Salvation: Episode I - The Taking of the Carmenta Illustria

Disclaimer: This fan-fiction is part of an episodic series taking place after Salvation: A Half-Life/Mass Effect Universe Fan Fiction, which will lead directly to its sequel, Salvation II: Project Prometheus. These episodes and sequel take place OUTSIDE of the Mass Effect 3 continuity. Characters property of their respective companies, Half-Life created by Valve and Mass Effect created by Bioware.

Chapter 3: The Captain's Table (Part II) 

A Hero's Introduction

"Wait just a minute!" A woman's voice suddenly spurned, as the four stood convened at the head of the table.

The rest of the crew either turned around in their seats, or looked up to see the brash Cameron McClane rushing up to the table, in a huff.

"Oi... Her again..." Tali uttered with disdain.

"Miss, I told you. You can't be here... What do y..."

"I'm sorry, Captain!" She quickly exclaimed, cutting him off. "But I need to get something straight here..."

She rushed up to Gordon, and quickly eyed him from top to bottom with the same percipient eye he had gotten a few moments ago.

"Are you saying that you are THEE Gordon Freeman?!" She demanded, as she pointed a finger in his face. "The One Free Man... The Opener of the Way... Anti-Freakin-Citizen One? THAT Gordon Freeman?!"  

"Miss..." Shepard sternly interjected, crossing his arms, and furrowing his brow in an intimidating fashion. "Just how the hell did you hear us from way over there...?"

The inquiry quickly drew her eyes wide open, as she pursed her lips with an "uh-oh" expression on her face.

"Uhm.... Well I... You See..." She turned to Shepard and began muttering nervously, after she realized she blundered. "I.... Just overheard, that's all."

"Bull!" Shepard refuted angrily. "I saw where you came from. There's no way you could've heard us..."

"Shepard." Garrus chimed in, as Cameron looked around nervously, hoping to miraculously pull some answer out of the air, to appease the aggravated Commander with.

"Check under the table where she was standing." He instructed, as he motioned with his head.

"No wait!"

The Commander slouched over, and ran his fingers underneath the corner of the table. As he did so, he found a small, circle shaped protrusion, and quickly peeled it off, before bringing it out.

"A bug..." He affirmed, as he examined it – rotating the small transmitter around in his fingers.

"Alright, lady..." He angrily began, as he slammed his opened palm hands down on the table hard, likely crushing the small device on impact. "Just who the hell are you, and why the hell are you spying on us?"

"Yes, and I suggest you talk fast..." Miranda demanded, as she took a commanding step forward, and raised a fist, engulfed in a blue, biotic flame.

"Umm..." Cameron groaned nervously, as she stepped back, and put her hands up, at her sides. "Okay, look... I'm a reporter for Westerlund News..."

The instant she said it, Shepard's entire crew slouched down in their chairs, rolled their eyes, and began an unpleasant symphony of annoyed moans and groans. The blue flame around Miranda's fist quickly faded, as she too rolled her eyes, scoffed under her breath, and turned away.

"I-I was booked on this ship to try and get the inside scoop of how you and your team stopped the Reapers!" She said to Shepard. "I mean this is the story of the century! And you've hardly given any statements at all, since your speech on Earth!"

"B-Bu-But now I find out that you might be Gordon Freeman!" She continued on, in a fast-talking, ecstatic rant, as she turned back to face the Doctor. "The Legendary Free Man himself! Alive and well, here in the twenty-second century! And that you're the reason contact was once again made with the vortigaunts. AND That you're part of the team that stopped the Reapers! Commander Shepard AND Gordon Freeman! This is... This is big! This is huge! This is the biggest story of all time! And it's mine!"

"Someone get this woman a towel..." Jacob said mockingly, causing the entire table to laugh out loud, as he sat reclined in his seat, with the back of his head resting on his clasped hands.

Completely unfazed by their ridicule, she quickly materialized the omni-tool on her hand, and continued on with her hysterical bombardment of inquiries.

"Tell me! H-how did it happen? How did you survive?!" She demanded anxiously, as she held her omni-tool up to Gordon's face, like a microphone.

The stunned Dr. Freeman reeled his head back a bit, completely taken by surprise at this woman's incessant interest in him.

"Who put you into stasis? What really happened in that final battle with the Combine? What proof do you have?! Please! Give me something!" She begged.


"Uh, hey! Wait a minute!" Gordon pleaded, putting two hands out in front of him to try and quell this assault of question. "Listen, I'm not looking for any sort of undue fame..." He assured sincerely. "I'm just a physicist from Seattle... I didn't ask for any titles or appellations... Yes, I am Gordon Freeman. No, I don't have any proof of it. But I'm not asking you to believe me. So believe what you want... I don't see what the big deal is..."

"Well said." Miranda firmly acknowledged, from her place at his side.

"Now if you would kindly lea..."

"Don't see the big deal?!" The exuberant reporter erupted again, cutting Miranda off, and causing her to ball her hands into tight fists, to match the angry sneer on her face.

As the half-crazed woman continued, she never noticed Captain Ryback signaling over one of the nearby Security Officers, standing at his station near one of the exits.

"Don't you know who you are?! Or who you're claiming to be?! You're the biggest figure in human history! There are folk songs about you!"

"Folk songs...?" Gordon uttered, with a skeptic look.

"Yes!" The fanatic young lady continued, as the Turian Security Officer stoically arrived at her side, with his hands behind his back. "And there are books, and movies, and documentaries! For god's sakes, you were canonized into Sainthood by the Catholic Church early this century!"

"Sainthood?!" He beckoned in shock, opening his eyes wide.

"Is this woman being a bother to you, Captain?" The steadfast officer questioned.

"Yes." Captain Ryback acknowledged, as he sat back down in his seat. "Would you kindly eject her from the dining hall for the remainder of the evening. Thank you, sir..."

"Yes, sir!" The officer submitted, with a quick salute.

"Come along, Miss..." He ordered in a calm, yet firm tone, as he placed his hand on her shoulders and pulled back.

