Their Finest Hour, Chapter 2

Title: Their Finest Hour, Chapter 2
Author: Draygon
Game: Mass Effect
characters/pairing: F!Shep/Garrus
Disclaimer: Bioware owns it all. I am just playing with their toys. U No SU. Also, SPOILERS for Arrival!

---

"So, what your telling me," Shepard leaned back in one of the chairs in Miranda's quarters. "is that in the space of three weeks, every single one of Cerberus' operations has been completely liquidated?"

"It happened faster than that, Shepard." Miranda said as she got up from her chair to start pacing restlessly. "My contact inside sent one message back before everything went dark. But, I can't understand a thing. If he's speaking in code, I can't make it out."

Shepard sighed, this was getting her nowhere. "I think it's been well established that The Illusive Man's a bastard. But this is starting to get creepy."

"I agree. But," Miranda sighed, finely sitting down again. "there's just something that doesn't feel right. When everything went quiet, the Alliance sent small strike teams to every suspected operation. They found everything had been destroyed, all data deleted and every single person dead."

"Wow." Shepard whistled. "That's ambitious even for him. That would take an amazing amount of coordination to raid every one of his labs."

"They weren't raided, Shepard." Miranda rested her chin on her hands as Shepard regarded her with a puzzled look. "Every single person died from a single, self-inflicted gun shot to the head."

"Wait." Shepard held up her hands, regarding Miranda with disbelief. "You mean to tell me that every single person working there shot themselves? Everyone?"

"Right down to the kitchen and janitorial staff."

"That's... dedication?"

"I would have called it stupid, Shepard."

"That, too. It's just - strange. You would have thought at least a few of them would have told the Illusive Man to go fuck himself with a relay and just leave."

Miranda chuckled, shaking her head to rid it of that vivid mental image. "One would think so. I know you were hoping for more, Shepard. But that's all I have: Insane gibberish and over 300 simultaneous suicides."

"It's better than nothing. Keep looking. Make sure you get in touch with Liara. I need everyone on their toes, just in case. There's no way to know what direction the trial will go."

Miranda nodded, her eyes drifting over to the clock on her desk. "It's almost time, Shepard." Miranda stood as Shepard did and held out her hand. "No matter what happens, it's been an honor."

Shepard grasped her hand, a soft smile on her face. "You keep yourself safe, Miranda."

"Always, Commander." Miranda watched as Shepard left her quarters, her smile fading as she sunk into her chair. She brought up the archived messages from her contacts and tried again to piece together what was going on.

---

Shepard made her way, slowly, to the front of the ship. Joker and EDI were in quiet discussion, Joker leaning over to get closer to EDI's avatar to avoid being heard. EDI must have alerted him to Shepard's presence because he straightened up and turned his chair around, smiling like he had just sneaked the last cookie out of the jar. As soon as Shepard saw Joker's face, she felt her shoulders relax. What ever Joker had come up with, it was bound to be good. "Twenty-three minutes, Commander," he stated as though nothing was amiss.

Shepard looked down at Joker, her smile matching his. Although, if she looked closer, she could see the strain in his eyes. His smirk was only covering up his tension. "Joker."

"Don't worry about me, Commander. You're the one about to be torn apart by the same assholes who couldn't stop singing your praises two years ago. Me and EDI'll stick close."

Shepard smiled, nodding her head as she sank into the co-pilot's seat with a thump. "Thanks, Joker. For everything."

"That's two hamburgers you owe me, Commander."

"Two honest-to-God dead cows? I think I can do that."

"Horseradish. Don't forget the horseradish."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Shepard trailed off as her eyes drifted to the inky blackness outside the Normandy, her fingers running along the edge of the view ports as her mind drifted off.

Joker turned his head slightly, watching as Shepard became lost in thought. "You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"You've got that look on your face that basically asks why the hell you're still here."

Shepard chuffed and shook her head. "You'd think I'd be over it all by now. It's been what? Over a year since I woke up?"

"In your defense, you haven't exactly been able to sit down and take stock, Commander. You've pretty much been running since you were brought back."

"And that's what's got me worried, Joker."

"That you'll actually be able to get more than four hours of sleep, Commander?"

"Heaven forbid," Shepard smiled. "I'm worried that when I am finely able to take stock, I'll find some pieces missing. Or worse, things that weren't there before."

"In case you haven't looked in a mirror lately, Commander, you've got some stuff on your face that wasn't there before."

