Chapter 26
Captain's Quarters – SSV Normandy SR2
Shepard sighed to herself miserably. She knew this was coming, she tried to prepare herself mentally for it, but no amount of anticipation was capable of making her happy about it. But she made a promise, and she wasn't about to fall through at the last moment. She sat on the couch in her lounge area and waved for Kelly to have a seat opposite of her.
The young woman's eyes widened as she saw her room and how spacious it was. "Perks of saving the galaxy I suppose," said the yeoman as she finally took a seat. Shepard nodded with a grin and looked down to realize that she had forgotten to put away the half glued together models on her table.
"Sorry," said the spectre as she reached down to grab them and shove them somewhere.
Kelly waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. They're not in the way."
"But it looks like a mess, I should really-" said Shepard as she stood up to grab them.
"Shepard," said the yeoman with an accusing grin. The spectre stopped and looked at her. "The faster we start, the sooner it's over. Putting it off doesn't help anyone."
Sighing again, Shepard plopped down on the couch and stretched her arms over the back of the furniture. "Fine."
"So," said the young woman as she leaned back as well and looked Shepard up and down. "According to Miranda, you had some small form of amnesia when you woke up from Lazarus Station. But the memories partially returned to you on Purgatory?"
"Yeah," said the spectre as she looked up at the ceiling.
"What do you think the trigger was that gave you back your memories?" asked the yeoman as she crossed her legs.
"It was the collectors. Or… I guess their ship more specifically," said Shepard as she ruffled her own hair nervously.
"Right. I wasn't on duty at the time it happened," said Kelly as she typed on her datapad. "Joker said that when you went to grab Jack from the prison, the warden tried to capture you and sell you to the collectors."
"Yeah, and now he's dead," said the woman with a smirk. Then it faded. "We were minutes away from boarding the ship and leaving that hell hole when the collectors arrived to take me. And I guess I didn't realize it, but it's the first time I had seen their ship since my death."
"Now that you remember most of it, do you mind going over it with me?" asked Kelly curiously as she rested her chin in her palm.
Shepard eyed her sternly before letting out what felt like her thousandth sigh. Closing her eyes, she searched her memories again.
"Hey Shepard, we've arrived," said Joker over the comm as the spectre stood at the galaxy map. "So, you wanna tell me what we're doing here now? You've been kinda vague this whole time."
Shepard focused on the galaxy map and brought the planet of Alchera's surface into view. She was already in her armor in case they needed to surface with Liara and Ash alongside her. "Call it closure," she said as she looked over at the communications officer. "Do we have any signals coming from the surface?"
"Nothing at the moment, Spectre," said Tanaka as he turned to her. "If I knew what we were looking for I could try searching more thoroughly."
Shepard shook her head and leaned on the bar. "Honestly, I'm not sure what it is we're looking for either."
"What brought us here?" asked Ash from the side as she held her helmet on her hip.
Shepard recalled his exact words in her head. "Saren's last words were to tell me to go to Alchera. Why?"
"Dunno. Maybe he was screwing with your head?" said the chief with a shrug.
Liara shook her head. "I doubt that would be the last thing he did before taking his own life," said the asari as she looked down. "To be honest, he seemed less like an agent of Sovereign and more like a desperate man at the end of his rope in those last moments."
"If I thought he was just messing with me I wouldn't be here," said Shepard as she crossed her arms and stared at the planet. "Why would he use his last words to tell me to come here?"
"Spectre!" snapped Gladstone from his station.
Shepard eyed the man, curious about the worry in his voice. "What is it?"
"A ship just dropped into the system," he said as he began typing rapidly.
Navigator Pressly scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Why the hell would anyone be coming here?"
"Spectre, it's on intercept course!" said Gladstone with worry in his voice.
Everyone in the CIC looked at him oddly. "That's impossible. We're in stealth!" said Pressly incredulously.
"Are you sure?" asked Shepard, her commanding tone cutting the chatter in the bridge.
"Closing in, sir!" shouted the lieutenant.
"Preparing for evasive maneuvers!" shouted Joker from the front of the ship.
"Get to battle stations!" shouted Shepard as she took her helmet and slammed it onto her head. Ash and Liara followed, and as soon as they did the ship rocked, sending Shepard, Ash, and Liara flying back and impacting the wall behind them. Shepard shook her head and looked up just in time to see a beam of light shoot directly through the center of the CIC. Her eyes widened and she grabbed a hold of the handrail around her elevated position near the map. "Seal yourself and hold on!" she shouted to the crew as the ship began to decompress.
The oxygen in the CIC rushed from the bridge violently, many of the non-suited crew mates being torn from their seats and ripped out into the vacuum of space. Shepard grabbed the bar as the force of the rush pulled at her as well, Ash grabbing onto her for support as everything that wasn't nailed down in the cabin was vented into darkness. Her eyes locked onto Liara's unconscious form as she began to slide along the floor being dragged by the cyclonic winds.
