Recovery
Author: Jordan
Title: Recovery
Rating: PG-13 for safety
Pairings/characters: Mass Effect 3 Main cast, Shepard/Cortez
Summary: Pretty much an alternate ending to Mass Effect 3 and ten years after the fact. Hastily written. Please forgive me. I needed a sweet ending to counteract the sour taste the ACTUAL endings gave. SPOILERS EVERYWHERE
Disclaimer: Everything is Bioware's. Don't sue because I'm not making money from this.
Ten years later, and the dreams still came. The details changed every now and then, showcasing comments, praises, and accusations from the many people he’d encountered, and ultimately failed, during his time as a member of the Alliance and as a Spectre. The people he encountered would always change- Ashley, Captain Kirrahe, Wrex, Mordin, Miranda, Kelly, that child back on Earth- but the end was always the same. A great red light would engulf that bleak forest before the world was purged in fire. And always-- always, it was precluded by the soul-rending call of the Reapers. He’d wake up in cold sweats, panicked, only to find himself in bed next to Steve. The two never discussed the nightmares, and if Shepard didn’t know his husband, he’d think the man was entirely unaware. The next morning, though, Steve would show more affection than usual, give silent affirmations of Shepard’s worth but never hint at where this came from. Shepard figured it out, but never called him on it.
The time after the fall of the Reapers was chaotic. The battle was costly for those fighting for survival, and the final push toward the beam cost so many lives, so many people that he’d never even met, all determined to get him to the Citadel. That was perhaps one of the hardest things for him to accept. Out of countless trillions of sentient lives, he was the one that mattered. Every single other person in the entire galaxy was depending on him to perform miracles, to save their species—their entire civilizations as a whole. It didn’t matter if the entire combined forces of the galaxy were wiped out, be they Batarian, Asari, Krogan, Quarian, or any other number of volunteers, none mattered more than him. What if he’d failed? What if the Reapers won, or the Illusive Man got what he wanted?
It was usually around this time that Steve would remind him that they didn’t fail. The price was high, but it was worth it because the clock kept ticking for them. The cycle was broken.
It didn’t stop him from thinking about that day, though. Earth in ruins, and an unrelenting opposition of indoctrinated creatures pushing to stop Hammer from reaching the Beam. The force was all but obliterated, Harbinger working with all its might to protect the location, but he still made it.
Waking up in a service tunnel, barely able to move.
Finding the Citadel piled with heaps of bodies of creatures from all walks of the galaxy higher than he was tall, tended to by the Keepers.
Killing the Illusive Man before he could do so to Admiral Anderson.
Finally activating the Crucible.
It was both assuring and terrifying at the same time. They knew it was a weapon, but its scale and what it would do was unknown to anyone. Energy began to run through the Citadel at levels Shepard couldn’t believe. The Citadel was technology created by the Reapers, as were the Mass Relays. When the Crucible fired, it unleashed a signal—anything based off of Reaper technology was shorted out. The Reapers, the relays, the Citadel—all of it came to a screeching halt as the chain reaction built up. The only reason Shepard didn’t join the dead was because Citadel life support was something added in by the asari and salarians.
Shepard and Anderson watched as the Reapers and Geth began to float aimlessly, soon to be trapped amongst the debris orbiting Earth. The indoctrinated simply fell where they stood, dead now that their cybernetics were damaged. Those who had merely fallen under Reaper influence went comatose. Shepard had thought about that day many times before experiencing it, wondering if he would celebrate, cry, or any of a thousand emotions. Instead, he sat next to Anderson, watching the ruined world below them revolve. He felt the man’s final breath escape him, and it wasn’t long afterward that he joined him in heading to the darkness.
However, it wasn’t meant to be. Shepard was eventually found with Anderson after the fleets managed to reopen the Citadel some time later. Over 44 kilometers were combed before Garrus and Tali discovered the halls of the now-deactivated Keepers and began sorting through the bodies. He spent the first year on Earth being treated in one of the few still-standing medical treatment facilities, recovering from his wounds. The only thing that saved him from Harbinger’s blast was the implants Cerberus had used to return him to life. It was about the only thing he had Cerberus to thank for.
