Chapter 96 - Don't Talk To Me About Heroes
Four grim days pass with agonizing slowness. The funerals have been held two days ago, when Shepard was still chained to the bed, she has not managed to say proper goodbyes to Kaidan and Adams, as well as the rest of her crew, men and women she did not know as well, but who served proudly nonetheless. Morgan has been undergoing rehab for a couple of days now, scaring her quarian doctor with her unnatural recovery rate, but nonetheless eventually receiving permission to accompany Liara down planetside, where the quarians, geth and the rest of her team are working day and night to quickly repair the Normandy.
Liara has been taking trips planetside from the day one of her stay on the Rayya, at first for a few hours, then increasingly longer and longer, regularly updating Morgan on her omni-tool about their progress. Morgan raises no objections about Liara's now almost permanent absence, she instead works to bring herself back into shape quickly so that she can join the asari on the ground. Liara's main concerns have been the Shadow Broker terminals, but the portside room had thankfully suffered very light damage and the asari has been able to repair everything herself, succeeding in keeping everyone away from her professional secrets.
The next item on Liara's list is repairs to the AI core, there is heavy damage to EDI's hardware and it is taking the quarian engineers together with the geth a lot of time to understand just how something as complex as EDI has actually been operating. However, there has been progress on this front, and Liara reports that they will attempt to reboot EDI's systems early next morning, and Shepard plans to be there for that occasion. As far as EDI's mobile platform, it has suffered only light damage on the bridge, and apparently, it has already been fixed by Legion itself.
There are three other crew members still stuck on the Rayya with Shepard, and none of them will be leaving the medical facilities soon. Dr. Karin Chakwas has suffered considerable brain damage, and remains in coma, the doctors not wanting to speculate on how her recovery will progress. For a woman of her age, Karin is in great shape, however, overall physical condition does not always appear to have as much effect on brain injuries.
Joker is being kept in an artificial coma, simply because the pain he would experience if conscious would be intolerable with even the most effective painkillers. However, Morgan is encouraged to learn that his recovery will eventually be full, if lengthy. The last of the patients is Private Bethany Westmoreland, being kept sedated, having gone into shock after watching her fellow Private Campbell burn alive before her eyes, while Westmoreland's leg had been pinned by a fallen metal beam, leaving her several agonizing inches away from a fire extinguisher. The quarians have impressive medical facilities, but they do not know how to deal with mental traumas like this, so the best they can do is to keep Westmoreland sedated and then pass her over to the Alliance medical teams at the first opportunity.
Three others have been treated for minor injuries and released almost immediately. Samantha Traynor has a broken wrist, but she has not allowed that to keep her sitting idle, demanding that the quarians allow her to return to the Normandy, eager to help Liara with EDI's restoration efforts. One of the younger ensigns, Gustafson, has a broken collarbone, and Javik has escaped with only severe bruising to his facial area, apparently hitting his head against a urinal. They too return to work on the Normandy, even if Morgan asks herself just what sort of aid Javik could provide.
Those twelve who have found themselves away from the Normandy during the suicide attack feel particularly shocked and gutted, suffering from mild cases of survivor's guilt, even if Morgan is relieved that at least some of her crew have escaped unharmed. James appears to be feeling particularly guilty, stopping by to apologize several times and dropping supportive messages to her omni every few hours. In a way Vega is right to feel remorseful, because he knows that unless he hadn't tried to impress some quarian girls by drinking a bottle of turian brandy, he would have been back on the Normandy at the time of the crash, now very likely dead. At least his idiocy had saved the life of Lt. Steven Cortez, busy dragging the drunken James to some remote clearing where he could empty his stomach in a spectacular display of projectile vomiting.