She nearly let go of the railing to try and grab her, but Ash reached down and grabbed the asari by the belt, keeping her from flying off into space. When the pressure finally equalized, Shepard felt herself floating off the floor as the gravity gave out. Using the railing to maneuver around, she planted her feet again and activated her spider boots to allow her to walk. By now, the evacuation sirens were blaring silently as the vacuum of space ate the waves of sound. Looking towards the cockpit, she confirmed that Joker's vacuum barrier was active before turning to the others.
She reached down and lifted Liara up. "Ash! We need to get to the escape pods on the crew decks!" she shouted as she pointed to the escape pods next to them that had been caught in the initial blast.
Nodding, the chief lifted the asari on the other side and together they moved down the stairs, brushing aside the bodies of their former crew that were killed from the initial explosion or from exposure. "They're coming around for another attack!" came Joker's voice over the comm.
"Joker! Get to your escape pod, now!" ordered Shepard as she stopped moving. The bright laser that burned through the hull above now sliced through the entire crew deck, causing explosions below decks that sent all three of them flying.
"Like hell! I'm not giving up on the Normandy!" snapped the pilot.
"I wasn't asking, Joker!" ordered the spectre, but she heard the comm disconnect.
Shepard growled and grabbed Liara, then thrust her against Ash. "Take her and get to the escape pods! Activate the Alliance and Citadel distress signals!"
"And where the hell are you going!?" snapped Ash incredulously.
"I'm going to keep our suicidal pilot alive," said Shepard as she pointed at the chief. "Get to the escape pods and leave. I'll get in Joker's pod with him." Ash clenched her fist. "Now."
Nodding, Ashley grabbed Liara's form and hurled herself across the storm of scrap and fire. Shepard spun around and scrambled up the stairs using the lack of gravity to her advantage. When she pulled herself into the CIC again, her eyes took in the fact that the hull above had been melted and vented away leaving a view of Alchera above. She looked across the CIC to the cockpit and noticed that the attacks had created a massive chasm between her and her goal.
Suddenly, a giant shadow was cast over the entire ship. Looking up, her eyes widened in horror as she saw the massive frame of the ship that had not only found the Normandy in stealth but had torn it to pieces with little effort. It looked less like a starship and more like a space station with an enormous main gun attached to it. Shaking her head to focus, she grabbed the railings that were still intact and used them to hurl herself across the large gap. She reached out with both arms, gently clearing the way of debris that was now littering the vacuum between them.
She sailed through the shadow of the ship above her, the very foundation of everything she had built over the last year breaking apart beneath her and drifting towards the planet. She felt her own heart breaking as she witnessed her home, a piece of herself, begin burning up in the atmosphere. All of the people she had grown close to, all of her supporters and family that had helped her.
She finally made it across the gap and grabbed the safety rail on the ceiling. She nearly dislocated her arm as the force of her dive slammed her against the ceiling. But she forced herself upright so she was standing upside down in the cockpit and glared at the pilot who was still attempting to power up the failing engines. "Jeff, get your ass into your escape pod before I throw you in myself!"
"No! She's not gone! I can still save her!" snapped the man as he continued to try and reroute power to the engines. Shepard grabbed his chair from above then planted her feet on the ground. She spun the chair around so that he was facing her, panic masking his face. "What are you doing!?"
"Jeff!" shouted Shepard loud enough to snap him out of his stupor. "That's enough. It's over. She's gone," said Shepard as she reached over and yanked the emergency lever for his escape pod. The metal wall covering the pod came off and flew back towards the CIC.
He stared at her for a long second before closing his eyes. "Dammit…" Suddenly, the ship rocked as the destroyer came around again and blasted the ship down the middle with its main canon laser. The explosion lit up the darkness as Shepard grabbed her talon blade from her omni-tool strap and slashed through Joker's safety harness. Grabbing him, she moved to get them both inside the pod when the beam of light lanced down into the cockpit itself. "Ahh!" shouted Joker as Shepard clenched his arm harshly.
The sheer pain she felt as her right arm was incinerated from the attack nearly made her stop and give up everything. Another explosion rocked the cockpit and she slammed down into the bulkhead, the force sending her floating away from Joker. It was that moment when she realized she wasn't going to make it. She had no way to get back to the pod and the ship was coming back around to finish the job. Looking down at the remains of her arm above the elbow, she felt the trickle of blood down her back, which meant that her suit was punctured. Joker was currently unconscious, and the vacuum barrier was shorting out rapidly.
