Chapter 4
Deck 4 Engineering – SSV Normandy SR2
"My programming urges me to advise you against these actions, Shepard," came EDI's melodic voice from nearby as the woman stepped onto the engineering deck holding a mass of cables and electronic circuits she had ripped from the ship.
"Duly noted. Tell your programming to stay quiet. I still have a lot of ship to cover," she snipped back as she walked down the pathway leading to the engineering deck. When she arrived, she found herself staring at the backs of two people working in front of a large, glowing mass of element zero. She stayed silent for a moment and watched them, noting that they were unaware of her presence. It took only moments before her ears caught their conversation.
"Come on, Kenneth. It's not like she's gonna shove you out of the airlock mid-flight," said the woman. She had dark hair that cut off before it reached the shoulders of her Cerberus uniform.
"I don't know, Gabby. You heard her up there. The Alliance always showed her as friendly and stern, but she straight up threatened us," he said in his thick Scottish accent. "Then again, I'm always a fan of a woman who can break my neck."
"Ugh… of course you are," snorted the woman as her eyes practically rolled into the back of her head.
"Keep up the derogatory remarks and that day might come sooner than you think," said Shepard as she stepped towards them and tossed the mass of sparking electronics onto the console in front of them.
The woman gasped in shock and spun around while the man practically jumped onto the console out of surprise. "Fuck me sideways!" he shouted as his head spun, showing his light brown hair and beard mixed with a tinge of red.
"Not in this lifetime," said Shepard as she crossed her arms in front of them.
"Spectre! We're sorry!" said the woman as she looked down and clenched her hands together, unsure of what exactly to do. She looked like she was about to drop to her knees and beg. Meanwhile, Kenneth had already stood rigid in his spot, looking at the wall behind Shepard.
"W-What she said! Apologies, Spectre! Didn't mean to make any insinuations!" said the man as stiff as a sculpture.
"At ease you two. Are you the ones running point on the engines?" she asked in a firm tone.
"Aye Shepard!" said the man as he loosened his stance. "I'm Kenneth and this is Gabby…"
"He is Engineer Kenneth Donnely, and I'm Engineer Gabriella Daniels," she said before shooting him an icy stare. "This is the commanding officer."
Shepard smirked at the duo, a comical pair if ever she'd seen one. "You're fine without the formalities. But," she said eyeing Ken. "The vulgarity I heard earlier can stay off the ship. Whether about me, or anyone of the other crew, do we have an understanding?"
"A hundred percent, Shepard," said the man, standing rigid again.
Gabby shot him a triumphant look before nodding to Shepard. "Thanks for that. Sometimes it takes an overwhelming force to put him in his place," she said before her smile vanished and she adopted a curious look. "Is there anything we can do for you?"
"Normally the commanding officer never visits us in engineering, so this is a bit of a surprise," said Kenneth as he regained his composure.
Shepard nodded towards the dead electronics on the console. "I'm doing a bit of pruning on the surveillance devices implanted on the ship. Know of any I should be aware of?" she asked as the pair stared at the wad of cables with wide eyes.
Ken looked up at her in awe. "Shite, you're taking this in charge thing a lot more seriously than most."
Shepard's eyebrow shot up curiously. "How do you mean?"
"Most people in Cerberus like to say they're in charge, but they all bow and scrape to the big guy… whoever that is. We all see them making their reports very carefully as to not upset him. But you're straight up ripping his eyes and ears out of the ship," said the man, almost sounding impressed.
"I don't lie to my crew. When I say I'm in charge, I mean it. And as far as Cerberus goes, they're an asset, they're not in charge. Anyone who thinks otherwise can find the door," she said in an authoritative tone.
"Understood, ma'am," said the engineer as he adopted an at ease stance. "Or… is it sir?"
"I've gone by both. It doesn't really matter," she said before looking between the pair. "You two seem to have your heads on straight, how did you end up in Cerberus?" she asked them as she looked between the pair.
"Well… you," said Kenneth with a shrug.
"Don't tell me that," said the spectre with a groan.
"Well, not exactly you. But I was in the Alliance when that big honkin' bugger attacked the Citadel. I was working on the SSV Cairo at the time and thanks to two persistent news reporters, we found out what happened on the ground. We respected you, we wanted to follow your example," he began, but Gabby interrupted.
