Mass Effect 30 Day Challenge: Day 30
Prompt 30: What do you love most about Mass Effect?
SPOILERS: Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut
Reunion
WARNING: Extreme Headcanon
London, Earth, 2196 CE, ten years after the destruction of the Reapers
London was cold, and Kara wrapped her jacket around her as they exited the shuttle that had brought them down to the surface from the Normandy. The wind had teeth, and she shielded her face against it with one hand.
"Mommy, mommy!" an insistent voice next to her yelled, tugging on her other hand. "It's cold! I wanna go back ho-oome."
Kara sighed and picked up the little Krogan, holding him close to her chest. "Mordin," she said as he nuzzled into her neck. "You know you're too big to be carried. Look at Edi, she's walking just fine!"
She gestured to another of the three small Krogan that exited the shuttle with her and her husband, seven-year-old Edi holding Garrus's hand and walking with as much poise as a small Krogan was capable of. Garrus gave Kara a smile, gently bumping heads with the third little Krogan, Thane, who he held with his other arm.
"Edi's silly," Mordin complained of his twin sister. "She thinks she's better than me."
"That's because I am!" Edi piped up from the ground, and Mordin wriggled out of his mother's arms and charged through the snow towards his sister.
"I'll get you!"
"No you won't!"
"Daddy!" little Thane yelled from Garrus's arms as his brother and sister rolled around, headbutting each other in the snow. "I wanna play!"
"Later Thane," Garrus said, moving to stand next to Shepard and putting an arm around her. "They're never going to grow out of this are they?"
"Hey," Shepard said. "They got it from your side of the family."
They both laughed, then separated the two squabbling Krogan children and continued their walk through the snow towards the memorial. They could see a small crowd gathering up ahead, and Garrus frowned. "We aren't late are we?" he asked his wife. "Joker said four o'clock, and it's not four o'clock yet."
"We're fine," Kara said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Guess the others were early too."
"Uncle Wrex!" little Mordin yelled, charging across the snow, almost falling over his own feet. Edi and Thane followed, Kara and Garrus jogging to keep up. Urdnot Wrex stood just in front of the memorial, Bakara at his right, their own small brood of Krogan children wrestling in the snow.
"Look at that," Wrex said, smiling and kneeling down. "Clan Shepard-Vakarian decided to make an appearance!" He gave Mordin a headbutt, causing the boy to go spiraling backwards into the snow and let out a squeaking roar.
"We're not late," Garrus said, giving his old friend a hug. "Kara checked."
"Then I guess we're early," Wrex chuckled. "Look at these little ones, they're huge. What have you been feeding them?"
"Whole Pyjaks," Kara joked, watching as Edi and Thane ran across the snowy ground to say hello to the youngest members of Clan Urdnot and join in their wrestling match. "Yours are just as bad."
"Ours actually eat whole Pyjaks," Bakara said. She gave Kara a hug. "Hello Shepard," she said. "Hope the journey was smooth."
"Always is when you have the best pilot in the galaxy," Kara said, smiling. She tapped her omnitool to contact the Normandy. "Joker, we made it planetside."
"Roger," Joker replied. "Just ping me when you're ready to leave."
"Sure you don't want to come join us?"
"No thanks," Joker's voice was somewhat subdued. "You know me, always happier in the air."
"We'll call when we're ready to go then," Kara replied, a twinge of sadness in her stomach as she signed off.
"Shepard?" Kara turned around to see Liara standing in front of the memorial, smiling and holding a small Asari child in her arms. She walked over and they exchanged hugs. "I was hoping you'd come."
"On the tenth anniversary of the second time I died?" Kara cracked. "Wouldn't miss it for the world!"
A crowd was beginning to form. Liara let Kara and Garrus over to the rest of the group, and Kara thought her arms would go numb from all the hugging. Liara and her husband, Feron, with their little daughter, Benezia. Javik just beyond them, joking and laughing with Vega, who looked to have at least twice as many scars as he'd had the last time Kara had seen him. Tali, there with her husband Kal'Reegar and their daughter Ren, who was playing in the snow with the Krogan children, not wearing an environmental suit. Ashley, standing with her sister and Cortez and a couple other Alliance officials. She was in full Admiral Dress Uniform, and gave Kara a salute before giving her a hug. Traynor stood joking with Daniels and Donnelly while her wife, a pretty Asari girl, held a little blue girl in her arms. Jacob and Miranda stood with Zaeed, exchanging recent war stories, and all three of them exchanged handshakes and hugs with Shepard and Garrus.
"I didn't think this many people would show up," Garrus commented, picking up Thane as he ran over, crying that little Urdnot Shepard had pushed him. "It's okay, that's just what your cousins do," he chided the small Krogan. "Why aren't you over there headbutting him back?"