Despite the agony, despite the hopelessness, she refused to allow Joker to die here with her. She reached up and tore off her chest armor, the encroaching vacuum chilling her to her core. Throwing it towards Joker, she pulled her gun off her waist with her remaining hand and shot the chestplate over and over again. Each shot slammed into the plate, pushing Joker back further and further until he finally floated unconscious into the pod. Then she aimed the weapon and fired at the override button on the launcher.
The door slammed shut and the jets on the pod blasted it out of the atmosphere of the planet and into the darkness of space. She felt the darkness freezing her, she felt her exposed and incinerated limb burning like hellfire, she felt her breaths getting shorter and shorter as her helmet tried to keep pumping oxygen into the small space. She looked down at the Normandy below her, its pieces now igniting as they entered the atmosphere of the icy world. Then she looked up, tears filling her eyes as she saw the cruel, stabbing light of the ship that had destroyed the Normandy. Its main cannon was glowing like an angry eye, glaring down at her as she took her last breaths.
Her body was in agony, every second of life felt like a thousand years of torture, she couldn't breath, couldn't feel anything, her vision faded as she fell towards the planet itself. Finally, she was swallowed by darkness, her own suffering magnified by her final thought that she'd never see her friends again.
Kelly stared at her for a long moment before typing some stuff into her pad. Shepard watched her finish it and leaned her head back. After an agonizing few seconds of silence Kelly looked up again. "And what happened after that?"
"I woke up on Lazarus Station with Miranda screaming in my ear. She was telling me that the station was blowing up and if I didn't want to blow up with it I needed to pick up a gun and shoot my way out. That's when I met both Miranda and Jacob," said Shepard as she lifted her head again. Ever since then, I've been non-stop trying to get ready to fight off the collectors."
"Do you think you haven't stopped to take a break because resting would make you think about your death?" asked the yeoman as she tapped her stylus against her lip.
"Maybe," said Shepard with a shrug. "I'm not really great at reading the reasoning behind my own actions. When I came back to life, I should have put out a call to all of my crew to make sure they were alive. I should have contacted Liara, Ash, my parents, everyone that I could get a hold of. But something inside made me hold off."
"You still haven't contacted your mother, right?" asked Kelly as she leaned back on the couch.
"She's the captain of a dreadnaught that does deep deep space missions for the Alliance. Like, so deep in the Traverse that even the Alliance sometimes doesn't know where they're at," she said as she waved the young woman's concern off. "She is scheduled to be back in Alliance space within a month or so. It's literally the one person I have a legitimate excuse for."
"I see," said the young woman as she noted that on her pad. "Do you know what was holding you back from contacting them?"
Shepard sighed heavily out of her nostrils and closed her eyes. "Part of me believes it was because it had been so long that I didn't want to undo all the mourning they had already done. Imagine mourning someone and thinking they're dead for two years, and then they show up on your doorstep alive." Giving another shrug, she continued. "I feel like me showing up would be just as devastating as when I had died."
"An understandable concern," said Kelly as she leaned forward in her seat. "You said part of you believes that. What does the other part believe?"
"That I was a fake," said Shepard as she glared at the models on her table. "That Shepard is dead and that I'm some genetic copycat created by Cerberus to do their bidding until my usefulness expires and they detonate whatever explosive they've got inside me."
Kelly's eyes widened slightly. "You… you think you have an explosive in you?"
Shepard chuckled and shook her head. "I don't doubt Cerberus could find some way of getting around medical scanners, especially with the amount of technology they installed into me. But I doubt I'll have to worry about that for a while yet."
"Dear god," said Kelly as she tapped away on her pad. "So, you experienced death, woke up again on a table with no memory of dying, get told you died and you're having an identity crisis while also isolating yourself from your loved ones," she said as she sat the pad down and looked up at the woman. "I honestly don't know if I'm qualified for this."
The spectre laughed at the young woman's exasperation. "To be fair, I don't know how many therapists are qualified for actual death experiences. I might just be subject zero for an entirely new profession."
"You're not wrong," said the yeoman as she stared at Shepard. "So, how much of this have you already sorted? Your amnesia was broken under the duress of the collector attack…"
"Mostly broken. There's still the span of a week before I died where my memory is really cloudy," said Shepard as she nodded.
"Your amnesia is mostly sorted then," said Kelly as she nodded in return. "You've spoken with, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes accidentally, most everyone you cared about from your previous life by now. That leaves the identity crisis. Do you still believe you're fake?"
"Not so much," she said as she finally sat forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "When I first encountered Samara in Nos Astra she searched my memories as well."
"Was she helping you?" asked Kelly curiously.
"She was looking for a reason to kill me," said the spectre, making the yeoman gasp. "When I introduced myself, she thought I was an imposter and searched my memories to make sure I was really me." Looking down at the floor, she went over their conversation again. "As it turns out, she discovered something I hadn't yet. That a conversation I had with my father all but proved I was real."
