Normandy, Captains Quarters
EDI stood just feet from the couch. On said couch, Shepard had been asleep since they left the Citadel. Shepard was face down, still wearing the shirt from the previous day but she had taken her pants off, which lay at the feet of the couch. Not that it mattered to EDI, but thankfully Shepard was wearing underwear on this occasion. EDI tilted her head. She was unsure if waking the Commander up was a wise idea, even though it was necessary. Shepard let out a few groans and slowly began to move her arms towards her head; they had been at her sides.
"Shepard, you're awake," EDI said.
Shepard leapt in her place on the couch, one arm raising a biotic field in front of her, dropping it when she saw EDI.
"Jesus EDI," Shepard said. "Ow, ow, ow."
Shepard's hands covered her head. She was incredibly hungover. She had blacked out and didn't remember anything past drinking with Jack in Purgatory.
"The crew thought it best that I inform you of your activities once you returned to the Normandy," EDI said putting her hands behind her back.
"Oh no," Shepard said.
"Upon return, you threw an empty glass bottle at the airlock door. You then when to the forward battery, walked in the door, saw Garrus, and shouted, "Told you so" before turning around and leaving," EDI began.
Shepard groaned.
"You then entered the crew quarters, where you attempted to braid Specialist Traynor's hair in her sleep," EDI continued.
Shepard groaned louder.
"When Specialist Traynor awoke, you spoke with her about Lieutenant-Commander Williams," EDI went on.
"Nooooooooo" Shepard said, trying to bury her face deeper into the couch.
"Upon your exiting there, you attempted to locate Dr. Chakwas in the med-bay, but she was asleep," EDI said.
"Oh thank god," Shepard said.
"However, you left her a note," EDI said.
"Whyyyyyyy" Shepard groaned.
"However, the note is just scribble and not any known language," EDI said.
"Just kill me now. Make it stop," Shepard said softly.
"Then, you went to the CIC where you attempted to speak with Urdnot Wrex. He tried to tell you about a mission in the Attican Traverse. You were insistent it would get priority. However, you then received a transmission from Alliance Command about Cerberus on Eden Prime, where you informed me that it would be our new destination," EDI said.
"Ugggggggggggh" Shepard groaned.
"Finally, you attempted to enter Dr. T'Soni's quarters, loudly expressing your intentions. When she awoke, Dr. T'Soni helped you to your quarters. However, when you entered the door, you locked Dr. T'soni out. You then walked over to where you fell asleep in the spot you are now," EDI finally finished.
Shepard laid there in silence, trying to remember any of what EDI just said. Suddenly, it hit her. She pushed herself up and looked over to the bed. It was empty.
"Where's Patrick?" Shepard asked.
"He is currently on deck 3, eating with Joker," EDI said.
"Then who's flying the ship?" Shepard asked.
"The ship in currently in orbit over Eden Prime," EDI replied.
"Already?!" Shepard exclaimed.
"Dr. T'soni and Lieutenant Vega are currently sitting in the shuttle awaiting you to join them. They have been ready for quite some time, however they were worried, so they sent me to wake you," EDI replied.
"I guess I don't have time to eat any breakfast?" Shepard said.
"Negative," EDI replied.
Shepard groaned. It was gonna be one hell of a day.
Eden Prime, hours later
All her life, Liara had studied the Prothean race. The culture, the messages they left behind, the fight they put up against the Reapers. Never in her entire life span did she think she would get to see one. And now, in front of her own eyes, was a living breathing Prothean. Her anger at Shepard for her drunken adventures seemed like a forgotten memory. She had so many questions for this bei-
Liara's thought was interrupted by the sound of Shepard, vomiting all over the Prothean, who had fallen to the ground. At first, Liara could only stand there with her hands stretched out, eyes wide, and her mouth open. Here was the last being of a race she dedicated her life to studying, and her girlfriend had just vomited all over him in their first meeting.
Normandy Elevator, 3rd floor
The door had closed and Shepard sighed in relief. She had just finished calming down/apologizing to Liara and the Prothean named Javik was settling in to his spot in the Normandy, in Grunt's old quarters. But there was still more to be done. She took the elevator to the second floor and walked up to the star map. She set a course for the Attican Traverse. Shepard stepped off the ledge and looked to Samantha.
