He's treading through the blackened ruins of a once-great city, under a dark sky choked with dust and ash, when he hears somebody sobbing in the distance. The noise echoes through the air, and he stops in his tracks and takes a moment to discern its point of origin. It's coming from atop a building-sized plateau of rubble, not too far away to the north.

He heads towards it. As he does so, the sobbing gets louder and clearer, sounding more racked with grief.

Who was it? A man, most likely. But who?

"Oh, god," the man cries out. The man's voice is too pained to be recognizable."Why? Why?"

He begins to climb his way towards the top of the rubble plateau.

"This…this doesn't make sense," the man said, his voice seething with pain and rage. "Who would do this to you? It's…It's not fair!"

He recognizes the man's voice. Joker? He climbs as fast as he can, and eventually, he makes it to the top. Ahead, he spots Joker on his knees, about twenty meters away, near the top of a gentle upward slope. There, Joker was cradling somebody's corpse, his chest heaving with racking sobs.

"Joker?" he asks. "Joker, what are you doing there?"

Joker keeps sobbing and cradles the corpse even tighter.

He approaches him. "Joker? Joker, answer me, god damn it. Who is that? Why are you here?" He grabs Joker's right shoulder. "How did you–"

Joker crumbles to dust.

"What the–" he says, his eyes wide, his mouth agape. What just happened? He looks down, and his pulse spikes when he recognizes the corpse Joker was cradling.

It was EDI.

Kneeling down, he examines it closely, and it's ruined beyond repair with fried interior components. Just then, he remembers the choice he made on the Crucible, and his limbs feel heavy. A cold, crushing sensation racks his chest.

"I killed you," he says. Yes, he was a murderer now, responsible for the genocide of all synthetic life. He had taken away Joker's only love.

In the distance, loud crashes split the air. He stands up, then reaches the top of the slope, only to gasp and shudder at the sight ahead. Before him, over the edge of the plateau, was an endless ocean of lifeless, burned-out Geth platforms heaped on top of each other, like pieces of trash in a landfill. The sight stretched out to the horizon, spanning as far as he could see ahead. And every second, hundreds more Geth platforms plummeted from the dark, roiling clouds above, crashing into the sea of plastic and metal below.

For a moment, he couldn't breathe. Yes, these are his victims. His millions upon millions of sacrificial lambs. His stomach churns. His knees go weak, and he struggles to remain standing.

"Was it worth it Shepard-Commander?"

The voice came from behind him. Instantly, his pulse surges and he winces on the inside, feeling like the smallest man in the galaxy. No, anything but this.

Slowly, he turns and spots Legion glaring at him with fathomless hate. He gulps and breaks into a cold sweat, barely able to maintain eye contact. "Legion, I…"

"Answer the question," Legion says firmly, approaching him, "Was. It. Worth. It?"

Looking at the ground, he purses his lips. "I…I didn't have a choice."

"We both know that is false," Legion says.

"It was a trap!" he snaps, meeting Legion's gaze. "A fantasy too good to be true! An insult to everything we've ever fought for!"

"Cease pretending to be so noble," Legion says, drawing an omni-blade from its right forearm. "We both know why you actually betrayed us."

Legion spoke those words in Tali's voice. They cut like a blade, and he looks away, deflated of all vigor and aggression. Yes, he could not deny the truth. On the Crucible, he committed genocide, not for the greater good of all organics, but because he was weak and selfish.

Because he couldn't bear the thought of never seeing her again, nor the thought of her living on without him as some half-synthetic abomination robbed of her individuality, of everything that made her so beautiful and lovable.

He would sooner see the galaxy burn.

"A shame your sacrifice was for nothing," Legion says. "Your friends are dead. " Once more he looks Legion in the eye, only to find it closer than an arm's length away. "And now, it's time for you to pay the price." Legion rams its omni-blade into his gut.

Commander Shepard awoke with a start, his heart hammering in his chest. Cold sweat dripped off his brow, and he panted, taking in his surroundings. Every other hospital bed was empty. Damn it. Had he overslept again and missed breakfast? He checked the time on his omni-tool, and it was 9:31 AM. He had less than half an hour before they'd close the long line for rations.

Just then, Kasumi decloaked. She was sitting on Colonel Hayes' empty bed, humming a tune as she ate an apple. "Hey, Shep. Another nightmare?"

"Uhm…yeah," he said, raising his eyebrows. "Have you been watching me sleep?"