"Fascinating. So, you're confident that you're really you then?" asked Kelly, getting a nod from the spectre. "That means that you're on the road to recovery. Most of your problems… aside from the death trauma of course, are self-correcting as you go on about your life. So, that begs the question," said the young woman, getting her attention again. "What are you worried about now?"
"That part is easy," said Shepard with a sigh. "I'm working with a terrorist organization who probably has some kind of countermeasure to kill me. I'm working with a Council that has been suspicious of me ever since I woke up. I'm dealing with the Alliance, which I've always subconsciously known has been filled with the rot of abuse of authority and shady bullshit. My ship, while I've cut access to the Illusive Man, has an AI aboard that could be ordered to kill me the moment I turn on Cerberus. I still don't know how the hell I'm supposed to stop the imminent onslaught of sentient kilometer long starships waiting outside of darkspace from harvesting everything in the galaxy."
"That's… a lot to deal with," said Kelly as she got a chuckle from the spectre.
"You're telling me. And to top all of it off, I keep falling into these weird visions that I think are coming from the prothean cipher," she said with an exasperated shrug.
"Wait, you still have the cipher?" asked Kelly, getting a nod from the woman. "Cerberus wouldn't be able to replicate that. Shouldn't that be proof you're the original Shepard?"
Shepard felt her brain stop like a DJ's record scratch for a long moment before finally looking up. "I suppose it would."
"Right now it just seems like you've got way too much on your plate and you're trying to do everything all at once instead of pacing yourself," said the yeoman with a knowing smile.
"If you tell me I need to relax more…" started Shepard with a glare.
"You need to relax more," said Kelly with a playful grin. Shepard growled at her menacingly. "Shepard, even two years ago when you were chasing Saren, you stopped to enjoy things. You stopped to enjoy food, you stopped to enjoy entertainment, you took breaks," she said with a shrug of her own. "Right now you're not just placing the weight of the galaxy on yourself, but on your crew."
"What do you mean?" asked Shepard in surprise.
"You're not just destroying mercenary bands, blowing up space prisons, and toppling powerful security dynasties on your own. Your crew is there with you, and they're taking as much of a mental beating as you are," said the yeoman as she rested her chin in her hands. "You need to relax not just for your own health, but for theirs as well. They need time to rest and deal with problems of their own."
"Shit," growled Shepard as she realized the truth of the woman's words.
"You're on a high stress mission that none of us may come back from. If you try and grind this whole thing out you'll wind up dead again simply from overtaxing yourself," said Kelly as she picked her datapad back up. "Let yourself relax, let your crew rest, and solve smaller problems. I promise it'll help in the long run."
Shepard nodded as Kelly finally stood. "I guess you're right," she said as she recalled her last outing on Illium. Had she not been running her crew rampant across the galaxy Miranda might have been able to catch the kidnapping attempt early. She found herself wondering if the other crew members had issues they needed dealing with such as with Garrus and Sidonis. Some were obvious, like Samara and her mission to find this assassin or Zaeed and his revenge quest against Vido Santiago. Then others she wasn't sure about. Either way, she'd have to hit the breaks if she planned to keep her crew happy and alive for their future battles against the nightmares of the galaxy.
"That's a good place to stop for now. I hope you'll invite me up again sometime," said Kelly with another playful grin.
"I'll consider it," said Shepard with a smirk as the young woman got up and left the room. Shepard looked down at the disassembled model of the Normandy on her table in front of her, the vision of the original Normandy disintegrating above Alchera still fresh in her mind. She then looked at her arm, knowing that it had been taken off in the attack. She found herself wondering if she would ever be able to come to terms with her death.
Nos Astra Docks – Illium
It had been a long week, but finally it was time to leave the asari Terminus world. Shepard, Garrus, and Tali all stood at the entrance to their ship as Liara and Niftu Cal stood before them with the asari smiling deeply at Shepard and the volus was working on a datapad.
Shepard eyed the short but active figure as his fingers moved quickly. "He seems to be enjoying his new position," said Shepard with her arms crossed.
"He just got a big raise," said Liara with a grin.
"And loads more work," he said in a neutral tone before turning and walking away from them.
Shepard chuckled and shook her head. "A raise right after he started working for you? He must be a hard worker."
"That, and the economy has swayed in our favor," said Liara as she tilted her head and smiled. "You, Jane, have made me a very… very rich woman."
Shepard's brow rose curiously. "How did that happen?"
"After you visited me for the first time looking for Samara, I knew this wasn't going to be a peaceful excursion. Once I heard you were headed to an Eclipse base to find her, I started short selling on Eclipse security stock. Then when you went to another base, I did it again. Then when Krios told you he was heading for Nassana's business, you followed him, and I short sold on Dantius stock. Finally, I caught wind of what happened in the police station quite early, and I finally did it one final time."
