Series Title: After the Reapers
Pairing: Garrus/Shepard
Author: Knights-Honour
Disclaimer: Mass Effect universe © BioWare
Any character you haven't heard of © me
Author's Notes:
Thanks go to my Beta; Blueglaceon, who despite having little knowledge of the Mass Effect universe, agreed to edit the series anyway. Thanks, Blue!
Remembering the Fallen takes place after Tali's recruitment mission.
Needless to say, Horizon has also taken place by this point, as well as Kaidan's whole "I love you, but your working for the enemy" spiel, so Shepard's just starting to realise that Garrus could be a potential romantic interest for her and vice-versa.
Remembering the Fallen
From: Admiral Hackett
Commander Shepard:
Our scans in the Amada system have turned up something we thought you should see: the final location of the wreckage of the SSV Normandy.
We thought this news might be important to you, but we also have an ulterior motive. The Alliance would like to honour the Normandy with a monument, to be built on the site of the ship's final resting place. We'd like to invite you to place the monument and be the first to walk on the site.
There are still 20 crew members unaccounted for from the attack on the Normandy. If you find any signs of these lost crewman, we ask that you report to the Alliance so that those heroes' families might find some closure.
Godspeed to you, Commander.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~
"Launch probe," Shepard ordered from her perch atop the Galaxy Map.
"Probe away," EDI responded, pausing for a moment before, "Scans confirm the wreckage of SSV Normandy is on the planet's surface. No life signs or mechanical activity detected. There is also a stable landing zone located amid the crash site."
"Thanks, EDI," Shepard thanked the AI. "Normandy's yours, Joker."
"Aye, aye, Commander. Give her my final respects," came the pilot's response as Shepard stepped into the elevator and sent it on its way down to the Hanger, where she found Garrus, Tali and Jacob waiting for her.
The young Quarian had joined their ranks a week ago, after Shepard, Garrus and Grunt had come to her aid on Haestrom, and the human Spectre was glad to have another familiar face on board.
So when Admiral Hackett had contacted her a few days ago with news of the original Normandy's final resting place, she'd pulled them both aside after dinner one night to ask if they wanted to assist her in placing the monument. Needless to say they'd both jumped at the chance.
"We good to go, Commander?" the Cerberus soldier's voice broke the commander from her thoughts.
"We are," Shepard replied as the four of them entered the Kodiak. "EDI couldn't detect any hostiles on the surface," the CO told her companions as Jacob fired up the shuttle's engines. "So we can collect the missing dog tags, lay the monument and pay our respects without the fear of attack."
The Quarian and the Turian nodded their heads as the Kodiak lifted off and left the Normandy's Hanger.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~
Alchera's landscape was cold and desolate as the three companions stepped out of the shuttle, taking in the wreckage of the once state-of-the-art warship, as around them the snow began to thicken, causing Shepard to turn to Garrus.
"You sure you'll be okay in this?" she questioned over the com.
"So long as we don't take too long," the Turian responded.
"Shepard," Tali's voice entered the conversation. "I think I've found the first of your 'dog tags'."
~ o ~ o ~ o ~
Splitting up, they explored the wreckage as they searched, the occasional sound of shattering wood reaching each other's ears as one of them broke open a fragile create. Tali had even found Navigator Pressley's data pad, with a few, relatively, intact entries on it.
Shepard was at the Mess Hall, a flashback of Ashley in her mind's eye, when:
"Shepard," Garrus' tone of voice was urgent. "Come quick!"
Heart in her throat, the human raced over to Garrus' location, drawing her shotgun on instinct as she moved.
Upon seeing Shepard with weapon in hand, the Turian tensed. "Trouble?"
"You tell me."
He shook his head before presenting something to her. "Look what I found," he rumbled.
In his hand was her old N7 helmet.
"My helmet," she murmured softly as she stowed her gun and accepted it from the Turian.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~
With the dog tags found, they erected the gold monument in front of the still intact Mako ("Want to take her for a spin?" "NO!" "...Spoilsports...") Stepping back, Shepard placed a hand over her heart as she recited a verse that was deeply ingrained in her mind and memory.
"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Lest we forget."
After a few more moments of silence, the three turned and made their way back to the waiting shuttle.
"What was that?" Garrus queried Shepard as they re-entered the Kodiak.
"What was what?" the human returned as she took a seat.
"What you said back there."
"It's called the Ode of Remembrance." Shepard explained as she removed her helmet, and Garrus followed suit, as the shuttle hummed to life. "It's a verse taken from Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen. It's usually recited at remembrance services, like Anzac Day, to remember the fallen."
"Anzac? Aren't those the biscuits you like? Why would your race name a military remembrance day after a snack-"
Shepard's laughter drowned out the rest of the Turian's words, leaving her two alien companions bewildered.
"Anzac is an acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, a military corps formed on Earth during the First World War in 1915," the human explained when she'd calmed down. "The Anzacs were renowned, world over, for their ideals: endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour, larrikinism, and mateship. That same legacy runs through my veins as well," she finished softly, earning a curious quirk of the head from the Turian. "My father was a Digger, as was my grandfather before him," she explained.
"Thank you," Garrus rumbled softly, treasuring the revelation.
She smiled warmly in response as the Kodiak left Alchera's atmosphere.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~
From: Admiral Hackett
Commander Shepard:
The Alliance was grateful to receive the information you found at the Normandy's crash site, and we've sent it out to the affected families. By finding those dog tags, you provided peace of mind for a lot of people, Commander.
I thank you on their behalf.
Fin.