Chapter 1

"...Reconstruction of the streets of London has officially begun today, as a combination of city workers and civilians got to work on the charred remnants of Piccadilly Circus just a few hours ago. This is simply the first step in what will surely be a long rebuilding process. Representatives of the city would like me to remind you that they are severely undermanned in their efforts to rebuild the city, and that they are currently accepting all able-bodied men and women of all races to help as volunteers. With your assistance, we can restore London to its former glory..."

Tali absently stared at the battle-stained news reporter on the monitor, her attention fading into and out of focus at frequent intervals. Since the fall of the Reapers about a week ago, it had become very hard for her to hold her attention on anything for longer than a couple of minutes. And when she did lose interest in whatever she had been doing previously, her thoughts would inevitably go back to the man that many now referred to as the Hero of the Galaxy.

"Want a drink?"

Tali looked up to see Garrus sitting down next to her on the couch. The two of them had laid claim to a single flat in a huge, largely-destroyed apartment complex in the heart of London. It would have been considered a luxurious apartment back before the war, but now, little more than the beds remained in working order. The lack of running water rendered the bathroom and the kitchen utterly useless, and a large hole in the wall of the living room granted them a unabridged view of the streets of London from the tenth floor of the complex. Power across the city had been mostly restored, but working electronics were hard to come by. But, given the circumstances, it almost seemed like a haven.

With all that was going on, the few remaining London authorities didn't mind if the rubble and destroyed buildings were used as free shelter for the very few survivors; in fact, most supported the idea. The apartment complex that Garrus and Tali were a part of had become something of a Turian shelter. Dozens of Turian soldiers who had been on Earth during the final battle and survived now occupied the building. There were even a couple ballrooms on the ground floor of the facility that were converted into makeshift military command stations, in an attempt to coordinate the depleted Turian military.

"No, thanks." Tali muttered quietly with a slight shake of her head.

"Come on, this is some of the finest ale that Turians have to offer." Garrus urged. "I even brought you a straw...erm, 'emergency induction port,' I mean."

She could tell that he had been hoping for some kind of smile or laugh at this light attempt at humor, but she didn't even give him so much as a nod. After a minute or two, when it became apparent to him that she would not yield, Garrus retracted his outstretched hand containing the ale. He instead poured himself a glass and leaned back on the sofa in silence.

"Shepard told you about that, huh?" She asked after another minute of silence.

"He always did have a big mouth." Garrus replied.

"I miss him, Garrus." Tali said quietly.

"I know." He replied. He then leaned forward, grabbed his bottle of ale and poured another glass. He handed it to her say, "Here, drink. For me."

Tali begrudgingly accepted the glass, and casually began to swirl its contents in her hand as she stared off into the distance. Through the hole in the wall of the living room, she had a perfect view of the setting sun, which was just beginning to disappear beyond the horizon.

"What did military command want?" She asked.

"They were just trying to raise communications with Palaven." Garrus replied with a shrug. "Again."

"Did you get anything?" She asked.

"Nothing." Garrus replied shortly. "It looks like I'm going to be stuck here for a while."

"You and me both." Tali said with a sigh.

"Yeah...well, it's no Palaven, but I guess I can make due here on Earth." He said facetiously, staring out the huge hole in the living room wall.

Tali gazed at the setting sun and she could not help but be astonished by this world's breathtaking beauty; although, she couldn't tell if she was truly amazed by this particular planet or if she was just felt this way because she had never lived on any planet before. Even the simple experience of watching the sunset was very foreign to her. She had seen plenty of stars during her time on the flotilla and as a part of other ships. But it was not often that she got to see one set as she did now.

"You say that now, but you'll drop dead if you try to eat anything here." Tali replied pointedly.

"That's...a good point." Garrus said with a wry nod.

Tali shifted around slightly in her seat and she felt a small jab from something in her pocket. It was the small rock that Shepard had given her back on Rannoch, and she was, once again, reminded of a happier time. It had been a simple gesture at the time when he gave it to her, but she treasured it nonetheless. And since the fall of the Reapers, it had grown even more important to her. She kept it with her at all times now, for she didn't have very much else to remember her Captain by. And not only that, but it also served as a grim reminder of the homeworld that she would probably not see again for many years, if ever again at all.

"I did get a message from Joker, though." Garrus said after a moment. "Repairs on the Normandy seem to be going smoothly. I get the feeling they aren't going as fast as he would like but, well...I have to imagine there are plenty of other ships waiting to get repairs."

Tali nodded but said nothing. After crash landing on an uncharted planet when the Crucible was activated, extensive repairs were needed for the Normandy; repairs that could not be made with their limited supplies. After a few days of work, the crew had managed to repair it enough so that it could fly once again, but there were still many repairs to be made before it was as good as new.

It was after they left that desolate planet that most of the crew went their separate ways. Before bringing in the ship for repairs, Joker dropped off anyone who wanted to leave down on the streets of London. From there, some choose to find transportation to other areas of the planet, perhaps in search of lost loved ones. Others chose to take a ship off the planet entirely, although there weren't many other places nearby that they could go, as the destruction of the mass effect relays made long-distance travel all but impossible at present time. And the rest, including Tali and Garrus, chose to begin anew where it had all ended.

"I get the feeling that you don't plan on rejoining the crew, though." Garrus continued.

"I don't think I can go back there, Garrus." Tali replied.

"Yeah, I thought so." Garrus responded. "To tell you the truth, I won't be either."

Only by looking back now could Commander Shepard's leadership be fully appreciated. Under his command, a human Alliance vessel had become home to a team consisting of many different species. This fact was easy to overlook under Shepard reign, but with him gone, the differences simply proved to be too much for the team to stick together. Somehow, Shepard had managed to mold these very different pieces into a single, cohesive unit; but without him as the glue that kept them together, that unit fell apart.

"By the way, I don't want to get your hopes up, but another shuttle arrived today from the Citadel." Garrus continued in the absence of a reply from Tali. "This one managed to find a few survivors, and it is bringing them to London for some medical attention. If you want, we can go check it out."

Tali nodded slowly, unable to find anything to say. The vivid memory of Shepard urging her and the rest of the squad to leave on the Normandy while he stayed behind to try to get into the Citadel still haunted her mind. She remembered the resolve in his eyes as the corpses of those less fortunate were decimated by Harbinger. He accepted his own death, perhaps even welcomed it. And it was hard to imagine a scenario in which he wasn't granted it.

But he made it to the Citadel, that much was clear. The Citadel's wards were opened and the Crucible was activated, and Admiral Hackett said that it was by Shepard's doing, having established communications with him. Looking at the state that the Citadel was in now, though, it almost seemed impossible that anyone could have survived. But if what Garrus said was true, and there truly were survivors on the Citadel, was it possible that Shepard could be among them?

Whether she truly believed that he could be alive or not was irrelevant. She simply had to try if there was any hope at all that Shepard could still be alive.