be in touch." She turned and walked with Garrus out to the waiting shuttle.
"What was that all about?" asked Garrus. "He's going to stand in the father's place for me at the family ceremony." "Well, that's tantamount to him taking you on as a daughter. That's an honor." "I figured he was asking something important to him." Garrus said, "After the family ceremony then, your turian surname would then be Shepard Victus Vakarian." He put his arm around her and leaned in and kissed her. He asked, "Will you use it . . the name?" She asked, "Does the family ceremony go both ways, would the Victus family be expecting to accept you as well?"
He thought a moment, "Well, Victus has maneuvered it to be a double family ceremony. There wouldn't have been a father's place if you were coming as just an individual. Now he'll be accepting me and aligning the Victus family with the Vakarian family. Do you mind him doing that?" "Would he have been thinking that way? For humans, such a gesture would usually be just a personal one but it could be legal and formal. With turians, well, his asking me such a thing, did he assume I would know he was asking for all that, why he referenced Tarquin's final time with him?" "I'm guessing that it didn't occur to him that you wouldn't know what he was asking, because it sounds like he was deliberately asking you to formally accept him as a father, maybe Tarquin asked him as a final request. If you're uncomfortable with it, you could explain." "No, I'm happy with it. Will it cause any problems among your family?" "Victus is an honorable name, like I said, it was a high standard for Tarquin to reach, putting additional pressure on his command. Solana will make it right if any of them have objections."
Cassidy said, "So, would you use the name as well?" "Yes, Cassidy, if you will then I will." "Alright then, we will be 'Shepard Victus Vakarian' " and she kissed him. Garrus asked, "Just out of curiousity, what was Hackett's role in our civil ceremony?" "Well, he was standing in the father's place, but it was more of showing his respect for my father and representing the Alliance military family and showing some affection for me in an avuncular way. But, it was nothing formal on his part, purely personal."