Chapter 5 Citadel the place to meet

"Commander, we're making our final approach to the Citadel now." Joker said over the intercom.

Shepard finished putting on his armor.

"Thanks Joker, be down in a minute." Shepard said he quickly checked his emails, saw one from Anderson and sent a quick reply.

He left his quarters and took the elevator down to the CIC.

"Citadel Control this is Normandy SR-2, requesting permission to dock." Joker said. Shepard was standing behind Joker's chair waiting for the reply.

He smiled as it had been a long time since he last saw the Citadel.

"That's a sight for sore eyes." He muttered to Joker hearing him smile.

"Stand by for clearance, Normandy." A control officer replied.

After a few minutes a different voice said

"Normandy it will be 2 hours and 30 minutes before we can grant permission." Shepard sighed they had tried this trick before on him and he wasn't about to let them get away from it now.

Thanking that Miranda had the foresight to not paint the Cerberus logo on the ship or else they most likely would have been shot down on sight.

Joker went to reply but Shepard stopped him taking over the radio.

"Citadel Control, this is John Shepard, commanding officer of Normandy and an agent of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Office. Requesting immediate permission to dock." His tone allows no argument.

Shepard was worried that since he had been declared dead, Shepard's Spectre status would have been removed, but Anderson had told him it would be fine.

There was a moment's pause before the first officer was heard.

"Understood, Spectre. Please verify your identity."

Shepard transmitted his verification codes.

"Identity verified. Transmission vectors and a secure berth. Welcome back sir." Shepard was a little taken aback by the unprofessional reply. Shepard went over to the armory. He saw Jacob in there strapping on his light armor. He had gotten rid of the Cerberus markings. Sensing Shepard's gaze he spoke.

"Miranda told us to get rid of the markings. It makes no sense to wear a flag that will get us shot on sight. Shepard grabbed his Predator pistol off the table sighing he missed his revolver he would have to find Ash and get it off her.

"Commander, there hasn't been a time to really talk yet." Jacob began.

"I want to say that working with you is a great opportunity and it's a privilege to serve on the Normandy, Commander." Strapping on his sword he turned to Jacob.

"You may change your tune if we end up like the original Normandy."

Jacob shrugged unconcerned.

"Maybe as long as the Illusive Man walks his talk, and you do the same. I'll do my best to make sure we succeed. That's been the condition of my service so far. I… I haven't been comfortable with some of Cerberus's actions in the past." His face in a frown.

"What has Cerberus done to make you nervous?" Shepard asked curious if he himself had shut down a fair number of facilities.

"A lot. They've been called terrorists and with good reason. Doubt you will find a more infamous past. But if the Collector threat is real, and we do something about it. Cerberus will be remembered differently." He smiled.

"Or we'll all be tired and executed. Can't count on people thinking about it as hard as I have." Shepard smiled.

"I look forward to working with you Mr Taylor." He stepped forward to shake his hand, Jacob accepted.

"Same here Commander." Both men looked up as the door opened and Miranda walked in. Miranda and Shepard smiled at each other, in the corner of his eye he saw Jacob frown at them but wiped his face when he looked at him. She was wearing her catsuit with no markings on it.

"Commander, Jacob." She greeted professionally.

"Pistols only." Shepard ordered as they went to arm themselves.

"We don't want any trouble and no need to piss off the Council."

"Don't worry Commander C-Sec doesn't know that Jacob and I work for Cerberus, we won't cause any trouble." She said previously looking at his sword he was strapping to his back,

"It's more to help people recognize me. Not many people walk around with a bastard sword strapped to their back." Shepard answered the unspoken question, Miranda nodded and he turned to look back to Jacob.

"You said you have something special to show me?" He asked, grinning Jacob walked over to the heavy weapons, he saw a new one next to the Grenade Launcher he had picked up.

"ML-77 Missile Launcher. Each missile features a friend or foe recognition system, ensuring it will find a hostile target even if you're having a bad day." Jacob said with a grin, he knew Shepard was one of the best shots in the galaxy.

"Look forward to using it." Shepard replied, with his enhanced hearing he could just hear Miranda sigh.