"He was eager to be a hero like you and I came along to make sure he didn't die," said Daniels as she gave a small smile.
"Aye, you know what I mean," he said with a chuckle. "But knowing what happened made us take a better look at the Alliance. We heard about what they did to you before the attack, how the High Command tried to take the Normandy, tried to lock you out after you exposed their recklessness. After you saved the galaxy, they were all too comfortable to sing your praises, but we knew they were itching to get you out of the way."
"What he means," interrupted Gabby, "is that after you died, we saw High Command fall into the same complacence that they had before you became a spectre. They went back to sitting in their comfortable seats without anyone alive to call them out, all the while pushing you as their biggest recruitment tool yet."
"So, you got fed up with the Alliance. But…?" asked Shepard, waiting to hear the clencher.
Kenneth was the first to speak. "We stayed in the Alliance, but I got into a bit of a scrap with the brass. They tried to use you to drive up their recruitment numbers, saying you supported the Alliance a hundred percent. I started railing at them that they were just trying to cover up the fact that you punished the Alliance for negligence. They took exception to that…"
"He got insubordinate, and they shoved him behind a desk back on Arcturus. Again, I followed him to keep him from ruining his life completely. And then he got an offer from Cerberus to help with a new Normandy project they were starting. He couldn't say no to a chance to give the Alliance the bird and to help build a new better Normandy for you," finished Engineer Daniels.
"I see," said Shepard as she reached up and rubbed her head. "Dead for two years and the Alliance fumbles the ball and completely misses the point at the same time…"
"You could say that," said Donnely as he looked to Gabby, then back to her.
Shepard noticed the look. "What is it?"
"Don't…" growled Gabby.
Ignoring her, Kenneth broke his stance and stepped forward. "Shepard, you want the ship to be as good as it can be, correct?"
With a look of surprise, she nodded. "We're taking on a threat unlike anything the galaxy has ever seen… again," she said in an amused tone. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Then I've got a favor to ask…" said the man as Gabby groaned behind him.
Zakera Ward Docking Bay Z73 – Zakera Ward – Citadel
Shepard eyed the datapad as she stepped off the ship. Her eyes scanned the information quickly as it auto scrolled down the screen. "A… cat burglar?"
Jacob turned to her as they stood in the elevator, giving her a curious stare. But Miranda nodded. "Not just any cat burglar. They're the best in the business."
Shepard cocked on eyebrow as the tube they were in sank down into the depths of the ward from the docking bay. "I'm interested."
Taking the cue, the operative smirked slightly. "They're a bit of a cartoon character if you ask me. However, I can't argue with skills. They've cost insurance companies an ungodly amount of credits in compensation causing most of them to intentionally stop insuring art pieces and relics from Japan because of how likely they are to get stolen."
Shepard snorted at the image of a bunch of men in suits clutching their ties as they pay out millions because of a single wily art thief. "Having corporations after them already makes them more trustworthy than most."
"They've bankrupted art collectors, single-handedly returned half of the contents of the British Museum to their countries of origin, and even stole your helmet from its case in the Battle for the Citadel display at the Citadel Fine Arts Museum," said the woman with a shrug, getting an incredulous look from the spectre. "Cerberus only works with the best of the best."
Shepard shook her head as the door opened and stepped out into what looked like a customs gateway into the ward. "That's… new."
Jacob nodded and walked with her up to the entryway. "As you know, a lot has changed since the Citadel was attacked. Weapons were only allowed before with a license. But now, they're not allowed on the Citadel at all unless used by law enforcement. And anything and everything coming into the Citadel is thoroughly examined specifically for the presence of the geth."
Shepard frowned at the soldier's words. "Odd that they think any remaining geth would try to sneak through the front door in a package," she said as she stepped up to the line of people waiting to get through.
"After the battle, the Council became paranoid that another attack could happen. So much so that they even moved the prothean monument from the Presidium to a heavily controlled and guarded space facility out in the Traverse. It took every ounce of will power from the Prothean Archeological Institute to keep them from throwing it into a sun," said the young man as they finally came up to the front of the line.