"Commander," Traynor said nodding in Shepard's direction.
"Sam, I'm sorry-" Shepard started.
"Nothing to be sorry about Commander," Traynor replied quickly.
Shepard frowned. She had to put on her big girl pants.
"EDI, lock out Specialist Traynor from the systems," Shepard said aloud.
'Done Commander," EDI's voice said.
Sam's arm went up in protest.
"What the, that's not fair," she protested.
Shepard crossed her arms.
"As your commanding officer, I command that you listen to what I have to say Specialist," Shepard said.
Sam turned to face Shepard and looked her in the eye.
"I'm sorry for what I said. I was drunk, and I have a loose tongue when I drink, I don't have a filter between what I think and what I say. I was blacked out, and I apologize," Shepard said.
There was a silence between them.
"You told me," Sam began. "That you think I had a shot with Lieutenant-Commander Williams, even if she claims to be straight. You told me things she likes and what she is like. You told me to never give up and that you believed in me."
Shepard was in shock. Apparently, her drunken talk with Sam was a good one. At least something positive came out of her drunken adventure. Well, that and the fact she made peace with Jack. She made peace with Traynor and even agreed to play a game of chess sometime to make up for trying to drunkenly and unconsensually braid her hair. And it's not like Traynor could act on Shepard's advice anyway. Udina had kept Ashley on the Citadel. Something about a Spectre position protecting the Council in a time of war. Shepard went back to the elevator and to her quarters.
Captain's Quarters
Shepard enter her quarters and saw Patrick sitting on the couch, watching a video on a tablet set up on the table. Next to it was an empty plate with a napkin on it.
"Hey little man, how was lunch?" Shepard asked.
"Great!" he replied.
Shepard sat down next to him.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, why do you ask?" she said.
"Because when you came back last night when I was sleeping, you fell down a few times and it sounded like it hurt," he said.
Shepard shook her head and put her hand on her head.
"Yes I'm fine. That was a prime example of why you should enjoy alcohol responsibly as an adult," she replied.
"Can I ask you something?" Patrick asked.
"Sure," she replied.
"Why did your mom call you Starchaser?" he asked.
Shepard smiled and slightly chuckled. She put her arm around him.
"It was just a little name she had for me. She always told me that I was always chasing my dreams and that one day they would take me to the stars," Shepard said looking through the skylight at the stars as the Normandy flew through space.
"Ohhhh" he replied.
"The same applies to you," she said.
Patrick looked to her.
"We are going to win this war. Defeat the reapers. And in this life, I promise, you can be anything you want to be in this galaxy, my son," Shepard said.
Patrick wrapped his arms around her and his head rested against her. He closed his eyes.
"I love you . . Mom," he said.
Shepard caught the lump in her throat. She held back the surge of emotion. For the first time, ever since he officially became her son, Patrick called her mom. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his head. She felt the biotics in her begin to flow. She struggled to keep it from flowing all around. Tears fell from her eyes.
"Iloveyoutooson," she squeaked out.
She was saved by someone entering the room. The biotics disappeared. Patrick stood up and that allowed Shepard to get herself under control and wipe the tears. Shepard stood and turned to see Samantha.
"Hi Sam," Patrick waved.
"Hello there," Sam replied and waved. "Commander, I have the mission brief for you, ETA is 3 hours."
"Thank you Traynor. Well done," Shepard replied, taking the data pad.
Normandy Level 3, Many Hours Later
Shepard exited the medbay, still in her armor, she wiped the sweat from her forehand and bent over, hands on her knees breathing heavy. Grunt was most resistant to seeking medical aide, but Shepard had used all her might to move the, tiny by krogan standards, Grunt to the Normandy's medical bay. Keeping him still was a different story, until the Krogan female, Eve. All she had to due was raise her voice and Grunt stopped struggling. That allowed Dr. Chakwas to give him enough sedative to get his wounds at least tended to. Shepard stood up as the door opened behind her. The female krogan exited the med bay and the door closed behind her.
"Thank you for your help with Grunt. It was a struggle to get him there to begin with," Shepard said.
Eve chuckled. "Not everything needs to be done with force Commander. You are his battlemaster, you could have saved yourself the trouble by ordered him to seek aide," she replied.