"No, no, wait!" She pleaded, as she slowly began to get carted away. "Dr. Freeman, Commander! Please, just one statement! I really need this story! This is my big break!"

"Here, take this with you!" Shepard shouted, tossing the tiny, crushed transmitter at the woman, who caught it in her cupped hands.

"You didn't have to break it, these are expensive, you know!" She yelled back, as she was dragged towards the exit. "And they come out of my salary! Ouch! Easy on the dress, you glorified rent-a-cop, You don't have to..." Her gripes and complaints could still be heard, before being drowned out by the music, and the crowd.  

"Someone should definitely tell that woman to switch to decaff..." The Captain said jokingly, causing Shepard's crew to laugh out, mildly – possibly out of nothing more than respect.

"Obviously suffering from over anxiety..." Mordin supplemented, from his seat at the far end of the table, besides Grunt. "Would personally recommend relaxant, or mild sedative... In-depth psychological evaluation may also prove fruitful..."

Gordon stood silently, still at the head of the table - his lips cracked open, and a blank, contemplative stare on his face... The type of pensive gaze one might get, after having just been told they were adopted.

Miranda placed a gentle hand onto his shoulder, suddenly snapping him back to reality. He turned to look at her, and with a warm smile she nudged him over, and motioned for them to retreat to their seats. The dumbfounded look in his eyes faded momentarily, as he smiled back, and they withdrew from the head of the table.

"Well it's definitely been an interesting night, so far..." Ryback stated, shaking his head, with a bit of an exasperated sigh. "But let's see if we can't salvage the rest of the evening, and have ourselves a good dinner... Are there many more of your crew coming, Commander?"

Uh, no... I think that's everybody." Shepard affirmed, as he leaned forward in his seat, and took a quick glance down the two rows of his squad, lining both sides of the table.

The Captain took his place of importance, at the head of his eponymous table. Commander Shepard sat directly at his right hand side, and Jeff Moreau, on his left. Down the right hand side of the table; Tali sat beside John, Garrus beside her, the corpulent Grunt beside him, with Mordin occupying the last seat, on the far end. Along the left hand side, Jacob filled the chair beside Joker, as Gordon took the empty seat next to him, with Miranda at his side, while their amicable geth team mate already occupied the final seat, across from Mordin, beside her.

"I also had another human biotic, a drell assassin, and an Asari Justicar on my team..." Shepard explained to the Captain. "But Jack, and Thane, the human and the drell, decided to stay back on Earth together..."

"Talk about your all time odd couples, eh Commander?" Joker suggested, with the makings of a scoff in his voice.

"I think it's cute." Tali added. "And I hope they find happiness together... I know they both need it."

Shepard nodded in agreement, before continuing. "...And with the mission over, Samara, our Justicar, went back to her sworn duties..." He said, giving a quick, disappointed shrug of his shoulders. "I tried to convince her to keep her vow of s...ubsumation... or whatever she called it, to me a while longer, so she could enjoy this with us. But she'd hear nothing of it..."

"Ah..." Ryback uttered, raising his eyebrows, and nodding his head in an understanding fashion. "Well that is a pity. I would have loved to have met them all...  But!" He said out jovially, as he sat up in his chair, with an eager smile on his face. "While I have all of you here, why don't we go ahead an order. I'm sure we're all starving."

The Captain summoned a small, holographic panel on the left corner of his table; selecting an option to call for service.

As Miranda and most of the others scanned through their menus, Gordon sat with a reflective countenance - his eyes batted back and forth a bit, starring blankly into space. Quite literally in fact. He starred off into the abyss right outside the towering panoramic window before him, behind the right hand row of combatants.

"Heh, what's the matter, Freeman?" Garrus questioned, with a bit of a concerned chuckle, lowering his menu from his place directly across the table from the physicist. "You look spooked..."

"What's wrong...?" Miranda questioned worriedly, as she too glanced over and noticed the disbelief reflected in his eyes.

"Huh...?" A distracted Gordon replied, as he snapped back again, to see the worried eyes on him. "Oh... No, nothing... I was just... Just thinking about what that woman said... She wasn't serious, was she...?"

"What? You mean about there being movies, and books and such about you?" Miranda asked.

"No..." Gordon replied, furrowing his brow a bit. "That much I knew there was to an extent... But she said people sang songs about me..." He continued, shaking his doubtingly. "That... That I was canonized into Sainthood...?!" He beckoned in shock, garnering the attention of those around him, as he looked back and forth between Garrus, and Miranda.

"That can't be true, can it...?"

"You're asking the wrong person, Freeman. I ain't human..." Garrus cheerfully rebutted, shaking his head, and putting his hands up.

"Well, actually..." Shepard interjected, as he leaned forward in his seat. "You know, there's an old saying that goes 'there's never an atheist in a foxhole...' And I've been in a lot of foxholes... Now although I will admit that I'm not the most spiritual person, I have heard the name Saint Gordon thrown around from time to time... Not sure if it was you, though..."

"No, it's him." Jacob quickly added to the conversation, nodding confidently. "It's true. Saint Gordon... He's the uh..." The operative lightly snapped his fingers, in an attempt to jog his memory.  " ...The Patron Saint of impossible situations, and overwhelming odds..."

Gordon raised his eyebrows in wide-eyed shock, as Jacob's statement only exacerbated his stunned expression.

"Yeah, there's that'uhm... That famous stained glass window of him, in that Cathedral, in White Forest..." Jacob continued. "Or at least there was... It was probably destroyed in the Reaper attack..."

"I know the Cathedral." The Captain affirmed, as he sat back with one arm crossed, and a finger pointed out in front of him. "St. Gordon's, on Magnusson Boulevard. One of my nieces was married there, recently."

"This is too much..." Gordon said with an exasperated laugh, as he leaned back in his chair, with a flush look on his face.

"You were humanity's White Knight..." Miranda assured in a tender tone, as Gordon looked over at her. "Anyone who ever aspired to be a hero, did so by modeling themselves after you..."

"Listen to her, Gordon..." Shepard added, with a wink, just as a team of two asari waitresses, supplemented by one salarian waiter arrived. "You make one hell of a role model..."  