"Interesting," said Shepard as she stepped forward and nodded to the asari woman behind the counter.
"Please present your identification," said the clerk who looked drolly down at her terminal screen. Shepard reached up and allowed the device to scan her credentials. The asari woman stared at the screen for a long moment, her brow furrowing in confusion before she looked up at the face in front of her. "Jane Shepard? The Council Spectre?"
"That's me," said the red-haired woman, gauging the asari's reaction curiously. She didn't know exactly how much of what happened was given to the public, but she knew that her name was about to make waves.
"But… I thought you died," said the asari as her eyes widened, no doubt recognizing her face.
Shepard sighed momentarily. "Let's just call it an extended vacation to the afterlife," said the spectre as she nodded towards the door. "Can I go now?"
The young asari nodded, then shook her head, no doubt flustered at the situation she found herself in. "I apologize Spectre, but due to extenuating circumstances, you'll have to speak with C-Sec. I'm really… really sorry," she said rapidly as she suddenly became more animated and began typing rapidly on her omni-tool. Shepard watched her move around nervously, pacing behind the desk as she activated the call receiver in her ear. "Captain Bailey, we've got an urgent situation down here at the Zakera Ward entry point, two hundreds block." She nodded silently for a few long moments before responding. "Understood." Finally, she turned back to Shepard with a genuine smile. "The captain will be here shortly and he should be able to sort you out, Spectre. In the meantime, feel free to wait right here."
Shepard's brow cocked as the asari woman waved to a seat next to her behind the desk. Looking over to her right, she saw an expansive sitting area full of disgruntled people who no doubt had trouble getting into the ward. Then she looked back at the smiling woman and shrugged. "Alright then," she finally said and walked behind the counter to take up the other seat. "You two go ahead inside. I'll contact you when this is all taken care of."
Nodding, the other two made their way through the process without any trouble and vanished from sight as they headed into the ward. Shepard sat down in her seat and was immediately aware that the woman turned on occasion to look at her as she continued to process more people. She sighed to herself and reached up to rub her forehead as she understood what was going on. Looking up, she saw one of the holo screens hovering above the waiting area. Her eyes widened as she saw what looked like her own face staring back at her.
Reaching down, she activated her omni-tool and hijacked into the broadcast, bringing it up on a small screen in front of her. Immediately she realized that it wasn't her face looking back at her, but someone who looked almost eerily similar to her. She had the same green eyes, similar freckles, and a similar facial structure as well. But she could tell the woman's short hair had been bleached and then dyed red for the sake of imitating her red hair. But the process left her hair looking slightly off with it coming out brighter than normal.
Reaching up, she tapped the device and activated the sound. The typical Hollywood trope of playing heavy base during the opening hit her ears as a cinematic shot of the Citadel showed on the screen. Then, it faded into darkness. She watched as the production team made out her previous mission to be some gritty detective noir.
As the trailer went on, her brows furrowed further as she saw the hands of the Alliance all over the movie. Anytime there was an antagonist in the trailer, it was either the Council or Udina being portrayed as standing in her way, conveniently leaving out that the Alliance was just as much at fault for her speedbumps. She groaned as she saw a very intimate scene between her character and the asari actress portraying Liara. She did have to admit, though, that the actress portraying herself did an excellent job. Finally, she cut the trailer off and rubbed her head in frustration.
"This is all too much…" she groaned as she looked up and saw the asari woman, who had processed all of the entrants present, sitting once more and smiling at her.
"You saw the movie trailer?" asked the woman curiously.
"Y-Yeah…" huffed Shepard as she sat up in her chair.
"What did you think?" questioned the asari eagerly.
"I… think it'll be a hit," she said, knowing how people liked to eat up romanticized historical dramas.
"I do too!" said the attendant excitedly. "T'Lana Smith as Liara is iconic! And the actress playing you, Jenn-"
"You'll be Spectre Shepard then?" came a gruff voice from the doorway.
Both Shepard and the asari looked up at the man. He stood slightly taller than Shepard herself with a C-Sec officer's uniform and a mix of grey and blonde fashioned into a high and tight on his head. "That's me," said Shepard as she stood up. The asari woman looked disappointed for a moment, causing her to sigh gently. "Here, here's my personal mail if you ever wanna just chat," she said passing the information along on her omni-tool.
