Chapter 2 : Borderline
The heart of the Earth Systems Alliance space was what the humans called the local cluster, their home where Humanity began the third planet of the sol system Earth. A blue green orb – the capital of the systems alliance was undergoing rapid changes before the reaper invasion experiencing a new golden age as the wealth from the colonies and the technology that came from being a member of the Citadel council was brought back to Earth.
Earth was ground zero for the post Batarian reaper invasion; the major cities of Earth were decimated as the reapers undertook their 'harvest' of the Human race and so many of what was once 11.4 billion people were now dead.
'Is it done' sounded a steady voice across a large sterile domed room 'Yes Matriarch' replied a young Asari officer 'The citadel has been moved into orbit around Mars, ground teams standing by to dock and undertake damage assessments'. The 'Destiny Ascension' flagship of what was left of the citadel fleet along with the Turian dreadnaughts and Quarian liveships has used their powerful Mass Effect fields to move the Citadel from Earth and establish a new orbit around Mars. The citadel once repaired could house and feed the entire allied fleet and was the key to the mass relay network which had fallen silent since the crucible had fired it's dark energy beam, it did what it was supposed to do – the reapers caught in its wake were dead but as the beam spread through the relay network it had caused the relays to go silent as if they were dormant but all attempts to activate had failed.
Matriarch Lidanya captain of the Destiny Ascension walked along her bridge stopping to quiz junior officers on mistakes and suggestions, hard work in her opinion would keep everyone focused on the here and now rather than 8 year journey home to Thessia if they could not bring the mass relays back online. She turned to the medical station 'Is there any change on the commander?' she asked, the ascension amongst other duties had a fully equipped hospital suite and after Shepard had been stabilised by Alliance medics had been shipped to Asari dreadnaught for further treatment due to little to no facilities still in existence planet side.
'Surgery removed most of the shrapnel; I understand one shard had embedded near the wall of his heart and it was touch and go but he seems to be pulling through' responded the medical technician, she paused before continuing 'He keeps on drifting in and out of consciousness which is troubling but we are still having trouble figuring out what exactly all the implants that were implanted him actually do, there is one implanted near his hippocampus and seems to link into his cerebral cortex that seems to be showing signs of rejection but we are unsure what the implant's function is as of yet', the elderly Matriarch thought over her words and seemed to recall that in humans and some other vertebrates the hippocampi helped with memories and spatial awareness ' Keep me posted, the council, Turian primacy and Admiral Hackett want to know when he is conscious and lucid, is Commander Williams still with him?' Lidanya asked.
'Yes sir, she hasn't left his side, I asked the critical care staff to setup a cot so she could sleep as she must be exhausted', 'Matriarch' came a voice across the other side of the alcove 'The Cybaean reports they have completed a damage assessment of the docking arms and the SSV Orizaba are requesting permission for their CO to come aboard' Lidanya strolled over to the communication centre Shepard would have to wait whilst she attended to her command duties.
She had never felt so tired, every single muscle seemed to ache and more than once she had felt her eyes start to droop, she looked across at the bed and sighed a sound of relief they had both survived this as much as she had refused to give up hope the thought of John having the same fate of the rest of Hammer had rose its ugly spectre over the last 16 hours.
He was on the mend or at least seemed to be and the fact the brief times he has come too he had said her name 'Ash' and squeezed back when she held his hand seemed to show that he should recover, she looked at his sleeping form partially covered with wires and an automatic medigel dispenser – Commander John Shepard, saviour of the citadel, conqueror of the collectors – the man who managed to unite the galaxy behind him and delivered the largest armada ever assembled to take back his home planet had undergone extensive surgery to repair the damage from his assault on the citadel portal but was now resting comfortable. Ashley leaned over and gently kissed him on the cheek as a wave of lethargy came over her she rested her head on the mattress and closed her eyes.
'Williams', 'Ashley?' came an unfamiliar voice, Ashley groggily opened her eyes and looked up, there stood a woman with fading blonde hair and familiar blue eyes she looked to be in her late fifties dressed in the blue uniform of an Alliance admiral. Ashley quickly stood up and saluted as she placed the face at last 'Admiral Shepard, apologies ma'am, 'as you were please Commander' said the confident voice of Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard commanding officer of the SSV Orizaba Kilimanjaro dreadnaught class, flagship of the Alliance 5th Fleet.
Hannah Shepard stood to look at her son, 'How is he Williams? I came by last night but he was still in surgery and you were already waiting for him in recovery' Ashley looked uncomfortable at the admiral 'You should have come in, you are his next of kin Admiral' Hannah gave a small smile 'I think he would rather have seen you when he woke up than his mother Lieutenant Commander or have I read that wrong?' fixing Ashley with a long stare she continued 'I seem to recall after John was MIA following the SR1 destruction I asked you were the rumours true about you and my son – I seem to recollect that you denied them Williams'. Ashley paused trying to phrase the words right and attempt to keep her temper despite a slither of anger emerging 'I lied to you admiral and I am sorry but the brass were already trying to deny everything Shepard... John had fought for and I didn't want anyone tarnishing his memory with confirmation that he… we broke the fraternisation regs as well', Ashley looked back into the admiral's eyes before continuing 'We fell in love during the hunt for Saren, argued about his involvement with Cerberus after he came back and recently patched things up... I still love him if that is what you are asking Sir'.
