Disclaimer

All characters belong to their respective copyright holders, i do not own yadda yadda, i'm actually not sure what goes into one of these, could use some help on that front

A/N

First attempt at this kind of thing, be kind yet fair if you are going to review, i'm not sure how i take criticism but i'd prefer you be honest. Anyway, i'm not sure where i want to go with this but i think i'd probably enjoy continuing it. If there are any errors i'd like to fix them, i'll throw an edit point to let people know what's been changed if i ever do change them at the end of each chapter?

Normandy Cockpit

"Ow, watch the arm." Joker shouted as Shepard hauled him out of the pilot seat.

"If you don't hurry your ass up…" Shepard's threat left off as he turned his head and noticed the shadow of the rapidly approaching enemy vessel race across the gaping hole in the Normandy's hull. Silently, Shepard threw the fragile pilot's already abused arm over his shoulder causing Joker to wince slightly. Ninety percent carrying, ten percent assisting, Shepard helped Joker make their way to the cockpit escape shuttle.

Shoving Joker hastily into the closest empty seat Shepard noticed the slight widening of Joker's eyes as he looked passed Shepard's shoulder. Shepard turned to find a column of blinding energy sweeping through what had been the bridge of his ship. Suddenly, Shepard felt his body rocked by an explosion to his left. The beam had swept through a nearby fire extinguisher, instantaneously super-heating its contents.

Shepard's vision started to clear moments after the explosion. As he careened off the wall the blast had sent him into he thought wryly, "Done in by a fire extinguisher, perfect." With one last look at Joker, who was desperately trying to scramble out of the seat in the still-waiting escape pod, Shepard reached out and hit the eject button that was attached to the rapidly receding wall of the rapidly receding wreck of his vessel.

As Shepard busily tried to think of some way out of his predicament, spaced with no idea of how long help would take, he noticed a hissing sound emanating from his suit. Shepard scrambled to reattach the hose that had most likely come loose from the earlier impact when the futility of his situation dawned on him. As he watched the pressure reading on his suit rapidly fall toward zero the enemy ship lazily spun into view. Getting his first good look at his killers just before they jumped away he thought to himself:

"Perfect, spaced by a giant flying turd and a fire extinguisher; soon to suffocate and burn to a crisp in the atmosphere of some backwater planet, why can't I stop thinking about Tali's hips?"

As his vision slowly darkened Shepard couldn't help wondering two last things:

"How would Tali feel in my arms?" and "What the hell is that Geth scout-ship doing here?"

…

Citadel Docks

Thing one of seven makes sounds

Thing two of seven makes short regular sounds, decreases in height

Thing three moves to Thing two

Thing four moves to Thing five

Thing five is broken

Thing six hits barrier with extremity

Thing seven leaves cluster

***

They scour the wreckage of the Normandy but the locator beacon in Shepard's suit is not broadcasting, Shepard's body is believed to have been vaporized on its entry into the atmosphere of the planet.

Two weeks after the attack on the Normandy the search for the remains of Commander Shepard, Hero of the Alliance and Savior of the Citadel officially ends.

All they've found are a charred and rent N7 Helmet and a single scorched shoulder pad.

***

Pilot relays account to what's left of traumatized crew of Normandy.

Sobbing fills air

Turian moves to console Quarian

Human lays hand on shoulder of stunned Asari

Krogan dents wall with fist

Human turns and walks away

***

They hold a memorial for Shepard in the Presidium, the new Council presents Shepard's orphanage with the Citadel's highest honor, the Archetype Star, awarded to those whom represent those traits held in highest esteem: Discipline, Compassion, Wit, Fortitude and Flexibility. Alliance opens charity in Shepard's name, his date of birth has been lost, they declare his naval enrollment day an terrestrial holiday. Anderson delivers a stirring eulogy. Udina looks upset, though it may just be impatience at having to attend.

***

Joker, barely audible, relays his account of his final moments aboard the Normandy. He pauses midway through and takes a moment to compose himself before finishing.

Silence takes over for a brief second as the news sinks in, each person reacts differently:

Tali sinks to her knees and starts sobbing, it's a heartbreaking sound, an endless unbroken line of muffled and choked cries; she must've turned off her comm system.

Anderson looks shocked and saddened and resolute. He quickly leaves to grieve in private and attend to the necessary matters. He will not let anyone else do this.

Liara looks stunned and speechless. Kaidan lays a hand on her shoulder and she flinches, her face darkens. She storms off, Kaidan asks her where she's going, she throws out "to get some answers."

Wrex begins to look increasingly agitated until he throws back his head, lets loose a roar, and hits the side of the transport shuttle hard enough to leave a dent. He leaves with only "this was not worthy of him." I would have to agree… waitwhat?

Garrus sits next to Tali to show his support, she throws her arms around him hiding her face against his armor. He awkwardly wraps an arm around her and pats her on the back. I'll have to thank him for th… hrm… this isn't my memo-

No, this is not your memory, this is a recording

Holy crap, what the fuck, What the fuck!? why is there another voice in my head, why is there a head, why am I alive, am I alive, what the fu-

We will answer your questions, but first *Initialize Transfer*

What the hell? Initialize transfer, what are you talking about and what the hell is that sensati-

***

A/N: Yeah, yeah, been getting feedback about tali's overwrought reaction... I will respond two ways... One, this is listed under Shepard & Tali, so i'm assuming some semblance of attachment, latent or otherwise. Two, *spoiler* tali almost breaks down when her father dies... and she barely likes him. */spoiler*

*edit* grammar and word choice, I was on a re-read, slightly happier now.

*edit-2* wow, i dislike my style from a week ago... that's gotta be some kinda record or something, anyway, better word choice, less clunky construction... too many adverbs, too many adjectives... yeah, i'll try to cut back on that throughout.