The asari woman went wide-eyed but stayed silent. Turning away from her, the woman began walking down the hallway with the man. "Picking up some new fans, huh?"
Shepard shook her head in exasperation. "That movie is really doing something for my image. I mean, how better to keep a secret agent in the shadows than to make a cinematic film about them?"
The man shrugged gently. "Well, in their defense, you are supposed to be dead. I don't think they had any reason to believe that exposure of your identity would compromise your future work."
"Speaking of being dead, is there gonna be any trouble with me getting on the Citadel or Presidium? I'd like to speak to Councilor Udina as soon as possible," she said urgently as they both turned into an office at the end of the hall.
"Well, that depends," said the captain as he sat in the chair. His desk was relatively spartan with only a terminal, a lamp, and his nameplate reading Captain Armando Bailey. "We can do it the easy way, or the hard way."
Shepard crossed her arms suspiciously. "What's the hard way entail?"
"Well, we'd have to get your records corrected. Your death certificate needs to be voided, and your citizenship reinstated. Then the CRS will need to have a word or two with you about not paying any taxes for the last few years," he said giving her a dry smirk.
"Hard to pay taxes when you're breathing through a tube," she said sardonically.
"Being dead is a popular tax dodge these days," said the man as he shook his head. "Anyway, the process is likely gonna take a couple of weeks. With your connections to the Council, maybe a couple of days at least."
"Alright, and what's the easy way?" she asked curiously.
He smiled wider as he pulled up the information on his terminal. "I make all the necessary corrections right here, right now and expedite their approval. While it's pending, you'll be able to go enter the wards, but the Presidium is still off limits unless you're summoned by an ambassador or Councilor."
She cocked an eyebrow at him. "And is this legal?"
He chuckled lightly. "It will be when you get your Spectrehood reinstated and approve the process," he said, eyeing her curiously.
Snorting, Shepard shrugged. "Easy way it is then, I don't have time to be waiting on bean counters to figure out how to weasel two years' worth of income tax out of me."
"I getcha. Give me just a moment," he said before typing away at his computer.
She nodded and let him go about correcting things when she suddenly got a message. Looking down at her omni-tool, she tilted her head slightly in confusion as she read the cryptic message. "You've been invited! Type in the password to see invitation!" Beneath the curious claim was a mix of symbols from multiple different languages, including some human ones.
Frowning, she stared at the symbols inquisitively. This couldn't be spam. Every firewall on her omni-tool was delicately created to block attempts at soliciting credits. And this hadn't been sent to her public mail either, which meant who ever sent it was skilled.
She eyed the symbols curiously trying to sound them out in a whisper as she translated them in a row, from Asari Nave, to Turian Common, to Japanese. "Nela…su…tak…vadis…" Bailey eyed her curiously from his terminal before turning back to do his work. "Ugh… I feel like I'm reading from the Necronomicon."
"Something the matter?" asked Bailey as he eyed her curiously.
She shook her head and lowered her omni-tool. "I'm fine. Just got some mail," she said as she eyed him back. "So?"
He went back to typing for half a minute before giving her another dry grin. "Done. Just… remember to approve this when you get your Spectre status back or I may be in trouble."
"I'll keep that in mind," she said with a smile. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a councilor to talk to," she said as she turned away from him and exited the building, stepping into Zakera Ward. Her brows furrowed as she saw the long arm of the ward from her position bending upwards with millions of people going about their daily business.
She was always in awe of the Citadel and how magnificent it really was. A space station that was capable of bending to the needs of its users, providing them air to breath, protection from threat, and the illusion of a daily life. But knowing what it actually was, a giant mousetrap for organic beings, put a huge damper on the majesty of the whole thing. Shaking her head, she spotted Miranda and Jacob ahead.
Jacob smiled at her as she approached. "That didn't take long at all. Guess being a spectre has its perks."
"In a manner of speaking," said the woman as she looked to Miranda. "You said you already messaged Councilor Udina about me?"
The operative nodded and gave another of her icy smiles. "You have an appointment with him at the Human Embassy in one hour. Turns out the other Councilors heard about it and will be attending as well."