Garrus's eyes narrowed at the asari woman. "Wait… so you bet against Eclipse and Dantius on the stock market, and then we all but destroyed them, causing their stocks to tank?" asked Garrus in surprise, getting a nod from the doctor. "Wouldn't that technically be insider trading?"
"A distinction that would matter on the Citadel. But not here on Illium," said Liara with a grin. "Now Eclipse is in ashes, and I've made enough to buy a security company of my own should I choose to."
Tali shook her head. "Like I said, you're scary now," she said playfully before reaching over to Garrus and grabbing him by the cowl. "Come on big guy, let's get inside and leave these two to their goodbyes."
"Tali! I can't walk like that! Let me go," snapped Garrus as he was dragged inside the airlock of the ship, leaving the two of them by themselves. "It was good seeing you again, Liara!"
Shepard smiled at them as they left before turning to Liara again. Walking up to her, she wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her close, garnering a squeak of joy from the doctor as her arms wrapped around her shoulders. Their foreheads touched and their emotions swirled like a maelstrom together between them, sharing their love for one another.
"I'm so happy to see you again, Jane," said the asari lovingly as she nuzzled into Shepard's neck. "After you came back, you hadn't contacted me in so long that I thought perhaps you had changed. I thought I'd made a mistake allowing Cerberus to tinker with you. That they had polluted you somehow."
"Sorry. My anxiety about you moving on was fairly powerful. I was doing my best not to intrude on your life without thinking that I was making it harder by not being here," said the spectre with a sigh.
Liara chuckled and brushed her nose against Shepard's, "Considerate to a fault."
"You'll tell me when you need my help, right? With that thing?" asked Shepard with a smile.
"Of course," said the asari as she pulled back slightly to get a better look at her mate. "And if you need any more help from me, I'll be here."
"Good," said Shepard as she gave the doctor a cheeky grin. "Hopefully once your business is concluded here, you can use some of those credits you made off me to move somewhere closer."
"I'd love that," said Liara as she pulled Jane into a tight embrace. The spectre returned the gesture and hugged her tight. "Stay safe out there, Jane."
"And you here," said Shepard as she released the woman and stared at her seriously. "I know the work you're doing is dangerous and I'd rather not have to burn the entire city down because something happened to you."
Nodding gently, Liara leaned in and kissed Jane deeply. The human wrapped her arms around her tightly as they felt themselves slipping into each other's consciousness for a moment. But they pulled away before they did anything outrageous on the docks. Liara gave one last sad smile before turning and motioning for Niftu Cal to follow. Shepard watched her go, tears stinging her eyes as she turned towards her ship and headed inside, knowing she would defy whatever fate threw at her to see the woman again.
Captain's Quarters – SSV Normandy SR2
"Spectre, Kasumi Goto is here to see you," said the AI from her station near the door.
Shepard looked up from one of her models on the table and nodded. "Go ahead and let her in," she said as she set the equipment down and got up to greet the woman at the door. When the door opened, however, there was nothing there. Leaning forward, she inspected the entryway outside of her room before looking over at EDI. "You alright EDI? Do I need to have Tali look to make sure you're working optimally?"
"That won't be necessary," came Kasumi's voice from behind her, nearly making her jump through the roof in surprise.
Shepard spun around with a glare as her hand covered her heart. "Goddammit Kasumi, you have got to stop doing that."
"Sorry, Shep. I don't really feel comfortable walking around the ship yet," said the thief with a shrug. "Normally I'm a stowaway on ships, so I stay hidden entirely. Just feels more comfortable that way."
"Okay…" said Shepard as she finally stood straight again. "But at the very least, no stealth when you're on my floor."
"I can do that," said the young woman as she plopped herself onto the couch in the lounge before smiling at Shepard. "So, EDI says you've got something for me?"
Nodding, Shepard returned to her station and began working on the model again. "A while back you said that Donovan Hock was sending me invites," she said getting a nod from the rogue. "I was never getting them, so I assume the spectre network was filtering them out as spam. So, I whitelisted his business and personal email afterwards and I got another invitation."
Kasumi sat forward in her seat, her eyes sparkling. "Finally!"
"It's an invitational that takes place in one week. A gathering of business partners so they can all mingle and get to know one another. He wants me there and also asked for my personal assistance on a certain matter," said the spectre as she wiped her hands.
"Any idea what it was?" asked Kasumi curiously as she crossed her legs on the couch.
"No idea. But intel is my specialty and if he's trying to make a name as some kind of dark net information broker than chances are he wants some kind of hard to get intel from me," said the spectre as she crossed her arms. "So, you ready to do this?"
Kasumi looked down at her hands in her lap for a long moment. "I've waited for what feels like forever. Every day that Keiji's killer has his greybox feels like an eternity," she stated before finally looking up with resolve in her eyes. "I'm ready."
