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“Do Turians believe in ghosts?”
“What?”, Garrus turns his head to look at Shepard lying next to him. She is studying him, her eyebrows drawn together.
“Ghosts. The souls of dead people existing on after death.”
“No, not really.”, he takes a second to think “We have the spirits, but those are the soul of a place or group of people. Not an individual.”
“Hmmm” Garrus can tell Shepard is thinking about something
“Why do you ask?”
“I was thinking about death…”
“Shepard.”
“Let me continue”, she smiles “And how if I became a ghost I would haunt you.”
“How about you stay human and don’t haunt me”
“Maybe”
-
The AI that was once Commander Shepard remembers this conversation. It remembers everything. Every member of every species that went into the creation of a Reaper is stored within it. Millions of souls.
The one that was Commander Shepard remains dominant. It is no longer human, but it still has values. It still feels in some way. The woman it once was might have called it a ghost. Though that word is woefully inadequate.
The crucible only meant to take over Shepard’s values and memory, but it doesn’t work like that. Values and memories are tied to emotion and so, depending on the definition of the word it could be said that the AI that was once Commander Shepard still loves Garrus Vakarian.
In some capacity, it still watches over him. The AI always knows where he is. It’s in the Normandy when he hangs up the plaque with her name and if EDI detects it, she doesn’t do anything to purge it.
Some part of Shepard is still fighting, always will be. On the one year anniversary of her death she briefly takes over control. Neither the AI nor her know if it was because she fought or a brief act of mercy by the crucible. The AI, calling itself she again for a brief second, hacks into all the lights on Omega and makes them flare up red and blue. It only lasts a second but Garrus hears of it and he knows.
-
“What would haunting me entail?”
“Flickering lights. Weird voices from nowhere”, Shepard puts on a ghostly voice. “I looooove you Gaaaaaaruuuuussss.”
Garrus laughs. “That sounds terrible”
“No! It’s romantic.”
“It would be way more romantic if you stayed alive.”
“That might not be an option”, she cuddles up closer to him. “But I love you. I always will. You’ll never be alone.”