Chapter Seven: Mother And Daughter
Shae rubbed her head. She felt a big lump on her head. Where was she? She looked around. She was in a room, beside her laid Morrigan and Mikal.
‘’About time you woke up,’’ A gruff voice said. She turned around and saw Nivraka chained to the wall. Shae stood up.
‘’Niv, I will help you,’’ Shae said and was about to free her comrade.
‘’I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,’’ Nivraka tried to warn Shae, but it was too late. As Shae touched the cuff, she was shocked. Shae screamed and stumbled back.
‘’Yeah, that happens when I struggle too much, too,’’ Nivraka said neutrally as if she wasn’t bothered at all. ‘’It is really annoying,’’ The Krogan woman said in the same bored tone.
Shae looked around the room to find something to help her friend. They apparently were in a cell of a dungeon. The window was barred, as was a small window in the door. No big obstacle, she would just use Throw to break open that door.
She charged her attack and pointed it at the door. To her surprise it bounced back. Shae dodged just in time. Unfortunately, the attack hit Nivraka right in the face. The Krogan groaned not appreciating this treatment.
‘’Watch it! I am already pissed enough. I don’t need you shooting Biotics at my face!’’ Nivraka jelled at Shae.
‘’Sorry,’’ Shae apologized. She examined the door a little closer. At first glance it didn’t appear so much different from any normal wooden door. But as Shae looked closer, the door was encased in some sort of aura. Getting out would be not so easy as she first thought. She should wake up her two unconscious squadmates first. She shook both Morrigan and Mikal.
Mikal woke up first. ‘’What? What happened?’’ He sat up, rubbing his big, black eyes.
Morrigan groaned and stood up as well. ‘’Where are we?’’ She asked touching her head.
‘’Looks like a cell. No tech. Pre-space flight species captured us,’’ Mikal observed.
Morrigan looked around, when her look fell on Nivraka she grinned. ‘’Well, somebody is getting special treatment,’’ Morrigan teased Nivraka. ‘’What did you do?’’ Morrigan wanted to know.
‘’I didn’t get knocked out as easy as the rest of you. They used some kind of Biotics to knock me out. They must see me as a bigger threat than you,’’ Nivraka said chuckling. Her big head shook a little.
‘’Do you know what happened? What happened to the woman that freed us?’’ Shae asked.
Nivraka replied. ‘’When we finally got out of that damned ship, we were surrounded by those four legged thingies. They quickly knocked you out. I saw the woman try to argue with those creatures. These aliens. I have never seen anything like them,’’ Nivraka told them.
‘’Unknown species. Assumption of pre-space flight species seems correct. The Exiled evidently attacked them. Reason unclear. Must think we are part of Exiled,’’ Mikal reasoned.
‘’Yeah, that sounds logical,’’ Shae agreed.
‘’Logical or not I am getting out of here.’’ Morrigan charged her Biotics clearly attempting at what Shae had failed.
‘’Stop!’’ Shae yelled just in time before Morrigan released her attack.
‘’Yes, please don’t do that. I don’t want to be hit in the face again,’’ Nivraka agreed with Shae. Morrigan looked at them with a raised eyebrow. She powered down.
‘’Look at the door,’’ Shae said pointing at the door. Mikal and Morrigan looked at the door. They noticed the strange aura surrounding the door.
‘’Fascinating. Biotic aura to increase doors stability,’’ Mikal commented. He realized something. ‘’No. not Biotics. Something different,’’ Mikal said in thoughts.
‘’Whatever it is, it makes our Biotics useless. And I don’t think any of us has the physical strength to smash open the door. The only one of us capable of it, is chained to a wall,’’ Shae said.
‘’Then let us get her out of there,’’ Morrigan replied.
‘’Not a good idea. The cuffs will give you an electric shock, if you mingle with them too much,’’ Nivraka informed the two.
‘’We won’t be getting out of here, unless they let us out,’’ Shae concluded. The group was quiet.
‘’That should give us enough time to talk about what happened,’’ Shae said. The tension in the room started to raise.
‘’What is there to talk about Sara betrayed us, that is it,’’ Morrigan exclaimed angrily. She couldn’t believe the betrayal of one of their comrades. Betrayal was highly uncommon among N7. They were trained together and served together. They even received special training against brides and other means of persuasion that may be used on them. Sara was the first N7 to ever have betrayed their comrades. Or at least what the group had heard of.
‘’Unlikely she acted on her own accords. Sara always had been a pure soldier. Thinks too little on her own. She must be acting under somebody’s command,’’ Mikal reasoned calmly.
