No matter how often Shepard left her apartment, the lights and sounds of the Silversun Strip never ceased to amaze the veteran Marine.
"Why the casino?" Shepard asked herself, navigating the crowd who thankfully paid her no mind. "Why not the Commons?"
The exasperation lifted as the doorman opened the cobalt glass door and the sight of her friends, drinks in hand at one of the VIP tables brought an ear-to-ear smile to her face.
"Shepard!" Liara shouted over the noise of the gaming machines "thank the Goddess you made it. We were worried that we'd have to start without you!"
"Hello, Alex" added Solana, reaching over to hug her sister-to-be. "I trust my brother didn't keep you up too late with his… calibrations."
At that precise moment, Shepard was never gladder to be under a red light so the sly female Turian wouldn't notice the deep blush forming in her cheeks.
"Ah, well you know…" muttered Shepard, searching for an intelligent reply to deflect the conversation.
"It's too late, Admiral" added Traynor, laughing "busted."
"Moving on!" exclaimed Tali, sipping a triple-filtered Turian brandy through the straw embedded in her facemask. "Shepard, it's time to go shopping!"
"Actually, Shepard" said Liara, turning Tali around on her stool to face the rest of them at the table. "There's someone I'd like you to meet. She just happens to be a big fan of yours."
"This ought to be interesting…" replied Shepard as Liara paid the tab and they left the casino.
As the group of women stepped into the sparsely furnished office, located overlooking the skyway in the Presidium financial district, Shepard was stopped in her tracks.
"Liara, this is the woman you wanted me to meet?!" Shepard whispered as the beautiful young Asari at the desk in the middle of the room stood up and walked toward them with her hand outstretched.
"Yes, Shepard" the Asari replied. "Meet –"
Liara was cut off as the Asari eagerly took Shepard's hand and shook it. "Ventra T'Sol, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Admiral Shepard. I owe you a debt that can never fully be repaid, but I hope my services can make your wedding a day you won't soon forget."
"You owe me a debt? " Asked Shepard, slightly taken aback. "How so?"
"You saved my mother when you destroyed the Reapers that day," Ventra continued. "She's an Asari commando who was fighting to re-take Earth. She was on the run from a group of those Banshees when the Crucible's energy blast destroyed them."
"Please, just Shepard… or Alex" she replied, stunned by the fact that Illium's premier designer was standing in front of her, to create her wedding dress. "The feeling is mutual. Your work is incredible."
"So," began Ventra as she walked over to control panel. "A Human/Turian wedding. That IS a first!"
"So, Shepard, what did you have in mind?" asked the young (by Human physical standards) Asari as she pressed her hands together contemplatively. "Something sexy, or a little bit modest?"
"Well, I hadn't really thought about it," replied Shepard "but Admiral Hackett is officiating and, well, let's not go overboard Ventra."
"Understated but sexy, got it." Snapped Ventra, inputting commands into the console. "You're a diamond in the rough, Shepard, but I'll bring out that inner fire!"
Shepard had never been too fond of wearing dresses, being a lifelong combat Marine. She preferred to look at them and admire their beauty from a distance.
Although she had only been at it for the better part of two hours, to Shepard, trying on different combinations of shoes and dresses felt like an eternity. More than once her ankles nearly gave out on her while walking out to show off the beautiful designs Ventra had created for her.
A couple of times, she was sure that she had picked out the right design, only to have it roundly vetoed by the group. More astonishing than that, was the fact that some of the disagreement came from Ventra herself.
"What's the saying you Humans have?" asked Ventra, stumped. "You're a hard nut to crack?"
"I'm sorry, they're all so beautiful, but they just haven't felt right." Replied Shepard, sighing and walking back behind the curtain to remove the dress and heels.
"Ms. T'Sol," said Solana "if I may make a suggestion?"
With a nod from Ventra, Solana walked over to the control console.
Calling Tali and Liara over, she whispered her ideas to add some Turian flare to the dress.
"Oh, it's perfect!" cried Ventra with delight, looking at the design ideas the Turian gave her. "She won't know what hit her!"
As the machine whirred and stitched and Shepard awaited the finished product, she couldn't help but feel overcome by the enormity of the situation.
Here she was, preparing to marry the love of her life. She had never thought that in a million years that she would find such a man. Wiping away a tear, she took a moment to reflect.
During the search for Saren and then the suicide mission to defeat the Collectors, Garrus became more than a crewmate. He became her right-hand man, weapons specialist and confidant. Dependable and trustworthy – she loved him with every fiber of her being.
He never gave up on the fact that she would come back to him when the original Normandy was destroyed. He stayed at her bedside during the 6 months she was in a coma after being found in the Citadel wreckage. She couldn't ask for anything more.
The automated sewing completed its work as she looked up with an ear-to-ear smile. As she touched the material to pull it off the machine to get dressed, something was different.
She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about this dress that felt magical. Once she selected a pair of matching flats (she'd had enough of the heels), she stepped out from behind the curtain to audible gasps from her crowd of bridesmaids.
"Shepard," Tali stammered as she took in the sight of her commander in the dress. "You look incredible!"
"Alex, it's perfect." Added Solana, pleased with herself that her design ideas translated so well from the virtual to the physical.
"Goddess, Shepard…" was all Liara could say.
"Ventra," added Shepard, enjoying the reactions of her friends "you are a miracle worker. I love it, and I know Garrus will too."
Taking a moment to be prideful of her work, the Asari designer took a deep slow breath in. Looking up to Shepard, she simply said:
"Truly, the diamond's inner fire has been revealed…"