Time elapsed: 3 days and 12 hours (TCU)

Before heading to the clinic today, Shepard decided to check in on-

Oh, I'm sorry; I almost forgot. You see, when he's not volunteering at the clinic, Shepard works at the ship impound just at the edge of town. The ship impound has, attached to it, a repair bay, a mechanic's workshop, and the ever-important hangar. Shepard himself oversees important tasks when his boss is out, and is allowed the special privilege of assigning projects to the bay and workshop.

Now, where was I…? Right! Today, Shepard decided to check in on his coworkers at the impound. "Morning, guys," he addressed casually.

"Shepard!" answered one of the Alliance-lent mechanics, Ken. Ken was quite the character: he was just a few inches shorter than Shepard, with short, orange hair. He was consistently taxed with duties, so he was fairly wrinkled from stress. He wore the standard coveralls that the mechanics in the big leagues donned, and his voice had a Scottish accent about it. "Good to see you again! Where've you been all this time?"

"Volunteering at the clinic, mostly. I actually was about to head that way, but I figured I should drop by."

"Ah, right. Support for the victims from the crash, and all. I heard less than only ten people died. Poor bastards got stuck in the upper floors…"

"Kenneth!" called Gabby, Ken's best friend and cohort. Gabby was a little smaller than the few women on staff normally, had mid-short, dark brown hair, and had a more New Yorker voice.

Ken sighed, "One moment, Shepard." He turned around, calling back, "Yeah, Gabby?"

"Where'd you put my torque wrench?"

"Hold on, let me just pull it out of my ass! How should I know where it is?"

"Well, I lent it to you, last I- wait…" The sound of rummaging metal could be heard from where Shepard stood. "…Never mind."

"That's what I thought!" Ken turned back to Shepard. "Anyway… What can I help you with?"

"I was actually wondering if you could do something for me," Shepard commented. "Think of it as a challenge to the crew here."

"Alright just tell me what needs to be done."

"Come with me; it's kind of hard to explain."

/-/

"So, tell me Shepard. Why are we here?"

"Because, Engineer Donnelly, this is where the challenge lies."

"Why do you have to be so cryptic about it?" Ken asked, folding his arms.

Shepard gestured to the objective. "I need you to fix this," he said bluntly.

Ken looked back and forth between Shepard and the broken vessel, before halting to ask: "Why?"

"Well," he replied, "there's someone I know whom I believe would love to see it restored."

Ken pondered the task for a moment. "Does it have to be in working order?"

"Oh yeah."

"Hm… Are you going to pay us?"

"Everyone who participates."

"…Alright. We'll do it under one condition."

"Yeah?"

"You've got to haul it back to the garage."

/-the next day-/

"Hey, Shepard," Clint greeted the next morning. "We missed you the other day. Where were you?"

"Just getting everything together. Took longer than I thought it would."

"I'll say. So, you're taking my advice then?"

Shepard nodded. "It'll be done in two months… I'm actually surprised you, of all people, aren't happier about this."

"I could never find happiness in the sorrow of my friends, Shepard. Ever." He leaned against the front desk. "But you have to understand that it would never last anyway. I mean, come on! Eventually, it would have to end; best thing is to speed her along and move on."

Shepard frowned. "I guess…" He turned to leave.

"And Shepard?" The medical volunteer turned, just in time for Clint to mouth the phrase he'd been dying to say for so long: "I told you so."

Note: Okay, so this one's kind of short in retrospect... Don't worry, though, I promise the next one will definitely be longer.

Note: Brace yourselves, next one will be coming soon.