Tali and Garrus visited him often. The fling they started began to mature, and the two actually fit together. Together they coordinated aid for each species and became ambassadors for their races on Earth, ensuring that respect was given and received by everyone working on getting back home. Tali’s boundless creativity and Garrus’ ingenuity became great assets to the effort, and were instrumental in making sure peace was maintained.
James Vega became an N7 after what remained of Alliance Command discovered he was part of Shepard’s crew. He returned to Los Angeles a week after Shepard was allowed visitors, but maintained communication with Shepard. He coordinated security and disposal of the cybernetic indoctrinated in Los Angeles, and was promoted to Major for his efforts in the conflict.
Samantha Traynor and Diana Allers became an item over time and visited often. Traynor became Hackett’s personal attaché, responsible for intelligence collected regarding the repair of the relays. Once a week, she would sit down with Shepard, and the two would play chess, while Diana sat by and tried not to spring an interview on him. It was three months after the visits became regular that he finally broached the subject. The interview was later added to a documentary on him that neither the Alliance News Network nor he approved of.
Liara became his confidante, and though the two weren’t bondmates, their shared experiences made them closer than he imagined initially. She maintained her duties as Shadow Broker, and ensured that the goodwill garnered during the Reaper invasion was maintained.
Joker and EDI also visited to lighten his day and update him on the goings-on of the outside world. The two always managed to make him smile no matter how bizarre the questions or subjects the two broached. Joker retired from the Alliance after Shepard revealed he wouldn’t be returning to the Normandy. EDI followed him, and the two became pilots for various non-combat missions.
Cortez rarely left the hospital, visiting him daily. The two had met only just after he was reinstated in the Alliance, but the time they spent became what he valued most. The man took everything in stride; when he was angry, happy, depressed, and everything in between. Cortez grounded him, made him feel safe. It was something he never experienced in his entire life. Cortez had been reassigned as a medevac pilot for the hospital after a near-violent altercation between his new commander, demanding him spend less time at the hospital.
Kaidan eventually found a stable relationship during the aftermath of the Reaper attack. Oddly enough, it was with Major Coats. The two coordinated commando assaults with the remaining Hammer forces and began working in strategic meetings together. They began to mesh, and left to Vancouver to sort out the survivors. Kaidan never did find his family.
He received many visitors during his time in the hospital, but they all soon began to peter away until only his companions from the Normandy were his visitors. A few days after he was discharged, they held a ceremony, honoring him and all those who contributed to the war effort. He received commendations from every race that participated in the assault, though their thanks felt somewhat hollow to him. He was running on steam by the time he was discharged, and by then, he no longer cared for any of it.
It was another two years of studying Prothean technology and the VI which informed him of the Catalyst before the Mass Relays were functional again, and a year after that before many of the intact ones were fully operational again. Tensions were high as study of the relays took place. Urdnot Wreav wished to begin his assault on Earth, but the situation was not one that could facilitate it. Every race had their eye on one another, and while old grudges started popping up once more, the united threat of each individual race was enough to keep each other in check.
When the relays were once again operational, the fleets began to return to their home worlds one by one. The Citadel was returned to the Serpent Nebula, and once again, it became the hub of galactic civilization. A memorial service was given there for their victory and for those lost to the Reapers.
Shepard didn’t go.
When galactic travel was possible once more, he formally resigned from both the Alliance and the Spectres. He had many favors owed him, but the only thing he wished for was to get away from it all. Everything. He and Cortez married the day after Shepard’s contract was over in the Alliance. He’d cut ties with the Spectres months before. The wedding was small and kept secret. Using their clout, the two left Earth for Eden Prime under assumed names, Steve to become a pilot and Shepard assisted in the rebuilding efforts there. There were bumps along the way, but the two managed to overcome.
