When I finally return
Things that I learn
Carry me back to home

Chapter 19

A Proper Day Off

Markus and Sonja were grabbing a late night dinner in the mess hall: more pre-packaged military-grade field rations.

"What did your wheel of death spit out?" Markus asked between bites. It was always fun to see others suffer from what they could only construed as purposeful torture by whomever was making their food.

"Brown rice and watermelon. I know it sounds like crap but it kinda works. Don't ask me why. How 'bout you?"

"Banana beef. Pretty sure I had this flavor a few days ago."

"Think they've finally run out of ideas for mass murder of our taste buds?"

"To whatever god exists, I pray that they have."

"Listen Markie," Sonja said standing up after finishing the last of her ration. "I love staying up with you but I'm about to fall asleep. I'll crash on Izzie's ship. Looks like you guys are pretty full for cots."

"You mean racks."

"Whatever. Good night Markie." She was just about at the elevator to go down to the cargo bay.

"Hold on!" Markus had followed her, his half-eaten banana and beef flavored food still in hand. "There's one thing I want to know. Your message said you'd be gone for at least two months. What changed?"

"Couple Spectres."

"Really? Two of them?"

"Yeah. One of them was your buddy Garrus." He cut her off before she could say who the second one was.

"Garrus? Really?! I guess I oughta check my emails."

"Yeah. The other was a turian as well. Female. I think it was Latiria something. I'm sorry. I'm falling asleep right now." She stepped into the elevator and tapped the Deck Five button. "See you in the morning?"

He only had enough time to give a quick nod before the elevator closed.

When he reached his cabin Tali had already fallen asleep.

'I'll talk with her in the morning. Bad news always seems to find itself there no matter what.' He thought as he sat down at his desk. He set the lights on the projector to minimum so he hopefully wouldn't wake her up. It was a strain to see, but he only needed it like this for a few seconds. He adjusted the angle of the computer to face the corner where his hamster sat and darkened the display case so the light wouldn't shine through. After that he turned it back up to 50%.

First thing, check any emails that had come in the last three weeks. The only ones he was looking at were those coming from Alliance HIGHCOM. Interestingly, there was one from personnel requisitions from over two weeks previous.

[To: Rear Adm. Shepard, Markus C. Service no. 5923-AC-2826

From: Systems Alliance Personnel and Unit Requisitions, Lieutenant Commander Gina Brunt.

Subject: Required update of personal and medical information

Transmitted: 1734 hours, April 20th, 2187 Earth military calendar

If your service number or name are not a match please respond immediately with your information to correct the error in Alliance personnel database.

Admiral Shepard, we have received a notice in change of medical status shortly after the meeting with the Council. According to our information, you are now requiring regular medical injections of a complex chemical formula on a weekly basis as detailed by Major Karin Chakwas (document number 7713029-T-221, SSV Normandy).

This change, if correct will bar you from all current field missions in the Alliance. Given service we would understand if you wished to resign your commission. If this is the case, an medical discharge will be issued.

Contact Personnel and Unit Requisitions within one month's time (Earth standard). If no response your immediate contact will be informed of status and a charge of two days in brig and week's pay hold will be issued.

P.S. We've also heard rumors about you getting engaged to a member of the Normandycrew. I'm holding off on sending the paperwork for that. I don't want to add fire in case it is just a rumor.

P.P.S I don't believe it's too out of line for saying so, but on behalf of the Alliance navy, marines and the rest of the galaxy, thank you Admiral Shepard for saving our collective asses.

Lieutenant Commander Gina Brunt, Personnel and Unit Requisitions Alliance Navy.

Temporary HQ Echo Station, Horizon Orbital Defense station.]

This truly was the most annoying part of the job in the Alliance: the large mountain of paperwork that was required for even the simplest update in personal information.

'Which one first? Which which which which which?' He ranted in his head. In all reality, it would likely be best if he filled out personal emergency notification data first then medical. Though it would be pointless as the documents would be sent in the same reply.

He pulled up multiple forms he'd need to fill out. 1030-7A to 1030-7F, 1110-20C, F and G, and at least four others. Just to notify the Alliance that he was marrying Tali (all of which he'd check to leave the information out of public records). Another eight would be needed for medical information and twelve to fifteen to request leave most of which would be filling information out on his previous missions as to why he deserves an early dismissal.

April 8th, 2187

By the time he finished the paperwork he had been awake for 35 hours straight. Even for an humans who used adrenaline like this often it was straining for Shepard.

[To: Systems Alliance Personnel and Unit Requisitions, Lieutenant Commander Brunt, Gina

From: Rear Adm Markus Shepard, SSV Normandy

Subject: re-Required update of personal and medical information

Transmitted: 0216 hours, May 8th, 2187 Earth military calendar]

And it didn't help that he was still adjusting to the 32 hour days on Rannoch.

[I wish to apologize to you and those in PUR who have been held up due to my negligence in responding. I have been performing several services for my crew over the last several weeks and have not had the time to perform the required updates until now.

Attached documents are organized by subject followed by number (family and contact information, medical, honorable discharge requested respectively).

I would like to thank you for giving me an extra fifteen days to fill out the forms.

Regards,

Rear Admiral Markus Shepard,

SSV Normandy]

He leaned back in his chair and sighed. The last time he had spent this much time in front of a computer since his early days at Rio de Janeiro.

He groaned rubbing his eyes. "Oh man this sucks."

"What's wrong?"

"Oh geez. I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you." Tali was standing next to the aquarium controls with the bed sheet thrown around her shoulders.

"I've been up for a few minutes. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I've just been up all night doing some well past due paperwork."

