Lazarus Project: Mass Effect 2 (Shenko)

Chapter 2

Widow System/Serpent Nebula/Widow System/Citadel

Earth year: 2183 CE --- March

A week after the destruction of the Normandy, a small memorial service was set to be held on the Presidium. A private affair, that would honour the crew of the Normandy and the memory of the sacrifices made by her captain, Commander Shepard.

Those who gathered were subdued, overcome with grief, isolated from those around them. Although Anderson had approached each member of Shepard's' squad to say a few words for the service, none had volunteered. Anderson had been surprised by the depth of loss her crew displayed in response to her death. It was as though all of them refused to accept she was gone and by not speaking, it would ensure her return. That Shepard had garnered such loyalty, dedication and respect in people who'd only known her a short time astounded him.

His own heart was heavy over Shepard's death as he took his place among the rest of the Alliance personnel who had gathered to offer their condolences and respect for a fellow officer.

In his mind, the galaxy seemed so much emptier without her in it. But despite his grief he was more concerned for Alenko. The man had shown no sign of grief, sadness or anger. It was as though he'd become a statue, incapable of feeling anything. He could see Alenko from his position near the front of the room. He'd  shown up wearing crisply-pressed dress blues and though his appearance was professional, his eyes were empty and had left as soon as the service was over.

Anderson had tried talking to him a few days earlier, but Alenko hadn't responded any better than he had aboard the Agincourt. He'd gone through the motion of answering his questions, giving all the right responses, but Anderson knew Alenko was in trouble. The Lieutenant's behaviour had begun to scare him. In his present state of mind it was impossible to guess what he might do. Yet he'd passed his psych evaluation and had received a clean bill of health from every medical professional he'd been to see. Anderson didn't know how it was possible, but without proof Alenko was compromised, his hands were tied.

But he knew in his gut that Alenko wasn't fine. In fact, he wasn't sure he would ever be fine again.

-----Liara----

Liara felt numb as she sat surrounded by the crew of the Normandy and others who had assembled for Shepard's service. She was numb with grief, but not catatonic like Kaidan, she thought darkly.

Unlike everyone else here, she refused to accept Shepard was gone. The Alliance and the Council were appropriately upset by Shepard's death, but she was keenly aware of their sense of relief as well. She wasn't clear on their reasons, but as far as she could tell, neither the Alliance nor the Council had spent much, if any time, looking for Shepard's body.

She knew the Council had no desire to send ships into the Attican Traverse for any reason, least of all for a human soldier. And the Alliance had use the Battle of the Citadel to justify their position. That as a result of the losses suffered, they just didn't have the manpower or resources. Besides, she'd heard one Alliance officer say, she was just one woman and even if they found Shepard, it was just a body.

How they justified their own inaction made Liara's blood boil. On top of that was the unspoken agreement that announcing Shepard's death to the galaxy was not in their best interest. The less who knew the Saviour of the Citadel was dead, the better.

Even so, it didn't prevent the rumours that had begun to circulate over the loss of the Normandy. Secret or not, the destruction of the most advanced, most expensive warship in the Alliance fleet could not be kept from the public, especially after members of her crew had been spotted on the Citadel. Liara had just that day heard a news report done by that distasteful reporter, Khalisa, as she'd made her way to the memorial.

"The loss of the most advanced warship in the Alliance fleet has stunned the Citadel and the galaxy at large this week. Officially, the Alliance has declined to comment on what caused the ship to go missing. Several members of Normandy's crew have been unreachable. This reporter has been denied access to any crew member, stating that due to the Alliance's ongoing investigation, the crew has been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. This is Khalisa Bint Sinahn Al-Jilani for Westerlund News."

Liara glanced down, checking the time on her omni-tool for the tenth time in as many minutes. She didn't even want to be here, but out of respect for the crew and Shepard, she'd come. But she didn't share their grief or their sense of loss. With her mother gone, she was now the sole heir of everything her mother had amassed over her long lifespan. Using those resources, she'd made plans of her own to search for Shepard.

Even before they'd arrived on the Citadel, she'd made arrangements to have her mother's estate liquidated, the proceeds to be deposited into a secure account on Illium. By the time she reached the Citadel, she had already purchased a small office space and begun to compile a network of people she could use in her search for Shepard's body.

It had been the longest week of her life waiting for this service, she was practically crawling out of her skin in her anxiety to be gone. Glancing back at her omni-tool she stifled a growl of frustration. In less than an hour, she would be on her way to Illium. One of her contacts had already flagged a message that had been forwarded to her via an old friend from her University days. She was anxious to leave, even as she struggled to offer sincere condolences. Thankfully, no one had felt compelled to engage her in conversation and for that she was grateful, since it  would have been impossible to pretend she shared their feelings of loss.

If she had to endure one more empty, unfeeling offer of sympathy, she didn't trust herself to not tear the unlucky individual in half with her biotics. Sad music began to play and she looked up to see the rest of those gathered getting up and making their way out of the room.

Thank the goddess, she muttered to herself. Time to get out of here. Rising, she went for the door as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself. As she ducked through the doorway, she caught a glimpse of Kaidan. He was sitting ramrod straight in his chair, staring at the altar where someone had placed a holo of Shepard which was surrounded by a copious amount of floral arrangements. She felt a string of despair pluck her heart at the sight, but with an angry shake of her head, she squared her shoulders and marched into the hallway, turning her back on everything his posture represented.