"Oh yeah," Shepard replied.
"It is not just the lesson here, but in life. As a parent yourself, you will no doubt find this to be true one day," Eve said.
"Well ain't that the truth," Shepard said. "You'll already haven't that knowledge at hand before you become one then."
"Wrex may have his ideas, but he is not the one that bares the child," Eve replied.
"So you don't want to have kids," Shepard asked.
"I do, Commander. However, it will be when I am ready. And it will be on my terms, not anyone else's," Eve said.
Shepard nodded. She knew that krogans were strong willed. Apparently it didn't matter which gender it was. Regardless of species, Eve was a strong woman who Shepard could admire.
"If it's all the same to you Commander, I will be getting some rest before we return to Tuchanka," Eve said. "I understand we are en route?"
"Yes that's right," Shepard replied. "There are two stops I have to make on the planet before we begin the final push."
"Very well," Eve said walking away.
Shepard looked down the hall towards the forward battery. Her and Garrus were going to have to talk eventually. Even before she had her drunken episode. She sighed, rubbed her head and walked down the corridor.
Forward Battery
Garrus was busy calibrating, his favorite hobby during downtime. He stopped and sat back. Without upgrade, he had done all he could to update the drive and increase the power of the cannon. He sighed and thought about what Shepard had said. Not the drunken 3 second visit, but before that. He had now seen the message for himself. He couldn't believe it. For the longest time, he thought that Tali was just a friend he had unreciprocated feelings for; perhaps she had a thing for Shepard, especially given the way she practically worshiped the woman. But then again she hadn't really been like that since the days they were tracking down Saren. And Shepard made it more than clear she was only interested in Liara. Tali had grown into a confident woman. He didn't have any evidence that his feelings for her were unreciprocated, only his gut belief. Why would she care for him though? A washed up, scar covered ex- C-sec officer. They just happen to serve in a crew together. Twice. A crew that saved the galaxy. Twice. What was the human saying again? Third times the charm? His omni tool started glowing. He looked at it and it was a message from the Primarch. While he didn't have a update on his families whereabouts, the Primarch could confirm they at least made it out of the a major city before the Reapers hit. He sighed in relief. While it wasn't the best news it was the worst either. But the fact that they at least had a head start further instilled the hope he had they would be all right. He closed his omnitool.
The door opening and Shepard standing on the other side interrupted his thoughts.
"Can I come in?" Shepard asked.
"It's your ship," Garrus said putting his tools down.
He closed the battery and began to clean up where he had been working. Shepard stepped into the room and the door closed. There was an awkward silence that bothered Shepard, but not Garrus. She began to rub her one arm.
"How's the cannon?" she asked.
"I've done all I can, but it's going to take a major upgrade before I can do anything else," he replied.
"I'll get the new upgrades when we dock back at the Citadel next, after we stop at out next destination, Tuchanka," she said leaning up against the wall.
Garrus put the last of his tools away.
"You hear anything from home?" Shepard asked.
Garrus paused.
"No, I haven't" he replied.
There was a silence.
"Look, I'm sorry Garrus," Shepard said.
"Commander, it's really-" he tried to interrupt.
"No it's not. I shouldn't be trying to force something if it's not what you want," she said.
There was another silence.
"Well, it's not that," Garrus said.
Shepard didn't say anything, but she motioned with her hand.
"We've served on the same ship twice, and we are old friends. I just don't think she's looking for something like that in a time like this," he replied.
"Garrus, there is never a good time for things like that. For crying out loud, the first time Liara and I slept together, it was just before we went to Illos," Shepard began.
"I didn't need to hear that," Garrus said shaking his head.
"Remember when I had us all take the picture on the Collector Base?" she replied.
"How is that relevant?" he asked.
"First off, she stood next to you, like she did in the first one. And secondly, more to the point, it was terrible timing. You all said to yourselves!" she replied.
"In all fairness to us, we were right," he joked.
"My point is there is never a good time for anything. You don't want to go on forever wonder what if. I'm not saying pour your heart out to her the second you next see her, but let her know you care. I'm almost certain she'll feel the same way," Shepard said.