"Boys and their toys." Shepard turned to her and grinned, she just rolled her eyes.

"We're docking at the Presidium now." Joker's voice rang out from the intercom.

"All Hands stand by to dock." Edi added

It took them 30 minutes to dock, and the hanger team started taking on supplies that Miranda had ordered. Shepard and Miranda left leaving Jacob in charge in their absence.

As they began to make their way to the checkpoint an ad terminal suddenly changed in front of them to a hooded figure, Shepard recognized her and smiled.

"John Shepard! Enter the pass phase and receive a free gift." Shepard laughed, Miranda was looking at the terminal in complete bewilderment.

"Silence is golden." As soon as the words were spoken he was crushed from behind in a bear hug, Kasumi's cloak deactivating.

"John." Kasumi whispered, her voice breaking. Her and John went way back. She knew him from before he was taken by slavers, Before she became the best thief in the galaxy, she was caught stealing food from a house. She had picked none other than the house Hannah Shepard had brought for her station on Earth. John had caught her going through their kitchen when she thought him and his mother had gone out for the night. Instead of turning her in, he had cooked her dinner and told her she could stay the night in the guest room. She had thought he was interested in her but he had told her he already had someone and that he was simply helping her out. The next day he gave her some credits, clothes and food and put her in touch with people he thought could use her skills and that was how she met Keiji. He had simply changed her life, he always kept in contact with her and helped her out when he could. When he had been taken by Batarian slavers, she had done her best to locate him. Finding him a year later she had sent the information to Hannah who was able to mount a rescue attempt based on the information.

When she had found out that he had died on the Normandy she was devastated and losing Keiji shortly after had almost broke her. When Cerberus had contacted her and told her that they had brought John back to life and wanted her to work with him she had jumped at the chance. Now in his arms with him patting her back she began to have hope again. John would most likely not know about Keiji's murder but she would tell him later for now she would just enjoy seeing him again.

When Kasumi had ambushed him with a bear hug Miranda had moved to pull her off him thinking she was attacking him but he waved her off, she looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"I'll explain later." He mouthed to her. Overcome with emotion Kasumi cried into John's chest and a few people looked over but moved on with their day.

"John, please tell me it's you."

"Remember the first time I met you? I caught you stealing food from mum's kitchen and you were so surprised when I made you Carbonara instead of turning you in." He smiled at the memory. Kasumi moved back, letting go of John.

"It really is you." She said, John nodded and then smiled.

"It is, Kasumi I would like you to meet Miranda." It took a second but then Kasumi's eyes widened in shock. She then surprised them both by squealing and launching herself at Miranda to hug her.

"Oh my god you found her!" Kasumi cried, She held Miranda and was looking her over. John laughed. Kasumi had been one of the many ways he had tried to find Miranda when he returned from enslavement and found her missing, she had been the one who had tracked down and found his locket of her from the batarian who took it from him. Miranda for the second time dumbfounded by Kasumi had no idea how to react and looked at John pleading him to do something.

"Kasumi, I think you might be overwhelming Miranda." As soon as he spoke Kasumi let go of Miranda and stepped back. She was a very physical person and sometimes she forgot overs liked their personal space.

"We can all catch up later on board the Normandy. Do you need any help loading your belongings?" He asked, she shook her head and smiled.

"Already loaded. I've set up in the port observation lounge nice bar to " Miranda's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She hadn't heard of any extra supplies being loaded nor did she have any idea how the thief might have gotten on the Normandy.

"Um Commander, I just found a statue of Saren in the cargo bay." Jacob said over the radio.

"How did that get there?" Kasumi asked innocently. Shepard raised an eyebrow at her.

"Not even gonna ask." He said,

"Leave it Jacob, it's coming with us." Shepard ordered.

"Yes Commander."

"We're about to go talk to the Council and Anderson mind tagging along cloaked? Never hurts to have an ace up my sleeve." Kasumi smiled.

"You think of me as an ace? I'm touched by John." Shepard chuckled. He turned to Miranda who was eyeing Kasumi suspiciously, Shepard sighed he would have to tell her about Kasumi next time they were alone.