Shae thought for a moment. ‘’Maybe human councilor Mason,’’ She suggested suddenly.
‘’Possible. But no evidence,’’ Mikal replied shortly.
‘’I don’t care why she did it. Because of her Eddy is dead,’’ Nivraka said. A bit of a spark had ignited between her and Eduard Goll. They had grown closer over time but haven’t confessed to each other yet.
‘’Don’t forget Sec and Cato,’’ Morrigan added viciously.
Shae remembered how Sara shot Sec in the head at point blank. Then she helped to catch Cato who was then killed by the Exiled. The betrayal came totally unexpected. Even if Shae had been warned beforehand, she wouldn’t have believed it. Sara had been with them from the start. Shae clenched her fist. And now she had betrayed them in the worst possible way, extradited to the Exiled. For them to do god knows what to them. Nivraka was right. There couldn’t be a justification for that. She betrayed everything N7 stood for. Mikal interrupted the silence.
‘’Betrayal tragic. But we need to focus at situation at hand. We can plot revenge later when we are in safe territory,’’ Mikal said. His Salarian physiology allowed him to process emotions much quicker than the other species. And he was right. They could plot revenge all day, if they didn’t get out of this cell, it was all meaningless.
‘’What is our next course of action?’’ Morrigan asked looking at Shae.
Shae was their superior now, after all. Shae was the N7 Commander. Shae thought for a while. ‘’Judging by the situation we are captured by a race unfamiliar with space-travel and undiscovered by the council,’’ Shae began. The three nodded.
‘’They didn’t kill us, so it likely that they will seek dialogue with us,’’ Mikal pointed out.
Nivraka snorted. ‘’Right. The way they threw me around earlier, I am doubting they will just want to talk,’’ She said doubtfully.
‘’No, Mikal is right. They could have killed us, when we were unconscious, but they didn’t. They will probably interrogate us,’’ Shae replied.
‘’That will be pretty hard, since we don’t understand them, and they don’t understand us,’’ Morrigan stated.
‘’But there was this woman. Hopefully, she will mediate between us and them,’’ Shae reminded her.
‘’Yeah, who was that woman, anyway?’’ Morrigan asked. ‘’She wore an N7 armor, but I have never seen her model before,’’ Morrigan stated.
‘’Maybe crash landed on this planet on her mission,’’ Mikal suggested.
‘’It is just me or did she look a lot like Commander Shepard,’’ Morrigan whispered.
‘’I noticed the similarity as well,’’ Mikal agreed.
Shae didn’t know what to say. Of course, she had noticed it, too. Every N7 knew how Commander Shepard looked like. Heck, the whole galaxy knew what Shepard looked like. But it couldn’t be her. What would she be doing here?
Nivraka laughed. ‘’We were saved by Commander Shepard! Do you think she will give me an autograph?’’ She asked amused.
Shae frowned. ‘’Don’t be ridiculous! This can’t be Shepard. She died over fifty years ago. It just can’t be her. She would be an old lady by now, let alone if she survived the explosion of the crucible. And how would she have gotten here? I don’t know where we are, but I think it must be pretty close to the edge of the galaxy,’’ Shae almost jelled. She didn’t want to believe it. It just couldn’t be. Shepard was dead and gone. She couldn’t have miraculously survived. It was not possible.
‘’With Commander Shepard everything is possible,’’ Mikal commented. Shae looked at him angrily. She was tempted to punch him.
Morrigan stepped between the two. ‘’We can’t fight among ourselves now. We have to decide on a strategy on how to interact with these aliens,’’ She tried to change the topic
‘’She came back from the dead once before,’’ Mikal pointed out. He just couldn’t let it go. ‘’Your troubled issue concerning your parent is clouding your mind. The universe is too great for us to fully understand it. There could have been things in motion far greater than our understanding, which allowed Shepard to survive. You are only afraid that your insecurity caused by the comparison to your mother will grow, now that she is ba-‘’ Mikal couldn’t finish it, before Shae’s fist collided with his face.
‘’Commander Shepard is dead! We won’t be treading this impostor as the real Shepard. This is an order!’’ Shae looked down at Mikal in fury.
Mikal checked his chin and answered in his calm demeanor. ‘’Yes, ma’am,’’ Shae turned away from him and began walking up and down the cell.