Garrus was silent again. What he didn't want was to make things awkward, especially consider the next time he saw her, they were probably going to get themselves in involved in a war for her home planet.
"I'll take that into consideration," Garrus replied. "The primarch informed me of a mission on Tuchanka involving a unit from the turian fleet. I want in on that mission."
"You got it. You have my word," Shepard replied.
He nodded.
Shepard went to leave. "See you Garrus."
She got to the door.
"Shepard," Garrus called out.
She turned around.
"Thanks . . for all of that. I know you're just trying to help. You're a good friend," he said.
She smiled.
"Anytime friend," she replied before turning and leaving.
Normandy, many hours later
Shepard had been in a relatively good mood. The first mission on Tuchanka when off without a hitch. EDI, Liara, and her were able to stop Cerberus from taking control of the krogan cannon and used it to destroy the Cerberus fleet above the planet. The next mission went well as well! Even if the turian platoon suffered a few casualties, most of them were alive, including the Primarch's son! Vega and Garrus even set new high scores in this game they played where they kept a tally on the number of Cerberus troops they managed to off. However, the mission to stop the bomb happened. The platoon suffered heavy casualties, and the Primarch's son gave his life to make sure the bomb was disarmed. Shepard relished having to tell the Primarch, but she was sure he already knew. Now there was this order from Hackett to keep the peace. And on top of all of that after three back to back to back missions, she was exhausted. And now there was shouting.
"We couldn't risk another galactic war with the krogan!" the Primarch shouted.
"The genophage wasn't enough? You had to plant a bomb on my planet!" Wrex shouted back.
"The decision was made hundreds of years ago. So much has changed!" the Primarch replied.
"Not enough to tell us about the bomb, coward!" Wrex shouted pointing accusingly.
"Hey!" Shepard said walking into the room on the other side of the War Asset console. "We can't let the past rip us apart. Working together, we have a chance."
She began to walk to the other side of the console, towards them.
"Primarch, you had a bomb on Tuchanka!" she began. "And Wrex? In the turian's place, you would've done the same fucking thing."
"Shepard," Wrex tried to protest.
"It's over! His own son died today making this right!" she silenced the krogan.
"Please, Commander, it's all right," Victus said.
"Yes, Fine, Shepard, you made your point. We have stronger enemies to face," Wrex said.
"Fucking right we do," Shepard said looking at the console.
The Primarch stood next to her. Wrex grunted and stormed off.
"Situation, defused," Shepard said in her head.
"I understand your reservations before, Commander, but I hope you now understand the secrecy," Victus said.
"Secrets get people killed. You've learned that the hard way," Shepard said coldly.
"Yes . . . the hardest lesson I'm ever to learn, Commander," Victus said.
He looked towards the console, before beginning to walk away.
"It's a lesson I hope you don't have learn yourself," he said.
That hit Shepard; it changed the look on her face. Victus was clearly referring to having to bury your own child, as he now had to. She thought about it all the way into her quarters. On the bed, Patrick was sound asleep. Shepard shed her armor, changed into her sleeping wear, and crawled into the bed. She wrapped her arms around Patrick and have him a tight squeeze, the Primarch's words still running through her head. She gave him a kiss on the head and closed her eyes.
Tuchanka, Next Solar Day
Shepard ran down the stairs and found herself standing next to Mordin.
"Mordin, is the cure ready?" she asked.
Yes. Loaded for dispersal in two minutes. Procedure traumatic for Eve but not lethal. Maelon's research invaluable," the scientist replied as he put the finishing touches on it.
"She's okay?" Shepard asked.
"Headed to safety now," Mordin replied. "Her survival fortunate. Will stabilize new government should Wrex get any ideas. Good match, promising future for krogan."
A piece of debris fell from the top and crashed just off to the left.
"Damn!" Shepard yelled.
"Control room on top of shroud tower. Must take elevator up," Mordin motioned.
"Your going up there?" Shepard pointed.
"Yes," Mordin nodded. "Manual access required to counter-act STG sabotage. Ensure cure dispersal properly."
"Mordin. This whole thing is coming apart there's got to be another way," Shepard pleaded.
"Remote bypass impossible. STG counter measures in place. No time to adjust cure for temperature variants," Mordin said looking up. "No, no other option. Not coming back, suggest you get clear."
