Book II - Chapter 1: Coventry
Liara might have allowed her back into their bed, but she was by no means forgiven. On top of that, Liara was not the only person Shepard had to beg forgiveness from, if the collection of angry red handprints on her face was any indication. Sitting ramrod straight at the small round table in the privacy of her cabin, the Commander fidgeted uncomfortably under the stern gaze of Dr. Chakwas and Engineer Adams while waiting for their answers.
"I was wondering what could have possibly made Tali angry enough to resort to physical violence. Now I understand. Scuttlebutt had it that it was a lover's spat. Not many other reasons why you would get slapped by so many women in a single day." Dr. Chakwas commented dryly, noting the distinctive three-finger handprint on one side of Shepard's cheek and the two overlapping five-finger handprints on the other cheek.
In contrast to Dr. Chakwas' clear look of disapproval, Adams was staring at Shepard like she had just ritually sacrificed his puppy to summon demons.
"Please understand. I know I'm asking a lot from you, but I can't go to anyone else for help," Shepard began, only to be interrupted when Dr. Chakwas got up from her seat, raised her arms, and pulled her into a tight hug.
Stunned, Shepard simply sat there with her eyes wide open when the waterworks started. She had been so sure she was going to be slapped again.
"Oh, Commander. Of course I will help you. I'm not ok with this, but I will help you." Dr. Chakwas reluctantly moved back from the hug and quickly dried her tears with the back of her hand. "You can trust us to get the job done." She said. Even though she was sniffling to hold back more tears, the glint of determination in her eyes was as fierce as a protective mother bear.
Adams cleared his throat to get their attention. "I hate it as much as Karin does, but considering the circumstances, what you've proposed is the best course of action. I'm onboard. You can count on my full support, Commander."
"Thank you." Gaining the doctor's and the engineer's support was the most difficult part of the operation. She could have devised a different plan to exclude them, but the chance of the whole thing blowing up in her face was just too damn high; her current plan with the highest success rate was risky enough as it was.
Sitting back down on her seat, Dr. Chakwas ask, "who else knows?"
"So far, it's you two, Liara, Tali, Shiala, and two more agents I would like to keep quiet about. The fewer people who know about this, the more secure it's going to be."
Adams sucked in a breath through his teeth. "That's it?"
Shepard nodded. "For now."
Dr. Chakwas shook her head. "Not even the ground team?"
"No." Shepard let out a mirthless snort. "Not even my own mother."
Adams and Dr. Chakwas exchanged a look. It seemed they were both lost for words. "This is cold." The engineer finally said.
"Unfortunately, it is also necessary."
"Then I hope you have very thick skin, because at the end of the day, a lot of people are going to want to slap you." Dr. Chakwas pursed her lips into a thin line.
Shepard winced. "Please don't remind me. Speaking of which, could you get me some medi-gel? I have an appointment with Admiral Hackett in an hour, and I would really prefer not to show up looking like I just lost a fight with a clutter of cats."
Her request had the doctor smiling again. "Sure. Come see me in the med-bay any time." She paused for a moment, and added, "I just want you to know, no matter what happens next, you can always count on me as your ally. You are a good person, Shepard. Never doubt that."
Biting the inside of her cheek briefly, Shepard asked with a rueful smile on her lips, "was it that obvious? Some aspects of this operation can be quite… ruthless. I know they are terrible people, but I can't help but feel bad."
"Well, I don't." Adams squared his shoulders.
His reply reminded Shepard who she was talking to: Adams was an Alliance man through and through. His family had been serving the Alliance faithfully for generations. Even now, both of his parents were part of the Fifth Fleet under Admiral Hackett's command. Taking his personal history into consideration, the fact that he had agreed to provide full support to her mad scheme highlighted the enormity of his trust in her.
It was humbling.
"To borrow your words, Commander, 'it is necessary.' If there is nothing else, I need to get started. I would prefer to have it ready sooner rather than later." Dr. Chakwas gave them a polite nod and left without making further comments.
"Same for me. Hardware is not a problem, but the VI integration might get tricky. I'll start right away." Adams said and left to tackle his new assignment.
T minus twenty-four days.
Now that she had secured their support, Operation Coventry was officially a go. Opening up the latest message from Kasumi, Shepard shook her head in exasperation at the master thief's dubious fashion choice. Intellectually, Shepard understood why Kasumi picked this specific outfit for the mission. But damnnit. Couldn't she had picked something a little less flashy? Well, it was too late to make changes now.
"Shepard?"
Hearing her name called by Liara's voice, Shepard automatically sat up straight while scanning the maiden's face for any trace of lingering anger. "Yes?"
Liara gave her a look. "You can relax, Shepard. I'm not going to bite your head off."
"Sorry." Shepard studied Liara's body language for a long moment before pointing out the obvious. "You're still upset with me."
Liara crossed her arms. "What do you think? If we trade places, wouldn't you feel the same?"
"Yeah."
"Here." Liara pressed a tube of medi-gel into Shepard's hands. "Just so we are clear, you are still not forgiven yet. But I do feel bad seeing those handprints on your face, no matter how deserving they are."
Shepard was unable to hold back a happy grin at the gesture. It looked like she was out of the doghouse for now. "Thanks."
"Uh huh. Try to pull the same stunt again and I will not be as forgiving next time." Liara said with a stern warning in her melodic voice.
