Chapter 20

"He left?"

Garrus looked up in surprise from his terminal. Shepard leaned against the bulkhead of the door leading into the forward battery and nodded in response. The turian closed out the work he had just begun and turned to face the commander.

"Did he say why?"

Shepard stepped into the room, letting the door shut behind him. He stepped up beside Garrus and leaned onto the console. "He's searching for his own path."

Garrus shook his head and flared his mandibles. "Are you sure? That reasoning sounds like it has emotions behind it. The Javik I know just shoots stuff."

The commander let out a sigh. "I know. I was surprised too."

The turian looked down. "Well... I hope it works out for him."

"Same here." Shepard crossed his arms. "But that's not why I came down."

"Oh?"

"Just wanted to let you know that we're setting a course for Rannoch. You know, in case you wanted to polish the nice armor." Shepard gave Garrus a grin.

Garrus turned back to his console and reactivated the weapons diagnostic he had been analyzing. "Yeah... I think I might do that."

Shepard turned to face the console with him and looked over the data. "You been talking to Tali?"

"Sure. Whenever she gets the time. Apparently the quarians are very busy. Something about rebuilding their entire homeword," Garrus quipped as he began tapping away the screen.

"I should probably send her a message and let her know that we're on our way, huh?"

The turian gave him a glance. "She's a very busy admiral. It might be best to schedule a meeting."

Shepard smirked and stood back. "Thanks for the heads up."

Garrus shook his head as he stared down at the monitor. "No problem, Shepard. Now go set our course. We've got a mission to complete, remember?"

"Right... this mission," Shepard joked as he opened the door and walked into the hall.

"Hey, I didn't say just the mission!" Garrus called as the door closed behind him.

Shepard stepped down from the galaxy map as he finished issuing the orders to send the Normandy to Rannoch. He turned to the elevator, but decided against heading up to his cabin. Instead he rounded the galaxy map and made his way toward the bow of the ship and cockpit. He peered into the open door to see Joker and EDI in their usual spots. Shepard stepped in and crossed his arms as he watched Joker working at his communications console.

"Roger, Omega control."

Joker leaned over and closed the comm channel as he spoke and glanced over to EDI. "We ready to go?"

"No, actually," EDI answered. She glanced over her shoulder to where the commander stood. "Shepard, I noticed that Javik is not on board."

Joker turned his chair around. "Jeeze, Shepard. You've gotta say something when you enter a room. How long have you been standing there?"

Shepard chuckled. "Only a few seconds." He looked over to EDI. "Javik won't be leaving Omega with us, I'm afraid."

EDI stood from her seat and nodded. "Yes, Jeff and I observed his departure with my security systems. Are you sure he will not change his mind?"

"I think he'll be okay," Shepard replied with a smile. "Joker, get us en route to Rannoch."

Joker spun his chair around. "Aye aye, sir."

After a few moments the Normandy gave a slight lurch as it detached from Omega's docking armature and slowly rotated away from the station. As the thrusters ignited the ship smoothly accelerated from Omega's port and into the asteroid field that surrounded the station. Shepard stood silently and watched as Joker cautiously navigated through the field. EDI had turned to look through the viewport.

"No collisions imminent," EDI stated as Joker brought the Normandy into a straight flightpath.

Within a few minutes the ship had exited the bulk of the asteroid field and Joker was rerouting the navigation toward the relay. "Alright, we'll be at the relay in an hour or two. After that it's a good twelve hours or so to the Tikkun System."

He locked in the flight controls and turned around to face Shepard. "So, um... is this our last stop?"

Shepard looked down to Joker. "I guess so." He paused and raised a hand to his chin. "Wow... I hadn't really thought about that."

EDI turned to face them. "Thought of what?"

"That this is our final stop," Shepard replied solemnly.

Joker looked up to the commander. "So what's going to happen after you finish your stuff on Rannoch?"

Shepard shook his head. "I guess... the Normandy gets transferred back to Alliance authority." He smiled. "And you two probably go with it."

Joker smirked. "Well I would hope so. As if anyone else could control this ship. Much less her attitude."

EDI glanced down to him with a grin. "Very funny."

Joker nodded up to Shepard with a smile. "You know if Shepard says he needs the ship for Spectre business we might be able to skirt around Alliance authority for another, oh I don't know, twenty years or so."

EDI looked to Shepard. "Is that your plan, Shepard?"

The commander looked to either of them. "Actually... I think this might be my last mission. Alliance or otherwise."

Joker furrowed his brow. "You're gonna retire? Well shit, my plan was to just pilot for you until they decided to make a movie about us and live off of the royalties. Now what am I gonna do for the next fifteen to twenty years?"