"Like the rest of my face?"

Joker shuddered, his face screwing up at her words. "Don't remind me, Commander. They had to show me vids to get me to believe it was actually you."

Shepard scrunched her nose at Joker. "You mean you saw naked pictures of me?"

"If by naked, Commander, you mean with out skin and most of your extremities; then yes. I have seen you naked." Joker screwed his face up in mock disgust. "No wonder Garrus likes you. You're the only one uglier than him naked."

"Gee, thanks, Joker. You really know how to make a girl feel good."

"Should I start complementing you on your fringe, now, Commander?"

Shepard fixed Joker with a look that would have left any other person quaking in their boots. "Joker..."

"It's not like no one knows, Commander."

"You and EDI have to be the biggest perverts on this ship."

Joker was almost offended. "Oh, please, Commander. You and Garrus are tame compared to the nasty shit I've seen."

"What does that mean?"

"Congratulations on popping Garrus' heat-sink."

Shepard couldn't hold the angry look on her face as she dissolved into a fit of giggles. "Damn you, Joker," she squeaked out between laughs.

"Normandy." A clipped voice came in over the comm, all humor evaporating from the cockpit. Three ships had just come out of FTL on their bow. The console showed they were the Agincourt, Leipzig and Trafalgar.

Joker took a steadying breath before he opened the channel. "Acknowledged SSV Agencourt. Normandy is standing down and ready to be boarded." Shepard stood and watched Joker make the necessary connections. Both waited in silence as the indicator turned green. Shepard clenched her jaw as she heard the response from the Agencourt. She gave Joker's shoulder one last squeeze, her stony facade nearly falling as he returned the gesture by grasping her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about us." She smiled down at Joker before she turned toward the CIC and took her place in front of the galaxy map. She could feel Kelly's concerned eyes on her. She gripped the railing so hard her knuckles turned white as she heard the air lock opening. She could hear their footsteps coming and forced down a sudden swell of anger. She would do no one any good if she lost it now. But she couldn't help but wonder if all her work were about to be negated by a cadre of ignorant bureaucrats.

"Commander Shepard." Shepard whipped her head up, meeting Admiral David Anderson's eyes. Beside him, stood Admiral Stephen Hackett. The presence of the two most decorated members of the Alliance Navy had her mind whirring. If the two of them were here, then the political shit-storm the destruction of the Alpha Relay had kicked up must have been huge. Big enough to get Anderson off of the Council and back into Alliance dress blues.

Shepard saluted the two and stepped off of the raised dais. More Alliance officers were filing into the Normandy, replacing the Cerberus staff at their stations. The two Admirals were about to lead her off of the ship, when a loud ripping sound came from her right. Kelly had ripped the Cerberus emblem off of her lapel and let it fall to the ground. The entire CIC was filled with the sound as one after another, the crew ripped their Cerberus emblems from their uniforms and dropped them to the ground.

Shepard knew they were showing their support for her, and she couldn't help the sad smile on her face as the last to tear the emblem off of his uniform was Joker. She saw the gold and black patch sitting on the floor next to his seat. She couldn't hear his response to the Alliance pilot there to replace him as she was ushered off of the Normandy and on to the Agencourt. Once on board, she was escorted directly to the brig. Neither Admiral said as single word the entire way, but she could see the pained look on Anderson's face. She handed over her amp and stepped into the cell, the barrier curtain shimmering between them almost instantly.

Hackett turned to her, his face as stony as her own. "I'm sorry," was all he said as he turned on his heel and left the cell. Behind him, another Admiral stood. Her features closely resembled Shepard's own, though her hair had gone silver years before.

"Mom," Shepard could barely manage a whisper as Admiral Shepard stepped up to the curtain. Shepard could see the agony on her mother's face, watching as her eyes traced the scarring scoring jagged lines down her left jaw to disappear beneath her collar. Shepard couldn't hold her mother's gaze and she lowered her head, finely letting so many years worth of tears roll down her face. She staggered back until her knees bumped against the bench and sunk down onto it.

She didn't hear the curtain come down, but her mother was there, wrapping her arms around her and rocking her gently back and forth as she let out years worth of frustration, anger and pain. Hannah Shepard didn't say a single word as she held her daughter. She had lost her once, and if things went poorly, she would lose her again to a fate worse than death. So, she just held her daughter close, thankful she had been given at least this one chance to see her baby before releasing her back into hell.