Morgan's thoughts these days are often with Adams and especially Kaidan. She knows she has been right, no good deed goes unpunished. She had tried to show kindness to Kaidan, to welcome him back onboard of the Normandy, to give him a chance to atone for trying to shoot her, and for shooting Liara. And it had been slowly working, they had been getting along better... the crew had started to accept Kaidan yet again. And then, something like this had to happen. It feels as if the galaxy itself has looked at Morgan's attempts to show mercy, and then decided to once again spit on her noble intentions.
Maybe I should take a hint from that. Don't even bother doing the right thing, Morgan. Just do what you need to and don't concern yourself over rights or wrongs. She sighs, knowing that she is unable to reason like that. Damn. Adams had family working under Hackett. I will need to write those dreaded letters. And Kaidan's mom... first her husband, now her son too... gods, I can't bear this, I can't bear this anymore!
But though it hurts like hell and worse, Morgan knows that she will persevere. Whenever the depression starts to encroach upon her too much, Liara is just a flick of the comm switch away, and hearing her bondmate's voice always lifts her spirits instantly. The promise of being able to join Liara in the morning is stimulating and her tired body, exhausted from the intense rehab, slips into restful sleep quickly, for once untroubled by nightmares.
The next morning, after her shuttle reaches the surface of Rannoch, she quickly finds herself in Liara's embrace, then being led a short walk away from the repair site. There, in a small clearing on a cliffside overlooking the ocean, she sees eight freshly dug graves. She stands before the resting places of her crew, looking into the calming blue of the ocean, tears streaming down her face, but it hurts less than she had feared it might. "It is... a lovely place. There is peace, and calm. The quarians chose well," she says simply, wiping her cheeks clean.
Liara slips an arm around her waist. "They promised to build a small memorial at the site, to honor our fallen," the asari adds quietly. "I know it does not make it any easier... but it is a lovely gesture."
"I agree... I know Raan and Koris both feel terrible about what happened," Morgan sighs. "It seems that even those who thought they knew Xen never even realized what she was capable of."
"There might have been more to it, Morgan," Liara says, as they slowly start to walk back to the Normandy. "I have heard a rumor that... she might have shared more than just professional relationship with Han'Gerrel. Which would give her more personal reasons for wanting revenge."
"Great. I wish I had known that before I went and beat Gerrel to death," Morgan grumbles. Not long after they reach the Normandy, and Shepard is impressed with the work that has been done, the technical expertise of the quarians and the geth is certainly on par with the Alliance's capabilities, and more often than not is actually far advanced. Even though the work is done with great haste, no rushed sloppiness is tolerated and the restored starboard side is gleaming like new as she sees James giving her a salute as they walk by, together with Javik working on giving the Normandy a new paint job. Probably assigned to a task where they can cause the least amount of damage, Morgan chuckles inwardly, stepping back onboard.
The interior still shows some extensive damage, but it is getting cleared up fast, there are dozens of quarians and geth milling about, but what at first looks like a chaotic anthill is actually a well organized effort, everyone is clear on their task, and working with maximum efficiency. "EDI is back with us and operational," Liara explains as they first stop at the bridge, watching Traynor fussing over EDI's platform, while Tali continues to run scans and fiddle with the hardware, listening to EDI's own instructions on what to do.
"With something as complex as EDI, it was very difficult to put everything together as it was initially," Liara explains, as Tali and Traynor both notice their presence and greet them with brief waves before immediately getting back to work. "But at least once we brought the majority of EDI's systems online, she has been able to run self-diagnostics and identify further issues to repair. Progress has been swift and encouraging."
"At last some good news," Morgan nods. "Will EDI be able to fly the ship alone? Jeff might be out of action for several weeks at the least."
"I suppose that is technically possible, yes," Liara muses. "It was... disconcerting to hear her voice when she asked about Joker's condition. Morgan, the worry I sensed from her was... I do not think I can look at her as just a machine, albeit a very complex one."
"What about the QEC?" Shepard asks, as they move away from the bridge, mindful not to get in the way of those working.
