Chapter VII

After returning from her morning appointment with the physiotherapist, Shepard sat in the sofa chair of her room to write an email to Hackett about her mother. The SSV Orizaba had docked long ago, but she hadn't gotten any news from Hannah since their chat when she was staying at Anderson's apartment. There was no mention of her mom in Miranda's report, nor did Hackett say anything to indicate that he had heard from her. Shepard suspected a cover-up but wanted to get the facts before she started speculating.

As she was about to send her message, the door of the room opened, and a petite fully tattooed woman entered and turned cross-armed toward Shepard.

"Dammit Shepard, you sure took your sweet ass time to come out of that coma of yours. I had nobody to bitch to about Miranda. Did you know that she was keeping you all to herself until now?"

"Yeah well, I wasn't much to look at," answered Shepard, smiling and quickly making sure she was presentable.

"Vegetable or not, I still wanted to see you for myself and tell you to stop making us wait, but nnnnooo, princess Miranda would not have any of it. She even refused Jacob."

"It's nice to see you, Jack. I hear I have you and your students to thank for rescuing me."

"Yeah, don't mention it. You would have done the same," replied Jack and casually bounced on Shepard's bed.

"Regardless, I just wanted to properly thank you, so thank you," Shepard gave a heartfelt smile which Jack reciprocated awkwardly. "How have you been? Staying out of trouble?"

"I'm a respectable teacher, now. I keep myself in check. I do it all for those kids".

Before Shepard could reply, the door opened and Hackett appeared; Shepard immediately stood up to take a military posture.

"I didn't realize you were already occupied. At ease, Commander. Hello, Jack. I need to talk to Commander Shepard. Can you excuse us for a moment?"

Jack looked a little peeved at the request but complied as she didn't want to mess with the brass. Hackett thanked Jack, went to sit down on the chair across from Shepard, and signaled her to take a seat.

"I've come to talk to you about your mother," Hackett paused to let Shepard adjust.

"I was actually just about to email you to ask you to keep me in the loop, Sir."

"I'm guessing you're wondering why she hasn't contacted you. Well, the truth is that she's missing. I would have told you earlier, but we wanted you back on your feet before telling you. We weren't sure how you would have handled it. We all have our limits."

"Missing! How? When?" she asked, taken aback. "Any other surprises I should know about?"

"We are still putting the pieces together, but as far as we know, she was abducted not long after she contacted Alliance command to confirm that the ship had made it to safety. The Orizaba was just outside the Aethon Cluster when it was attacked and boarded. The crew claims that your mother was the sole target. She gave them orders to push on without her. I will give you access to all the files."

"I appreciate you telling me, Sir. With your permission, I would like to conduct my own investigation into my mother's kidnapping, and I would like to start as soon as possible."

"Of course, Commander, I wouldn't have it any other way. If you need anything, please let me know." Hackett stood up to take his leave. Shepard got up and gave her thanks, to which he replied, "It is us who have to thank you, Shepard." His gentle smile instantly alleviated her spirits. "Keep me posted on your findings. Goodbye, Commander."

Jack came back in to find Shepard lost in thought. "Shepard, you alright? You look like you need a drink."

"Yeah, Hackett just told me my mom is missing."

"What the fuck!? Missing? Anything I can do to help?"

"Not for now. I need to look at the intel they have first, but I ain't doing it on an empty stomach. I'm starving. Let's go eat at the cafeteria."

Jack cringed.

"It's not that bad, really!" continued Shepard, nudging Jack.

A couple of weeks later, Shepard was given a clean bill of health by her doctors. Her scars were completely healed, and her strength was better than ever. She was eager to go back on duty, even if it meant being posted on the Citadel overseeing the reconstruction of the Charon Relay. At least the Spectre Shooting Range would be close by.

Shepard's old crew had planned a little celebration for her release in a quaint little bar not too far from the hospital. It was Jacob's go-to place when he visited Rio, and luckily it had remained mostly intact from the Reaper invasion.

Many of the hospital staff who tended to Shepard were also present at the gathering. Surprisingly, everyone fit comfortably, including Wrex and Grunt. Wrex had already informed Shepard that the Krogan clans would be going back to Tuchanka the following day. Since their ships were now repaired and fully stocked for the long journey ahead, they were determined to return to their home world as soon as possible.

Reminiscing with old friends and meeting new ones was nice. It felt like the old days-minus the constant threat of sudden death. Shepard realized that evening that it had been too long since she had any real normalcy in her life. She wasn't quite sure if it was a good thing or a bad one; all Shepard knew for certain was that her life wasn't going to be the same as it had been for the past few years.