"...It has gotten to the point where the word 'hero' has been delegated to apply in only myth, fantasy, or legend. People say the term no longer applies anymore. Based on my experiences, I respectfully disagree."

-David Anderson, Adm. Alliance Systems Navy

Six months later

The overcast clouds hung over the megapolis like a grey sheet. Rain drizzled down, sending small beads of water clinging to the windows on the buildings. Tiny ripples plopped all over Vancouver Harbor, turning the already dreary landscape into a waterlogged mess.

Alliance ships of all shapes and sizes raced up and down the bay, some moving quickly and some residing patiently above as they waited for their clearance to pass through. This was a normal sight for Vancouver citizens, as the city itself was the permanent hub for the Alliance military forces on Earth, so a passing warship tended not to draw too much attention among the streets.

When the United States, Canada, and Mexico united in the late 21st century to form the United North American States, or UNAS, there was some debate over where the center of government should be placed, regardless of the fact that all three countries had effectively merged as one. Reluctantly on a few ends, Washington D.C. was selected to be the center of the government and military as it held the most sentimental value for the majority of its citizens.

Once the mass relays were discovered, and subsequently the Citadel, suddenly the need for a central government for one country did not really seem all that necessary anymore. After all, humans had discovered then that they were not the only ones inhabiting the galaxy that they called the Milky Way and it was rapidly determined that all of the ruling powers on the planet would effectively combine into one all-encompassing government as a way to demonstrate their unity as the newly formed Systems Alliance.

To facilitate the relentless bickering over where Earth's new government should be located, a compromise was reached when Arcturus Station was constructed off-planet, in the very depths of space itself where no one country could claim ownership. Arcturus was where the Alliance parliament would be housed as well as the top ranking members of the military itself as part of a new method of control, strategically giving every country a piece of the metaphorical pie.

In that time, the Vancouver-Seattle area had been delegated to be the Earthside headquarters of the Alliance Navy (a decision that had particularly shocked the Texan Megapolis, who had been vying for the spot for years) which added a boost in income to the area overall. For the past few years, everything in UNAS had been safe in their own private, little world. In fact, everyone on Earth was blissfully oblivious to the goings on in the galaxy, not bothering to venture out and seek answers on their own concerning events not transpiring on their own world, let alone their own city.

It's not like the news of a couple hundred human colonies hit in the last year and half ever made it to the planet without skimming by the propaganda net first. The average citizen would most likely think that pirates only attacked two colonies at most, a hundred would register as practically impossible to their feeble minds. It was a reliable strategy that prevented major panic from occurring in the streets because no one would ever challenge the official reports. Why would they? If someone had spent most of their life on Earth, chances were that they were going to stay there. It was a simple choice, the powers-that-be never told the citizens everything because time has proved that the citizens don't want to know everything. An ordinary resident would rather stay in his deluded bubble of calm rather than break out of it in a quest for the answers.

But the answers were coming, even if the questions had been asked or not.

Shepard.

He awoke with a start, breathing deeply, pulse racing. The yell he had let out had barely a second to echo before the walls smothered the noise. The room was dark but he could see perfectly fine. Despite that, he still instinctively reached for the lamp on the desk next to him and his optic filters adjusted to the sudden light, causing everything to artificially brighten for a moment in his vision.

He threw the covers off himself and headed for the bathroom, bare feet walking across the carpeted floor. He turned the tap on and wet his hands, plastering them to his face. He groaned in relief as the cold liquid soaked through, driving off the last fragments of sleep.

Hands coming down, John Shepard looked at himself in the mirror, staring intensely. It was all just a dream, Harbinger wasn't there. Just a figment of his imagination that had done a successful job in haunting him this morning. He checked his chronometer and found that it was seventeen minutes to five, Pacific time. Shepard sighed, he didn't want to be up this early but it was not like he had much choice in the matter.

Shepard grumbled and walked over to the window, throwing the switch for the light dampeners. It was still dark outside but there was the faint hint of indigo in the sky, evidence of the sun's inevitable rise over the apartments on the other side of the harbor. Vancouver was a lovely city, Shepard had to admit. He hadn't set foot on Earth as much as he had liked to but this certainly stood out as one of the best places he had visited thus far.

