Mass Effect: After the Smoke Falls

Rebirth

Three Months before the Reaper Invasion. . .

The Illusive Man sat in his chair in the Cerberus Headquarters, looking over the viewports on his screens. All of them showed the same thing: The Reapers, high-tech machines that purged the galaxy of life every 50,000 years, and the end of this cycle had begun. If Commander Shepard hadn’t stopped the Reaper named Sovereign and its forces from gaining control of the Citadel, then the galaxy would’ve been filled the machines by now. But The Illusive Man knew there was a way to control the Reapers. Only if he found the source of the Reaper’s power, he could control them. He heard footsteps behind him, and saw that it was Henry Lawson. Henry Lawson was the father of Miranda Lawson, a former agent of Cerberus, and her cloned sister, Oriana.

“You wanted to see me?” Asked Lawson.

The Illusive man nodded, puffing on one of his cigarettes. “Yes, I did. I have need of your services.”

“And what might that be?” Lawson said, crossing his arms.

“I need you to take the DNA of Commander Shepard, make five clones, and take them to one of our facilities in the Attican Traverse.” The Illusive Man ordered. 

“Why do you need me to clone Shepard?” Lawson asked. “You already cloned him for spare organs when you brought him back to life.”

“Yes, but your daughter gave us the information.” The Illusive man replied. “With her defected from Cerberus, we have no effective way to clone the Commander. We know Oriana is a clone of Miranda, so we know you have the capacity to do so.”

Lawson raised a hand to his chin. “What’s in it for me?”

“Protection. If Miranda knew how close you were to finding Oriana she would most likely come after you.”

Henry didn’t even have to think about the answer, he feared his daughters as much as he hated the Alliance. “Done. I’ll go to your facility in the Traverse, you better be true to your word.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Lawson,” The Illusive Man smiled. “This will be for the good of all humanity.”

Present Day, Shepard’s Dream. .  .

“Why am I here?” Commander John Shepard asked when he opened his eyes. He wore his destroyed armor , the burn scars from Harbinger’s beam covering his body. He was in the forest, the one that haunted his dreams. The sky was grey and the tree’s were dead, and a few meters away, a small boy with auburn hair  and a white hoodie cowered behind a tree. Shepard knew what would happen, he would chase the boy and as soon as he would reach the child, he would burst into brilliant flame and the dream will be over. ‘Better finish this quick.’ He thought to himself. Shepard ran to the boy and reached his hand out. He expected smoke and fire, but instead his hand touched the boy’s shoulder. Shepard was truly surprised.

“Is. . . is it over?” The boy asked, tears trailing down his cheek.

Shepard nodded, still expecting the child to combust. “Yes, the Reapers are destroyed. It’s over, you can rest peacefully now.”

“And as can we.” Said a familiar voice behind him. Shepard turned and he smiled as the visage of David Anderson, in full Admiral uniform, walk up to him. His dark skin showed no sign of his scars and he walked with the youth of a young man. “Shepard, you did it.”

Shepard hugged Anderson. “We all did, sir.”

“We fought the Reapers, but you brought all the species together in the end.” Said a third voice. Shepard looked over and saw Thane Krios, who died saving the Salarian Councilor during a Cerberus coup on the Citadel.

“Thane?”  Shepard asked. He looked at Anderson, Thane, and the small boy and realized something, they were all dead. “So, I finally died, didn’t I?”

“In fact, your still alive.” The boy said. “The Crucible somehow allowed you to live .”

“But it is your choice, Commander.” Thane said, looking at Shepard. “If you wish to go to the sea, you can, but if you choose to live, that is acceptable as well.”

“It’s your choice, son.” Anderson followed. “We won’t judge your decision.”

Shepard thought long and hard. Should he allow himself to die so he could earn the rest he deserved, or should he live to be with the ones who survived the Reaper invasion? One person popped into his mind: Tali’Zorah vas Rannoch, his Quarrian girlfriend who served with him from the beginning. “I want to go back.” He finally decided. “I have a long life left to live, I want to spend the rest of it in peace.”

Anderson gave a thoughtful nod and smiled. “I understand, Shepard. But when your time comes don’t worry, we’ll be here waiting for you.”

Shepard took a deep breath and he noticed he floated up into the air, the three figures on the ground looking like ants. Then there was a bright light above him. . .