Morrigan sighed. Shae always became irrational when it came to Shepard. Not only once she got them into trouble because some punk let off a line about her and her mother. It was her only flaw. Morrigan understood Shae’s feelings, though. If it would turn out that woman really was Shepard, then all her accomplishments, her victories, her whole effort would be swept away by the almost godlike presence of her parent. She would be completely overshadowed by Shepard. Everybody would only see Shepard, and nobody would pay her any attention, anymore.
‘’Edi, that just can’t be,’’ Shepard refused to believe it.
‘’Shepard, the evidence is irrefutable,’’ Edi replied.
‘’I already struggled with the two-years gap, when I died. Now you are saying, almost seventy years have passed since I activated the Crucible? What about our friends, about the Reapers?’’ Shepard argued shocked.
‘’Judging by the continued existence of Asari, Humans, Salarians and Krogan I believe you were successful in destroying the Reapers,’’ Edi replied.
‘’Come on, Edi. How could we have made a seventy years jump into the future? I didn’t age and altogether this idea is ridiculous,’’ Shepard said still unconvinced.
‘’You have to face the truth, Shepard. I am already working on a theory how that happened. I checked the date on board of the ship. Seventy years have passed,’’ Edi insisted.
Shepard slumped down on a bench in one of the castle’s halls. ‘’You are making me cry,’’ Shepard warned.
‘’If I could, I probably would cry, too,’’ Edi said comforting.
Shepard sighed. This was the hardest test of her attitude to accept everything fate threw at her yet. It was like there was a bored god or something, who found it funny to throw her from one impossible scenario into the next. No, she had to pull herself together. She came back from the dead for Christ’s sake, she will overcome this as well. Let’s just hope Liara was still waiting for her. But Shepard didn’t want to think about that.
A pony guard interrupted her thoughts. ‘’Commander Shepard, the princesses would like to discuss the further approach regarding the prisoners,’’ The guard reported stoically.
There was no time to descend into self-pity. She had to find out who those guys were, who attacked them and then make them pay. And going home wouldn’t be so bad either, even after all this time. Shepard was already picturing the uproar which her return would cause. If the people were already doubting that she was even human, then they will probably lose any doubts now.
Shepard just couldn’t get her head around it. Seventy years had passed. Who of her friends were still alive, who weren’t? What happened to them in this time? All questions Shepard didn’t want to hear the answer. Shepard followed the guard to the throne room. Shepard slapped herself against her cheeks to wake herself up from those thoughts. More or less clear minded she entered the throne room.
There were Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Fortunately, they were able to reach safety in time. Shepard had heard how Rainbow Dash carried dozens of ponies towards safe zones. And Pinkie Pie warned them about shots and other attacks. Shepard didn’t know how she had been able to predict the enemy attacks but she was glad that she could. Probably magic. Then there was Twilight who was pretty beaten up. She had cuts and bruises all over her body and groaned at every move she made. Celestia and Luna weren’t in much better shape, but they remained calm and collected. Shepard guessed to keep up the moral. Shepard still couldn’t believe that three organic beings were able to fight off an entire fleet of spaceships.
Eventually, the tower destroyed the ships, but that they were able to withstand the attack of the ships until then was just amazing. Seeing the abilities of the three princesses, Shepard wondered if she should ask Twilight to give her lessons in magic. It would be very helpful in her line of work, if she could just shrug off the fire of a ship’s canon.
Celestia looked gently at Shepard. Admittedly she looked tired, but her eyes were kind as always. ‘’I see that you are unhurt,’’ She addressed Shepard happily.
Shepard nodded. ‘’Yeah, I am sorry that you had to experience this, but I have faced many similar situations in the past,’’ Shepard replied humbly.
Celestia nodded. ‘’It was only thanks to your quick warning that we were able to save as may ponies as we did,’’ Celestia thanked Shepard.
Shepard gulped. ‘’How bad are the casualties?’’ She asked carefully. Celestia’s face became sad. ‘’We still don’t know the exact numbers, at least 400 ponies are unaccounted for. We don’t know if they were taken, killed or managed to get somewhere to hide. Hopefully we will find out the last is true,’’ She said sadly.
‘’Who were they anyway? Why would they attack us in such a manner?’’ Luna demanded to know furiously. She didn’t have so fine control over her emotions as her sister. ‘’We have to go after them. We have to save the ponies and kick their hindquarters so much that my hoof will appear out of their mouth again,’’ Luna said, rubbing her hoofs together. Her expression screaming for retaliation.
‘’We are examining the crashed ships. Maybe we will be able to get one running again and pursue them,’’ Twilight interjected weakly. She was the youngest of the three Alicorns and her magic was not quite on pair with the other Princesses.