"It is fully operational. You can report to Hackett at any time of your choosing," Liara says, then adding, a little hesitantly. "If I can make a suggestion... it has been a long time since he has heard from you. Perhaps you should..."
"Yes, I was going to do that just now," Shepard nods. "I just wanted to first know how much time until the Normandy is space-worthy again. Because that will be the first thing he asks."
"I keep hearing the timeframe of three days, Morgan," Liara says, as Garrus stomps by them hastily, stopping only to give Shepard a supportive slap on the shoulder. "He's been working tirelessly on getting those weapons systems back to operational," the asari explains, as Garrus rushes off again.
"Yes, he's very protective of his big gun, I've noticed," Shepard chuckles, before leaning in and giving Liara a quick peck on the cheek. "Babe, I'll go chat with Hackett then. Will catch up with you after that."
Liara simply nods as Morgan walks through the rubble filled hallway leading into equally messy conference room, both places of lesser importance still in need of repair, stepping through a largely intact War Room and then proceeding towards the comm station, facing the fully operational communications consoles. Having gone over in her head just what intel to share and how to explain everything to Hackett, she finally places the request for a connection, Hackett answering after nearly ten minutes of waiting.
"Commander," he looks tired but relieved. "I was starting to grow worried, especially after the way our last conversation ended. We have not heard from you in a while and I was considering sending ships to investigate."
"You had a good reason to be worried, Admiral," Shepard replies. "I'll start with the good news, if you'll permit. I'm sending you an over three thousand ship strong quarian fleet and some of their best engineers for the Crucible."
"That is... excellent news, Commander. How did-"
"I am also sending you an over two thousand ship strong geth fleet," Shepard says quickly, cutting off the surprised admiral. "And they have also agreed to offer their technical expertise to help build the Crucible."
"The geth? Shepard, are you serious?" Hackett blinks.
"I am completely serious. They have made peace with the quarians and are currently helping them resettle their homeworld. The geth will be formidable and highly useful allies, Admiral. As long as our forces can overcome their instincts to shoot them on sight, you will learn to quickly appreciate their aid."
Hackett scratches his chin thoughtfully. "This is... very unorthodox. They will fight the Reapers?"
"Of course. Just like any organic race, the geth desire to be free. The Reapers are a threat to their freedom. They will fight as ferociously as any turian, asari or human."
"Have you considered the danger that the Reapers might be able to hack inferior synthetics like the geth and turn them against us? The geth have fallen under Reaper influence before in the past," Hackett still appears unconvinced.
"I do not think there is any danger of that happening, Admiral," Shepard starts to explain. "When a fraction of the geth joined the Reaper we called Sovereign, they did so on their own choosing, lured by Sovereign's promises of handing them advanced tech. Sovereign never hacked the geth to serve them, if it could have done that, it would have enslaved all the geth without bothering to make any promises to them."
"It seems like you have given this a good amount of thought, Shepard. Very well, I will trust you on this and inform our allies that they are to no longer treat geth as hostiles," Hackett finally nods. "Hell of a thing you just pulled off, Commander. Over five thousand ships, that alone is almost a third of the fleet I'm hoping to deploy in the final battle. You're a true hero, Shepard," he says, saluting at her.
"Don't call me that!" Shepard snaps at him, more harshly than intended, watching the admiral blink in surprise. "I'm just... trying to do what needs to be done..." And failing more often than not, she adds bitterly. "Sir, not all news are good. The Normandy suffered extensive damage during the battle," she continues, deciding to lie about the exact circumstances of the encounter. "We are currently undergoing repairs which are scheduled to continue for another three days. After that, we will leave Rannoch together with the quarian and geth fleets."
"That is unfortunate," Hackett says, his expression turning slightly darker. "At least you are able to make repairs. Did you suffer casualties?"
"Yes." Shepard tenses immediately, grinding her teeth and trying to keep her voice from wavering. "Full report will be coming shortly, sir. I will need replacements to our engineering department. I'm afraid that Chief Engineer Adams did not survive the attack."