In the barracks where he had been staying for the past six months, he had found that the food was decent (no more freeze-dried microwaved meals), the beds were comfortable, and the company wonderful. To call it a barracks was just military understatement at work, the quarters on Vancouver were likened to what anyone would find at any standard hotel.

It hadn't been Shepard's idea to remain confined on Earth for so long, anyway. It seemed that almost immediately after he had finished recovering from the fight on the Collector base, the Normandy had received a hail from David Anderson, now an admiral, to return to base for an overall refit.

He had been surprised to learn that Anderson had resigned his Council position, but the admiral's response was that Shepard's work at uncovering the mystery behind the colony abductions convinced the man that he would be better suited for a command position, rather than a political one. That job he left to Donnel Udina, a sleazeball if Shepard had ever saw one, but could be counted on to deliver once in a while as he did have humanity's best interests at heart. Udina must have been gloating for days when he found out. It was a moot point, anyhow, Shepard couldn't refuse a direct order, and certainly not one from his former mentor.

However, Anderson had another motivation for drawing Shepard back so abruptly and so forcefully. This was made apparent as soon as the Normandy docked when the admiral stepped on, grim-faced, requesting to see Shepard in private.

It turned out, that while Shepard had been assaulting the Collectors, the Alliance had obtained information regarding the Reapers making a push for the galaxy. Anderson, being the only member on the Council who believed Shepard's report from the Battle of the Citadel, personally selected the 103rd Marine Division to investigate the Viper Nebula for clues. It turned out that Alliance scientists in the system had uncovered a Reaper artifact, one that denoted the time until the Reapers reached the galaxy.

Intrinsic evidence revealed that it could have been mere days before the Reapers would first start to appear within the galaxy so they took over the station, as all of the scientists had been indoctrinated from the artifact, and leveled an asteroid at the system's mass relay to delay the arrival, but they didn't know for how much time the strategy bought them.

The destruction of the relay had the side effect of completely releasing the energy of its mass effect engine, the output on par with a supernova. The mission was a success, the crisis temporarily averted, but the explosion wiped out the system, along with half a million batarian colonists.

Retaliation from the Hegemony aside, the entire bulk of the Alliance forces were now on red alert now that the Reaper threat had been practically confirmed. All ships were to be accounted for and summarily resupplied. Everyone was on edge and it seemed to Shepard that he was finally being taken seriously.

He just wondered if it all was too late.

The prospect of a leave that lasted indefinitely was an unavoidable aspect to break to his crew. All Alliance personnel on the Normandy were found housing and kept in the loop, as per Anderson's instructions. This was fine by Shepard as this meant that Joker, Chakwas, and Adams at least would still be attached to the ship whenever he would receive orders again. But no matter how much the brass tried to butter it up to him, he was still effectively being grounded. Unable to leave the planet, he was more or less a prisoner while he waited for a battle plan to become formulated.

A couple months ago, a new surprise came in the form of a fresh-faced marine whom Anderson had handpicked personally to be a part of Shepard's squad. James Vega, upon first glance, looked like a typical meathead. He was tall, muscular, and bloodthirsty like any stereotypical marine. However, the man had an extremely likable personality, discovered when the two of them engaged in a spontaneous sparring session to kill some time (a match that Shepard won handily, not even resorting to utilizing half his strength).

Vega had a soft voice and a keen mind, traits that Shepard surmised would be put to good use in N7 training. After spending a few days working with the marine, Shepard had come to like the man immensely. Loyalty and skill were two traits but combined with an analytical mind like Vega's and the man could potentially be one hell of a soldier. He still needed an on-site evaluation for that last part. Plus, it was nice to talk with someone new without them putting on a reverent tone as if he was the second coming of Christ himself. Just because he got resurrected once did not mean that he was a messiah by any stretch. He certainly wasn't built like one, either. Vega, being a quick study, spoke to him as one would speak to a superior, adopting a very natural tone. All business, no bluster.

His crewmates who weren't Alliance were another matter entirely. Liara volunteered her services as an information broker and Prothean specialist to Admiral Hackett, trying to stave off becoming stir-crazy as a result of being confined to one area. Fortunately for her, Hackett accepted and put her straight to work on Mars, helping to decode the Archives for any potential clues regarding the upcoming invasion. She spoke once a week with Shepard and it seemed like she was doing just fine, showing a bit more enthusiasm as she had been reconnected with her passion for Prothean artifacts. Shepard made a point to tease her about not wandering into any ancient security systems, to which she responded with a mock appeal on trying not to destroy the place if he came visiting. It was true, deftness was not really Shepard's style.