Gordon grinned, and his chest jolted with a suppressed laugh, as he lightly shook his head.

"Are we ready to order?" A cheery voice from one of the waitresses beckoned, as she came to stand behind Gordon and Miranda, while her co-workers tended to the others.

"Oh, uh..." He uttered, as he quickly picked up the menu and skimmed through it for the first time. "Yeah, just a sec... I could use a good meal."

The menu was about the size of a standard datapad, although nearly paper thin. As a person scanned through the menu, they'd find various selections of wines, beverages, deserts, appetizers, and dinner courses from every conceivable origin in the galaxy. Each accompanied by small, interactive notations such as preparation previews, culinary origins, and additional nutritionary information.

"I'll have the grilled zehk'reth, with the narja glaze." Garrus affirmed.

"I'll take the braised lamb, with popcorn sweetbreads, and rosemary garden peas." Miranda added.

"Let me have the smoked beef tenderloin, with the housemade bacon and Yukon potatoes."

"I'll have the same thing." Shepard and Jacob both ordered.

"Gimme the grilled Halibut." Joker requested.

Gordon quickly browsed through the menu, as his teammates placed their orders around him. A lot of the Earthly favorites sounded absolutely delicious, but tonight, he was feeling adventurous.

"Hmm..." He hummed to himself. "I think I'll have the Khur... Khurgaresh..." He decided.

"Bold choice, sir!" The asari affirmed, as she took his menu from him.

"Hah!" Grunt's bellowing laugh suddenly rang out, from his place a few seats down. "I knew you had a quad, Freeman! Bring me the same thing." He demanded, as he turned and looked up at the waitress.

"Are you sure you want that...? That's a krogan dish..." Miranda informed in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, why not?" He asked, shrugging his shoulders with a confident nod. "It's about time I start trying new things."

"It's got a bit of a kick to it..." She cautioned, with a dubious expression.

"Eh... I don't really mind spicy foods."

"Uh... Is there... Is there something you would like, Sir...? Ma'am...?" The salarian waiter timidly questioned, as Legion looked up at him, studying his person.

"We are Geth." Legion's oscillating voice retorted. "We are a gestalt consciousness, comprised of precisely one-thousand one-hundred eighty three separate geth programs, contained within a single unique mobile platform. The concept of male and female genders has no significance to us. And we do not require the same sustenance needed by organics to survive and function."

"Uh... so, nothing for you then...?"

Legion sat silently for a moment. "Negative." He eventually answered. "Our orders are to 'just sit there, or something'. We are building a consensus on 'or something.'"

The salarian waiter forced a polite smile, simply nodding his head, as he slowly turned away.

"Do you offer meals in sterilized elutriation dispensers, for quarians?" Tali inquired, still skimming through her menu.

"Yes ma'am!" The tending asari affirmed, assuredly. "Virtually all our menu items are available for S-E-D preparation. With the rare exception of a few which must be ordered several hours before hand. Each order is triple filtered and prepared in our own state-of-the-art clean room kitchen."

"Oh, good!" Tali exclaimed happily. "Can I get the Rasi Vel Cuam?"

"One S-E-D prepared Rasi Vel Cuam, coming right up!" The waitress acknowledged, as she marked the order down on her datapad.

All around the table, the Commander's intrepid crew continued to place their orders, and hand in their menus – making light, jovial conversation amongst themselves as they did so. But one among them, the one donned in a pristine white Captain's uniform, kept a silent mouth, and a contemplative eye, as he studied the bearded physicist chatting with his new found, porcelain skinned love interest.

"Dr. Freeman..." Ryback began, breaking his silence – his deep, rugged voice resonating across the table, coercing the crew to stop and turn to him. "Gordon Freeman..." He enunciated, with a pronounced, disbelieving sigh, as he lightly shook his head.

"I'm still finding it hard to believe..." He continued, as the waiters left to fulfill the orders. "So you were actually there, during the Earth Rebellion...? You fought against the Combine...?"

A respectful silence crept in over the table – and the light almost seemed to dim on the rest of Shepard's crew, obscuring them into the background, and leaving only the Doctor and the Captain prominent.

"Uh, ahem..." Gordon stuttered a bit, as he cleared his throat. "Y-yes sir... I did..."

"What was it like?"

"E-excuse me...?" Gordon questioned, not sure he understood.

"You know, the Rebellion. The war with the Combine..." Ryback beckoned, with considerable more urgency, as he raised his hands in front of him, and shrugged his shoulders. "What was it like...?"

"Uh..." Gordon struggled to respond. He turned his gaze away, and did his best to search for the right words, as his eyes flickered a bit.

The memories flashed in his mind like a slide show. Coming to him in rapid fire flashbacks, one after another, and at the same time, all at once... The Anti-Mass Spectrometer. The breach at Black Mesa. Waking up in a world ravaged by war. And fighting to save a ruined Earth, and those in it... Only to be taken away from it once more. It all seemed to blend together into one harrowing collage.

"It's strange..." Gordon began calmly, as he looked back up at the Captain. "It's as if... I want to always remember. And at the same time, I'm trying desperately to forget."

Everyone at the table paid the utmost attention, as they were suddenly captivated.

"I don't know, sir..." He continued, bowing his head a bit. "You're asking me to describe it. And... I'm not sure I know how... All I can say is one day, you're living a normal life... And in one brief, TINY moment... In the blink of an eye......"

Gordon stopped, as he reflected. "Gordon! Get away from there!" "Shutting down! Attempting shut down! It's not... It's not shutting down!"

"All you can see is death..."

A shiver rattled John Shepard's spine, as he listened. He could feel the cooling sensation of the goosebumps forming under his sleeves. And he knew the feeling Gordon was describing only too well...

"One minute, you see the world as it is... Then all of a sudden, you see a world... A world without color. All you see is ashes, and dust... Charred bodies in the streets... Human beings rotting away in sewers... People being systematically slaughtered. And turned into something... Horrible..."

Gordon cringed his eyes, and shuddered – the chill rattling his teeth.

