Chapter 16

Shepard gazed out the massive window of the starboard observation room as the Normandy continued its slow orbit around Palaven. A bittersweet smile hung on his lips; the planet below, while visibly scarred like most of the homeworlds, still remained, but it came at an unimaginable cost. Unimaginable before the Reapers had arrived, at least. Liara sat at his side, her head resting on his shoulder and neck as she looked out the window as well.

"You know... I could get used to this," Shepard stated, his eyes not breaking from the viewport.

"What's that?" Liara spoke softly.

"Being able to sit with you and having nothing at the front of my mind other than this moment."

She smiled and glanced up toward him. "I'll give it a week before you get the itch for combat again."

The commander chuckled softly. "I don't know about that. I know that since we met I've been leading the charge whenever I can, but that was just because I had to. From the moment you helped me understand that prothean beacon I knew that no one else would truly understand the stakes. No one but you, of course."

The asari sat up, still looking to him as he continued his gaze out the window. "I guess I never thought of it that way. I'm glad you took the responsibility... I don't know if I possess the political finesse required to unite an entire galaxy."

Shepard finally turned his eyes toward Liara with a smile. "You helped more than you think. You were there every step of the way."

Liara averted her eyes slightly. "If only that were true."

Shepard turned further to face her and brought one of his hands to grasp her's. "Just because you weren't on the ship doesn't mean you weren't with me."

Liara looked back briefly before leaning into him and pressing a long, deep kiss to his lips. As she pulled away reluctantly she smiled and laced her fingers with his.

"Thank you..." Liara said softly.

Shepard smiled and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "You bet."

"Shepard... could I ask a favor of you?"

"Of course."

Liara bit her lip softly and glanced back out to the vista of Palaven and her moons before looking back to Shepard. "Could we go to Thessia? If we have time, of course. I know we have a mission and I shouldn't be asking for personal favors on the Council's time, but-"

The commander shook his head with a smile and raised a finger to her lips to stop her ongoing apology. "Of course we can."

Liara smiled slightly. "Are you sure? I feel like there have already been so many distractions..."

"Liara, for the first time in years we don't have a countdown timer to the end of the galaxy dictating our every move. I think it's okay to take an extra day on this assignment."

The asari nodded gently. "Alright. After seeing Palaven I just felt the need to see my own home. I just want to see that it's still there. I want to know everything will be alright."

"We'll set a course as soon as Garrus is back on board."

Liara raised her hand and cupped his cheek, stroking his skin softly. "I love you."

Shepard smiled in return. "And I love you."

Liara looked back and blew a kiss as she exited the elevator and headed off toward her cabin to finish her daily round of mission report reviews. Shepard watched her go with a smile as the door slid shut and the car began to ascend to the second level. A soft ping sounded as the door parted to reveal the CIC and the swirling holographic map of the galaxy with Specialist Traynor just to the right working diligently. The commander stepped out of the elevator and walked up behind Traynor, crossing his arms as he looked over her shoulder.

"I hear you this time, sir," Traynor commented with a grin as she quickly finished her work and turned to face Shepard.

"Damn, thought I had the jump on you," Shepard replied with mock disappointment.

"So... how was Palaven?" Traynor's grin had slowly begun to disappear.

"Honestly? It was pretty rough. And we only really saw a refugee camp." Shepard let out a sigh and looked to the floor.

"Worse than Earth?"

Shepard shook his head and shrugged. "It's hard to say. At this level of destruction it's like comparing a bullet to the head with a bullet to the heart."

"Devastating in different ways?" Traynor frowned softly.

"Exactly. But, unlike my analogy, we have a future."

Traynor's face brightened slightly as she nodded in response. "I think everyone understands how fortunate we are to have that future."

Shepard smirked. "You'd be surprised. So what are your plans, Traynor? I figured you'd be back in the lab soon or later."

"Ah heh... actually... I like it here. A lot. I like being on the front lines where I can really see my hard work pay off." The specialist shrugged. "I'll probably transfer back to a lab job someday, but right now I think there's too much work to be done out here. But, come on, what I'm gonna do is pretty obvious if you ask me. What I'm really curious about is what you're going to do."

Shepard chuckled and rolled his eyes. "You and everyone else on this ship, apparently."

"Well to be fair I've only known you as a soldier. Think you're gonna stick with it? If you ask me you're pretty due for a promotion..." Traynor grinned and crossed her arms, cocking her hips to the side.

"I think I was close after beating Sovereign, but you know how it is... dying, joining a terrorist cell, the near end of the galaxy. Bureaucracy gets in the way."

