The year is 2191.
Five years after the destruction of the Reapers by Commander Shepard and the Crucible in 2186, the galaxy is working towards a new goal: rebuilding.
Following the conflict, the Council set plans in motion to permanently resolve disputes between the species of the galaxy. For their efforts and unyielding valor and bravery in the fight against the Reapers, the Krogan and Quarians were both given a position on the Council, and Urdnot Wrex and Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib became members of the council. Several other species, such as the vorcha, the elcor, the volus, and the hanar all received larger embassies with more of a say in galactic matters.
Following the death of Councilor Udina at the hands of Shepard, the highly-regarded Admiral Hackett became the next councilor for humanity. Shepard, after recovering from his injuries from the Battle of Earth, has retired from active service. Shepard has opted to reside on the planet Rannoch and live a peaceful, quiet life with his wife Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy.
Chapter 1: Phalanx Returns
"Let the moon's shining light hide two lovers with it's rays..."
Tali softly laid her hand on Shepard's cheek. She watched his chest rise and fall, always mesmerized by the way that Shepard, a man who spent most of his adult life fighting through impossible odds, could manage to look so peaceful.
"Though I know dawn will set us on a course for separate ways..."
Laying her other arm across Shepard's chest, she rested her head under his chin as they lay together, feeling the strong beating of his heart against her forearm.
"I will hold this night in my memory for all my living days..."
Shepard's eyes shot open suddenly, and Tali felt his body stiffen tightly for a few seconds before he relaxed again. The poor man was still suffering the after effects of a life of warfare in which he only caught a few hours of sleep before he was forced to awake and be alert and ready to handle any situation.
"Now unmasked...I feel your skin on mine..."
Shepard smiled and reached his hand to her mash, taking it off slowly and kissing her softly on her lips before putting the mask back on to prevent Tali from becoming sick.
"I always love it when you sing," he said, sitting up and stretching until he heard a sharp 'crack', informing him that his joints were loosened. "You have a beautiful voice, Tali."
Tali stretched out her arms, yawning. "Anything for the dashing Commander Shepard..."
Shepard laughed softly. "Let's go make some breakfast." And with that, the pair headed to the kitchen floor.
Following the defeat of the Reapers, the Quarian people focused their full attention on colonizing Rannoch. With the assistance of the Geth - who were now extinct due to the Crucible - the Quarians were able to identify land that was optimal for colonization. The Quarians, true to their nomadic nature, mostly built small homes that focused more on verticality - thus making more room for agricultural activities. Most Quarian homes had a total of four floors, with each floor consisting of a single room; the bottom floor was usually the living area, the second floor had the kitchen/dining room, the third floor was the bathroom, and the fourth floor was the bedroom. All of the floors were connected to the floor above or below it via one long ladder; in the homes of the wealthy, elevators were sometimes installed, a symbol of their status. Much like traditional human homes, Quarians siphoned water and electricity to various homes through pipe systems that ran under the ground of Rannoch, though engineers were careful to avoid installing pipes in established fields of crops.
The unmatched skill of Quarian engineering and technology made agriculture a highly effective production activity for the Quarians. This, combined with the sufficient amount of fertile land found on Rannoch, made the Quarian economy strong. Due to their dextro-protein biology, trade with the Turians was particularly rewarding; Turians also happened to share this biological structure. Turians had come to find Rannoch-grown vegetables a delicacy, and the Quarians traded them for high quality Turian-made alloys, tools, and weaponry.
Shepard and Tali slid down the ladder to the second floor and began cooking themselves breakfast. Tali and Shepard had a special kitchen; one half was equipped with the tools to make Quarian cuisine for Tali, and the other half was built with the traditional human kitchen structure for Shepard. Despite their differences in cuisine, Tali and Shepard had learned how to cook each other meals. Within ten minutes, Tali had whipped up a plate of scrambled eggs for Shepard, and Shepard had a plate of Quarian-vegetable stir fry for Tali. Cooking for each other was one of the many ways the pair continued to bond even more than they did over the course of their adventures on the Normandy.
Tali, intrigued by human culture, had taken a deep interest in literature. Every time that they weren't out working their crops or watching the latest sequel to "Fleet and Flotilla", Tali had her face buried in a Shakespearean classic or a collection of Robert Frost poetry. Shepard, for the most part, had taken up the hobby with her, and together they spent hours at a time reading the best writing humanity had to offer.
After they finished eating, the couple went outside to tend to their flowers and other plants. While Shepard and Tali hadn't taken up a farming role, they had chosen to make their land a lush paradise, filled with bushes, plants, and flowers. Their acre of land was one of peace.
Following this, Shepard went back into their home to take a shower and dress himself while Tali decided to go to the small nearby village and buy supplies to stock their home.
Humming to herself while she made the short trek to the village market, she spotted an old friend of both her's and Shepard's.
It was Kal'Reegar, the soldier that had stood against a Geth Colossus with Shepard and killed it, against all odds. He was standing behind a vegetable stand, selling a container of them to a mother and her child.
Tali ran up to him once the small family had went on their way. "Kal'Reegar!" she said, hugging him. "It's been so long. I haven't seen you since I was on trial all those years ago. I thought you were killed on Palaven repairing a communications tower...?"
Reegar shook his head. "I managed to recover from my injuries in the long run. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the men in my squad." After a dark pause, he added cheerfully, "It's good to see you, Admiral Zorah."
Tali laughed. "Please - just call me Tali. Up there," - she indicated, pointing at the sky - "I'm an Admiral, but here on the homeworld we are all equals."
Reegar clasped her shoulder with his hand. "As you wish. What can I help you with today, Tali?"
She opened her omni-tool and showed him a list of supplies. "Everything on this list is what I need today. Thank you."
"You know, if you're ever free, Shepard and I would love to have you to our house for dinner," said Tali, while Reegar moved around the stand, finding items that were on Tali's list and placing them into a large container. "We seldom have company. It would be nice to have a friend over."
Reegar said, "I would love to. I'll be free tonight, in fact."
"Excellent," said Tali. "I'm going to return home now. I will see you later, Reegar! Maybe the three of us can have a night out later on."
"Sounds like fun, Tali. Farewell."
"Farewell to you as well." With that, Tali left the village and began the walk back to her home, groceries in hand.
When she got there and opened the door, she found a sharp-looking Shepard in his formal Alliance suit. She gasped softly - she hadn't seen him wear it in years.
Tali, curious, said, "Not that I'm complaining, but what is the occasion for which you're so well dressed?"
Shepard looked up at her. "Joker and the Normandy are on their way to pick me up. Admiral Hackett sent me an email on the extranet this morning. Alliance patrols near the Omega 4 relay came across a single Geth warship."
Tali did a double take. "Geth? But they're -"
"Extinct, I know," said Shepard. "That's what I thought too. But when the Alliance hailed it, a Geth that calls itself 'Phalanx' responded, indicating that it was told to contact Legion."
"But he's dead," said Tali. "He sacrificed himself to save the rest of the Geth on Rannoch back in 2186."
"That's what the Alliance patrols told it, too," said Shepard. "But here's the strange part. Phalanx said that it was instructed to reach either me or you if Legion couldn't be contacted."