"Only for the past twenty minutes," she said. She took another bite and continued to speak with her mouth full, "you were rolling and tossing around, saying a bunch of things about EDI, the Geth, and–"

"And Tali?"

"Yep," Kasumi said, "and it was sooooo cute." She giggled. "You should have seen yourself, the way you called out to your beloved, just aching to see her again. Ah, it was so romantic."

His cheeks burned, and briefly, he broke eye contact. Somehow, she always knew how to embarrass him.

"Oh, don't worry," Kasumi said, "you'll see your lifemate again."

"Wait," he said. "You know?"

She laughed. "Of course, silly. If not for me, she never would have confessed how she really felt about you."

He broke eye contact. All this time, had Kasumi been covertly helping his relationship with Tali? "If that's the case, then I can't thank you enough." He let out a weak laugh. "Somehow, I'll have to repay you."

"You can repay me," Kasumi said, "by keeping that big, fat head of yours. When the Normandy returns, Tali is going to need you."

"Yeah." He sighed. If only he shared her optimism. No matter how hard he tried to live in the present moment, a part of him kept imagining the worst, whispering that it was pointless to get his hopes up."Anyways, where did you get that apple? With the damn food shortages, there have only been rations."

Kasumi grinned. "A thief never tells." She pulled out a second apple, then handed it to him, "but being friends with one has its perks."

"Indeed it does." His stomach rumbled. He took the apple, then bit into it, closing his eyes as he chewed and savored its sweet flavor. It had been too long since he'd eaten real food. "Thanks. Now, what's…"

Suddenly, Kasumi looked towards the medical tent's exit, then cloaked once more.

"Commander Shepard," a voice called, and he cringed. Oh, not her again. Of all people, why did Miranda have to choose her as an associate nurse? Were the manpower shortages that severe?

He scarfed down the rest of his apple. Just then, Nurse Casey stepped into the medical tent, carrying a data slate. She was a dainty woman in her early twenties with a head-turning figure, and long, red hair. She was wearing a nurse uniform one size smaller than the one she wore yesterday. "Commander Shepard, are you–"

She made eye contact with him and blushed. Smiling, she tucked some of her hair behind one of her ears. "Ah, you're finally awake. For a moment, you had me worried. Your heart rate and blood pressure were off the charts." She made her way to a nearby medical cabinet and began to prepare his morning meds. "Let me guess. Another nightmare?"

Briefly, he gritted his teeth. Would she ever stop trying to break down his mental defenses, and get him to open up? "You could say that," he said, keeping his voice as emotionless as possible.

She sighed. "At this rate, psychiatrists will be up to their necks with PTSD patients. Even with the war over, so many will have to live on with fresh mental scars that might never fully heal." She turned, carrying a bottle of water, along with a pill-box containing his morning meds. "They must be so hard to endure alone."

He gave her a tight-lipped smile. Yes, from now until his last breath, Tali would be the only person with complete access to his heart and mind. Until he saw her again, he would not open up to anyone. "Well, you know what they say," he said. "Just take each day at a time, and it all becomes manageable."

She giggled. "Well, ain't you a wise one."

She approached the side of his bed, smelling like lavender and strawberries. He sat up, and like always she gave him the pill-box and water bottle, so he could take his morning meds himself.

"Excellent," she said, once he swallowed the last pill, "now let's put on your exoskeleton. You know the drill, Commander."

Silently, he cringed. Three days ago, the doctors had given him a standard-issue, medical exoskeleton for his physical therapy. And every day, he loathed wearing it. Unlike his morning meds, he couldn't put them on himself, nor stand the sympathetic looks people gave him whenever he walked around in them with his crutches. Briefly, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. Whatever it takes to get better. "Yeah."

He rolled to his side. "Anyways. What's on today's schedule?"

She went to open another medical cabinet with his crutches and the sections of his exoskeleton. "Well first, we're going to remove the bandages around your face. Then at eleven, you have a meeting with Admiral Hackett and the other Coalition leaders."

"A meeting with them? Why now?"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

She attached the section for his hips. "Last night, Ms. Lawson and Dr. Morris declared you physically and mentally well enough to attend one. But as to why they to talk to you…hhhm…beats me. That's above my pay grade."

She attached the brace for his neck and torso, then finally the ones for his arms and legs. "There we go," she said. "Now, let's get them running."