Hannah sighed and sunk into a chair; she pressed her fingers to temple and started to rub 'Apologies Williams... Ashley I did not mean to accuse you of anything, I just needed the truth and to get confirmation. I think after this is all over the last thing the alliance will want to do is indict the only two human spectres with a fraternisation charge'. Ashley sat back down 'I hope so Admiral – we were discreet as we could be when we were aboard the SR1 but with the war going on we might have got carried away – there is definitely some footage of us um kissing in a presidium cafe from a few weeks ago somewhere' Ashley said somewhat uncomfortably.
The admiral smiled weakly 'It might interest the gutter trash press but nothing the admiralty will be concerned about, that reminds me I forgot to congratulate you on your promotion Lieutenant Commander' Ashley looked up 'Thank you sir, I had a good example to follow' looking towards Shepard lying in the bed 'I forgot to thank you as well, Admiral Anderson told me how you had backed my original promotion from NCO to commissioned officer'. 'I merely gave you elbow room, your accomplishments are your own, John told me weeks before the collector attack that he thought you were one of the finest marines he had ever served with. Perhaps in hindsight now he was a tad biased but you raised from the Junior Lieutenant commission I arranged for you up to Lieutenant Commander all on your own without any support from me, John or Anderson never forget that Commander'
Ashley gave a faint smile 'Thank you Admiral' she then remembered that Admiral Shepard's original query about her son had never been answered 'He suffered a lot of burns throughout his body which they have managed to graft from parts of his chest and back which what was left of his armour had protected but there were complications from loss of blood and splinters of shrapnel embedded. The operation last night was to stop the leakage of fluid coming from one of his implants and to remove shrapnel pieces that had been driven into the heart chamber'. She turned to look at Shepard who's eyelids appear to slightly flicker perhaps a sign he was now in REM sleep instead of being unconscious 'The asari doctors seem to think he will recover but Dr Chakwas our chief medical officer is also aboard she thinks there might be a need to look at some of his implants on the future but without access to Cerberus records on how they were implanted they don't want to touch them at present'. The admiral reached for her son's other hand and gave it a simple squeeze 'he is a survivor just like his father, he will pull through Ashley'.
He was in the forest again…. It was cold, damp and dark, he looked around ash white trees dotted around and between each one shadowy figures that all seemed to be looking into his soul. 'Shepard-Commander' came a ghostly metallic voice, Shepard's mind flash backed to the assault on a derelict reaper to obtain an IFF and one lone geth with an N7 badge and an old sniper rifle. Shepard had been here before every night in his dreams, there were a flood of voices 'It's the right decision and you know it' 'Someone else might have gotten it wrong'. Shepard turned to face the shadows 'Kaiden… Mordin?' he whispered as the shadowy image solidified itself to the image of Staff Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko 'Problems Commander?' came the ghostly voice of Shepard's long dead teammate and friend Shepard took a step back 'Your dead Kaiden', the image of Alenko gave a broad smile 'Oh that's right isn't it…. You left me to die. Assuming Control!' the smiling image of Alenko cracked as his face split open to show four lights shining through the orbs that had been where the eye sockets had existed half a second ago and crackled with pulsating yellow energy 'We are Harbinger Shepard… you belong to us'
As he looked on all of the shadows seemed to surround him… all of them an glowing yellow avatar of Harbinger, there was a noise above him. He looked up a single red eye of a reaper stood above him and fired….. he was burning again, fire snaked around his body 'Fire problematic, Shepard, not insurmountable though' he heard a voice whisper in his ear 'only you can make this right… anyone else will get it wrong'. He saw the image of Mordin Solus before him; the Salarian doctor held out his hand Shepard grasped it 'Time to wake up Commander'.
His eyes groggily opened and then closed… he was not on fire but he felt he had gone ten rounds with a Krogan, he heard two people talking 'What are your career plans now then Williams' said one familiar voice 'Help the alliance and Earth however I can, it depends on Shepard I guess…. We haven't really discussed the future per se but both of us are playing for keeps, we have risked our careers to come this far' came the clipped tones of another voice he knew so very well 'that serious then?'
He forced his eyes open and tried to shift position slightly 'That serious Mom' he stated croakily, he felt both sets of eyes boring into him 'I'm sure I look worse than I feel' he reassured the concerned women by his bedside. He reached for the hand of Ashley Williams who entwined her fingers with his 'Déjà vu, isn't this how I woke up the first time we went into combat together' Shepard asked tenderly, Ashley smiled at him 'Except that time was just a Prothean beacon, you hadn't gone toe to toe with three reapers and undergone surgery Skipper' she bent down and kissed him on the lips 'Don't ever do this to me again… John.. I…' 'It's ok Ash, I'll always come back to you' Shepard said already regretting the line as he saw a quirky smile appearing across Ashley's face 'ah corny line uttered from the John Shepard line of greeting cards, all is right in the world came the teasing response.
'*cough* ahem' said the slightly amused admiral 'forgotten about your poor old mother already John?' Shepard swung his head around which caused slight spikes of pain along his back 'Sorry Mom' as he sunk back into his pillow to relief the pain. Ashley stood up 'I will leave you guys alone, will be back later' she leaned close to Shepard and kissed him swiftly 'Going to get something to eat, don't go anywhere Hero-man', Shepard smiled 'Love you too Ash'.