"Promise." Shepard made a gesture to cross her heart. She opened the tube and applied a thin layer of medi-gel over her sore cheeks. Hopefully her advanced healing would make the embarrassing marks go away before she had to meet with Admiral Hackett.
"Shepard..." Liara called her again. This time, her tone was tentative. Fidgeting under Shepard's curious gaze, Liara took a deep breath, and finally said, "I've made up my mind."
"O…k?" Shepard scratched her head. "About what?"
"About us."
Her reply instantly kicked the Commander into full alert mode. "What about us? You're not breaking up with me, are you?"
"Of course not." Liara clicked her tongue at Shepard's terrified expression. "What made you think I want that? I'm actually thinking the exact opposite. I think we should make our bonding official the next time we visit the Citadel. As my legally registered bondmate, you can have complete access to all the resources I have. T'Soni is a very ancient and prestigious name, and Benezia is… was an influential matriarch. A large portion of that influence is backed with a significant amount of wealth. All of which is now mine since I'm her only heir."
"Oh, Liara… Sweetie, I am so sorry, but I can't. This is not right." Shepard shook her head in dismay. This had to be one of the most pathetic reasons to get married. She understood that extraordinary circumstances had forced her to employ extreme measures, but deep down, she was a romantic. Why else would she pop the question in the spur of the moment? Listening to Liara rationalize in such a detached manner that they had to get legally bonded right away for expediency's sake was just down right depressing.
Not to be diswayed, Liara took the Commander's hand and held it tenderly against her chest. "You misunderstand my intention, Shepard. I'm not doing this for the war, I'm not even doing this for you - I'm doing this for myself. I am uncertain whether I can go through with that insane plan of yours if we don't bond wrists first. Let's not fool ourselves. This operation is beyond risky. If anything goes wrong… even if everything goes right, It will still hurt too much. Let me be selfish. You must think me silly for insisting on this, but my heart needs the extra assurance."
Shepard stared dumbly at the maiden. "... I don't know what to say."
"Say yes."
There was no way she could refuse. "Yes." The radiant smile on the maiden's face convinced Shepard she had made the right choice. "Come here," she said, tugging Liara closer to sit on her lap. She reached into her side pocket and took out a pair of intricately woven bracelets. "Red and purple, the colour of our blood. And our names in white on the inside of the bracelet. I found this asari specialty shop called Goddess Essentials in the lower ward and had them custom made. I asked the clerk for the toughest materials. You know, just in case we run into more acid spitting rachni or mercs with flamethrowers. "
"That is… very practical of you." Liara giggled while admiring the accessories with reverence. "They are perfect."
"Well, I'm glad you approve." Shepard leaned in and buried her face in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply before letting out a content sigh. "Everything will work out. I promise."
"I want to believe you, Shepard." Liara spoke so quietly, her voice was barely above a whisper. "Don't make promises you can't keep."
x-x-x
The private meeting with Admiral Hackett took place inside his office abroad the Arcturus station. While the Commander was giving him a long overdue personal debrief, the Normandy was dry docked to undergo extensive maintenance.
"Commander Shepard, it's good to see you." Hackett returned the salute before extending his arm out.
"Admiral." Shepard shook his hand. "It's good to see you, too."
"Before we start, I would like to thank you for all your hard work. In the short time you have had the Normandy under your command, you've accumulated an impressive list of accomplishments under your belt. You are a credit to your uniform, Commander."
"Thank you, sir. Just doing my job."
Hackett smiled warmly at her. "I wish every Alliance soldier has the same definition of 'doing their job.' You stopped batarian terrorists from dropping an asteroid on Terra Nova, and you stopped Saren and his geth from taking over the Citadel. Hell, it was your call to save the Destiny Ascension that earned humanity a seat on the Council."
"I didn't do this alone. I couldn't have done it without my crew. And I'm just glad I'm not being tried for mutiny for stealing the Normandy, sir." Shepard replied, trying hard not to blush too much.
"Nobody in their right mind can fault you for your decision, Commander. Yes, human lives were sacrificed to save the Council, but the political favour humanity had earned from this alone is immeasurable." Hackett paused, and added gravely, "especially in light of the coming Reaper invasion."
"Sir?"
Hackett waved her off. "No need to give me the song and dance, Commander. I'm a military man, not a damn politician. I studied every report you submitted; the evidence is overwhelming. Burying my head in the sand won't change reality. You have permission to speak freely, Commander. What's your take on this?"
Shepard activated her Omni-tool and pulled up a miniature galaxy map. "The batarians hegemony had secreted away the Leviathan of Dis to study for decades. That much is an open secret. I highly suspect the alien dreadnought is actually a Reaper corpse. What else could it be? I cannot stress enough just how dangerous Reaper tech is. Even a dead Reaper can indoctrinate. I doubt they knew to properly shield everything when their scientists were studying it. If I were the Reapers, I would use batarian space as a stage ground to kick off a galactic invasion. And you know what that means - we're next."
She circled the batarian space on the map and highlighted the mass relay paths. "The Reapers will hit every species' homeworlds because their foot soldiers are manufactured from our own dead. They will hit every major military, industrial, and communication centre, thereby cutting us off from our supply lines. While we are being pounded by the Reapers, we will be stabbed in the back by indoctrinated traitors in our midst. That's how they destroyed the Protheans, and that's the same strategy they will use against us. But unlike the Protheans, this cycle does not have a unified empire. When the Reapers come, it's every race for themselves. And it looks to me right now," Shepard turned off her Omni-tool and crossed her arms, "you and Captain Anderson are the only people in power who would entertain the thought that this is actually happening."