"The Normandy will still need a pilot, Jeff." EDI placed her hand on his shoulder.

Shepard watched as Joker looked up to her with a smile and raised his hand to set it on her's. After a moment they both looked back to the commander.

Shepard smiled and looked to either one of them. "Don't let the brass split you two up. If they try to, give me a call. You've always had my back, Joker. I want you know that I've always got your's."

Joker reached up and tipped his hat. "I appreciate it, Commander." He looked back to Shepard and smiled. "By the way, Shepard... thanks. For everything."

Shepard nodded in return. "Don't mention it, Jeff."

The commander looked to them once more before turning and heading back through the door. He had only made it about halfway down the hall before a hand caught his shoulder. He turned to see EDI with her arm outstretched. Shepard turned and looked to the AI with a smile.

EDI returned her hand to her side. "I would like to thank you as well, Shepard. You have always been a friend to me, but you have also been something more."

Shepard raised a brow.

The AI smiled. "Since we first met I have looked to you when in need of guidance. You possess a special attribute that is hard to put into words. I believe organics would call you... wise."

The commander chuckled. "I hope you don't think of me as a perfect role model. And I definitely wouldn't say I'm wise."

EDI shook her head. "I do not wish for you to prove your humility to me. I only wanted to tell you that I appreciate all that you have done for me, consciously or otherwise."

Shepard looked to EDI's earnest eyes and let out a deep breath. He had not expected one of the kindest sentiments he had ever received to come from an artificial intelligence. Shepard took a step toward EDI and put his arms around her. She returned the embrace with surprising grace before he stood back and smiled to her warmly.

"If this is our last mission together, EDI, I just want you to know that it's been a privilege serving with you. And I hope you don't forget to write."

EDI grinned playfully. "Be careful what you wish for. I can send more correspondence in one second than you would be physically able to read in a month."

Shepard laughed and shook his head. "Good. And make sure Joker writes, too. I need you two to keep me laughing."

"Of course, Shepard. You should probably get some rest. We will be at Rannoch before you know it," EDI advised before turning and walking back to the cockpit.

The AI glanced back briefly and smiled as the door to the cockpit slid shut. Shepard looked to the ground in silence; this realization about Rannoch was already building his anxiety. He feared that he would have trouble sleeping tonight.

Commander Shepard stepped through the door to his cabin and looked around the room to find it empty and quiet. He imagined Liara was down in her office. Shepard activated his omnitool and typed out a quick message to let her know that he was thinking about heading off to sleep soon before lowering his arm and making his way to his private terminal. The commander let out a sigh and pulled up the form to compose a new message. Shepard scrolled down his contacts and selected Tali before starting to type.

Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Norm-

He stopped himself and deleted the last few letters.

Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch,

I hope this isn't a bad time, but it seems that I'm going to be in the neighborhood tomorrow and thought I might drop in. If you're not busy I'd love to catch up and see how that house is coming along.

-Commander Shepard

He leaned back and read over the message once. Satisfied, he tapped the send button and turned around to hear the door to his cabin opening. As he stood from his chair Liara stepped in with Glyph floating along behind her. She was staring down at a holopad and dictating a constant stream of instructions as she did so.

"No no, that was the turian ambassador with the sex scandal," she said with a sigh. "Please tell me that Feron didn't send this message to all the agents in that sector."

"I'm sorry, Doctor T'Soni, but the Shadow Broker has indeed-"

She let out another sigh and held up her hand to silence the drone. "Thank you, Glyph. That's enough for now." She lowered her tablet and looked around the room. "And I just lead you all the way up here without realizing it. Fantastic."

Shepard watched with a smile as Liara turned back to the drone and nodded toward the door. "Just... deactivate in the hall for the night."

"Of course, Doctor." The drone happily complied by scurrying out the door.

Liara let out a sigh as the cabin door shut. "I'm sorry about that. I had a long day of work." She turned to Shepard with an exhausted look in her eyes.

He chuckled and stepped up to her, wrapping his arms around her in a loving embrace. The asari closed her eyes and smiled softly as she returned the hug amorously. They held one another for a few moments before Shepard parted them and looked down to her with a smile.

"Feron still learning the ropes?"

She gave a half grin and shook her head. "He's learning. Only a small mix up here or there."

The couple turned and walked down the stairs to the living area where Shepard let out a yawn. "Thanks for coming up. I'm feeling a bit anxious and I always sleep better with you nearby."

She frowned concernedly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're anxious? What's wrong?"

He shook his head and shrugged. "It's nothing, really. I'm just... excited about seeing Tali and Rannoch."

Liara leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "And excited you should be."

Shepard gave her a loving smile and nodded. "Yeah. It's gonna be a good day."