"Let's go." He said leading the way to the checkpoint, looking over his shoulder he saw that Kasumi was already cloaked he could just detect where she was from his years of training

Entering the C-Sec checkpoint Shepard and Miranda walked through a hallway that led to the main part of the Presidium. Only a single turian guard was standing at the end to monitor a terminal looking bored. Shepard glanced around and saw more C-Sec officers were working on the other side of the windows. As Shepard and Miranda approached, a geometric light ran over their bodies. A second later the alarm beeped just after they passed though. Shepard prayed that Kasumi hadn't tripped an alarm. The door closed and locked and drones appeared out of hidden hatches and the guard yelled at them.

"Halt!"

"It wasn't me." Kasumi whispered into the radio.

"Obviously security has tightened since you were last here." Miranda said in a hush tone.

"I'm sorry, but carrying weapons on the Citadel is restricted to authorized or licensed personnel only. You'll have to…" The guard's eyes widened as he read what was shown on his terminal.

"Spectre?" He asked in disbelief. Shepard smiled and nodded.

The turian was dumbfounded and couldn't speak for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience Agent Shepard. Our scanners are showing false readings. They say you're well dead."

"I was out of action for 2 years." Shepard replied. The guard nodded slowly.

"Yes, well you're cleared to go Spectre." The guard looked at Miranda.

"She's with me." Shepard said simply. The guard nodded.

"I'll open the door, stand down." He ordered it into his earpiece.

The drones returned to their hatches and the door opened.

As they stepped into the Presidium and Shepard made his way to the Citadel Tower Miranda stopped him.

"John, maybe I shouldn't go with you, the Council doesn't know who I am and I would like to keep it that way." Shepard thought for a second and nodded.

"Alright but you should still come with me. I would like you to meet Anderson. I'm sure he will question how I'm back and you're better suited to answer that than me. You can wait outside the office while I'm talking to the Council and then come in when I call you."

Miranda thought for a few seconds and then nodded. He turned to where he could just make out Kasumi

"Kasumi I would like you to slip into the cloaked room and watch for anything unusual, I trust Anderson but what he doesn't know won't hurt him." He ordered.

"How is it you're the only person who can tell where I am when cloaked?" She asked, she had been trying for years to get the jump on him but he always seemed to spot her. He just chuckled and made his way into the office. Looking around he was amazed by the rebuilding effort, to him it had been a warzone only a mouth ago.

Entering the building the receptionist looked up, her eyes went wide with surprise.

"C Commander, Councilor Anderson is expecting you sir." She said pointing towards some stairs. He nodded his thanks.

"I'll wait here John." Shepard turned to her and nodded. He reached out and squeezed her hand for a second. He walked up the stairs and entered the office when he heared his name.

"Shepard will be here so… oh Commander. We were just talking about you." Anderson greeted turning to him when he heard the door open. Shepard smiled and saluted his former captain, and the man who he basically thought of as his father. Anderson saluted him back.

"It's been a long time, Anderson. I hope they have been treating you well." Shepard said nodding his head towards the other councilors.

"There have been a few rough spots. It's damn good to see you son." Anderson said, stepping forward and shaking Shepards hand.

Valern rudely interrupted them.

"We've heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return, a few of them unsettling." Shepard looked at the three other councilors' projections. He smiled when his eyes met Councilor Tevos he had always had a good friendship with her and she had been his steadfast ally on the Council ever since they melded after Eden Prime.

"We have called this meeting so you could explain your actions, John. I mean Commander." Tevos said, slipping up for a moment.

"We owe you that much, you did save our lives in the battle against Saren and his geth." She said looking purposely at the other two councilors. Shepard nodded, seeing no need to beat around the bush he got right to the point.

"The Collectors are abducting human colonists in the Terminus Systems. I believe they are working for the Reapers. Tevos eyes widen in shook but the other two shake their heads in disbelief.

"The Terminus Systems are beyond our jurisdiction! Your colonists knew this when they left Council space!" Sparatus yelled, Sparatus had always been his biggest critic and enemy on the Council.

"You're missing the important part, Councilor. The Reapers are pulling the strings." Anderson argued, Sparatus smirked.

