Commander Of The Fallen

Thankful

It was hard. Shepard knew it would be. Standing before the tribunal was always at the back of her mind, but it seemed so far away, yet here she was. Stood in her dress blues and watching exactly what she had been reported of doing the last year. Her jaw was set and she messed with her fingers as people she had never met decided her fate. Anderson was stood beside her, he had defended her case for some strange reason. As did Admiral Hackett.

"She's a spy, for Cerberus, she should be stripped of her rank!" came one very angry female voice,
"No, the Commander has risked everything for us time and again, we should see what she knows." came another. Voices battling in a pointless case, the more time she spent in this fake prison the more time Harbinger had to reach Earth. Or Palaven. No, she wasn't going to think of him now, not when she needed to remain stone faced in front of the jackals that currently surrounded her.
"Ground her, she shouldn't be allowed to leave." came a very familiar voice, one that made her bite her tongue, she glanced across the room to Kaidan. He was looking right at her....no, not at her, through her. Looking to the man who had once been her friend gave her a sad sense of duty.

Shepard looked back as she was called forward, for her own testimony, and a slight squeeze from Anderson told her not to lose it in here. Easier said then done as she looked up at the Admirals. They held her life, her career, her entire being in their palms.

"I know people want me to apologize,. I know they think of me as a traitor to the Alliance. At best, they believe I am just some VI that thinks it's me, but I can tell you what I told everyone else. What it says in that stupid piece of paper in front of you." Shepard started and felt the entire room look at her. She had faced Reapers, Collectors, bullets and being put in harms way more times then she could count. She wasn't afraid on Elysium but here, in this room, she felt the fear creep in. "It started in Geth space. When the Normandy was destroyed and apparently I died." she said and glanced towards Kaidan. "Time passed and I woke up, days had not passed for me and before I knew it I was back in the front lines of a war I never wanted a part of." No emotion was what she was taught. No bringing feelings into a war meeting.

"But the fact is I came to you. I gave you everything I had and still it wasn't enough. I fought Saren and Sovereign, fighting you and the council every step of the way because my word wasn't good enough." she looked directly at the Admirals now. Glaring into them as she channeled what had been brewing for months. "I worked with Cerberus to fight the Collectors, I used their money and their resoures to get through the Omega 4 relay and once that was done, I came here and gave you my...." she breathed in and looked down. "I gave you the Normandy and submitted to whatever punishment you deemed appropriate. On one condition." she said and looked back up.

"That you don't go looking for the crew that helped me." Shepard sighed faintly, "Discharge me, dishonorably for all I care, but the Reapers are coming and they will not be kind. Thank you." She didn't even wait for the result of her less then submissive reply as she turned and left with her guard. Of course, the solider who had been assigned to her. A lieutenant none the less. Alyssa glanced towards the male now and smiled faintly as he was grinning at her.

"Something to say, Vega?" she asked as they walked back to her quarters.

"Nothing, ma'am." he replied almost dutifully, only grinning more as he did so. "Except..." she stopped and turned to him as he saluted her.

" ...thank you."

Alyssa Shepard was going stir crazy, or at least that was what she was telling herself. Her eyes had started to work again, after her first few attempts, but they still needed rest from time to time. The idea of moving was forbidden and as much as she would kill for coffee, or cake, or even something that didn't look like puree baby food, she was on a strict and rather sad list of orders. Recover. That was her mission now and damn her if she didn't miss the stupid giant death machines that threatened everything. She was currently sat up in her bed, staring at the wall in front of her, waiting for something. Anything.