"I saw countless people die, right before my eyes..." He continued, keeping his head bowed. "Good, innocent people who didn't deserve to die..." He slowly looked up and glanced around the table. "People who I was helpless to save..."

"All that stuff about me being a hero..." He said, solemnly shaking his head. "That's not true... I was never trying to be a hero. I was just trying to do what I had to do... What they needed me to do..."

"That's what a hero does, Dr. Freeman." Shepard asserted, with a gleam of admiration in his eye. "It's like I told you – extraordinary things at extraordinary times... We didn't ask for this. None of us did... We didn't choose this, and we weren't chosen... We do what we do because we're the only ones that can..."

"Hmph..." Gordon laughed under his breath. "Profound words as always, Commander." He smiled back, reciprocating a mutual amount of admiration and respect. "You might be right..."

The Doctor and The Commander... They always seemed to share a deep respect for one another - considering the other's deeds and accomplishments far greater than their own. Perhaps it was because they were the same type of person. A higher echelon of hero. Different incarnations of the same force. Separate saviors, to the same ends...

"You're all heroes." Captain Ryback put forth, looking around at the faces at his table. "Every last one of you... And you know what?" He asked, as he pointed towards Gordon. "Whether you are, or you're not the real Gordon Freeman, the fact that you are a member of this man's crew." He said, proudly pointing a hand towards Shepard. "And part of the team that stopped those ungodly machines. Well, it doesn't get any more heroic than that... Learn to give yourself some credit, son."

He gave Gordon a firm nod, just as the team of waiters returned, each carrying a number of large, round trays and bringing with them the heavenly, mouth watering aroma, of only the finest cuisine.

"But enough about that. What say we eat, huh!?"

The team of waiters quickly spread out, and immediately went to work like a race car pit crew, laying down small, portable tables to hold the large trays, as they dispersed the meals.

"Your braised lamb, ma'am."

"Here you are, sir. Grilled zehk'reth."

"Your beef tenderloin, Commander."

"Mmm... This smells delicious!"

"Who had the halibut?"

"Right here!"

"Oh, that looks pretty good. I think I should've gotten that."

The voices of the crew blended and intertwined around the table, as their meals arrived in front of them. What an unusual sight. A team of highly skilled, highly trained combatants, sitting down to a fancy meal, on board a luxury cruise liner. There was a time when this would've been the furthest thing on any of their minds... "Will I be alive tomorrow?" Was the main thought that would haunt them. "Will this ever end...?"

But now, as the savory, beguiling aroma from his meal floated up to him from his plate, Commander Shepard looked over his crew. Even though he couldn't help the mournful feeling he got every time he thought about the millions that had been lost on Earth – at that moment, what he felt more than anything else was pride...

"Enjoy it guys..." He thought to himself, as he picked up a knife and fork – finding himself helpless to resist the meticulously prepared dinner before him any longer. "You deserve it."

"Here you are sir, your khurgaresh." The asari waitress announced, as she set a steaming plate down in front of Gordon. However, one might say it was fuming more than it was steaming...

"Oh... Uh..." Gordon uttered, as he examined his meal. "Ahem, well... This looks... Ahem... interesting..." He said, clearing his throat, which was tickled by the overpowering pungence.

The entree was some sort of brown, viscous, globular mound. It looked exotic to say the least, but it wasn't offensive in presentation, and surely palatable... It was lightly drizzled with a reddish glaze, on a bed of tiny morsels that looked almost like white rice, and lightly garnished with tiny leaves of exotic fauna. But that aroma...! It actually caused the Doctor's eyes to water.

"Mmm-Omm..." Grunt growled pleasurably, as he chomped down on a sizable portion of his own dinner.

Gordon cut through the khurgaresh with his fork, separating a small piece, which he then scooped up. With a quick exhalation, while thinking "Here goes nothing." He opened wide and brought it in.

"Argh! Ughhh!" He coughed, and gagged, clutching his throat with his hand, after taking his first bite. He immediately snatched up his napkin, and drew it over his mouth – coughing wildly into it, as his eyes watered, and his face began to turn red.

"Are you alright...?" Miranda asked worriedly, however with marked traces of a snicker in her voice, as she patted his back.

"Mmmph... Mmmhmmm!" He gave a muffled reply, into his napkin, with a reassuring nod, and red, watery eyes, as his coughing slowly dissipated.

"Argh... Ahem... Uhm... Well..." He began with a throaty voice, and a series of gravelly groans - still trying to get over the burning in his throat, as he lowered his napkin and raised his wine glass for a drink.

"I told you it was strong..." Miranda reprised, shaking her head, with a sympathetic smile.

"Mmm..." Gordon mumbled through his glass, shaking his head a bit, as he drank.

"No, it's not that..." He responded, as he lowered his glass. "It's just...Well, it tastes more... Acidic than I expected... It's like biting into a battery!"

"Hah! It's good, ain't it?" Grunt heartily asserted, pointing his fork at Freeman, as he chewed. "But it takes a little getting used to."

"Here!" He offered, as he raised a bottle towards Gordon. "Wash it down with a little of this. Ryncol. The best on Tuchanka!"

"Uhh..." Gordon uttered ambivalently, reluctant to take anything else of krogan conception. Suddenly, he felt a poke at his thigh, coaxing him to turn to the culprit Miranda, who warned against it with a subtle yet distinctive shake of her head.  

"N...o, that's okay..." He politely declined.

"Suit yourself." Grunt remarked indifferently, as he shrugged his shoulders, and pulled back the Ryncol. "More for me." He leaned back, raised the bottle, and gulped down a satisfying swig.  

Gordon looked back down at his meal with a grimace, and reluctantly prodded at it with his fork, like someone poking a dead animal with a stick to make sure it was dead.

"Sir..." The asari waitress that had just served him leaned over his shoulder, after noticing the obvious dissatisfaction with his chosen selection. "If you'd like, I can bring you something else..."

"Oh, could you?!" Gordon practically jumped at the suggestion.

