It had been nearly six years since the Reapers had fallen and the galaxy was finally free of their threat, but recovery was nowhere near finished. So many people had died, so much damage had been done. The various peoples of the galaxy would be feeling the effects for generations, but none more so than this one. The first year or two after the war had been complete chaos, with everyone being far more concerned with their own race and homeworld than any other. There was nothing wrong with that really but it had left the galactic political scene in shambles. At least there had been cooperation rather than competition, everyone had needed one another’s help, but the result had required a full reboot of the system.
Not to mention the Citadel, the galactic seat of power, had been destroyed in the effort to stop the Reapers. There hadn’t even been a place for leaders to meet, and connects through the extranet had been shaky. Slowly though, things were getting back on their feet and starting to move forward again, and the biggest key for that future was Siti Station. Projected to be just as big as the Citadel, it would no doubt take decades to complete, but after a few years of massive cooperation and effort, the main hub was finished enough to start allowing diplomats and dignitaries to come and start rebuilding the galaxy’s political system.
The Council was reborn, but this time it included a representative from each race. The Reapers had evened the playing field, everyone had done their part, so now everyone had a Councilor. There was, of course, a human, turian, asari, and salarian, but now there were additions from the elcor, hanar, volus, krogan, quarian, and even the geth. There was no batarian Councilor, their race had been practically wiped out, and now scattered to the wind, they had no central government to represent them and so no one to elect a Councilor, but the other races of the galaxy now worked together like they never had before.
The Council wasn’t the only thing that had been restructured though, the Spectres, the left hand of the Council, had as well. Since their creation they had been a shadowy group with no hierarchy or real structure, they had been above and outside the law, able to do whatever it took to carry out the will of the Council with no legal ramifications or consequences. Even murder had been perfectly legal for them. That had not changed, everyone recognized the importance of the Spectres and the importance of their ability to work outside the law. But after individuals like Saren Arcturus and Tela Vasir had been exposed for their corruption, others had as well, and it was acknowledged that some sort of oversight was needed.
So here she was, Artemis Shepard, the first human Spectre, Savior of the Citadel, and the Hero of the Reaper War, to fulfill that need. She would be the first Captain of the Spectres, their leader. Her rank was still the only one that existed outside of trainees being below their full fledged Spectre trainers. She was their leader, they answered to her, and she would put measures in place to better monitor the Spectres and their actions, but besides that, they would operate much the same. Shepard hoped to be involved as little as possible with their methods and operations, that was the strength of the Spectres after all. It took a special breed to be able to do the things they did, and one of the characteristics they all shared was the ability to think and act independently. They were no mere soldiers following orders, they made their own orders, and they needed that ability. To have to constantly check and answer to someone would be a hindrance.
But they needed someone to keep them on the straight and narrow, and Artemis would do her best to make that happen. She had mixed feelings about all this, as it meant that she would no longer be active out in the field, unless she really needed to be. So she was essentially retired from active work, but maybe it was time for that. She wasn’t a kid anymore, nearing 39 she was starting to get into the middle aged range, which was mildly horrifying, and Artemis had done more and seen more than most people in the galaxy, and she had the scars to prove it. Her cybernetics were the only thing that had kept her from simply being a shattered mess after the Reaper War, surviving the explosion of the Crucible, falling through space and the Earth’s atmosphere, and landing in the rubble of some building. She should have died, again, but she’d survived and after a year of intense therapy, she’d been back at it.
Perhaps it was time to slow down. Or that was what she kept telling herself. If nothing else, it would be good to see some of her old friends again. Joker and Edi had left only a year ago to come to Siti Station to work and live, Joker working with engineers on the air traffic systems and controls, Edi helping with the VI and general technology. Both of them had worked with Shepard after she’d recovered from the war with both diplomatic missions and Spectre work. But she’d learned that Garrus was here now as well, working with the station’s new police force, and Wrex would be here as the krogan Councillor. It was like getting the gang back together, or at least some of it. The others, the ones who were still alive, were scattered across the galaxy.
As the ship she was on came through the relay, Artemis sat up a bit and looked through the window, trying to see the new station. And what a station it was. She still remembered the first time she saw the Citadel, and how amazing and almost overwhelming it’s sheer scale was. This was much the same, as even with only a portion of it finished, it was massive.
They flew in and docked, and Artemis got up and walked to the airlock, waiting for it to open. Her things, what little she had, would be unloaded and taken the apartment that was being given to her, and for once she wasn’t wearing her armor. A pair of jeans tucked into her boots and a hoodie over a tank top was all she bothered to wear. Her red hair was left loose to hang around her shoulders, and she hadn’t bothered to wear any make up. There wasn’t supposed to be any big fan fare with her arrival, though she was going to attend a big dinner that night were the press would be taking her picture and reporting on her newly appointed position as Spectre Captain. She wasn’t looking forward to that.
Shepard was a beautiful woman, she always had been, though now people might call her ‘distinguished’ before they called her beautiful. She was covered in scars, and she was starting to get some gray in her red hair, not surprising considering what all she’d been through. Her skin was fair, almost pale, but with a splash of freckles over the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were a dark green, thin gold rings around her pupils. There were lines of age forming on her face, not prominent, but there was a definite crease between her brows from how much she frowned and grimaced. What did you expect when you had spent your entire life fighting though? It was all she’d ever known, from the gang she’d run with as a teenager to her days in the military, to becoming a Spectre.