After the Krogan DMZ was reopened, Urdnot Wreav attempted to restart the Krogan Rebellions, but the females of Tuchanka took a stand. They proved just as great of warriors that the males did, causing a civil war over the fate of their race. A female of Clan Urdnot managed to kill Wreav, effectively gaining control of Clan Urdnot, and the other clans by extension. The power shift was a rocky one, though tensions lowered between the Krogans and the rest of the galaxy.
After the actions of Mordin Solus and the Dalatress, the Salarians began to view their actions on Tuchanka in a different light. Though far from friends with the Krogans, the new Dalatress managed to reach out an olive branch to the new Krogan Chieftain. The offers for aid were never answered.
The Quarians retreated to Rannoch and began rebuilding their society, going so far as to create a memorial out of one of the larger Geth platforms for the AI for their aid in the battle for Earth. Though still wary of AI as a society, they began to strive to know what exactly drove the Geth toward their ambitions.
Thessia was never reclaimed. The Asari began to rebuild on Ilium by directorate of the Matriarchy. No asari wished to be on the world they allowed to fall so easily. There was nothing but death and shame that awaited them there.
After the end of the conflict, the Terminus was without a doubt controlled by Aria T’Loak. There had been several attempts at ending this stranglehold, all of which were met by immediate and harsh retribution. The Terminus became borderline anarchistic on worlds controlled by her mercenary armies, and she flourished because of it.
The Rachni queen returned to her colony’s former home world, never to be heard from again. Several months after all Rachni were confirmed to be beyond the relay, Krogan and Turian forces destroyed the relay leading to Rachni Space.
The Batarians—what remained of them—never left the Citadel. They lost themselves. They were a dying race, and none could even think of what state the Hegemony was in. Teams were sent out, but all findings were bleak. No Batarian was spared from the genocide.
Some days were increasingly difficult for Shepard. There were times when he couldn’t move from bed, when not even Steve could convince him that he’d done the right thing. But other days, when he walked the refurbished buildings of Eden Prime, saw life returning to the streets and remembered what it looked like those years ago. The first glimpse of what was to come. Saren, Nihlus, Sovereign, and all that followed. How life continued going, despite all of the tensions in the galaxy.
It was worth it.
Title: Recovery
Rating: PG-13 for safety
Pairings/characters: Mass Effect 3 Main cast, Shepard/Cortez
Summary: Pretty much an alternate ending to Mass Effect 3 and ten years after the fact. Hastily written. Please forgive me. I needed a sweet ending to counteract the sour taste the ACTUAL endings gave. SPOILERS EVERYWHERE
Disclaimer: Everything is Bioware's. Don't sue because I'm not making money from this.
Ten years later, and the dreams still came. The details changed every now and then, showcasing comments, praises, and accusations from the many people he’d encountered, and ultimately failed, during his time as a member of the Alliance and as a Spectre. The people he encountered would always change- Ashley, Captain Kirrahe, Wrex, Mordin, Miranda, Kelly, that child back on Earth- but the end was always the same. A great red light would engulf that bleak forest before the world was purged in fire. And always-- always, it was precluded by the soul-rending call of the Reapers. He’d wake up in cold sweats, panicked, only to find himself in bed next to Steve. The two never discussed the nightmares, and if Shepard didn’t know his husband, he’d think the man was entirely unaware. The next morning, though, Steve would show more affection than usual, give silent affirmations of Shepard’s worth but never hint at where this came from. Shepard figured it out, but never called him on it.
The time after the fall of the Reapers was chaotic. The battle was costly for those fighting for survival, and the final push toward the beam cost so many lives, so many people that he’d never even met, all determined to get him to the Citadel. That was perhaps one of the hardest things for him to accept. Out of countless trillions of sentient lives, he was the one that mattered. Every single other person in the entire galaxy was depending on him to perform miracles, to save their species—their entire civilizations as a whole. It didn’t matter if the entire combined forces of the galaxy were wiped out, be they Batarian, Asari, Krogan, Quarian, or any other number of volunteers, none mattered more than him. What if he’d failed? What if the Reapers won, or the Illusive Man got what he wanted?
It was usually around this time that Steve would remind him that they didn’t fail. The price was high, but it was worth it because the clock kept ticking for them. The cycle was broken.