"Absolutely!" She assured. "Might I recommend the brasciloe? It's a tender beef roll, stuffed with veal, prosciutto, parmesan, and provolone cheeses, topped with a delicate white wine sauce, mushrooms, and green peppers... It's one of our most popular human dishes."

"Heh, that'd be just fine..." Gordon conceited with a laugh. "I think I'll stick to human food for a while."

"Very good, sir!" She quickly marked it down on her datapad, and took up his severed meal, before turning and briskly walking away.

Tali quickly unraveled the small, but thick hose, wrapped around the large, metallic container in front of her. A few indicator lights, and holographic displays gleamed on the top; exhibiting readouts such as SED contents, internal temperature, and contaminant levels – which at the moment, showed a bright green "0%".

"What is that...?" Garrus questioned curiously, when he turned to notice the strange contraption in front of Tali, before he could bring the piece of grilled zehk'reth at the end of his fork, up to his mouth.  

"What, this?" She asked, holding the small hose up, as she turned to him. "You've never seen an S-E-D before?"

"No... I can't say that I have."

"Oh..." Tali continued, somewhat surprised. "Well, like I said, it's an S-E-D. A sterilized elutriation dispenser. It filters, and sterilizes food, and feeds it through this tube, to my helmet's induction port." She explained, as she pointed to her faceplate's flashing mouthpiece. "It's so we can eat without having to take our suits off..."

"And sometimes it's nice to have something that isn't intravenously fed to you..." She remarked, sarcastically.

"Oh, is that what it is?" Garrus responded, with a tinge of indiscernible cynicism in his voice.  "An S-E-D... Hmm..." He paused for a moment to feign interest.

"Just kinda looks like a straw to me..."

Tali turned, and glared at him, just before she could connect her S-E-D's tube, to the now opened induction port on the lower portion of her faceplate.

"No..." She rebutted in an annoyed tone. "I told you, it's an S-E-D..."

"If you say so..." He remarked, snidely yet jokingly - shrugging his shoulders, as he nonchalantly went back to his meal.

"You know, I have a shotg... Oh..." Tali began, before stopping herself mid-sentence. "Wait... I guess I don't... Well, either way, I CAN hurt you..." She assured, as she waved a finger at Garrus, before finally connecting the tube to her mask.

The small device hummed softly, as it began a sophisticated internal process, of sterilizing the meal, filtering it, and finally dispensing it, ready to enjoy.

"Hey, Shepard, don't just sit there..." Garrus entreated, as he leaned forward, looking towards the Commander, who was conversing with the Captain. "She's threatening to shoot me again, you know..."

"I'm sure you have it coming, Garrus..." The Commander stated, paying little mind to the pretense panicked turian.

"Yeah, but that's beside the point!"

"Hehe..." The Captain chuckled at the merriment of those at his table, as held the prime cut of meat on his plate down with his fork, and cut through it was his knife. "So tell me, Commander. What are the vortigaunts like? Are they as peaceful as history says?"

"Oh, definitely." Shepard replied, without qualm. "Very peaceful... And very intelligent."

"Yeah, and they're also tough as nails..." Jacob added to the conversation. "They can be amazing fighters when they have to be."

Shepard nodded in response, as he swallowed down a bite.

"Would you believe they're also incredible chefs?" He asked as he sliced away at another piece.  

"Oh?"

"Yeah, when we first arrived on Xen, they invited us to a feast... They served us headcrabs... Barnacles... Antlions... And god knows what else..."

The Captain sneered his face at what was surely a disgusting buffet, as the Commander told his tale.

"I know it sounds weird..." Shepard continued. "I was skeptical at first too, but I didn't want to insult them... So when I tried their food, I was amazed... I mean it was... fantastic!"

"Really??" Captain Ryback opened his eyes wide, in disbelief, at the surprising revelation.

"Yeah, it sure was..." Jacob augmented on Shepard's behalf. "You know, we definitely gotta go back sometime, Commander... Good eats..."

Shepard chuckled with a mouthful.

"And wh-what about that... weapon of theirs..." Ryback inquired, changing the subject. "That Arch... or Arc... or whatever they're calling it on the news. The thing you used to kill all the Reapers. What is that, exactly? How does it work?"

"Uh..." Shepard uttered at a loss, as he struggled to respond. "Well I'm afraid I can't tell you much. All I know is that it's a weapon... As far as how it works..." He turned, and looked down the table. "You'd have to either ask Mordin or Dr. Freeman..."

"Dr. Freeman!" He called out, just as the waitress returned with his meal. Gordon being the closer of the two scientists.

"Thank you..." He quickly conveyed to the waitress, in a soft spoken tone, as she laid a steaming hot plate down in front of him, before he turned his attention up to the Commander.

"...Yeah?"

"Captain Ryback wants to know how the vort's weapon works..." Shepard informed, pointing his thumb towards Ryback.

"Oh! Well, it's a... It's a resonance weapon." Gordon began to explain, suddenly finding himself in a situation more his element. "Basically, a Quantum Disruptor. You see, every object in matter has a set harmonic resonance. And when two objects are tuned to the same resonant frequencies, entangled if you will, changing the quantum state of one of the objects, will always have the reverse effect on it's entangled counter-part, regardless of the distance between the objects."

"When we activated the vortigaunt's machine, the quantum fluctuation effectively disrupted all the Reapers' energy signatures, causing a complete sub-molecular collapse..."

Gordon observed Captain Ryback's perplexed expression, as he listened, struggling to understand, however most likely failing.

"Hmm..." The lecturing physicist uttered to himself, as he took a brief look around. "Oh, take this, for example!" He urged enthusiastically, as he spotted his nearly empty wine glass, and held it up.

"Now I'm sure you've heard how some opera singers can shatter glass with their voices..." He explained. "This works on a similar principle. The resonance of the glass is matched, and exceeded by that of the resonator... The singer's voice...."

Ding! The glass' melodious chime reverberated across the table, as he lightly tapped the tip of his knife against it.

