/Promotion Day/
As the auditorium on the Presidium filled up with Shepard's friends, crewmates, the Councilors, the press and spectators she became more and more nervous.
This was a new feeling for Shepard. She was never nervous in front of a crowd, but this was different. She was being promoted to the highest rank in the Alliance Navy! Oh what would her mother, Captain Hannah Shepard, think of this?
"I wish she was here for this..." Shepard muttered out loud, thinking about her mother.
"I know she's proud of you, wherever she is out there." countered Garrus "You've done her proud."
"Thank you, Garrus" she said, adjusting the collar on the Turian's dress outfit. She giggled at how uncomfortable he looked in formal clothing. "The fact that you're here with me helps." She gazed up into his eyes and kissed him deeply.
"Ahem" was the sound that broke the embrace. "It's time… Admiral." chuckled Admiral Steven Hackett as he snapped to attention to salute Shepard.
She returned the salute. "Let's do it."
Hackett walked out onto the stage from behind the curtain, followed closely by Commander Shepard, who took a seat at the right of the podium.
"Thank you, everyone for coming to this momentous occasion…" began Hackett. "I'm not one for long speeches, so I will keep this short."
"We are here today to honor the woman who, through sheer determination and grit, brought together the disparate races of this galaxy and helped them to set aside old grudges and band together to fight an enemy that we were woefully unprepared for."
"Commander Shepard is just a woman, not some mythic figure in a book, but a woman – human, but a member of this galaxy like the rest of us. " Hackett continued. "That being said, this woman and her beliefs, that no one race or individual is greater than the whole, is what we should strive for in our lives."
"It is with that in mind, that I am proud to be here today, to present to Commander Alexandra Shepard with the Alliance Navy Medal of Honor and, on behalf of the Alliance, confer upon her the rank of Admiral."
He turned to Shepard as the auditorium exploded with applause. "Admiral Shepard, everyone."
Hackett silenced the applause with a gesture to the right of the stage.
"Presenting the Admiral with the Medal of Honor, I give you General Garrus Vakarian, of the Turian Hierarchy."
"General?" mouthed a wide-eyed Shepard as Garrus took the stage.
"Sorry, Shepard" replied Garrus in a whisper as he placed the medal around Shepard's neck. "Victus surprised me with it the morning that you were being released from Huerta Memorial."
"I'm so proud of you, my love," She responded "No one deserves the recognition more."
"Oh, it gets better." replied Garrus. He turned to Hackett and nodded, who then once again silenced the roars of applause from the audience.
"Now, to present the Admiral with the insignia of her new rank, I give you, Captain Hannah Shepard."
She didn't think her heart could take another surprise! Shepard turned to the right of the stage, and there she was. Her mother was in her dress blue Alliance uniform, barely holding her emotion in check and she marched toward her daughter.
"Mom!" Shepard shouted, breaking military decorum to embrace her mother tightly, fighting back tears of her own.
After what seemed like an eternity, they released each other. There was not a dry eye in attendance that day, and even Admiral Hackett had to wipe them away.
"I thought I'd never see you again." The younger Shepard muttered.
As she pinned the rank insignia on her daughter's shoulders, Captain Shepard told her "You were never far from my thoughts."
"I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of you, Alex." Her mother continued. "When Hackett told me you were alive, I moved Heaven and Earth to get back here. I'm sorry it took so long."
"Mom," Alex responded "this more than makes up for it. I love you and I'm glad you're ok."
"I love you too, honey." Her mother said as she smoothed out the emblems and medal ribbon.
Once she stepped back, Hackett finished by presenting Shepard to the crowd once more "Admiral Shepard, ladies and gentlemen." Then he stepped back to allow her to speak.
After what seemed like another eternity, Shepard found the words she was looking for.
"Thank you. Thank you." She began.
"As much of an honor as this is for me, I did not go it alone. I had an amazing team at my side, and even when things looked their brightest, these individuals never backed down or ran scared."
"Turian, Quarian, Asari, Krogan, Salarian, Human and even Synthetic life forms were all part of this effort. Today, as you honor me, I honor them and their sacrifices, and those of the people we hold dear that are no longer with us physically, but will always be with us in spirit.
"I look forward to continuing to serve the galactic community, both as an Admiral of the Alliance Systems Navy, and a Spectre of the Citadel council."
"There will always be dark where there is light," continued Shepard "and we will be there to combat that darkness, no matter what form it takes."
"In closing, let me say this. This is a peace hard-won, so let it not be taken for granted. Thank you all very much."
Once more, the auditorium erupted into applause, this time with a standing ovation for the newest Alliance Admiral, which lasted a staggering 22 minutes.
Curiously though… Shepard never noticed her crew leave through a side door off to the side of the stage.
"Let's go home, General." She smirked at Garrus.
"After you, Admiral." He returned.