It didn’t stop him from thinking about that day, though. Earth in ruins, and an unrelenting opposition of indoctrinated creatures pushing to stop Hammer from reaching the Beam. The force was all but obliterated, Harbinger working with all its might to protect the location, but he still made it.
Waking up in a service tunnel, barely able to move.
Finding the Citadel piled with heaps of bodies of creatures from all walks of the galaxy higher than he was tall, tended to by the Keepers.
Killing the Illusive Man before he could do so to Admiral Anderson.
Finally activating the Crucible.
It was both assuring and terrifying at the same time. They knew it was a weapon, but its scale and what it would do was unknown to anyone. Energy began to run through the Citadel at levels Shepard couldn’t believe. The Citadel was technology created by the Reapers, as were the Mass Relays. When the Crucible fired, it unleashed a signal—anything based off of Reaper technology was shorted out. The Reapers, the relays, the Citadel—all of it came to a screeching halt as the chain reaction built up. The only reason Shepard didn’t join the dead was because Citadel life support was something added in by the asari and salarians.
Shepard and Anderson watched as the Reapers and Geth began to float aimlessly, soon to be trapped amongst the debris orbiting Earth. The indoctrinated simply fell where they stood, dead now that their cybernetics were damaged. Those who had merely fallen under Reaper influence went comatose. Shepard had thought about that day many times before experiencing it, wondering if he would celebrate, cry, or any of a thousand emotions. Instead, he sat next to Anderson, watching the ruined world below them revolve. He felt the man’s final breath escape him, and it wasn’t long afterward that he joined him in heading to the darkness.
However, it wasn’t meant to be. Shepard was eventually found with Anderson after the fleets managed to reopen the Citadel some time later. Over 44 kilometers were combed before Garrus and Tali discovered the halls of the now-deactivated Keepers and began sorting through the bodies. He spent the first year on Earth being treated in one of the few still-standing medical treatment facilities, recovering from his wounds. The only thing that saved him from Harbinger’s blast was the implants Cerberus had used to return him to life. It was about the only thing he had Cerberus to thank for.
Tali and Garrus visited him often. The fling they started began to mature, and the two actually fit together. Together they coordinated aid for each species and became ambassadors for their races on Earth, ensuring that respect was given and received by everyone working on getting back home. Tali’s boundless creativity and Garrus’ ingenuity became great assets to the effort, and were instrumental in making sure peace was maintained.
James Vega became an N7 after what remained of Alliance Command discovered he was part of Shepard’s crew. He returned to Los Angeles a week after Shepard was allowed visitors, but maintained communication with Shepard. He coordinated security and disposal of the cybernetic indoctrinated in Los Angeles, and was promoted to Major for his efforts in the conflict.
Samantha Traynor and Diana Allers became an item over time and visited often. Traynor became Hackett’s personal attaché, responsible for intelligence collected regarding the repair of the relays. Once a week, she would sit down with Shepard, and the two would play chess, while Diana sat by and tried not to spring an interview on him. It was three months after the visits became regular that he finally broached the subject. The interview was later added to a documentary on him that neither the Alliance News Network nor he approved of.
Liara became his confidante, and though the two weren’t bondmates, their shared experiences made them closer than he imagined initially. She maintained her duties as Shadow Broker, and ensured that the goodwill garnered during the Reaper invasion was maintained.
Joker and EDI also visited to lighten his day and update him on the goings-on of the outside world. The two always managed to make him smile no matter how bizarre the questions or subjects the two broached. Joker retired from the Alliance after Shepard revealed he wouldn’t be returning to the Normandy. EDI followed him, and the two became pilots for various non-combat missions.
Cortez rarely left the hospital, visiting him daily. The two had met only just after he was reinstated in the Alliance, but the time they spent became what he valued most. The man took everything in stride; when he was angry, happy, depressed, and everything in between. Cortez grounded him, made him feel safe. It was something he never experienced in his entire life. Cortez had been reassigned as a medevac pilot for the hospital after a near-violent altercation between his new commander, demanding him spend less time at the hospital.