"Damn it. He was a good man. People like him are what makes the Alliance great," Hackett shakes his head sadly. "I know his family. I will inform them in person."
"Are you sure? As the acting captain, it is my resp-"
"You have more than enough responsibilities already, Shepard," Hackett cuts her off. "I will handle this, don't worry."
"Very well. I also need a replacement chief medical officer. Dr. Karin Chakwas is in critical condition aboard the Rayya."
"Gods, Karin..." Hackett looks shocked, his chin trembling slightly at the news. "What are the doctors saying?"
"Not much, Admiral. 50/50 is what I'm getting. These quarians are really good, but if you could have an Alliance medical team standing by for when the fleets emerge from beyond the Veil, it might help a great deal. Moreau and Westmoreland will also benefit from the expertise of human doctors."
"Moreau is critical too?" Hackett shakes his head. "Damnation, this is... not good. I will arrange the medical team and see what sort of replacements I can get for you, Shepard."
"I actually have a few candidates I want to check out myself, if you don't mind, sir," Shepard says. "I'm thinking about a doctor and engineers. And I'm still not sure if we'll need a new helmsman or not, I will confer with EDI first and then let you know."
"Of course, Shepard, I will trust you to handpick people you trust," Hackett nods. "If you need anything, please, do not hesitated to ask, Commander."
"Thank you, sir. But I have not mentioned the worst of our losses yet. Admiral, sir... Major Alenko... Kaidan is d-" she breaks off, embarrassed at being unable to continue, tears streaming down her face. Hackett waits patiently, looking at her with sadness and sympathy, waiting for her to wipe her face clean. "I'm... sorry, sir. I has been... difficult."
"I'm sorry too, Shepard. You must have gone through hell down there," Hackett shakes his head sadly. "But what you did might just help us win this war, Commander. I stand by my words. You are a hero, at least in my eyes."
"No sacrifice is too great, huh?" Morgan slowly manages to recover, chuckling bitterly. "Anyway, that's all I have to say for now, sir. The report will be more detailed, but I hope you'll understand when I say that the report is the last thing on my mind right now." Hackett merely nods at that, as she turns to ask him in return. "So, what's been happening on the other side of the Veil, in the meantime?"
"There are news that you might find uplifting, Commander," Hackett replies. "First of all, since you acted on Takashima's intel, I assume you know that the SSV Orizaba has reported in. Your mother is back with us, Shepard, and she has been promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. She's helping us plan logistics for the Crucible. She is immensely proud of all the work you have been doing out there."
"That's... good to hear," Morgan manages to smile. "I would appreciate if you could pass her a word or two. That I'm alright, and thinking of her... you know, the touchy-feely stuff."
"Of course, Shepard," Hackett smiles in return. "Meanwhile, construction of the Crucible is progressing and I believe we have completed close to 80% of the known work. The aid of quarians and the geth might provide the last few breakthroughs that we need. And... hopefully address the issues I mentioned to you during our last talk."
"That would be preferable, sir," Shepard nods. "With this quarian-geth war behind us, I really hope we finally have our hands free to step up the search for the Catalyst."
"Yes, that is our priority now, Shepard. Now that we have the fleets, it is imperative we recover this Catalyst as quickly as possible," Hackett agrees. "We have locations of some promising Prothean digsites that might hold the information we need. I will forward them to Dr. T'Soni, together with another report that might be beneficial for you and your crew to read."
"Oh? What report is that, sir?" Shepard asks.
"The turians and the krogan launched a massive counter-offensive back on Palaven," Hackett explains. "It proved successful. The turians have reclaimed large parts of their homeworld. Your work is starting to pay off, Shepard," he adds, as Morgan is simply standing frozen, uncertain whether she dares to believe Hackett's words...