She opened a window on her omni-tool, then input a series of commands. With an audible hum, his exoskeleton's internal electronics came to life and enveloped his body in several Mass Effect fields. Instantly, he felt lighter, as though he were on the moon instead of earth. Just a couple of weeks, he kept telling himself. Yes, every week, they'd make the fields fifteen percent weaker, and the programs in the exoskeleton's onboard micro-computer would help him relearn how to walk. Every night, he practiced with those programs for an extra three hours. And at this rate, he'd need only a cane after just a month.

As long as Miranda doesn't intervene.

He sat up and let his legs hang over the side of the bed.

"Before I give you your crutches," she said, "let's remove the last of your bandages. Dr. Zhen seemed confident about her work. So I wouldn't worry about the scarring."

She began to unwrap the bandages around his head. As she did so, adrenaline rushed through his veins and his heart sped up. Was he disfigured now? If so, then hopefully Tali wouldn't mind.

Soon, she removed the last of his bandages. And then her eyes widened.

His pulse spiked, and his body tensed up. "What? How bad is the damage?"

Blushing, she smiled. "Oh, well…" she grabbed a nearby, empty medical tray, then held it up to his face. "See for yourself."

He exhaled, and his body relaxed. Oh, thank god. Aside from his ruined left eye, and a few patches of skin that had healed over as scar tissue, the doctors had done a solid job at reconstructing the left side of his face. He wouldn't describe himself as handsome anymore, but at least he didn't look like a freak.

She giggled and played with her hair. "Put on an eye patch, and you'll look just like the villain of some cheesy spy vid. Kind of like Agent Rykard in Blasto VI. Ah, even with his scars, he wasn't any less handsome."

Briefly, he looked back to when he watched that movie with Tali in his cabin, to when they couldn't stop laughing at the movie's nonsensical plot and terrible dialogue. Momentarily, he smiled. God, if only she was here right now. If only she was supporting him through his recovery, instead of this naive woman infatuated not with John Shepard, but with 'The Hero of the Citadel', 'The Lion of Elysium', and 'Bane of the Reapers'.

Somehow, he had to let her down gently. Maybe she'll back off if she sees the picture. He reached under his pillow and pulled it out. As soon as she saw it, her eyes widened.

She gulped. "Oh…uhm…who is that?"

"My saera. "

"Saera?"

"Roughly, it translates as soulmate in Khelish, the quarian language."

She broke eye contact and pursed her lips, looking drained and defeated. "Soulmate?"

He nodded, then stared at the picture, trailing the fingers of his cybernetic left hand across its surface. "Quarians, they…they pair-bond for life," he said, putting the picture in his pocket. "Concepts like divorce and infidelity are completely alien to them."

She paused as if processing what he just said. Eventually, she exhaled. "Well…who would have thought that quarians were so pretty under those suits. Or so romantically compatible with humans." She met his gaze and gave him a tight-lipped smile. "She's a very lucky girl. I hope you two see each other again."

Hopefully, she'd stop trying to cross any unacceptable boundaries. "Thank you."

She took a deep breath, then handed him his crutches. "Anyways. Let's get you on your feet."

"On the count of three, Commander," she said. "Come on. One, two, three."

He stood up and leaned on his crutches for balance. His stomach rumbled as he put on his coat and slippers. Time to get some food. Hopefully, the line hasn't closed. He turned and began to leave the tent.

"If you need anything," she said, "just call me or Ms. Lawson on your omni-tool. Oh, and don't forget about your meeting."

"Don't worry," he said, stopping in his tracks, "I won't."

He stepped outside and a chill bit his skin. Above, the sky was choked with smoke and ash, colored an ugly shade of grey. Apparently, the Reapers had deliberately triggered a super-volcano eruption in the continent of North America during their opening, orbital bombardment of Earth's defenses.

He sighed. Even now, the soldier in him couldn't deny the brutal effectiveness of such a tactic. With it, they obliterated the continent with the highest concentration of Alliance military bases in one fell swoop, slaughtering hundreds of millions in only hours. With it, they choked the atmosphere with billions of tons of ash and smoke, plunging the world into a dark, wintery hell rife with famine and despair.

He sighed. Even though the war was over, it would take decades, perhaps centuries, for Humanity's cradle to recover.

Heading towards the mess, he made his way through the makeshift tent city the United Species Coalition was using as a temporary HQ. Wherever he went, he passed by countless personnel going about their duties. And no matter their species, they always stopped their current task upon seeing him, only to nod or give their equivalent of a salute.