"When the frequency of the resonator matches the natural resonance of the glass, it will begin to vibrate... However, when the frequencies begin to exceed the resonance of the glass, it'll vibrate more and more, until the sub-molecular structure will begin to break apart, thus resulting in the glass shattering..."

"Of course, the vortigaunt's machine is much more complex than that makes it sound..." He continued, as he lowered the glass. "It works off of quantum wavelength fluctuations instead of sound frequencies, but the end result is pretty much the same..." He grinned, and shrugged his shoulders. "Shattered Reapers..."

"Ah, interesting!" Captain Ryback eagerly admitted. "What a fascinating little presentation, Mr. Freeman, er... Doctor Freeman..."

Gordon smiled, and bowed his head in thanks.

"Wasn't as easy as flipping on a light switch, I take..." The Captain queried, as he looked back at the Commander. "I heard all of you ran into quite a bit of trouble there... And your scars all the say the same thing..."

An exasperated expression washed over Shepard's face, as he nodded slowly. "Well, Captain... Therein lies the real story..."

As the evening drifted on towards the twilight hours, the heavenly bodies of the cosmos painted a celestial nocturne outside the towering windows. A sensation of victory teemed across the table, as the proud crew of the SR-2 Normandy began to depict their triumphant tales. Back and forth they went, telling of Reapers and Vorcha... Eezo Cores, and control rooms, as they partook in a dinner fit for conquering heroes...

"It truly was our greatest of battles!" Grunt bellowed, as he spun his rendition of their battle. "I killed many vorcha, but their numbers were unyielding. By the dozens they came! By the hundreds! But one by one, I plowed through them like a true krogan, worthy of the warlord blood that courses through me! In the end it was them that ran like the vermin they are, while we stood against the rising of the tide!"

***

"So there we were..." Jacob said, dashing his hands out in front of him, as he attempted to paint a picture with his gestures. "Weaving our way around the back of the vortigaunt village. We were outnumbered, but we were advancing. That's when that big ugly mother just showed up, outta nowhere... So naturally I know this is gonna be a problem..."

***

"Knew Reaper's intentions were obviously hostile..." Mordin explained. "However mission came first... Had to advance..." He stopped, and took a deep breath. "Despite it's presence, Reaper showed no marked signs of belligerence at first... Hostility came later... Granted the opportunity to test new neural shock mine... Quite effective."

***

"As the old machine prepared to discharge its primary weapon, we acknowledged an expeditious retreat was necessary..." Legion's reverberant voice declared, as he focused his optics down the other end of the table. "But we miscalculated the surface density of the soil around the excavated tunnel created by the Hymenoptera... The weight of this unit's metallic composition, proved too great of a burden for the loosened terrain."

***

"We were getting cooked alive..." Garrus confessed in a dismal tone, as the recalled the horrific moment. "Legion was stuck, and Thane and Jack were fading fast... I eventually managed to pull the big tin can out, but we were still trapped... I don't know how Jack and Thane held on as long as they did, but if wasn't for them... Neither of us would be here..." He affirmed, with certainty, giving a quick glance towards Legion, before turning back. "Eventually, the damn thing just stopped. Maybe it thought we were dead, or it just got tired... Either way, as soon as it let up, we made a break for the canyon..."

***

"As we finished off the last of the vorcha in the Eezo core, Shepard decided he wanted to question one of 'em..." Miranda explained, as she smirked at the Commander. "After a brief, but pointless interrogation, the Reaper took control of its body, and forced us out of the room... When we tried to rush back inside, the door slammed shut on us." She said, shaking her head, as she took a brief, somewhat apologetic glance towards Freeman. "Only Gordon and Shepard made it in. Tali and I were locked out..."  

***

"It's damn tragic when you think about it..." The Commander began in a somber tone. "So many vortigaunts lost... And changed into those... THINGS... Hundreds of 'em. Probably about half of the village's population... And I mean they just came at us, non-stop... We bottle necked 'em as best we could, but it was just two of us against hundreds of them..."

"Hell, that's all you two seem to need!" Garrus affirmed, with a confident laugh.

"I hear that!" Jacob added in a groaning voice, as he leaned back in his seat and patted his full belly, with a licked clean plate in front of him. "The Collectors, the Combine, the Reapers... I'm not sure there's anything that can kill you two... At least not keep you dead, anyway..."

***

"While John, and Dr. Freeman were inside playing..." Tali began, with a playful sarcasm. "I was busy trying to get us back inside. But I had never worked with vortigaunt technology before. I wasn't sure I could open it. That is until I remembered a sophisticated shunt program I picked up on Omega, that could supposedly hack through any lock."

"Not that it matters to me, but is that legal...?" The Captain asked, dubiously.

"Uh, hehe..." Tali stumbled, and laughed nervously. "Well... Not as legal as it should be... Not in any of the charted systems, anyway... Luckily, the vort's homeworld fell far outside of any legal limitations..."

***

"No matter what I did, that damn thing hung on like a pit bull!" Joker exclaimed, anxiously. "I was zoomin'! I was divin'! I even took it straight in to an asteroid field to see if I could shake 'em. But that S-O-B just plowed through everything, without so much as a scratch..." Joker slouched down with a defeated look. If he could, he would've shaken his head.

"I decided to try a maneuver I heard about in flight school..." He continued, somewhat despondently. "As it chased us, I had EDI cut the starboard engines, which swung us around. At precisely the right moment, I had her re-engage all engines in full reverse. The idea was to be able to get a shot off, and then gun it straight forward..."

He sneered and crossed his arms, in a pouty display. "Woulda worked too, but the damn thing clipped our wings before I could get enough distance..."

***

"When the Reaper came back, it touched down on the other side of the village, opposite of the control room door..." Shepard imparted, with a worn out sigh. "We hadn't heard anything from Dr. Freeman, and there was no sign that he had managed to get the machine to work. But we couldn't lose that control room... I remember that thing starring me down, as I walked out... Those bright yellow eyes just looming over me..."