Hackett palmed his eyes tiredly. "The enormity of what you are saying is… Honestly, I am at a loss. How do we even begin to prepare for an invasion of this scale? Conventional warfare just won't cut it. While we have to worry about logistics and troop morale, the Reapers will have us outgunned and outnumbered at every turn. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them."
This was the perfect opportunity if she ever saw one. Months of scheming and plotting had finally led her to this moment when she could truly make a difference. "I have several, actually. I've been thinking about this since Eden Prime..."
x-x-x
Shepard decided to break the news to Ashley and Kaidan personally. She specifically timed it so the two were in the middle of taking a sip from their bottles when she announced, "Liara and I are getting married."
The subsequent spit take was to be expected. The death glare from the unfortunate bartender who got sprayed on was a surprise, however.
"We're not planning for a ceremony. We're just gonna fill out the paperwork in the embassy when we visit the Citadel next time." She elaborated casually, resting her elbow against the bar while studying her own drink. The spiced rum they served on the Arcturus station was always excellent.
"Holy hell!" Ashley wiped the spilled beer from her chin with the back of her hand in a very undignified manner. The Gunnery Chief all but freaked out in a series of high pitched squeals. "Are you serious?! Oh my God! Congratulations skipper!"
"You two make a lovely couple. Congratulations, Commander. I'm very happy for you." Kaidan's response was a lot more restrained compared to Ashley's exuberant antics.
Shepard grinned at her squadmates. "Thanks, guys. Ash, you can calm down now."
"I can't believe this! Why the hurry, if you don't mind me asking… Wait, don't tell me…" Ashley gaped at Shepard. "You didn't knock her up, did you?"
Shepard palmed her face. "No, I did not. That's not how it works."
"Well, excuse me for not knowing." Ashley paused, took another sip, and grinned, "so enlighten me. How does it work?"
"What do you mean, 'how does it work'?" Shepard frowned in confusion. "Are you asking me about asari reproduction or are you asking me about sex with an asari?"
"Yes."
Shepard rolled her eyes. "When two people love each other very much…"
Kaidan couldn't help himself. He started laughing his ass off. "Aww, come on! You are not doing this right. Watch." He stood up from his stool and raised his bottle. "Atten-tion! Let's have a round of drinks for everyone! Commander Shepard is getting hitched! Give us a hooya!"
The entire bar erupted in loud cheers. The vast majority of the patrons in the bar were Alliance soldiers on shore leave. They had no problem with free drinks. "HOOYA!"
"Who's like us!" Ashley hollered above the noises, raising her bottle high.
"Damn few! And they're all dead!" Shepard shouted back before chugging her rum and slamming the empty glass down on the bar, earning herself more cheers from the crowd.
"Now that's more like it!" Kaidan sat back down and finished his drink.
"Well shit, I'll need to call my mom before this hits the six o'clock news."
Ashley shook her head at the Commander's predicament. "Well shit, indeed. I can't believe you haven't told your own mother yet."
Shepard shrugged. "We have our issues. We've been working through them. Funny thing is, we're too much alike. That's our problem."
"Yeah, I remember her. Almost scared the bejesus out of me when I saw her standing next to you in the CIC. I thought my biotic induced migraine was making me see double." Kaidan said.
"You'll see her again soon enough. The Kilimanjaro is scheduled to dry dock for major repairs. The dreadnought took some fire during the attack. And speaking of which," Shepard straightened up and looked at her squadmates in the eyes. "There is a reason why the Normandy is called back to Arcturus other than going through maintenance. This is coming from up high - there will be a lot of shuffling. So be ready. There are consequences for us joining in the Council. We now have Council sanction to build up our military strength and contribute toward defending the Citadel space on top of our regular patrol in the Verge. You two have proven to be capable leaders; I suspect the brass will need you elsewhere."
"What?! But..." Ashley began to protest. Shepard silenced her with a look.
"But nothing." Shepard said sternly. "Even if they don't transfer you, you still won't be staying on the Normandy anyway. I've already submitted my recommendations; one is for your commission, the other is to send you to Rio. You'll get the paperwork within the week."
What she said had Ashley choking on air. "You did not!"
"I'm afraid I did." Shepard tilted her head. "You can always decline. I don't think you will."
"Permission to hug you, ma'am." Ashley asked with teary eyes and wobbly voice.
Shepard smiled and said, "permission granted," before getting tackled in a bear hug.
"You've more than earned it, Chief." Kaidan said, grinning happily at the news.
"Alright, that's enough hugging." Shepard escaped from the tight hug a bit awkwardly and offered, "have more drinks! It's on me."
Just as Shepard had anticipated, the final paperwork came through in two days. The majority of the Normandy's crew were reassigned elsewhere while a notable few were promoted.
Gunnery Chief Williams, by showing of valor and bravery during the battle of the Citadel, was offered an officer's commission. She was now 2nd Lieutenant Williams and scheduled to leave for Earth on the next transport to visit her family before shipping out to Rio to join the prestigious ICT program.
Staff Lieutenant Alenko, by showing exemplary leadership and biotic proficiency, was tapped by Admiral Hackett to join in an experimental special forces for talented biotics. This was an incredible opportunity for him to earn his own command and make a name for himself. It was no surprise he took the offer. He would be staying on the station for a while as members of the new biotic company assembled for their first test run.