"Good… I guess. I'm not exactly sure how all this is going to go down. They could be thrilled to see me, or they could immediately be suspicious and strip me of all of my power just for associating with you lot," Shepard responded, giving Miranda a firm glare. "Either way, best to get it out of the way early."
Human Embassy - Presidium - Citadel
She had sat in the lobby of the human embassy for around ten minutes, still tinkering with the riddle on her omni-tool as she waited for the Councilor to either arrive or show that he was already there. She thought she had made some progress on the riddle and sounded the entire thing out. But putting it in as the password failed. Working the words out didn't make much sense either. "Volcanic ash… tomorrow… leads to daylight?" she said in confusion as she translated both the turian and asari words.
Her focus was also broken by noticing that the assistant at the front desk, a young woman by the name of Tonya, was constantly staring at her. She shouldn't have been surprised given every movie advertisement in the galaxy spoke about her death. But it still triggered her paranoia, a bad habit left over from her infiltration days.
Finally, the door to the office opened. She looked up, and a smile immediately illuminated her face as she saw the strong, stoic form of Captain Anderson standing there with a smile. She stood up and faced him, a goofy smile on her own face. "So, it's true…" he said solemnly in that memorably deep voice.
"That depends," she responded. He waved for her to follow. She stood up and followed him into the familiar office of the Human Embassy and found herself looking at three figures, all standing before Udina's old desk.
The first was Udina himself, a passive look on his face as his dark eyes looked her up and down, no doubt wondering who was standing before him. Next to him was Councilor Tevos in the flesh, her skin untouched by the years that had passed. And the third was someone Shepard had never met before, a woman of stern stature who stood taller than herself with coal dark hair interlaced with streaks of silver that was braided down to her back.
"Spectre Shepard," started Udina as he stepped up to her. "The only thing the years appear to have done to you is grow out your hair."
She snorted at the dry humor. "I assure you it's done a lot worse."
He nodded and turned to Tevos. "Are they ready?"
Before he even got a response, the communicator on the wall activated and the holographic forms of Councilor Sparatus and Valern appeared. The turian spoke for them both. "We are here, Councilor. Proceed."
Nodding, Udina turned back to Shepard. "As you are aware, Spectre, the circumstances of you being alive are highly questionable. And before we treat you as we once did, we would like to run a little test."
"Your suspicions are understood, Councilor. And believe me, I still have questions myself," said the woman as she instinctively held her arms behind her back at ease.
Nodding, Udina turned to Tevos. "Councilor, if you would," he said as he stepped back.
The asari woman nodded, eyeing Shepard curiously as she approached as graceful as ever. "As you must know, Spectre, you and I once shared minds, allowing me to see the visions given to you by the beacon. As such, I know your mind well, and would like to connect our minds again to see if there is anything sinister being plotted by those who brought you back."
An expression of understanding dawned on her face as she stepped forward. "Understood. Just… be gentle. It's still a bit sore up there," she said as she tapped a finger to her head. Tevos smiled, the nodded and stepped forward as well. Reaching up, the asari gripped her on either side of her head.
She felt the same as she had many times before. The ground vanished under her feet, and she felt herself in freefall, the world around her vanishing. But in Tevos' expert hands, she was quickly caught. They were now face to face, the asari staring at her sternly as her own memories flashed past them in the background.
Her life literally flashed in front of her eyes; from the time she became a spectre to leaving the Citadel. Unfortunately, as they came to the memories of Alchera, all that could be seen was static, a feeling of hopelessness and anguish washing over them. She felt tears begin pouring down her face as the emotions flooded her. Looking up to Tevos, the woman, though stone-faced, was also crying as she felt the despair embedded in the hostile static of her memories.
Then, they appeared on the Cerberus station and it was a rapid blur all the way until she reached the office of the embassy. In an instant, she was standing back on the Citadel in front of the four. Tevos stepped back before reaching up and wiping the tears away from her face. "It's really her."
"You are certain?" asked Valern curiously.
Nodding, the asari smiled back up at Shepard. "I am."
"Interesting," said Sparatus from the communicator. "If that is the case, then we would like an explanation as to your current association with Cerberus."