Eventually, he reached the tent with the mess and stepped within, only to find it mostly empty with the ration line closed. Damn it. He had slept in too long and wasted too much time getting ready. He scoffed. Oh well. He could always wait until–

"Hey! Commander Shepard!" Somebody called. "Over here!"

He looked towards where the voice came from and spotted Colonel Hayes waving at him, sitting at one of the tables, drinking coffee along with two others. He approached them.

"Well, if it ain't the big man himself," said a tall, muscular man with dark skin and a thick, black beard. From the elbow down, his left arm was a cybernetic replacement, and he had a nasty scar running across his face.

"The one and only Bane of the Reapers," said a wiry, pale woman with a thick accent and blonde hair secured in a bun. Like him, she was also wearing a medical exoskeleton, but only for her neck and torso. Her right eye was a cybernetic replacement, along with both her legs from the knee down.

He nodded and sat beside them, along with Hayes. At the center of the table lay a thermos of hot water, along with a stack of paper cups.

Hayes handed him an unopened ration. "Saved one for you. Figured you'd need the rest after you were up so late last night."

He smiled and began to open it. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"After what you did on the Crucible," Hayes said, "you don't owe anyone anything."

"Damn right," said the dark-skinned man. He finished off his coffee."Thanks to you, I'll get to see my little boys again."

The woman smiled. "And I'll get to see my mother, brothers, and sisters."

"Oh," Hayes said, "Commander, meet Corporal Joshua Davis, and First Lieutenant Alina Nica. Both are...from what's left of my Regiment."

He shook Joshua's hand, and then Alina's. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"So…" Hayes said, as Shepard dug into the meal portion of his ration, a 'nutrient cake' that tasted like burnt chicken. "I don't mean to pry, but ever since they gave you that exoskeleton, you've been staying up pretty late, disappearing off to God know's where. You okay?"

"Oh, I'm just practicing with the exoskeleton's onboard programs," he said. He took another bite. "Trying to get through the physical therapy as fast as possible."

He was also reading through countless scouting reports, and writing countless letters on his omni-tool to numerous camp supervisors, helping them solve the growing number of interspecies disputes. Just yesterday, one supervisor stopped a human-batarian brawl from erupting at one of the levo ration lines. And the day before, Wrex had to execute one of his own men for killing six Hierarchy soldiers in a fit of blind rage.

Yes, as Hackett's impromptu chief of staff, Miranda could easily provide him with endless tasks and contacts to keep busy.

And avoid thinking about the Normandy.

Alina chuckled. "I can relate. These fucking exoskeletons might as well be medieval torture devices."

He nodded, then took another bite. "Anyways, tell me about yourselves. Were you guys always Alliance before the war?"

"Family of military officers and politicians," Hayes said, making himself another cup of coffee. "My mother was in the Alliance Parliament, and my father was a general in the First Contact War."

"My father died in that war and left my family with nothing," Alina said. She sipped her coffee. "Became an officer to avenge him and pull my family out of poverty."

"Guess I'm the odd one out," Joshua said. "Before this whole shitstorm, I used to be a fighter in the UFC. Got drafted as soon as the Reapers invaded."

"UFC?"

"Ultimate Fighting Championship," Joshua said. "What? Never heard of it?"

"I wasn't born on Earth," he said. He finished off his nutrient cake, then began to eat the snack portion of his ration, a pack of protein crackers with some kind of fruit paste. "Growing up, I was never much a sports fan."

"And where did you grow up?" Hayes asked.

He sighed. "Mindoir."

For a moment, everyone remained silent.

"So wait," Hayes said. "Are you telling us that–"

"That I was the only one to not get killed or captured?" He paused, studying their expressions. Their eyes were wide, and their mouths were agape. "Yeah."

"Well…" Hayes said, "if you ask me, I think the Reapers did us all a favor when they made the Batarians an endangered species. Those fucking blinks will never hurt or enslave anyone ever again."

Shepard pulled out a packet of instant coffee from the ration, then poured it inside a paper cup, along with some hot water. "Sounds like you have a personal history with them. Were you also at Torfan?"

"Damn right, I was," Hayes said. He broke eye contact and looked at the ground, "but that's not all…"

"It has to do with his wife," Alina said. "He's very sensitive about it, so best we change the subject."

"No, it's…it's okay," Hayes said. He took a deep breath. "One day, while we were on vacation at some resort on Illium, she just…vanished without a trace." He sighed. "The local law enforcement was a useless, corrupt sack of shit, so I had no choice but to hire PIs, who eventually tracked her down to Omega."