Commander Shepard herself, on the other hand, did not receive a promotion even though many civilians would argue she should have. The root of the problem was that she was technically not part of the Alliance chain of command. When the Council appointed her to work as a Spectre, her military rank was effectively frozen forever. Her official title should have been "Spectre" from that moment on, though most people still referred her as "Commander" out of respect of her military service.
If they had defeated the Reapers the last time around, Shepard would have been promoted afterward since she was officially reinstated as a wartime measure. The highest rank she could achieve without being saddled with a desk would be a full bird Captain since it was highly unlikely the Alliance would willingly promote their best field agent out of the field to hold a desk job. To appease the uninformed general populace, and to maintain the appearance of fairness, the Alliance brass decided to crush her with medals in a highly televised event. It was tedious, uncomfortable, and overly politicised, but had to be done.
Shepard was never more glad that the Alliance had taken a practical approach and decided not to adopt the archaic form of traditional military mess dress uniform. It might look interesting in old holos, but the officer's dress blues was restrictive enough as it was. She could only imagine how clunky it would be to be weighted down by all that ribbons, tassels, chains, and medals while being smothered in layers upon layers of scratchy clothes. It would be more unbearable than trudging through a level one hazard world in a hardsuit.
Nowadays all the awards and decorations were in digital form attached to their Alliance personnel record, so there really was no reason to display all of them on their uniform. It wasn't like she was complaining about getting recognition for her hard work. She simply felt awkward to be put on display while fully decked out like some kind of peacock. In this regard, she wholeheartedly agreed with Mordin that she would much prefer to do her job and go home. No chest pounding required.
Still, the Commander did her duty. She even expertly tolerated an army of camera drones like an overly photogenic Alliance recruitment model without complaints for the entire day (all the while resisting the urge to roll behind cover as if they were turret flyers). One saving grace was that people more important than her did all the talking. This was done by design, not a fortuitous coincidence. Most likely, the Council had made a strong suggestion to the Alliance joint military command to prevent Shepard from saying anything that would contradict the current narrative that it was the geth that was behind the Citadel attack. They didn't need to have her sling around the "R" word in public and cause a panic.
Which was perfectly fine by her. Shepard had no intention to stir up trouble.
Not yet, anyway.
x-x-x
"She is beautiful, isn't she?" Leaning forward against the railings on the observation platform, Shepard said to her mother without peeling her eyes away from the dry docked Normandy. She had spent the last hour just standing here, admiring every little detail of her beloved ship as technicians worked the hull to give it a final round of spit and shine.
"She is." Captain Shepard agreed, silently standing next to her daughter and watching the ship for a few minutes before she finally spoke again. "I heard you are getting married to Dr. Liara T'Soni. Congratulations, Jane. She looks like a good kid."
Shepard turned to give her mother a lopsided smile. "Thanks, mom. Liara will be very happy to hear that."
"By the way, where is she? I thought you asked me to come because you want to introduce me to your bride-to-be?"
Shepard shook her head. "She's preoccupied. Our squad recovered a Prothean VI on Ilos when we were chasing down Saren. Turns out, the VI is a lot more damaged than we initially thought. Most of its non-essential data is corrupt. Even the part that's intact needs to be scrubbed and reconstructed extensively before we can make use of it. Prothean programing language is incredibly complex. Liara has been working with my best engineer, Tali'Zora nar Rayya, to try to recover as much data as they can. The more functional it is, the more likely the Council will believe this is a real Prothean VI."
"I see." Hannah crossed her arms. "Then why did you want me here?"
Shepard tilted her head and deliberately raised an eyebrow. "Did it occur to you I just wanted to see you in person while we are both on the same station?"
"Sure it did. I just didn't want to get my hopes up."
"Mom…"
Hannah put her hands up. "Alright, alright. I'm not trying to pick a fight."
Shepard looked away. She had gotten so used to being angry at her mother since she was young, it was difficult to get out of the negative mindset. The animosity between them was simple, yet at the same time complicated; she blamed her mother for abandoning her family. She was nine when her father was crippled. When John and grandmother Mary took her to Mindoir, Hannah stayed with the Alliance. If her mother had not finally broke her silence and properly explained herself only a few months ago, they never would have reconciled.
Hannah stayed because she knew the accident that had incapacitated John and killed so many people was no accident at all. She stayed in the Alliance to clear John's name, and she shipped her family away to a backwater colony in the Verge to hide her daughter from prying eyes. Young Jane's biotic ability was developing so rapidly, it was apparent the "accident" happened precisely because someone wanted to create more human biotics, collateral damage be damned.
The trail of breadcrumbs eventually led her to the tangled web of Cerberus.
If one could use one word to describe Captain Hannah Shepard, it would be "patient." Trained as an infiltrator, Hannah knew the importance of being discreet, of biding her time for her shot to line up perfectly before pulling the trigger. Twenty years she spent collecting clues and following leads without raising any red flags. She was meticulous and thorough - something the bullheaded junior could have learnt much from. The moment Shepard started her rather hamfisted attempts at looking into Cerberus plants within the Alliance, Hannah was immediately made aware of her daughter's activity. She had to drop everything and schedule the first transport to the Citadel to sit her daughter down for a heart-to-heart before the young woman could get herself killed by poking at the wrong bush.
After their talk, Shepard humbly ceased her bumbling attempt at counter-espionage and relegated this task to the trained professional, i.e. her mother. Commander Shepard might be able to out-krogan a krogan on the battlefield, but she was at best an amature in the spy business.
