Chapter 4

Mindoir was flat. Or at least that was Kaidan's first impression as the transport landed in the small spaceport in the capital of Toscani.

"Welcome to Mindoir!" said an info vid above his head in a pleasant female voice. "You have just arrived at one of the galaxy's greatest secrets!" The blonde announcer winked. "Founded in early 2154, Mindoir started as a small farming colony, but quickly became much more. Come visit us for that perfect getaway. In Toscani, where you will shortly land, you'll find all the comforts of home and maybe a little bit more! Mindoir: where you can still see the stars at night."

Shepard's face suddenly appeared on the vid, startling him. He'd forgotten that Mindoir had received permission to use her likeness on their colonial seal. It was from an older photo—before Akuze. The scar across her eyebrow was missing and the fresh-faced determination hadn't yet been replaced by the burden of losing men under her command.

A slight bump and a VI's cool voice alerted him that the transport was docked.

Kaidan shouldered his bag and exited the transport. Customs didn't blink twice at his Alliance pass and funneled him quickly through. Part of him thought he was crazy for tracking Shepard down when she clearly didn't want to be followed. The other part, the one he'd shoved aside after her death, was ready to go crazy because she wasn't in his arms at that moment.

Local time was around thirteen-hundred hours. Hopefully that meant Shepard would be around somewhere and therefore easier to find. He left the spaceport as quickly as possible, only stopping to grab a bite to eat at one of the overpriced food kiosks.

As he ate a rather bland Mannovian dish with some sort of pasta and nubs of unidentifiable meat, he glanced around the small spaceport. Kaidan didn't consider himself stuck-up when it came to colonies—small or otherwise—though some people might have expected it since technically his home address was on the Citadel. If truth were told, however, he preferred a smaller setting. It reminded him of home. Toscani felt a bit like the suburbs of Vancouver: small but beginning to throw some weight around.

Ground transport to other parts of the colony weren't hard to find after he finished his meal. Kaidan bought a ticket via a linkup with his omni-tool and was soon hurtling over the flat plains of Mindoir toward New Independence: the town where Shepard had grown up.


She wasn't at the Memorial. Kaidan wasn't surprised—it was too public of a spot. He glanced around, away from the monument and the flowers strewn over the ground. Aside from the memorial, there was nothing to distinguish this small, colonial town from any of the others scattered over the surface of Mindoir. But it was where Shepard had spent some of her happiest years—before the raid.

Where are you? He wondered. In his gut he knew she would be here but where?

A few other visitors were also at the Memorial. He'd largely ignored them until one caught his notice: an older woman, perhaps in her sixties, wearing coveralls with the colonial seal. A caretaker perhaps?

"Excuse me, ma'am" Kaidan said, edging over to address the woman in the uniform. "Is there a town cemetery?"

The woman took in Kaidan's unremarkable civilian clothes and pointed west. "Down the main thoroughfare about three blocks you'll see the church—big building, can't miss it. The cemetery is just beyond that."

"Thanks." Kaidan nodded. He followed the directions and soon found himself in the churchyard surrounded by ghostly images. Holographic memorials were popular these days—they were relatively cheap and they provided much more of a tangible memory of the person than a cold stone slab ever would.

Hands in his pockets, he walked along the peaceful rows, searching the names. It wasn't until he'd reached the end of the second row that he saw a part of the cemetery had been sectioned off with decorative flowering shrubs. He walked over and saw a little plaque that made his heart lurch:

In memory of those who died during the raid of Mindoir, 2170.

"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."*

Feeling vaguely intrusive, Kaidan searched the various memorials until finally... A holo of a man with a baby in his arms and a woman at his side—That's what Shepard will look like in twenty years, was Kaidan's startled thought. In front of them stood a teenage boy looking bored, a little girl maybe four years old, and... there she was. This picture was probably taken only a few months before the raid. Teenage Andie Shepard was leggy and thin with the loose-boned look of adolescents not quite used to long limbs. Blemishes were scattered across her cheeks, and a rebellious lift to her chin added a touch of defiance that hadn't changed with the years. But she looked happier than he had ever seen her. The darkness behind her eyes when she thought no one was looking was absent here.

Names were listed beneath the picture:

Matthew Shepard (2122–2170) Joanna Shepard (2121–2170), Erik Shepard (2150–2170), Andrea Shepard (2154– ), Gabriella Shepard (2165–2170), Isaac Shepard (2169–2170)

"Where your treasure is there your heart will be also."**

Kaidan felt his throat tighten and swallowed hard as the holographic Shepards smiled at him. The real Shepard was nowhere to be found, however, though he did see flowers laid carefully over the five graves.

She had been here. If he breathed deep, he imagined he could smell the scent of her hair. But the only real smell on the air was that from the flowers. A dead end. She'd been here and gone.

Kaidan walked back into town, not yet despairing but discouraged. Perhaps one of the locals would have recognized her when she came into town? As he walked past the Memorial, he overheard a man grumbling to a woman beside him.

"…all I wanted was a picture of her. You'd think I'd pointed a gun or something."

"Shepard's a local hero, Mick. I guess we shouldn't have been surprised that they'd protect her."

"What's one picture going to harm anyone? They wouldn't even tell me where she was. Hmph!"

Kaidan paused. So the locals were protecting Shepard? That made it unlikely that'd he'd get anywhere better than the tourists. He sat down on a bench near the Memorial, rubbing his face tiredly. Perhaps he should get a room somewhere and start fresh in the morning. Did New Independence have a hotel?

"I thought you looked familiar," a voice said behind him "I saw you on the vids. You were on her squad, weren't you?"

Kaidan looked up, surprised, and saw the caretaker woman he'd asked directions from earlier. He nodded slowly. "I was. We… lost touch over the past couple of years. Do you know where I could find her?"

The lady's eyes softened as she nodded. "That I do."


* 1 Corinthians 15:26

** Matthew 6:21