"You understand that I'm not going to kill Hock if I don't have to," said Shepard seriously, getting a chuckle from Kasumi.
"What you're doing is enough, Shepard," said the woman as she stood up again. "If I wanted him dead, I could just talk to Thane. Or tell Samara what he's done."
Chuckling, Shepard stood up and nodded. "Alright, that's fair," said the spectre as she walked the woman back up to her door. "We're headed to the Citadel. Since Bekenstein is in the Widow Nebula, we're going to stay on the Citadel until the invitational. In the meantime, learn everything you can about what we're going to be dealing with there and send it to me. I hate going in blind. Make sure what we need is on Bekenstein."
"Understood Shep. It's far too important for him to not take with him everywhere. But I can always check to make sure," said the wily woman as she stopped at the door. Turning again, she reached up and lowered her hood, allowing the spectre to see her full face. "Oh… and… thank you," said the thief with a fallen expression. "I know we made a deal, but it's clear that a thief is less useful against the collectors than weapons of mass destruction like Zaeed or Grunt. Just know that once I have Keiji's greybox, there won't be anything keeping me from doing my best for you."
"I look forward to it," said Shepard with a smile. "Now go sneak back to your room and stay out of unauthorized areas of the ship!" snapped the spectre, getting a giggle from the young thief.
Human Embassy – Presidium – Citadel
Shepard stepped into the lobby of the embassy with Maeko behind her and nodded to the receptionist who motioned her inside. As the door slid open, she noticed Anderson standing in front of her with a small grin on his face. "Anderson! I've got our candidate and… I…" she stuttered as she turned and saw who was standing behind him.
The red and grey of her hair seemingly swapped places, with the grey now taking over her entire hair with the exception of a few streaks of red. Shepard stared at her blue eyes, eyes locked in disbelief, anger, grief, and sadness. "Jane…" As soon as she saw her the woman walked over and stood in front of her. "How can you be standing in front of me right now?"
"Mom…" said Jane with her own expression of sadness. "It's a long story…" she said before reaching forward and hugging the woman tightly. The captain hugged her back in an equally aggressive grip.
"It is really you, right?" asked Hannah as she pulled back slightly.
Shepard smirked at the woman. "Yes. I'm Jane Shepard. The N7, the Spectre, and apparently the biotic," she said as she lifted her hand and allowed dark energy to radiate from it.
Hannah pursed her lips at the display before smiling up at her daughter. "Well, I'm glad you're alive so that we have the chance to explain ourselves."
"No worries, I already pried the explanation out of dad," said the spectre as she waved away the biotics and smiled at her mother. "What have you been up to all this time?"
"We've been going to star systems that don't have relays connected to them. Sometimes takes months to get there one way," said her mother with a shrug. "Sometimes we find nothing there except lifeless planets. But the goal is to find and discover areas that… that the…" said the captain as she eyed Matsuo nearby.
The spectre candidate cleared her throat. "Apologies, it's good to meet you, Captain."
"She's my pick for spectre candidacy. So, she can hear what I hear as far as I'm concerned," said Shepard with a nod.
"Well, if Jane selected you then you better be up for it," said Hannah with a smile. "The goal is to seek out areas the reapers haven't touched and see what we can find. Untainted civilizations, worlds with untapped resources, so on and so forth."
"Wouldn't that be better suited to a smaller ship?" asked Shepard with her brow cocked.
"Not with the travel time, unfortunately. Long journeys like that require a large crew and a large ship," said Hannah as she shook her head. "We've been rebuilt to be self-sustaining for up to five years."
"I see," said Shepard as she scratched her chin. "Another contingency against the reapers," she said, making sense of the idea that hiding groups of humans on worlds separate from the relay network may help them survive into another cycle.
"Udina conscripted us to the job right after he took over as Councilor," said her mother with a knowing grin. "Odd seeing him so adamant and hard working now when he was so conniving in the beginning."
"Speaking of which, he wanted to meet me for some project the Council has supposedly been working on for months," said Shepard as she smiled up at her mother. "Care to come with me?"
"I'd be delighted," said the woman with a happy smile.
Anderson stepped forward as her mother took her place at her side. "Glad you made it back in time to see her, Shepard," said the man as he patted her on the shoulder. "I take it you finally got to see Liara?"
"Finally," said Shepard with a smile.
"Glad to hear it. With that," he said as he motioned to Hannah, "You've heard about part one, Project Dandelion through your mother here. Step one is to put humans, asari, turians, salarians… anyone who will cooperate into small colony worlds away from Relay Space. Keep the teams small, keep them away from the main hub of the Citadel network and keep them well out of the way of relay traffic. If worst comes to worst, then perhaps the Reapers will overlook them when they go back to dark space this time."
"And how are we going to keep everyone away from them?" asked Shepard curiously as she planted her hands on her hips.