Shaking her head to clear the fog that remained from the melding, Shepard looked up at them all. "Cerberus got my body from Alchera and reconstructed me into what I am now. I'm… still me, and they have no influence over me if that's what you're curious about Councilor," she stated firmly as she looked from him to the others. "As for my association, they woke me up and told me that human colonies are being wiped off the face of the galaxy."
Udina nodded solemnly. "We have also heard of such occurrences. We have yet to find the cause…"
"I've investigated the cause of a recent one myself, Councilor. The Collectors are active in the galaxy again and they're harvesting humans," she said, getting a wide-eyed stare from everyone present.
"Collectors? But… they don't…" started Udina as he looked to the ground.
"I assure you, they do," she said as she brought up the fragmented video evidence. They all watched in silence as the eerie figure entered the video.
"That is very concerning, but it doesn't exactly answer the question of why you're associating with a known terrorist organization," said Valern as he folded his hands into his sleeves.
Shepard cocked an eyebrow at them. "Councilor Udina," she started, getting his attention. "Does the Alliance have enough manpower to protect all human colonies in the future?"
The man's expression soured. "Unfortunately, they do not. They're already spread thin as it is with a batarian uprising happening every other month, and with the expansion of Alliance Space. Not to mention most of the colonists being targeted are going out into the Terminus for the sole purpose of staying away from the Alliance."
Nodding, she lowered her omni-tool and cast her gaze over all of them. "The reason I'm choosing to be involved in this situation is because these colonies going missing matches a calling card from the past," she said as she brought another video up.
This time, it showed the terrifying form of Sovereign. "The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished."
Stopping the video, she nodded to them. "The reapers harvest civilizations and scrub the galaxy clean of their influence. That leads me to believe the collectors are involved with the reapers, and since the Alliance is unable to assist in stopping this genocide, I'm using resources from Cerberus." She said, getting a stern stare from Udina. "Bear in mind, I am in no way a member of their organization, nor do I condone their practices. As she can attest," said the spectre as she pointed to Tevos. "I've warned the Illusive Man multiple times that I will not tolerate their supremacist bullshit while I'm alive."
Suddenly, the woman who Shepard didn't recognize stepped forward. "And should Cerberus decide to go behind your back?"
Shepard looked to her and gave a stony glare. "Then I'll crush the life from their organization until the only scrap that remains in the burning husk of the Illusive Man's hideout."
The woman gave a charming smile. "Well, I'm convinced."
Then Captain Anderson spoke as well. "Tevos told us there was nothing fishy going on, and I'm inclined to believe her. Besides, I doubt even Cerberus is powerful enough to try and control someone as strong-willed as Jane is."
Shepard chuckled before looking to Udina and the other Councilors. From the comm unit, Sparatus spoke. "If we are to continue our partnership, Shepard, I would appreciate if you kept your relationship with Cerberus very platonic, and very short. After Saren, the last thing we need is another spectre accused of going rogue."
"Plan on it, Councilor," she said firmly.
Udina finally nodded, his face changing back to his usual placid expression. "Alright. Then with my power as a member of the Galactic Citadel Council, I grant you all of your previous authorities as a spectre. Welcome back, Shepard."
The redhead let out a sigh of relief at the words. When she entered the embassy, she couldn't deny the fact that one possible outcome was her leaving the embassy in chains. Having their trust and her old position back felt like a heavy slab of earth slipping off of her shoulders.
"We are in full agreement," chirped Valern from the side. "Spectre, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to speak to you more about your resurrection later. But as of now, we are extremely busy and will leave you to your work."
This time, Sparatus spoke. Even through the hologram provided by the comm unit, she could see his predatory eyes locked on her in a stern stare. "Spectre, it's good to have you back. But I'd like to ask a favor. While you're not one of our most decorated operatives, you're certainly the most famous. I'd prefer you stay alive."
She chuckled dryly and rubbed the back of her neck. "You and me both Councilor. I'll try to refrain from making it a habit."
With a simple nod, both the turian and salarian vanished from the comm. Tevos too bowed gently to Shepard. "It was good to see you again, Jane. I hope we can continue to see each other in less grim circumstances. Now, I must be on my way."
