Final Notice

[Night_stalker]

A/N: this is a little oneshot I came up with, upon hearing that the game can end with Shepard dead. Spoilers for both MEs, and this is a tragedy, there is supposed to be crying, I know I nearly did for God’s sake.

Commander Shepard sighed as he looked at the small box on his desk. Though he hated to do this, he wanted to get his personal effects in order, just in case he didn’t make it back from the suicide mission. He carefully put the photo of Ash, his most prized possession into the box, and carefully wrapped it in protective layers of packing peanuts. On top of that, he put his old N7 helmet, the one he had salvaged from the Normandy crash site, and then he paused. He reached over to his left, where a datapad sat, waiting for him to save the file written on it.
He sighed, and pushed the save command on the cheap computer. He placed that in the package as well, and then sealed it up. On the top, he wrote out a label, saying that if he was to die, to send this to Ashley Williams, Systems Alliance. Joker came on the overhead and said” Commander, we’re on final approach to the Omega 4 Relay.”

Citadel, Ashley Williams’s apartment
Ashley Williams woke up to a loud knocking at her front door. She slid out from underneath her covers, and put on her white bathrobe. While on the way to the front door, she picked up her M-3 Predator heavy pistol and slid it into her robe’s pocket. It paid to be prepared, even on the Citadel, where humans were normally safer than on Earth. She pushed the open button on the door console, and the door slid open. A human, dressed in the livery of a delivery company, looked up from his dataslate and asked”Operations Chief Ashley Williams?”
She nodded, and said” that’s me.”
He took a package out from underneath his left arm and held it out to her, saying” this came for you, express delivery.” She nodded, and took the package in one arm. The delivery man made a note on his slate and walked away, heading towards a parked delivery truck. She reentered her apartment and closed and then locked the door. She put the package on her kitchen counter, and slit it open. She saw a battered old helmet, clad in Shepard’s old colors of black and red. On top rested a dataslate, with only a text file saved on there. It was simply entitled Farewell. Ash’s heart caught in her chest, and she found her hands were trembling so much, that she could barely open the file.
It read: Ash,

If you are reading this, then I didn’t make it back from the mission through the Omega-4 Relay. I knew the odds of me making it back were slim, and I have no complaints about dying, so that the galaxy may become a safer place for all, including you. I love you. Remember that always, and have a pleasant life. Forget about me, and find some lucky guy, who likes reading Tennyson. Have fun, and thanks for the memories. We had a great time together on the old Normandy; remember me as I was then. I’ll say hi to Pressley and Kaiden for you.

Love,
Shepard
Ash dropped the slate and picked the helmet out of the box and set it upright. The glossy material was battered and banged up, but still was easily recognizable. Beneath that was the most tear-jerking item of all: the photo that she had given Shepard lay there, and then the tears started.
Ashley was not a girl who expressed a lot of emotion, at least externally. She had grown out of it through boot camp, but the few times that she had really let the floodgates open were due to really traumatic events, like her father’s death, and the death of Alenko. This was one of them, and she sobbed long and hard, still clutching the helmet in her arms. Even when Councilor Anderson came and gave her a comforting visit, she refused to let go of the helmet, like it was a precious doll from her childhood.

Fin