Shepard stood in what was now her cabin. She felt the ship's engine thrum below her, sending vibrations throughout the ship as it shot toward Therum. It was free time like this that Shepard desperately avoided. The limbo between missions where her mind was free to wander and reflect. Usually she spent this time reliving the attack on Mindoir, or the slaughter on Akuze. Sometimes her mind replayed the final moments of those she'd killed, each memory flashing past her vision like a twisted montage. This time however, Shepard's mind flashed back to her final moments on the Citadel, and Anderson's last words to her.
Shepard stepped past the now former captain of the Normandy and into the docking tube.
"Shepard." He said quietly.
Shepard stopped and turned to face him.
"I need you to promise me something."
"Sir?" Shepard raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"Take care of her." He looked past her, gazing at the Normandy. "And her crew." He added, returning his eyes to Shepard. "I need you to care about this ship. I need you to care about the crew." He raised his voice slightly. "It has to matter to you." He slammed his fist into his palm. Then he took a deep breath, and when he resumed speaking, his voice was quiet again. "If you don't, it's going to be one hell of a lonely road, and that's only going to make your job that much harder." Anderson stared intently at her. "I need to know that when the shit hits the fan, you'll make the right decision. Not the logical one, or the smart one, but the right one."
"Sir I-"
"Promise me Shepard."
She wanted to tell him that she couldn't. That she didn't trust her emotions anymore, that she didn't know if she was even capable of caring enough. But the look in Anderson's eyes stopped her. He looked, to put it simply, defeated. He'd just watched his entire career implode in front of him, and now it was all up to her. Shepard couldn't bring herself to crush that last spark of hope.
"I promise."
Anderson nodded solemnly, and then walked away.
He hated having to do that, lying to him. But was it really a lie? She could try, would try. Maybe that was enough. Shepard strode from the room. Although she didn't know it, she did so with a renewed spark in her eyes.
Shepard stood in the Normandy's conference room, shoulders rigid, hands clasped behind her back. Behind her, Ashley and Kaidan leaned against the doorway. In front of her, sat the newest editions to the crew. Tali sat silently to the right, fidgeting on occasion. Garrus sat next to her, staring intently at Shepard, examining her. Wrex sat on the far left, looking extremely uninterested.
Shepard cleared her throat. "As you may have noticed, this is an Alliance ship. That we are now on the Council's payroll doesn't change that. This is a human ship. Built by, for, and staffed by humans."
Wrex gave a snort. Garrus eyelids narrowed. Tali refused to meet Shepard's eyes.
"Therefore," Shepard went on, her stance relaxing slightly. Garrus noticed that the corners of her mouth were twisted onto a grin. "This ship was not initially equipped to accommodate all of you. To correct this, I've had several crates of dextro foods delivered to the galley, and there's now a sealed environmental module on the third deck." Now all three of the aliens were staring at her, confused. It was understandable. Most humans weren't quite so accommodating, or even accepting of the other races. "And lastly," Shepard typed a command into her wrist mounted omnitool. "There are no locked doors on this ship." Each of the aliens' omnitools light up, receiving the ship's access codes that Shepard had transmitted to them. "Even mine." Shepard returned her hands to their former position behind her back. "Any questions?" There was no response. "Then welcome aboard." Shepard turned and left the room, closely followed by Ashley and Kaidan.
Wrex was the first to recover from the shock. He gave an approving grunt before leaving as well. Garrus's throat vibrated slightly in a low chuckle. He stood and walked after Wrex. Tali was left sitting alone with her thoughts. She smiled, not that anyone could see it behind her enviro-suit. She stayed in the conference room for a few minutes, mulling over the plethora of emotions flowing through her. The predominant one was respect, and emotion she hadn't associated with anyone for a long time. Another was pride, and maybe a little sense of belonging. If the rest of the crew were half as nice as Shepard, she wouldn't mind serving on the Normandy. She might even enjoy her time here. Tali briefly entertained a small fantasy. She wondered whether after her pilgrimage she could return to the Normandy, serve as the first quarian on a SpecTRe ship in three centuries. Tali Zorah vas Normandy nar Rayaa. Then she shook her head. No, that was stupid. The Admiralty would never go for that. Still, there were worse places to make ones pilgrimage.
"That was a good one Commander." Kaidan laughed. "You really had them for a while."
Shepard grinned back. It was only partially forced. The three human marines sat in the mess hall.
"I still don't like that we're just letting them run around the ship." Ashley muttered.
"I know you don't Williams, but like it or not, they're part of the crew now."
Ashley conceded the point. "I understand. It won't be a problem ma'am. I may not like it, but I can live with it."