"I want to thank you for the list. It's been put to good use." Shepard said and handed a data pad to her mother.
Hannah quickly read through it before sucking in a startled breath. "I hope you know what you're doing." She said, frowning unhappily at her daughter and hastily shoving the data pad back as if it might bite her hand.
"It'll work out." Shepard shrugged, before adding, "I think."
Hannah shot her an incredulous glare. "You think?"
"I hope. I do have a plan, believe it or not. I pitched the idea to Admiral Hackett. Took me a while to get him onboard. He was not happy about the risk, either… Anyways. I just wanted to see you in person before I ship out. I'm going to be away for a while." Chewing on her bottom lip for a second, Shepard considered her words carefully before she said, "the lion was the first task. The sixth task was to kill the swarm of man-eating birds that had destroyed many towns. They lived in a swamp where no man can set foot on."
The look of confusion on her mother's face was not entirely unexpected. "You could've just told me it's classified, kiddo. Your riddle sucks, just so you know. What made you think I can recite Greek mythology off the top of my head?"
"I do want to tell you, but I can't. And it's technically not classified. There's no file to seal."
Hannah gave her daughter a sharp look. "You are playing a dangerous game, Jane. I'm shocked Hackett of all people would allow this."
"Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures."
"Do me a favour; be careful." Hanna studied her daughter's face, her gaze lingered on the tiny white scar that split her left brow. "If not for me, then do so for your future wife - bondmate, whichever term you prefer."
"Either one is fine." Shepard said, her lips quirked upward in good humour.
"Speaking of which, what's your plan for the wedding?"
Shepard scratched the back of her head ruefully at the question. "We're going to fill out paperwork at the Presidium embassy tomorrow. Nothing elaborate."
"Oh, come on! That's it? I understand you are not a girly girl, but is that fair to your asari bride?"
"It's her idea, mom. She wants to make it official as soon as possible." Shepard said a bit defensively.
Hannah grew suspicious. "You didn't knock her up, did you? Is that why you're in such a hurry? Wait. Asaris are monogender. You are not pregnant, are you?"
Shepard threw her hands up in exasperation. "Mom! No. Why do people keep saying that? That's not how it works." Besides, her corpse had been so mutilated after going through atmospheric re-entry sans escape pod, all the king's men couldn't put her back together. Miranda had to prioritize. It just so happened that her uterus was not high on the list. It was miracle enough that they had revived her at all. Any children of theirs had to come out of Liara because Shepard herself was about as fertile as Tuchanka's radioactive wasteland.
Hannah crossed her arms. "How am I supposed to know? Never slept with an asari before."
Groaning in embarrassment, Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose as if in pain. "Please stop."
"Just saying." Hannah smirked, paused for a second, before adding, "but really, this is between you two, so forget I asked. As long as you are happy, you have my blessing."
"... Thanks, mom. This means a lot."
Shepard senior beamed. "So tell me about my soon-to-be daughter-in-law. All I know is that she is Matriarch Benezia's daughter, and that she is a Prothean archaeologist. There's gotta be more."
x-x-x
It took them less than an hour to be officially married. It went by so quickly, it was almost unreal. All it took was the signing of a bonding paper after verifying their biometric and digital signatures in the embassy. They did not even have to worry about witnesses. As soon as words got out that the first human Spectre had requested to fill out a bonding paper with a young asari maiden in tow, Emily Wong and Khalisah al-Jilani both showed up to at the embassy in less than five minutes to crash the party.
Shepard highly doubted the public transit was normally this speedy. She had to cooly remind the two overzealous reporters to respect their privacy and turn off their camera drones. Humanity did not need to know why Commander Shepard chose to bond wrists with an asari instead of marrying a human. Whatever happened with her private life was just that, private. It was fortunate the reporters complied to her polite request; al-Jilani doing so a lot more sulkingly than Wong did. Shepard did not care to get caught on camera punching a reporter or two on her wedding day.
As if on cue, the Council summoned her to an urgent meeting at the tower right afterward, sparing her an unwanted interview. Shepard had never been happier to get a call from them before. The meeting was to take place at the conference hall adjacent to Councillor Valern's office, which so happen to have suffered the least amount of damage during the invasion. When she arrived, the entire Council was already there.
Anderson greeted her with a warm smile. "It's good to see you, Commander. You look... happy and well dressed today. I don't see you out of uniform very often."
Shepard schooled her face to wipe off the dopey grin and snapped a crisp salute. "It's good to see you too, sir."
She gave a quick glance down at the suit she was wearing. It was a well-fitted black suit with simple cut and white trim, much like the officer's uniform Cerberus had so helpfully stocked in her closet when they gave her the SR-2. The best part about this suit was that it was mercifully not decorated with the Cerberus logo. Shepard had stubbornly refused to wear anything stamped with the much hated yellow diamond last time, so her choice of clothing was cut down to one grungy spacer jumpsuit that looked as if it was made with oily burlap and the science uniform - she wore the science uniform for six months straight.
Holding up her left wrist, the newly wed proudly showed off the bond bracelet to her mentor. "Tied the knot with Liara at the embassy just now.".
"Just now?! Congratulations." Anderson recovered quickly from the shock and held out a hand to give her a firm shake, grinning happily on her behalf.
"Thank you, sir."
Valern chimed in to give his two-cent in typical salarian fashion. "Indeed, this is good news. The T'Soni bloodline has produced several prestigious matriarchs. I am amazed you've managed to secure a breeding contract, Commander."
