It was a quiet ride back to Earth. Lauren sat mindlessly chewing a fingernail. Kaidan sat next to her, hands folded, trying to sleep and failing. No other students rode in the shuttle with the pair, but a couple of Conatix executives as well as a few guards were riding along in another section of the small ship.

"So what are you going to do now?" said Kaidan, as he opened his eyes in defeat.

"Well," started Lauren, "first, I'm telling the world what a scam Conatix is. Then, I'm probably going to have to go back to school. Still have a couple years left. But as soon as I'm 18, I'm enlisting with the Alliance."

Kaidan turned, his face registering shock. "You're kidding, right? After all that hell, you are going into the military?"

"I'm not doing it because I'm some mindless biotic automaton," huffed Lauren. "I'm going in because it is a Shepard tradition. We serve because we want to. My dad does, my mom does, most of my grandparents and great grandparents did."

"I guess," Kaidan said skeptically. "I'm staying as far the hell away from the military as I can. Maybe I'll go to university and be the doctor my mom always wanted me to be. Actually help people…like us. I'd rather heal than…than kill." The last words out of Kaidan's mouth were choked with emotion. "I'm not that kind of a person, am I?" His eyes searched Lauren's for answers.

Lauren crinkled her brow sadly. "No, you're not. But I'm afraid you won't believe me or anyone else."

"You know…no one even said if I'm going to be facing criminal charges for this. Oh God…this is a fucking nightmare." He buried his face in his hands.

Lauren sighed, not knowing what to say or do. She really didn't know what she would do if she were in his position. The depths of her mind secretly relished the fact that Vyrnnus was dead, but she didn't think anyone would understand that.

The ship landed at the O'Hare Spaceport in Chicago. "Shepard. It's time to go," a man's stern voice commanded. She stood and grabbing her duffel started to walk away. "Hey Kaidan," she said, pulling out her datapad. "Maybe we can keep in touch?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice," he answered in a noncommittal tone. "Here's my info." He tapped a button that transmitted his personal information. "I'll get a new omni-tool one of these days. Maybe we can talk."

"Sure," said Lauren. "Whatever happens, it was nice knowing you. You'll always be a good guy to me." And she stepped out of the shuttle.

The End