Garrus, in spite of the prospect of potentially returning to Palaven, elected to stay with Shepard. The turian's reasoning came about from the notion that Shepard would "probably rope him into another suicide mission again" when the time came calling. This way, he would be close by in case his friend needed a helping hand at facing the huge machines, or if he needed to plot an escape from this planet in the near future.

In their spare time, Garrus would join the commander for a drink at the bar down the street about a couple times a week. It was always the same bar (the only one that served dextro alcohol in the city) but they made it so that every encounter still felt fresh and interesting. Hell, it was a long time since Shepard could simply relax and enjoy a drink for once, never mind the fact that his modified digestion system filtered out all of the alcohol he consumed within minutes of consumption. For him, getting drunk was a thing of the past.

He knew he wouldn't really have to ask Tali if she wanted to stay or not, but did so anyway and earned quite the tongue-lashing from her for even introducing the ludicrous idea. Guess that answered that question.

The unfortunate reality of being housed in the barracks was that only one person was assigned to a room at lights out, no exceptions. This did not mean that Shepard and Tali could not be in the same room together but was a rule implemented as a contingency for the co-ed floors of the quarters. The rule wasn't really enforced all that often, to which Shepard and Tali would take occasional advantage of the laxness as they laid in his bed with each other for a few nights, fully clothed, but making a point to not let such trivial regulations keep them apart for long.

It had come to the point where Shepard had to pull rank just to make sure that Tali's room was situated right next to his. He got no grief from the brass as it seemed they knew of both his and Tali's intimate rapport between each other, somehow. Relationships among the military were not uncommon, as they actually occurred far more frequently than rumor went on, but Shepard's closeness to the quarian still drew looks from whenever they walked down the halls together. To his relief, the stares were not ones of disgust, but of rapt interest and curiosity. To the average soldier, the person who had the honor of claiming the heart of Commander Shepard, disregarding race or sex, was going to be scrutinized by them anyway. People were naturally nosy like that and the fact that the person in question happened to be a quarian only amplified their intriguement even more.

Earth was fascinating to Tali. Each day she would beg Shepard to take a walk around the city and go someplace she had not visited before. The bustle of the streets, the towering skyscrapers, and the expanse of the bay all were a delight to her eyes. She was lost in a world that was completely foreign to her and loved every minute of it. Her eyes, shining through her visor, told Shepard that she was overwhelmed with wonder (if he couldn't already tell by her body language, a tic that he had picked up early on).

One day, Shepard had gotten leave to venture outside the city for a bit. Taking Tali along, they had rented a skycar for the day and traveled to Olympic National Park, wanting to see the temperate rainforest. If the city of Vancouver had amazed her, then the towering pines and dense wildlife certainly left her speechless.

In spite of the fact that she had visited several planets with dense forests and animals teeming all over the place, it was usually the backdrop for some run-of-the-mill combat zone. Trees would look like obstacles, hills would be vantage points, and logs would be places for cover. Switching her fight-or-flight response off helped her take in the natural splendor of the area and enjoy it alongside Shepard. She would wonder herself how many magnificent landscapes she completely missed in her battle-hardened focus after today, the thought bringing a pang of regret to her.

Wandering through the mossy jungle floor, the yellow sunlight had been particularly hazy from the built-up moisture trapped underneath the canopy. Tali's head had been turning in all directions, frantic to see a brand new world that her friend and lover called home. They had spent hours roaming the grounds, occasionally jogging to see as much as possible (passing by a few hikers as they wheezed along, much to the couple's amusement). They spent their lunch underneath a large sequoia, watching a herd of elk patiently graze on a hill. At the end of the day, they reached the parking lot, hand in hand and laughing, a little tired but very glad that they had made the detour.

At the end of every day, both of them would stretch out on the couch in Shepard's room and watch the Vancouver skyline as the sun set, light glinting off of the metal pillars and foaming ocean. Oftimes they would be simply staring at the various types of ships that passed by their window, trying to guess its origins or purpose in the area. Each evening, they would be wrapped in a perpetual hug, taking advantages of the perks that relationships have to offer. Plus, they were alone in the room so they could act normally with each other without having to physically restrain their base instincts to bring themselves together in an embrace.