As the door closed which announced Ashley's exit Shepard looked up at his mother 'Glad to see you're ok, I was worried when we didn't hear from the Orizaba after Arcturus was hit', Hannah had a pained expression in her eye 'Arcturus was hell, never seen anything like it reapers swatted us aside like gnats… if Drescher and the rest of the 2nd fleet had not covered us we would have lost half of the navy… thank god they have been stopped'.
Shepard could see that his mother didn't really want to talk about it 'I'm glad you came… we haven't had much of a chance to talk apart from our brief discussion before my tribunal, thanks for standing by me', Hannah looked him the eye 'I never agreed with you working with Cerberus but your my son, I know you there was no way you would have sacrificed that system without a damn good reason'. Hannah stood up and walked to the window through it she could see the rust coloured planet below and the behemoth structure that was the Citadel 'How much has Williams told you about what happened after your attempt to breach the transport beam?' 'Not much as I have not been very lucid but the gist of it was that Anderson went up opened the arms , ignited the crucible and died in the explosion' said Shepard with a pained look on his face… he suddenly had a memory bubble to the top of his head 'You did good son, you did good…. I'm proud of you', was that all a dream or something else…. Another memory surfaced 'This hurts you'.
He shook it off 'Anderson…. He was a good friend Mom, so many dead….' Hannah swung around and exclaimed in a loud voice 'and none of it was your fault, you had warned the council for years about this and neither they nor the alliance did anything. If it wasn't for you a lot more would be dead John… you united the Quarians and Geth, brought the Turian, Salarian and Asari fleets, cured the genophage…. Do I need to go on?' Shepard said nothing and Hannah continued 'No-one else could have pulled this off, you gave David Anderson his shot and he took it. He above all people would have wanted you to be happy over this… your alive as is the majority of your team especially that young commander who just walked out of here. You have a lot to live for John, don't pity the dead!'
Shepard looked up 'I take it you approve of Ashley then?' 'She found you when most others had given you up for dead but at the end of the day you don't need my approval or anyone else's, as long as you are happy that's good enough for me' stated Hannah 'There will be consequences though John somewhere down the line, Anderson and Hackett went to bat for you a lot. You and Williams are untouchable for now but remember not everyone in the admiralty is your friend'.
The door swooshed open with a slight clicking noise 'Commander, awake and lucid at last halluhah ' came the reserved clipped tones of Dr Karin Chakwas 'Just about Doctor' said Shepard wincing 'Anything you can do about the pain Doc' Dr Chakwas walked over to the med bay and reviewed the display 'I'm going to increase your meds but this is not going to be a simple recovery Shepard, your implants are showing early signs of rejection' she turned to Hannah 'I'm sorry Admiral Shepard but I don't want the commander overtaxing himself this soon after surgery could I ask you to continue your chat with your son another time?'
Hannah Shepard stood up 'In any case I am needed back on my ship soon, they want us to recover what's left of the crucible, you need anything John vid me' and with deft military precision Admiral Shepard left the room.
Almost Three weeks later...
The nightmares continued… every night was the same – shadowy figures whispering in the background and always ended with Harbinger hunting him, Shepard awoke suddenly he felt very clammy, he got up as gently as he could in order not to wake Ashley who was sleeping next to him. He had been discharged from urgent medical care and was currently back on the Normandy technically still off duty for medical reasons pending his rehab with Ashley being assigned command.
He was still in pain from time to time, Shepard grabbed the crutch from the floor beside his bed, the room was partially illuminated by the soft glow from the aquarium, he walked with the aid of his crutch to the bathroom located beyond the CO's desk which was crowded with flimsipads detailing damage assessments and repair schedules from the citadel and allied fleets.
Shepard splashed water over his face and swallowed the pain killers Chakwas had prescribed for him, it had taken almost 3 weeks to recover sufficiently to be this mobile, he closed his eyes waiting for the painkiller to take effect. There was a light touch on his back as he felt two arms snaked around him 'Hey' came the sleepy voice of Ashley 'Trouble sleeping again?', Shepard opened his eyes for a moment just taking comfort of the feel of the warm body leaned against him 'Sorry Ash I didn't mean to wake you – back was playing up taking pain meds' he said in response to the question.
'Uh huh, well come back to bed then skipper' said Ashley taking him by the hand and back towards the bed. They lay quietly together arms and legs entwined; Ashley took a deep breath 'It's the dreams again isn't it? Shepard didn't say anything just lifted Ashley's hand and kissed it gently. Ashley pressed on 'Even if you were close to being indoctrinated its over... the reapers are gone their creepy mind control signal disappeared with them. All we have to do is clear up the abominations they left behind, let the eggheads figure out how to get the citadel to restore the mass relays, get our allies home and restore Earth!' Shepard turned to Ashley and promptly kissed her 'That simple LC?' admiring the way she always seemed to be able to cut to the heart of a problem 'It's that simple hero-man, now get some sleep Captain's orders mister' she said playfully returning the kiss. 'We have the debrief with alliance brass at ten hundred hours, you have your fit to work assessment and Tali seems to think the citadel cleanup team should get the quantum entanglers working soon... busy day John' she reminded him, she turned over but felt fingers tracing over her back 'hmm I take it the painkillers are working then' as she turned back over to face Shepard and pulled him on top of her.