"All of the locations chosen for the project are going to be decided by one person. And that one person is going to log the data manually. The coordinates for each world, once documented, will be sealed inside an indestructible capsule which will be placed on the Normandy with a self-destruct switch," said the man as he stared at her seriously.
Shepard's brows rose curiously. "Why on the Normandy?" asked the spectre curiously.
"Because it's fast, able to hide, and extremely powerful in combat," said Anderson with a heavy sigh. "And if the Normandy goes down, then there's little to no hope for the galaxy anyway. If the Normandy survives because we beat the reapers, then we can use the coordinates to find them and welcome them back to the galaxy. If the Normandy survives and we've lost, then you and your crew will stay in secrecy for however long it takes for them to leave, and then once the reapers are gone back to dark space, you gather them up and prepare them for the next war in fifty thousand years."
"And if the Normandy doesn't survive, then the capsule will destroy the information inside," said Shepard as she scratched her chin. "What's the contingency for the people who know the locations. You can't seriously have them choose the locations, then put a bullet in their head."
"Of course not," said Anderson with a chuckle. "That's part two. And you're going to meet them soon with Udina," said the man as he turned held his hands at ease behind his back. "We're hoping all of these contingency plans won't be needed. But I guess that's where we're relying on you."
"I'll do my best, David. But you have to understand that I'm one person," said Shepard with a shrug. "As much as the movies try to make me out to be some kind of superhero who can punch fly through space helmetless and destroy reapers with a single punch, I cannot fight this war on my own."
"We know," he said solemnly with a nod. "We're preparing for the war. But you are the brains of the reaper war, Shepard. You and your crew know more about Saren and Sovereign than anyone else in the galaxy. And I'm confident that if anyone can find their weakness, it's you. Once we figure out how to attack them, that's what we'll do."
"No pressure," said Shepard awkwardly, causing Anderson to erupt into laughter. "Was it that funny?"
"That's the same thing you said when I told you about your spectre candidacy with Nihlus," he said with a happy grin. "It really is you."
She snorted and nodded. "Alright," said the spectre before she turned to Maeko. "If you qualify and get the position, let me know if you need anything. You have my contact information."
"I will, Shepard-sama. Thank you again," said the woman as she stepped over next to Anderson.
"I guess I'll go and see this project for myself and meet up with Udina next," she said as she headed for the door.
Najari Hotel – Presidium – Citadel
Shepard sighed as she stepped out of the transit car. Her mother, though understandably so, was extremely clingy at the moment. But she couldn't exactly blame her considering she had been in the dark for nearly six months of Shepard's new life. Only when she came back to Citadel space had she been informed of her daughter's resurrection.
As they headed for the front door of the hotel, Shepard looked over just in time to see a hanar shuffling closer to them with a large book in its hand. "Pardon me, my name is Larindannon. Would you like to hear of our lord and savior Jesus Christ?" asked the large figure as he held a book forward with the cross emblem emblazoned on it.
Shepard sat speechless for a moment at the idea of a Christian hanar before her mother leaned over with a smile. "We've heard of him. I'm personally a big fan," she said with a grin. "Unfortunately, we have to be somewhere."
"Thank you for your time, sister," said the hanar before he bowed low. "May his light guide you always," said the polite figure before he shuffled off with his book.
Shepard watched him go before turning towards the hotel again. "You think you've seen everything the galaxy has to offer, and it just keeps surprising you," she said, getting a chuckle from her mother. As she made her way inside, she was guided to the conference room. As she stepped inside, she saw Udina there with the same stern expression he always had.
"Good to see you, Shepard. I was hoping you'd make it here," he said as he turned to the auditorium of people. She could see that there were about a hundred people here, almost all of them humans. "If I can have all of your attention," he said, his voice cutting through the chatter like a whip. "I'd like you all to have a seat."
Shepard watched them all sit in their proper places as he led her in front of them. "If you make me give a speech I will revoke your Council recommendation," snapped Shepard, getting a dry grin from the man.
Standing in front of the crowd, he turned to the spectre. "I assume Anderson told you about part one of our contingency. This is part two, Project Slingshot with the Andromeda Initiative," he said as he motioned towards the crowds of people. "These and many thousands more people are going to get onto ark ships, get put into cryo stasis, and will be sent to the Andromeda galaxy."
"Let's hope the reapers haven't made it there yet," said Shepard as she looked over all the faces. "Do they know about the reapers?"
"They know everything. And they've all volunteered to leave their lives in this galaxy behind to be pioneers into a new galaxy," he said as his face soured slightly. "Assuming they don't run into the same problems there."
"Either way," said Shepard with a shrug. "And the other species are doing this as well?"
"The asari, turians, and salarians have their own arks they will board as do we humans. The other species such as the quarians and krogan will be sharing an arc given they have fewer people available to go," said the councilor with a nod.