Shepard palmed her face.
Salarians.
Sparatus commented drily. "I am more amazed you've found the time for courtship. One would assume your attention would have been otherwise occupied on more pressing matters."
"I multi-task well." Shepard kept her voice level, even though the acerbic tone was unmistakable.
"Obviously." Sparatus agreed, his mandibles fluttering in amusement.
"Commander Shepard," Tevos finally spoke. The asari Councillor had been staring intently at her the whole time since she walked into the conference hall. In fact, her deep piercing gaze was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. "Congratulations on your bonding. May the Goddess bless your union."
"Thank you, ma'am." Shepard said, trying to ignore the feeling of being actively assessed while keeping her face blank. "Councillor, what's this meeting about? You said it was urgent."
Tevos pulled out her Omni-tool to show a report on screen. "Ah, yes. We read your report on Ilos, Commander, we have questions. You mentioned you've encountered a functional Prothean VI, and it gave you a file to temporarily take control of the Citadel. Could you elaborate on that?"
Shepard straightened up. "The VI's name is Vigil. It was a caretaker program created by the Prothean scientists on Ilos to monitor their stasis pods. The program is very sophisticated, though most of its non-essential data bank is corrupt. One important function that is still intact is its ability to detect indoctrinated organics. I have saved a copy of the VI since the original program was close to termination from power failure. My team has been working diligently to recover more data ever since."
The Councillors exchanged astonished glances with each other before Sparatus finally spoke up again. "Commander, if what you're saying is true, then this is an incredible find. We would need to assemble a science team to study the program."
Shepard agreed readily. "Of course. I will submit a copy of the VI to the Spectre Office. Even with proper shielding, the chance of indoctrination while handling Reaper tech could never be eliminated. If the Council wishes to study Sovereign's remains safely, I highly recommend setting the VI's detection protocol as the highest priority item before experimenting with Reaper tech. If we want to play with fire, we better have smoke detectors installed in every room, lest the house burns down. Wouldn't you agree?"
The flippant way she mentioned studying Reaper remains left no room for interpretation. Shepard wanted all the Councillors to know she knew they had secreted away bits and pieces of hyper-advanced technology to study while at the same time spreading misinformation to the public on the origin of the same tech. In other words, she was essentially telling the Council that they should not bother denying her claim that Sovereign was a Reaper to her face. Studying geth tech did not pose the same risks as studying Reaper tech. Either they could take her advice and take preventive measures against indoctrination in their secret labs, or they could keep pretending they were studying geth tech and have their best scientists compromised.
Not all of Sovereign's remains were recovered after the failed invasion. Pieces large and small were taken away either through the Council's official channels, or through illicit black market trades. No matter where they ended up, the worse case scenario was that people became indoctrinated sleeper agents by the Reaper tech they were hoarding through improper material handling. If the Council insisted on spreading misinformation regarding Sovereign's origin, Shepard wanted them to understand this was the risk they ran.
"That's a very good point. We can never be too careful." Anderson said while giving the other three Councillors a slightly smug look. It seemed he understood what she had done.
By saving Vigil, a valuable Prothean VI with the capacity to detect indoctrination, Shepard had trapped the Council into at least admitting to their highest leadership and their best researchers the true origin of the tech they were studying. This way, the masses would stay blissfully ignorant while the people in the know would be forced to stay vigilant.
Well, relatively more vigilant comparing to last time. Shepard was not going to hold her breath. The temptation to bury one's head under the sands while pretending everything was fine was too damned irresistible.
"And there is also the matter with the Prothean beacon you've encountered on Virmire." Valern continued, blinking rapidly as he spoke. "The Council has decided it would be best for you to share that knowledge."
Without hesitation, Shepard agreed amiably, "I understand. I have been logging the beacon's content in my spare time by category. The process is slow going because I do not have the technical expertise to discern which information should be prioritized. It would be helpful if someone could provide me with a list of topics."
"Actually, Commander, there is an easier way to do this." Tevos spoke up. Judging from the contemplative looks she was receiving from the other Councillors, whatever she had in mind was not an unanimous decision. "We are hoping you would consent to melding with matriarchs versed in mental disciples. Sharing memories through knowledge melds should be more efficient than transcribing the information down on data pad."
Shepard knew this was coming. Frowning in an obvious show of reluctance, she asked, "does that mean the matriarchs would then share the findings equally with salarian, turian, and human representatives so we are not favouring one species over another?"
All eyes were on the asari Councillor after Shepard's question. Her strategy to divide the Council regarding this matter had worked, if the sour expression on Valern and Sparatus' faces were any indication.
"I would much prefer to avoid having strangers rummaging through my memories, Councillor Tevos. My mind is open to my bondmate, and no one else."
Tevos conceded. Shepard had no doubt she would bring the issue back up again when she worked out a different angle. "Very well. The Council shall deliberate on the best method to expedite knowledge sharing. For now, please continue transcribing data and submitting them to us. We will send you a list of priority items to focus on."
Shepard smiled. She would bet real credit that even the list would be very much contested amongst the Council races. The more embroiled they were in jockeying for a better position, the less likely the Matriarchy could get their way. Of course, the Council might put aside their differences long enough and decide that having a team of asari matriarchs sift through her head was the fastest way to milk all the precious Prothean data out of her brain, but knowing the Council, it would be a hot day on Noveria before that happened.