‘’Although we should look for a way to get our citizens back, we should also strengthen our defenses. I already ordered the construction of magic towers in all major cities. We weren’t prepared for such an attack, but they won’t catch us off guard again,’’ Celestia promised with a serious face. The news about the alien attack had spread through Equestria like a wildfire. ‘’I had hoped you could tell us why they attacked us,’’ Celestia said.
Shepard hesitated for a moment. She didn’t know how to say it. ‘’Your majesty, while on board of the ship, I was able to download some data. It lets me to believe that we were sent seventy years into the future,’’ Edi said. ‘’We have no idea how the galaxy has evolved in this period of time. To the reason why they attacked, was probably Shepard’s presence on this world. The attacking forces used technology used by the Reapers, the mortal enemies of Shepard. If it really were Reapers, your whole planet would be in a state of an overall war, luckily Shepard seemed to have destroyed them seventy years ago. The technology encountered on these ships were knock-offs of the real thing. But every faction using Reaper technology can’t be good and they won’t be pleased to hear about Shepard’s survival. They could have caught one of the probes and learned so about Shepard’s existence,’’ Edi said. Celestia frowned. Shepard was ready to take full responsibility. The attack was all her fault. If she hadn’t added her message to the probe, then they wouldn’t have been attacked.
Instead of the allocation of blame Celestia replied. ‘’That are terrible news. Are you alright? I guess it must be hard to be struck with such a big news,’’ Celestia said with sadness in her eyes.
‘’So, you suggest questioning the prisoners?’’ Luna asked Edi.
‘’That would be the best course of action to determine the current situation of the Galaxy,’’ Edi confirmed. ‘’I have already programed a translation software for the Equestrian language. I will be able to establish communication with ease,’’ Celestia seemed to agree.
‘’I will have them brought before us, so we can question them,’’ Celestia decided. She gave a guard an order and he left the throne room to retrieve the prisoners.
The N7 squad had been sitting in their cell for some hours now. All escape attempts had failed miserably. They hadn’t heard nor seen any aliens. They were sitting in a circle when they heard the door being unlocked. They had decided on a peaceful course of action. They intended to prove that they weren’t part of the attack. A quadruple creature entered the room.
It wore a golden armor. It had also a helmet which had a hole for the horn sticking from its forehead. Outside waited a bunch of other guards. He signaled them to follow him. Two other ponies entered and freed Nivraka from her cuffs. The Krogan would have preferably lunged at the small creature, but she remembered Shae’s orders and remained calm.
The guards guided them towards some stairs, then through some hallways until they reached a giant door. The group looked expectantly. The door shined in a green aura and opened. They noticed how the horn of the guards shined in the same color. When the door was opened, they saw a big throne room, at which end were two thrones and in both sat two more quadruples. At their side was the fake Shepard and three other aliens. The guards signaled them to step before their leaders. Not surprising the human spoke up.
‘’I know this must be very confusing for you, but I will upload a translation program to enable you to communicate with the ponies,’’ Shae saw Morrigan flinch when she heard the word ponies. It seemed the humans connected something with this word. Suddenly their omni-tools appeared. And a synthetic voice informed them.
‘’The upload was successful. You should now be able to talk with the Equestrians now,’’ Shae still couldn’t believe that an VI was so flexible and intelligent. Something was definitely not right with this Intelligence. The human gave the ponies a sign to speak.
A melodic and smoothing voice sounded through the room as the white pony asked them. ‘’How are you? Is nobody of you wounded?’’ The group was taken aback by this weird question. They had expected a harsh interrogation, not such a friendly tone.
Shae stepped forward. ‘’We are all alright,’’ She answered shortly.
‘’We found you on board of a spaceship which attacked our people. Why did you attack us?’’ Celestia asked her voice still friendly, although the topic should be very personal.
‘’We didn’t attack you and we aren’t part of the ones who did. The ship we were on belonged to an organization called the ‘Exiled’. We were prisoners ourselves until we freed by your friend,’’ Shae gestured to the red-haired woman. She really did look a lot like Commander Shepard.
‘’If you aren’t part of them, then identify yourself and explain your presence on the ship.’’ The blue pony demanded.
‘’My name is Shae…’’ Shae hesitated. ‘’… T’dora,’’ Shae decided to conceal her real name. She didn’t want to face this woman. It was the name of one of her school friends. ‘’And this is my team. Nivraka Urdnot, Mikal Vozeno and Morrigan King,’’ Shae didn’t overlook what impact the name Urdnot made on the human. ‘’We are all part of the N7 program. We are a special force tasked with upholding peace in the galaxy.’’ The strange woman frowned. ‘’We were assigned to protect a colony from an attack of the Exiled. We were… betrayed and captured. After that we were put into a cryogenic sleep state and don’t know what happen then.’’ The aliens seemed to struggle, if they should believe them or not.
