Thank you for reading!
Before she tackled any more galactic diplomacy, Shepard wanted to return to the Citadel for a proper restock of the Normandy, which had left Earth with a skeleton crew and not nearly enough supplies. The Alliance and the Council were footing the bill, which she appreciated, and she had no intention of going into any further complicated situations without the Normandy ready for any contingency.
That her concerns for Thane and Kaidan kept distracting her and she wanted badly to check on both of them and assure herself of their well-being was a thought she kept to herself.
Once docked at the Citadel, she let the small crew loose to stock up on their personal supplies while she and Joker went over the ship's needs and called in their orders, with the assistance of Cortez, their new shuttle pilot and procurement officer. Only once everything necessary was on order, pending delivery, did she step off the ship.
Almost immediately, she found one of the younger crewmembers, Ensign Copeland, under assault by a very determined reporter. "What seems to be the trouble here?"
The reporter, a dark-haired woman Shepard vaguely remembered having seen once or twice, did a double-take at the sight of her, but rallied quickly. "Commander Shepard! Just the person I wanted to see. I have a proposal for you."
"If you're asking to come aboard the Normandy, the answer's no. Combat is no place for a journalist."
"But this war will be won on the air, in the hearts and minds of those you want to follow you," the reporter argued. "You need someone with you, reporting on your progress as you go."
There was a forcefulness in her that told Shepard this would be a done deal without her input if she left the reporter to make her way up the chain of command. Over the reporter's shoulder, she could see a news vid playing, a familiar face smiling from it, and she smiled in response, recognizing the way she could make an end run around this stranger.
"I'm afraid I already have a contractual arrangement with someone else," she told the reporter, feigning regret.
It wasn't quite that easy, but at last Shepard convinced the woman someone else had gotten there first. Now it was just a matter of convincing Emily Wong to come on board.
At first, Emily stared at her blankly. "You always said it was never going to happen."
"Apparently my hand is about to be forced. This other woman didn't say anything specific, but I had that feeling."
"Allers." Emily nodded. "She gets what she wants."
"Not if you get it first. What do you say, Emily? Adventure, first crack at the stories?"
"I get creative control?"
"I can trust you?"
"Shepard! How long have we known each other?"
"I see everything before it goes out."
"Fair enough." Emily smiled. "I never thought I would live to see this day." The smile faded. "I'm almost sorry I have, now, under the circumstances. But we'll do what we can to build support."
"How soon can you be ready?"
"When is the Normandy shipping out?"
"Tomorrow."
"Done." They shook hands, and Shepard left her old friend's office glad that she would have someone she trusted aboard to report the news, but worried for Emily's safety. There would have to be ground rules, and plenty of them.
Outside Emily's office, Shepard ran into Bailey, now a Commander in rank, with an office just down the hall from Udina's. She wasn't best pleased that Anderson had been persuaded to step down from the Council so Udina could take his place, but she supposed she ought to have seen it coming. And if it meant Anderson was on Earth to take command when the Reapers attacked, maybe it had been divinely ordained, she mused.
"Commander," Bailey said, smiling as she fell into step next to him.
"Commander."
"Good to see you back on the Citadel. Our mutual friend was worrying himself sick. Well … sicker."
"He seems not as bad as I had anticipated."
"He's had some spells. The boy's worried." Bailey sighed. "He's young still."
Shepard nodded. "I wish I was young and didn't know what was coming."
"You and me both." Bailey hesitated, then glanced at her. "Earth. Was it as bad as the vids make it out?"
"Worse."
He winced, and it occurred to her that maybe she should have sugar-coated things a bit.
"Do you have family on Earth?"
Bailey nodded. "An ex-wife, a couple of kids I was looking forward to making up lost time with someday. I guess … someday may never come, now."
"Don't give up hope. Only the big cities were hit hard, and even then, military installations took it worse than civilian areas. If you haven't heard otherwise—well, keep hoping."
"That what you do, Commander? Keep hoping?"
"How else do you think I get anything done? If I let myself believe there was nothing I could do to change things, then there wouldn't be." She hesitated, then added, "Our mutual friend's condition is a rare instance where I am forced to sit and wait and accept that what will be will be. Frankly, I hate it."
"I get that. I would, too." Outside Udina's office, Bailey stopped to look at her. "I'm keeping a close eye on both of them."
"I know. I feel better knowing it. Thank you. If—if there's ever anything I can do to return the favor …"
"Someday I hope to have a reason to take you up on that."
"Me, too."
Shepard watched him go, his slumped shoulders telling her that he had a long way to go before he could consider hoping. She made a mental note to ask Anderson if anything could be done to find Bailey's family, next time she had a chance to connect with Anderson. If Anderson survived that long.
"Arashu," she said softly to herself, "if the prayers of a Siha mean anything to you, keep him safe. We need him."
She wasn't sure if she believed there was an Arashu, or if Arashu was listening, but there was something obscurely comforting in the supplication.