The next morning Shepard woke up to a chiming in his ear 'EDI Alarm off' he called as he blearily opened his eyes 'Good Morning Shepard' came the voice that appeared to belong to no-one, 'Morning EDI I don't recall setting an alarm this morning' said Shepard as he sat up and moved towards the edge of the bed 'No Shepard, Commander Williams instructed me to set the chronometer this morning, she said you did not sleep well last night but to make sure you were up before eight hundred hours'. Shepard slowly stood up 'Did she now?' he said as he smiled unsure on how he would repay the favour 'Yes Shepard, until you are reinstated to active duties she is the ranking officer aboard and I am required to obey all of her orders', 'A fact she is well aware of... that will be all EDI. You can inform the Commander that I am up and about' he assured the Artificial intelligence that governed the ship.
A few short moments later Shepard appeared dressed in the blue uniform of an alliance command grade officer, he had switched his crutch for a leg brace that corrected his muscle atrophy by deploying a small mass effect field and firing off nerve clusters throughout his thigh but it was uncomfortable and he preferred a crutch. He was using it today to try and persuade the admiralty to let him return to duties in some capacity.
Shepard stepped out of the elevator into the belly of the ship, the shuttle bay where the Normandy's small fleet of Kodiak shuttles were kept, the ships armoury was housed and when fully equipped ground assault vehicles such as the M35 Mako Tank and the M44 Hammerhead IFV. 'Commander on deck' came the swift call of Lieutenant Cortez as Shepard walked by he could see two crewmen saluting him along with Lieutenants Cortez and Vega, saluting him along with Lieutenants Cortez and Vega, he returned the salute and walked over to the prepped shuttle where there were a small group of officers assembled in full naval uniform awaiting transport to Earth for the debrief with Alliance Command. 'Glad to see I'm not the only one suffering with this monkey suit Commander' said the jovial tone of Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau who looked distinctly uncomfortable in his light blue uniform 'Put a sock in it Joker, you have been complaining all day about it' teased Ashley who was leaning against the side of the shuttle waiting for Cortez to finish his pre-flight checks. Shepard walked towards the shuttle and propped up to the shuttle next
to Ashley 'Thank for that lovely alarm call this morning LC' he said in a light hearted tone as he gently nudged her with his elbow.. she nudged back 'Anytime Commander'. she lowered her tone 'I could have used water the way you were snoring'. Shepard rolled his eyes 'You could have sung in the shower again.. cracking glass would have been preferable to EDI's screeching' he said in a tormenting tone, an elbow nudged into him again 'You will pay for that one Shepard' came the low voice again, 'promises, promises Ash' responded Shepard with a cheeky grin.
'Preflight check complete, everyone ashore who is going ashore' shouted out Cortez, Ashley moved forward with an urgency 'come on people lets go Moreau,Vega, Chakwas, Traynor grab your gear and buckle in, Adams you have the ship' shouted Ashley. 'Logged - The Commanding officer is going ashore, acting XO Adams has the ship' came the synthetic voice of EDI, 'What no shouting for me to get my gear 'skipper' ' said Shepard as he boarded the shuttle and gave Ashley a mocking half salute 'You have your medical and I know how much your looking forward to that' said Ashley returning the mock salute.
Shepard boarded the shuttle, sat down and hooked into the safety harness, Ashley climbed on board slammed the kodiak door shut and banged on the metal frame 'We all good, go for launch LT' she shouted over the hum of the engines 'Aye Sir' countered Lieutenant Cortez sitting in the cockpit, his hands pressing familiar controls on the orange dashboard - he ignited the main thrusters and opened the airlock with a backwash that the escaping air caused, the teal tinted drop shuttle left the Normandy shuttle bay.
The shuttle engines hummed with life and gently shook the passengers inside; they were almost at their destination, the centre of the Systems Alliance Fleet currently moored around the moon just above the ruins of Luna base which was undergoing repairs. The flagship of the alliance the SSV Everest an 888 metre dreadnaught, the ship that Admiral Hackett had occupied throughout the war and was now serving as the base of operations for all alliance forces whilst Luna base was repaired and repurposed for the same role.
The shuttle banked for starboard 'SSV Everest Control, this is Kodiak 456 out of Normandy requesting permission to dock' asked Cortez reaching for the switch that transmitted the radio signal, 'Kodiak 456, this is Everest flight control you are cleared for landing on starboard pod' came the crackly voice over the tightbeam transmission 'Copy control, vector locked in' confirmed Cortez. The shuttle followed the path of the main mass accelerator cannon that travelled the length of the ship before dipping below it and entering the main landing bay before coming to a gentle stop.
The door slid open and the command crew of Normandy descended, a sharp whistle sounded and a young female officer appeared dressed in the uniform of a naval ensign 'Welcome to the Everest Sirs' she stated 'The lieutenants are required for their official debriefing with the Post action committee, Lieutenant Commander.. Admiral Hackett has requested your presence for an update on the Normandy repairs' she paused and then turned to Shepard 'Commander Shepard, Dr if you can follow me the medical commission is waiting to see you'.
