Mission Accomplished

After the destruction of the Collector Base, Shepard and Miranda both parted ways with Cerberus. In the days that followed, Shepard gave crewmembers the option to leave if they were still loyal to Cerberus, Shepard offering to drop them off at Illium. Few of the Cerberus crew took him up on it. Zaeed, however, also disembarked at Illium; he had picked up a job, and bid Shepard farewell, vowing to rejoin the fight when Shepard's business on Earth was over and the Reapers finally arrived.

Of the non-Human crew however, only Garrus, Tali, and Thane remained aboard. Samara, freed from her oath of service, thanked the Commander and disembarked at Illium, there to continue her work as a Justicar. And Grunt, Mordin, and Legion disembarked at Illium as well; Grunt to return to Tuchanka, Mordin to Sur'Kesh, and Legion to return to Geth space. Garrus, Tali, and Thane stayed on for different reasons; Shepard would take Thane to the Citadel so that he could reunite with his son and begin life under a new identity, and Tali and Garrus intending to go all the way to Earth with Shepard and testify on his behalf prior to returning to Migrant Fleet and Palaven respectively. Even Jack, rebel that she was, volunteered to join them; it seemed that she had finally made friends that she trusted.

It was late December, and they would reach the Citadel before the week was out, something that Miranda and Shepard were dreading; Miranda, Jacob, and all of the now ex-Cerberus crew would leave along with Thane, all of them wanted by both the Alliance and Cerberus. The Normandy would then head to Earth, Shepard to stand trial. The ship felt empty, and the mood was depressing. Not only did a military tribunal await the Commander due to his time spent with Cerberus, but all knew that the Reaper Invasion was imminent.