Kaidan eventually found a stable relationship during the aftermath of the Reaper attack. Oddly enough, it was with Major Coats. The two coordinated commando assaults with the remaining Hammer forces and began working in strategic meetings together. They began to mesh, and left to Vancouver to sort out the survivors. Kaidan never did find his family.
He received many visitors during his time in the hospital, but they all soon began to peter away until only his companions from the Normandy were his visitors. A few days after he was discharged, they held a ceremony, honoring him and all those who contributed to the war effort. He received commendations from every race that participated in the assault, though their thanks felt somewhat hollow to him. He was running on steam by the time he was discharged, and by then, he no longer cared for any of it.
It was another two years of studying Prothean technology and the VI which informed him of the Catalyst before the Mass Relays were functional again, and a year after that before many of the intact ones were fully operational again. Tensions were high as study of the relays took place. Urdnot Wreav wished to begin his assault on Earth, but the situation was not one that could facilitate it. Every race had their eye on one another, and while old grudges started popping up once more, the united threat of each individual race was enough to keep each other in check.
When the relays were once again operational, the fleets began to return to their home worlds one by one. The Citadel was returned to the Serpent Nebula, and once again, it became the hub of galactic civilization. A memorial service was given there for their victory and for those lost to the Reapers.
Shepard didn’t go.
When galactic travel was possible once more, he formally resigned from both the Alliance and the Spectres. He had many favors owed him, but the only thing he wished for was to get away from it all. Everything. He and Cortez married the day after Shepard’s contract was over in the Alliance. He’d cut ties with the Spectres months before. The wedding was small and kept secret. Using their clout, the two left Earth for Eden Prime under assumed names, Steve to become a pilot and Shepard assisted in the rebuilding efforts there. There were bumps along the way, but the two managed to overcome.
After the Krogan DMZ was reopened, Urdnot Wreav attempted to restart the Krogan Rebellions, but the females of Tuchanka took a stand. They proved just as great of warriors that the males did, causing a civil war over the fate of their race. A female of Clan Urdnot managed to kill Wreav, effectively gaining control of Clan Urdnot, and the other clans by extension. The power shift was a rocky one, though tensions lowered between the Krogans and the rest of the galaxy.
After the actions of Mordin Solus and the Dalatress, the Salarians began to view their actions on Tuchanka in a different light. Though far from friends with the Krogans, the new Dalatress managed to reach out an olive branch to the new Krogan Chieftain. The offers for aid were never answered.
The Quarians retreated to Rannoch and began rebuilding their society, going so far as to create a memorial out of one of the larger Geth platforms for the AI for their aid in the battle for Earth. Though still wary of AI as a society, they began to strive to know what exactly drove the Geth toward their ambitions.
Thessia was never reclaimed. The Asari began to rebuild on Ilium by directorate of the Matriarchy. No asari wished to be on the world they allowed to fall so easily. There was nothing but death and shame that awaited them there.
After the end of the conflict, the Terminus was without a doubt controlled by Aria T’Loak. There had been several attempts at ending this stranglehold, all of which were met by immediate and harsh retribution. The Terminus became borderline anarchistic on worlds controlled by her mercenary armies, and she flourished because of it.
The Rachni queen returned to her colony’s former home world, never to be heard from again. Several months after all Rachni were confirmed to be beyond the relay, Krogan and Turian forces destroyed the relay leading to Rachni Space.
The Batarians—what remained of them—never left the Citadel. They lost themselves. They were a dying race, and none could even think of what state the Hegemony was in. Teams were sent out, but all findings were bleak. No Batarian was spared from the genocide.
Some days were increasingly difficult for Shepard. There were times when he couldn’t move from bed, when not even Steve could convince him that he’d done the right thing. But other days, when he walked the refurbished buildings of Eden Prime, saw life returning to the streets and remembered what it looked like those years ago. The first glimpse of what was to come. Saren, Nihlus, Sovereign, and all that followed. How life continued going, despite all of the tensions in the galaxy.
It was worth it.