Shepard turned to Ashley 'Wish me luck LC?' Ashley smiled 'Yes Sir... go get them Shepard' acutely aware that eyes were on them; she turned and walked to the elevator along with the rest if the squad minus Chakwas who had a slight smile on her face 'Something funny Dr' Shepard asked 'Of course not Commander... shall we get going?' replied Dr Chakwas.
Ashley stared at the sterile white surrounding of the elevator as it went up past floor after floor, Vega and Joker had already reached their destination but she was heading towards deck one to meet with Fleet Admiral Hackett. She was never one for nerves but she did think back to all those years ago stationed on Eden Prime, she never imagined that in just four short years she would overcome the Williams curse... since the first citadel battle she had been promoted four times raised in rank from a non commissioned Gunnery Chief to Operations chief, from there worked her way up through the Lieutenant ranks and was now a Lieutenant Commander chosen by Admiral Anderson to serve as his Executive Officer on the SSV Normandy even though that did not go as planned thinking back to where Anderson had chucked Shepard's commission and his old command symbolised in his old dog tags.
She had never had much of a chance to serve as an XO due to injuries sustained and when she came back after the citadel coup Garrus already served as XO in a non official role, here she was now acting CO for less than three weeks and now reporting directly to the supreme commander of the alliance forces and until martial law was disbanded and elections held the head of state.
The doors swished open and she carefully stepped out, she could not see the admiral anywhere in fact the only presence she could see were the two marines standing guard by the elevator doors. 'Come on in Commander' said a gravelly voice, Ashley walked into a large circular room the back of it was a giant glass screen that looked out onto the length of the ship and boy was it a big ship she thought. Maybe not quite as large as the Asari or Turian dreadnaughts but human made with a mixture of the firepower of a dreadnaught and the ability to control space due to its hybrid nature of being a battleship and air carrier 'Quite a view isn't it Williams?' said the same gravelly voice now sounding next to her. Ashley turned and with a crisp salute said 'Lieutenant Commander Williams reporting as ordered Admiral, 'as you were please Commander, I prefer to keep my briefings informal when I can... please have a seat' said Hackett pointing to a seat in front of an oval shaped desk.
Hackett sat down giving a sigh as he did so 'It's been a long three weeks Commander, how are you holding up? Ashley returned the look 'As well as can be expected Sir, the Normandy repairs are progressing well, the tears in the armour have been repaired and Lieutenant Adams expects to have FTL capability restored soon'.
'Well done Commander but as you can imagine I did not invite you up here to talk about the Normandy' Hackett temporary halted as he stood up again to look out the window 'People are scared Williams, everything they have known has been taken away and I thought you should know that despite my best efforts you and Shepard have enemies at home'. Ashley looked puzzled 'Sir?' 'This entire briefing is a farce Commander, some of the Admirals are concerned about their power more than the alliance's wellbeing and are extremely uncomfortable with an powerful alien armada trapped in our solar system. There is a lot of talk of taking steps and when the Asari moved the citadel with my approval I suspect things may move beyond talking. Commander they will try and keep you and Shepard out of this and will use every trick at their disposal, until now they could not move directly as you and the Commander are heroes the human spectres who helped liberate Earth but they have found out about you and Shepard's shall we say less than professional relationship'.
Ashley looked uncomfortable 'Um Sir, I'm not quite sure I know what you mean' trying to get this conversation back to a level she felt she could control. 'The time to play coy has come and gone Commander, I don't blame you or Shepard hell I think both are you damn heroes and if you two make each other happy then you both deserve it. Unfortunately some of the other Admirals don't see it my way and one in particular is coming after you, are you familiar with Vice Admiral Garrett?' asked Hackett turning around to look Ashley in the eye.
'Garrett Sir? Yes I know her – she sat on my promotion reviews early in my career and blocked every single one, she always managed to get a reference to Shanxi in and my grandfather without fail' said Ash with a fire in her voice remembering the unjust opinions of her by so many officers before she signed on with Shepard and proved herself in the field. 'I seem to recall she was in favour of court-martialing Shepard to pacify the Batarians as well'.
'She has you in her sights Lieutenant Commander I'm not sure what evidence she has but she would not be coming at you unless she had something solid. I can only help you so much Williams I am walking a tightrope, I need the admiralty support at least until we can elect a new prime minister and alliance parliament or I risk looking like a dictator... Earth needs a united front at least for now'
Hackett looked up as he sat back down in his chair 'Williams... Ashley I will do what I can but yours and Shepard's dirty laundry is about to be aired no matter what happens, remember to keep your temper and play it as straight as you can... I need you and Shepard out there if we want to keep a lid on this'
'Sir, this is absolute bull...' started Ashley 'I trust you to keep comments like that to my office and out of the briefing Lieutenant Commander. Go take five... dismissed Williams' ordered Hackett.
Ashley closed her eyes as she composed herself, gave a snappy salute and brusquely walked out of the office and into the elevator, as the door closed she hit the wall damn Garrett and damn the admirals playing politics at a time like this she thought furiously to herself as she felt tendrils of pain in her knuckles.
