Letter to the Normandy SR-2

Dear crew of the Normandy,

I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you to celebrate this new lease on life. Without war looming or a battle to be won, there is no longer a place for me, and I want you to know that I am happy, finally free. Wherever you may be, I hope that you're safe and enjoy the freedom we all fought for and that some died for. Never forgotten, always cherished. Freedom comes at a price, one I would gladly pay over and over again. All those that may have lost their lives for the cause over the years, will agree, it was worth it in the end.

The new friends we made along this perilous journey, the connections and the relationships still to come from future endeavours, we will bring them our tale and laugh as it is a story of joy and pleasure. We really did shake the heavens and it's worth telling. It is now in times of peace, we can truly appreciate the small things, no longer held back by our petty differences, we have the opportunity to start anew. Learn from the mistakes of our previous generations, we can be better, we will survive, together. No longer separate beings of different species, we are one, we can walk together in the light, no need to fear the darkness. The time we shared together will echo throughout history as we move through it, one small step at a time.

I only ask one thing from each of you, that you never forget that what we did was a great thing, tell anybody that will listen. We achieved what many thought was impossible, fought a Reaper and his follower, Saren, finding out the truth and stopping a Goliath, proving it can be done. Threading the needle at the Omega 4 Relay, making it there and back again. Something which was unheard of or even dreamt about. Slowing down the reapers to grant us the time to write our own history. Changing our fate which seemed inevitable.

When they attacked, many thought all hope was lost, but we knew, that together we can win. Alone we can do so little, together we can do anything. We humans may be a fairly young species, but we have bravery in abundance and never give up hope. Whenever there is darkness, we will always seek out the light. The same can be said for all races, those we encountered and those we are yet to discover, tell them our story, for it is one of great triumph. We stood as one, bled as one, died as one and most importantly we conquered as one.

I feel very blessed to have known you all, to be touched by your soul, as soldiers fighting insurmountable odds, never wavering from what we believed, putting our lives on the line to defend a right we all have, to live free, without fear of annihilation. Also as individuals, your strength was my strength, the reason I had to make the hard choices, my crew, my friends, my family. I love you all

We don't ask to be heroes, sometimes it just turns out that way.

Affectionately,

Shepard.

P.S: When it's your time, come find me, I'll be at the bar.