"But if nothing else, I wasn't going down without a fight..." He continued, showing a familiar hardened resolve. "I brought out a... bit of an experimental weapon that I've... REALLY come to love." He said, snickering under his breath. "The M-920 Cain – Launches a high capacity, twenty-five gram slug, with a fatality radius of up to two-hundred and fifty meters... Hand held Armageddon... The Reaper started charging its weapon, and I started charging mine... Luckily, I was quicker on the draw. Before it was able to fire, I managed to get my shot off.. I nailed that damn thing square on its back, and it fell over like a house of cards! I didn't kill it, but I sure as hell managed to stun it."

He was silent for a moment, clenching his lips, as his eyes seemed to sink a bit. "Wasn't long before it was back up, though..."

***

"I had already accepted my fate... Or I was trying to at least..." Gordon explained with sort of a quiet, reserved dignity. "You know, it's frightening and exhilarating when you THINK you might die... But it's terrifying when you KNOW you're going to..." As he spoke, suddenly he felt someone clutch his hand tucked away under the table, on his lap. He knew immediately who it had to be, as he turned, and smiled at Miranda, who squeezed his hand, causing him to squeeze back.

"As I made my peace..." He continued, as he turned back around towards the Captain. "One of the dead husks reanimated... Only much... bigger and stronger than the ones that had previously attacked us..."

"Yeah, we've seen that before..." Shepard replied, as he looked over at Tali and Garrus. "It's the same thing Sovereign did to Saren, when he tried to open the Citadel relay the first time."

"Well, whatever it was, it gave me the worst beating of my life... And I've had quite a few..." Gordon explained, sounding exhausted just from talking about it. "I was completely out of ammo... All I had left were my grenades, and my crowbar. And I couldn't just lob grenades at it, the explosion could've caused a cave in." He released a long, drawn-out sigh, as he shook his head. "So it beat me within an inch of my life, and put a hole in my arm..."

"We had no idea..." The Commander assured, empathetically. "After you fell out of radio contact, and there was no sign that the machine was working, we had to assume that it failed... But, by that point, the Reaper was cooking us alive inside the control room. Bringing it down on top of us. That's when everything just lit up all of a sudden."

"Yeah, well you see what happened was, after it impaled my arm with my crowbar, I had all but given up..." Gordon elaborated. "I couldn't do anything to hurt it, and it just seemed to be toying with me. But as it was coming to finish me off, I spotted something a few feet away."

"The Commander's helmet." He said, still looking at the Captain, as he motioned with his head towards Shepard.

"His helmet?" Ryback questioned, confused and intrigued.

"You see, I figured the helmet was probably composed of the same high density alloys as my armor." He began to explain. "If I could reach it, I could use it with one of my grenades to focus the blast enough, not to cause a collapse. And hopefully not kill me in the process..."

"So as I set one of my grenades, I crawled and dragged my way towards it on my hands and knees. And no sooner had I reached it, than that... monstrosity pulled back at my leg, and hoisted me up by the throat... Obviously it didn't see the helmet as a threat, or it would've tried to stop me... So as it rambled on about something or other, preparing to snap my neck in two, I just slammed the helmet onto its head, shut my eyes, and hoped for the best..." He said, chuckling under his breath, as he thought about it.

"My god..." Captain Ryback uttered in an amazed voice, as a flurry of chills ran down his spine. "That is truly the most... incredible, inspiring story I've ever heard! You're all lucky to be alive... WE'RE all lucky to be alive, thanks to you..."

"But..." He leaned back, and turned towards the Commander, as a professionally dressed asari woman, holding a datapad, approached from behind him, and waited politely. "Now that the Reapers are all dead, where do you all go from here?"

"Well, after the battle on Xen, I was officially reinstated into the Alliance, back on Earth..." Shepard affirmed, leaning forward on the table, and resting his chin on his clasped hands. "And I'm still a Spectre, so I've still got a job to do... As for the rest of these misfits..." He remarked sarcastically, as he turned to look down the table, smirking at his crew. "Wherever they go from here, is completely up to them..."

"I told you once Shepard." Garrus replied, with a strict affirmation. "Where you go, I follow..."

"Same here..." Added Jacob, with a stoic salute. "I'll follow you into battle any day, Commander..."

"It's an honor to fight at your side, John..." Gordon supplemented, with a proud resolve, and a respectful nod. "My place is here..."

"And besides..." Miranda put forth, with a tinge of sarcasm, as she layered her hands on Gordon's shoulder, and rested her chin on it, while looking at Shepard. "Where else are we going to go?"

"Sorry Commander..." Joker interjected, scooping the last of the chocolate mousse out of his dessert glass, with his finger. "But I think you're stuck with us..."

A grateful smile overtook Shepard's expression, as a feeling of pride washed over him. "Well, thank you guys... I appreciate it. I couldn't ask for a finer crew..."

"Uh, Captain..." The asari that had been waiting patiently behind Ryback finally leaned forward and whispered. "It's about that time, sir... Would you like to do it now?"

"Oh, yes, yes. Of course." The Captain eagerly acknowledged, as he sat up in his seat. "Folks, this is Dharia Shianni, my cruise director." He introduced, as she stood back upright, giving the team a polite, warm smile. "She's going to make a little announcement."

"Miss Shianni." Ryback said, as he turned to look up at her. "Please be sure to give them a proper hero's introduction."

"Of course, Captain." She assured with a nod, as she turned and walked out towards the center of the massive dinning hall.

The sound of a loud, high pitched buzz briefly echoed throughout the room, as Dharia tapped on a microphone she held clasped in her hand, no larger than a small pen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, could I have your attention for just a moment, please?" Her voice resounded loudly throughout the cavernous room, coaxing the dinning patrons to lay down their forks, and wine glasses, as she garnered their full attention.

"Now we're all aware of the tragic attacks that took place just over a week ago, on Earth, the Alliance's Arcturus Station, and the Citadel... Millions of lives were lost to the fleet of monstrous machines we've come to know as Reapers... And while we at Lycuna Star Cruises want all of you to enjoy health, good fortune, and prosperity... We ask that you take this time to remember those that were lost..."

A hush fell over the crowd, as they shared in a lamented moment of silence.