A few times since their "leave" began, Tali had made the effort of removing only her mask during these nights. The risks were still there of her getting exposure to a stray bit of bacteria but both of them took all the appropriate steps to lessen the chances of that happening. Whenever this happened, it would always start with the both of them taking a long time, perhaps an hour, just touching the other's face lovingly. Shepard adored it when Tali would reveal her beautiful face to him, knowing that he was the only one to have seen her this way, staring at her impending need that was written all over her face. It was clear that she held these moments dear every time they happened and Shepard wanted each one of them to feel special, to keep her fears at bay so that she could be ultimately comfortable and not afraid to risk a little. The rewards were too tantalizing, anyway.

Once they had gravitated past the initial conversation and brushing of fingers over exposed skin, Shepard and Tali would then spend the rest of the night on the couch, kissing the other hungrily while the hours slipped by, like a pair of lovesick teenagers. Once they had their fill, they would then move onto the bed where Tali would apply her mask again and proceed to fall asleep, fitting snugly in the bed with her human.

Lately, her reactions to being exposed to the outside air had been minor to almost nonexistent as her immune system adapted to the environment of Shepard's room, so she had taken to spending a few of these nights without a mask. She never did it for subsequent days as she didn't want to chance the risks of an infection any more than necessary, although if she had a few more weeks, she might work up the courage to pass that milestone. Shepard knew that he should be grateful in any case for her potentially jeopardizing her health just so that she could be with him, breathing the same air he breathed without a filter in the way. One less layer in between them.

Tonight was not one of those nights as Shepard had been held up sitting through another one of Admiral Brewer's monotonous briefings that were for the purpose of bringing the majority of the staff up to speed regarding the Reapers. It didn't help that Shepard had already been aware of these details as he had experienced all of the reported Reaper characteristics firsthand. Maybe if Cerberus had spent a little more time altering his frontal cortex while he was still stone dead he wouldn't have felt so bored throughout the whole lecture. By the time Brewer had finished droning out his report, it was well past curfew and he had no choice but to go straight to his room afterward, annoying him that he missed any potential time to spend with Tali. Sure, he had gained several opportunities spent between them already but he was more incensed at the amount of time that was wasted, regardless.

The Reapers were getting closer with every passing second, so every moment had to count, right?

As he now stood in front of the window, watching the lights flicker below, there was a soft knock on the door. Without looking, he tabbed a button on his omni-tool and heard the locks cycle open right after.

Tali walked in, yawning sleepily through her visor as Shepard turned to meet her. Her pace was moderate and she was wringing her hands. "John," she said softly, "I heard you from the other room, are you okay?"

Shepard bit his lip. His rousing shout must have been louder than he figured. "It was nothing, Tali," he shook his head. "Just a dream. I'm sorry that I woke you."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Her voice was barely more than a breathy whisper as she moved in to hug him. Perhaps if she had been in his room when he slept he might not have had his nightmare, he reasoned.

"Not really." Not now, at least. "Perhaps later."

"Are you really going to make me worry about you?"

He sighed, "Tali, it was a one-time thing. I'm fine."

She got the hint, breaking the hold and moving over to the couch. Shepard followed her and both sat down simultaneously as they stared out over the dark harbor, the first glimpse of red sunlight warming the horizon.

"They kept you late last night," she started.

"Brewer just wanted to hammer in the upcoming danger. I could have told them that in just a few sentences but he insisted on making an epic out of it."

"It's been months now," she reached out for his hand. "Do you really think we're ready for them? The Reapers, I mean."

Shepard drummed his fingers on his leg, "Not if we're alone. After seeing what one Reaper did to a single fleet, all of humanity's forces are not going to stop this by themselves. It just isn't possible."

"But do you think that there's even a chance they can be defeated?" Tali's eyes silently begged for an answer.

He gave a cold stare out the window, sighing, "I...I don't know. I just don't know, Tali. Facing a single Reaper is one thing. Facing a thousand is another."

