Chapter 11

"Thanks for the hospitality!"

Commander Shepard shouted over the roaring engines of a Kodiak hovering a few meters away. The hull of the craft was a deep, dark red and numerous scorch marks blackened the paint and viewports. The vehicle had clearly seen its fair share of battle. Shepard glanced over his shoulder and through the open hatch of the shuttle to see his squad sitting and chatting amongst themselves.

"Don't mention it, my friend," Wrex bellowed. His deep voice was barely distinguishable from the rumbling thrusters. "And don't be a stranger."

The human and krogan stepped toward one another and shook hands one last time.

"Take care of yourself, Wrex. Eve, too." Shepard smiled, his eyes squinting as the setting sun stretched their shadows further and further down the dirt field they stood in.

Wrex grinned. "That woman can take care of herself, Shepard. Now get outta here. I'm tired of your ugly mug."

Shepard chuckled and nodded before turning and grabbing hold of the Kodiak's door frame and hauling himself into the aircraft. He glanced back to Wrex and the krogan bowed his head in goodbye. Shepard closed the hatch with a tap of its control panel and quickly leaned into the cockpit where Kaidan sat at the helm.

"Think you can handle this thing?" Shepard asked, half jokingly.

"Maybe not with as much finesse as Cortez, but I think I can keep us alive," Kaidan mused as he kicked in the thrusters and brought the aircraft into a climb.

Shepard slid onto one of the bench as the Kodiak gained speed and altitude, bumping into Garrus as he did.

"Woah, easy there, Shepard. You've gotta at least buy my dinner first." Garrus joked as Shepard found his balance.

On adjacent seats Liara and Cortez let out a laugh, the latter of the two wincing and grabbing his torso. "Aggh... don't make me laugh, Garrus... I don't trust that krogan doctor who said I only have two broken ribs."

"He did seem very confused as to why one would seek medical attention for 'just a broken rib,'" Liara smirked.

The commander laughed and glanced up to the briefing monitor. The screen was noticeably more grimy and smudged than the one in the Normandy's crashed Kodiak, but so was virtually everything about the craft. On the screen a tiny holographic Kodiak, followed by a dotted line tracking its course, closed the gap between itself and a tiny holographic Normandy. Shepard glanced from the screen to the bench where Javik sat alone. The prothean sat up perfectly straight, his eyes closed. Shepard was unsure if he was sleeping, meditating, or simply trying his best to ignore the others around him.

"So, where are we headed next, Shepard?" Garrus queried.

Shepard's concentration snapped back to reality and he glanced over to the turian. "Horizon. Give Kaidan a hand with this Cerberus investigation."

"I appreciate that, commander!" Kaidan called from the cockpit.

"So... kick a little Cerberus ass, give our blessings to the most unfortunate colony in the galaxy and then head off to the next stop on the Normandy's galaxy-wide victory tour? Sounds like a good weekend to me," Garrus stated coolly as he leaned back in his seat.

Shepard typed fluidly at his personal console, his report to the Council flowing without pause. As he neared the end of his message and prepared his final thought he sat back and read over what he had written. After a minute or so of consideration he leaned forward to finish his send-off.

In closing, Councilors, I have found no evidence to support the claim that the krogan will revert to the aggression seen in the rebellions. Their experience with the galactic community has matured their outlook on inter-species cooperation and given their efforts in the Reaper War, I recommend they be offered the opportunity to re-open their embassy on the Citadel. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any clarification or further inquires regarding my findings.

-Commander John Shepard, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance

The commander proof-read the message one final time before pressing send and powering off his monitor. He let out a exhausted yawn and leaned his head back, enjoying the silence of his quarters.

"Hey, Commander, we're inbound to the Aralakh Relay. Let me know when you want me to make the jump." Shepard's eyes jumped open as Joker's voice broke through the intercom.

Shepard glanced at the digital clock on the corner of his desk and squinted to be sure he was reading the time correctly. He had been asleep for half an hour.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks, Joker, I'll be up to the CIC for the nav orders in a few." Shepard sat forward and rubbed his eyes as he responded.

The commander pulled himself to his feet and made his way to the elevator. He had a few people to visit before he was going to let himself get some rest. He stepped into the lift and tapped the console, ordering the elevator to descend to the Crew's Quarters. He missed the stairs on the SR-1 sometimes. The car came to a stop with a soft pinging noise and the doors slid apart to reveal the memorial wall. Shepard glanced at the names for a brief moment before turning heading into the mess hall. The commander nodded to the crewmen enjoying their dinner but made his way quickly to the medbay. As the doors slid apart Garrus, who was situated on a nearby examination table, looked up and gave him a nod. Doctor Chakwas was busy operating a medical scanner that hovered above Cortez as he lay on his back.

"I assume that's Commander Shepard, no?" Chakwas asked as she concentrated on her work.

"You must have keen ears, doctor," Shepard replied as he leaned against one of the desks.

"Or nose," Garrus jabbed.

Shepard shook his head with a smirk. "How's it look, Doctor Chakwas?"

Chakwas nodded to herself as she finished looking over the results from her scan and smiled down to Cortez. "One last test and we're done, lieutenant." Chakwas tapped a button on the screen and turned to Shepard. "Assuming this next test comes up clean, which I expect it will, he'll be fit for flying in a day or so."

"Good to hear. Kaidan scuffed a bit of paint off of the Kodiak bringing us into the hangar," Shepard replied.

"Hey, I offered to fly and you said no. Just because I haven't had any... official training..." Garrus trailed off.

Shepard grinned. "Save it, Vakarian. And how's the leg?"

