Commander Of The Fallen

Surprise Visit

Once again Shepard was housebound, how the hell was she supposed to do anything? Another few months down the line and now she was fine, well, full bill of health. Shepard glanced out the window and breathed slowly. The models built, the books read and the vids watched. Reports read, reports filed and even missions planned. But one slight cold and a bad reaction to an implant and she was back on recovery lane. No stress for the next week or so.

She was grumbling as Shepard turned faintly, many ships were back online and the Geth were at full force once again. Still no word. Leaning over and picking up her drink from the table. How long had it been since she saw his damn face? That nervous smile he had for her and the way he could make her feel anything just by being close. She missed them all and Miranda believed that it was due to the shockwave wiping everything out, without EDI the Normandy had to take the long way round. But worry filled her, mainly due to not having any connection to them. A message. Just a little one, that's all she cared about, then she would be fine.

Shepard glanced back as she heard a small, little ping. Walking over to her monitor she flicked it on, she would be heading the search and rescue mission for the Normandy but what greeted her stopped her breath. Had she really just wished and got it? There were a few from Hackett, replies to what she had sent, and some more from others thanking her for her sacrifice and then. Right there, on the screen it said,

Message delivered 12:02pm from G. Vakarian

Delayed message perhaps? But no, seconds passed and more and more appeared. From Tali, Liara, Joker, Vega and even Kaidan. She slipped into the chair, reading through them one by one. It had been half a year since they had stormed the beam, five since she woke up fully, and here she was. She typed fast and furiously, finding the beam that brought these messages through. Shepard's survival had been the best kept secret and she knew that Hackett (if he managed to sustain contact with the ship) would not tell any of her being alive. That would only place desperation to get back and that was the last thing Hackett needed. She gave a cry of joy as it connected, she was in the mainframe of her ship. Where were they? Unknown. How was it...ah, No EDI.

Then a thought hit her, a small...little thought that bloomed too fast for her to think anything bad of it. She moved across the room on her chair and opened a box, taking a small silver disk out. Miranda would be proud.

"Well, Joker, this is my apology for disabling your girlfriend." Shepard said slowly to herself and back to the computer, slipping the disk in she typed faster. Being a solider had not stemmed her love for fixing and building nor her ability to hack. She couldn't hack AI's like Tali, but she could hack any door she wanted. Even with that damn upgrade. Was it silly? maybe futile, but she had to try. For a moment she wondered what Garrus and Tali would say if they found the hack into the systems. She had named the computer after Legion and the username was the same. Upload started and she breathed out. This would either bring her friend back, or nothing would happen, so from her viewpoint. She had nothing to lose.

Nothing in her training had prepared her for this. She was pinned and she could almost hear the shouts or what she would say war cries as the people fought back. Closing her eyes she frowned, the thunder echoed and she knew that this would leave emotional scars too.

"There's a breech!" a woman cried, no, not a woman. A girl. Shepard motioned for them to go on ahead, she would remain and fight. She came here for a holiday, a break in routine and missions. And somehow, ended right in the middle of a bloody batarian raid. Second one in her life time. Except, this time, she was ready for them. Each step gave her more and more confidence, shots firing faster then she could think. Her breath steady and focused as she kept the breech clear of combatants. She could hear them talking, shouting at each other to push through the stupid girl.