Shepard walked the cargo bay of the Normandy, checking and double checking supply stores, gear, and ammunition. They had left in such a hurry that a great deal of what they needed was left behind on the docks. From what he was seeing, they wouldn't have enough to launch any kind of extensive campaign beyond an infrequent firefight, so they'd have to return to Citadel Space sooner rather than later to resupply.

He stopped at one of the tables, taking a prolonged glance at his old N7 tactical armor. It still bore the scars of his many encounters with the Collectors, the Geth, husks. The list went on.

That time he bashed his helmet against the airlock frame and everyone laughed at him when get got on board. The dent was still there. The emotional scarring had long since scabbed over.

James Vega approached from the lift, his face red with anger, his posture threatening a fight in some form. He threw his arms up. "What the hell's going on? Where's Anderson? Where are we going?"

Shepard stood fast. "Who the hell are you?"

"Wha— What are you talking about?"

"You show up out of nowhere and expect me to know who you are and not punch you in the throat for talking to a ranking officer like that. Now, I'll ask you again: Who the hell are you?"

[BioWare Plot Hole #23 Redacted]

"James! James Vega! How the hell're you doing?" Shepard clapped his old friend on the shoulder. "Glad to see you made it out alive."

James ignored the pleasantries. "What the hell's going on? Where's Anderson? Where are we going?"

Shepard turned away toward the nearest console. "We're leaving."

"Leaving?"

"Yes, leaving. We're halfway to Mars, James. What did you think we were doing?"

"Taking the long way around?"

Shepard shot a look of confusion James' way and returned his attention to the console.

"What's going on?" Kaidan asked, trying to break up any semblance of a fight.

Shepard keyed through all of the Alliance military channels, only to find them all dead or carrying white noise. "Anderson wants us to go to the Citadel, get help for the fight."

"Bullshit!" James cut in. "He wouldn't order us to leave!"

"Renegade."

"What?"

"Er, I mean, you suck. And yes he did so order us to leave... Jerk."

Stunned silence enveloped the cargo bay. Kaidan coughed into his fist and said, "You've been out of the game awhile, Shepard, so I think you should know that was pretty bad."

Shepard cocked an eyebrow. "How bad?"

"Like... really bad."

"Huh." Shepard punched James in the face, sending the soldier toppling over, unconscious. "Better?"

Kaidan shrugged. "Kinda?"

"We don't have a choice!" Shepard continued, picking up the loose thread. "Without help, this war's already over."

Joker's voice crackled through the intercom. "Commander."

"Joker... is that you?"

"Commander, we just talked like two minutes ago. How would there be any question...?"

"Thumb War."

"Got an emergency transmission from Admiral Hackett for you."

"Is it important?"

"I did say 'emergency' transmission, right? Can you hear me okay through this thing?"

"I'll take the call in my quarters." Shepard took the lift up to the Captain's Cabin, unsure of the news Admiral Hackett would have. Just knowing Hackett had survived the initial attack put Shepard at ease, however slightly. He sat down at his desk and opened the channel.

Admiral Hackett appeared on the screen, though the transmission was unusually garbled. "Shepard... sustained heavy loses... force was overwhelming... There's no way we can defeat them conventionally."

"Sir, why is there so much interference? I was getting calls from the Council from the other side of the galaxy and their holograms were practically high definition. What's going on here?"

"...makes for... dramatics... tension... Also, someone... using the microwave..."

"Ah. Anyway, Anderson's already ordered me to the Citadel to talk to the Council."

"First, I need you... get your ass to Mars... something, something lose control of the system."

"Yes, sir."

"...been researching the Prothean Archives with Doctor T'soni... found a way to stop the Reapers... only way to stop them... Convenient, I know... perfectly logical explanation for it is that the..."

The signal dropped out.

Shepard keyed the comm. "Joker, set a course for the Mars Archives. We have some Total Recall jokes to make."

"Mars? Roger that."

"How long until we arrive?"

"Two weeks."

"What!"

"I thought we were starting the jokes now."

"No."

"Okay, then. It'll be like ten minutes... or something."

"You've got two."

"I've... What?"

"I'm heading down to the Cargo Bay now to prep the shuttle. Put us in a low orbit and keep an eye out for Reapers."

"Roger that."

Shepard sat back in his chair, giving himself a quick breather before he threw himself into yet another mission. Those days being locked up for that one crime might as well have been a vacation.

Wait... Why was he thrown in prison and stripped of his rank in the first place? No one really seemed to mention—

[BioWare Plot Hole #24 Redacted]

—that terrible mission in the Bahak System that resulted in the destruction of the Alpha Relay and the deaths of over 300,000 Batarians. It had been a horrible price to pay, but it had delayed the Reapers' invasion.

Delayed. And no one bothered to use that time to prepare. Now he had to risk the lives of his crew again. He could feel the weight of the entire galaxy on his shoulders. He just wasn't sure if there would be a way out this time. Maybe if this Mars thing panned out they'd—

He looked up to the glass case that used to house his starship models and found it empty.

"What the hell?"

Commander Shepard is Easily Distracted

"The Very Model of an Alliance Cruiser"

"Where are they?" Shepard barked.

Joker spun around in his seat, blatantly surprised to find the commander standing over him. "Hey, Commander."

"Where are they?"

Joker shot him a sidelong glance. "Where are what?"

"My models!" Shepard's hands balled into fists. "The models I crisscrossed the galaxy to find."

"The little toy models? You didn't crisscross the galaxy, you bought most of those on the Citadel. On clearance. Along with that box of Drew Karpyshyn books that no one would buy."

"Anderson liked the books."

"Yeah, because he thought he was mentioned in one of them."

"Whatever." Shepard held out his hands. "Where are my models?"

"I think Anderson sold them. Or threw them away. I don't remember! They were little toys."

"Scale models," Shepard corrected. "And... I don't know. They really tied the room together."

"I guess they did. You've never let me see your new cabin since we got the SR-2."

Shepard took a step back. "I haven't?"

Joker shook his head, staring daggers in Shepard's direction. "Not once."

"No, I'm pretty sure I did." Another step. "I seem to remember that time when we were in orbit around Alchera..."

"You're thinking of the escape pod you threw me into on the SR-1... just before it exploded."

"That's interesting. You know, I died on Alchera once." Shepard turned away. "So, I have to go to Mars. We'll pick up this conversation when I get back."

Joker swiveled his chair back around to the console. "EDI, have you been to Shepard's cabin?"

"My protocols are not anchored to one specific part of the ship. My ancillary inputs allow me to monitor everyplace at once."

"Well, is it nice up there?"

"I am unsure it's a wise course of action to discuss the cabin with someone who hasn't been invited inside."

"Ah..."

"Yeah..."