The air lock opened and Artemis stepped off, looking around for her friends, having been told to expect Joker and Edi if nothing else.
Not to mention the Citadel, the galactic seat of power, had been destroyed in the effort to stop the Reapers. There hadn’t even been a place for leaders to meet, and connects through the extranet had been shaky. Slowly though, things were getting back on their feet and starting to move forward again, and the biggest key for that future was Siti Station. Projected to be just as big as the Citadel, it would no doubt take decades to complete, but after a few years of massive cooperation and effort, the main hub was finished enough to start allowing diplomats and dignitaries to come and start rebuilding the galaxy’s political system.
The Council was reborn, but this time it included a representative from each race. The Reapers had evened the playing field, everyone had done their part, so now everyone had a Councilor. There was, of course, a human, turian, asari, and salarian, but now there were additions from the elcor, hanar, volus, krogan, quarian, and even the geth. There was no batarian Councilor, their race had been practically wiped out, and now scattered to the wind, they had no central government to represent them and so no one to elect a Councilor, but the other races of the galaxy now worked together like they never had before.
The Council wasn’t the only thing that had been restructured though, the Spectres, the left hand of the Council, had as well. Since their creation they had been a shadowy group with no hierarchy or real structure, they had been above and outside the law, able to do whatever it took to carry out the will of the Council with no legal ramifications or consequences. Even murder had been perfectly legal for them. That had not changed, everyone recognized the importance of the Spectres and the importance of their ability to work outside the law. But after individuals like Saren Arcturus and Tela Vasir had been exposed for their corruption, others had as well, and it was acknowledged that some sort of oversight was needed.
So here she was, Artemis Shepard, the first human Spectre, Savior of the Citadel, and the Hero of the Reaper War, to fulfill that need. She would be the first Captain of the Spectres, their leader. Her rank was still the only one that existed outside of trainees being below their full fledged Spectre trainers. She was their leader, they answered to her, and she would put measures in place to better monitor the Spectres and their actions, but besides that, they would operate much the same. Shepard hoped to be involved as little as possible with their methods and operations, that was the strength of the Spectres after all. It took a special breed to be able to do the things they did, and one of the characteristics they all shared was the ability to think and act independently. They were no mere soldiers following orders, they made their own orders, and they needed that ability. To have to constantly check and answer to someone would be a hindrance.
But they needed someone to keep them on the straight and narrow, and Artemis would do her best to make that happen. She had mixed feelings about all this, as it meant that she would no longer be active out in the field, unless she really needed to be. So she was essentially retired from active work, but maybe it was time for that. She wasn’t a kid anymore, nearing 39 she was starting to get into the middle aged range, which was mildly horrifying, and Artemis had done more and seen more than most people in the galaxy, and she had the scars to prove it. Her cybernetics were the only thing that had kept her from simply being a shattered mess after the Reaper War, surviving the explosion of the Crucible, falling through space and the Earth’s atmosphere, and landing in the rubble of some building. She should have died, again, but she’d survived and after a year of intense therapy, she’d been back at it.
Perhaps it was time to slow down. Or that was what she kept telling herself. If nothing else, it would be good to see some of her old friends again. Joker and Edi had left only a year ago to come to Siti Station to work and live, Joker working with engineers on the air traffic systems and controls, Edi helping with the VI and general technology. Both of them had worked with Shepard after she’d recovered from the war with both diplomatic missions and Spectre work. But she’d learned that Garrus was here now as well, working with the station’s new police force, and Wrex would be here as the krogan Councillor. It was like getting the gang back together, or at least some of it. The others, the ones who were still alive, were scattered across the galaxy.
As the ship she was on came through the relay, Artemis sat up a bit and looked through the window, trying to see the new station. And what a station it was. She still remembered the first time she saw the Citadel, and how amazing and almost overwhelming it’s sheer scale was. This was much the same, as even with only a portion of it finished, it was massive.
They flew in and docked, and Artemis got up and walked to the airlock, waiting for it to open. Her things, what little she had, would be unloaded and taken the apartment that was being given to her, and for once she wasn’t wearing her armor. A pair of jeans tucked into her boots and a hoodie over a tank top was all she bothered to wear. Her red hair was left loose to hang around her shoulders, and she hadn’t bothered to wear any make up. There wasn’t supposed to be any big fan fare with her arrival, though she was going to attend a big dinner that night were the press would be taking her picture and reporting on her newly appointed position as Spectre Captain. She wasn’t looking forward to that.
Shepard was a beautiful woman, she always had been, though now people might call her ‘distinguished’ before they called her beautiful. She was covered in scars, and she was starting to get some gray in her red hair, not surprising considering what all she’d been through. Her skin was fair, almost pale, but with a splash of freckles over the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were a dark green, thin gold rings around her pupils. There were lines of age forming on her face, not prominent, but there was a definite crease between her brows from how much she frowned and grimaced. What did you expect when you had spent your entire life fighting though? It was all she’d ever known, from the gang she’d run with as a teenager to her days in the military, to becoming a Spectre.
The air lock opened and Artemis stepped off, looking around for her friends, having been told to expect Joker and Edi if nothing else.