"Do you think that the Council will take your point of view soon enough? They have to realize what's coming…"

Shepard gave a small, sharp laugh, "They haven't agreed with me, not even when they first made me a Spectre. Every shred of evidence I brought to them was constantly second-guessed by those politicking morons. Even if the Reapers were attacking their homeworlds right now, they still wouldn't see any point in offering humanity any aid."

"There...there might be another way," Tali said, hands starting to tremble.

He noticed this, tightening his grip, "What do you mean?"

Her head drooped slightly, "I...I wanted to t-talk to you last night...but we never got the time to discuss it…"

Shepard was confused, "Discuss what, Tali?"

Her eyes met his, glowing sadly, "I have to leave, John."

His hand slackened against her own, leaving her hand to now squirm without anything to hold it back. Shepard turned toward the window, pondering silently. Tali trembled nervously as she tried to speak through her stammer.

"A-Are you g-going to say any-anything, John?"

"I'm just trying to wonder why you would want to abandon me at a time like this," he simply shrugged.

"No!" Tali gasped. "Oh, no, no, no. That's not it at all, John. I would never abandon you, ever. Why would you even think of such a thing?"

He arched an eyebrow in apprehension, "But why leave at all?"

She clutched at his hands, "Because I got a message from the flotilla. They...they want to make me an admiral, John."

Of all the possible reasons he had floating through his head, a response pre-prepared for each one, that scenario had not even registered with him and he blinked in confusion. "An...an admiral?" he said slowly and deliberately. "How come?"

"I don't know," Tali said urgently. "I was picked by one of the admirals on the Conclave to be put to a vote and I ended up with the majority."

"I keep on forgetting that quarian law is a lot different from human law. Any idea on who picked you in the first place?"

She shook her head, "No, but still...this is a valuable opportunity. For me and you, John. As an admiral, I...I can influence a portion of all the quarian people. I might...I might be able to give you the quarian fleet, John! The largest fleet in the galaxy as an ally of humanity!"

He stood up in shock, Tali quickly following. Shepard put both hands on her shoulders as he looked her in the eyes determinedly, "Are you saying...that you could be able to help us in this war? To unite our fleets against a common enemy?"

"John...I would never leave otherwise if I didn't think that this would help."

Shepard closed his eyes as his hands tightened on Tali's shoulders, feeling her small bones protrude from his grip. He breathed out through his nose, trying to find a reason for her to stay that didn't revolve around selfish notions. His mind clutched at empty air.

"Tali…" he began, "The past few months have been some of the best of my life. All this time I've wanted you to be happy, I know I've been. But I've also been ignorant, sitting idly by while all of this is going around me. I've done nothing to rectify the current situation in months and the end is creeping up faster than I can fathom."

"John…I…"

"Let me finish, Tali," he quieted her. "I think that you becoming an admiral...could be the best excuse for you to leave there is. If this is what you really want to do, and if you really think that this will be beneficial in the long run, then I will not stop you from leaving."

"B-But John," she whimpered, "I d-don't want to leave you."

He replied by wrapping his arms around her frail body, her hands gliding to his upper back as she rested her head against his chest. "I know," he replied quietly. "I don't want you to leave either, but I know it's the right thing to do."

"I'm...I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be. Wherever you go, whatever happens, I'll still always love you. You know that right?"

"Of...of course," she nodded dimly. "And I will always love you."

Shepard smiled as he stroked the back of her head, "Before you go, I want you to promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Admiral or no, I will not stop feeling the same way about you as I do right now. I meant what I said all those months ago, that I'll always want you. After all this is over, when our services are no longer required, I will come back to you, if you promise to come back to me."

"John," she gave a weak laugh, "There is nothing in this galaxy, not even the Reapers, that will prevent me from coming back to you. I will fight for you, not for my people, not for the galaxy. For you." Her voice tensed as she took a breath, "And I will do everything I can to get you that fleet. Whatever it takes to get me back to you."

"Whatever it takes," he repeated, bringing his hands to cup the sides of her helmet. "That's my girl."

Part III: Inferno

A/N: Well, two days resting and I already broke my "fast" with regards to writing. All these ideas that I have and the amount of time slipping past me while I was doing nothing was a little too intense for my taste. Therefore, I guess I'm right back to it.

At least I'll be able to go through a good chunk of this part if I keep up my current pace. The story's not going to get written if I don't write, eh?

Ah, well. Let's find out where this goes.