Shepard's brow furrowed at the statement. She didn't know if he meant what he said as an excuse, or if the other species legitimately offered less people. While the quarians and krogan obviously didn't have the numbers to throw at a project like this, the volus, elcor, and hanar had plenty to offer. She found herself wondering if they were given the same opportunities.
Turning to the humans, she asked her question plainly. "So, you want me to talk to them?"
"These are the people who insisted on meeting you before they leave. I was going to have you give a presentation at the ark itself, but if you're correct and the collectors are working with the reapers, then we need to get them out of the galaxy as soon as possible. The last ark was fueled and stocked last week, and they're scheduled to take their voyage in five days," he said as he too looked over the crowd.
Shepard sat on the stage with her mother and looked over them all. "The people who're making the list are here?"
"They won't be in our galaxy by next week," said the man as he stepped aside before raising his voice again. "If you have any questions for the spectre, please hold your hand up!"
Almost immediately, half of the people's hands shot up into the air. Shepard chuckled and picked a young woman near the middle with cornrows. Her hands shot down and she stood up. "Is it true you caused the destruction of Sovereign?"
"I…" said Shepard as she looked down at the floor, wondering if it was okay to tell them about Val'eda's contribution to the galaxy. Instead, she decided to keep it very vague. "We all fought Sovereign that day, but he fell because a very good friend sacrificed themselves to bring down its shields. That wasn't in the movie out of respect for us and our friend," said the spectre getting a nod.
People seemed to understand that no further answer was coming and the young woman sat down. Hands went up again and she selected a young man. "Are you polyamorous?"
Shepard's brow rose at the question. "You get a chance to ask me questions and that's what you ask?"
"Sorry…" said the soldier as he sat down.
She chuckled and waved away the apology. "No need to be sorry. I just didn't expect it," she said before scratching her chin. "The simple answer is yes. I'm open to love anyone and everyone I want and can offer love to. The complicated answer is that while I may be poly, my current work makes relationships hard, so I'm only focusing on one right now."
Hands went up again and Shepard selected another young woman on the front row. As soon as her hand shot down, she leaned forward and shouted, "My brother has a crush on you!"
"Sara! Goddammit!" snapped the young man next to her.
The audience laughed in good humor and even Shepard smiled. "I'll refer you both to the last question."
But Sara smiled and continued. "I did wanna ask. My and my brother saw you on TV getting the Star of Terra for Elysium. You've saved an entire colony, you've saved the Citadel, and now you're working to save the entire galaxy! How do you do it?"
Shepard stared at her for a long moment, thinking about her answer. "I don't suppose telling you to eat your greens and drink plenty of water would be a satisfactory answer." The crowd laughed again as she shook her head. "Humans are a cooperative species. We've advanced as fast as we have because we work together. Anyone claiming that to be better you have to be a loner is trying to weaken our species," she said as she thought about her crew. "To achieve greatness, you have to work together with other people. You have to help make them better so that they in turn help to make you better."
"Teamwork?" asked Sara as she crossed her arms with a snarky smile.
"It sounds childish, but yes," she said as she held her hands out for them. "Me and the group I worked with on Elysium didn't know each other, but we learned enough to work together and that warded off a terrorist attack. My and my Normandy squad knew each other for less than a month before we were all thrust together and battling against Saren's forces. If you see someone who needs help, help them. If you need help, then seek help from those around you. If I had tried to fight all these battles alone, I'd have died on Eden Prime and none of you would know my name today."
Seeming satisfied, the young woman sat back in her seat. Hands rose again and Shepard chose a mousy figure with short dark hair. When her hand went down, she stood up. "Can I get closer?"
Shepard squinted slightly at the question. "I don't see why not."
They stepped out into the aisle and approached, standing meters away from the stage where Shepard sat. Immediately the spectre knew that she knew this person from somewhere. When they stopped, she could see them clearly under the stage lights. "It's been a while since we met. It was a few years ago and you probably don't remember me," she said as she looked at the ground, clearly anxious about talking with Shepard. "I had escaped batarian slavers and had a meltdown on rescuers on the Citadel Docks near here. You helped me, you gave me courage to keep going."
"Talitha?" asked Shepard, her eyes widening at the revelation. The last time she had seen the girl, she was scrawny, malnourished, her head shaved from many surgeries, and the scarring still fresh in her mind. But now she stood before her today and had gained weight and even muscle, grown her hair out and had each side dyed blue and red, and she actually had makeup on.
The girl smiled and held her hands to her chest at hearing her name. "Y-You remembered me?"
Sliding off the stage, Shepard stepped forward until they were right in front of each other. "I'll always remember you," she said as she held out her arms. Almost immediately, the young woman jumped into her arms and they hugged each other tightly.
A/N: Happy New Years!