"Yes 'Reapers' the immortal race of sentient starships waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim." He said, waving his hand carelessly. Anderson turned to Shepard.

"No one else encountered the hologram on Ilos that told you the truth about the Reapers. Only you and your crew ever spoke with Sovereign. I believe you and so does Councilor Tevos. But without evidence from another source, the others think Saren was behind the geth attacks." Shepard stepped back in shock inside he was barely containing his rage and the thing inside him wanted to scream at them for doing nothing.

"No one spoke with Vigil? What about the remains of Sovereign? Or I don't know why would the geth even follow an organic like Saren?" He asked, his voice rising in anger.

"The hologram on Ilos is no longer functional, and we have found nothing to suggest that Sovereign was not a geth creation." Valern said

"The geth are capable of remarkable technological achievements. This is probably why Saren recruited them, the Reaper theory just proves how fragile your mental state is. You have been manipulated by Cerberus and Saren." Sparatus said, almost spitting the last part out.

"As for the geth, Saren was a compelling and charismatic individual. It's likely he found legends of the Reapers and used them to convince the geth to follow him. Just as he convinced you." Valern added.

Shepard glared at the two. Tevos was unusually quiet; she had heard it all before.

"I kept Saren from conquering the Citadel. I sacrificed human lives to save this Council and this is how you treat me?" Shepard asked Tevos sighed.

"We are in a difficult position, Shepard. You are working for Cerberus. An avowed enemy of the Council. This is treason, a capital offense." Sparatus said.

"That's too far, Shepard is a hero. And as he just pointed out he saved our lives from Saren." Tevos said, speaking up, Anderson nodded.

"I'm on this Council too and I won't let this whitewash continue."

"Maybe there is a compromise. Not a public acknowledgement, given your ties. But something to show peripheral support." Tevos said he saw Valern nod.

"Shepard, if you keep a low profile and restrict your operations to the Terminus Systems, The Council is willing to offer you reinstatement as a Spectre." Valern offered.

"I accept your offer. It's good to have the Council on my side." Shepard said looking at Tevos as he did, he knew that it was her and Anderson who had worked to get his Spectre status back.

"Good luck with your infestation Shepard. We hope for a quick resolution and a quick end to your relationship with Cerberus." Tevos said. The other two logged off but Tevos stayed.

"John, come see me when you have the time. I would like to see you again in person."

"Of course Tevos it sadly won't be this visit as we are leaving soon but next time I'm on the Citadel I promise to see you." He saw disappointment flash in her eyes but she regained herself and nodded.

"Very well John I'll see you then." She said before logging out.

"Well that went better than expected. You realize the Council's offer is just symbolic. Valern and Sparatus won't do anything."

"Even if I don't help, I might as well stay on good terms." Shepard said. Anderson smiled.

"True enough." The door opened and an all too familiar voice spoke.

"David there is a ship calling itself the Normandy…" the voice stopped when she saw who was in the office.

"Johnny?" Hannah Shepard asked not believing her eyes. John turned to his mother and his eyes suddenly got misty.

"Mum." He choked out and quickly moved to her grabbing her in a big hug. The only thing keeping the two of them from crying was years of military discipline.

"How?" She managed to ask, John smiled, he had the perfect person to explain.

Removing himself from the hug, she tapped out a quick message to Miranda.

A few seconds later she walked into the room, her eyes widened when she saw Hannah. It took Hannah a few seconds to recognize the girl.

"Miri?" When Hannah had woken up that morning she had no idea she would be reunited with her son let alone Miranda Lawson. She had taken the girl under her wing when she and John had started dating and had grown quite close to the girl, she had sensed that Miranda had needed a loving parent and had been all too happy to provide all the love she could muster. Losing John and then Losing Miranda a few months later had almost destroyed Hannah; the only thing that kept her going was Jane and the thought of rescuing John. Hannah pulled both John and Miranda into a hug and finally lost control crying into John's shoulder. Anderson, catching John's eye nodded and quietly left the room. Kasumi decloaked and smiled at the three. Hannah at first startled relaxed when she saw who it was. She had become quite fond of Kasumi during their working relationship. After passing along the information about John, Kasumi had kept in contact and would often pass on any information she thought Hannah could make use of. Kasumi herself was interested in John's resurrection and how Miranda was involved. Miranda buried her face into Hannah's shoulder. She was the closest thing that Miranda had to a mother and loving parent. It had broken her when she had to leave Hannah when she went on the run with Oriana. It took the three a few more minutes to compose themselves and Hannah asked Anderson to come back in. Anderson was a bit surprised to find Kasumi in his office and made a mental note to double check his security. Once they were all seated Hannah turned to John and Miranda.