Anderson gave her an apologetic look. "There is one more thing, Commander; albeit, the timing is not the best. We've received troubling intel of possible geth activities in the Terminus systems outside of the Perseus Veil. Ships are disappearing, and they don't look like typical piracy. The reports are spotty at best. We are stretched thin, and the Normandy is the only stealth ship we have at the moment."
This is it. Shepard's heart picked up speed and began to race at a frantic gallop. Outwardly, her face remained impassive.
Tevos' sharp eyes zeroed in on her own just as a puzzled frown kneaded between her tattooed brows.
"You want me to collect intel on the geth in the Terminus systems."
Sparatus nodded. "Yes. For all we know, they could be regrouping for another invasion. We need time to rebuild our fleet. Meanwhile, it is paramount that we keep a close watch on enemy movement. We want to know where they are massing, and how many ships they have."
"Then I better get to it right away." Shepard agreed cordially.
After saluting the Council, she walked away without a backward glance.
She could feel Tevos's eyes followed her out of the hall.
x-x-x
It was just another routine mission.
Several ships had gone missing in this system without explanation. Even though their disappearance could have been blamed on pirate activities or slaver gangs, something just didn't quite add up. Those ships had no particular value, and there had been no established gang activities in the area where they disappeared.
Joker sat slouching in his pilot seat and sulked. His hips and shoulders ached from sitting in the same position for so long. He would never admit it out loud in present company, but the damned chair was hard on his joints. Would it break the Alliance's bank to install a more ergonomic seat? He highly doubted it. And the material they made the seat with should really be outlawed for doubling as a torture device. Was it so much to ask for leather upholstery?
No, it wasn't the boring mission or the stupid chair that was pissing him off. Joker looked around the cockpit and sighed to himself. It was the new crew that put a raincloud over his head. He had no idea why the brass thought messing around with a formula that worked was a good idea.
Kaidan was gone, and Joker really couldn't blame the man. Hell, the guy was presented with a golden opportunity for his own command, no reason why he would turn it down. Still, he missed the guy. Kaidan was one of the nicest officers he had ever worked with, not that the Commander wasn't nice or anything. She could be really intimidating sometimes. The Lieutenant was personable and harmless like a teddy bear, even though he could've easily snapped someone in half with his biotics if he wanted to.
He even missed the stiff Navigator Pressly. The old guy was stern and by-the-book, but he was competent and fair. After the shuffle, they assigned a stuck-up hardass with an ugly chin beard who used to work on Rear Admiral Mikhailovich's ship as the new XO, and it all went downhill from there.
Staff Lieutenant Lentz had this pompous air about him that grated on his nerves. Joker swore Mikhailovich had pulled strings to squeeze in his lap dog on the Normandy just to make their lives difficult. No doubt he had it out on the Commander ever since she denied him an impromptu inspection. Those two were cut from the same unpleasant cloth that reeked of Terra Firma nonsense. Was it a wonder Tali went back to the Flotilla after putting up with the jerk for less than a week? Sometimes he wished Garrus and Wrex were still with them. He would pay good money to watch the self-important a-hole try to push them around for a change. Picking on a young quarian girl on her Pilgrimage was just not fair.
Joker had a feeling Lentz wouldn't be sticking around for too long though. If the rumor mill was right, the guy got into a fist fight with Engineer Adams for calling Tali a suit rat. To say that the Commander was unimpressed would be an understatement of epic proportions. Most of the time, the Commander was so easy-going, people forgot that she was this scary N7 elite who could gut a batarian slaver with her pinky finger. According to eyewitnesses, all it took was one glare from the ticked off Commander for the new XO to crap his pants from sheer terror. Joker was not surprised. Tali was family to the Commander - and nobody messes with her family.
After Tali left, Liara became the lone non-human on the ship. At least the jerk had enough brain cells to not try anything with the Commander's wife. Now that was a surefire way to get tossed out of the airlock. So instead of picking on aliens, Lentz had decided to be doubly unpleasant to the crew. Some people were simply not suited to be given power, Joker thought.
The rest of the crew seemed alright. After the reshuffle, the Normandy went from fully staffed at thirty crew members down to half strength. They weren't like the old crew, but building a new team took time. Three weeks was hardly long enough for people to really get to know each other.
"We've been scouring the Amada system for days. Still no sign of geth or pirate activities." XO Lentz said, shaking his head at the navigation scans on his workstation.
"Ships don't just disappear for no reason. Send out more probes. Keep looking." Commander Shepard ordered flatly. It was obvious to everyone that the woman was in no mood to put up with any bitching. They were assigned a job, and they were expected to carry it out without complaint. Having worked under her for a while, Joker was well aware of that particular tone. "For all we know, it could be another Reaper lurking out there. Stay alert."
"Yes, ma'am." Joker answered quickly. In the corner of his eyes, he saw Lentz pull a face when the Commander's back was turned.
Unfortunately for Lentz, the Commander apparently had eyes growing in the back of her head. "If you are bored, Lieutenant, I can order another evac drill to make your day more interesting."
Even Joker couldn't hide his grimace at that comment. Another drill would mean more limping and hobbling on his glass legs. With a new crew manning the ship, the first order the Commander gave out after they left port was to run an evac drill as per Alliance regulations. After the drill, she then proceeded to rim the crew out for slacking before ordering another drill until their performance improved to her liking. Tough love, Joker supposed. After all, they just lost three cruisers defending the Citadel. He bet the crew on those ships had wished they had had someone like Commander Shepard as their CO.
