Note: That "one other thing" that makes this AU? That would be that Admiral Hackett is Shep's father.
Beta: None.
Bioware is master of the universe and my soul. (Uncle Jason is a character of my own creation, obviously)
"Fuck the Collectors," Kate muttered as she stepped off of the elevator and walked past the mess hall table where Joker, Garrus and Zaeed sat together. Miranda had tried to insist they needed to get moving to pick up the next recruit, but Kate had not so subtly told the Cerberus bitch where she could stick her insistence. The Commander had wanted to give her team, particularly Garrus, a tiny rest before the next fight. As a result, they were still docked on Omega, though she, Zaeed and Garrus couldn't wait to be anywhere else.
"What's the matter, Kate?" Joker asked.
She flopped down in a seat next to her pilot and sighed. "Got a message from the Alliance, asking me to go to Alchera."
There was a deafening silence at the table before Kate answered the question none of her companions were willing to ask. "There are still twenty members of the Normandy unaccounted for, so I'm going down there to see if I can find their dog tags to send to their families."
"Damn. That's one hell of an assignment," Zaeed said.
"And I'm going alone," Kate said firmly, looking at each of her friends in turn.
The three men nodded solemnly as she stood up again. Joker followed her into the elevator, heading back to the cockpit to set a course for the near-by Amada system.
Shepard stood in front of the memorial she'd placed by the remains of the Mako. She'd found the twenty missing tags, said a prayer for each of the dead, and asked their forgiveness. Not willing to leave just yet, she found herself thinking of a poem her uncle Jason had said at her mother's funeral (though Kate had been too young to remember it, or her mother).
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
Back on the ship, Kate bypassed the CIC and her overly-chipper yeoman, heading straight up to The Loft. She needed to send a message to her father anyway, and there was no way she was doing that with Kelly watching over her shoulder.
From: Cmdr. K. Shepard
To: Adm. S. Hackett
Subject: Alchera
The memorial has been placed and the tags are on their way to Arcturus.
Katie
PS: Do you know what happened to my tags? I couldn't find them, though I did find my N7 helmet.
She was surprised when she received a reply not five minutes later.
From: Adm. S. Hackett
To: Cmdr. K. Shepard
Subject: Thank You
Hopefully having these tags will bring the families of these fallen heroes some closure.
As for your tags, they are sitting on my desk here in my office. I'll send them to a friend who can get them to you.
Dad
A/N: Poem written by Mary Elizabeth Frye (1932)