‘’Commander Shepard, you know the galaxy better than anypony of us. What is your opinion on this?’’ The white alien asked the human. The eyes of the group became big at the mentioning of the name. So, it was her after all. No, Shae still refused to believe that it was true.
The fake Shepard replied. ‘’I haven’t been around for a while, but what she tells is probably true. I, myself am part of the N7 but to my time it was a human elite force. Yet, I can see how it evolved to what it is today. If the N7 didn’t change much from my time, then I believe we can trust them,’’ She said approvingly.
The white pony nodded. ‘’Shepard is speaking up for you, so we decided not to treat you as an enemy. Let me introduce ourselves. My name is Celestia, I am the princess of the day and co-ruler of Equestria, the country you are currently residing on. This is my sister Luna, princess of the night and co-ruler of Equestria, as I. And this is Twilight Sparkle the princess of friendship,’’ Nivraka sneered at the last name. Twilight blushed a little by the sudden amusement. Morrigan elbowed Nivraka but was trying hard herself not to laugh. The titles were really ridiculous, but they couldn’t afford to anger these aliens. ‘’We will provide you with food and shelter for the time being, in return you will tell us all the information we want to know. If we are able to repair one of the ships and sent you back, we would like to wish of you to add to Shepard’s voice before your galactic council in the plea for support against those Exiled,’’ Celestia stated.
The N7 couldn’t believe it. They had expected much, much harsher treatment. They had been on a ship that attacked them. Every other species would keep them prisoners or even worse torture them. This was way too nice. ‘’I ask of you to remain in the castle for the time being, though. You surely can understand that our subjects are… rather hostile to aliens at the moment,’’ Celestia added awkwardly. ‘’A guard will show you your quarters. We will send somepony with food to you, so you can replenish your strength. We will continue our conversation at a later date. Now get some rest,’’ Celestia decided and ended the conversation. The four aliens were now lead by another guard out of the room.
‘’Can we really trust them?’’ Luna asked Shepard when the four aliens had left the throne room.
‘’N7 was a pretty big deal to my time. If they are really N7, then I think we can trust them,’’ Shepard replied.
Luna frowned. ‘’I sensed no lie in what Shae said, but I feel that she is hiding something,’’ Luna said.
‘’I think they were nice,’’ Pinkie Pie replied, who had been quiet for the longest time since forever. Such an experience left even a Pinkie Pie not completely unshaken.
‘’Please, Pinkie Pie, she is clearly trying to save her skin,’’ Rainbow Dash stated her opinion.
‘’I think her story makes a lot of sense. The Exiled captured some of our people, too. It would be safe to assume, that they did this to other people, too,’’ Twilight stated. Her brain didn’t seem to have taken any lasting damage.
‘’I am also willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now,’’ Celestia said.
‘’Should they behave themselves and act civilized and honorable, then I don’t see a problem with our plans,’’ Luna agreed. But her face expressed that she was still suspicious of the aliens.
Celestia looked at Shepard. ‘’Shepard, I don’t want to burden you any further, but I am sure they will open up to you more than to us. You are one of them, after all. Try to gather any information you can. Meanwhile, Twilight and I will check on the crashed ships,’’ Celestia said.
‘’If it is ok with your majesty, I would like to have a look at the ships, too. They might be more advanced than the vehicles I am used to, but I am sure I will be able to provide great help in repairing the spaceships,’’ Edi said.
Celestia smiled at that. ‘’We would considerate us fortunate, if you took a look,’’ Celestia said respectfully.
‘’And I will go to rest. To be awake at night and experience such a turbulent day left me exhausted,’’ Luna said yawning. The meeting was now over. Celestia and Twilight went to make public appearances so that their subjects may calm down while Shepard went to take a bite. After her meal she would pay those four N7 a visit. Shepard was looking forward to what she would learn from them.
‘’What do you think about all that?’’ Shae asked Mikal, when they finally arrived at their quarters and the guard had left. The quarter was a big apartment. With a couple of rooms, an own bathroom and four beds spread across the room. They also had a big balcony with a look over the city, in which they currently were residing in.
‘’Too nice. Suspect ulterior motive. Feel ashamed for suspicions. Impression of genuine kindness,’’ Mikal said in deep thoughts.