"Unknown ship spotted…" A navigator called out. Joker scanned the interface and sucked in a breath; the thing's energy signature was massive!
"All hands assume battlestation! Joker! Get us the hell out of here!" Shepard barked out an order before running back to get suited up. Joker did not hesitate.
"Why?" Lentz rolled his eyes. "God that woman is paranoid. Did she forget we are in stealth mode? Geth can't see us."
Joker ignored him. He trusted the Commander to give the right order. Plus, after Virmire, he had a healthy respect of what a Reaper could do. With a quick swipe of his hand, he gunned down on the accelerator to squeeze out as much speed as he could from the Normandy's oversized eezo core.
Not even a minute later, the Commander's instinct was proven correct. "Unknown ship is accelerating! It's set on an intersecting trajectory!"
"What? Impossible! They can see us?!" Lentz exclaimed in disbelief.
"They're powering up! Brace for evasive maneuver!" Joker shouted even as his hands became a blur on the interface, desperately trying to shake the enemy ship from their tail.
The enemy dreadnought fired. Joker barely had time to move out of the way. Alarms were going off like Christmas trees on his screen. The shot had shattered their kinetic barrier just by grazing it with the faintest lick. If the shave had been any closer, it would have ripped open the Normandy's hull like a bloody sardine can. "We've lost shield! Disengage stealth drive! Re-routing power!"
In the middle of the chaos, the Commander had come back to the bridge fully suited up in her N7 armor. "Emergency beacons launched. Begin stage 1 evac! Countdown, sixty seconds! Joker, buy our people time!"
"I'm trying!" Joker groaned in despair. What the hell was he supposed to do? In a dogfight with this much power disparity, one minute was a whole lifetime. Their best secret weapon, the IES stealth system, was proven to be completely useless. They didn't have a big enough gun to scratch a frigging dreadnought's paint job when it was fully shielded. The tiny frigate's kinetic barrier was a sad joke that failed after one hit, and its armor plating might as well be tin foil. There was no relay nearby to escape through, there was no debris field to hide in, and the Normandy couldn't keep dodging fire forever. Sooner or later, the enemy ship would run her down. When that happened…
"Vent the heat sink. Might confuse their sensors." The Commander shouted over the loud siren of Normandy's VI counting down to stage 2 evac as CIC staff scrambling to reach escape pods located in the crew deck.
"Copy that!"
It worked. The enemy ship fired into the empty space while Joker pulled the ship out at a sharp angle to continue their escape at a different trajectory.
"It'll come back again. Time's up. Stage 2 evac in 5… 4…" The Commander continued the countdown with her hand hovering over the interface.
Joker's hands shook. He reached up and activated the emergency seal built into his uniform. The layer of transparent holographic faceplate clicked into place, making everything seem blurry.
Damn it, that's tears. Why the fuck am I so weak?
"3… 2… 1… Disable life support on all decks! Re-route all power back to shield!" At her order, Normandy's kinetic barrier flared back to life just as they lost artificial gravity and air support. The Commander yanked him out of his chair, unlocked the side panel leading to a small two-seated escape pod, tossed him in like a rag doll, and…
The enemy ship fired again and tore the Normandy in half.
"No! It's not fair! You can't do this!" Joker screamed and beat against the sealed airlock. He could hear the bones in his hands crack, but he hardly noticed the pain. Out the porthole window, he saw the wreckage of his beloved ship on fire.
He was alone in the escape pod.
Joker watched helplessly as the enemy dreadnought fire on the tattered remain of the Normandy again. After the second shot, there was nothing left.
Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau wept like a child.
x-x-x
A/N: I'm not going to get into a fight over fictitious military ranks, especially when the in-game lore is, at best, inconsistent (read: all over the place) throughout the trilogy. I blame this on laziness because 1) they reused the same body mesh; 2) character interactions were off between people of different ranks; 3) the military would never hand out promotions like candies. One does not simply get promoted from 0-3 to 0-6 (or for an NCO to be promoted to 0-4) in three years. Typically there are laws in place to dictate how long an officer must stay in a given rank before the person can be promoted. Since BioWare is a Canadian company (and I'm a Canadian writer), I'm going to borrow from Canadian Armed Forces ranks for the Mass Effect universe and call it good. I'm going to put my foot down and insist that Commander Shepard's official rank to be Commander, rather than Lieutenant Commander because "Commander" literally means "Captain of a frigate." In real life, Commander is also the highest rank for astronauts in a given project.
0-9 - Fleet Admiral (4 gold bars with red stripe) - Admiral Hackett
0-8 - Admiral (4 gold bars) - Admiral Anderson after the Reapers invaded Earth (see his hat)
0-7 - Rear Admiral (3 gold bars with 1 red stripe) - Admiral Anderson in the beginning of ME3
0-6 - Captain (3 gold bars) - Captain Anderson in ME1
0-5 - Commander / Capitaine de frégate (3 black bars) - CDR Shepard
0-4 - Lieutenant Commander / Major (2 black bars) - LC Williams, LC Vegas, Major Alenko
0-3 - Staff Lieutenant (1 black bar) - LT Alenko
0-2 - 1st Lieutenant (2 white braids)
0-1 - 2nd Lieutenant (1 white braid)
And please don't ask me if Shepard is dead or alive. Just enjoy the story for what it is. If anyone is losing sleep over this and must know the answer, send me a PM.