User blog comment:JakePT/The New Normandy/@comment-3061137-20110426024001/@comment-1221773-20110426063032

I had a longer point-by-point rebuttal of your statement, but my browser crashed and it's late. In short:

1. I can't remember the part with the Major, so no comment.

2. The Alliance is being pragmatic by putting Shepard on trial. If they don't, it means war with the batarians. This does not mean most Alliance officials are out for Shepard's blood.

3. Anderson being on the fence about Shepard doesn't make him anti-Shepard.

4. After encountering Ashley/Kaidan on Horizon, they send Shepard an apologetic email. Since we already know they rejoin Shepard in ME3, their attitude toward Shepard is probably neutral like Anderson.

5. It can be argued that the Alliance wasn't smearing Shepard out of resentment, just for political reasons. It may be sleazy, but again, it doesn't mean the Alliance wants Shepard burned at the stake.

In any case, Mass Effect 3 happens months or longer after all these events. Plenty of time for attitudes in the Alliance and elsewhere to change. We can't predict right now what the Alliance's stance will be at the trial.

Anyway, bringing this back to my original point, we have no evidence that the Alliance "stole" the Normandy from Shepard. Did they confiscate it? Perhaps. Did they intend to give it back to Shepard? We can't say. All we know is that Shepard is still "in control" of the Normandy in ME3.

I'm finished.