"Can't it wait until morning, or rather later in the morning?" She was just as tired as he was.

"No, no it couldn't. In fact it was suppose to have been done a week ago."

"So why wait?"

He stood up and leaned in close to her. "Because I've been too tired building our new home." He kissed her audio port. It was the closest thing he could do while she was behind her mask.

"I'm gonna grab a few hours sleep. If my sisters come 'round tell them we got an additional day off." Without another word he shuffled to the bed and fell down, missing the headboard by a hair's breath.

"Well I'd say that's out of character but it really isn't." Sonja said.

Tali filled Sonja on what happened when the latter came on-board to find out what happened to her brother.

The two were in engineering while Tali ran a diagnostic on the Normandy's landing struts. Ken and Gabby had insisted they could do today's work with no problems but were overruled by their boss. There were days that it almost seemed like the Normandy's senior was chosen through nepotism.

"Come on, the kids here are saying you should take some time off and I'd like to talk with my soon to be sister-in-law. I'll get Izzie and we'll go into town. Maybe get Ash, Sam and Liara; have a girl's day. I heard the geth have done an awesome job rebuilding the cities. There's gotta be somewhere fun."

"Well you're not leaving me behind." Gabby said. "I don't think any of us have really had a day off with Shepard in charge."

"Go ahead. I've got things here, just need to run a check on the hull. See the emergency repairs are causing a slight feedback in the surface hull sensors giving a gho-."

"Kenneth."

"Sorry. Go ahead and go, assuming our Cheng says 'come with'."

"Cheng?" Tali asked. She was still learning military slang, though the time when the Normandy flew with Cerberus colors didn't help as it seemed more like a strict civilian command.

"Chief engineer." Daniels and Adams replied in unison.

"Well, I mean if you want to," Tali stumbled. "I don't really think there'll be a lot. Maybe like a-a spa at most or-"

"Perfect! The showers just don't get me clean enough."

"Well I don't know about you, but I prefer you when you're dirty."

"Kenneth!" Gabby said jabbing him. They had tried, albeit badly, to keep their relationship quiet. It was as well known as Tali and Markus' relationship. "So we heading out now?"

"Soon as you two are ready. Sent a message to the others while you were talking. They're already in the cargo bay prepping the shuttle."

"I'm all done here." Gabby said closing down her terminal.

"Me too."

"Oi. That was a good nap." Markus said as he woke up. "EDI, what time is it?"

"Approximately ten hours Shepard."

"TEN HOURS?! Damn."

"I apologize Shepard, however you slept through your alarm and made no request in case you slept through it."

"No no. I'm not mad at you. I just didn't mean to sleep this long. Please tell me that nobody is working on the house today?"

"They are not. Colonel Shepard gathered Traynor, Williams, Liara, Tali, Captain Shepard and engineer Daniels for a "girl's day". They left more than three hours ago."

"Any idea when they'll be back?"

"No."

"Okay, well, buzz me when they're on their way back."

"I will. There is also a message on your personal extranet account from an Alex Sedgwick."

By this point he had a black tee and a pair of loose fitting jeans on. It was about all he had left that was still clean. He made a quick mental note to actually run the laundry he had before the day was done.

He logged on and pressed the 'play' button on the video message. A dark skinned man appeared on the small computer terminal.

"Hey there cockbite." The man on the screen said. He and Markus had been friends since early childhood as both of their parents were Alliance military and as a result, was one of the few people who could talk to him like that openly without being blood related. Over the years they ended up at three different postings together before going their separate ways when he enlisted in the navy while Alex went to geographical studies at an Earth university. "Heard you quietly skipped out from Earth a few weeks ago. I apparently arrived a few days after you left. Bounce me a wave! I haven't heard from you since around the first battle you had at the Citadel. The Alliance sent me to Io. Figure I'll be here for at least another month. Big wigs are still trying to rebuild Earth and the other colonies. And since there's not much use for a geologist right now, I've been categorized as F-7. Basically, I'm bottom of the barrel and they want me out of the way. Don't really blame them though. Unless I've got soil samples under a scanner I'm not of much use.

"Since there hasn't been any news waves about you since Earth I figured you're not on any of our worlds. Anyways like I said, bounce me a wave. Would be nice to catch up with you. See ya later Sheppy. I mean, you know, hopefully."

He sent a quick reply inviting him to Rannoch to catch up. On his credit chit of course. Since he came back with Cerberus there hadn't been much time, or any time for that matter, to stop and talk with anyone outside of his crew, military personnel to get support or supplies.

With the message sent he went down for lunch.

"Ohhh this is niiice." Traynor moaned as she sunk into the mud bath.

"Told you it was a good idea Specialist." Colonel Sonja Shepard said from the tub next to her.

"Keelah I didn't think this felt nice." Tali said. She kept her helmet on despite being submersed to her chin in the brown mineral-enriched 'mud'. She always thought it was a pointless thing her weak immune system not withstanding.

"Oh yeah. You should try this on Illium." Isabella said. Her eyes were covered with a cucumber-like vegetable slice. "Those contracts for pleasure levels of the buyer. Dear god the ways I've manipulated them..." She said with a chuckle.

"You know, I once got them to pull all the stops out for my crew because of a sub clause in the stress-relief guarantee. It took an hour of arguing, but for a two hour massage, well worth it."

"You ever think about going into politics?" Ashley asked from the farthest bath.

"Bah! She'd go crazy." Sonja laughed in response. "She can't handle anyone telling her what to do. Not even when she was little. Mom and dad actually had to throw her in the brig a couple times to cool her heels."