"Now I would very much like to hear how my son has come back to the dead. I swear if your death was part of a cover for a spectre mission I'm gonna lose it." John was already shaking his head.

"No mum, I was dead or as close to death as you can possibly get. Miranda spent two years putting me back together." Hannah leaned back in shock, when she saw John alive and well she had assumed he had been on a special spectre mission. Now he was telling her that he was truely dead and being brought back, she watched him closely, an ordeal like that had to change a person.

"Miranda can tell you the scientific's but know that I'm not a clone or some high tech AI. I truly am your son." He held her hand trying to reassure her with the physical contact. Miranda jumped into a long explanation of how she had done the impossible. Hannah was able to keep up with the science while Kasumi was more interested in how Miranda was and felt while working on John. While others knew John had a long lost girlfriend that he had hoped to find one day, Kasumi was one of the few people who truly knew the love that John felt for Mirnada and hearing her speak now she could see that the love was reciprocated. Anderson was lost from the moment she started speaking but could appreciate the effort and genius that the young woman showed. John had lost complete interest; he was keeping himself amused by using his bionics to move stuff around on Anderson's desk, wherever Miranda noticed she would drive her elbow into his ribs causing him to grunt and lose control of whatever he was holding. He would pay attention for a few minutes and be back to messing with the desk. Hannah caught the byplay between the two and smiled, they were the same whenever Miranda would stay at their house.

After an hour Miranda had explained much of what went into Project Lazarus leaving out certain details but she had eased Hannah's concerns. John grew serious and turned to Hannah.

"Mum, where is Jane?" He asked he desperately wanted to see his twin sister and tell her he was alive. Hannah shook her head sadly and John's concern skyrocketed thinking something horrible had happened in the 2 years he was dead.

Hannah saw the reaction and quickly reassured John.

Hannah said and sighed sadly.

"She's fine John, she is living on Illium with Liara the two are basically joined at the hip." During the hunt for Saren Jane had worked under Dr Chakwas and had been a field medic, joining Shepard's ground team. Her and Liara had grown close during the hunt and it came as no surprise to John that the two were together now.

"Your death hit her hard; she left the Alliance and now works with Liara as an information broker on Illium. She basically stopped all contact with me and only checks in once a month."

"Damn it, I'll have to see her after we go to Omega." John said he lent back pinching the bridge of his nose. Miranda leaned over and squeezed his hand, he gave her a small smile. They talked for a few more minutes and John checked the time he saw that he only had a little time left and he still had stuff to do.

"Sorry to cut the reunion short but we really should get going. One last thing Anderson." John said him and Miranda getting up.

"Do you know where Operations Chief Williams is? She has something I would like back."

"Chef Williams is still with the Alliance but working on a classified mission. I'm sorry Shepard but I can't say more not while you're working with Cerberus." John nodded he had been expecting the answer.

"No worries, thanks for everything Anderson." John said he shook Anderson's hand and hugged his mother goodbye.

"Come back to me Johnny." She whispered in his ear, John hugged her tighter in answer, unable to speak. He let her go and moved to Mirnada could move to hug her, his enhanced hearing could make out what she said to her.

"Look after him for me." Kasumi cloaked again and the three walked out of the office and back into the Presidium. Shepard turned to Mirnada and Kasumi.

"I've got to do some shopping and I want to stop by C-Sec and pick up some Spectre gear. You two want to tag along or go back to the ship?" Miranda thought for a second and then shook her head.

"I'll head back to the ship and see how we're doing." Kasumi decloaked and hooked her arm though Shepard's.