Traynor gave a small laugh and shook her head. "I think they're worried about setting the bar too high. Imagine if you got promoted to Hackett's position. People a thousand years from now would look at your service record and say, 'No way I can top that. I think I'll just discharge and become a banker.'"

"I'm sure they've got their reasons." Shepard shrugged lightly. "Anyway, I should probably head down to the armory and tune up my rifle."

"Alrighty, thanks for the chat. By the way, you've got a message." The specialist nodded to Shepard's terminal.

"Thanks. Carry on, Specialist." The commander raised his hand and snapped a salute.

"Yes, Commander." Traynor returned the salute and turned back to her console.

Shepard looked to his private terminal and approached it slowly. It was always a gamble with this damned terminal. He tapped his mail to see only one new message, raising a brow as he saw the name of the sender.

From: Aria T'Loak

My connections tell me that you're still alive. You can color me impressed. Cerberus going tits-up made it easy to recapture Omega and we've already begun the bulk of the reconstruction work. Come by Afterlife. I think after what you managed to pull off I owe you a drink. And I don't like having a standing debt.

-Aria

Shepard smirked and marked the message as read before powering down the terminal and turning for the elevator.

It was nearly silent in the shuttle bay as Shepard sat at the weapons bench hunched over a disassembled M-8. He had meticulously cleaned every component and was now beginning the process of piecing the rifle back together from the ground up. It was a relaxing way to pass the time. Garrus had called for a pickup about half an hour ago and Cortez was due back any minute. Shepard wanted to be here when they got back. After a few minutes of work Shepard finished assembling the weapon and set it down on the table. He took a deep breath and nodded in satisfaction before standing and grabbing the rifle, sliding it onto the weapon rack beside the others.

"Attention. Shuttle bay door is opening." EDI's voice rang out.

Shepard turned to the far wall to see two large red lights flashing on either side of the massive bay door as it began to slide apart. The noise of the Kodiak's thrusters filled the shuttle bay as it slowly and carefully hovered from the airlock to the landing zone. The commander crossed his arms and watched as the red shuttle descended before being locked in place, the engines cutting off as soon as it was secure. After a brief moment the side hatch of the dropship opened to allow a familiar turian to jump out and to the floor of the shuttle bay.

"How'd it go?" Shepard leaned back against the weapon bench as Garrus walked toward the armory.

"It's been a long, long time since I've heard my father say he was proud of me," Garrus responded as he stepped up beside Shepard. "It feels good."

"Any tears?" Shepard smiled.

"Oh sure. Mostly mine, of course." Garrus turned and leaned back next to Shepard.

The commander chuckled and looked up to the ceiling. "I don't think I've properly thanked you for everything you've done for me, Garrus."

"Well you're lucky I didn't get into this business for the thanks," the turian quipped.

"Regardless... you've always been there for me. You're a true friend. And I owe you a lot for that."

"You don't owe me a damned thing for being there for you, Shepard. That's what a friend is." He cleared his throat and stood up, motioning toward the elevator. "Now come on, we've got places to be. I've already taken up enough of your time by making you fly me out here."

Shepard stood up as they walked toward the elevator. "How many times do I have to tell you that you're not taking anyone's time?"

Garrus tapped the call button and shrugged. "Keep trying. I'll believe you eventually, I'm sure."

The elevator chimed as the door parted, allowing them to board the car. Shepard pressed the button for the CIC and they quickly began to ascend through the ship.

"So where are headed?" Garrus glanced over to Shepard.

"Thessia."

Garrus twitched a mandible curiously. "Thessia..? New orders?"

Shepard shook his head as the door opened to the CIC and they walked to the galaxy map. "Nope. Personal request."

"Ahh, I see. Liara?" Garrus stood at the base of the command platform as Shepard stepped up and leaned over the map.

"Nope. Javik." The commander glanced back over his shoulder with a smirk as he punched in the nav orders.

"Funny. What are planning on doing there?" Garrus watched as Shepard turned and stepped back down.

The commander shrugged. "You'd have to ask Liara. She just said that after seeing Palaven and Earth she needed to see Thessia again."

"I can't blame her. We did leave it in rather unfortunate shape. Here's hoping the asari have taken care of their own Reaper infestation."

Shepard sighed. "I'm bringing my rifle. Just in case."

Author's Note

Well I feel silly. I finished this chapter two or three days ago when I finished the most recent chapter of Contingent Absolution and forgot to push it live. Anyway, hope you liked this "walk around the ship and talk to the crew" chapter. I really enjoy the one-on-one conversations. See you next week!