"...That being said..." She eventually continued, breaking the silence. "I would like to turn your attention towards the Captain's table, where our own Captain Ryback is dinning with some very special guests."

Just then, the lights around the dinning hall seemed to dim, save for the ones over their table, which actually seemed to intensify.

"From all of us here on-board the Carmenta Illustria, it is my sincerest honor to present to you, the brave men and women who fought to save the galaxy from the Reapers! The renowned crew of the SR-2 Normandy, ladies and gentlemen – give them a hand!"

The crew looked around at each other with nervous grins, and dumbfounded expressions as the dinning hall suddenly erupted into a rabble of cheers, applause, and whistles, while a proud, triumphant fanfare began to play from the band, in their honor.  

"Dr. Mordin Solus!" She announced excitedly, as the applause continued. "Stand up, please! Stand up, Dr. Solus! Take a bow!" She urged, as she looked over towards the table, motioning for him to get up.

Mordin shrugged his shoulders, and without a second thought, he stood to a hearty ovation, and gave a quick wave before sitting back down.

"Jacob Taylor!"

Jacob raised his eyebrows a bit, as he wiped his hands with his napkin and stood up. He turned around to face the crowd, presenting them with a brief wave, and a salute before sitting back down.

"Yord-not Grunt!"

Grunt huffed a bit at the mispronunciation of his clan name, as he looked around with his arms crossed, and a sour expression on his face. But it wasn't long before he put his hands on the table, and stood up – giving only a subtle nod before sitting back down.

The applause seemed to dwindle momentarily between each name, before being fueled into a lively chorus once more, with every announcement.

"Jeffrey Moreau!"

"Welp... My public wants me..." He said, as he struggled a bit to get up. As he turned around, he brought two fingers to his forehead, to salute, before pointing them outward, triumphantly.

"Miranda Lawson!"

Miranda shrugged as she looked at Gordon and stood up. She turned around, and quickly waved to the sound of male hoots and covetous whistles before sitting back down.

"...Legion...!" Dharia hesitated only for a moment, as she called his name.

Legion looked around at his fellow crew mates – components in his head motoring back and forth as he attempted to comprehend what was happening.

After a brief moment of computations, his cybernetic mind perceived the situation accordingly, coaxing him to stand up.

"Our first geth passenger, ladies and gentlemen!" She announced, as he stood, and raised his hand in a fashion similar to the teammates he had observed. "Give him a hand!"

The applause too was somewhat hesitant, but reverent nonetheless.

"You can sit down now, Legion..." Miranda informed the mechanized combatant, as she pulled down on his arm.

"Dr. Gordon Freeman!"

Gordon cringed his eyes tightly as his name was called, after secretly hoping he would be omitted. Finding himself with no other choice, he pushed back on his chair, and stood up.

The ovation continued, as Dr. Freeman subtly raised his hand, bowed his head, and quickly sat back down. However, the Doctor's name and appearance did cause some humans to raise a peculiar eyebrow.

"Garrus Vakarian!"

Without so much as a flinch, a very stoic Garrus stood up from his seat. He lightly tapped on his chest twice with a closed fist, before raising both hands outward, and pointing towards the crowd, which seemed to incite a slightly more fevered response from the female passengers.

"Show off..." Tali said jokingly, as he sat back down.

"Tali'Zorah!"

"Hey, you know what they say... If you got it..." Garrus replied, as Tali stood up and waved to another ovation of hoots, howls, and hollers, from the men, before quickly sitting back down.

"And last but not least, ladies and gentlemen..." Dharia continued, as the band suddenly shifted to a suspenseful drum roll.

"It is my great privilege to present to you a man who needs no introduction... Two years ago, he made galaxy-wide history as the first human ever to be inducted into the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Branch of the Citadel."

Shepard rolled his eyes, as he smirked, and slouched down in his chair a bit.

"That same year, he became known as the man who saved the Citadel from certain destruction... Ladies and gentlemen... I present to you... The First Human Spectre... The Savior of the Citadel... Lieutenant Commander Johnathan Shepard!"

A champion's symphony began to play, as the crowd erupted into an uproar. Many of the patrons rose to their feet, as a sign of their great respect for the man – applauding, and cheering his name, as he stood and presented a stoic, dignified salute.

"Commander Shepard, sir..." Before he could sit back down, the announcing asari called out, and approached their table, forcing him to remain on his feet. "Would you care to say a few words, and lead us in this evening's toast?"

"Uh..." He hesitated, finding himself put on the spot again, the same way he was back on Earth, as Dharia slowly walked over, and extended the mic towards him. Reluctantly, he took it – realizing now that pretty much wherever they would go, this would be more or less the attention they would be met with.

"Actually, there is something I'd like to say..." His commanding voice echoed loudly throughout the amphitheater-like room, as he began from his place at the table. "After the attacks... Before we booked passage on this cruise, a woman came up to me, back on Earth... She had come to me, with tears in her eyes, to tell me that her husband was killed in the attack..."

As he spoke, a respectful silence befell the room. Every man, woman, and child of every race and walk of life stopped, and paid the utmost regard, and attention to the Commander as he spoke.

"Unfortunately, I didn't know the man well, but I had run into him from time to time... The reason she had come to tell me that he died, was apparently because he idolized me. And she felt he would've wanted me to know that he had died a hero, giving his own life, to save the lives of others..."

"Now me and my crew have been called a lot of things..." He continued, as he pointed down the table, towards his team. "Champions... Heroes... Saviors... And I'll go on record right now by saying it's true about each and every last one of them... One of whom I've actually idolized myself, my whole life..."

"But we can't forget that this galaxy is full of heroes... Those that fought and died – standing valiantly in defense of the Citadel... In defense of Arcturus... In defense of the Earth... Even hundreds of our vortigaunt allies, who died standing valiantly in defense of their homeworld..."

"So if I'm going to lead us in a toast, I guess that it must be this..." He announced, as he lifted his half-filled wine glass off the table, ushering the entire room, including his crew, to do the same.

"Here is to the fall of the Reapers... And to honoring the memory of those that we've lost..."

"Here here!"