Then the intercom buzzed. "Commander, if you're done hazing the rookies, were fifteen minutes out from Therum."
The three marines stood.
"Suit up and get down to the Mako." Shepard barked.
Her squad mates snapped to, and took off towards the elevator. As they left, Shepard felt a genuine smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Like it or not, it felt good to be a part of the team again.
"Uh, hello? Can somebody help me? Please?" A voice sounded from below.
Shepard dropped down from the elevator's ruined catwalk and looked around. Behind her, there was a simmering force field. Behind it, and trapped in a bubble of the same rippling energy, was the asari that they'd been sent to retrieve.
"Can you hear me out there?" She asked slightly frantic. "I'm trapped. I need help."
Shepard approached the force field. "Doctor T'soni I presume?"
Relief flooded over the young asari's face. "Thank the Goddess. I did not think anyone would come looking for me. This thing I'm in is a Prothean security device, I cannot move, so, I need you to get me out of it. Alright?" She almost pleaded.
Shepard nodded. "We just need to figure some way past this energy field."
"It's a Prothean barrier current, I knew it would keep me safe from the Geth. When I turned it on I must have…hit something I wasn't supposed to. I was trapped in here you must get me out please!" Now she was pleading.
"We'll find some way to get you out of there." Shepard promised. Just as she did that, several rounds flew past her, impacting on the prothean shield. Shepard spun around, rifle already up, eyes sighted down the scope.
Shepard stood just outside the back room the ship's clinic. Her hand poised on the door controls. She couldn't believe what she was doing. Checking up on the daughter of Saren's second in command. But then again, Saren had sent a considerable contingent of geth troops to silence the doctor, so perhaps she could be trusted. Besides, Shepard thought as she keyed open the door, it beat sitting around in her cabin.
"Oh," Liara started as Shepard walked in. The color had returned to her face. "Commander. Are you coming to check up on me?" Shepard nodded.
"You look much better, how are you feeling?"
"Doctor Chakwas assures me that I'm going to be fine. I was impressed with her knowledge of Asari physiology." She confessed. " But where are my manners? I never properly thanked you for saving me on Therum. If you hadn't showed up…" She suppressed a shudder.
"I'm just glad we got there in time."
"So am I. I know you took a chance bringing me aboard the ship. I see the way you're crew looks at me, they do not trust me." Shepard almost frowned at that. She felt outraged at that, but she couldn't tell why.
"But I am not like my mother." Liara said vehemently. "I will do whatever it takes to stop Saren."
"Don't worry Liara," Shepard said, sensing the asair's sincerity. "I trust you."
Liara's facial features relaxed at that. "It means a lot to hear you say that Commander, thank you."
They looked at each other for a few seconds, then both dropped their gazes quite abruptly.
"Tell me about yourself Liara." Shepard said, reviving the conversation.
"Me?" she asked, startled, "I'm afraid I'm not very interesting. I spent most of my life in remote digs, unearthing long forgotten Prothean ruins."
"That does sound interesting, if a bit lonely."
Liara chuckled slightly. "That is actually the aspect which most appealed to me. Sometimes I just need to…get away from other people."
"You don't like other people?"
"I suppose it comes from being a Matriarch's daughter. People expected me to follow in her footsteps, become a leader of our people." Bitterness crept into the young doctor's voice. "Matriarchs guide their followers into the future; they seek the truth of what is to come. Maybe that's why I became so interested in the secrets of the past. It sounds so foolish when I say it out lout." She looked down, blushing. "It sounds like I became an archeologist simply to spite my mother." She said, gazing back up. "But it was more than that, I felt compelled to know more about the Protheans, I was enamored with them. That is why I find you so fascinating. You interacted with actual Prothean technology." Liara couldn't help but notice Shepard blush slightly at that. It surprised her almost as much as it did Shepard.
"It sounds like you want to dissect me in a lab." Shepard mumbled.
"Oh no," Liara said, mortified. "I only meant that you would be a fascinating subject for further study, no that makes it worse." Liara stifled a moan. Why was she acting like such a fool around this woman?
"Relax Liara, It was a joke." Liara felt her cheeks warm.
"By the Goddess," she groaned, smacking her head, "how could I be so dense? You must think I am a complete fool."
"Calm down, I don't think that at all." Shepard assured her.
"Now you see why prefer to spend my time alone with data disks and computers. I always manage to say something awkward."
The conversation was interrupted as Joker paged Shepard. A call had come in from Alliance Command. After a hasty goodbye, Shepard left the room and headed for the conference room. As she left the clinic, she briefly wondered why her chest felt so light. The thought was banished quickly to make room for more pressing concerns.