Udina lead the woman out before turning to her. "Duty calls," he said, his eyes narrowing at her. "If you are the same Shepard who spoke to me all those years ago, then I know you'll make humanity proud. But please know that the optics of your associations reflects on not just the Council, but humanity as well. So, make damn sure it's worth it."
She nodded silently and he left as well, following Tevos out of the embassy. Turning to Anderson, she gave him a confused look. "Everyone is wondering if I'm actually me but aren't questioning him?"
The captain chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. "After choosing him for Councilor, it seems you broke something within him. He's still the grumpy old bastard you remember, but he has also mellowed out a lot since getting his new position."
"I see…" she said before looking over to the woman who she still hadn't been introduced to. "And you are?"
Smiling, the greying woman held out her hand. "I am Jasmine Korvus-Jamal, the new ambassador to humanity as of two years ago."
"Riiight," she said, shaking the woman's hand. "Udina has been ambassador so long that I sometimes forget he wasn't the first."
"Nor the last," said Jamal as she released her grip. "I believe we've already met."
Shepard's eyes narrowed. Her features were vaguely familiar, but she couldn't recall entirely where from. "I'm sorry. But after nearly dying, being in a vegetative coma for two years, and now mind melding with the Councilor, I'm kind of at a loss."
The woman chuckled and nodded. "It comes as no surprise, Spectre. After all, we only met for a few minutes on Shanxi before you were whisked away to your next assignment."
The name of the world made her brow rise. She had only ever been to Shanxi once back when she was still working with Spider's team. Her mind zipped back to the mission and her eyes slowly widened as she recalled freeing the hostages from the clutches of human supremacists. One was a group of turians sent by the Hierarchy to negotiate reparations for the turian assault on Shanxi, and the other…
"You! Jasmine Jamal!" said Shepard eagerly as she dropped any formalities. Suddenly, her head turned slightly as she gave her a curious look. "Wait… wasn't Korvus the name of the turian negotiator?"
The woman laughed loudly as she put the pieces together. "Yes, it is his clan name," she said as she lifted her hand and showed off her wedding ring.
"Wow, so I guess negotiations went well?" she asked, getting another laugh and leaving Anderson to arch his brows as he was all but left out of the conversation.
Finally, the ambassador steered the conversation back to present day. "So, Cerberus wakes you up and just starts asking you to help them stop human colony harvesting?" asked the woman as she leaned back against her desk, pulling her long braid over her shoulder.
Nodding, Shepard sighed to herself. "Believe me, I was even more confused than you are to find out they were responsible for bringing me back."
Anderson finally spoke up from the side. "Did they say how they brought you back?"
Shepard just shrugged. "They simply called it the Lazarus Project," she said as she scratched her head.
Anderson sighed and shook his head. "Of course they did."
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Given their chosen name, their attachment to mysticism isn't too surprising." Finally, the ambassador stood up again and bowed her head to the spectre. "Shepard, it was good to actually meet you this time. I hope we'll be able to work together in the future. As of now, I have an appointment to keep with the turian ambassador that won't wait."
Nodding to her, Shepard smiled. "Give your husband my regards and tell whoever they've pulled in as the turian ambassador that I'll be visiting him shortly."
"Will do," said the woman before she departed the embassy as well.
Finally, the last two in the room looked at one another and simply sighed exhaustively. "Even the politicians I like can sometimes be exhausting to be around," she said as she walked over to the balcony of the room and stared out over the Presidium.
"I know what you mean. I said no to the Council job to avoid the desk and the Alliance makes me their Liaison to the Citadel anyway. Not how I thought I'd spend the twilight years of my career," he said shaking his head. "Granted, it's not all bad. As far as culture goes, you couldn't find a more diverse place anywhere in the galaxy."
"Of course," said Shepard with a small smirk.
But Anderson's cheerful demeanor vanished. "It's hard, knowing about Sovereign. Knowing about the reapers and knowing what almost happened two years ago. All these people down there, walking to their next meeting, going to see your new movie, playing at the park… they all think it ended with Sovereign, that the battle is over. They've moved on with their lives, not knowing that he was just the beginning."
