A few days later, they arrived at the Citadel. Ash had spent time with each crew member, reminiscing and chatting. Sometimes they spoke of Shepard, sometimes other things. The subject of his funeral came up more and more, but Ash didn't know what to say. What happened with that was beyond her control. She wasn't looking forward to the inevitable huge public event, but nothing would have kept her away. The coffin would be empty, but it would be her chance to say a final goodbye. She had to keep reminding herself that as much as she shared with him, Shepard had also been shared with a lot of other people, some of them quite important.

Looking through the window in her room at the Citadel, Ash was saddened to see the place still look like a wreck. The battle of the Citadel had caused tremendous damage, and would no doubt take a long time to be repaired. Still, if there was any place in the galaxy that was capable of giving the Commander a glorious send off, the Citadel was it. Shepard was a space born kid and had spent most of his life in space. The Citadel was a fitting tribute to a son of the galaxy.

After being greeted by Captain "No, now Councillor Anderson," Ambassador Udina, Admiral Hackett and others, the team had been given lodgings on the Presidium. After a nights rest, they were all debriefed by both the Alliance and the Council. There was a lot of unhappiness that the Normandy had been destroyed, as it had been the most costly project the Alliance had ever undertaken. There was a worry about this unknown alien ship that had done this. Lastly, almost as an afterthought it seemed, Shepard's death had been mentioned. The entire crew of the Normandy had become very angry about that. While everyone understood that no one man was more than the Alliance or Council, the way they were treating his death was causing a lot of unhappy feelings. Three days after it started, the debriefings ended. The crew were informed that they would be told the outcome the next day. It was also announced that a funeral for Shepard would be held in a week and half's time. A huge number of dignitaries were expected to attend, as was Shepard's parents.

The main team of the Normandy got together after the debriefings and tried to plan what to do. It was unanimously agreed that Ashley would speak at his funeral on behalf of them all. It was also agreed that they would all go out to a bar afterwards and have some drinks to celebrate his life. Even Joker was going to be there, he said that nothing could stop him. They decided to go to a fairly small place that Shepard had mentioned that he liked and had been friends with the owner. This was really to be a private celebration amongst friends.

It seemed that things were just starting to get back on to the right track again when the bad news came. Both the Alliance and Council had decided to seal all the records concerning the Normandy and to disband the crew. The attack on the Citadel was to be blamed on Saren alone. Sovereign was declared a geth construct, and all mention of Reapers was carefully removed from all public records. The humans were being reassigned, while Shepard's team was to be allowed to go their own way. Official protests were lodged, favours called in, all to no avail. The choice had been made, and nothing could be done. Everyone had been forced to sign secrecy documents, or they would not be permitted to leave. This really upset everyone, but being powerless to do anything about it, everyone signed. Anderson tried his best to kill that move, but the Council and Alliance overruled him. He was just too new to the post and lacked enough clout to prevent the documents from going out. In the eyes of the crew though, he once again raised a notch. Next to Shepard, Anderson had to be the most loved person by that crew. They were after all part of his crew when the Normandy had taken its first flight.

Ashley's roommate on the Presidium turned out to be Tali, and Ash couldn't have been happier with the outcome. In the week and a half leading up to the funeral, Tali and Ash chatted a lot. Ash got to know Tali much better, and realised that while Tali was younger than her, she had matured a lot in the last year together with them. Tali was incredibly smart, but also had a naughty sense of humour that did a lot of good for Ashley. Tali loved hearing stories about Ash and her sisters, and actually told Ash that she would love to meet them one day. Ash really hoped that it would be possible, they would like Tali a lot. Especially some of those naughty stories, they could make even Sarah blush!

For all the light moments, the crew's mood started to get darker and more somber as the funeral approached. Most people on the Citadel had no idea of the sacrifice that Shepard had made and were now swallowing what the Council said blindly. Only through the words of Councillor Anderson was violence avoided. With a simple reminder, he told team mates that this was not what Shepard would have done. That sunk home, and while the threat of violence was reduced, renewed sadness and pain took its place. The crew's time together was coming to an end soon, and no one wanted to leave.

Without warning it seemed, the day arrived. The funeral of the late and great Commander Craig Shepard, N7 Marine, Star of Terra recipient and above all else, the first human SPECTRE. As much a media event as a funeral, it was the only thing that the Council seemed to do right in the eyes of the team.