‘’But did you hear her title. Princess of Friendship? Hah. There are a bunch of sissies, believing there should be a princess of friendship,’’ Nivraka said amused. She was still glad that the guard took off her cuffs, though.
‘’Yeah, it sounds like something out of the fantasy of a five-year old girl,’’ Morrigan joined in the laughter. Shae shook her head. They had treated them nicely considering what happened, they shouldn’t make fun of their culture. Mikal also disapproved of the behavior of his squadmates. But for Shae there was a much bigger concern lingering in the air. And she was waiting for the others to bring it up. And she didn’t have to wait long.
‘’So, that woman,’’ Morrigan said cautiously still remembering how Shae reacted to the topic last time. Shae sighed. She had to face it sooner or later.
‘’We still can’t say for sure that it is Commander Shepard,’’ Shae said. ‘’We have to check her with DNA tests and scan her to prove her identity. Until then we should treat her not as Shepard,’’ Shae decided.
‘’If you are so sure, she isn’t Shepard. Why did you hide your true name?’’ Mikal wanted to know. Shae paused. Now, she couldn’t explain why she hid her true name. Maybe she was afraid of the truth? Maybe she wanted to prolong the inevitable? Everything pointed to that Commander Shepard had truly survived. She was scared to face her. She was scared to face her own mother, believing that she may not live up to her mother’s expectations. What would Shepard think of her?
Luckily, Shae didn’t have to answer that question. There was a knock on the door and a pony, rolling in a dinning car. The pony presented them with several different kind of dishes. The pony bowed politely and left the room. It felt like it had been ages since they had last something to eat. The four lunged at the food. Ten minutes later they had consumed everything which the pony had brought them.
Nivraka growled at the lack of meat. ‘’Man, all that food without some meat. I am feeling like I am eating grass,’’ She whined. The three shook their heads. The food had made them a bit calmer now. They were surprised by yet another knock on the door. Unlike the first time there stood now the woman calling herself Commander Shepard in the door frame. She entered the room, her look was full of confidence and strength. That was a woman who had fought the impossible and survived. The woman didn’t say anything at first and walked into the room.
Her look fell on the empty plates and she smiled. ‘’I see that you have eaten,’’ She commented. Nobody of the four knew what to answer. ‘’Now that we are alone, I think we can speak more openly. I am Commander Kate Shepard, commanding officer of the Normandy and this is Edi,’’ She introduced herself and held up her omni-tool.
The synthetic voice said. ‘’Nice to make your acquaintance.’’
The four remained quiet as Shepard continued. ‘’I know it is hard to believe. I recently discovered that seventy years have passed since I activated the Crucible. But you have to believe me that I am the real Shepard. I don’t have any idea how, but I woke up on this planet a couple of months ago,’’ Shepard said. ‘’I am willing to answer your question the best I can, if you tell me what happened in the last seventy year,’’ Shepard waited for an answer.
Her three squadmates looked at Shae expectantly. Shae gave Shepard a brief summary of the events of the last half a century. How the council was extended by the Krogan. The new location of the citadel. The dominance the human established and their expansion. How the Spectre were disbanded and the growth of the N7 into the galaxy’s most elite fighting force. Shepard listened closely, asking some question now and then.
When Shae was finished, Shepard asked her. ‘’What about my crew? What happened to them?’’ Shae heard the pain in this question.
She sighed and told her. ‘’Garrus Vakarian and Tali’Torah vas Normandy married. They adopted a Quarian child. Garrus became eventually the Primarch and Tali continued to represent her people’s interest on the citadel as an ambassador. Both died of old age. Their daughter is currently executor of Citadel Security,’’ Shae paused. Shepard was in thoughts. ‘’Most of your human crew has passed on as well. Jack became director of Jon Grissom Academy. Zaeed Massani and Kasumi Goto retired. All three passed away peacefully. Jeff Moreau and Samantha Traynor married. Joker isn’t alive anymore, too,’’ Shae was interrupted by Edi.
‘’Jeff is dead?’’ She asked with real emotion.
‘’I am sorry, Edi,’’ Shepard said.
‘’I… I… I have to process this.’’ Edi said lamely.
She knew full well that this was the most probable outcome since she had learned they were seventy years in the future. Joker hadn’t been the ideal picture of health to begin with. But to have the confirmation hurt. Hurt more than anything Edi had ever experienced before. Her small glimmer of hope extinguished. Edi was now quiet.