Mordin turned around. Shepard had tears in her eyes. She was slightly shaking her head.
"Explosion likely to be . . problematic," Mordin said walking away.
Shepard followed behind him.
"Mordin! No!" she blurted out. She was choked up.
"Shepard please, need to this," he said as he turned in the elevator. "My project, my work, my cure, my responsibility."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Would have like to run test on the seashells," Mordin said with a smile.
Shepard fell to her knees and bent over. She was crying.
"No, please no, I can't lose anyone else, there has to be another way. Please don't go," she sobbed.
Mordin stepped out of the elevator and walked over to Shepard. He kneeled down and put one hand on her back.
"I'm sorry Mordin," Shepard said through the tears.
"I'm not. Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong," Mordin said, smiling slightly.
Shepard looked up at him and threw her arms around him. With his free hand with didn't have his omnitool on it, Mordin returned the hug.
"I'll miss you," Shepard said.
After a moment Mordin stood and walked into the elevator, which closed and took him up. Shepard was still sobbing, but she was alone. The harder she sobbed, the more biotics began to appear around her. Her hands began to glow blue. She came to her senses and knew she had to get out of there. She was still crying but she ran in an attempt to get clear of the coming explosion. She reached the outside of the shroud just as a massive explosion rocked the top.
"Mordin!" Shepard cried out.
She fell to the ground again. The air around everything was being covered in the cure. The genophage was no more. Shepard's hands once again began to flare with biotics. Her eyes went white. The blue flare exhibited from her body and hovered around her. Rocks and rubble began to float in the air around her. Liara and Garrus were distant but trying to make their way to Shepard. Shepard cried out louder. With each increase of volume in her voice, the great the flare of biotics was. Even the vehicle that they got there in had begun to slightly float off the ground. Garrus was quicker and there first.
"Shepard calm down! Don't you see what your doing?" Garrus yelled.
"Shepard! Take it easy!" Liara shouted as she closed in.
Shepard continued to cry out. That's why Liara had an idea. Shepard was still on her knees but now she was upright. Liara moved closer and kneeled down to Shepard's level and gave her a hug.
"It's okay. I'm here Shepard," Liara said.
The whiteness slowly faded from Shepard's eyes and her blue eyes returned. The biotics disappeared and everything was back on the ground. Shepard threw her arms around Liara, still crying.
"I couldn't save him," Shepard cried into her shoulder. "I couldn't."
Liara rubbed her hand up and down Shepard's back and looked to the destroy top of the shroud.
"His sacrifice is not in vein Shepard. He gave his life so we could have a chance to save all of ours," Liara said. "Let's get you back to the Normandy."
Liara walked Shepard, with Garrus, back to the truck, so they could return to the shuttle.
SSV Einstein, 2161
Shepard blinked. This wasn't the Normandy. She looked down and discovered she wasn't even herself anymore. She was her 7-year-old self. She began to walk forward, despite trying to stand still. She was a first person passenger on whatever her 7-year-old self was doing. Her surroundings were familiar. Wait, it couldn't be. Then she saw the emblem on the wall. This was the SSV Einstein, the ship her mother had served on. A door at the far end of the corridor opened and three other 7-year-olds exited and approached her.
"Hide and seek?" the lead one asked.
Despite not trying to move at all, Shepard nodded her head.
"I'm it. You have until the count of 10," the lead child said.
He covered his eyes.
"One," he said.
Shepard turned and ran to a door on the left. It opened and she went down two sets of stairs to another door. She reached into her pocket and pulled out one of her mothers spare ID's. It could open any door on the ship while her's would only open a few. The door had a sticker on it that read "WARNING ELEMENT ZERO STORAGE" but Shepard swiped the card and went inside anyway. She looked at the containers that all had the same warning stickers on them. She went down a row towards the end to hide behind a box there. The door to the room opened.
"Oh no," Shepard's seven-year-old voice said.
She slowly backed up and bumped into a storage shelf. Something on the top shelf began to tumble and fell off the top and knocked Shepard down. It had been improperly secured and contents, raw element zero, covered Shepard. She screamed in pain, a high pitched voice that her chilled the soul of the other person in the room who was now pushing the emergency exposure button, alerting the entire ship of a exposure to element zero. Quickly, the room was filled with several other crewmembers, Hannah Shepard among them.