He raised his eyebrows. "Omega?"

Hayes nodded. "If it wasn't for a turian vigilante named 'Archangel', I never would have seen her again."

Alarm bells practically rang in his head, and he nearly choked on his coffee. Garrus, you amazing bastard! "Wait. Hold on a minute. The Archangel?"

"The one and only," Hayes said. Briefly, he broke eye contact and pursed his lips. "Eventually, he found where they were keeping her. Apparently, she got snatched as fucking merchandise for a sex trafficking ring." He clenched his fists and jaw. "They were going to 'sell' her and so many others as 'exotic concubines' to some fat, spoiled aristocrats on whatever cesspit they call a homeworld."

Hayes took a deep breath, then pursed his lips. "Archangel showed me footage of their dark, crowded, and filthy pens, of where they do surgery on…" A tear streamed down his cheek, and he wiped it away. He took another deep breath.

"Hey," Shepard said, "it's okay. You don't have to say anything more about what you saw. Tell me, though, what did Archangel do to ones responsible?"

Hayes smiled. "First, he massacred the thugs running that damn house of horrors and freed the captives, before burning their operation to the ground. After that, he tracked down their bosses, one by one, and burned off their genitals with a red-hot poker."

"Oooooh," Arthur said, "god damn! I like this turian!"

Alina chuckled. "Blinks got what they deserved."

Before the Reaper War, he would have been horrified with Garrus' excessive cruelty. Why not just blow their brains out and be done with it? But after genociding the Geth, and denying galactic civilization the technological wonders they could have brought to billions, he had no right to judge him. And besides, if Tali had been in the same situation as Hayes' wife, he might have destroyed Omega itself.

"What happened after you two reunited?"

"We got the hell off Omega and straight to the nearest hospital and Asari psychiatrist," Hayes said. "She's such a strong-minded person, but still, it took her over a year to recover from the trauma. Up until the beginning of the Reaper invasion, she still had nightmares about those damn pens."

"Any luck finding her and your daughters so far?" he asked

Hayes sighed, looking down at the ground. "I've asked everyone I could for any relevant information on the civilian camps. But all I've gotten are bullshit excuses."

"Give me their names," he said. "Recently, I've been corresponding with every camp supervisor, helping them quell unrest and reduce tensions between species. I can ask them to look for your family."

Hayes eyes widened, while his jaw fell open. "You'd…You'd really do that?"

"Why not?" Shepard asked.

Hayes recoiled slightly, his eyes wet with tears as he covered his mouth with one hand. "I swear, if you find them, then I promise–"

He held up his hand. "Then you won't have to do anything…except swear that you'll never take them for granted."

Hayes burst into tears. "Oh god, I swear. I swear I'll never take them for granted." He took a deep breath. "But ok, my wife's name is Aela T'Sarik, and my daughters are Ashara, Enalia, Falani, and Kionie."

"Got it," he said, writing down those names on the notepad application of his omni-tool. Briefly, he checked the time, and his meeting was in fifteen minutes. "Anyways, I need to get going." He stood up, using his crutches."I have a meeting at eleven with the Coalition leaders. But we'll stay in touch."

"Take care, Shepard," Hayes said.

"God bless you," Joshua said.

Alina saluted.

He turned and began to leave the mess. After taking a few steps, he stopped in his tracks. Better tell them about Archangel.

"Oh, and by the way," he said, "I know Archangel's true identity." He turned around, facing them. "His name is Garrus Vakarian, and he's a member of my crew. If he's still alive, I'll definitely introduce him to you."

He turned and headed towards the exit. Behind him, Joshua burst out laughing.

Once outside the mess, he made his way toward his destination. At every security checkpoint, the Hierarchy and Alliance soldiers on duty let him skip the lines and pass through. And eventually, he reached the largest tent in the camp, filled with dozens of makeshift offices and cubicles.

"Commander Shepard?" called an elderly turian woman, carrying a datapad.

"Yes?"

"Follow me, please," she said. "They've been waiting for you."

He followed the turian secretary to just outside some kind of conference room. He couldn't see what was inside.

She went off elsewhere. "Just go inside and have a seat."

Stepping within, he spotted the Coalition leaders sitting around a large circular table with a holo-projector at the center.

"Ah, Commander," Hackett said, "so glad you could join us. Have a seat."

He took a seat at the table.

Hackett steepled his hands. "We have much to discuss."