‘’Please continue,’’ Shepard said quietly. The N7 saw how much these news hurt the Commander. All her friends continued their lives and eventually passed away.
‘’Ashley Williams and James Vega are passed away, too. But they left behind a daughter who is now instructor at the N7 programm. Samantha Traynor and Miranda Lawson should be alive since I last heard of them, but I don’t know where they are,’’ Shae said.
Shepard became impatient. She finally asked. ‘’What about Liara T’soni?’’
Shae flinched. The moment of truth closed near. ‘’Liara T’soni became councilor of the Asari,’’ She said. ‘’Naturally being an Asari, she is still alive.’’ Shae saw how Shepard’s brows raised in surprise and then the relieved look on her face. It was time to come clean. ‘’When I spoke to the aliens I wasn’t completely honest,’’ Shae began. Shepard looked at her expectantly. ‘’My real name is not Shae T’dora,’’ Shae paused. Her thoughts ran wild. ‘’My real name is Shae… T’soni… Shepard,’’ She let her words sink in. ‘’I am the daughter of Liara T’soni and Kate Shepard.’’
To Say Shepard was shocked would be an understatement. She was dumbfounded. She had been sure that after being hurled seventy years into the future nothing, absolutely nothing could surprise her anymore. But to wake up and find out she had an adult daughter almost twice the age she was, took the cake. Shepard first reaction was to deny it. This Asari couldn’t be her daughter. Shepard looked at Shae and saw the insecurity and fear in her eyes.
Her daughter was as afraid as she to meet her mother as she was afraid to admit that she was her daughter. There was a resemblance to Liara and her eyes had the same color as her own. Shepard didn’t know what to do. What could she do in this situation? It was so surreal. There was only one thing she could do! She slowly took her daughter into her arms. She felt how Shae stiffened. ‘’I am sorry,’’ Shepard whispered gently.
Shae relaxed and hugged back. They could hear a loud sniff. ‘’I am not crying,’’ Nivraka claimed. ‘’I just have sand in my eye.’’ That made everybody in the room smile.
Shepard let go of Shae and looked her up and down. This was really her daughter. It was still hard to believe. When their eyes met, they were both teary.
‘’So, you are really Commander Shepard? And that is the Edi from the Normandy?’’ Mikal asked, pointing at Shepard’s omni-tool.
‘’We sure are,’’ Shepard confirmed.
‘’All created intelligence was destroyed in the crucible attack, VI and AI alike. Fascinating that she managed to survive.” Edi remained silent. She was probably still mourning Joker.
‘’Let’s give her some space.’’ Shepard suggested.
‘’Capability of experience emotions. Amazing,’’ Mikal stated impressed. Since the Reapers War the research in the field of AI was even more strictly monitored than before. The galactic council founded a task force specialized in finding and destroying any illegal AIs. And all galactic races signed a contract prohibiting them to independently research AIs. The research was only allowed under the council’s supervision.
Shepard ignored him and faced Shae again. She touched her daughter’s face. ‘’I am so sorry. I missed so much. Your birth, your first birthday, your first day at school, your first boyfriend who I would have threatened to death to treat you right.’’ Morrigan and Shae chuckled. ‘’But now I will be staying,’’ Shepard said with determination in her voice. ‘’Tell me everything. I want to hear everything about you and your life,’’ Shepard said.
Shae started to talk about her past. From her schooldays to her military training till the mission today. The day was already setting, when Shae finished her story. Shepard shook her head, her arms crossed in front of her chest. ‘’So, Wrex that old fossil is still alive and now councilor Wrex. Glad, that Liara is doing well. Surprising that she took the spot as councilor. And you all are graduates of the N7 programm. The N7 is not a human military unit anymore, but the special forces of the council and the Spectre were disbanded. I just hope, I still get my salary as employee of the council.” Shepard joked. “And you were fighting a group called the Exiled, who worship the Reaper and try to destroy the universe in their name. You were betrayed by one of your own Sara Dare and got captured. Then I rescued you and we met,’’ Shepard summarized the story.
They all had been sitting on a comfortable coach. ‘’It is an honor to meet you, ma’am,’’ Morrigan said and she, Mikal and Nivraka salutated.
‘’I would be very honored, if you could give me an autograph,’’ Nivraka said. After all, she was speaking to the human, who cured the Genophage. She could have only been born because of her. Even before being born she was indebted to that human. A debt she would never be able to repay. The Krogan children were taught battle songs about the human Commander.
‘’Maybe later,’’ Shepard responded humbly.