He ached all over as he had been poked and prodded with a multitude of sensors and probes for the last twenty minutes, it hadn't gone as well as he hoped but better than it could have been. He had been cleared for command duties again thanks to Chakwas's intervention and running commentary on his state of mind but he had not been cleared for combat duties and were advising him that it was possible due to the problems with his implants he might not be cleared for marine combat duty again.
'Well I think that's about it Staff Commander, welcome back to duty' said the alliance medical commission doctor as he shook his hand, 'Thanks Doc I think' said Shepard dryly returning the handshake. 'That wasn't so bad was it Shepard' said Dr Chakwas in her slight British inflection 'If you say Dr how about next time it's your turn' said Shepard, Chakwas laughed and opened the door 'After you Commander' she said holding it open.
'Still in one piece then Shepard?' said a voice as they walked into the outer atrium of the medical bay currently masquerading as Alliance Medical Command, Shepard looked to the direction of the voice to see a tall grey skinned bipedal alien encased in dark blue metallic armour. A Turian but not just any Turian 'Garrus Vakarian, small world' called out Shepard as he walked towards his friend and clapped him on his shoulder, 'Sorry I haven't been around Shepard' said Garrus 'but I was called away by the Primarch, must have done something to piss him off as just been handed a General's commission'.
'General Vakarian... careful Garrus you might end up being respectable' came the jovial tone of Shepard teasing his friend 'Me... never, well we will see, anyways I was in the area came to brief the alliance on the citadel repairs and heard you were aboard. How are things really Shepard, we haven't had a chance to talk?'. Shepard started walking slowly as Garrus did beside him 'I have my good days and bad days Garrus, medics here trying to push out of combat duties' Garrus looked at him as his mandibles clicked slightly as he responded 'Is that really such a bad thing... neither of us are as young as we were and I seem to recall us agreeing that our galaxy saving days are behind us' Garrus put his hand on Shepard's shoulder as he continued 'If you forgive the use of a human phrase I think you have done your bit for king and country maybe it's time to think about what you want from life Shepard, you and Ash lost each other before... I picked up the pieces after Horizon remember – maybe the two of you should make the most of this time... god knows you have earned it'.
Shepard was going to respond when his omni-tool beeped, it was an encrypted message from Ashley he scanned the message which detailed her meeting with Hackett 'it never rains but pours' he sighed, 'Problems Shepard?' asked Garrus 'Potentially, about to walk into a live fire exercise and my gun is only loaded with blanks or at least politically speaking' he replied to Garrus seeing the puzzled look in his eye 'Ah the xenophobes finally making their move then' Garrus looked at him 'part of the reason I am here Shepard the council thought you might need some morale support'.
Shepard looked at him appraisingly 'Come on Garrus, I'm not letting Ashley face this on her own', 'I've got your back same as always Shepard' stated Garrus as they quickly moved towards the lift.
The lift opened into a large semi circular room on the left and right hand side of the room were raised dais's that were filled with personal of different ranks, along with one or two flashes of light that betrayed the presence of the press, he managed to recognise the face of Diana Allers the journalist who was embedded in the Normandy during the reaper conflict, she managed a warm smile as she was speaking quietly into her holocam.
At the centre of the room was a large table with highbacked seats in which were seated a number of men and women in the uniform of an Systems Alliance Admiral. There was a swish as the elevator opened again Shepard turned to see who it was as Ashley walked in 'Sorry for springing this on you skipper... wish Hackett could have given us more warning' she whispered 'Nothing to be sorry for Ash, I won't let them take you down you have worked too hard to get where you are' he spoke quietly back 'John I'm all for the gallant act but we are both at fault in case you forgot' she hissed back at him 'remember Shepard I don't need saving, I never did... we walked into this with eyes open and I'm not lying about how I feel about you' she stated quietly still as her eyes softened, Shepard looked at her 'I suppose kissing you right now would not look too good LC' Ashley laughed softly 'probably not skipper save it for later'.
There was a soft chime which announced that the admiralty board was in session. One of the admirals raised from his chair 'This board is now convened, Commanders thank you for attending please be seated' the pallid grey haired Admiral stated as a servicemen pointed to a table in front of them where there were two chairs. Shepard and Ashley sat down as a figure stood up on the dais in front of them, 'The chair recognises Vice-Admiral Magda Garrett' said the computerised voice of the Everest's VI. Admiral Garrett cut an intimidating presence as she stood tall in her dark blue admiral's uniform, her hair was cut in a low bob with dark hair just greying at the roots, 'This is the follow-up investigation and debrief into the actions of the SSV Normandy and personal. Shepard, Williams – please place your hands on the interface for the VI to record your credentials for the record' she said in a stiff manner putting a slight emphasis on the word Williams. Shepard placed his hand on a white panel on the desk, the synthesised voice of the Everest VI sounded 'Name - John Shepard, Rank –Staff Commander, Military Vocation Code – N7 Specforce Naval Marine Corps, Current Assignment – Commanding Officer SSV Normandy attached to the office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel , Honours – Star of Terra for actions at Elysium, Alliance medal of honour for actions on the Citadel, Five citations for bravery under fire, Two citations for innovative tactical solutions'.
