Dog tags wrapped forcefully around Shepard's fingers. The chain felt cold against her skin as the Earth roared up at her.
"Consider yourself reinstated, Commander." Anderson words were almost lost onto Shepard as he yelled. The Normandy deafen everything around it. The back of her skull still pounded from the first inflicted wound of this war, of her head being sent straight into a wall by a Reaper's blast. She tried to ignore it and focus on his words, but questions just kept pouring into her mind.
Would this be the last time she'd see Earth? How many people did she know down there? How many of them would live to see the end of this? Would there be an end?
It wasn't her home, this ship beneath her feet was, those six months she wanted nothing more to get off that planet. But not like this.
She watched Anderson, explaining how he had to stay, she yelled, cursed, argued. But the Normandy still pulled away from Earth without him. No matter what, Shepard was coming back for him.
Shepard gripped her tags in her fist; the lettering left an indentation in her palm.
Three fucking years. The Alliance and the Council had almost three years to stop this from happening. And now what? Go beg the Council for help? She let out a sharp laugh at the thought. If she just had those two years, Shepard could have stopped this from happening.
A bitter taste filled her mouth. Three hundred thousand batarian lives snuffed out to delay this. And for what? Was she any further, any closer to stopping the Reapers? The pain throbbed, spreading up and over her scalp. Her free hand palmed and rubbed her face, just trying to block out the questions. She didn't have the answers; hopeful Mars would.
The Normandy's fresh air cut through her skin as she stood in the cargo bay, Shepard felt naked without armor. Kaidan and Vega talked around her trying to get her attention, but she marched past them towards the armory with her tags still clenched in her fist.
Commander Shepard. She ran her fingers over her name. The metal caught her skin as thoughts of all the times she had traced the names of all those other dog tags she had picked up in her life. From her fallen friends on Elysium, countless operation through the Terminus, on Eden Prime, and on Alchera.
Shepard had searched for her's for hours, desperately digging through Alchera's snow, just trying to find herself in it. She couldn't feel her fingers for hours after she had returned to the Normandy.
She thought they had been lost forever, only to have Liara gift them back to over months later. How many times have these changed hands? They always seemed to find a way back to her.
The tags clanked against the metal table as she carefully placed them down. Her BDUs followed as she rushed her under armor on. She inspected the spare armor, looking over every nook and cranny. The helmet laid to the side while Shepard checked the shields on the chest piece and ammo storage in the greaves. Her hands dragged down the red stripe of the gauntlet; it had been far too long since she'd worn these.
Shepard sighed quickly and grabbed the tags. She let them drag down her neck; they fell towards her chest as felt her heart nervously bloom.
The warmth of Garrus' hand on her cheek after he placed her dog tags around her neck.
The way he looked at her had sent a shiver down her spine.
When would she ever see a look like that again?
She thought about him a lot. Dumb, naive, hopeful thoughts over those six months. The Reapers will be hitting Palaven soon; there was no doubt in her mind about that. Taking out the military strength of the Galaxy early in the fight, it made sense; it would be a wise strategy.
"You better stick to our deal and stay the fuck alive you cocky bastard." She hurled the words out into the air and heaved in a ragged sob.
Goddammit, did she hated how that sounded, it was pathetic. She didn't want to think of him; she couldn't, not know; she needed to focus. Trillions of lives are at stake; she couldn't just be thinking about one damn turian.
Her head still throbbed, she tried to rub the pain and thoughts away. Shepard kept moving forward with putting on her gear, while keeping her breath level, she tried not to think of him and push down the question. Would she ever get to see him again?
Shepard rolled her shoulders as she places on the gauntlets and pads. She shifted and moved her legs to make sure the greave plating didn't interfere with her movement. The chest plate locked into place, with her tags underneath. The dog tags pressed into her chest with her heart beating into the metal.
They were heavy around Shepard's neck, but it felt right.
The end! Thank you for reading this far. I hope you enjoy the story! Critiques are really appreciated so I can improve my writing.
Thank you! :)