‘’I told you everything what happened to us. But what happened to you?’’ Shae wanted to know. Until now everything went perfectly. Shepard seemed to take the news about her being her daughter pretty well.
‘’That is only fair.’’ Shepard nodded. The N7 squad listened intently. ‘’When I fired the Crucible, I remember a big explosion, before I lost consciousness. I was prepared to die, but through some miracle, I opened my eyes again. When I looked around I saw that I was in a forest. After I patched myself up and checked my equipment I decided to get out of the forest. I was really surprised when Edi was in my omni-tool.’’ Shepard shook her arm. ‘’I tried for a week to get out of the forest. What I am about to tell you may sound totally unreal, but it happened. You haven’t seen it, yet, but these Equestrians have amazing abilities. One of them is able to reach into your dreams.’’ The N7 looked at each other. ‘’That was my first contact with the species here. I didn’t believe anything she said to me back then, believing it was only a dream. She left me again, but not before assuring me that she would help me escape that forest. This pony was Princess Luna. You have seen her,’’ Shepard said.
‘’So that blue pony can come into your dreams?’’ Morrigan didn’t sound convinced at all.
Shepard nodded. ‘’As I said, you won’t believe me until you see it with your own eyes. She led me out of the forest to a small settlement of the ponies. I managed to start first contact on the right foot, because I saved one of them from a lion like creature. That was my first meeting with Fluttershy. She wasn’t presented during your meeting with the princesses, but she is a friend of Twilight. She called Twilight and she established communication. Of course, Edi didn’t have any translation for their language, but a magic spell from Twilight let me understand them.’’
Shae and her team now looked doubtingly at Shepard. Here was sitting the greatest hero of the galaxy of all times and was talking about magic, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
‘’With all due respect for your mental stability, but you can’t expect us to believe something as ludicrous as magic actually exists,’’ Mikal said skeptical.
Shepard sighed. ‘’I figured you wouldn’t believe me by simply telling you.’’ Shepard shook her head. ‘’Still, once you see it for yourself you will believe me,’’ Shepard insisted. The human Commander looked outside. ‘’I think it is time for me to let you get some sleep. Meanwhile I will tell the princesses what I found out.’’ Shepard stood up.
‘’You are going to tell them?’’ Shae asked nervously. She didn’t know if she wanted these aliens to know about everything.
Shepard smiled. ‘’Yeah, I am sure they will be happy to hear that I found my daughter,’’ Shepard answered. After she said goodbye to the N7 squad, Shepard went downstairs to speak to the princesses.
‘’She is different than I imagined,’’ Morrigan commented. The rest of the N7 squad nodded.
‘’Tell me about it. She sounded like a complete madwoman. Magic and stuff? Ha!’’ Nivraka laughed.
‘’Probably hit her head when she crashed on this planet,’’ Mikal joked, too. Shae frowned. She didn’t like the others making fun of her mother. In the past when Shepard was still dead, she even joked herself about her, but now that she was alive again and seemed to accept her as her daughter. Shae didn’t like those jokes anymore. She felt like she had to defend Shepard.
‘’You are talking about the greatest hero of all times. Show a little respect!’’ Shae ordered. The angry tone wasn’t lost on her crew. The laughter died down. ‘’We will find out tomorrow, if my mother is really insane or not. For now, I am just happy to sleep in a comfortable bed again,’’ Shae said.
That was something everybody could agree upon. They all chose a bed, took off their armor and went to sleep. Meanwhile Shepard told the princesses about her discovery. They were enlightened to hear that Shepard had a daughter. Celestia was sure that it was destiny that brought mother and daughter together like this. Shepard felt relieved that the ponies didn’t see the N7 as a threat anymore.
She followed Twilight to the crashed ship. After Edi examined the ship, she informed them that most weapon systems were badly damaged, but the drive core was still intact and with a few reparations, they could get the ship back running. It was already late, and Twilight insisted, that they started the repairs tomorrow morning.
Although Edi wouldn’t have minded taking her mind off of Jeff for a while and work the night through, she understood the needs of the organic lifeforms, though. And because she was bound to Shepard’s omni-tool, she had to wait until tomorrow.
Twilight led Shepard to a beautiful room which was especially prepared for her. After all, she helped them to repel the attack of the aliens. She was a hero among the ponies now, too. Shepard fell tiredly on her bed.
She had much to think about. Her jump in time, her adult daughter, about Liara and her friends who were still alive and the ones who weren’t. Lazily she took off her armor and threw it on the floor. She covered herself with the fluffy blanket and shortly after had fallen asleep.