"It's cold!" Thane complained, burying his face in his father's chest.
"Go on," Garrus set his son down in the snow and gave him a gentle nudge forward. "Go get him!" he encouraged. "Show him true Krogan don't have to live on Tuchanka."
"Raaaaar!" Thane yelled, charging over to the pile of children.
Kara smiled. "And here I thought you were the responsible parent. Usually I'm encouraging the headbutts."
Garrus smiled and took her hand in his. "They haven't seen their cousins in two years," he said. "I figure they're allowed to cut loose a little."
Kara laughed. The clock tower on the other side of the square, built on what had remained of the Houses of Parliament, began to strike the hour, and as if on cue everyone, even the children, fell silent, and all heads turned to Kara, who swallowed nervously.
"Go on," Garrus said, squeezing her hand. "They're waiting for you."
Kara passed through the small crowd, ignoring her complaining right hip, which had never fully healed after her second death, shaking hands and gently touching shoulders as she went. So many old friends, some of whom she hadn't seen since that final push to the Conduit in this exact spot ten years ago, since the day they destroyed the Reapers.
She stood in front of the monument and cleared her throat, looking down at all the expectant faces of her old friends and comrades. She smiled. "It's good to see you all today," she said. "I'm glad you were able to join us on this occasion, so we can remember the day we finally won the war against the Reapers and created a united galaxy.
"We lost many in the fight. Friends, family, entire species wiped out by our enemy. But out of sacrifice, we have found strength. Beauty. Family. And we're able to stand here today because of the brave people who risked everything to survive, to save, to win."
Shepard turned around and looked up at the monument. It was made of a smooth grey stone, erected by the new Council a year after the Reapers had been destroyed. A member of each race that fought to save the galaxy from the Reapers stood in a group, carved in intricate detail, some of them people Shepard had known.
"We have shown the galaxy what it means to be united, as you can see in this memorial." She gestured towards the statues. A batarian soldier. An Asari commando. A Turian sniper. A Krogan warlord. An Elcor, a Hanar, a Quarian without his mask on, even a Rachni worker. A familiar Drell, his sniper rifle and dark eyes a near perfect copy of Thane Krios. A human biotic, carved in the likeness of Kaidan Alenko. Legion, representing all the Geth that were lost in the final destruction. A Salarian wearing a scientist's outfit, holding a vial, and smiling just the way Mordin used to smile. And EDI, off to one side and representative of all the synthetic life the galaxy had lost, the ultimate sacrifice of their victory.
"And we will never forget the lost," she continued. We come here today to honor the fallen, and to celebrate the future we have been given." She raised a hand and rested it gently against the statue of Mordin. "Here's to them," she said. "And to a bright future for the galaxy."
The crowd clapped and cheered, and Kara locked eyes with Garrus, who smiled at her as their three children all bounced up and down beside him, clamoring for attention. She looked across the crowd and saw still more familiar faces from the days gone by. Jack, surrounded by her students. Doctor Chakwas. Kirrahe. The brief Cheshire grin of Kasumi before she slipped back into the shadows. Aria T'Loak, surrounded by a small squad of mercenaries.
They continued to cheer, every one of them grateful, but also somewhat subdued, some of them walking up to the monument to gently rest hands on the statues. Some shed tears.
Kara made her way back to her family and picked up Edi, who headbutted her gently. "Did you know any of them, mommy?" Edi asked, pointing at the grey statues.
"I did," Kara said. "See that woman over there?" she pointed at the tall android statue. "That's EDI, we named you after her. And see over there?" she pointed at the drell statue. "That's Thane, we named your little brother for him. And the Salarian on the right? That's Mordin. Like your twin."
"Wow," Edi's little eyes were round and awed. "You knew all those people?"
Kara Shepard-Vakarian hugged her adopted daughter and stepped back to stand with her husband and sons. She rested her head on Garrus's shoulder, and he put a hand on her shoulder. "We both did Edi," she whispered, kissing the top of the child's head. "It was a long time ago, but we both did."
Answer: The Characters
This is just a little post-ending Destroy/Sheplives version of what things might be like ten years after the Reapers are destroyed if everyone met up again to catch up. A bit cheesy, but I'd say it's an acceptable circumstance for cheese, and it allows me to reflect on my favourite characters, because that truly is my favourite thing about Mass Effect, the amazing cast of characters who I fall in love with over and over again each time I play.
This is the end of the 30 Day Challenge. I hope you guys enjoyed my drabbles. Thanks so much for reading. I promise this will not be my last foray into ME fanfic, so keep your eyes out for Kara Shepard's story in a more linear format, which I'm working on now, in a series called 'Letters To My Mother'.
Thanks again for reading! Keelah Se'Lai.