"Alexis?! My baby!" she tried to rush over to her child.
Hannah Shepard was restrained by two other crewmembers.
"Let go of me!" she protested.
"It's too dangerous! You'll become contaminated!" one of them crew shouted.
"Mommy! It hurts!" Shepard cried out.
"She's my child! I have to help her!" Hannah still protested trying to break free.
Shepard let out a loud scream and a blue wave expelled form her body that knocked everyone in the room off their feet. It also caused another container just above Shepard to fall and strike her in the head.
Normandy, Captains Quarters
Shepard sat up and gasped. She looked around, breathing deeply.
"Shepard, your awake!" Liara said.
Shepard was on the couch in her quarters, Liara next to her.
"It was a dream," Shepard thought to herself.
Liara put her hand over one of Shepard's.
"Shepard?" she asked.
Shepard turned to her.
"What happened? How'd I get here?" Shepard asked.
"You had another episode on Tuchanka. I helped you back here. We are roughly about 30 minutes from the Citadel," Liara said.
"Oh god," Shepard replied. She shook her head. "Who saw it?"
"Garrus and I. As well as Wrex and a few other krogan," Liara said. "Alexis, you need to talk to someone about these."
Liara had used her first name. Not that Shepard didn't think she was serious to begin with, but the first name usage was extra clarification.
"Where's Patrick?" Shepard asked.
"He's on the bridge with Joker. Miss Allers is asking for an interview. Also Dr. Chakwas has requested to see you. Finally, you have a request to return a call from the salarian councilor," Liara said standing up. "Promise me you will hear my plea, Shepard?"
"I will," Shepard said softly, but loud enough for Liara to hear.
Normandy, 3rd Floor
The interview with Diana Allers was quick and to the point. Shepard was sure to mention Mordin's heroics. She would place his name on the memorial wall once they docked at the Citadel. The salarian councilor didn't tell her anything she didn't already suspect/know. Udina was a snake in the grass and she had agreed to meet with him on the Citadel to discuss it further. Shepard entered the med-bay and saw Dr. Chakwas at her desk.
"Chair," Dr. Chakwas pointed to the chair opposite hers.
"No messing around," Shepard muttered to herself.
Shepard sat down on the chair and crossed her legs, her one calf across her opposite thigh.
"How frequently have these episodes been occurring?" Dr. Chakwas asked.
"Hi doc. I'm doing great, one of my good friends just fucking died, but I'm otherwise just swell. How about you?" Shepard replied sarcastic.
"You have been ignoring this issue for too long Commander. I'm trying to assess the proper course of action to prevent further outbursts and given your stubbornness, I'm going to be quite blunt in these sessions, if that's not too much you can't handle," the doctor replied.
"Sessions?" Shepard asked.
"How long?" Dr. Chakwas replied.
Shepard sighed and looked to the ground. She didn't want to do this, even if it was for her own good.
"Not since before I turned myself in. The first time again was down in level four," Shepard replied.
The doctor wrote something down on her pad.
"Which emotions have cause these outbursts?" the doctor asked.
"Anger, sadness, feeling like I failed someone," Shepard replied.
She began fidgeting get hands together.
"And one time of happiness," Shepard said quickly and quietly.
Dr. Chakwas looked up.
"What were you happy about?" she asked.
Shepard sat in silence.
"I can't help you unless you tell me everything Shepard," Dr. Chakwas said.
" . . . Patrick called me mom for the first time," she said.
Dr. Chakwas wrote it down.
"And what do you begin to feel when the biotics take over?" Dr. Chakwas asked.
"Nothing. I don't ever remember anything when it happens. The next thing I know I wake up somewhere," Shepard replied.
The doctor nodded and wrote down more things on her pad.
"There are some tests I would like to run, some brain scans more specifically," Dr. Chakwas said.
"Oh lord," Shepard sighed.
"Commander," Joker's voice filled the room.
"You might want to come up here to bridge," he said.
"What's wrong Joker, Patrick give you trouble?" Shepard replied.
"No, the Citadel is. You should come up here and see for yourself," he replied.
"Oh shit, what now?" she wondered.