Shepard withdrew his hand and Ashley placed hers and the voice sounded again 'Name – Ashley Williams, Rank – Lieutenant Commander, Military Vocation Code – S1 Orbital Deployment, Reconnaissance, Infiltration, and Assault Forces - Naval Marine Corps, Current Assignment – Acting Executive Officer SSV Normandy – Spectre status confirmed but no active assignment, Honours - Alliance medal of honour for actions on the Citadel, Two Citations for Marksman excellence, One citation for courage under extreme battlefield conditions.
The Virtual Intelligence then stated 'Records updated and confirmed, Logged - Commander Shepard and Lieutenant Commander Williams are present and verified'.
Admiral Garrett sat back down and looked down at the two officers before her 'Commander Shepard thank you for your detailed after-action report but there are a few matters have come to light that we require some clarification on as I'm sure you can understand. You are a hero after all Commander to the people of Earth' she said with a fastidious look on her face, 'not just Earth but to Palaven as well' came a familiar voice from the audience 'Yes and to Rannoch' came the familiar voice of Tali'Zorah. 'SILENCE' came the dissenting cry of Garrett, 'Marines remove the aliens from this chamber now!' 'Myself and Admiral Vas Normandy are ranking officers in the Turian Hierarchy and the Quarian Admiralty, I'm sure you would not want to cause a diplomatic incident amongst your allies would you Admiral Garrett?' came the mocking tone of Garrus. An unnamed admiral next to Garrett put his hand on Garret's arm and shook his head silently, 'Of course not General ' Garrett said frostily 'But that does bring me to my first point namely Commander that the SSV Normandy is an alliance frigate... one of our most advanced and you have repeatedly let aliens... I'm sorry let me rephrase that non-alliance personal aboard with free run over the ship. It did not escape my notice that I saw a lot Quarian destroyers with extremely similar technology in regards to the stealth systems, do you find that as surprising as I did Shepard?'
Shepard stood up 'Admiral, forgive me I'm a simple soldier' as a small titter of laughter went through some of the crowd 'did you have a point to make? As I could point out that the Salarians have outfitted entire Dreadnaughts based on the Normandy Prototype stealth drive along with the fact that the Normandy was a joint Turian-Human design intiative. The Quarians may have got their ideas from my ship but I can deny that anything untoward in terms of espionage ever happened on my watch. I trusted and still do trust every single man or woman that has served on the Normandy both on the SR1 and SR2 no matter their race or creed'.
'A pretty speech Commander but forgive me if I don't take your word for it, your decision making has been suspect at best, do the words Cerberus mean much to you or the murder of three hundred thousand Batarians and of course you say you trust everyone on your crew why then have you got the granddaughter of one of the greatest cowards the alliance has ever known?' retorted Garrett.
Ashley looked up, her eyes narrowing as she got up 'Now wait just one moment you...'she started to exclaim angrily her finger pointing to Garrett, Shepard quickly intervened 'No Ash, this is what she wants' he said quietly 'Sit down... please'. Ashley acquiesced and returned to her seat 'My apologies for speaking out of turn Sir' she said to Garrett her tone showing that she was far from sorry as you could get.
Shepard turned back to look at the Admiral 'I believe I was cleared of all charges relating to my brief employment with Cerberus and the attenuating circumstances regarding the relay destruction was accepted by the defence committee at my tribunal, unless alliance law has changed in my brief time fighting the reapers I trust I can't be tried for the same charge twice?' 'Laws can be changed Commander' snapped Garrett who cool beginning to snap 'Of course admiral that is of course your prerogative, I would have thought rebuilding our civilisation and helping our allies return home would be further on the list of priorities but like I said I am a simple soldier what do I know of such things?' another small wave of laughter went through the room.
Shepard paused before continuing 'on the last point you raised, I never knew General Williams personally but knowing what I do know of Turians I would say he saved a lot of lives by surrendering that day and bought time for the Calvary to rescue Shanxi. What I will tell you however that I have gotten to know his granddaughter very well over the years, Commander Williams is amongst one of the finest marines I have ever had the privilege of serving with and this is coming from a man who served with David Anderson and Kaidan Alenko. Her achievements are her own and the fact that command have recognised this by her coming so far in rank over the last two years should demonstrate that fact'.
Garrett smiled 'Your defence of Commander Williams is admirable Shepard but could you pray tell us what is the nature of your relationship with the Lieutenant Commander?' and hear it was the moment she had been building up too Shepard surmised. 'I'm not sure I know what you mean Admiral' said Shepard playing it coy 'You don't... well let's just say that information has reached us that seem to suggest that your relationship with Williams is not quite professional, you are aware of the fraternisation code of conduct for all alliance officers are you not Shepard? What am I saying of course you are... you are after all one of our more experience command grade officers. If the committee will allow it I will submit this video recording taken from the citadel security footage from the Presidium commons a few weeks ago' stated Garret somewhat triumphantly.
A small screen appeared to lower down from the centre of the room and displayed Shepard and Ashley standing next to a table in a cafe along the Presidium, they were standing very close together and Shepard's voice could be heard saying 'That sounds great Ash but right now I can't focus on anything but you' and then as the video skipped ahead 'well, we had something before, a long time ago, something important' said Ashley on the video which then jumped ahead again 'Are we going somewhere' said the voice of Ashley 'I want more Ash, I can't see myself with anyone else' said the image of Shepard as it jumped ahead for the last time 'Remind me' said Shepard, 'Yes Sir' replied Ashley as the video ended with the two commander's kissing.