Doctor Chakwas looked over the turian and nodded. "He's fit to fight, commander. I was a little worried when you brought Cortez in that he had shaken something up, but it looks right as rain."

"Excellent. Because it looks like we're going to be visiting Palaven after we finish this business up on Horizon," Shepard stated as he stood up.

Garrus slid off of the examination table and flared his mandibles. "I should probably send out a message to my father in that case. Let him to know I might be stopping by." Garrus nodded to the others and exited the room.

Shepard looked back to Chakwas and Cortez. "Thanks for keeping me posted on everything, doctor."

Chakwas glanced to Shepard with a smile. "Of course, commander." She nodded and turned back to the medical console as it began spilling data across the viewscreen.

Shepard turned and walked out of the medbay, raising his hand and rubbing his temple slightly. It had been a long day. He stopped at the door to Liara's office and tapped the security panel once. The panel glowed green and spun in place as the security system quickly identified him, allowing the door to slide apart. He stepped in to see Liara standing at her wall of monitors. She had just stopped mid-sentence and had glanced to see him enter with a smile. On the collection of screens in front of her a familiar drell stood leaning against a desk. Behind him the vast length of one of the Citadel arms stretched on until it curved up and out of sight.

Shepard acknowledged Liara with a smile before glancing to the screen and waving. "Feron, it's been a while."

The drell straightened up as Shepard came into view and nodded respectfully. "Commander Shepard! It's good to see you again."

"Likewise." Shepard nodded and looked to Liara. "Am I interrupting some important business?"

The asari shook her head. "Not at all, Shepard. Feron and I were just discussing some... changes I've been planning."

Shepard raised a brow. "Oh?"

"And by discussing... she means I've been trying to convince her that she's put way too much faith into my ability to coordinate an information network as large as ours," Feron mumbled.

Liara glanced back at the screen. "Feron, I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't trust in you and your abilities."

Shepard cleared his throat slightly. "I'd like to point out that I still haven't been filled in on the topic of discussion."

Liara turned back to Shepard with a sigh. "Of course, I'm sorry. I've been trying to convince Feron for the past couple of days to... take over my position as the Broker."

"And I," Feron quickly added, "have been trying to point out that I'm just a field agent. I'm pretty sure she's got at least one more doctorate than me."

Liara crossed her arms. "I'm not asking you to take all of the responsibilities that I handle. Just think of it as splitting the Brokerage with me, but you get the title."

Shepard eyed Liara suspiciously. "I thought you enjoyed being the Shadow Broker. Why hand it off so soon?"

"I..." Liara paused and turned to the commander. "It's... personal, Shepard. I..." The asari glanced back at the monitors quickly, then back to Shepard. "I'll tell you another time. I promise."

"Alright, alright..." Feron let out a sigh and leaned forward onto the desk once again. "I'll do it. I guess I owe you... both of you... that much. But if I screw something up and start a galactic war I'm not taking the blame."

Liara smiled and turned her attention back to the monitors. "Thank you, Feron. Sincerely. You're the only person in the network I can trust."

Feron smirked. "Yeah, yeah. Kill me with kindness, why don't you."

"I shall. I'll be in touch soon to iron things out." Liara bowed her head slightly.

Feron nodded in return. "Understood. Have fun on..." The drell tapped a few buttons on a screen off camera. "... Horizon. Wow, this network practically runs itself."

Shepard chuckled as Liara terminated the call. "Think he'll manage?"

Liara looked to Shepard with a smile. "Most of the network is still dropping in and out of contact. He won't have too much work."

"So, these personal issues..." Shepard began.

"Can we talk about it later?" She gave him an apologetic look.

Shepard stepped forward and took her hands in his. "Sure. I should be up in the CIC now anyway. I've got to issue a few orders before I can pass out."

Liara leaned into him and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Go on, then. I could use the rest, too. I'll meet you in your cabin."

"All Normandy crew: we will be arriving in the Shadow Sea system in approximately ten minutes."

Shepard stirred groggily as EDI's voice brought him out of his slumber. He let out a refreshed yawn and rolled over to see Liara already awake and lounging on the couch. Her eyes darted across the screen of the personal datapad in her right hand as she took a small sip from the thermos in her left. Liara shifted her gaze to Shepard as he woke, her lips curling into a smile as she set the datapad on a table in front of her.

"You've been sleeping better," Liara stated as she took another sip.

The commander sat up and turned in place, dropping his feet onto the floor. "Yeah... it's nice not having the weight of the galaxy on your shoulders. Not having to worry about letting so many people down."

Liara tilted her head slightly as she watched him.

Shepard pulled himself to his feet and stretched. "Only ten minutes to Shadow Sea and another thirty or so then to Horizon. I should probably suit up."

Liara, already in her normal mission-ready attire, set her thermos aside and stood with him. "The only information my network has been able to acquire is the location of various deliveries tied to this Cerberus account. Are you expecting a fight?"

"I wasn't expecting a Reaper on Tuchanka. I'm not taking any chances," Shepard responded with a smirk as he pulled on his pants.

"Fair enough. Knowing this colony's luck I wouldn't put it past the Reapers and Cerberus to have joined forces here," Liara joked.

Shepard grinned as he slipped on his shirt. "Javik can only dream."

Liara laughed softly as the two made their way to the elevator.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay once again... busy week. My goal with these smaller intermediary chapters is to kind of fill in that whole 'Shepard walks around the Normandy and visits the crew' aspect that I feel is missing from a lot of Mass Effect fics that I've read. I'm sure it's not as engrossing as the main plot, so I apologize, but hopefully you all enjoy it to some degree. Big things in store for next chapter, see you then!