The estimate of three days to finish the repairs proves very accurate. The quarian settlement outside has grown to a size of a small town already, each day providing housing for more and more quarians leaving the Civilian Fleet, and there is a constant stream of shuttles coming in and back out, dropping off more and more settlers together with plentiful supplies from the liveships. The Normandy also looks as good as new, and the slight kinks in EDI's programming have been worked out, mostly due to Tali's vigilant efforts.
Having listened to EDI's opinion about a replacement helmsman, at least a temporary one, Shepard has decided to ask Hackett for someone after all. Before she can do it, though, it seems as if the quarians have somehow learned of this issue and Admiral Raan contacts her personally to inform that she has a very promising young pilot who Shepard would definitely find to be of great help. Morgan agrees to at least meet with Raan and her candidate at the earliest opportunity, but then the time of departure is already upon them, which means EDI will have to fly the ship out from the Tikkun System on her own.
Before they leave Rannoch, however, Shepard gathers all of her crew, or what is left of it, into the CIC, herself taking the post of the commanding officer to address her people.
"In light of the recent tragedy and the devastating loss of our friends," she starts to speak, hoping that this time she can keep her voice steady. "As dark and heavy thoughts are pressing down on us, it is often easy to forget just why we risk our lives on daily basis. What I have here in my hand..." she points at the small datapad she is holding. "Is a reminder of what we are fighting for, the result of all the courageous, hard work and sacrifices we have been making over the past month. This... is a report of a major joint operation of turians and krogan back on Palaven," she speaks, watching Garrus immediately stiffening, watching her with his eyes burning.
"This major counteroffensive involved deception, courage and tenacity in equal parts. It began with the turians leaking a false battle plan, that would show them deploying majority of their dreadnaughts in a daring attack. The operation began with the dreadnaught Indomitable faking a problem with its drive core as it came out of an FTL jump near Menae. Three other dreadnaughts accompanied by assisting ships moved to aid the Indomitable, creating a very attractive target to the Reaper capitol ships, drawing them away from Palaven. As the Reaper forces reacted to the bait, turian troop transports then entered Palaven's atmosphere to release shuttles, gliders, and individual soldier capsules."
"The Reapers did not understand the significance of this secondary plan until it was too late, sending only light ground forces to intercept the landing krogan. This allowed the krogan commandos to link up with the Palaven's resistance and hand off their payloads, heavy warp bombs and fission weapons. Soon after, in simultaneous strikes across the globe, Reaper ships began to explode, as turian resistance members smuggled the bombs inside Reaper structures, including the destroyers and capitol ships that expected to receive the turian leaders to indoctrinate them."
There are loud cheers in the CIC, but Morgan silences them as she continues. "The turians and the krogan have reclaimed much of Palaven with this one, decisive strike. But this victory required many sacrifices, the turian insurgents gave up their lives to make sure that the bombs were detonated. We must be ready to do the same, when the time comes."
She looks across the CIC, seeing the faces of her people, filled with pride, shedding tears of joy. Liara has come to stand next to her, her eyes shining brightly as she listens to Morgan. Garrus is standing frozen like a statue, only his chin trembles briefly now and then, Tali wrapping her arms around the turian and clinging on to him. James is shouting something, unable to calm down, pumping his fist in the air. Even Javik is watching her intently, giving a brief, approving nod as their eyes meet. Traynor is smiling even as tears of joy stream down her face.
"In the history books, they will call this the Miracle of Palaven. Our turian and krogan friends who made it possible are heroes... but so are we. If we had not secured the krogan and turian alliance, none of this would have been possible. This is what we fight for, this is what we sacrifice for, and this is the result of our work. We... we bring hope to the galaxy!"
Shepard turns to EDI, giving one last order to their synthetic friend, before her voice begins to betray her. "EDI, get us out of this system, please... we have a war to finish!"
A/N: And that's finally the end of the Rannoch arc. Thank you for reading and hopefully enjoying. Hope you'll have good holidays, and I'll be back with a new chapter on Thursday. :)