"I'll keep Shep company then." Miranda nodded and she gave John a quick kiss left leaving the two alone. By now she had come to terms with how close John and Kasumi were at first she had been worried something was between them but had come to realize that the two were more like siblings then lovers and she trusted John.

John and Kasumi left for the shopping district, John picked up some casual clothes for himself as well as some model ships and some fish for the fish tank, he also ordered some high quality food and found a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy. During this he and Kasumi caught up, while he asked how Keiji was Kasumi still didn't tell him what happened simply saying he was on a job. She would wait until they settled perhaps after Omega. After a short while they made their way to C-Sec and John went to the requisitions officer.

"Commander Shepard!?" The req officer said in surprise

"Yep, that's me." Shepard said smiling he was getting used to it.

"Sorry sir I thought you were dead properly, some classified Spectre mission. What can I do for you sir?"

"I would like all the top of the line Spectre gear as well as all the mods for them." The officer nodded, making some notes.

"Would you like it delivered to your ship?" Shepard nodded.

"Make it fast, we are leaving soon." the officer nodded, he looked up and smiled.

"You know sir there is a new weapon that other spectres highly recommended." Shepard looked at him curiously

"What is it?" The officer pressed a button and a panel on the side of the wall moved to show a large black gun

"It's called the M-490 Blackstorm Singularity Projector or as the Spectre's have taken to calling it The Black Hole Gun. It shoots miniature black holes. Sucks in enemies and then crushes them. Any that aren't caught inside are trapped in the event horizon. The singularity then explodes, tearing up anyone unlucky enough to be near the blast radius. The Officer explained picking it up and showing it more closely to Shepard.

Shepard smiled.

"How much?" He asked if the Officer shook his head.

``For you sir, no charge, you saved all our lives when you saved the Citadel, including my wife and son. I would happily give it to you."

"Thank you Officer, have it delivered to my ship with the rest of the gear I must be going now."

"Of course sir." The office said.

Shepard shook his hand and then left the office.

He had almost made his way back to Normandy when he heard his being shouted at and he sighed he had been hoping to avoid her.

"Commander Shepard! Commander Shepard!" he heard a female voice calling out. He turned around to see a well-dressed woman running to them with a camera drone behind her.

"Khalisha bint Sinan al-Jilani, Westerlund News." She said

"I interviewed you two years ago, when you first became a Spectre." Khalisha reminded him.

"You presented your case very well on camera. Do you have a spare few minutes?" She asked, Shepard barely stopped his groan. Taking his silence for an answer she continued.

"You're back, you're news I just want to give your story its due." Tapping a few commands her drone moved directly in front of him a little too closely he was tempted to take a swing at it.

"Sources claim you were at the heart of the Presidium during the Battle of the Citadel. It's fair to say the course of the battle hinged on your words. If true, you told Admiral Hackett to assist the Destiny Ascension, costing hundreds of human lives and securing the continued dominance of the Citadel Council." Now he really did want to shoot the drone. But he managed to control his anger

"The turians lost twenty cruisers. Figure each had a crew of 300. The Ascension had a crew of nearly 10,000"

"But the human cost.." She began but Shepard cut her off.

"The Alliance lost eight cruisers. Shenyang, Emden, Jakarta, Cairo, Seoul, Cape Town, Warsaw and Madrid. Yes I remember them all. Everyone in the Fifth Fleet is a damn hero. The Alliance owes them all medals. The Council owes them a lot more than that." He paused and then looked Khalisha in the eye.

"And so do you." He said before turning around and leaving her, he hearing picked up her last comments.

"Commander John Shepard, first Human Spectre, hero of the Battle of the Citadel"

"Great bull-rushed on my own show." Shepard smiled as he entered the airlock for Normandy.

Author's Notes

Sorry again for the wait, I'm gonna try to step it up a notch on the releases.

So a lot to unpack Hannah Shepard is gonna be in this more than the games for sure

Kasumi and John know each other from before and a good friends

Jane is in it and her and Liara romanced in ME1

Also yeah he has a Thing inside him wonder what that is?

Please leave reviews to let me know how I'm going thank you