Shepard nodded as she watched the people milling about on the pristine walkways of the Presidium. "Has nobody told them?" She knew the answer and knew how things worked. Telling the public that there were more Sovereigns out in dark space just waiting to come back could potentially be the most disastrous thing the Council could do.
"No. And why would they?" asked Anderson in frustration. "Every person on the Citadel who could afford it would run screaming back to their homeworld, leaving an entire population of people unable to support themselves as supplies to the Citadel withdrew in order to prepare for war, creating a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the entire galaxy. And then there's the dissolving of the cooperation between species…"
"I know," said Shepard as she plopped down in a chair next to the balcony. "I just wish people would think and act rationally for once instead of relying entirely on instinct."
Anderson nodded with a smirk as he sat across from her at the small table. "It would be much better if we did, but then would we be organic?"
She chuckled and shook her head. "Probably not."
"Either way, the Council have stayed true to you at least, which was less surprising than how the Alliance treated your death I suppose. They really seemed to have your back, even after you died," said the man as he looked to her sternly. "Is it really you, Shepard? I know Tevos said it was, but it's still so hard to grasp after seeing the repaired video from the Normandy's blackbox."
She shrugged and looked down at the palm of her hand. "I'm still questioning that myself. I don't know if I'm me, if I'm a clone… hell, I could even be an android with an AI mapped with my former brain patterns and I doubt I'd ever be able to tell the difference," she said before looking up at him again. "But what I do know is that I'm me where it counts." Reaching up, she tapped her head. "I know who I am, and I may not know how to stop the reapers permanently, but I'll die all over again trying."
"That was never a doubt in my mind. My only concern is how you do that. Cerberus also think they're doing what's best for humanity. But their methods are why they're not still a part of the Alliance," he said as he accepted a drink from Tonya.
Shepard shook her head at the woman before understanding where he was going. "I see… you think I may be the same, but Cerberus might have psychologically groomed me into a killer or war criminal?"
"I don't think they did, but I know that if they could have, they would," he said sternly. "If your story is true about them rebuilding you, then you were very vulnerable while being reconstructed and they could have done any number of things to you in that time."
Nodding, Shepard scratched her chin thoughtfully. "I guess I hadn't thought of it from a psychological point of view. But I assure you that as far as I'm aware, nothing is different. I guess all I can do to prove that I'm me is show it with my work."
He gave her a genuine grin and raised his glass to her. "Can't wait to see it, Jane."
She nodded, then a thought popped into her head. "How is Williams?"
"She's doing well. She's a fully trained N7 now and is on track to become the next human spectre. Udina sees a lot of potential in her," he said before taking a sip of his drink.
"Is she busy? I'd like to talk to her if I could-" she started, but he interrupted her.
"Unfortunately, she's not available at the moment. Udina has her on a top-secret assignment. When she gets back, I'll let her know you wanna talk, though," said the man firmly.
It felt cold, but she had expected it. Despite Tevos' claim, despite her own promises, they still didn't entirely trust her. They couldn't trust her. Not when she was working with an organization such as Cerberus. She had more than enough clearance to know about the mission in question as a spectre, but he stopped the conversation, meaning he wasn't prepared to tell her, and she couldn't blame him.
Gripping the arms of her chair, she sighed to herself as the situation she was currently in sunk in. She was welcome on paper, but the Council, Anderson, the Alliance, and everyone else was going to be watching their backs around her, expecting her to one day put a bullet in it when Cerberus activated the kill command. Nodding firmly, she stood up and looked to the man. "It was good talking to you again, David."
"You too, Jane. And…" he started, with a melancholy look on his face. "It's good to have you back."
Nodding, she turned away from him and headed for the entrance, knowing that the galaxy she knew was no more and that she was going to have to start from the bottom. New body, new life, new start. She was going to have to work to make them understand, and her brows furrowed as she felt the fire of determination swell within her. "Time to get to work."
CODEX ENTRIES
Nave | Linguistics | Asari
The asari written language is known as Nave. Similar to human languages such as those born of Latin, it uses symbols to make complex sounds that form words rather than each individual symbol holding the meaning of a single word. It has a history among the asari people of over five hundred years and is still used commonly on asari controlled worlds, including Thessia itself.