Garrett walked down towards the two commanders, 'well I think that sort of makes my point for me, I think we have heard enough of your little speeches Shepard... have you anything to say Williams? Any little nuggets of information that could shed light on your vastly inappropriate relationship with Shepard, oh I forgot something to add to the evidence, forgetting for the moment your throwaway comment about having something before in case you claim this was a one off moment of weakness we have this recording from the London resistance base of operations taken just before Hammer was shipped out' Garrett tapped a button on her omnitool as audio began to play 'I don't want you to go' came the voice of Ashley followed by 'I love you Shepard' 'and I love you too' came the voice of the commander.
Ashley got up, visible angry 'There is nothing inappropriate about my relationship with Shepard! I love him so what, it has never stopped me executing my duty to the alliance or to the mission I was assigned' 'Your duty to the alliance means obeying all the laws Williams or maybe things like that don't matter to a family of traitors and cowards' shouted Garrett.
'Wait a god damn minute' bellowed Shepard 'Your right Admiral I do know the regulations regarding fraternisation, there is nothing in the regulations that stops me from having a personal relationship with another officer it only comes into effect when I am that said officer's direct superior. Ashley is a spectre and was not officially assigned to the Normandy when that particular video was taken so I was not her commanding officer and due to her spectre status we more or less have the same rank'.
'Poppycock Shepard, we have enough evidence from your former crew about you and Williams on the SR1 as well' replied Garrett angrily 'My relationship with Ashley did not break fraternisation rules until after we stole the Normandy which again technically I did not do as a member of the alliance navy' countered Shepard.
Garrett sneered 'Perhaps your time with the aliens has addled your brain Shepard or maybe you still have some brain damage from your time spent floating in space or buried in London. I move to put you on gardening leave and court martial you for failing in your duty as a member of the alliance, failing to safeguard alliance technology and breaking the fraternisation regulations. Williams is only guilty of fraternisation which require some brig time and a reduction in rank, it's obvious you were promoted too early.'
Shepard leapt to his feet 'Ashley deserves her rank, if you are going to punish someone let it be me, I was the senior officer I take complete responsibility' 'No Shepard, you are not taking the fall for this' responded Ashley 'Touching' came the mocking reply from Garrett 'I think you are done... Marines take the commanders into custody and escort them to the brig'.
'Belay that order' said a loud gravelly voice who had just walked into the room 'Who do you think you are...' came the voice of Garrett as she swung around and then paused 'I think I am Admiral Hackett supreme commander of all alliance forces and acting head of state for the Earth Systems Alliance Vice-Admiral' responded Hackett who stared at Garrett in the eye 'I have come to put an end to this farce, I knew you were playing politics Magda and wanted to show the alliance that we are still in charge but grounding two of the only human spectres in existence and the one officer that is trusted by the entire citadel council and associate races... now that is pure stupidity'.
'Stupidity you say? Stephen I will tell you what is stupid trusting this this alien lover and a Williams, he has always put the council before Humanity. Don't you see we have this chance, the citadel fleet where we want them, the citadel, the mass relays... they can all be ours all we have to do is take them' said Garrett looking slightly unhinged.
'Shepard is one of the finest officers under my command, an N7 marine – Anderson's protégé and without him our victory over the reapers would not have been possible. Williams has proven herself over and over again during the hunt for Saren and after, what you are suggesting Magda is madness... we achieved this victory through working together with the other races it showed that the principle that the citadel council was based on – cooperation with the other races is our greatest strength. People are scared for the future and that is understandable as the unknown is always unpredictable but the way we will get through this is by working together with the other races not by conquest'.
'and these two... they are guilty Hackett you saw the same evidence I did' fumed Garrett, Hackett turned towards the two officers standing by their table 'Guilty of what Magda... falling in love – is that a crime now? They probably broke the fraternisation regs but you have no proof this happened when Shepard was assigned as William's direct CO. Williams you are relieved of your XO duty pending reassignment but convention states that as a spectre agent you can serve on the Normandy if you choose too unless overridden by the citadel council. Shepard I need you out there, we have to get the citadel back up and running which means more of the politics you claim to hate so much to that end you will be serving as the alliance liaison to the citadel and the rest of the allied fleets, as you will be dealing with dignitaries on behalf of the alliance you will need a rank that will give you the respect the position is entitled so I am promoting you to Captain effective immediately, don't let me down Captain'.
Garrett stood there stunned for a second before she turned around and then swivelled back to Shepard her eyes going from blue to yellow 'Assuming Direct Control' came the voice of the ancient reaper AI as the admiral's body started to convulse before exploding in a yellow beam of light. Shepard charged at Hackett to get him to cover as Ashley followed him into cover with a roll, Ashley shouted at the marine across the room 'Marine – Gun now!' there was a sudden noise of bending metal as the far door opened and in came the screaming forms of a dozen husks, there was a rush of air as a large turian figure came into cover with them overturning the table to provide more support 'Just like old times Shepard' said Garrus as he reached into his armour compartment and his sniper rifle extended 'Thought we were going to retire' said Shepard dryly as more husks descended into the room.